1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,400
Dr. Ryan here. Today, as my Christmas present to my family and friends that are a part of

2
00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:18,240
ocean water, I'll be reading the book that I wrote about my bicycle ride from Canada

3
00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:26,440
to Columbia in 2010. The title of this book is Ride for Water. This is the story of the

4
00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:33,680
time I rode my bicycle 10,000 miles through 10 countries from Canada to Columbia and helped

5
00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:50,120
bring clean water to 100,000 people. I dedicated this book to my father, Neil King Delemator.

6
00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:56,320
Thank you for all the surf trips and bicycle rides we've taken and will take in the future.

7
00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:03,520
He's 77 years old and still riding. I'd like to thank Kurt Johnston, who believed in me

8
00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:11,400
since high school and told me this story needed to be heard and encouraged me to finish it.

9
00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:18,640
I need to thank Mark Bell, who told me for years to write this book. I need to thank

10
00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:25,600
Justin Spier, who called me at a Chipotle in Columbus, Ohio and helped make this ride possible.

11
00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:31,420
I need to thank Alexis Motley, who interviewed me in 2012 and offered to comb through my

12
00:01:31,420 --> 00:01:36,520
journals for six months and help put this story together. She believed in this and without

13
00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:41,940
her this book would not exist. And then I need to thank my friend, Charlie Sears, who

14
00:01:41,940 --> 00:01:49,220
originally built our logo website, made jerseys, organized rides, and kept encouraging me to

15
00:01:49,220 --> 00:01:56,360
do more with Ride for Water, which eventually became Ocean Water. You've had so many good

16
00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:04,680
times, but I'll never ride 227 miles in one day with you again. That was miserable. I

17
00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:11,000
need to thank my mom for a million reasons. Thanks, mom. And I need to thank my wife,

18
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:20,360
she's the happiest person that I know. I'm lucky to have you as my wife. Chapter One,

19
00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:29,440
The Beginning. When I made the move from California to Ohio, I had only just started biking around

20
00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:36,500
on the well-worn orange 1980s Schwinn Valeri that my dad had been riding for as long as

21
00:02:36,500 --> 00:02:44,040
I could remember. As soon as I told my dad about my plans to move closer to my daughter

22
00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:51,360
Quinn, he suggested that I jump on a bike to help clear my head. And the crazy thing

23
00:02:51,360 --> 00:03:00,720
is it worked. Before my move, riding a bike around was just a way to mull things over.

24
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:06,440
It gave me a quiet space to detach from the anxiety that I was feeling and help me organize

25
00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:13,120
my thoughts. Back then, I had plenty of anxiety to worry about, most of them centering on

26
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:19,320
the fact that the life that I'd built for myself was unraveling and totally falling

27
00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:28,520
apart. My marriage had gone under and I was in the middle of a divorce. It's definitely

28
00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:38,640
not how I envisioned things ending up when they started. My daughter's mom was taking

29
00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:46,600
her across the country to restart their life. My worldview was shattered. I was devastated.

30
00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:55,300
I felt like I'd lost control of my life, my future, and my family. And I only had myself

31
00:03:55,300 --> 00:04:02,200
to blame for it. My dad and I had a few good talks before I left California. And while

32
00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:08,600
they may have not been the emotional fatherly heart to hearts that you see on TV, they were

33
00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:19,440
still full of good advice. He knew me well enough to know that a bicycle would be something

34
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:26,360
that would be helpful. In a little under three weeks, we packed up my car and I headed to

35
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:32,320
Ohio with my bike squarely packed in the trunk. I'm just going to be making a new home there

36
00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:39,080
about 10 minutes down the road from Quinn. However, the job I got was a town over making

37
00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:46,460
my commute about 14 miles round trip. My dad had regularly ridden his bike back and forth

38
00:04:46,460 --> 00:04:55,100
from work for 37 years as a forklift driver in a Teamster in Santa Fe Springs, California.

39
00:04:55,100 --> 00:05:03,340
He rode seven miles there and seven miles home. Oddly enough, this was the same distance

40
00:05:03,340 --> 00:05:09,360
that I covered when I first moved to Ohio. I figured it'd be the perfect way for me

41
00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:15,800
to get to know my new surroundings. At this point, I had a lot of hope that my move there

42
00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:22,680
would make me a present and significant future figure in Quinn's life and give me a real

43
00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:28,840
purpose moving forward. I grabbed the first cheap Craigslist housing, which happened to

44
00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:35,820
be in the basement of a suburban neighborhood with a stranger that I could afford on Starbucks

45
00:05:35,820 --> 00:05:44,420
wages and dug deep into my new life, traversing back and forth to work on my bicycle and trying

46
00:05:44,420 --> 00:05:52,480
to pursue a significant relationship. The bright enthusiasm I summoned to opened what

47
00:05:52,480 --> 00:06:00,060
I thought would be a happier and more purposeful chapter in my life, but that quickly evaporated.

48
00:06:00,060 --> 00:06:07,540
I felt great to be participating in my daughter's life, but aside from my visits with her, life

49
00:06:07,540 --> 00:06:14,540
was basically empty. Without a family and friends for the first time in a state 2,000

50
00:06:14,540 --> 00:06:22,540
miles from where I'd grown up with all too obvious cultural differences after living

51
00:06:22,540 --> 00:06:27,580
my entire life in California, it was the little things that seemed to keep me from making

52
00:06:27,580 --> 00:06:33,620
connections, calling everybody dude and bro, and people would look at me like I was some

53
00:06:33,620 --> 00:06:40,700
kind of hippie drifter. I'd always been a pretty friendly go along to get along kind

54
00:06:40,700 --> 00:06:46,740
of guy who made friends easily, but sadly, I found myself feeling lonely more often than

55
00:06:46,740 --> 00:06:53,860
not in my new home. The three years that I spent living there, I count as the darkest

56
00:06:53,860 --> 00:07:02,420
period in my life. Living in a basement, not having a career, I felt like I had failed

57
00:07:02,420 --> 00:07:09,380
what I had spent the last 15 years trying to build up. Some people hit rock bottom and

58
00:07:09,380 --> 00:07:16,980
seemed to bounce off better for the experience, but that certainly wasn't the case for me.

59
00:07:16,980 --> 00:07:23,960
I couldn't seem to shake the sense of failure that I felt, which made it easy to be depressed,

60
00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:31,340
see life in the fog, and suffocate myself. I was miserable living in Ohio as much as

61
00:07:31,340 --> 00:07:37,260
I wanted to find all of my purpose there. I couldn't help but feel like my life was

62
00:07:37,260 --> 00:07:45,460
going nowhere. In a philosophical question that to this day I don't have a good answer

63
00:07:45,460 --> 00:07:55,620
to, I asked myself this, what kind of dad Quinn ended up having if my life didn't improve?

64
00:07:55,620 --> 00:08:01,940
How much love would I have to give to her if I was in a dark place? I turn to these

65
00:08:01,940 --> 00:08:07,300
questions over in my mind as I rode back and forth to work each day, but no matter how

66
00:08:07,300 --> 00:08:13,780
much I hated being stuck in a dead end job with no family and no friends, I couldn't

67
00:08:13,780 --> 00:08:20,780
find a good enough reason to leave. Quinn was my priority. I did everything that I could

68
00:08:20,780 --> 00:08:28,780
in my mind for her. Was living near my daughter going to be enough? Or was my attempt at being

69
00:08:28,780 --> 00:08:35,460
a hands-on dad going to result in depression and hopelessness that would eventually destroy

70
00:08:35,460 --> 00:08:43,420
myself and actually hurt my daughter? I had so many scary looming thoughts and no good

71
00:08:43,420 --> 00:08:55,020
conclusions. So I just let time grind on without any hope that things would look up for me.

72
00:08:55,020 --> 00:09:03,540
Chapter 2. Canada. Time seemed to pass slower in Ohio than it had in California, but it

73
00:09:03,540 --> 00:09:10,060
passed all the same. I made some work friends. I got to watch Quinn grow into a little person

74
00:09:10,060 --> 00:09:15,780
and I tried my best to put down roots and make a new home for myself. One day my friend

75
00:09:15,780 --> 00:09:23,060
Jared, who I am in touch with to this day, saw me looking up at my bicycle and told me

76
00:09:23,060 --> 00:09:27,940
I should check out this local indoor cycling class he went to. I remember thinking that

77
00:09:27,940 --> 00:09:34,320
stationary cycling indoors seemed to miss the point. In California, I had lived with

78
00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:41,940
two seasons during the year. Perfect and near perfect. Road biking and mountain biking are

79
00:09:41,940 --> 00:09:48,420
so popular in California because there are these cool routes to ride and nice weather

80
00:09:48,420 --> 00:10:00,020
to ride them in. In Ohio, there's one season and it's terrible. Most days were a dark,

81
00:10:00,020 --> 00:10:06,380
cloudy mess and intensely cold even into the spring and I often found myself wondering

82
00:10:06,380 --> 00:10:12,100
why I willfully slogging through such unpleasant weather. The rain and cold snaps seemed endless

83
00:10:12,100 --> 00:10:19,060
and the few flashes of sunlight that made their way through the clouds disappeared quickly.

84
00:10:19,060 --> 00:10:24,900
The dreary weather made biking to work less than scenic, but I did get a satisfaction

85
00:10:24,900 --> 00:10:33,220
from my relentless commutes. I enjoyed being the guy who was on his bike come rain or shine.

86
00:10:33,220 --> 00:10:41,900
It gave me a little bit of identity in a place where I felt like a real nobody. Like the

87
00:10:41,900 --> 00:10:52,220
bicycle that I picked up at the Chagrin bike shop that said, define your life, ride a bike.

88
00:10:52,220 --> 00:11:01,420
And so it was. So while this off-handed suggestion to take an indoor bike class seemed slightly

89
00:11:01,420 --> 00:11:11,060
strange to me, I couldn't help but feel that I should at least check it out. I guess it

90
00:11:11,060 --> 00:11:21,220
never occurred to me that a guy like me would be a good fit for an indoor class. I figured

91
00:11:21,220 --> 00:11:26,780
it would be full of soccer moms and sorority girls. Still, I was never one to shy away

92
00:11:26,780 --> 00:11:32,340
from a new experience and thought that at least it would be a change from another evening

93
00:11:32,340 --> 00:11:39,660
sitting in my apartment flipping channels and watching every single season of The West

94
00:11:39,660 --> 00:11:47,340
Wing. I was totally surprised to find 50 some odd people stuffed into a warehouse with music

95
00:11:47,340 --> 00:11:53,740
blaring, old Tour de France videos playing on a projector, and a guy who rode in the

96
00:11:53,740 --> 00:11:59,940
front of the class shouting instructions out for the ride. One set of instructions for

97
00:11:59,940 --> 00:12:07,660
group A, another for group B, another for group C, another for group D. You might have

98
00:12:07,660 --> 00:12:16,580
guessed it, I started in group D. I got my ass handed to me during the first class that

99
00:12:16,580 --> 00:12:23,400
lasted two hours. And for the next few classes after that, if I'm being honest, but suffice

100
00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:31,180
to say, I was hooked. One of the things that totally sold me on the class was the class

101
00:12:31,180 --> 00:12:37,660
lead, Pete Gladden. He was in his late 50s, but you'd never know it. He was one of these

102
00:12:37,660 --> 00:12:45,980
shredded ageless people that fitness had kept young. He had this contagious spirit. I went

103
00:12:45,980 --> 00:12:53,340
to his class two or three days a week for the rest of the time that I lived there. Aside

104
00:12:53,340 --> 00:12:59,500
from teaching indoor classes, he trained a select group of clients out of his basement.

105
00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:05,780
It felt like an old Rocky movie. He had a couple dozen people who he gave private instruction

106
00:13:05,780 --> 00:13:10,740
to supervising the workouts and weight training in his basement. He was totally opposed to

107
00:13:10,740 --> 00:13:17,820
advertising, so every client came by word of mouth. Very fight club. You pretty much

108
00:13:17,820 --> 00:13:23,140
have to have someone vouch for you to get a spot with him. His training was not for

109
00:13:23,140 --> 00:13:29,580
beginners or quitters. Pete and I initially hit it off because he was one of the only

110
00:13:29,580 --> 00:13:40,040
other guys leaving his class on his bike. I came to find out that he rode his bike most

111
00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:46,540
places and that made me instantly identify with the guy. Not only was Pete a first class

112
00:13:46,540 --> 00:13:52,780
trainer, he also became a good buddy and included me in a circle of close friends. I started

113
00:13:52,780 --> 00:13:59,580
to join them and go and grab pizza and beers after class, going long rides on the weekends,

114
00:13:59,580 --> 00:14:08,220
40, 50, 60, 70, even a hundred miles, which I never thought I'd do. Sometimes even venturing

115
00:14:08,220 --> 00:14:15,900
out to the Black Forest Mountains in Pennsylvania for a weekend of all day rides and evenings

116
00:14:15,900 --> 00:14:22,820
spent eating pizza and drinking beer. The ethos of the group reminded me of the guys

117
00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:27,260
that I grew up surfing with. They were down to earth guys who didn't put up with any

118
00:14:27,260 --> 00:14:35,540
BS, a good natured rowdy group. I was stoked that they treated me like one of their own.

119
00:14:35,540 --> 00:14:42,180
One night in the dead of winter, Pete talked me into going on a night hike. I had heard

120
00:14:42,180 --> 00:14:50,140
the occasional mention of Pete's famous night hikes here and there from the guys. It sounded

121
00:14:50,140 --> 00:14:56,100
like a kind of rite of passage. I was secretly thrilled to be invited to what I thought was

122
00:14:56,100 --> 00:15:01,060
an initiation. It felt like I was really part of the gang. The night hike turned out to

123
00:15:01,060 --> 00:15:08,340
be less of a hike and more of a six mile uphill march through knee deep snow drifts. I should

124
00:15:08,340 --> 00:15:14,220
have known it was going to be dark when Pete handed me my headlamp, but I was surprised

125
00:15:14,220 --> 00:15:19,380
at the pitch blackness of the woods at that time of night. I was totally turned around

126
00:15:19,380 --> 00:15:26,820
and lost. So I was more than stoked when we ended up at one of our favorite burger places,

127
00:15:26,820 --> 00:15:34,660
Etnars. I ordered a cheeseburger and a big beer I don't think it had ever tasted so good.

128
00:15:34,660 --> 00:15:44,060
As we ate, I mentioned to Pete that I wanted to ride my bike across the United States.

129
00:15:44,060 --> 00:15:51,260
Really make a trip of it. Pete said that if I was looking for a cushy cruise of a bike

130
00:15:51,260 --> 00:15:56,900
trip across the States was just a ticket, but anyone looking for a challenge would choose

131
00:15:56,900 --> 00:16:02,740
somewhere more remote like the Canadian frontier. I don't know if I really took his comment

132
00:16:02,740 --> 00:16:08,940
that personally or if I was still hopped up on adrenaline from the hike, but somehow six

133
00:16:08,940 --> 00:16:15,260
months later, I found myself making my way across Canada on a new mountain bike I purchased

134
00:16:15,260 --> 00:16:21,660
with some savings. In all seriousness, I've been thinking about taking off on an adventure

135
00:16:21,660 --> 00:16:27,980
for a while. The year of my move had been miserable and it had taken all the self-discipline

136
00:16:27,980 --> 00:16:35,300
to dig in and make a new home. Even with all the progress I made, I felt like I was treading

137
00:16:35,300 --> 00:16:41,420
water in my gut. I knew I wasn't taking steps toward fulfilling my potential. And honestly,

138
00:16:41,420 --> 00:16:47,500
that made me feel like a pretty crappy dad. Everyone remembers that kid in elementary

139
00:16:47,500 --> 00:16:53,220
school whose dad had a cool job, a firefighter, a cop, a minor league ball player. You know

140
00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:57,940
the type. Kids look up to their parents for a myriad of reasons, but I always thought

141
00:16:57,940 --> 00:17:03,740
it would have been extra cool to come up to one of the few kids there on the playground

142
00:17:03,740 --> 00:17:08,980
with a dad who worked as an airline pilot who had a hobby like hang gliding. I guess

143
00:17:08,980 --> 00:17:14,020
deep down I wanted my daughter to think of me as a kind of superhero, larger than life,

144
00:17:14,020 --> 00:17:20,100
a dad who had exciting adventures. I just didn't feel like the guy that I wanted to

145
00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:25,380
be for her. When I talked to people about my ride, I obviously didn't say all that.

