Traveling Again

Its great to be back in the saddle again. I never really expected it to be a bicycle saddle, but I am really glad that it is. It is quite amazing the range of emotions one experiences throughout a day of bicycle touring. There is no feeling in the world like a gradual downhill easy clip of 45 kilometers per hour with a slight breeze and looking up to see a jaw-dropping volcano appear in front of you. On the other end of the spectrum a few mintues later I may run into a thousand foot elevation increase with no wind whatsoever and the sun just beating down on you. Those are the times when I spend the hour wishing I was anywhere but on a bicycle. I expected this journey to be physically demanding, but it is really more of a mental battle. The majority of the day is spent with my feet mindlessly peddling and my mind in a thousand different places. Sometimes I play out different scenarios for what might be next after this trip. A lot of times the changing scenery around me brings back memories of places I have been before. Parts of Guatemala reminded me of Brown County, Indiana, lately I have been seeing lots of East African type landscapes. These send me into hour long daydreams of fond memories. Many times these are interrupted by the blasting horn of a bus flying by while dangerously passing a slower vehicle around a bend. At the end of most days my body is quite sore, but it is a good sore, a sore that reminds me that I accomplished something today that put me closer to my goal. At the moment I am thrilled to be alive... at least until the next uphill.