The return of water...

Imagine the first sun streaked, snow melting, icicle dripping, warm without jackets, spring-like day, following a solid week of gloomy, cloudy, snowy, sleety, frigid weather.

In Corvallis, that day was today.

Today was the first day since the valley snow fall, four days ago, in which it was warm enough to turn the irrigation water back on. I happily spent half of my morning and a bit of the afternoon, quenching the very thirsty plants in all of the five greenhouses.
The water was again, flowing.

It was a perfect day for being outside. A perfect day for soaking up the sun in the few short hours it was to be available. A perfect day for riding a bike into town. That is, up until three minutes before I was ready to get on my bike and ride it into town.

* * *

So, in the last four months of traveling up and down the west coast on my bike, today is the *very first* time I've actually ridden in the rain. And the decision to ride was made at the last second, with full awareness of the consequences of the oncoming storm.

* * *

The dark, voluminous clouds rolled in, heavy and fast, and for a few mournful moments, deterred me from taking that perfect ride into town. Perhaps despite my better judgment, I finally decided, "fuck it, I'm gonna ride anyway". I tossed on my rain gear (worn for the first time, on my bike, on this trip) and headed towards town.

As the misty drizzle, which quickly turned into a moderate shower shortly after turning townwards from the driveway, beaded up and attempted to penetrate my outer shell, I slowly began to realize that this would be the most vividly tactile ride I'd ever experienced. I could detect every infinitesimal movement in my bike. I was able to perceive every individual muscle working in my body. Water droplets formed and dripped rapidly off my nose and chin. Cold, icy rain pelted my cheeks like hundreds of miniature icicles shot from a bow. I could hear the rhythmic rush of my breath, softly swirling in my ears. The plummeting air temperature, carried by the swift moving wind, rolled over my exposed fingertips, whispering numbness. The quality of the air; brisk, wet, fresh, saturated my lungs with an effervescent green. Cool. Clean. I glided along, testing the limits of near frictionless speed with fog filled, dropplet drenched glasses.

It was wonderful. It was a consciously chosen challenge.

A mere twenty minutes later, I was leaving my in town destination, and readied for the ride back. By this point, the storm was completely cleared. The only evidence it had been there at all was a distant gray cloud and a wet sidewalk. The storm had also left behind a solid fifteen degree drop. Frozen fingers, visible breath and a sunny, clear reprieve accompanied me home.

Feeling *so* fortunate to have had that moment to have been able to feel *so* much.

Gratitude...

I want to take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate all of the wonderful, selfless, thoughtful, caring, compassionate people in my life.

Thank you for sharing your love, offering your support and choosing to take some time in your life to be present with me. I have only love and gratitude to offer back.

Thank you to every person and every situation in my life that has taught me something.

I now know how to live, because of you.
I now know how to love, because of you.
I am who I am today, because of you.

Thank you.

Day 113: Stats Update

So...I've been on this journey now for 3 months and 3 weeks, or, 113 days.

Recently (within the last few weeks), I've been finding that two words have been coming up for me, fairly persistently: Building and Healing.

Perhaps it's venus in retrograde, perhaps it's the ever present rainy fog in the sky, perhaps it's the cold and dreary of winter coming on, begging me to settle in, cozy up and put another log on the fire. Whatever it is, I've been feeling a stronger and stronger urge to stop moving, start healing and begin building.

Let me back up a bit.

I've been on *this* journey for just under 4 months. However, upon further investigation as to why I've been feeling such a strong pull to stop so soon after I've begun, I realized that I've actually been in a transient mindset now for 3-1/2 years. I looked back at all of the traveling/moving I've done in this time, and what I found kind of shocked me. I knew I had a lot going on these last few years, but I didn't realize just how much...

As of 1 June 2007 (the last day at my last full time job in Chicago, before moving to Australia)

I have:
Been in transition/without a place of permanent residence for 3 years, 5 ½ months
Spent no more than 4 consecutive months in any one place
Moved 8 times
Lived on 3 different continents

Taken:
14 intercontinental flights
15 national flights
19 long distance train/bus rides
countless road trips

Traveled to:
72 different cities (at least – these are the one's I can remember...)
23 different states/provinces, (including 4 islands)
5 different countries

And...
Fallen in love exactly 8 times (three places, three people, one child and a cat)

Having now written this all out and absorbed it a little, it's no longer a surprise to me why I'm currently feeling the need to slow down and stabilize my life a bit. Additionally, one of the driving forces of this journey I'm currently undertaking was to discover the viability of more sustainable methods of travel, namely: bicycle and ground bound transit. I've taken an indulgent amount of airplane rides around the world and perhaps was looking for a way to (somehow) counteract the huge amount of guilt I harbor for, what I feel, is an excessively giant footprint I've stomped on the earth in the last 3-1/2 years. Not to mention the amount of personal energy and time spent in adjusting and recovering from the incredible amount of physical stress my body was put under to take them.

That will all probably take some more time for me to fully process...

* * *

...Getting back to *this* trip:

Start Date: Saturday, 24 July, 2010
On the road for: 3 months, 3 weeks

Places visited:
Towns/cities visited thus far: 27
Urban and rural farms/urban gardens visited: 12
Urban housing co-ops visited: 3
Urban food co-ops visited: 5 (all of them awesome)

Miles Traveled:
Approx. no. of total miles traveled thus far: 4985 mi (8023 km)
By Train/Bus: 2115 mi (3404 km)
By Car/Van: 1860 mi (2993 km)
By Ferry: ~85 mi (~137 km)
By Bike: 925 mi (1489 km) (current odo reading)

Bike Stuff:
Carrying weight: approx. 50 lbs gear + 34 lb bike = ~84 lbs total
Avg. speed: 10 mph
Max speed: 36 mph
Longest ride day: 70.8 mi
Days on bike: 11 main riding days (avg. 50 mi per day), approx. 40 small riding days (intercity/commute/errand/day trip - avg. 10 mi per day)
Flat tires: 0

Places/beds I've slept on thus far:
Private forest land - Hammock
Private forest land - Teepee
Hostel dorm room (upper bunk)
Hostel private room (shared)
Various farms (bike tour) - 6 person tent
Various farms (bike tour) - sleeping bag and mat only (outside, under stars)
Private home – bunk bed (lower bunk)
Private home – camping (hammock)
Private home – floor
Private home – big, comfy bed!
Couch surf/share house – couch/floor
Share house – bed/couch
Organic farm music festival – camping (hammock)
Housing co-op – futon mattress
Housing co-op – couch
Crown land (Vancouver Island, BC) - 2 person tent
Hotel (grrrr...only once)
Organic farm cob house – loft bed

Food:

90% of my meals have been local, organic, homemade, communal, plentiful and outrageously delicious.

* * *

To sum up: So far, along my way, I've met countless numbers of amazing people, eaten healthy, nourishing meals almost every day, laughed much, cried much, shared much, slept in many unique and unfamiliar beds, stayed safe, seen and experienced true beauty, ridden my bike until it hurts, connected, loved, cherished, moved, danced, learned and let go.

And now...it's time to build.