146
00:17:25,380 --> 00:17:30,440
I didn't want to come across as some kind of weepy wimp. I didn't want people to think

147
00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:35,180
that the pressure was getting me, that I was doubting myself, or that I didn't have things

148
00:17:35,180 --> 00:17:43,100
pulled together. Being a single dad because of your own doing in a state 2,000 miles away

149
00:17:43,100 --> 00:17:48,900
doesn't leave you with a lot of fans. When people ask me questions about the ride that

150
00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:54,760
I dreamed up, I made the trip sound like a good old boys trip full of lots of laughs.

151
00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:59,820
People got excited for me one way or another. Everyone loves an adventure, even one that

152
00:17:59,820 --> 00:18:09,060
hasn't happened yet. Pete and I talked about trying to ride for a charity and settled on

153
00:18:09,060 --> 00:18:17,420
some sort of kids program. We paid our fee. They sent us a shirt. That's really as far

154
00:18:17,420 --> 00:18:23,740
as we thought about it. It was a good enough idea, but the ride was all about the adventure.

155
00:18:23,740 --> 00:18:31,020
The idea of taking a flying leap into the wilderness with only our bikes was thrilling.

156
00:18:31,020 --> 00:18:38,180
The idea of a finish line on another coast might as well have been the tip of Mount Everest.

157
00:18:38,180 --> 00:18:44,700
We were seriously pumped to hit the road. I was grateful for all the stoke carrying

158
00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:49,920
me through the weeks leading up to the trip because I had no idea what I was getting into.

159
00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:55,200
It's possible that I may have intentionally avoided sitting and thinking too long or hard

160
00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:59,820
about the trip so that I didn't chicken out. However, once I bought my plane ticket, there

161
00:18:59,820 --> 00:19:04,900
was no turning back. I rented out the small house I was living in, got ahold of a pull

162
00:19:04,900 --> 00:19:09,660
behind Bob trailer, a tent, and everything else I figured I would need for long-term

163
00:19:09,660 --> 00:19:17,460
camping. I packed Walden Pond and Walking by Henry David Thoreau because isn't that

164
00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:22,340
what you're supposed to read on an extended, mostly isolated wilderness experience? The

165
00:19:22,340 --> 00:19:32,020
last thing I did before packing up my bike was tape a photo of my daughter to the handlebars.

166
00:19:32,020 --> 00:19:36,020
When we touched down in Canada, the beauty of the landscape and the freshness of the

167
00:19:36,020 --> 00:19:42,420
air struck me immediately. However, all that pristine beauty hid plenty of tricks and treasures,

168
00:19:42,420 --> 00:19:48,500
making the trip memorable for plenty of reasons beyond a postcard-worthy view. The journey

169
00:19:48,500 --> 00:19:59,500
began at Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. And Pete and I spent the first week riding south

170
00:19:59,500 --> 00:20:04,900
to Victoria. With all the classes that I'd pushed through and the countless hours commuting

171
00:20:04,900 --> 00:20:09,760
on my bike, I figured I would feel right at home on the road all day. Of all the things

172
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:16,980
I underestimated on this first trip, my endurance to push through the day of cycling goes at

173
00:20:16,980 --> 00:20:22,540
the top of the list. I was not used to sitting on a bike for more than a few hours at a stretch,

174
00:20:22,540 --> 00:20:29,300
and I was absolutely, completely miserable the end of each day for the first three weeks.

175
00:20:29,300 --> 00:20:34,360
As soon as we saw that we were losing light, we would pull off the road and pick a spot

176
00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:41,860
to camp in the bushes. I barely had the energy to eat a quick cold meal and change out of

177
00:20:41,860 --> 00:20:52,140
our filthy road gear before we passed out for the night. By the time we made it to Golden

178
00:20:52,140 --> 00:20:58,340
British Columbia, I was starting to feel like my stamina on the road had improved, and I

179
00:20:58,340 --> 00:21:03,860
was finding a comfort level in the ride that allowed me to finally start enjoying the trip.

180
00:21:03,860 --> 00:21:12,580
Riding through the Canadian Rockies on a mountain bike while pulling a bob trailer with 40 pounds

181
00:21:12,580 --> 00:21:18,860
of gear was no joke. I was pleased to find that my body was adjusting to the heavy load.

182
00:21:18,860 --> 00:21:25,100
It was 80 miles over the Sunwap to pass. A long, steep pull made all the more difficult

183
00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:32,420
by stormy weather that seemed to have arrived just in time to greet Pete and I. After arriving

184
00:21:32,420 --> 00:21:37,820
in a town called Nipagon, we met people who invited us to stay with them and camp in their

185
00:21:37,820 --> 00:21:42,740
backyard. After riding our bicycle for miles, any place to camp that isn't full of sharp

186
00:21:42,740 --> 00:21:49,500
rocks is great, but you can't beat a free spot to pitch your tent or you can secure

187
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:55,300
your bike and your gear without concern that you might get ripped off. That little patch

188
00:21:55,300 --> 00:22:00,820
of fenced-in grass, which featured an outdoor shower with hot water, might as well have

189
00:22:00,820 --> 00:22:06,580
been a beach resort. The guy who extended the invitation was a Canadian Indian guy named

190
00:22:06,580 --> 00:22:13,620
Crow. Crow's family was totally sweet and hospitable. His wife Helen brought us towels

191
00:22:13,620 --> 00:22:20,180
and his son Rodney offered up cold beers and primo Canadian weed. I passed on the brew

192
00:22:20,180 --> 00:22:26,340
and the bud, but I ate everything in sight. There was always this funny dynamic when Pete

193
00:22:26,340 --> 00:22:31,140
and I would meet people on our ride through Canada. People would want to party with us

194
00:22:31,140 --> 00:22:36,740
and we would want to go to bed. I always felt a little bad for passing on another round

195
00:22:36,740 --> 00:22:43,060
bought by a new friend, but when your reality is riding all day every day, sleep is better

196
00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:50,300
than any party. Regardless, Crow was a very funny guy and I went with him to shoot pool

197
00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:57,900
at a local bar called China Gardens. Just to be clear, I walked and he stumbled. I considered

198
00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:03,580
myself a very competent pool player. My grandfather, Grandpa Joe, taught me the fundamentals as

199
00:23:03,580 --> 00:23:10,300
a kid and I pride myself on staying in practice. Even at 91 years old, my grandfather could

200
00:23:10,300 --> 00:23:17,060
still hold his own at the pool table. He'll always remain a real legend in my mind. Crow

201
00:23:17,060 --> 00:23:24,540
was a way better player than I had anticipated, especially as I had factored his clearly intoxicated

202
00:23:24,540 --> 00:23:31,580
state into my odds at coming out on top. He couldn't have been more pleased at his ability

203
00:23:31,580 --> 00:23:37,700
to beat me soundly three to one. To redeem my bruised ego, we headed to a restaurant

204
00:23:37,700 --> 00:23:44,680
called Mama G's in downtown Nipagon. I can't help but pause to do a shameless promotion

205
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:50,860
of Mama G's. If you ever find yourself in Nipagon, do yourself a favor and don't miss

206
00:23:50,860 --> 00:23:58,020
the homemade cinnamon rolls. I ate three of them. You can't really go wrong with the family

207
00:23:58,020 --> 00:24:02,640
we're in place that makes everything from scratch. Aside from the several pounds of

208
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:09,260
cinnamon roll I consumed, I had the chili, the fresh bread, the cup of coffee. It felt

209
00:24:09,260 --> 00:24:16,860
immaculate. A perfect way to make up for some of the caloric count I depleted on the roach

210
00:24:16,860 --> 00:24:23,940
day. Mike, the owner of Mama G's and his wife later joined Crow and me over at China

211
00:24:23,940 --> 00:24:31,380
Gardens for some pool. It really was a great night with warm people and I felt like Pete

212
00:24:31,380 --> 00:24:36,460
and I were lucky to have come upon such a hospitable community. Thinking back, some

213
00:24:36,460 --> 00:24:42,740
of the people Crow introduced were a little overly hospitable, namely his daughters. I

214
00:24:42,740 --> 00:24:49,540
couldn't tell you how many creative excuses I used to escape their obvious advances. Crow

215
00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:57,060
couldn't have laughed harder. Unfortunately, for every backyard with a good windbreak and

216
00:24:57,060 --> 00:25:03,600
a hot shower, there were several hundred freezing miles of uphill riding and night spent camping

217
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:09,980
in gale force winds. The weather was bone chilling most of the time at the end of May

218
00:25:09,980 --> 00:25:16,740
and even at the beginning of June in the mountains in British Columbia. From the time I got up

219
00:25:16,740 --> 00:25:22,660
in the morning to pack camp until I crawled into my sleeping bag at night, it felt like

220
00:25:22,660 --> 00:25:29,300
I was cold. It was this penetrating force seeping into everything and was harder to

221
00:25:29,300 --> 00:25:36,060
get rid of than I imagined. Every night Pete and I would have to find somewhere to camp

222
00:25:36,060 --> 00:25:44,180
and we would have to improvise and be creative. Sometimes in a field, sometimes in an unoccupied

223
00:25:44,180 --> 00:25:50,620
front yard and the best places were the most picturesque ones next to rivers and pretty

224
00:25:50,620 --> 00:25:55,500
mountain vistas. After we made camp for the night, I would usually trek into whatever

225
00:25:55,500 --> 00:26:01,860
town was close to find some free internet and use Skype to call Quinn. Every day for

226
00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:07,660
what ended up being the entirety of the ride, I'd find myself tearing up after hanging

227
00:26:07,660 --> 00:26:15,180
up with my daughter. I missed her, but my homesickness for her only made me more determined

228
00:26:15,180 --> 00:26:23,260
to finish the ride and somehow be an inspiration. One less than ideal part of the trip was the

229
00:26:23,260 --> 00:26:31,100
fact that the scenic less traveled byways changed into busy intersections and busy highways

230
00:26:31,100 --> 00:26:36,580
from time to time. I always felt like they were taking on more danger making our way

231
00:26:36,580 --> 00:26:44,560
through an urban area than riding next to any windy cliff. While Pete and I usually

232
00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:51,580
enjoyed and stayed on the right of the road, it became dangerous when we found ourselves

233
00:26:51,580 --> 00:27:02,460
crossing exits and on ramps. Of course, big busy roads are predictably where you end up

234
00:27:02,460 --> 00:27:07,660
having bike chain problems, flat tires and pedals that decide to go flying off into the

235
00:27:07,660 --> 00:27:14,500
bushes. Yes, these things happen. I think at some points I was hysterically laughing because

236
00:27:14,500 --> 00:27:20,760
that's all you can do when you're too exhausted to scream out of pure frustration. Once we

237
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:27,860
changed a flat tire for 45 minutes in a torrential downpour that was so intense, I could barely

238
00:27:27,860 --> 00:27:36,580
see my hand 12 inches from my face. Among my biggest concerns on the road were the possibilities

239
00:27:36,580 --> 00:27:43,940
of getting flattened by a drifting semi truck or getting frostbite on my fingers and toes.

240
00:27:43,940 --> 00:27:55,940
Pete was worried about something he considered far worse. Bears. Black bears. Pete had paranoia.

241
00:27:55,940 --> 00:28:03,260
I hadn't gone a day in Canada without hearing him voice his latest bear related concern.

242
00:28:03,260 --> 00:28:08,820
It got to the point where I wanted to strategically place hamburgers around his tent just to mess

243
00:28:08,820 --> 00:28:15,140
with them. We came across our first bear on a day where Pete was already having some major

244
00:28:15,140 --> 00:28:21,060
bike problems and we were moving slowly off our route heading for a bike shop. The bear

245
00:28:21,060 --> 00:28:27,500
was awfully small, the size of a really hefty Labrador, and he was clearly just trying to

246
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:32,740
cross the road. He didn't seem at all interested in us, but I'm pretty sure Pete shot up in

247
00:28:32,740 --> 00:28:39,380
the air about four feet off of his bike. I stopped half hoping that the bear would turn

248
00:28:39,380 --> 00:28:45,940
towards Pete and really give him a scare, but much to my disappointment, the bear ran away.

249
00:28:45,940 --> 00:28:50,620
I couldn't help but read Pete for the next few hours about how big his eyes got in comparison

250
00:28:50,620 --> 00:28:59,380
to how small the bear had been. About a week later, I was chased for real by a big brown

251
00:28:59,380 --> 00:29:05,140
bear while Pete was safely up the road. While bears had never seen particularly scary to

252
00:29:05,140 --> 00:29:12,140
me, biking away from one that was running after me and actively interested was totally

253
00:29:12,140 --> 00:29:20,260
horrifying. A little while after our wildlife encounter, a car stopped us as it was coming

254
00:29:20,260 --> 00:29:26,660
past and warned us of an angry moose that had tried charging their car. Pete was worrying

255
00:29:26,660 --> 00:29:33,700
about bear attacks when in all actuality, the real threat was a giant aggressive moose.

256
00:29:33,700 --> 00:29:40,060
Moments like these made me really feel the adventure in playing out the scenario where

257
00:29:40,060 --> 00:29:45,060
the angry moose would chase us as we rode past, but we never encountered the storied

258
00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:52,460
beast. Funnily enough, I actually had the chance to eat a moose burger at a little diner

259
00:29:52,460 --> 00:29:57,980
we stopped at for dinner one night. That might seem kind of out there until you consider

260
00:29:57,980 --> 00:30:03,420
how many moose actually live in Canada. It had dressed up just like its American beef

261
00:30:03,420 --> 00:30:11,220
cousin with lettuce, onions, ketchup and tomato. With how hungry I was, I couldn't tell the

262
00:30:11,220 --> 00:30:18,460
difference. We did finally find the bike service station that afternoon and Pete's bike was

263
00:30:18,460 --> 00:30:23,540
back in working order in no time. He was a lot happier moving on knowing that he could

264
00:30:23,540 --> 00:30:34,660
sprint properly if a two-ton grizzly did happen to appear out of the brush. Of course, as

265
00:30:34,660 --> 00:30:41,080
soon as we got just far enough away from the service station for it to be helpfully inaccessible,

266
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:46,500
my back tire began to rub against the hub. And upon inspection, it wasn't something

267
00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:51,060
I could fix on the road. So for the second time that day, we found ourselves in the middle

268
00:30:51,060 --> 00:30:58,180
of nowhere broken down. While I knew that mishaps come packaged up with any adventure,

269
00:30:58,180 --> 00:31:03,860
it still didn't help to curb the ever-growing frustration boiling up in my chest. I was

270
00:31:03,860 --> 00:31:10,780
running thin on patience. We had ridden nearly 800 miles in nine days and this series of

271
00:31:10,780 --> 00:31:15,980
breakdowns was the last straw. I needed a break in the grind and waiting in the middle

272
00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:22,740
of the woods for the chance to hitchhike was not the break I was hoping for. With nothing

273
00:31:22,740 --> 00:31:29,180
else to lose, I offered up a prayer for some help. Within minutes, a pickup truck stopped

274
00:31:29,180 --> 00:31:35,820
by and offered us a lift. The truck's driver introduced himself as Guy and helped us pack

275
00:31:35,820 --> 00:31:43,340
our bikes and get into the back of his truck. He was middle-aged, retired, easygoing, and

276
00:31:43,340 --> 00:31:50,700
best of all, he had nowhere to be. When he asked us where we headed, he shrugged and

277
00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:55,900
told us that he wasn't headed that way, but he didn't mind going for a drive. When we

278
00:31:55,900 --> 00:32:01,520
arrived at the shop in Canora, the owner looked at the bike and said he could get it fixed

279
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:09,500
for $34.03. The whole day was an exhausting one, but it all fell together so perfectly

280
00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:18,500
that it turned out to be just the boost of enthusiasm I needed to press on. Sometimes

281
00:32:18,500 --> 00:32:23,820
on a long trip, the blips of adventure you find yourself encountering can seem like the

282
00:32:23,820 --> 00:32:31,380
worst, most inconvenient situations imaginable. In hindsight, these perceived hardships make

283
00:32:31,380 --> 00:32:37,860
up your best stories and most worthy memories. Like weights at the gym, they exist for a

284
00:32:37,860 --> 00:32:43,580
lifetime. The free place to stay is way more comfortable than the place you shell out for.

