Northbound Train

I'm in New England! Northampton Massachusetts at that, a place I have been to before. The culture shock is only just catching up with me, I keep expecting to hear that wonderful Southern drawl, or see a Sonic drive through, but I do love being able to identify most of the trees I pass. Traveling 800 miles in under 24 hours by train was a bit of a time warp.  

In the last few months, time has been connected, for the most part, to distance. "April" is a nearly useless prompt to help me sort through the memories I have accumulated throughout this trip, but "New Mexico"or "Peace Pagoda" immediately brings back a flood of vivid images, for my location has been much more important than the time of year on this journey. But now, all of a sudden, I am back in familiar territory and the date has crept its way up the scale of relevance in my mind. 

It is a huge transition, but one that I have been processing for a long time already. The quiet evenings at the peace pagoda, the loving support of Heather, Michael and their son Sather during my stay in Celo, slowly churning my way up Mt. Mitchell, hours of stimulating conversation with an incredible warm showers host near Charlotte, all have helped me to come to a place within myself where I am ready to return home. 

In the past 230 miles of my bike trip, the imminence of its end has prompted me to relish biking. From Celo, I went North on the Blue Ridge Parkway so as to climb the highest peak east of the Mississippi and get at least a taste of the Blue Ridge. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of a view at the top, but I enjoyed the climb and exhilarating decent accentuated by an impending thunderstorm which was courteous enough to save its showers until I had my tent set up and dinner cooked. I even took a shower in it! 

The next day, Saturday, it continued to rain throughout the morning, but I didn't mind, and by the afternoon it was sunny enough to dry my tent out during a long break in the afternoon. North Carolina's mountains softened into hills as I made my way east, but the area was still beautiful and the quiet secondary roads a joy to ride. My last night of unplanned camping, I was offered a place to stay by a local power company worker who had done some touring in his youth. So I pitched my tent on a soft spot of lawn and ate a delicious bowl of teriyaki chicken and rice for supper; the generosity of everyone I meet continues to inspire me. 

This trip has shown me how beautifully the concept of paying to forward impacts the world. Organizations like warm showers and the great capacity for compassion in the human spirit allow people to help each other out, and though the giver probably won't be paid back, the receiver can pass the gift forward and thereby spread the love. It is a beautiful way to live. 

The warm showers host I stayed with in Cornelius, North Carolina, reminded me of the brilliance of this concept as soon as I contacted him. A month ago or so, when I was realizing that I couldn't bike the rest of my trip with the way my achilles was hurting, I contacted him to ask if he might be able to help me get to the train. I knew it was a bit of a long shot, but Brandon immediately responded, "Don't worry about a thing everything will be covered, if you need the help. I am here if you need anything" and indeed, from the moment I arrived on Sunday to when the train rumbled out of the station, I was completely relaxed. 

We went swimming, ate amazing avocado, lime, kale, lettuce and tomato salads for lunch and dinner, and somehow managed to pack my bike into a rather small bike box. And all the while, we talked and Brandon's infectious positivity and energy renewed my zest for life. What a gift. I can't wait to host cyclists this summer!

This journey has been one of the most liberating, uplifting, and challenging experiences of my life. I have learned so much and come to love the bike touring lifestyle, so in many ways, it will be sad for my travels to end for the time being. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends, and to bringing the confidence and insight I have discovered within myself through this tour into my home life; though I will be returning to a relatively mundane life, I know that it can be just as challenging and exciting as the life I have been living during my travels. All I have to do is be present in it, for the very act of living is thrilling if you give it enough appreciation.