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DAY 24
Belleville to Vandalia, IL - 76 miles
DAY 24
Belleville to Vandalia, IL - 76 miles
Home is the word for today. The kids at the house we've been staying at have repeatedly expressed their sadness about us leaving their home. I have sadness in my heart, leaving here; sadness as I miss my home with my Bella in Los Angeles; sadness as I miss my parents and their home I grew up in in Walnut Creek; sadness as I miss Annamaria's parents home in Las Vegas; sadness for my sister and Migdalia and their home in Dallas; sadness as I think of my family in Seattle and the reunion that Annamaria and I won't be making it to this year. It's home. It's family. It's my heart. And I am blessed to experience this sadness because it reminds me of the incredible amount of love in my life. I wouldn't know this if I didn't have this many people or this many places to call home.
The road, too, is a home -- in a weird way. I am a citizen of the road. It is a lifestyle. It is constantly in movement and flux. It gives and takes quickly. It is dangerous and beautiful. It is blazing hot and freezing cold. It is fast and slick and slow and sticky.
Today I embrace the new challenges in front of me. We have a new rider in Raul we have welcomed to the team. We have different roads we've never been down and we will make it up as we go along. We leave the comforts of a home and make the SAG vehicle our (now even more crowded) home.
We'll do fine.
LATER...
Yesterday as we were getting ready for out day of speaking, Chris asked me to even up his side burns and trim his neck hair. Though I'm no barber, I've become the team trimmer, if you will, having already shaved Gary's head, my own and cleaning up Chris one other time. As I sat him down he told me how glad he was that I was on this trip -- that he and I really added balance to the overall squad and that we supported each other as we tend to be more like-minded than either of us are with Geoff or Gary. This is not to take anything away from Geoff or Gary, just to say that I (and I think Chris would say the same) tend to see things from a political and religious standpoint ( and all the derivations from there) a bit differently than G & G. G&G are staunch republican/right-wingers. Enough said.
After the whipped cream incident the night before, it really made me feel good to hear Chris say that. It drew me closer to him after I had been feeling seperated. Sometimes things just work themselves out.
Despite the differences in the team, there is a commonality of love and respect. There are various actions that each of us participate in and/or commit that cause any number of us to look at each other with cross eyes. I've found, for my money, that it is best to allow others to have their way and me have mine. Who am I to judge, right? I've also found on a number of occasions on this trip that when someone has done something hurtful, they've come around in time. By giving them their space and offering continued love (that's a biggee, because if you shut them out, there is the possibility of guilting them into an apology rather than having them come to their own natural, and therefore, much more resonant conclusion), people will come around.
An example of that happened today. We are at an RV park in Vandalia, IL (smack dab in the middle of the lower part of the state). It was a short ride today, so we actually have some time to enjoy some of the things this place has to offer -- pool, video games, basketball hoop -- very cool. At any rate, I was coming back into the RV after giving out some bands to some kids at the pool and Geoff approached me. He apologized for some of what he called his excess with alcohol over the last couple of nights and the behavior that followed. Though I found nothing particularly offensive about his behavior, it was obvious that he was at least tipsy. One of the things I've struggled with in Geoff's drinking, which has been occurring daily on this trip, is that it seems counter to the message that we are offering. Gary has been adamant about saying everything in moderation. I think that's a good message. I tend to be more stringent, but I know my way is not the "right" way -- I don't think anyone holds the universal right way. Moderation is the key. What moderation means is up to the individual. That line is so fine.
I'm getting away from the importance of what I'm trying to say here -- Geoff was very conscious and very heartfelt with his apology. He had tears in his eyes. I hugged him, told him I loved him and that I appreciated his apology. The smile on his face was worth the stars in the sky.
Riding with Raul today is worth a lot of writing and will warrant more space, I'm sure. But for now, let me just say "Wow" about the impact this quiet man has brought to our group in just over a day. We were all concerned about the infringement of space, bringing another person on board. Where would he sleep? Where would we put his stuff? Would he fit in with the group? We seem to have a delicate team balance -- will he set us off that and into the near chaos we seem to flirt with so often?
Hitting the road with him answered all the questions and more. I had THREE flat tires in less than 24 hours. One that happened somewhere between the end of the last ride and yesterday and two more today -- they were actually blowouts, not slow leaks; the tube all at once disintegrated. At any rate, Raul was on the flat tires in nothing flat. Gary did his part, I did mine and we fixed them very quickly. No complaining or griping -- just getting it done. This is how Raul rides, too. He rides with pace and relative ease -- which is kind of funny because if you looked at him you probably wouldn't consider him an athlete. He is short, has skinny legs and a bit of a belly. But on the bike -- my man can ride. He shadowed me for much of the morning, then got in front so I could draft him. By the time we were into our second run, we were very comfortable going back and forth between leading and drafting. The beauty of this teamwork is that it allows the drafter to work at a less pedal pace and still maintain the same speed as he is in the front rider's draft. Working alone, you're going to fight the wind anyway. Working as a team, you give each other the chance to continue the same pace and work as one. It's an amazing feeling.
On the last ride, Gary joined us and that was really something. All three of us riding, dropping back, jumping forward and all without any verbal communication. We read the body language. It's like a dance.
At the RV park, Raul made us his own special recovery drinks with a powder mix of vitamins and mineral he brought from home, then proceeded to do all the dishes, sweep and mop the floor. "I like to do dishes", he says. And, by the way, when he picked us up yesterday, he was calling US heroes. Apparently everyone back at the Vegas church (of which Gary, Geoff and Raul are all members) are buzzing about what we're doing. I'm very, very honored.
