Reflections upon return

We made it! Door to door - Denver to Denver - 1050 miles - most definitely the scenic route.

Our trip began like a snowball.
Caley rolled from City Park to pick me up at my condo by Cheesman Park and the 2 of us to pick Evie up from her home near Wash Park. The 3 of us rolled out of Denver together to begin a 15-day journey around Colorado that just came to an end last night.
As our snowball rolled back into Denver, we knew we would soon need to detach from one another and roll our separate directions. After Caley was the first to leave the trio near REI and I was getting ready to veer off the Cherry Creek trail toward home, Evie and I discussed how it felt like our snowball was slowly melting. Tears came to both of our eyes as we experienced reintegration into a world where we would soon resume a multitude of responsibilities and societal expectations that had been void of our "homeless-like" lives over the last two weeks. We had grown so accustom to sharing life with one another 24 hours a day, that the thought of living the independent life again felt less than appealing. While most trips like this do have to have an end date, just as seasons change and snowballs melt, I think all three of us would agree that what we gained from this trip together has the power and momentum to snowball and multiply within our individual lives and the communities around us.

Over the course of the trip, we seemed to develop a new vocabulary amongst ourselves, such as "dropping PSI", "going to fetch a horse", "we're the river people". We had started finishing one another's sentences and could sensitively understand and tend to one another's needs without even speaking. Adjectives such as "amazing", "beautiful", "breathtaking", "incredible", "gorgeous", and "stunning" were probably overused, but could simply not be used enough to describe the sights we experienced along the way. We all noticed our gratitude-o-meters go off the charts on this trip. We were grateful for the truck who slowly passed us by with 3+ feet of clearance, for fresh produce from a grocery store, cold water from a bathroom sink, coffee in the morning, tents that kept us dry, a hot shower, locals who stop to say hello and take interest in what we are doing, people who offer directions, the couple who offers us a spot in their lawn to set up our tents, toilet paper and q-tips, hu-ha ride glide, orange juice and fig newtons, laughter, a tree to shade us, and probably most significantly - for a good tail wind.

Many people might go on a bicycling tour or other trip in search for an experience that will bring them happiness. While it's safe to say there were many "happy" moments both on and off the bicycle the last 2 weeks, there were also many other emotions experienced that we all had to sift through.

One of my favorite moments on this trip involved a discussion the three of us had while we were cooking dinner on a rock in the woods between Redcliffe and Carbondale under the light of a full moon. We were talking about the possibility that the common aim in life to find ultimate happiness or peace will likely always end in disappointment....because perfect happiness and peace are simply impossible to attain here on this earth. What, then, if our aim was to take in all of our experiences - the painful ones, the exciting ones, the difficult ones, the shameful ones, and the joyful ones - and to invite God to use them to teach us, refine us, and show us more about Himself. If we reorganized our lives this way, out goes any room for disappointment and welcomes only hope for something greater than what this world has to offer. If we keep trying to straighten the crooked roads in our lives instead of traveling them with open eyes and open heart, we would probably miss some of the most incredible scenery created on this earth...but even more, we would miss the refining and growth that only comes through taking the door to door route that lasts 1050 miles.

"...we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." - Romans 5:3-5