Something happened to me in Mexico. I don't know if I entered into an eternal phase of riders high, or what? I'm not really sure.
A couple things we can talk about here.
Cycling through Mexico has been really tough. It has been extremely challenging. Looking back I think the hardest part has been the stretch from Guatemala City, through the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca to the city of Puerto Escondido. It has been hard. The days on the bike were probably about 8 or 9 hours each. The whole thing took me about 9 days and I probably rode about 135 kilometers per day. The numbers were pretty big but that's not why it was so hard. It was hard because the scenery, for the most part was dry and flat and also because it got extremely lonely out there. Besides those factors it was also hot as hell! At that point of the trip the size of Mexico was also really getting to my head, Mexico was huge and that mental barrier hurt. At this stage of the game it was also the half way point. Things began to drag and drag out slowly, which made the whole thing even harder. I guess if you had to put it into one word it would be suffering. Something, I guess, I'm not really used to.
But along the route something changed. I hit certain milestones. I started to get physically stronger and healthier. I started to consistently hit 135 kilometer days, my legs started to really hit a stride. Then the scenery got a bit better and things started to look up. When I finally hit Sayulita things were so different for me. Life in Sayulita was amazing. I got to a cool surfer beach town, made friends and had some time to look back and reflect. Life in Sayulita was liberating because I felt I was getting closer to home. I was reaching the goal. Sitting on the beach and passing stories back with my buddy Elliott I was able to look at that time in the south of Mexico and realize how hard it was and then I realized that I got through such a hard time physically, emotionally and spiritually. And here I was in Sayulita. I really could appreciate every second in Sayulita even more.
Changing thoughts here....When I got to Sayulita I had sometime to think about the bike trip, think about the children that I met and think about my travels over the past year. I think this bike trip has truly given me the feeling of accomplishment and liberation. Around the year 2003, about a year after I graduated college I came up with a dream to "give it all up" and travel the world. At that time I was in kind of a rut. I was in a job I didn't necessarily like that was lacking direction and passion, I was with a girlfriend and we eventually broke up, I was living in a cool and cute apartment in a nice district of San Francisco but it wasn't a very inspiring place. Things were moving along but I wanted something more....I wanted to travel. A couple of things changed from that point I got a job that I was good at, in real estate, I parted ways with the girlfriend and I moved into an amazing apartment in North Beach in San Francisco. Life really picked up. Things were looking better but honestly I was still looking for more inspiration...more passion.
I still had the travel bug, I still wanted to travel.
A few things happened at this point the crash of the real estate market and eventually the market as a whole was on the horizon. The writing was on the wall and my business partner and I were looking for a change. Bush was still in office but he was quickly going to be out the door. Names like Clinton and Obama were all over the place with Rhetoric of "change" and "new direction". So an opportunity arose. My business was closing and it was time to make some decisions. I didn't have a wife, no kids, no mortgage, no job and a bit of cash. So, in 2007 I decided to per sue my 5 year old dream and travel the world. I was ready for the NEW DIRECTION I was ready for the CHANGE I was ready to see the world. So, on November 19, 2007 with a 9 month around the world plane ticket in hand, and no apartment and relatively small belongings, my buddy Davy and his sister dropped me off at SFO airport 3 hours before an American Airline plane was set to depart for Bangkok, Thailand.
So here I am 17 months later with no apartment, no car, no belongings, a bike and a heart full of experiences. Being in Sayulita I feel like I made this trip everything that I wanted it to be. I feel liberated because I realize that "more is less". I feel like I set a HUGE goal and I accomplished it. I feel changed because I was supposed to be home months ago but seeing the beauty this world has to offer but also getting in touch with the issues has inspired me to the point where I felt that I had to pick up a bike and try to make a change was important to me.
I wonder...what will the rest of this trip bring me?
Peace, Power and Pedal
Aaron
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