Tomorrow Claire and I will awake early to begin the second half of our cross country bike journey. We began the voyage three years ago, traveling from Portland, OR to our hometown of Milwaukee, WI. Our final destination, which we hope to reach in three weeks, is Portland, ME.
The 45 days we spent on our bikes three years ago was easily one of the best times of my life, and I have been looking forward to completing the cross-country trek. It's interesting, though, to think about how different this trip will likely be from our last. Claire and I are both at very different points in our lives, and our previous route traversed through the sparsely populated west, while the roads ahead of us will be connected by more towns with fewer miles in between.
What I loved most about our previous bike tour was the freedom; for the most part, we didn't have a great need to rush home. This time, I have to be back by mid-June to return to work. While we mapped out potential stopping points and we should easily be able to make it to Portland in order to catch our June 15th flight, the fact that we do have a pre-determined departure date makes me feel more like this tour is just a brief departure from my normal life, not a beginning to a whole new chapter like the last time.
But, as I reminded myself at several points on our tour three years ago, my focus should be on the journey ahead, and not the life to which I'll be returning. I look forward to the adventures we're about to encounter.
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