Do you believe in Omens?

So do you believe in Omens?

The day started off perfectly. I woke up around 5:30 am to go through my ritual of getting ready to hit the road. I packed my bags, gave the bike a tune up, got dressed, did some stretching and morning yoga breathing exercises and then headed off to get some breakfast. As I was packing my bags I peered out the window and saw the full moon, brillantly lit up, sowly dipping past the far off mountains with shadws of cacti in the foreground. A perfect morning really. I was in a cool little town, Calavina, in Baja's Desert National Park.

I finally got my self situated and was on the road by about 7:00am. It was a super cold morning and luckily the wind died down a bit from the day before. The sun was still rising behind me. The view of the cacti fields and the mountains was just perfect. Ceasar likes Reggae in the morning. It helps him to get warmed up so I poped on one of my favorite albums. Unpolished, by Midnite. The second track is my favorite. Its chorus goes a little something like this...

Live The Life You Love
Love The Life You Live

Again...a perfect way to get up.

Ive been thinking a lot about the bike ride, getting back to San Francisco and what the next step of my life is going to be. Being out here in Baja is truly inspiring. Its one of those places that is ruugh on the outside but once you get used to it you easily fall in love. The conditions here are harsh. Wild winds, the desert, dry land, volcanoes. It has everyhting. Its a place where sometimes all you are allowed to do is think.

So here I am. Its after lunch and Im thinking about my future. The past few days my imagination has run wild with different ideas about different jobs and careers. Sometimes I think about getting back into real esate, other times I think about opening a bike company that leads tours through Mexico and Central America, sometimes I think about going back to school to get my MBA. But today was a bit different...

I asked myself a question. What if I kept going? What if I didnt stop riding? What if I continued the fundraiser...continued to help those who needed help...continued to help children? Is that possible, I asked myself. What if I kept going? What if I used everything I learned in the past few months and fine tuned it? What if I made it bigger and better. What if I rode to Alaska? Maybe I could start over and start my Tierra del Fuego at the tip of Argentina?

Then I started to think about the children. One thing I learned along the way was that children around the world are in serious need of help. I started to think about all that has been accomplished on this fundraiser. For example, the $15,000 that we hope to raise for the school project in Guatemala. I thought about the stories Ive heard in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

So my thoughts recycled. What if I kept going? What if I went to Africa? Theres more to be done. Then I told myself...maybe...but Ill want to do it right. Put more time and effort into it. What about Africa?

Right then, right at that moment a noticed a movement off to my right it was about 5 feet from me. No one was around. I hadn't seen a car in a bit. The road was open and free. I was cruising along at a good pace. I was in a small valley surround by red mountains.

At that moment a giant, beautiful, powerful red hawk swooped in and snatched up a red and green snake. The snake twisted and turned to get away. The hawk pushed with its wings as fast as possible. Its wing span was incredible. I lifted myself out of my seat and pointed in the air...screaming...It was one of the most impressive sights Ive ever seen. Before the hawk disapeard it turned back and gave me a glance that Ill never forget. It was something out of a dream.

It was an Omen...

Peace, Power and Pedal
Aaron