A few days ago, it was my turn to drive the van through our last section of Nebraska and into Iowa. It would seem like van-driving days are a chance to relax and catch-up on all the things we miss during biking days: sifting through obscene numbers of e-mails, filling out paperwork for school, fundraising, and most importantly reconnecting with friends and family. Unfortunately, van driving days might be the last possible place where anything productive can be accomplished, as you are responsible for the safety of the entire team and ensuring that no one gets too hangry (hungry + angry, which is the worst possible combo when biking 80+ miles through Iowa heat and over Iowa hills). So when my driving day rolled around, I knew from the moment I woke up that the chances of me doing much more than skimming my inbox to just identify emails that actually needed a response were right around zero. It was a bit of a depressing realization, and so while waiting for the bikers and in-between helping to change flat tires I did two things: made a list of things I've learned thus far (actually, just a few things, because the full list is too long) and took pictures of long roads and clouds, which have become an obsession and something you will know if you read the list.
And so, a constantly expanding list of things I've learned after over 2000 miles on my bike:
1. I love blue skies, fluffy clouds, and long roads. And I never tire of taking endless pictures of them.
2. Look up. On a long ride last week, I had been riding with my head down for nearly an hour and was seriously considering the chances of whether I could finish the ride that day. And then I looked up, and realized I was literally SURROUNDED by the biggest blue sky and fluffy clouds on a very long road (refer to #1), and I was so struck by the beauty of the open farmland and grazing animals that I was distracted for the next four hours from my legs that felt like literal cement. And so I learned - look up, not down - and you can get through long days.
3. Coffee is a blessing. I didn't know this until we were camping at 8000 feet in the middle of the Rockies and couldn't get water to boil at 6:30 in the morning and after this crushing realization I was expected to get on my bike and literally ride my way up and over the Rocky Mountains (I was so much fun to be around that day I'm sure). But then we reentered civilization in the form of a supermarket a few days later and they had a Starbucks inside... I could smell the roasting coffee beans and I realized - coffee is a blessing, and I should take advantage of coffee whenever it's available.
4. Bike maintenance - I can now proudly change a tire, patch a tube, figure out the correct PSI of my tires and put that amount of air in them, clean my chain, tighten my brakes if they're too loose or loosen them if they're rubbing the tire, and a whole bunch of other random things. It's cool.
5. Stretch. I rarely stretch when I run, and I definitely didn't stretch much when I first started the ride, but all that changed in the Rockies when I woke up in my sleeping bag and could barely move to get out.
6. People are so kind! We happened to meet a couple in a parking lot in Utah when we were changing a flat tire, and they invited us to their home in Iowa when we were crossing through. We had an amazing time getting to know them and hear some amazing stories, as well as have a place to stay for the night and have wonderful homemade food. Other people walk over to us and just say hello, and sometimes we come out of a store and have donations and notes left all over the windshield of the van. It has been really motivating to have these random interactions with complete strangers, and has proven to me how much of an impact such small kindnesses can be.
6. Always adventure. From 45 mph descents from the top of a mountain into stunning valleys to white water rafting down the Colorado River to wake boarding in Illinois, the lesson that has stuck with me most in the past few weeks has been to fearlessly adventure. I've learned to be open to the unplanned, to embrace craziness, and to really really love it. Here's to more of that for the last three weeks.
Pictures from my driving day:
germansingergirl
dededos
origamiaround
pixelskylines
turnnoffyourmind