“We’re out here looking for things we’ve already got.” -Randy (Mesa Farm Market - Caineville, Utah)
May 4th, 2008 by joe
Life on the bike has become something of an unreality. More than 12 months of planning, and now the phrase “project deliverables” is little more than an unwelcome and distant memory. Life has become simple, and my thoughts seemed to have followed suit.
We pedal. We pedal for hours. Tens of thousands of times a day…through snow-capped mountains, only to reach the sun-battered desert…all within hours. To call this experience surreal is nothing less than insulting. This land is, perhaps, the prettiest I’ve set eyes on. My opinions, of course, are tangibly biased…as 1,500 miles of effort just makes life taste a little better. The mere presence of my teammates turns dead rock and sand into something strikingly more meaningful. I assign value to things that are intrinsically valueless. I’ve managed to personify nearly everything…my 5th grade English teacher is probably crying.
At times I feel oddly detached from my surroundings. Then, mere breaths later, I have trouble living outside of anything but the moment. A 4,000 mile journey seems no longer than the climb in front of me. My legs burn and I have little recollection of them having burned before, nor do I have the insight that they’ll ache tomorrow. A lonely flower resting amongst cacti becomes more significant than entire fields of petals. A night under the Mojave moon does strange things to you.
Cell phones have become a most unwelcome intrusion…especially at 10,000 feet. Days upon days without computer access is alarmingly therapeutic. All this chat about Poverty and Health has left me thinking more about Wealth and Health. I do wonder if our life expectancies would increase simply by misplacing our phone chargers.
Clearly, I’ve had too much time to think. In short…I wish this experience, or its equivalent, upon all of you.
Hope this finds you and finds you well.