285
00:32:43,580 --> 00:32:50,000
The beer someone bought you somehow tastes a little better, and the cheap bike fix is

286
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:56,260
way more satisfying when a stranger helped make it possible. Our first blast through

287
00:32:56,260 --> 00:33:03,020
the Canadian countryside was completely memorable in a time that helped me fall in love with

288
00:33:03,020 --> 00:33:13,540
cycling all over again. It was already dusk when we arrived at Canora, and as soon as

289
00:33:13,540 --> 00:33:19,460
I waved goodbye to Guy, we focused on finding a place to camp for the night. I decided to

290
00:33:19,460 --> 00:33:25,900
call in a favor from our buddy Clayton, who had a farm there. We had shared some beers

291
00:33:25,900 --> 00:33:32,020
with him when we passed through Biagior, and he had offered us a place to pitch our tent

292
00:33:32,020 --> 00:33:36,860
if we gave him a shout when we arrived in his neck of the woods. Clayton's farm turned

293
00:33:36,860 --> 00:33:42,260
out to be far more impressive than a mom and pop, red barn, black and white spotted cows

294
00:33:42,260 --> 00:33:47,900
operation that I had envisioned. Clayton's land stretched for 500 acres and had a quarter

295
00:33:47,900 --> 00:33:54,700
mile of direct lake access. The land was diverse and picturesque, with hilly tree-lined dirt

296
00:33:54,700 --> 00:34:01,500
roads to get around. It seemed like an American country song come to life. Clayton's ranch

297
00:34:01,500 --> 00:34:10,260
was completely self-sufficient with wind towers, geothermal panels, and a hydro generator in

298
00:34:10,260 --> 00:34:15,460
his river that generated enough electricity to power the whole place. There was a little

299
00:34:15,460 --> 00:34:20,420
river that ran through the land feeding into a lake that Clayton had stocked with 15,000

300
00:34:20,420 --> 00:34:27,860
trout. The lake was studded with little bungalows, a canoe shed, and a couple of small docks.

301
00:34:27,860 --> 00:34:35,140
There were 15 or so other buildings on the land, including the main house, barns, workshops,

302
00:34:35,140 --> 00:34:43,820
and various other outbuildings and cabins. The property was so large that walking everywhere

303
00:34:43,820 --> 00:34:48,620
wasn't super practical. We actually used a couple of Clayton's ATVs to get around during

304
00:34:48,620 --> 00:34:54,380
our stay. On our first night, Clayton cooked up a big barbecue and even brought out some

305
00:34:54,380 --> 00:35:01,700
homemade moonshine for us to try. We swapped stories and had a good laugh over some of

306
00:35:01,700 --> 00:35:10,220
Pete and I's previously unfunny misadventures. I have found that the more misery you endure

307
00:35:10,220 --> 00:35:15,940
during an adventure, the harder you get to laugh later on. After recounting our ride

308
00:35:15,940 --> 00:35:20,300
to that point, Clayton shared some more about his land and one particularly interesting

309
00:35:20,300 --> 00:35:27,140
group of people that he had hosted there. It turns out that the band Blink 182 had stayed

310
00:35:27,140 --> 00:35:32,860
on Clayton's land for a while and played a show there that attracted an enormous festival

311
00:35:32,860 --> 00:35:38,020
sized crowd. If you're at all familiar with that band, then you've probably heard a few

312
00:35:38,020 --> 00:35:44,060
of their songs off their album Dude Ranch. In fact, that album was written at their time

313
00:35:44,060 --> 00:35:51,300
spent on Clayton's property. I was pretty inspired. Clayton was a generous host and

314
00:35:51,300 --> 00:35:55,900
could have been more grateful to have such a peaceful place to recharge before getting

315
00:35:55,900 --> 00:36:03,900
back on the road. When I say that not all of Canada was this awesome, I mean it. After

316
00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:13,580
all the scene of perfection we had encountered riding through rural areas and charming towns,

317
00:36:13,580 --> 00:36:20,780
running into suburban communities with bright shiny strip malls was kind of unpleasant.

318
00:36:20,780 --> 00:36:26,140
It jolted us out of the adventure in a way only something heavily boring can. John and

319
00:36:26,140 --> 00:36:30,860
I wanted to avoid planned communities and chain restaurants and instead spent time in

320
00:36:30,860 --> 00:36:38,500
towns with character like Revelstoke, Nighton Junction and Vegreville. One thing was consistent

321
00:36:38,500 --> 00:36:46,260
no matter where we were, people couldn't help but share. With our disgusting spandex, sunscreen

322
00:36:46,260 --> 00:36:51,140
and generally disheveled appearances, we must have looked like we had just been through

323
00:36:51,140 --> 00:36:57,140
a crash landing. There were some days when we seriously got our butts handed to us and

324
00:36:57,140 --> 00:37:01,860
there were other days I was sure that mine had fallen off. It's hard to explain just

325
00:37:01,860 --> 00:37:08,460
how badly your entire body hurt after months on the road. It seemed like no physical ailment

326
00:37:08,460 --> 00:37:15,340
could disappear without another one taking its place immediately. As soon as our muscles

327
00:37:15,340 --> 00:37:21,260
built up and new calluses hardened, the ache set in. About halfway through the trip, my

328
00:37:21,260 --> 00:37:28,980
middle finger on my left hand went numb for a week. I couldn't feel the tips of my toes,

329
00:37:28,980 --> 00:37:35,140
my nose or my fingers thanks to the cold. My back hurt, my neck hurt and my feet hurt

330
00:37:35,140 --> 00:37:42,460
in a mean-spirited, nagging way. In my normal, soft, work-a-day life, I'd never experienced

331
00:37:42,460 --> 00:37:47,860
the kind of enduring all-day pain, but at least I could feel my perspective growing

332
00:37:47,860 --> 00:37:53,520
when I couldn't feel anything else. I quickly came to appreciate the joy that came from

333
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:58,740
stretching your legs on a descent or how it felt to reposition your shoulders for a few

334
00:37:58,740 --> 00:38:05,500
seconds. Switching hand positions became a treat, like a piece of candy to look forward

335
00:38:05,500 --> 00:38:12,180
to. Another treat on the road was all the easily accessible poutine. That greasy goodness

336
00:38:12,180 --> 00:38:18,140
motivated me for miles. Poutine can be pretty much found at any food-serving establishment

337
00:38:18,140 --> 00:38:23,800
in Quebec. From the sit-down places to the little food stands and diners, it's basically

338
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:29,980
a combination of all good things including French fries, cheese curds and gravy. I think

339
00:38:29,980 --> 00:38:35,180
of it like cheese fries that someone bothered actually thinking about. I think I ate my

340
00:38:35,180 --> 00:38:41,020
weight and the stuff during the ride and the salty-cheesy combination really helps after

341
00:38:41,020 --> 00:38:51,180
a long day on the road. I expected that after two months on the road and 4,000 miles behind

342
00:38:51,180 --> 00:38:57,500
me, I would feel settled. Any learning curve would have been mastered long before, but

343
00:38:57,500 --> 00:39:02,100
this wasn't the case. Part of the reason the learning curve was so steep was because my

344
00:39:02,100 --> 00:39:10,100
riding companion forced me to push beyond my limit every day. Pete had 35 years of cycling

345
00:39:10,100 --> 00:39:17,220
experience in his tightly fitted spandex, whereas I'd been cycling for a mere two years,

346
00:39:17,220 --> 00:39:22,580
a blip really on the pedaling map. After a stint riding 10 days straight, I was feeling

347
00:39:22,580 --> 00:39:28,100
completely burned out. This type of burnout could not be resolved by a nap, a good night's

348
00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:36,580
sleep or calorie consumption. One day of rest wasn't going to cut it this time. So instead

349
00:39:36,580 --> 00:39:45,140
of pedaling on, I pedaled by myself 20 miles to the town of Saint Jerome. Saint Jerome

350
00:39:45,140 --> 00:39:50,020
is a quaint, historic area outside Montreal with architecture that dated back hundreds

351
00:39:50,020 --> 00:39:55,620
of years. I decided this would be a perfect place to settle in for a nice break, learn

352
00:39:55,620 --> 00:40:03,980
some French and sip some coffee. Pete and I, for the first time, got separated. After

353
00:40:03,980 --> 00:40:08,920
a night in a real bed, a couple of good meals and some extra hot showers, I felt ready to

354
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:15,300
start again. Then just as I was climbing onto my bike, a 78 year old man named Danielle

355
00:40:15,300 --> 00:40:22,460
approached me. He wanted to talk to me about my bike and my ride. And the story, the farther

356
00:40:22,460 --> 00:40:30,540
along we got, got funner to tell. He seemed harmless enough, so I explained to him where

357
00:40:30,540 --> 00:40:37,140
we'd started from and where we were headed. He got excited and began to tell me how at

358
00:40:37,140 --> 00:40:46,420
age 65 he had ridden across Canada as well before retiring. He then insisted that we

359
00:40:46,420 --> 00:40:51,920
have dinner. As I rode back with Danielle to his house, I began to think about old Boy

360
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:56,900
Scout rules like the buddy system and someone telling me where you'd be hiking and how

361
00:40:56,900 --> 00:41:02,540
I wasn't following any of that. No one had any idea where I was, my buddy that I was

362
00:41:02,540 --> 00:41:11,060
riding with, the wind took a back. Yet here I was being picked up by a distinguished French

363
00:41:11,060 --> 00:41:18,580
hair hairdresser cyclist named Danielle. I was sure that he was going to take me to his

364
00:41:18,580 --> 00:41:25,460
house, drug me, lock me in his basement, torture me with stale baguettes. Luckily, he turned

365
00:41:25,460 --> 00:41:31,040
out to be an awesome guy who fit none of the stereotypes that my overactive imagination

366
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:36,620
had just drummed up. He had a very flowery riverside home with a pretty garden with no

367
00:41:36,620 --> 00:41:43,900
basement to speak of and instead of murdering me, he made me dinner. He made a precious,

368
00:41:43,900 --> 00:41:50,220
delicious meal of soup, spaghetti and fresh bed. I stayed with him for a day and he showed

369
00:41:50,220 --> 00:41:55,780
me his favorite town called Saint Savoie. Saint Savoie was breathtaking and resembled

370
00:41:55,780 --> 00:42:01,380
an old European skiing village. Everywhere I looked there were little restaurants packed

371
00:42:01,380 --> 00:42:07,060
full of people enjoying the evening and the gorgeous weather. If there's anything I learned

372
00:42:07,060 --> 00:42:12,020
on my ride through Canada, it's that there is no knowledge like local knowledge. It's

373
00:42:12,020 --> 00:42:15,980
too easy to travel and miss out on some of the most precious jewels of the places you

374
00:42:15,980 --> 00:42:21,980
visit that are hidden in plain sight. It was there in Saint Savoie that I found out in

375
00:42:21,980 --> 00:42:26,340
casual conversation with some of Daniel's biking friends that most people who bike across

376
00:42:26,340 --> 00:42:31,940
Canada take the Queen Elizabeth Highway because it was the quickest, flattest and most direct

377
00:42:31,940 --> 00:42:37,580
to get from point A to point B. As I explained the route our ride had taken, they couldn't

378
00:42:37,580 --> 00:42:43,820
help but shout brief blasts of French exclamation at one another before dissolving into cackling

379
00:42:43,820 --> 00:42:50,140
laughter. I began to put together that Pete, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and I were

380
00:42:50,140 --> 00:42:58,380
leaning toward, had put the longest, toughest ride that followed mostly only secondary roads.

381
00:42:58,380 --> 00:43:04,780
It was pure comedy to Daniel and his friends and I couldn't help but laugh along even though

382
00:43:04,780 --> 00:43:10,980
I was suffering. Although the ride had been excruciatingly difficult, looking back I wouldn't

383
00:43:10,980 --> 00:43:18,320
have changed it. I had seen some of the most breathtaking wilderness scenic vistas and

384
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:24,020
charming rural townships I could have ever dreamed of visiting. Without taking the strenuous

385
00:43:24,020 --> 00:43:29,380
route that Pete and I mapped out, I felt as though we might have missed the adventure

386
00:43:29,380 --> 00:43:35,740
had I not gone there in the first place. When we crossed the border into Newfoundland, I

387
00:43:35,740 --> 00:43:46,020
couldn't wait to try the fabled fish and chips. I spent an afternoon in an Irish bar

388
00:43:46,020 --> 00:43:51,740
drinking Baileys and eating the best fish and chips I had ever had in my life. They

389
00:43:51,740 --> 00:43:56,700
were so salty and crispy that they literally melted in your mouth and went perfectly with

390
00:43:56,700 --> 00:44:02,340
the creamy, cold Baileys. The entire coast in Newfoundland is made up of these little

391
00:44:02,340 --> 00:44:09,260
fishing ports and the fresh cod catches make their way into the local restaurants. My trip

392
00:44:09,260 --> 00:44:15,440
through Canada had been everything I needed. I was able to challenge myself daily and see

393
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:20,020
how I could handle the mental and physical strain of pushing through day after painful

394
00:44:20,020 --> 00:44:25,320
day. Sometimes Pete and I were the masters of our environment, working as a team, pushing

395
00:44:25,320 --> 00:44:30,420
through the wilds of Canada, advancing toward our destination. Other days we were humbled

396
00:44:30,420 --> 00:44:35,640
by weather, our own physical limitations, and what at times seemed like an endless series

397
00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:42,100
of setbacks. We faced bears, hail, and crises that would make even the most hardened cyclists

398
00:44:42,100 --> 00:44:48,540
consider giving up, but we pushed on and the success was worth the struggle. When Pete

399
00:44:48,540 --> 00:44:53,620
and I had ridden the last part of the road in Newfoundland, we decided to end this final

400
00:44:53,620 --> 00:45:00,340
portion of the trip at Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America. I had this brilliant

401
00:45:00,340 --> 00:45:06,980
feeling of gleaming accomplishment when I got there, like I had a medal around my neck.

402
00:45:06,980 --> 00:45:14,020
I'd just traveled from the Pacific Ocean across a continent that spans 6,000 miles.

403
00:45:14,020 --> 00:45:18,900
As I looked out at the coast of Cape Spear, I felt the strain of the trip and the exhaustion

404
00:45:18,900 --> 00:45:26,540
that ran through my entire body, but I didn't feel quite ready for it to be over. Riding

405
00:45:26,540 --> 00:45:33,800
was my new normal and feeling happy, worthwhile, and full of purpose was part of that. I called

406
00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:40,420
Quinn every day and I told her that I'd just ridden across an entire continent on my bicycle.