Raul's effect on everyone is nice to watch. For me, I love to have someone to ride with me at a high speed. He challenges me. I want to push a little more. I'm learning about the team elements of riding -- maybe I will compete after this tour is over. He also offers companionship -- there are almost no words spoken, but having him there is enough.
We're off to dinner in a few minutes. I hope to be able to shoot some hoops at this classic old wooden hoop in the grass when we return. It looks like where Jimmy Chitwood from "Hoosiers" might have trained.
The road, too, is a home -- in a weird way. I am a citizen of the road. It is a lifestyle. It is constantly in movement and flux. It gives and takes quickly. It is dangerous and beautiful. It is blazing hot and freezing cold. It is fast and slick and slow and sticky.
Today I embrace the new challenges in front of me. We have a new rider in Raul we have welcomed to the team. We have different roads we've never been down and we will make it up as we go along. We leave the comforts of a home and make the SAG vehicle our (now even more crowded) home.
We'll do fine.
LATER...
Yesterday as we were getting ready for out day of speaking, Chris asked me to even up his side burns and trim his neck hair. Though I'm no barber, I've become the team trimmer, if you will, having already shaved Gary's head, my own and cleaning up Chris one other time. As I sat him down he told me how glad he was that I was on this trip -- that he and I really added balance to the overall squad and that we supported each other as we tend to be more like-minded than either of us are with Geoff or Gary. This is not to take anything away from Geoff or Gary, just to say that I (and I think Chris would say the same) tend to see things from a political and religious standpoint ( and all the derivations from there) a bit differently than G & G. G&G are staunch republican/right-wingers. Enough said.
After the whipped cream incident the night before, it really made me feel good to hear Chris say that. It drew me closer to him after I had been feeling seperated. Sometimes things just work themselves out.
Despite the differences in the team, there is a commonality of love and respect. There are various actions that each of us participate in and/or commit that cause any number of us to look at each other with cross eyes. I've found, for my money, that it is best to allow others to have their way and me have mine. Who am I to judge, right? I've also found on a number of occasions on this trip that when someone has done something hurtful, they've come around in time. By giving them their space and offering continued love (that's a biggee, because if you shut them out, there is the possibility of guilting them into an apology rather than having them come to their own natural, and therefore, much more resonant conclusion), people will come around.
An example of that happened today. We are at an RV park in Vandalia, IL (smack dab in the middle of the lower part of the state). It was a short ride today, so we actually have some time to enjoy some of the things this place has to offer -- pool, video games, basketball hoop -- very cool. At any rate, I was coming back into the RV after giving out some bands to some kids at the pool and Geoff approached me. He apologized for some of what he called his excess with alcohol over the last couple of nights and the behavior that followed. Though I found nothing particularly offensive about his behavior, it was obvious that he was at least tipsy. One of the things I've struggled with in Geoff's drinking, which has been occurring daily on this trip, is that it seems counter to the message that we are offering. Gary has been adamant about saying everything in moderation. I think that's a good message. I tend to be more stringent, but I know my way is not the "right" way -- I don't think anyone holds the universal right way. Moderation is the key. What moderation means is up to the individual. That line is so fine.
I'm getting away from the importance of what I'm trying to say here -- Geoff was very conscious and very heartfelt with his apology. He had tears in his eyes. I hugged him, told him I loved him and that I appreciated his apology. The smile on his face was worth the stars in the sky.
Riding with Raul today is worth a lot of writing and will warrant more space, I'm sure. But for now, let me just say "Wow" about the impact this quiet man has brought to our group in just over a day. We were all concerned about the infringement of space, bringing another person on board. Where would he sleep? Where would we put his stuff? Would he fit in with the group? We seem to have a delicate team balance -- will he set us off that and into the near chaos we seem to flirt with so often?
Hitting the road with him answered all the questions and more. I had THREE flat tires in less than 24 hours. One that happened somewhere between the end of the last ride and yesterday and two more today -- they were actually blowouts, not slow leaks; the tube all at once disintegrated. At any rate, Raul was on the flat tires in nothing flat. Gary did his part, I did mine and we fixed them very quickly. No complaining or griping -- just getting it done. This is how Raul rides, too. He rides with pace and relative ease -- which is kind of funny because if you looked at him you probably wouldn't consider him an athlete. He is short, has skinny legs and a bit of a belly. But on the bike -- my man can ride. He shadowed me for much of the morning, then got in front so I could draft him. By the time we were into our second run, we were very comfortable going back and forth between leading and drafting. The beauty of this teamwork is that it allows the drafter to work at a less pedal pace and still maintain the same speed as he is in the front rider's draft. Working alone, you're going to fight the wind anyway. Working as a team, you give each other the chance to continue the same pace and work as one. It's an amazing feeling.
On the last ride, Gary joined us and that was really something. All three of us riding, dropping back, jumping forward and all without any verbal communication. We read the body language. It's like a dance.
At the RV park, Raul made us his own special recovery drinks with a powder mix of vitamins and mineral he brought from home, then proceeded to do all the dishes, sweep and mop the floor. "I like to do dishes", he says. And, by the way, when he picked us up yesterday, he was calling US heroes. Apparently everyone back at the Vegas church (of which Gary, Geoff and Raul are all members) are buzzing about what we're doing. I'm very, very honored.
Raul's effect on everyone is nice to watch. For me, I love to have someone to ride with me at a high speed. He challenges me. I want to push a little more. I'm learning about the team elements of riding -- maybe I will compete after this tour is over. He also offers companionship -- there are almost no words spoken, but having him there is enough.
We're off to dinner in a few minutes. I hope to be able to shoot some hoops at this classic old wooden hoop in the grass when we return. It looks like where Jimmy Chitwood from "Hoosiers" might have trained.
