3 Days After Tour Divide

It is incredible how quickly your mind transforms hard memories into something beautiful.

I *know* that there was a lot of misery along my journey down the Divide. I have gone back and read my entries for each day of the ride and I've tried to relive the experience and remind myself of what I have done, of all of the things that I have felt in the last month.

Reading every grammatical error, every incomplete thought, I am reminded of how I would wake up with my blackberry on my chest and the screen would be full of random letters because I passed out while typing. The fatigue was constant. Now, after three days of mostly sleeping, I have the heebeejeebees to get moving again.

Looking at my feet, there is no sign of the sores that tortured me and made it hard to stand on my last days on the Divide. No muscle soreness. No joint pain. Body functions are back in check. My body is still on overdrive and I heal like I am superman. I love this feeling and I want to stay this way.

Now that the trip is done, I can't feel the misery anymore. I can only feel the magic. I can even entertain the idea of giving it another go (I can't believe that I just said that!); I know how I could do it better next time. More likely, though, I would take my wheels on a new path.

The simplicity of riding and eating and sleeping is wonderful. It is only in the depth of such simplicity that the true intensity of emotions can come out. When it gets down to a matter of basic survival, that's what it is to be alive.

Everyone keeps asking me, what is the plan now? I thought for sure that I would want to take an extended break after the Divide, but that's not the case. I just want to keep going. I want to continue to experience life with such intensity. And I *know* that I will be stronger next time.

My next adventure will take a very different course (and I will talk about that soon); not all of my dreams take place on two wheels. As much as I feel compelled to keep rolling, I'll be taking some time to pursue some other goals. That should afford me the time to figure out how I will use my two wheels to continue to explore the world, and myself when the opportunity arises again.

So, what's the plan? In the words of the Deaner, for now, 'the plan is to just keep on given'r'.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network