One week later

Could a week already have passed since ending the latest tour? Hard to believe. Barbie asked me "How do we get back to the real world?" after ending her latest bike adventure. We just take it a step at a time and treasure the special moments that we shared on the road or experienced alone. I know that she and our fellow riders from 2009 have done that over the past year. I hope that this group of riders will do so as well. I hope that our friends and loved ones can understand our feelings and passion for what we do. As always after these trips, I thank my wife Robin for allowing me to follow my passion and putting up with me when I get home. So after I finish this chapter of the blog, I had better get busy in the real world and accomplish some things on the honey-do list.

Some retrospective:

Who were we?

Fourteen men, six women. Economist (2), lawyer (3), doctor (2), nurse practitioner, journalist, college professor, student, taxidermist (one rider heard tax attorney instead of taxidermist), program director, police lieutenant, company executive, software engineer transitioning to teacher, barber, air traffic controller, CPA, financial advisor. Many of us are retired or will be soon. All of us are avid cyclists who enjoy the fellowship of being on the road.

Favorite part of the ride:

The last few days with high bluffs over the Mississippi River.

Least favorite part of the ride:

Humid days which was most of them. Being dripping wet within a few miles is not my cup of tea. I could ride for hours here in Colorado and not have visible perspiration on my jersey. Buffet dinners. Most of the food looked awful so I limited my selections. I choose wrongly a couple of times and could not eat those choices beyond a single bite. Someone must like these buffets, though, as there were many overweight people in these restaurants. Actually, I mean everyone there except the cyclists.

Body changes:

I lost 7 pounds and continue to lose weight. It seems that the metabolism is still burning high. I hope to keep the weight off.

Would I live anywhere on the route?

No. I firmly believe that there is no better place than Colorado. It does get cold in the winter but there are nice days mixed in to be able to ride. I was able to ride outside at least one day each week since the first of January. The scenery here is spectacular. The wide open prairie affords the views. Many places on the Mississippi River ride are hemmed in by trees and long-range views cannot be seen. From my house, I can see flat-topped mesas 30 miles away. The quality of Denver's bike trail system is superior to what I saw along the route.

My roommate:

John Hicks and I have known each other since 2005 when we cycled across America with Crossroads Cycling Adventures (http://www.crossroadscycling.com/). We did another trip with ABB in 2007 from Portland to Newport Beach. We have kept in contact with each other since 2007 and each made the commitment to do the Mississippi ride. John has extensive cycling experience and has cycled in 42 countries if memory serves me correctly. He is a much stronger cyclist than I am but we rode together for most of this ride. As John told others, we have known each other for five years, but this is the first time that we rode together. (I remember sticking together for an entire day from Seaside to Tillamook OR and a good portion of another day into Gold Beach Oregon.) I very much enjoyed his company on and off the bike. He is full of stories and kept me light-hearted and entertained. Hopefully, I did the same for him. I have asked John to provide his perspective of this ride and will post it to this blog. Many of the followers were his friends and family. Thank you for reading about some of our adventures and misadventures together. I hope to meet you someday.

Future plans:

A day at a time. I have already been on the bike 4 times since returning home. I rode with Larry this morning and we had a good chat. Robin and I are traveling to Oregon next week and will start confirming a route that friends and I will take this fall from Astoria to Carmel. I am bringing the bike and will ride some of the route. Perhaps a visit to Europe next year. If not, then New Zealand in early 2012. Maybe both. Whatever happens, I will continue to cycle.

Miscellaneous:

I wrote earlier in this blog about one of the other riders who has taken over 100 cycling trips abroad. For some of my fellow cycling nuts, here is the link to several of his trips over the past few years. It will take you a few weeks to read about a few of his exploits. May we all be a fraction as adventurous as Jerry has been.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/directory/?o=RrzKj&user=TouringbyBike&v=Eq


Cheers,

Tom