407
00:45:40,420 --> 00:45:45,860
The congratulations that came out in her sweet little voice made me feel like Superman. I'm

408
00:45:45,860 --> 00:45:51,260
pretty sure that I would have found a way to redirect the spin of the earth to feel

409
00:45:51,260 --> 00:45:56,160
like that much of a hero to her. I felt like my life was finally heading in the right direction

410
00:45:56,160 --> 00:46:01,460
and that the momentum that I had built up during my trip was going to propel me into

411
00:46:01,460 --> 00:46:10,540
the future with equal parts enthusiasm and determination. It had taken so much to get

412
00:46:10,540 --> 00:46:16,040
to this final place in my ride across Canada and I felt like all the miles I had put in

413
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:21,900
earned me a fresh start. Somewhere along the road, the paths had been displaced and at

414
00:46:21,900 --> 00:46:29,100
least some of my baggage and my problems had tumbled away, leaving me lighter and more

415
00:46:29,100 --> 00:46:34,740
hopeful. For the first time in a long time, the road to my future opened up in front of

416
00:46:34,740 --> 00:46:52,920
me and I couldn't wait to see where I was going next. It felt so odd to experience hope.

417
00:46:52,920 --> 00:47:05,900
Chapter Five, the USA. After my ride through Canada, it was safe to say that I was desperately

418
00:47:05,900 --> 00:47:12,060
in need of a break. My legs were sore, my mind was sore, and I was ready to sleep for

419
00:47:12,060 --> 00:47:22,900
about a week straight. I had flown from Toronto to spend a week with Quinn a few months in

420
00:47:22,900 --> 00:47:29,780
the trip, but it had been too long since I had seen my girl and I missed her big time.

421
00:47:29,780 --> 00:47:36,060
As badly as I wanted to check into the first roadside motel I saw and veg out on Naps,

422
00:47:36,060 --> 00:47:46,260
crappy television, and hot showers, I had to get home to see her. After long labored

423
00:47:46,260 --> 00:47:52,860
days, biking down mile after slow mile of pavement, driving from Canada back home to

424
00:47:52,860 --> 00:47:59,420
Ohio felt like a strange time warp. Hundreds of miles passed in a matter of hours and it

425
00:47:59,420 --> 00:48:05,540
took some time for me to adjust to the speed before I could actually enjoy cruising passively

426
00:48:05,540 --> 00:48:12,320
down the road at 80 miles an hour. When I finally pulled up to my house, I was feeling

427
00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:17,780
completely content. I was looking forward to a night in my own bed and the next day

428
00:48:17,780 --> 00:48:22,620
spent with Quinn. Pete and I were planning on catching up with some buddies in the evening

429
00:48:22,620 --> 00:48:27,860
to regale them with tales of adventure. I felt relaxed and more settled than I had in

430
00:48:27,860 --> 00:48:34,120
a long time. Over the next few weeks, I wrapped myself in a rest, getting back into the groove

431
00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:42,420
of a normal life and looked at completing some graduate work. My grand adventure had cured

432
00:48:42,420 --> 00:48:49,480
some of my restlessness and I felt ready to take on new challenges. As I was in a coffee

433
00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:54,580
place one day, sipping coffee and studying, I looked up to find a girl sitting next to

434
00:48:54,580 --> 00:49:00,060
me. Now normally I would have had another thought, another thing about this seating

435
00:49:00,060 --> 00:49:04,700
arrangement, but we were the only two people in Starbucks. I was getting the feeling that

436
00:49:04,700 --> 00:49:11,020
she wanted to make a connection. So I struck up some small talk and reeled off an introduction

437
00:49:11,020 --> 00:49:15,980
that would impress just about anyone. It was something irresistible along the lines of,

438
00:49:15,980 --> 00:49:21,420
hi, my name is Ryan. I'm currently unemployed. I don't drive a car and I ride my bicycle

439
00:49:21,420 --> 00:49:26,980
everywhere. This is how I introduced myself to a girl who I later discovered spoke three

440
00:49:26,980 --> 00:49:32,740
languages and had just finished her medical residency. She didn't seem terribly fazed

441
00:49:32,740 --> 00:49:39,620
and responded by giving me her number. We started out just as friends, turned into dating

442
00:49:39,620 --> 00:49:45,780
and we had a great time. She was smart, funny, liked the gym like I did. The only place we

443
00:49:45,780 --> 00:49:52,220
didn't have common ground was our ideas about religion. She was totally okay with the fact

444
00:49:52,220 --> 00:49:57,540
that I was a Jesus follower, but it just wasn't something she wanted to be a part of. I initially

445
00:49:57,540 --> 00:50:02,780
shrugged it off because I mean we were just dating. Why mess with a good thing? She liked

446
00:50:02,780 --> 00:50:08,220
to pay for everything. She understood I didn't have any money to speak of. She was very egalitarian

447
00:50:08,220 --> 00:50:15,060
that way. It was a fun relationship that didn't come with a lot of responsibilities and deep

448
00:50:15,060 --> 00:50:21,860
conversations and at that point in my life that was just fine. After we'd been dating

449
00:50:21,860 --> 00:50:28,060
for a few months she mentioned that she would be moving from Ohio to San Diego for work

450
00:50:28,060 --> 00:50:33,620
and before she left she wanted to go on a vacation. She wanted to do a little Indonesia

451
00:50:33,620 --> 00:50:39,840
trip, enjoy her weeks off, but I couldn't help but do a double take when she implied

452
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:44,100
that I would be moving with her mainly because I hadn't really been taking the relationship

453
00:50:44,100 --> 00:50:49,140
that seriously. But certainly it wasn't because I didn't care. The seriousness just kind of

454
00:50:49,140 --> 00:50:55,700
got lost in all the fun. After about a week after that conversation I had a dream that

455
00:50:55,700 --> 00:51:03,260
I was sitting in the back of a church with the message in full swing and I felt panicked.

456
00:51:03,260 --> 00:51:08,420
After the service I waited to speak to the preacher. I told him to pray for me because

457
00:51:08,420 --> 00:51:15,120
my wife didn't go to church. The preacher said he'd pray for me and then I woke up.

458
00:51:15,120 --> 00:51:20,900
As soon as I opened my eyes I felt a strong sense of loneliness, clarity and wistfulness

459
00:51:20,900 --> 00:51:27,820
as I considered the different paths my future would take. This relationship that I had developed

460
00:51:27,820 --> 00:51:35,980
with Jesus since a teenager wasn't something that I identified with directly before Quinn

461
00:51:35,980 --> 00:51:41,900
was born to the way that I do now. But I had read a few Christ parenting books that centered

462
00:51:41,900 --> 00:51:46,900
on being a good father and they were really encouraging me. I wasn't going to church every

463
00:51:46,900 --> 00:51:54,500
week but I started plugging back into reading scripture and prayer. I felt my faith growing

464
00:51:54,500 --> 00:51:59,740
and I saw it being a part of my life going into the future. Going to church alone for

465
00:51:59,740 --> 00:52:05,340
the rest of my life did not seem like something I wanted to sign up for. Who would I play

466
00:52:05,340 --> 00:52:10,600
tic-tac-toe with in the back when the messages were bad? Who would I laugh with when the

467
00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:15,520
guy making announcements slipped up? Who would remind me of the verse from the message that

468
00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:22,260
would keep me from losing my temper? Who would I hold hands with during prayer?

469
00:52:22,260 --> 00:52:29,460
Well the long story short we broke up. It was a bit of an odd parting only because she

470
00:52:29,460 --> 00:52:34,180
was a little miffed by the fact that I thought religious differences wouldn't be important

471
00:52:34,180 --> 00:52:40,060
enough to break up over. Her reaction confirmed that I had made the right move. Sometimes

472
00:52:40,060 --> 00:52:45,180
going with your gut when it comes to these things can be a good thing. Red flags don't

473
00:52:45,180 --> 00:52:51,900
pop up in our heart. Red flags typically pop up in our hearts for good reason. This isn't

474
00:52:51,900 --> 00:52:57,940
to say I felt completely stoked by ending this. She was attractive, successful, easy

475
00:52:57,940 --> 00:53:05,220
going and she was looking for a stay at home husband. I definitely had a few moments of

476
00:53:05,220 --> 00:53:12,700
misgivings but I'm glad that I allowed God to soften my heart and lead me to my perfect

477
00:53:12,700 --> 00:53:18,700
partner. The end of this relationship happened to land right before the end of my graduate

478
00:53:18,700 --> 00:53:23,780
work and I was starting to feel like the open road was calling me again. I had loosely

479
00:53:23,780 --> 00:53:28,180
planned a ride from Ohio to California in my head but I hadn't put together a tight

480
00:53:28,180 --> 00:53:35,060
game plan. On my trip through Canada I had Pete to bounce ideas off of and a wealth of

481
00:53:35,060 --> 00:53:40,540
veteran biking knowledge to pull from. This time I was going to be on my own as I was

482
00:53:40,540 --> 00:53:46,500
starting to map out my US adventure. A friend mentioned that I should ride for a charitable

483
00:53:46,500 --> 00:53:53,300
cause like clean water. I didn't have much formal knowledge about global water problems.

484
00:53:53,300 --> 00:53:57,920
I had certainly knew that they existed and my surfing upbringing made this click for

485
00:53:57,920 --> 00:54:05,020
me emotionally. I talked more with a friend and found out a project he was doing in Fiji.

486
00:54:05,020 --> 00:54:10,300
And he got me excited about it. It seemed like a worthy cause that we would raise money

487
00:54:10,300 --> 00:54:15,260
to make a measurable difference in people's everyday lives. Having located what felt like

488
00:54:15,260 --> 00:54:20,820
a worthwhile purpose, my friend David and I started to firm up the plan for our trip.

489
00:54:20,820 --> 00:54:26,820
We decided to start in Ohio and we would end our ride in San Diego. Once we had packed

490
00:54:26,820 --> 00:54:33,180
up all the gear that we might need for this trip including the addition of hammocks, I

491
00:54:33,180 --> 00:54:38,420
started to get really excited for the trip. Not everyone is as keen on hammocks as I am

492
00:54:38,420 --> 00:54:43,740
but after months of sleeping on uneven surfaces they feel pretty comfortable. Quinn was even

493
00:54:43,740 --> 00:54:48,100
more excited for my ride to California since she had seen my pictures from Canada and heard

494
00:54:48,100 --> 00:54:52,660
all of my stories. I was excited to share this new adventure with her and promised to

495
00:54:52,660 --> 00:54:58,300
send lots of pictures. Finally the day came to shove off and after a big breakfast loaded

496
00:54:58,300 --> 00:55:03,180
down with felt like good preparation we hit the pavement. I was so ready for this particular

497
00:55:03,180 --> 00:55:08,820
ride to start. It was really exciting leading up to the trip. I probably would have been

498
00:55:08,820 --> 00:55:13,220
more apprehensive about navigating and keeping the logistics of the ride running smoothly

499
00:55:13,220 --> 00:55:20,040
if we hadn't been riding through the good old US of A. This is my home. It has signs

500
00:55:20,040 --> 00:55:26,780
I can understand, slang I can speak and I was sure nothing would go wrong. One afternoon

501
00:55:26,780 --> 00:55:32,180
as we were riding through a particularly desert stretch of Nebraska I started to feel really

502
00:55:32,180 --> 00:55:37,860
hungry. This especially pressing hunger made the biker bar I could see in the distance

503
00:55:37,860 --> 00:55:44,780
look like a very appealing lunch stop. Now when I say biker bar I'm talking about Harleys.

504
00:55:44,780 --> 00:55:49,980
It had over 200 Harleys parked in a row that stretched for what seemed like forever and

505
00:55:49,980 --> 00:55:56,660
the place was packed full of gnarly guys with long white beards and lots of prison tattoos.

506
00:55:56,660 --> 00:56:01,340
This place was the real deal. That day had been moving at a snail's pace for me, no

507
00:56:01,340 --> 00:56:07,020
good scenery, not enough breakfast and the road was an annoying gradient that created

508
00:56:07,020 --> 00:56:12,740
an all day climb. The weather was gloomy and overcast. The wind was blowing hard on our

509
00:56:12,740 --> 00:56:19,580
faces and my legs were tired from the endless uphill climb. I was completely and perfectly

510
00:56:19,580 --> 00:56:24,980
miserable. Everything hurt and I had been consoling myself with images of various potential

511
00:56:24,980 --> 00:56:32,060
hot meals. Suddenly the cooking channel showing in my head paused for a commercial break featuring

512
00:56:32,060 --> 00:56:38,380
biker bar and the selection of various previously frozen never fresh fried foods. I did the

513
00:56:38,380 --> 00:56:44,100
math and figured it was close to lunch time at whatever Hell's Angels meeting was being

514
00:56:44,100 --> 00:56:49,480
held should soon be wrapping up. I'm not sure I ever locked up my bike so quickly or

515
00:56:49,480 --> 00:56:53,900
given so little thought to the possibility for a butt kicking. But when we walked into

516
00:56:53,900 --> 00:56:59,540
the room everybody looked at us like we'd fallen out of a spaceship. We certainly stuck

517
00:56:59,540 --> 00:57:06,780
out in a sea of black leather vests in our outrageous, slightly too snug fitting spandex

518
00:57:06,780 --> 00:57:12,140
suits. I was worried that they were going to sacrifice us in some sort of creepy bar

519
00:57:12,140 --> 00:57:20,780
ritual but then the room erupted in laughter and applause as I said, hey, I heard this

520
00:57:20,780 --> 00:57:28,940
is a biker bar. They all laughed. I ended up spending four hours talking and laughing with

521
00:57:28,940 --> 00:57:34,420
the locals and telling them about the bike ride we were on, about the one we'd completed

522
00:57:34,420 --> 00:57:39,780
across Canada. I ate what felt like endless baskets of onion rings and chatted with the

523
00:57:39,780 --> 00:57:45,380
guy who had the words death wish with a bunch of knives tattooed on his forearms. The day

524
00:57:45,380 --> 00:57:56,260
seemed to be looking up. Fortunately, as we said goodbye to our new biker buddies, the

525
00:57:56,260 --> 00:58:01,540
rest of the day was a bit of a downer. We couldn't find anywhere good to camp and ended

526
00:58:01,540 --> 00:58:07,380
up on the outskirts of town sleeping in our hammocks. I felt relaxed like I had fully

527
00:58:07,380 --> 00:58:12,340
conquered the day but the sense of contentment ended around midnight when it started to pour

528
00:58:12,340 --> 00:58:17,300
down raining. If you've never spent the night soaking wet in a hammock, let's just say I

529
00:58:17,300 --> 00:58:22,220
don't recommend it. However, at the risk of sounding like a hammock apologist, I find

530
00:58:22,220 --> 00:58:27,220
sleeping wet off the ground a better bedtime situation than sleeping wet on the ground

531
00:58:27,220 --> 00:58:32,420
in a leaky tent. I'm pretty sure I spent all of two hours at night sleeping and the rest

532
00:58:32,420 --> 00:58:38,260
of it watching, avatar on my phone, to try and direct myself, distract myself from how

533
00:58:38,260 --> 00:58:44,580
wet I was. In the midst of all this, as cliche as it might sound, I thought about the old

534
00:58:44,580 --> 00:58:50,660
adage about life giving you lemons and how it's recommended to use them to make lemonade.

