On the Road Again!

I'm in the northeast with Rachel this week, checking off a couple more states from our 50-50-50 goal. New Hampshire is far hillier than I anticipated. It's also having a hot, humid spell right now. Ugh. The trail we rode was green and shady, even if it was gravel-y and slow. Only a few folks responded to my cheerful greetings :( 

I love my bike.

I love riding it. 

I'm so glad Rachel included me in this goal of hers.

This was the first time I took my bike on an airplane. I was pretty scared the airline folks would damage it or lose it in a way that would ruin the trip. The airsick cat near me on the plane almost ruined her owners' trip, too. I don't know what they finally drugged her with, but it worked hard and fast. I was relieved for the cat and for myself. My noise canceling headphones eliminated the engine noise, but those wailing meows got right on through.

When I got my bike back at my destination, I unzipped the carrier and checked all the bits. It was just fine! What a relief. And it made me strangely giddy that it actually worked out.

Rachel picked me up from the airport and drove us to our hotel. We checked in about 10pm. She had already spent the ENTIRE day driving to that airport, by the way, after teaching seminary at 6am that morning. She's nuts. And super reliable. 

The bike ride today was long and tiring. I'm glad we have a nice hotel room to shower and rest in afterwards. I got to eat deep fried cauliflower with my dinner tonight *sigh* Awesome. 

My bike and luggage. The bike case is pretty big, yes, but the wheels on the bottom are soooo smooth, and checking it costs no more than a regular bag.

A view from today's ride: lakefront property way, way, way over there. 

I had to send this picture to Robert. He's got a goofy fixation with using "potato" in all of his writing assignments. Imagine 20 vocab words used in 20 sentences, all about potatoes in one way or another. 

It feels great to be out here doing this. The anxiety has completely subsided. I listened to my "go-get-'em" and "life is good" and "never give up" music on the ride today. It felt so good! I thought about how sick and uncertain life was this day 2 years ago. I couldn't believe then that I would ever feel okay again. But I AM okay! I'm even happy. I'm glad that changed. I hope it never comes back, and I hope none of my friends or family ever need to experience that, but if it shows up again, I now have a little more hope that it won't last forever.