Pictures:
Upper Left: Pine Creek trail in PA
Upper Right: Katie and I start out
Next tier Left: Arrive in NYC
Next tier Right: The steepest hill ever
Bottom left: Trail at Titusville
To the Right: Loaded up Bike
Bottom Right: My home away from home
Well, it has been a long time. Most of you must have figured I had stopped the year by bicycle and moved on. Not yet. It has been 207 days... 3,800 miles... 23 flat tires... 1 blow out... 2 chain breaks... 6 different tires... a basket that had to be re-welded... and two bum knees. But I am kickin.
Let me start where I left off. I had just rolled over the 1,000 mile marker. Then I stopped writing. Honestly I didn't have a whole lot of stuff to say. The summer was rough. I was working at a bike shop and it just wasn't me. The owner never rode, the other guy that worked there was same same, and all they did was complain. So all I did was complain about them. I was miserable.
I thought this summer was going to be my summer. I would figure out life, figure out my purpose, and rock it like never before. I was wrong.
At the end of the summer Katie and I sat down and tried to right the ship. We weren't happy in Meadville, so we applied to the Peace Corps. We were accepted on the condition we could pass a spanish exam. We were ready. We studied about 7-8 hours a day for three straight weeks. And the crazy thing is we passed. It was like a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth. We were in it to win it.
I also decided that the bike shop was not for me. Why work on bikes if you don't love it? I said peace and bounced. I had been given an opportunity to build some bamboo bikes in NYC and then teach a workshop at a museum in Pittsburgh. Those guys loved bikes, and I knew it was what I needed.
So I loaded the bike and prepared for the journey. Katie rode with me for the first two days, but then she had to get back to school. So off I set. It was amazing. I took my time. I went weird places. I slept in woods, fields, and by rivers. I jumped in the water, I stopped to check stuff out. I reconnected with biking. Funny to say because I had been on the bike all summer. Somehow working at the shop made me forget why I worked on bikes. Then after mile 335 on my adventure to NYC I remembered. I like to ride.
I arrived in NYC pretty beat, but it was a good beat. Got right into the projects going on. It was two of the busiest weeks I can remember. We had two workshops, we wrote a manual, and Katie came out to visit. I slept on the roof with a view of Manhattan. Built bikes, built stuff to send to the factory in Ghana, and made some really good friends. It was by far the most purpose I had felt all year.
I was back on track now. I had a nice trip. Built some bikes. Reconnected with who I was. Was preparing for Peace Corps again. My two weeks were up and it was time to ride back home... the long way of course.