535
00:58:50,660 --> 00:58:54,380
I came to the conclusion that lemonade is great but if you don't add some sugar, it

536
00:58:54,380 --> 00:58:59,260
will end up tasting terrible. My sugar that night was watching Avatar on a tiny screen

537
00:58:59,260 --> 00:59:03,020
and ever since that rainy night, I made a point of bringing a little extra something

538
00:59:03,020 --> 00:59:11,260
on trips that can sweeten even the sourest situations. I had one semi-decent outfit that

539
00:59:11,260 --> 00:59:16,580
I packed on the off chance we arrived in a town or a city that I actually wanted to go

540
00:59:16,580 --> 00:59:22,100
out and explore with people who were staring at my Power Ranger get up. Most of the way

541
00:59:22,100 --> 00:59:29,940
through the Midwest, this outfit didn't see much action but when we arrived in Iowa, we

542
00:59:29,940 --> 00:59:36,060
came across a cute little town that felt like the perfect place to put our feet up. After

543
00:59:36,060 --> 00:59:40,700
pitching camp in some random trees outside of town, Dave and I put on our street clothing

544
00:59:40,700 --> 00:59:45,020
and went into town. It was a Saturday night, we found the swankiest restaurant in town

545
00:59:45,020 --> 00:59:50,320
to have dinner. It was refreshing to pretend for one night that we were just normal people

546
00:59:50,320 --> 00:59:55,700
having a normal dinner even though when we finished our fancy steaks, we were tired to

547
00:59:55,700 --> 01:00:02,540
our little hobo camp in the woods. Around this time, Quinn started the first grade.

548
01:00:02,540 --> 01:00:08,100
While I felt like I was making a difference in her life, I felt like I was missing special

549
01:00:08,100 --> 01:00:14,700
moments and milestones even though we would talk on the phone every evening. It's the

550
01:00:14,700 --> 01:00:24,980
paradox you feel as a father. I felt far away from her and her world and I missed her. I

551
01:00:24,980 --> 01:00:29,860
had some good talks about that with Dave and he was an encouragement to me. We would talk

552
01:00:29,860 --> 01:00:35,180
about what being a good dad looked like and always came away with them with more perspective

553
01:00:35,180 --> 01:00:40,300
than when I started out. The further I rode across the states, the more adventure I encountered.

554
01:00:40,300 --> 01:00:46,120
There's some kind of secret equation where distance multiplied by time plus wilderness

555
01:00:46,120 --> 01:00:50,580
equals adventure. Some days you get caught up in the search for adventure and you find

556
01:00:50,580 --> 01:00:56,220
yourself losing touch with your better judgment. For example, one day we decided to take a

557
01:00:56,220 --> 01:01:02,740
dirt road shortcut in Indiana. Ninety-five miles of bumpy dirt track later we came to

558
01:01:02,740 --> 01:01:10,340
regret not taking the long way around. Come nightfall, there were no lights, no traffic

559
01:01:10,340 --> 01:01:16,700
and no people unless you would count the occasional tractor and its owner rolling down the path.

560
01:01:16,700 --> 01:01:22,660
No other companions than busybody insects and the distant sound of banjos as the children

561
01:01:22,660 --> 01:01:28,140
of the corn made their way up in our direction. At least I found comfort in the fact that

562
01:01:28,140 --> 01:01:34,060
I wouldn't have seen them coming in the pitch dark. I love to tell people how I got to fulfill

563
01:01:34,060 --> 01:01:39,380
a lifelong childhood dream of sleeping in a teepee on the ride. If you were ever a child

564
01:01:39,380 --> 01:01:44,340
you played some form of Cowboys and Indians, you know what I'm talking about. If you didn't,

565
01:01:44,340 --> 01:01:48,740
it's probably because you grew up in the generation that does nothing outside and plays video

566
01:01:48,740 --> 01:01:55,000
games all day. I had wanted to sleep in a teepee since I was a young kid. So when we

567
01:01:55,000 --> 01:01:59,700
finally made it to Arizona we were on the hunt for one of those touristy places that

568
01:01:59,700 --> 01:02:05,020
have a whole field full of them to rent at night. We found something even better. A really

569
01:02:05,020 --> 01:02:09,940
nice Native American lady who showed us a traditional homestead that had been in her

570
01:02:09,940 --> 01:02:16,180
family for 75 years. For the life of me, I can't remember her name, but I do remember

571
01:02:16,180 --> 01:02:20,620
that she and I shared a powerful spiritual connection. When I talked with her she had

572
01:02:20,620 --> 01:02:28,860
this piercing gaze that seemed to stare straight into your soul. I don't believe we have several

573
01:02:28,860 --> 01:02:34,760
lives to live, but if I did I would take that lady as my guru. She was living a simple life

574
01:02:34,760 --> 01:02:40,820
on land that had been touched only by her family. At one point she told me I was a gentle

575
01:02:40,820 --> 01:02:46,020
soul. I laughed at her and said that I may have a gentle spirit, but I was as stubborn

576
01:02:46,020 --> 01:02:51,580
as an ox and I could eat like a bear. She got a real kick out of that. David and I did

577
01:02:51,580 --> 01:02:55,580
end up finding a campground that allowed you to rent out teepees for the night and sleep

578
01:02:55,580 --> 01:03:02,260
in them. It felt extra special after spending the afternoon with someone truly in touch

579
01:03:02,260 --> 01:03:09,820
with the real cultural heritage of the area. As we rode into Flagstaff I got in touch with

580
01:03:09,820 --> 01:03:15,500
my buddy Big Dave who had set up a few speaking engagements for us so we could spread the

581
01:03:15,500 --> 01:03:22,660
word about our ride for water. We spoke to 40 people at his shoe company about going

582
01:03:22,660 --> 01:03:28,700
on our adventure, did a local TV interview, we spoke at a brewery later that day. To top

583
01:03:28,700 --> 01:03:35,920
it off we were asked last minute by a band who we ran into over at lunch to take the

584
01:03:35,920 --> 01:03:42,000
stage at a local musical festival to say a few words about our cause. As we took the

585
01:03:42,000 --> 01:03:46,940
stage and finished our blurb about bicycles and helping people in impoverished areas of

586
01:03:46,940 --> 01:03:56,420
the world get clean water the crowd went nuts. I was shocked, astonished frankly. It was

587
01:03:56,420 --> 01:04:05,060
humbling. We went across the street at a bar and celebrated with a band afterwards. For

588
01:04:05,060 --> 01:04:14,060
a moment it was a small glimpse into the life of a celebrity. You show up, people laugh,

589
01:04:14,060 --> 01:04:22,980
they clap. It was all very uncomfortable. But it was a highlight of the trip and the

590
01:04:22,980 --> 01:04:30,420
first time I really felt compelled to dig into my identification with Clean Water Initiatives.

591
01:04:30,420 --> 01:04:39,460
This was a seed that would continue to grow in my heart and mind. I've ridden across

592
01:04:39,460 --> 01:04:44,220
North America hitting both the Atlantic and the Pacific coast and I can say for sure that

593
01:04:44,220 --> 01:04:49,340
there's nothing that can beat the crashing calm of California waves. Near the end of

594
01:04:49,340 --> 01:04:55,180
our ride across America we rode from Palm Springs to Temecula where we stayed at my

595
01:04:55,180 --> 01:05:02,340
Uncle Dan's house. When I arrived at my uncle's we had ridden 95 miles in 95 degree weather

596
01:05:02,340 --> 01:05:07,420
from Palm Springs not to mention climbing up a brutally steep mountain pass to get to

597
01:05:07,420 --> 01:05:14,940
his house before dark. We were wrecked. My cousins were shocked at my appearance which

598
01:05:14,940 --> 01:05:21,300
wasn't surprising since I looked like some filthy unshaven creature from the swamp, Yeti

599
01:05:21,300 --> 01:05:27,880
Hybrid. We ate food for three hours straight and laughed the whole time. My uncle is one

600
01:05:27,880 --> 01:05:35,220
of the funniest people I know and somehow the food and the comedy taste extra good listening

601
01:05:35,220 --> 01:05:44,380
to him spin tales into the evening. The next day our last ride from Temecula to Carlsbad

602
01:05:44,380 --> 01:05:48,820
when we finally arrived at South Carlsbad State Beach it was the late afternoon and

603
01:05:48,820 --> 01:05:54,060
my parents were waiting for us. My dad brought long boards with him so we could jump into

604
01:05:54,060 --> 01:06:00,580
the Pacific and let me tell you charging in the water after days of riding in no humidity

605
01:06:00,580 --> 01:06:06,600
to speak of felt fantastic. I had traveled from the Pacific to the Atlantic and now back

606
01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:16,180
to the Pacific and it really just felt good to be home especially after living in Ohio

607
01:06:16,180 --> 01:06:23,180
for three and a half years where I always felt like an alien. It reminded me of when

608
01:06:23,180 --> 01:06:28,020
I was growing up surfing Bolsa Chica just a junior high school kid who just wanted to

609
01:06:28,020 --> 01:06:33,540
cut class and go surfing that afternoon was really one of those golden California moments

610
01:06:33,540 --> 01:06:40,460
with fun waves no one around and everything just feeling whole again. I hooted at my dad

611
01:06:40,460 --> 01:06:48,420
when he got a good left it was hard to believe that he was 67 years old and still ripping.

612
01:06:48,420 --> 01:06:54,900
Being near my roots and my family made me feel hopeful and happy. Damon and I traded

613
01:06:54,900 --> 01:07:02,020
waves and laughs with my dad and went in and spent with rubber arms and legs. I wouldn't

614
01:07:02,020 --> 01:07:09,260
have changed a thing about that last day we rode. Damon said this was the best trip of

615
01:07:09,260 --> 01:07:15,140
his life. He almost couldn't believe that we'd really done it. Right before we left

616
01:07:15,140 --> 01:07:21,980
on our ride, Dave and I met the girl of his dreams. Every day I talked to Quinn he would

617
01:07:21,980 --> 01:07:27,400
call and talk with Kristen. You could see the look in their eyes and it was no surprise

618
01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:35,400
when he told me I gotta go see about a girl. He flew back to Ohio and pretty soon Quinn

619
01:07:35,400 --> 01:07:40,660
and I were sitting at their wedding. They danced Quinn and I danced and everything felt

620
01:07:40,660 --> 01:07:47,020
pretty perfect. Now when I visit Ohio, David and Kristen and I talk about those happy times

621
01:07:47,020 --> 01:07:52,700
when they first met and our bike ride. Whenever you decide to give up everything to make a

622
01:07:52,700 --> 01:07:59,220
huge life choice, go for it. You may find yourself riding into San Diego with the wind

623
01:07:59,220 --> 01:08:20,620
at your back and a big barrel in your future. Chapter 6. Mexico. I ended up hanging out

624
01:08:20,620 --> 01:08:26,620
in San Diego for about 6 weeks while my friend Dane was finishing work. I had known Dane

625
01:08:26,620 --> 01:08:32,460
since high school and I reached out to him to catch up over coffee one day and we ended

626
01:08:32,460 --> 01:08:38,360
up talking about my recently completed rides. I told him about the next ride I was going

627
01:08:38,360 --> 01:08:43,620
to do through Mexico and Central America but at that point it was just an idea I was toying

628
01:08:43,620 --> 01:08:49,960
with. Dane told me to let him know if I really planned to make the trip because he would

629
01:08:49,960 --> 01:08:56,700
be on board and one day a few weeks later that's exactly what I did. Dane was working

630
01:08:56,700 --> 01:09:01,940
for a big media syndicate at the time, was making 6 figures as a lead programmer. The

631
01:09:01,940 --> 01:09:07,280
team he worked with wrote the kind of code which transmits signals from airplanes allowing

632
01:09:07,280 --> 01:09:13,860
people to rent movies with their credit card. Suffice to say he was a very valuable employee

633
01:09:13,860 --> 01:09:19,460
and there was no way his employer would have let him quit over an extended vacation. Dane

634
01:09:19,460 --> 01:09:24,380
was able to work out a sweet deal where you could generally keep up on things from the

635
01:09:24,380 --> 01:09:30,820
ride through email and then jump back in when he returned from our ride. You can't put a

636
01:09:30,820 --> 01:09:38,660
price on that kind of flexibility. I flew back to see Quinn during my 6 week stay in

637
01:09:38,660 --> 01:09:45,540
California. My head was cleared. I always find it a slight adjustment traveling anywhere

638
01:09:45,540 --> 01:09:51,260
after being home and since I forget that other states actually check their weather forecast.

639
01:09:51,260 --> 01:09:56,820
In California broadcasting the weather is just a chance to brag to the rest of the country.

640
01:09:56,820 --> 01:10:01,860
In Ohio however every couple hours it seems like a different season sets in and you have

641
01:10:01,860 --> 01:10:08,060
to be careful to prep for the conditions especially if you're planning to tote your kid out into

642
01:10:08,060 --> 01:10:13,980
the elements. One day I was making Quinn some lunch. We started brainstorming ideas about

643
01:10:13,980 --> 01:10:18,660
how we were going to spend our afternoon. I was excited because the weather map showed

644
01:10:18,660 --> 01:10:23,740
a dry two hour window where I thought we could sneak in a hike. Quinn made it clear that

645
01:10:23,740 --> 01:10:30,580
if the possibility existed for her to get wet she was not going. I began to realize

646
01:10:30,580 --> 01:10:38,180
and to develop a different set of speeches that I would give like eat your breakfast

647
01:10:38,180 --> 01:10:42,840
and the double check speech and one of my favorites to be prepared speech. In response

648
01:10:42,840 --> 01:10:51,460
to her presentation I launched into my favorite dad speech which I will admit I lifted directly

649
01:10:51,460 --> 01:10:58,660
from an REI salesman. There is no bad weather just bad gear. As I preached the necessities

650
01:10:58,660 --> 01:11:03,340
of waterproofing and quick dry fabrics it was hard to tell if she was warming up so

651
01:11:03,340 --> 01:11:08,780
I improvised and in the interest of convincing her I quickly spouted off come on life is

652
01:11:08,780 --> 01:11:15,780
an adventure. That little extra push had her excited so we packed up all our stuff and

653
01:11:15,780 --> 01:11:23,380
headed out. That little quip would become a very memorable joke between the two of us.

654
01:11:23,380 --> 01:11:28,240
My daughter has taken that phrase and likes to abuse it to the point where it's comical.

655
01:11:28,240 --> 01:11:32,780
She typically applies it to conversations where she's trying to get her way but has

656
01:11:32,780 --> 01:11:39,100
also become a way to shake off the small stuff. Traffic, a bad quiz grade, spilling a glass

657
01:11:39,100 --> 01:11:43,740
of juice all that stuff just doesn't seem worth stressing out over when you think of

658
01:11:43,740 --> 01:11:49,900
it within the perspective of adventure rather than disaster. It's easier to get sucked into

659
01:11:49,900 --> 01:11:54,440
looking at life as a series of hardships and mistakes when all it takes is a little forced

660
01:11:54,440 --> 01:12:01,740
optimism to feel like all the hard stuff is building up into something worthwhile. It's

661
01:12:01,740 --> 01:12:06,980
easier to coexist with the chaos of the day to day when you think of all the tough times

662
01:12:06,980 --> 01:12:13,820
as just part of a greater plan. When I came back to Ohio Dane and I were starting to firm

663
01:12:13,820 --> 01:12:19,300
up our plans for our trip through Central America. At this point I considered myself

664
01:12:19,300 --> 01:12:24,380
a packing expert and packing for the ride felt a little comfortable like a comfortable

665
01:12:24,380 --> 01:12:29,220
exercise however when you're prepping for a trip the list never really ends there's

666
01:12:29,220 --> 01:12:34,660
always a spare tire to order, a box of your favorite cliff bars to track down or a pack

667
01:12:34,660 --> 01:12:41,420
to reorganize. On top of all the normal prep work Dane and I were raising money for a non-profit

668
01:12:41,420 --> 01:12:46,800
organization based out of San Diego. I had decided before the trip that I wanted this

669
01:12:46,800 --> 01:12:52,340
trip to make a positive impact on the lives of the people who had less than I did. I looked

670
01:12:52,340 --> 01:12:57,020
into a different clean water initiatives and decided to partner with a group I found in

671
01:12:57,020 --> 01:13:04,380
Southern California and the way they were working to combat water inequality issues

672
01:13:04,380 --> 01:13:10,980
in Fiji were inspiring. Before our ride Dane and I raised a little over 20 grand through

673
01:13:10,980 --> 01:13:17,580
a dozen or so donors to provide water to 110 homes in Fiji and the main project that time

674
01:13:17,580 --> 01:13:23,980
was to partner with the Fijian government to install water filtration systems in homes.

