May 24, 2018
Leaving- On The Road At Last
It's funny, leaving a place, ain’t it? You never do know when you’ll get back." -Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove
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It was surreal turning in the keys to our apartment and leaving Portland after living there for so long. But this was part of the deal, and we believe Portland or at least Oregon and the Pacific Northwest will be a home base of sorts down the road because we have so many good friends and we love it there. But we are finally on the Road- towards Portland!
The days before May 24 (May the 24th be with you?) were spent in Denver with Jen's family and in KC with mine. The Denver family threw us an early retirement surprise party and the KC peeps arranged a dinner with family and friends at a great pizza place in Martin City. They presented us with a bunch of excellent Haikus related to our trip, some of which I will post below and perhaps every few days. Both families also gave us AirBnb gift cards, which was generous and a perfect choice.
Which leads us to this morning. My sister, brother-in-law and Mom drove us to Weston, Missouri, our jumping off point for the adventure to save us the drudgery of navigating through city traffic. Their support was inspiring as we headed off into the great unknown, just exactly like Lewis and Clark. Only with bikes, sunscreen and smartphones. And Smartwool shirts, which provide sun protection, are cool in the heat and don't itch or stink.
One of the first things I noticed was that the drivers were very courteous they gave us plenty of room and often waved. Traffic was very light, it was hot as hell, but we arrived around 1130 at Lewis & Clark state park outside of Rushville.
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5 years ago
On another note, I love the first video of the first day. I can only imagine thinking that first day, this is awesome. But, oh my god, what have we done.
5 years ago
Interestingly, or not, a neighborhood friend and I planned to ride our 10-speeds to this park waaaaay back in about 1976 or 77. The plan was to mow lawns and do other work to save money, then sneak off in the night because we figured our parents would veto the idea of their 13 or 14 year old boys doing something so crazy. We saved our money, bought backpacks and other supplies, and then somehow one of the parents found out and spoke to the others and the plan was kibashed. Curses! Foiled by pesky parents!
The camp host was friendly and the park was great. We rode a trail around the park to the lake, ate some delicious salad, apples and sausage for dinner. Uneventful first day, but it gave us a chance to evaluate our packing and start to get our bike legs back after a couple weeks off.
Miles 12.5
Elevation gain 588
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Today's Guest Haiku, by Mike, Kim, Sally and Amelia
Where will you go poop? Out in the woods, like a bear? That sounds unpleasant.
Today's ride: 13 miles (21 km)
Total: 13 miles (21 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 7 |
5 years ago
1 year ago