Going Back to Cali….
September 3rd, 2008The last day of my cross-country adventure began in much the same way the first day of the trip started: cool, sunny and windy…. Fortunately, the wind of the final day was a tailwind (as opposed to the headwinds I faced on the first week of the summer), because although I still had 96 miles to ride in order to get to the Atlantic, my legs were apparently done yesterday in Vermont! I’ve finished a lot of days on this trip feeling just as fresh as when I started, but I think it was fitting to end the ride on Labor Day with dead legs and the help of a powerful wind at my back; it gave me a sense of completion that I may not have had otherwise.
The first 40 miles of the final day from Keene, NH to Nashua, NH continued to be beautiful, tree-lined rolling hills just as Vermont had been a day earlier. I spent a large portion of that distance riding in Monadnock State Park which has as it’s centerpiece rugged, granite, Monadnock Peak (rising 3165′ from basically sea level). As I’ve ridden and met people this summer, the two most popular questions I’ve received have been “what made you decide to do this?” and “what are you going to do when you are finished?” (I always have a great answer for the first question and I never seem to be able to get the second one answered to the satisfaction of the inquirer). However, the lady behind the C-Store counter where I stopped in Nashua asked a question I’d yet to receive (and the best question of the trip) when she asked “would you do it again?”. I was almost surprised when, without hesitation, I heard myself answer “Absolutely, but I’ll take a more direct route and I’ll ride with support so I can go faster”…. Not that I needed confirmation, but as I continued toward MA, I started to think about it, and that off-the-top-of-my-head answer re-enforced what I’ve said all summer long: riding across, meeting people and seeing the country, all while trying to help my friend Mikyla has been the most fun I’ve ever had!
As I began to approach the coast, I couldn’t help smiling (and not just because the terrain was flattening). I never doubted that I would finish my trip once I started, but some part of me is amazed by the fact that I’m here in New England and the trip is over. I guess it just goes to prove that you can do just about anything if you are reasonably prepared and totally committed. When I think back over the summer, I realize the trip was a lot like “normal” life; some days were hard, some easy, sometimes it rained, sometimes the weather was perfect… but the one thing that was different from my previous life is that there was never a single day when I wished I was somewhere else, doing something else. Obviously, that can be partly attributed to the great inspiration I had from Mikyla (and more privately from my Grandmother), but I think it is also due to a few simple things I learned along the way: I learned that in many ways we are stronger than we think we are; that there is beauty to be found in virtually every part of the country if you look for it; and that people, are willing to do amazing things for you and for each other for no reason whatsoever other than the satisfaction they receive from doing it.
In the first newspaper interview Robert and I did about Mikyla-Cure and my trip, we said that we were working to give girls with Rett Syndrome the opportunity to follow their dreams in the same way that I was following mine by riding across the country. The biggest thing that this summer has driven home to me is the fact that no dream worth having or doing comes without considerable effort and risk (if it did everyone, including you, would already have it). As adults, we all develop something my friend Bernie calls a “self-preservation wire” and as we get older and have more responsibility, that wire grows more firmly attached. That “wire” tends to make you lose sight of the fact that if you believe you can do something, you plan and prepare to do it and you act with certainty and see it through to the end, then you are, in fact, going to get it done…. If that wasn’t true, you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog and you wouldn’t know my friend Mikyla.
So, if you know what you want, disconnect your self-preservation wire and start doing the things you have to do to reach your dream. You won’t be disappointed, and you may be surprised by the unity and support you receive from those around you (I know I was). You’ve been incredibly inspiring, helpful and supportive this summer while I’ve chased one of my dreams, so if there is something you think I can do to help you in your pursuit, please don’t hesitate to ask… I owe you the help.
In the next couple of months I will be traveling to visit some friends that I’ve gone too long without seeing, I’ll keep riding my bike (although, without the trailer attached!) and I’ll continue working to help Robert, Annie and Mikyla as they race to reach their dream of funding a cure for Rett Syndrome. Finally, I’ll head home to California to determine what’s going to come next for me. I will miss writing to you via this blog (I feel like we’ve been having a conversation for the last 3 months), so by all means feel free to keep in touch! I’ll look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you for an unbelievable summer and a great start to the future of Mikyla-Cure!
Ride On!
Scott
P.S. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention; that first Boddington’s at the beach…it was phenomenal!!