675
01:13:23,980 --> 01:13:29,340
These filtration systems have the ability to remove 99 percent of common bacteria and

676
01:13:29,340 --> 01:13:35,420
minimize the potential for waterborne illness. Providing communities with water filtration

677
01:13:35,420 --> 01:13:39,740
can eliminate the debilitating conditions that can accompany the consumption of unsafe

678
01:13:39,740 --> 01:13:44,900
water and make a very real difference for impoverished peoples. After researching the

679
01:13:44,900 --> 01:13:50,220
cause our ride would be supporting I was pumped. It wasn't hard at all to talk to people about

680
01:13:50,220 --> 01:13:55,140
donating because I felt so passionate about providing people with something as essential

681
01:13:55,140 --> 01:14:00,820
as water. It's easy to come up with excuses to put off giving your time, money and energy

682
01:14:00,820 --> 01:14:04,840
to people that need it. It's easy to run the numbers and figure out that when you have

683
01:14:04,840 --> 01:14:09,420
it all together or you're totally recovered or you have your life in order you will give

684
01:14:09,420 --> 01:14:15,740
away your extras. The secret is that the distractions of life will never disappear and the perfect

685
01:14:15,740 --> 01:14:20,980
time will never seem perfect enough unless you get your button gear you might miss out

686
01:14:20,980 --> 01:14:27,860
on the best adventures and your chance to live unselfishly. You can help other people

687
01:14:27,860 --> 01:14:35,260
just as easily when you have loose ends in your life. It's okay to be a work in progress.

688
01:14:35,260 --> 01:14:40,380
As the day of our departure grew near I was amazed at the speed in which life accelerates

689
01:14:40,380 --> 01:14:45,580
when you have multiple pieces moving rapidly. My phone, text, email and social networks

690
01:14:45,580 --> 01:14:50,260
were blowing up and it felt like things were getting ready to roll. I was feeling really

691
01:14:50,260 --> 01:14:57,700
stoked because this trip was the first one that I felt prepared to take. While there

692
01:14:57,700 --> 01:15:02,220
were certainly unknowns I felt confident I could handle the physical challenge of riding

693
01:15:02,220 --> 01:15:07,700
all day. We would be crossing borders, dealing with the language barrier and exploring remote

694
01:15:07,700 --> 01:15:13,740
areas but the idea of the actual ride did make me feel intimidated at all. I felt great

695
01:15:13,740 --> 01:15:20,540
about the foundation I laid for this trip. Lots of friends, companies felt like everyone

696
01:15:20,540 --> 01:15:28,700
was cheering us on. It sort of felt like we had the wind at our back. Before we headed

697
01:15:28,700 --> 01:15:36,060
out I had to make one last stop at my beloved pizza port. Now I know I'm a little food

698
01:15:36,060 --> 01:15:40,940
obsessed but you'll just have to bear with me while I brag on this place. While I was

699
01:15:40,940 --> 01:15:46,260
riding through San Diego on my way to the border I had to stop there. They do craft

700
01:15:46,260 --> 01:15:53,540
beer right. We love their pies. It's always amazing. When we crossed the border at Tijuana

701
01:15:53,540 --> 01:15:58,860
we took a right and enthusiastically headed up the enormous climb that takes you out of

702
01:15:58,860 --> 01:16:05,900
Tijuana and into the main road. As we climbed the enormous hill I felt totally invigorated

703
01:16:05,900 --> 01:16:10,940
and while the route was steep I knew that just over the ridge line was a relaxing glide

704
01:16:10,940 --> 01:16:16,180
past the Pacific coast. Well it turned out to be the shortest downhill glide in history

705
01:16:16,180 --> 01:16:21,700
because as soon as we emerged onto the main road to pay the toll four different attendants

706
01:16:21,700 --> 01:16:26,560
mobbed at us in Spanish. We came to find out that we were not allowed to ride our bikes

707
01:16:26,560 --> 01:16:31,140
on that section of the road and that we'd have to be farther south. We ended up hitching

708
01:16:31,140 --> 01:16:36,620
a ride in the back of a truck big enough to hold our bikes to Rosarito where the ride

709
01:16:36,620 --> 01:16:41,700
eventually got in our way. As we made our way through Baja we came across some really

710
01:16:41,700 --> 01:16:47,660
diverse characters often as little taco stands. Long before taco trucks became a trendy thing

711
01:16:47,660 --> 01:16:53,860
in U.S. urban centers they were plain old lunch staple in Mexico. For most lunches there

712
01:16:53,860 --> 01:17:01,020
it's an easy grab at any one of these delicious mom and pop palaces. Tacos come with all the

713
01:17:01,020 --> 01:17:06,540
trappings, beets, limes, onions, chilies. They might have been my favorite culinary

714
01:17:06,540 --> 01:17:15,780
experience of the entire trip minus the poutine. There were always diversity in the meats from

715
01:17:15,780 --> 01:17:23,180
pork to asada to fish all slathered in fixings and rolled up in tiny tortillas. I could eat

716
01:17:23,180 --> 01:17:31,500
20 in a sitting. The first person I met over tacos was Ray, a retired security guard from

717
01:17:31,500 --> 01:17:38,420
Folsom Prison who we met at a taco stand in one of our last days in Baja. I tried to

718
01:17:38,420 --> 01:17:44,180
make small talk with the guy but instead of responding with regular traveler pleasantries

719
01:17:44,180 --> 01:17:52,220
he spoke in these really abrupt short sentences. He opened up conversation with, started in

720
01:17:52,220 --> 01:18:02,020
Santa Cruz, been riding for 48 hours. I even ride at night. That's why I got these headlights

721
01:18:02,020 --> 01:18:08,920
on. Ray was one of those people you back away from slowly and started to wonder if security

722
01:18:08,920 --> 01:18:16,620
guard was his actual reason for residence at Folsom. Then we met Jeannie who we just

723
01:18:16,620 --> 01:18:26,580
kind of rode up to next one day. She was four foot three riding out of Canada all alone.

724
01:18:26,580 --> 01:18:33,940
She was a spitfire and I think Dane and I felt our safest riding with her. She had a

725
01:18:33,940 --> 01:18:39,980
presence about her. The generosity of the people in Mexico never ceased to amaze us.

726
01:18:39,980 --> 01:18:44,820
The friendliness and helpfulness seemed to take a sincere interest in who you are and

727
01:18:44,820 --> 01:18:50,980
where you're from. The American press covers every piece of unfortunate violence that happens

728
01:18:50,980 --> 01:18:55,980
there. While there are certainly real concerns to be had, acting like Mexico is just one

729
01:18:55,980 --> 01:19:05,660
big sheriff's blotter to be pitied is unfair. It's a lot easier to paint an entire place

730
01:19:05,660 --> 01:19:11,940
with a particular moral brush instead of taking the time to identify the problems that poverty

731
01:19:11,940 --> 01:19:17,900
and lack of public institutions stir up. There is potential danger sure but there's an equal

732
01:19:17,900 --> 01:19:23,940
opportunity to be in danger walking down the streets at certain places in Southern California.

733
01:19:23,940 --> 01:19:29,900
During my trip I found that being kind was repaid with kindness, a pretty simple system

734
01:19:29,900 --> 01:19:34,800
if you ask me. I can't begin to tell you how many times people went out of their way

735
01:19:34,800 --> 01:19:41,540
to help us. People kicked us free meals, gave us the local deal even though we were toristas

736
01:19:41,540 --> 01:19:47,740
or charged us an off-season price. I remember the one time we stopped at a store to ask

737
01:19:47,740 --> 01:19:53,220
questions from the clerk and she ended up telling us where the bank, supermarket and

738
01:19:53,220 --> 01:19:59,780
farmers markets were. She even drew up an awesome little map of the town before offering

739
01:19:59,780 --> 01:20:06,260
to let us stay the night at the hotel next door for free. Keep in mind that we'd only

740
01:20:06,260 --> 01:20:12,140
been chatting with her for an hour or so. It was so nice to be back on the road after

741
01:20:12,140 --> 01:20:18,820
living with depression and feelings of purposelessness for so long I was refreshed to be managing

742
01:20:18,820 --> 01:20:24,580
them in a way that really worked for me. As we rode through Mexico I couldn't help

743
01:20:24,580 --> 01:20:30,960
but feel like I was making a difference not just for my well-being but also for my daughter

744
01:20:30,960 --> 01:20:36,180
and also for the people on a scale that really mattered. Instead of endlessly trying to

745
01:20:36,180 --> 01:20:41,780
catch up I felt like I was actually getting out in front of my life and leading it to

746
01:20:41,780 --> 01:20:55,820
a place that felt worthwhile. Did my mixed feelings go away? No, they never have.

747
01:20:55,820 --> 01:21:05,860
Chapter 7, mainland Mexico. Crossing coasts to La Paz meant leaving the cozy Pacific coastline

748
01:21:05,860 --> 01:21:11,580
that I had become so comfortable having over my right shoulder while the next leg of the

749
01:21:11,580 --> 01:21:16,780
journey saw us gaining some serious altitude. I was sure that the trek could be managed

750
01:21:16,780 --> 01:21:21,780
in a day. We got on the road about 7.30 in the morning and from that moment our pedals

751
01:21:21,780 --> 01:21:27,260
started turning we were climbing. The first 40 miles were a steep incline and the next

752
01:21:27,260 --> 01:21:33,140
20 miles were a series of power climbs. By noon some heavy fatigue set in. Not only was

753
01:21:33,140 --> 01:21:39,020
the terrain more intense than I had anticipated, a gnarly headwind ramped up around lunchtime.

754
01:21:39,020 --> 01:21:44,860
At some point the wind became so powerful and it was enough to irritate us. As tired

755
01:21:44,860 --> 01:21:50,860
as I felt I wasn't about to have the weather push me around so I turned on the afterburners

756
01:21:50,860 --> 01:21:57,540
and I got comfortable hanging out in high gear. The last 20 kilometers of climb I dug

757
01:21:57,540 --> 01:22:03,700
into the steep grade and I gave it all I had. Stringing my way to the top brute force got

758
01:22:03,700 --> 01:22:11,940
the job done. And I was completely out of reserves as the road peaked over the final

759
01:22:11,940 --> 01:22:20,180
incline. When I hit the descent into La Paz I couldn't help but offer up a quick grateful

760
01:22:20,180 --> 01:22:26,980
prayer. We had ridden 60 miles of sheer slope well before dinner time. Any further and I'm

761
01:22:26,980 --> 01:22:33,460
pretty sure I would have risked injury or exhaustion. We had another 3,000 feet of climbing

762
01:22:33,460 --> 01:22:38,740
to look forward to and I couldn't shovel in tacos fast enough before practically falling

763
01:22:38,740 --> 01:22:45,540
asleep sitting up. Up until this point the ride in Baja was more or less the enjoyable

764
01:22:45,540 --> 01:22:52,460
cruise by the ocean I had dreamed about. I had to pay pretty dearly for my dream to ride

765
01:22:52,460 --> 01:23:00,300
through this. The last 100 or so kilometers in Baja were spent relentlessly climbing uphill.

766
01:23:00,300 --> 01:23:06,060
The next day was a short ride with Dane, Jeanine and I were supposed to meet up at the El Cardo

767
01:23:06,060 --> 01:23:12,420
Trailer Park and get cleaned up. It certainly wasn't billed as a four star joint but I

768
01:23:12,420 --> 01:23:16,900
was looking forward to emailing Quinn, doing some laundry and resting up for the rest of

769
01:23:16,900 --> 01:23:21,560
the ride. I was looking forward to kicking back and enjoying a well deserved break as

770
01:23:21,560 --> 01:23:26,580
we pulled up to the trailer park we couldn't help but notice that it seemed to be missing.

771
01:23:26,580 --> 01:23:30,980
I mean the sign was there alright but the trailers were nowhere to be seen. With no

772
01:23:30,980 --> 01:23:38,660
other choice we just kept rolling until we saw a sign for poppies and beer. That night

773
01:23:38,660 --> 01:23:43,340
the barkeep told us about the little trailer park that had closed a year before. We found

774
01:23:43,340 --> 01:23:49,380
a cool little dive where we could crash for the night but the lesson wasn't lost on me.

775
01:23:49,380 --> 01:23:55,060
Always double check your travel sources so that you don't end up sleeping on the side

776
01:23:55,060 --> 01:24:03,460
of a Mexican byway. The beach in La Paz was beautiful and undisturbed with blue water

777
01:24:03,460 --> 01:24:09,300
and sailboats. After riding through so much barren hilly desert it was pleasant change

778
01:24:09,300 --> 01:24:15,180
to ride into La Paz where everything seemed more tranquil. After taking some pictures

779
01:24:15,180 --> 01:24:19,820
of the big yachts in the marina I asked a guy with a name tag if he knew where I could

780
01:24:19,820 --> 01:24:25,460
take a shower. He pointed to a little marina adjacent to us. I thanked him. We started

781
01:24:25,460 --> 01:24:30,500
shuffling over but I never made it. Instead a woman who had overheard the entire conversation

782
01:24:30,500 --> 01:24:36,180
immediately approached us and announced she would be our host. She unlocked the plus marina

783
01:24:36,180 --> 01:24:43,140
bathrooms and told us to come by her and her husband's slip once we had cleaned up. Once

784
01:24:43,140 --> 01:24:47,820
I had showered and headed over to the boat slip and found I found the biggest sailboat

785
01:24:47,820 --> 01:24:53,420
I had ever seen. It was a James Bond villain style luxury yacht with every convenience

786
01:24:53,420 --> 01:25:02,260
you could imagine. It was a floating mansion. They were totally pleasant. We sipped margaritas,

787
01:25:02,260 --> 01:25:10,740
stared at the Sea of Cortez. We had earned this little vacation moment courtesy of them.

788
01:25:10,740 --> 01:25:17,980
Harsh inclines and exhaustion were in our immediate future but for this savory moment

789
01:25:17,980 --> 01:25:24,980
we could look back on it as a place of comfort. Our next boating adventure wouldn't be so

790
01:25:24,980 --> 01:25:30,900
picturesque. Dane and I took an eight hour night boat across the Sea of Cortez out of

791
01:25:30,900 --> 01:25:36,540
La Paz instead of one of the cushy tourist cruises in order to save some cash. In the

792
01:25:36,540 --> 01:25:40,780
interest of being as frugal as possible we didn't spring for a ticket that provided for

793
01:25:40,780 --> 01:25:47,700
an overnight cabin. Instead we stayed up all night dancing and slept on the floor only

794
01:25:47,700 --> 01:25:53,700
to be prodded awake by the janitor's broom. The next day we were looking forward to the

795
01:25:53,700 --> 01:26:03,740
ride. We got a hotel and we got some sleep. We were attempting to be thrifty on long rides

796
01:26:03,740 --> 01:26:10,620
saving our budget for food and so it was a real treat to sleep in a bed. The day started

797
01:26:10,620 --> 01:26:16,380
off great. We had a big breakfast and we noticed that the map showed the day's ride being fairly

798
01:26:16,380 --> 01:26:27,460
flat. I still have half a mind to write a letter of complaint to Mr. Rand McNally or

799
01:26:27,460 --> 01:26:32,620
whoever is responsible for the misleading map because the entire day was a big fat serving

800
01:26:32,620 --> 01:26:39,020
of suffering. It started with 70 miles of power climbing before we even hit Maluca.

