All My Own Bags!

Mid week we started planning a quick overnight close to town, door to door style, about 30 hours of “gone”. With the warmer temps things are really melting out and there is much more access in all directions of town. The flowers are really booming and the hillsides are ripening into a lovely early summer green. A great time to get out and get lost.

This morning as I began my multi-tasking of getting ready for the day, I checked out my Facebook. Lots of Trans Am action, last minute TD freaking out and of course the usual stuff. There was also an eery little reminder that today is Mike Hall’s Birthday. Right next to a picture of him and a message to wish him a happy birthday. Weird, it really struck me. Tears filled my eyes, all the energy that slowly dissipated weeks ago came rushing back in. Damn it still hurts pretty deep that he is gone.

I Heart Mike Hall

In some ways I am shocked by my emotional response, I mean I never actually met Mike. We overlapped once on the trail, but never talked in person only via email thousands of miles away. Yet we seemed to travel down similar paths at times, we shared experiences that reach deep. Fragility has much to do with my reaction, so much of the time I can feel how delicate and tenuous everything is. Our reality is only seconds away from a possible shift that we might not have ever foreseen, or expected.

In an hour or so Rach and I are going to roll out of town under a warm spring sun and pedal up into the hills surrounding this place we call home.  The simplest of things make us so happy, sleeping under the stars, breathing in the fresh air, and finding special little places to call home for the night and spending hours getting to know them. It gives much perspective and a dose of humility as well. We are so small inside this massive universe, yet we are also capable of great things. As we can see with the incredibly wide ripple effect people like Mike have on so many.

Here’s to great things, both big and small.  Get Out! Get Out There and Ride A Bike, Run Up A Hill, Carve A Turn, Climb A Crag, Sleep Under The Stars! Don’t wait to live, don’t wait to chase your dreams.