Hey! It’s me! I’m back again, one month later. This blog post is a little more serious than my other ones. I think that that’s because this experience truly has changed (at least a little bit) who I am as a person. Maybe that is a little bit dramatic, but I’m feeling a little bit dramatic, so buckle up. I have a lot to say about this summer.
When I returned the rental car on August 18, 2018, I was ready to be done with Spokes America. I didn’t want to see another bike ever again. I certainly didn’t want to talk to anyone on the team for a little bit. Honestly, I just wanted to go home and be in my own bed. I wanted to have my own closet in my own room with my own desk and my own chair.
One month later, though, I see Spokes for what it was--an eye-opening, life-changing experience that I will never, ever forget.
I’d like to spend this blog post doing something I should have done a long time ago: saying thanks, because this adventure was not something I could have ever done on my own. I relied on the generosity of friends, family, and complete strangers to get across the country on two wheels.
In my journal from this summer, I kept a list of the kind people I met along the way. Unfortunately, it’s incomplete, but it’s a remarkable reminder of how open and caring people can be. I aspire to be as accepting, open, and friendly as so many of our Warmshowers hosts. This summer, I spent dozens of hours talking to people I didn’t know about all sorts of things: bikes, politics, religion, beans, and casserole recipes. Every time, I was amazed at how strangers could be so incredibly good. To those of us who opened their homes to us and gave us a place to rest after some of our toughest days, thank you.
To the people who met us on the road and gave us something--strawberries, a few moments of conversation, cold water, air conditioning--thank you. Ice water is very important when your nickname is (deservedly) Sweaty (yes, this is true. When I’m old and trying to tell my kids about the wild times I had in college, I am probably going to leave out the fact that all of my friends called me Sweaty. It’s just embarrassing).
To those who helped us get this trip off the ground--Peggy Eysenbach, Hillary Dobel, the Edgerton Center staff, and past Spokes teams--thanks for making this happen. We would not have been able to make this trip happen without your support and assistance.
To Sandi: without you, this trip would not have been possible. Thank you for helping us wrangle a rental car, teaching us how to manage our finances, and supporting us at every turn. You are the mother this team dearly needed.
To the schools, libraries, and learning centers that hosted us: thank you for listening to us talk. Hanging out with those kids and trying my hardest to inspire them to pursue something that they love was an experience I’ll never forget, and I hope that I could be a role model for someone somewhere in the middle of America.
To my parents: thanks for letting me do this. I sometimes still can’t believe the mother who wouldn’t let me on a trampoline in middle school would let me bike across the country almost entirely unsupervised. You’re officially the coolest mom I’ve ever had. Dad, thanks for picking up when I called. It was so nice to know that someone was listening when I was having a bad day.
To the team: thank you for being my strongest supporters, most vocal critics, and best friends. I am proud to know people as strong as dedicated as y’all are. Thank you for letting me be unapologetically myself even as I oscillate between hanger and hyperactivity. Matt--thanks for being a breath of fresh air with a decidedly unique view of the world. Your unending positivity and strong spirit got me through some very tough rides. Alex--thank you for never, ever complaining. You never let the bad moods affect you, and I still can’t comprehend how that is possible. Lisa--thank you for showing me to be reasonable. And also for trying to teach me to dance. I still can’t dance. An--thanks for being the most put-together, organized, positive human being I have ever met. I do not understand how one soul has so much good in it. Bethany--thank you for teaching me about resilience. Your ability to keep pushing through hardship is truly admirable. Annie--thanks for always singing along to the obscure songs and for showing me that I truly am just a collection of memes and Vine references. I’m working on becoming more cultured. Kate--thank you for never letting me give up, for talking with me about everything under the Sun, and generally keeping me in line. Nobody knows where I’d be without you, but I have a guess. It’s probably somewhere in Utah.
But I didn’t quit in Utah, and we all made it to San Francisco. One of the most rewarding feelings in my life has been getting off the ferry to enter the city. We really did it. From coast to coast, we made it. That part still hasn’t really sunk in, to be quite honest. When people say things like, “Wow! You biked across the country! You must be so strong!” I’m usually very confused, because I do not feel like I have biked across the country. Instead, I feel like I had a great summer with the greatest people, learning what it means to be good.
So thank you for the greatest summer of my life thus far. Spokes taught me to roll with the punches even when it seems like the punches are never going to stop. I've learned to keep working to solve problems, even when it seems like there is no solution in sight. Most importantly, though, I've learned that I can do pretty much anything I set my mind to. And that's a cool feeling to have.
Alright, that’s really it from me this time.
In the wise words of Kip from Napoleon Dynamite,
“Peace out.”