801
01:26:39,020 --> 01:26:42,460
Capped off at the beast of a climb that took me far longer than it should have because

802
01:26:42,460 --> 01:26:48,420
I kept putting off my bike and walking it through maze after maze of potholes. The last

803
01:26:48,420 --> 01:26:53,440
two miles to the hotel were a joke. The road was a 10 to 12 percent grade with large cobbles

804
01:26:53,440 --> 01:26:58,660
paving the street. I had lots of really nice locals pulling over to offer me rides and

805
01:26:58,660 --> 01:27:06,660
it pained me to wave them away. As a point of pride I had ridden in a car only five times

806
01:27:06,660 --> 01:27:13,300
since arriving in Mexico and those lifts were necessary due to bike breakdowns and no one

807
01:27:13,300 --> 01:27:19,900
around. One time we did take a ride because the fog was so sick we couldn't see directly

808
01:27:19,900 --> 01:27:31,700
in front of us. When we think of the hills of Mexico I can genuinely say that conquering

809
01:27:31,700 --> 01:27:38,580
them has become a part of my identity as a cyclist. Long climbs can be exhausting, discouraging

810
01:27:38,580 --> 01:27:45,140
and when you conquer one you feel like you're on top of the world. And when you see a mountain

811
01:27:45,140 --> 01:27:51,660
on the map ahead of you, you prep for the ascent and you have plenty of warning. Hills

812
01:27:51,660 --> 01:27:57,980
are sneaky, they appear out of nowhere and no one bothers to put them on maps. I found

813
01:27:57,980 --> 01:28:03,340
that life also have plenty of hills in it that you can't prepare for. When you start

814
01:28:03,340 --> 01:28:07,580
on a hill you feel the struggle, you feel the surprise of the struggle at first and

815
01:28:07,580 --> 01:28:12,620
then frustration with your slow progress. However once you make it to the top you look

816
01:28:12,620 --> 01:28:18,420
back down and realize that if this hill was doable the next one might be too. Climbing

817
01:28:18,420 --> 01:28:26,260
hills on a bike, clearly a metaphor for life. It gives you hope to hang on when you head

818
01:28:26,260 --> 01:28:32,980
up the big ones. Growing perspective is like growing muscles, it takes perseverance and

819
01:28:32,980 --> 01:28:39,180
isn't always immediate. The more hills you try to conquer the easier the climbs become

820
01:28:39,180 --> 01:28:46,380
and pretty soon the deep breath you take at the top is your ultimate destination. The

821
01:28:46,380 --> 01:28:52,300
rest of the trip through Mexico was beautiful but I missed Quinn. We were midway through

822
01:28:52,300 --> 01:28:58,660
December and it'd be my first Christmas season without her. On New Year's Day I was feeling

823
01:28:58,660 --> 01:29:04,620
sad and lonely and decided to go looking for the perfect gift to bring back to her. I ended

824
01:29:04,620 --> 01:29:09,340
up buying a giant conch shell, the kind where you hear the ocean when you hold it to your

825
01:29:09,340 --> 01:29:14,740
ear. Most days in Mexico were filled with the exhilaration of adventure and exploring

826
01:29:14,740 --> 01:29:21,460
but always against the backdrop of being so far away from her. Right before we left Mexico

827
01:29:21,460 --> 01:29:27,340
we found this boat that for about 30 bucks a person let you snorkel, fish and dance for

828
01:29:27,340 --> 01:29:32,700
a full day. As we boarded we quickly realized that this full on party boat was going to

829
01:29:32,700 --> 01:29:38,220
be a wild ride and the packed open bar was an immediate clue. All the booze you could

830
01:29:38,220 --> 01:29:42,500
drink was included in the price of the ticket and our fellow passengers were clearly going

831
01:29:42,500 --> 01:29:47,380
to get their money's worth. We started off the day pretty peacefully just snorkeling

832
01:29:47,380 --> 01:29:53,620
and fishing. We had no idea it was only a matter of time until the dancing started.

833
01:29:53,620 --> 01:29:59,740
The evening's main event was a huge dance party with a full club atmosphere. The DJ

834
01:29:59,740 --> 01:30:05,420
was super interactive and he was constantly orchestrating some kind of limbo or dance

835
01:30:05,420 --> 01:30:11,100
off. As Dane and I walked in the party it was pretty clear we were the only gringos.

836
01:30:11,100 --> 01:30:17,020
I got eliminated from the dance contest early on which anyone who knows me knows this came

837
01:30:17,020 --> 01:30:22,500
as no shocker but Dane and his partner ended up in the finals. Let's just say that Dane

838
01:30:22,500 --> 01:30:27,660
won the contest with a combination of elaborate pole dancing, comically broken Spanish and

839
01:30:27,660 --> 01:30:32,500
too many shots of tequila. The crowd went wild as he threw himself to the top of the

840
01:30:32,500 --> 01:30:39,580
pole sideways spun around three times fully extended like a gymnast and dismounted perfectly.

841
01:30:39,580 --> 01:30:44,700
He took his shirt off and threw it into the crowd. I've never laughed so hard in my entire

842
01:30:44,700 --> 01:30:54,220
life. Before our time in Mexico ended we fulfilled a boyhood fantasy of surfing Puerto Escondido.

843
01:30:54,220 --> 01:31:00,380
Puerto Escondido is considered to be the Mexican version of pipeline and the waves were not

844
01:31:00,380 --> 01:31:06,500
for the faint of heart. The waves were merely six to eight feet on the face, mellow conditions

845
01:31:06,500 --> 01:31:11,900
by Puerto standards. I managed to rent a guy a rent a board but the guy at the surf shop

846
01:31:11,900 --> 01:31:17,740
wouldn't let me have a leash because it upped the chances of me slapping the rental. When

847
01:31:17,740 --> 01:31:25,100
I got to the break it was six to ten feet faces and pumping very uncrowded. I did manage

848
01:31:25,100 --> 01:31:32,260
to get a few waves although I didn't manage to get the memorable deep tube I had imagined.

849
01:31:32,260 --> 01:31:37,180
However I did take the beating in the impact zone that was more intense than anything I

850
01:31:37,180 --> 01:31:44,560
could have dreamed up. It was a long swim in but was totally worth it to check a destination

851
01:31:44,560 --> 01:31:51,860
off the old surf bucket list. Trying to get in at Porto was like being stuck in a washing

852
01:31:51,860 --> 01:31:59,220
machine. Round and round I went without making any progress. I was rescued for the first

853
01:31:59,220 --> 01:32:05,740
time in my life by a boogie boarder. It was completely embarrassing. Mexico wasn't an

854
01:32:05,740 --> 01:32:14,040
easy trip, it wasn't cushy but the memories you earn are beyond and worth the effort.

855
01:32:14,040 --> 01:32:18,980
There was no one selling memories like mine when you come back to your Otay Mesa. You

856
01:32:18,980 --> 01:32:24,580
have to go out and find them for yourself. It's fun to post photos on social media but

857
01:32:24,580 --> 01:32:33,820
nothing beats being on location in a new place. It's striking the difference between a photo

858
01:32:33,820 --> 01:32:45,340
and a personal experience. Chapter 8 Central America. Having finished the major push through

859
01:32:45,340 --> 01:32:50,980
Mexico it was time to do some major border crossing. In order to get to my final destination

860
01:32:50,980 --> 01:33:01,860
in Columbia I would have to cross six borders and Guatemala was up first. The crossing was

861
01:33:01,860 --> 01:33:08,420
actually pretty eventful as a passing traveling companion drew more than a little attention.

862
01:33:08,420 --> 01:33:13,860
As we rode along our way to the border we encountered another rider and shouted a friendly

863
01:33:13,860 --> 01:33:19,100
hello. Our new road buddy introduced himself as Nikolai and he gave us a very interesting

864
01:33:19,100 --> 01:33:25,420
backstory. He was Romanian and had lived under its brutal dictator Ceausescu in the 80s and

865
01:33:25,420 --> 01:33:32,660
now he was on the open road enjoying a peaceful Central American ride or so it seemed. He

866
01:33:32,660 --> 01:33:38,220
came across as a very chill guy while I found it a little weird that he was riding in a

867
01:33:38,220 --> 01:33:44,900
super starched white jumpsuit I figured it was just as odd to him for us to be in our

868
01:33:44,900 --> 01:33:50,420
spandex. We swapped travel stories and we couldn't see the border crossing but when

869
01:33:50,420 --> 01:33:55,580
we did see the border we pulled over to get out our Spanish phrase books and our passports

870
01:33:55,580 --> 01:34:01,400
so they weren't fumbling with our packs at passport control. After closing up the gear

871
01:34:01,400 --> 01:34:06,480
we made all the little ride to the last border which was our calm ride took an interesting

872
01:34:06,480 --> 01:34:12,260
turn. As we came up from the border we slowed and dismounted our bikes to approach the customs

873
01:34:12,260 --> 01:34:17,640
turnstile. Well Dana and I did anyway. Without so much as a goodbye Nikolai blew past our

874
01:34:17,640 --> 01:34:23,420
border patrol on sprint speed which you can imagine raised one heck of an alarm. Sirens

875
01:34:23,420 --> 01:34:30,020
were blaring someone was shouting over a loudspeaker in a Jeep with a bunch of border agents blasted

876
01:34:30,020 --> 01:34:37,380
after him. It all happened so fast I was completely stunned. In what seemed like a matter of seconds

877
01:34:37,380 --> 01:34:44,060
border agents surrounded Dana and I and unfortunately my phrase book wasn't super helpful. Predictably

878
01:34:44,060 --> 01:34:49,580
Nikolai was caught and the madness died down. We were super cooperative with the border

879
01:34:49,580 --> 01:34:54,720
guards and after answering all other questions we came to find out that Nikolai was an internationally

880
01:34:54,720 --> 01:35:00,060
wanted escaped convict. His attempt to hop the border was a last ditch effort to escape

881
01:35:00,060 --> 01:35:05,040
detention in Mexico when we finally crossed the border I couldn't help but laugh at how

882
01:35:05,040 --> 01:35:11,000
surreal the day had been. Fortunately we wouldn't be accused of any of aiding any more criminals

883
01:35:11,000 --> 01:35:22,200
during the rest of our ride. Every new place presents its own colorful travel hardships

884
01:35:22,200 --> 01:35:30,200
when you're on a bicycle. Guatemala isn't hills or windchill it's mosquitoes. Mosquitoes

885
01:35:30,200 --> 01:35:35,800
were a new irritation for Dana and I. So far we hadn't encountered too many insects but

886
01:35:35,800 --> 01:35:39,880
something about the rain combined with the comfortable warmth brought the blood suckers

887
01:35:39,880 --> 01:35:45,200
out to feast. At first we were sleeping in fields and little roadside clearings but the

888
01:35:45,200 --> 01:35:51,080
bugs were just too big. Big black clouds that we get in your eyes and mouth. Unfortunately

889
01:35:51,080 --> 01:35:55,860
the bugs started keeping us up at night and we weren't getting enough sleep to support

890
01:35:55,860 --> 01:36:02,480
our ride plan. We ended up staying in a lot of funky little motels and sheds. Whatever

891
01:36:02,480 --> 01:36:08,720
we could get for cheap but after our experiences as mosquito food they felt luxurious. One

892
01:36:08,720 --> 01:36:13,760
thing I loved about California, one thing I loved about Guatemala was the breakfast

893
01:36:13,760 --> 01:36:19,200
food. Every morning we would find a little place to get a typical breakfast and for three

894
01:36:19,200 --> 01:36:26,400
or four dollars you could get an absolute feast. Eggs, beans, plantains, sour cream,

895
01:36:26,400 --> 01:36:33,800
sausage, coffee. I remember going to bed sore and exhausted with my mind already preoccupied

896
01:36:33,800 --> 01:36:42,360
with the thoughts of the plate piled high for breakfast trimmings. When we reached El

897
01:36:42,360 --> 01:36:49,080
Salvador we traded mosquitoes for long cold climbs into the mountains. We encountered

898
01:36:49,080 --> 01:36:55,280
freezing rain, barely shy of sleep as we climbed the mountain roads. I ended up breaking out

899
01:36:55,280 --> 01:37:02,360
my smart wool base layer, pants, jacket, beanie and wool, their first and last debut on the

900
01:37:02,360 --> 01:37:10,000
trip. It was an odd experience. One day the weather put us behind schedule making it impossible

901
01:37:10,000 --> 01:37:14,840
for us to reach our projected destination before dark. Instead we pulled off at a convenience

902
01:37:14,840 --> 01:37:19,220
store some 3,500 feet into the mountains and looked around for someone who might give us

903
01:37:19,220 --> 01:37:23,280
permission to set up camp under the eaves of the building's roof so we could stay out

904
01:37:23,280 --> 01:37:28,240
of the drizzle. The owner was friendly and hospitable and after making his coffee he

905
01:37:28,240 --> 01:37:33,360
invited us to stay in a little converted guest house behind the main storefront. Aside from

906
01:37:33,360 --> 01:37:39,560
this generous offer he invited us to eat dinner with his family. We ate beans and rice and

907
01:37:39,560 --> 01:37:46,200
tortillas and ham. It resembled a holiday back home. Everything was delicious and the

908
01:37:46,200 --> 01:37:52,800
coffee was so strong that it took the edge off my aches. I slept soundly. The next morning

909
01:37:52,800 --> 01:37:57,680
we said our thanks and headed out early in order to make up the lost time from the day

910
01:37:57,680 --> 01:38:05,640
before. We were higher up in the mountains, the higher latitudes than I had imagined with

911
01:38:05,640 --> 01:38:13,240
the fog thick and cold. It was more like San Francisco than sunny Central America. Who

912
01:38:13,240 --> 01:38:21,480
figured? That day we managed only 12 miles with 3,000 feet of climbing. My favorite place

913
01:38:21,480 --> 01:38:29,320
in Otoonco, my favorite place in El Salvador was Otoonco. Later on in life I would go there

914
01:38:29,320 --> 01:38:36,220
many many times. And Dane and I ended up staying there longer than we planned. The whole place

915
01:38:36,220 --> 01:38:41,280
was easy going and quiet with great waves and napping and hammocks being the only thing

916
01:38:41,280 --> 01:38:48,360
to do. Otoonco is also home to my all time favorite pupusa. Pupusas are similar to corn

917
01:38:48,360 --> 01:38:54,200
tortillas only they're thicker and stuffed with cheese, beans and meat. They're sold

918
01:38:54,200 --> 01:39:00,200
hot and they're handmade at small restaurants called pupusarias where they're also accompanied

919
01:39:00,200 --> 01:39:07,680
by a cabbage called cortito and a slightly spicy tomato sauce called salsa roja. When

920
01:39:07,680 --> 01:39:11,680
we stopped for lunch in El Salvador I would always buy a big bag of them to take with

921
01:39:11,680 --> 01:39:18,040
me on the road and eat when I wanted a snack. I told myself Sunday I would go back there

922
01:39:18,040 --> 01:39:27,720
and do some work. Boy did that prove to be prophetic. I loved the area and it turned

923
01:39:27,720 --> 01:39:34,080
out that the need in the area matched the kind of water filtration installation that

924
01:39:34,080 --> 01:39:41,080
I was interested in organizing. As providence would have it, four years later I would meet

925
01:39:41,080 --> 01:39:47,240
Doreen a teacher at a Ritzy Prep School in the capital of San Salvador who would help

926
01:39:47,240 --> 01:39:53,920
lead me back there. Doreen also worked with a local charity group that brought in volunteers

927
01:39:53,920 --> 01:40:00,240
for impoverished people in El Salvador. I couldn't have dreamed up a better connection.

928
01:40:00,240 --> 01:40:08,860
It's funny how sometimes you feel a real conviction about a cause or a place. In my

929
01:40:08,860 --> 01:40:18,320
heart I made a promise to that place, to those people. But you couldn't even begin to imagine

930
01:40:18,320 --> 01:40:25,960
the resources it would take to follow through on the conviction that you felt. Then when

931
01:40:25,960 --> 01:40:30,560
you've pretty much dismissed the whole idea, the pieces fall together in a way you couldn't

932
01:40:30,560 --> 01:40:37,480
have orchestrated even if you wanted to. Things like that really set my belief that the big

933
01:40:37,480 --> 01:40:43,800
man upstairs had a plan from the beginning. I always advise people to acknowledge moments

934
01:40:43,800 --> 01:40:50,720
of conviction. Typically I find that when I suddenly feel strongly that I should be doing

935
01:40:50,720 --> 01:40:59,780
something selfless, that feeling of conviction isn't a product of my self-centric brain.

936
01:40:59,780 --> 01:41:05,560
Right around the time I met Doreen I would shut down a local coffee place with a group

937
01:41:05,560 --> 01:41:14,520
of guys and we would hold a kind of informal Bible study. We would cruise in after hours

938
01:41:14,520 --> 01:41:19,400
and talk about certain parts of the Bible, stuff they were having a hard time with, and

939
01:41:19,400 --> 01:41:28,840
close up with a short prayer. This unconventional, spontaneous approach in an easy to get to

940
01:41:28,840 --> 01:41:38,320
location with a very chill vibe based mostly around a rack of beers, the Bible, and the

941
01:41:38,320 --> 01:41:45,760
Holy Spirit somehow seemed to work. Everyone was college age and no one really participated

942
01:41:45,760 --> 01:41:55,000
in a church as we understood it, but it sure felt like one. This was also a seed that would

943
01:41:55,000 --> 01:42:01,480
grow later in my life. We were looking for a way to connect with our purpose in life

944
01:42:01,480 --> 01:42:07,240
and being in touch with God seemed like a good way to do it. One night I ended up mentioning

945
01:42:07,240 --> 01:42:12,380
Doreen and her connection to a particular water initiative at our meeting and people

946
01:42:12,380 --> 01:42:25,800
seemed interested. Four months later, 34 of us would be on our way to El Salvador to help her.

947
01:42:25,800 --> 01:42:32,600
Honduras took me one day to ride through a 70 mile stretch of land. We actually finished

948
01:42:32,600 --> 01:42:37,700
the ride more quickly than we planned so we spent the better part of the afternoon testing

949
01:42:37,700 --> 01:42:43,880
out the water filtration systems we had packed so we could drink from rivers if need be.

950
01:42:43,880 --> 01:42:52,760
At this point in the trip we made it a practice to get our water from those sources. The major

951
01:42:52,760 --> 01:42:58,200
difference being that we had a nifty little filter from REI and many people in impoverished

952
01:42:58,200 --> 01:43:05,680
areas of the globe don't. Instead they just live with the risk of water contamination.

953
01:43:05,680 --> 01:43:11,480
Over a billion people on earth had no reliable access to clean water that is safe from contaminants.

954
01:43:11,480 --> 01:43:19,520
I saw this first hand on my bicycle ride as I tried to drink with the filter from a river.

955
01:43:19,520 --> 01:43:26,800
According to a 2013 water study by the UN, 783 million people didn't have access to

956
01:43:26,800 --> 01:43:34,280
clean water. This seemed impossible to me. Six to eight million people die annually from

957
01:43:34,280 --> 01:43:40,000
the consequences of disasters, water related diseases. For most Americans it seems like

958
01:43:40,000 --> 01:43:45,320
a distant global issue that somehow they're exempt from. To put that in perspective, the

959
01:43:45,320 --> 01:43:52,080
average American household uses about 80 gallons of water a day. European household uses 50.

960
01:43:52,080 --> 01:43:58,560
For the sake of comparison, a sub-Saharan household will use two gallons. Aside from

961
01:43:58,560 --> 01:44:04,280
the global disparity of water accessibility, water quality is a prolific killer in the

962
01:44:04,280 --> 01:44:10,040
developing world. In fact, 80% of illness in the developing world is water and sanitation

963
01:44:10,040 --> 01:44:15,760
related and it's estimated by UNICEF that some 2,000 children under the ages of five

964
01:44:15,760 --> 01:44:22,280
die each day because of unsafe water conditions. As the earth experiences changes in our climate

965
01:44:22,280 --> 01:44:27,080
and atmosphere, more and more of the world will come under high water stress, including

966
01:44:27,080 --> 01:44:31,720
areas of the developed world that are currently accustomed to having easy access to clean

967
01:44:31,720 --> 01:44:36,480
water. Not to mention current projections that the population of the earth ballooning

968
01:44:36,480 --> 01:44:42,320
to 10 million people, 10 billion people, which will only complicate and compound these already

969
01:44:42,320 --> 01:44:48,840
serious problems. Having safe sources of water is essential to the eradication of pathogens

970
01:44:48,840 --> 01:44:53,480
that destroy the health of newly emerging and struggling countries. I'm no scientist,

971
01:44:53,480 --> 01:44:58,800
but all these facts make it clear that the world needs more institutional strategies

972
01:44:58,800 --> 01:45:06,000
and personal technologies that will help water accessibility for all. While I definitely see

973
01:45:06,000 --> 01:45:10,780
the need to petition government bodies and non-government agencies to enact policies

974
01:45:10,780 --> 01:45:15,080
that will provide aid to people abroad, this isn't something I'm going to hold my breath

975
01:45:15,080 --> 01:45:22,040
on. I've made it my personal mission to provide water for as many people as possible as I

976
01:45:22,040 --> 01:45:32,560
can in my life. It's my goal to eventually grow this attempt. Often when people talk

977
01:45:32,560 --> 01:45:36,960
about the environment, they lump all their fears of the future or their skepticism under

978
01:45:36,960 --> 01:45:44,200
this big red letter banner of political debate. For me, this entirely removes the human perspective

979
01:45:44,200 --> 01:45:48,560
and pales over the real experience of people who are dealing with the effects of pollution,

980
01:45:48,560 --> 01:45:56,160
weather, lack of resources due to extreme poverty. Water is a bipartisan worldwide high

981
01:45:56,160 --> 01:46:08,040
priority. I'll keep writing, drawing attention, and working to this end. As I went into Nicaragua,

982
01:46:08,040 --> 01:46:12,560
the road to the beautiful colonial town of León. León is one of the oldest cities in

983
01:46:12,560 --> 01:46:18,920
Central America with a historic architecture framed by tropical flowers and palm trees.

984
01:46:18,920 --> 01:46:24,000
The city is spotlessly clean and offers lots of charming accommodations and eateries. We

985
01:46:24,000 --> 01:46:31,160
found a roomy hostel in a gorgeous old colonial building for $5 a night. The next morning,

986
01:46:31,160 --> 01:46:36,020
I headed down to have breakfast from a little place called Dasayunas. It came recommended

987
01:46:36,020 --> 01:46:41,240
and there was Wi-Fi. I decided to Skype Quinn and give her an update, and after I rang my

988
01:46:41,240 --> 01:46:46,960
buddies to take advantage of getting to brag a little about my adventure. That morning,

989
01:46:46,960 --> 01:46:52,040
I ended up on the phone with my friend Mark Bell, who told me that after my ride, I should

990
01:46:52,040 --> 01:46:57,280
come volunteer with him at a youth program he was running in San Diego. I don't know

991
01:46:57,280 --> 01:47:03,040
why, but it's really comforting to look back on the first moment of something great. I

992
01:47:03,040 --> 01:47:08,320
had no idea at the time that I would end up working with him and meeting my beautiful

993
01:47:08,320 --> 01:47:18,760
wife as a result. God clearly knew he had a bigger plan. I was actually beginning to

994
01:47:18,760 --> 01:47:26,200
dream about the future. We had managed to raise over $20,000 for water projects using

995
01:47:26,200 --> 01:47:31,160
this bicycle ride, and even though I was away from Quinn, I felt connected to her through

996
01:47:31,160 --> 01:47:41,000
our talks and photo sharing. Mixed feelings, yet they've never gone away. While my life

997
01:47:41,000 --> 01:47:47,160
wasn't perfect by a long shot, where I was, I felt pretty satisfying. While I always lived

998
01:47:47,160 --> 01:47:52,560
with the potential for a flare of depression, it seemed like I was finally beginning to

999
01:47:52,560 --> 01:48:00,040
understand how to manage it. From that point on, I've made it a goal to ride my bicycle

1000
01:48:00,040 --> 01:48:08,680
or surf every day as my therapy, and it's worked. I recognize that each person's mental

1001
01:48:08,680 --> 01:48:14,280
health algorithm is different, and I'm glad to be at peace with mine. I felt really happy

1002
01:48:14,280 --> 01:48:19,240
as we left Nicaragua, and while I didn't have a clue what was ahead, I was full of

1003
01:48:19,240 --> 01:48:27,960
breakfast and hope, and I figured it was going to be a good day. I had been to Costa Rica

1004
01:48:27,960 --> 01:48:33,800
previously in the summer heading into my senior year of my undergraduate degree. My dad had

1005
01:48:33,800 --> 01:48:37,160
decided that we shouldn't miss out on the chance to have what might be a guys' surf

1006
01:48:37,160 --> 01:48:42,600
trip before life got complicated and busy with new jobs and potential moves. We got

1007
01:48:42,600 --> 01:48:52,040
boards, stayed in cool places. We surfed Tamarindo and Haco. The waves were fun. The ocean felt

1008
01:48:52,040 --> 01:48:58,280
like a bathtub. I'd been excited since the start of my trip to end up back in the Pura

1009
01:48:58,280 --> 01:49:04,640
Vida capital of Central America. Costa Rica was as pleasant as I remember with lots of

1010
01:49:04,640 --> 01:49:13,080
fresh fruit, cold imperial, big purple beach crabs, and cool monkeys. The weather was the

1011
01:49:13,080 --> 01:49:23,680
same too, blazingly hot with a high of 106 every day. After the calm of Costa Rica, Panama

1012
01:49:23,680 --> 01:49:29,280
was a full circus at the start. Once we reached the border, it took more than an hour to get

1013
01:49:29,280 --> 01:49:34,600
through the four different customs and passport check lines culminating in the most epic luggage

1014
01:49:34,600 --> 01:49:39,960
search of all time. It was a long afternoon. It was totally worth it though because as

1015
01:49:39,960 --> 01:49:45,800
soon as we got across the border, the road was beautiful and smooth to the point where

1016
01:49:45,800 --> 01:49:51,920
I myself was thinking that the road crew must have been from Newport Beach because the landscaping

1017
01:49:51,920 --> 01:49:57,040
was resort quality. Sometimes you get those rare perfect conditions in cycling complete

1018
01:49:57,040 --> 01:50:02,440
with big flat smooth roads that seem to have a brand new finish on them. We had a tail

1019
01:50:02,440 --> 01:50:08,400
wind and a touch of cloud cover for nearly three hours. We ate at a food joint almost

1020
01:50:08,400 --> 01:50:12,720
identical to the hundreds of other little places along the way, but for some reason

1021
01:50:12,720 --> 01:50:18,440
this particular place just hit the spot. Cycling heightens taste buds in a way that I can't

1022
01:50:18,440 --> 01:50:24,520
explain and if you bike, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Cycling makes people

1023
01:50:24,520 --> 01:50:33,840
tell a lot of food centered tall tales. It's like some kind of hyperbolic bike folklore.

1024
01:50:33,840 --> 01:50:41,760
Every meal is the best meal ever. As you might have anticipated, we paid dearly for the blissful

1025
01:50:41,760 --> 01:50:47,540
first push to Panama. After lunch, we rode for about an hour before I decided to grab

1026
01:50:47,540 --> 01:50:54,560
a Coke and a Gatorade. I was starting to really warm up outside and I was thirsty. The last

1027
01:50:54,560 --> 01:50:59,640
25 miles or so were a climb, but I felt pretty rested and comfortable. It wasn't a big deal.

1028
01:50:59,640 --> 01:51:06,200
We were enjoying a downhill stretch about three miles from the town where we had decided

1029
01:51:06,200 --> 01:51:10,800
to stop for the night and I thought I was going to be able to put a near perfect day

1030
01:51:10,800 --> 01:51:20,360
in the books when something unimaginable happened. Bees, the ones that sting, they were everywhere.

1031
01:51:20,360 --> 01:51:29,800
A swarm straight out of a Hitchcock horror film. In the film, the lady gets chased down

1032
01:51:29,800 --> 01:51:35,840
the street as the birds dive bomb her from above. She wildly swings her arms in a failed

1033
01:51:35,840 --> 01:51:42,720
attempt to ward them off. You can tell she's a goner. I wasn't doing much better. I started

1034
01:51:42,720 --> 01:51:47,520
sprinting as fast as I could, swinging one arm wildly, trying to keep the swarm out of

1035
01:51:47,520 --> 01:51:54,120
my face. It was a battle I was losing. I lost my cycling glasses while I was trying to kill

1036
01:51:54,120 --> 01:51:59,600
the one that had stung me on my back. I tried to swat a bee that was stinging my face, but

1037
01:51:59,600 --> 01:52:05,040
while I was swinging at that, two stung me in the arm, nastiest of all, especially because

1038
01:52:05,040 --> 01:52:11,560
the evil bee got inside my cycling bib and stung me on the neck. I couldn't even scream

1039
01:52:11,560 --> 01:52:17,960
or yell. I was too afraid of getting a bee sting to the tongue. At this point, I thought

1040
01:52:17,960 --> 01:52:26,760
nothing. I mean, nothing on this trip could faze me. After multiple chaotic border crossings,

1041
01:52:26,760 --> 01:52:31,720
sleeping in every conceivable place, fumbling through interactions in Spanish, and eating

1042
01:52:31,720 --> 01:52:39,000
all sorts of unidentifiable meats, bugs, were really something I was worried about. However,

1043
01:52:39,000 --> 01:52:45,160
killer swarms of bees were more than I bargained for. I didn't realize how far behind I had

1044
01:52:45,160 --> 01:52:50,840
left Dane during my sprint, and I had to wait a while. The next rest stop for him to catch

1045
01:52:50,840 --> 01:52:58,480
up, I was nursing my war wounds. I had giant welts in my arms and my neck. My eye was swollen.

1046
01:52:58,480 --> 01:53:05,560
It hurt to blink. After the fact, it turned into this gnarly black eye that I looked like

1047
01:53:05,560 --> 01:53:11,680
someone had punched me in the face. Dane finally rolled in and showed me the six stings he

1048
01:53:11,680 --> 01:53:17,640
got. He was in a bad mood and didn't want much to do with anything for the rest of the

1049
01:53:17,640 --> 01:53:22,120
day, and I didn't blame him. Instead of pushing on, we spent the day digging stingers out

1050
01:53:22,120 --> 01:53:28,120
of our skin with credit cards and nursing beers. I ended up listening to one of my favorite

1051
01:53:28,120 --> 01:53:35,400
Chuck Smith messages and twinned up with a bench of Advil. It brightened my mood substantially.

1052
01:53:35,400 --> 01:53:40,440
The whole disaster wasn't a total loss because it turned out to be the finest sprint I'd

1053
01:53:40,440 --> 01:53:46,760
ever put down on my bike. My bike computer showed 28 miles per hour for about two minutes.

1054
01:53:46,760 --> 01:53:51,680
Hopefully the next time I ride that hard, it won't be in the interest of saving my

1055
01:53:51,680 --> 01:53:59,200
own skin. After a big lunch, we finished our pity party and told the tales of our bravery

1056
01:53:59,200 --> 01:54:05,600
to the bartender. He told us that there was an abeja tienda, which predictably means bee

1057
01:54:05,600 --> 01:54:12,800
farm, and of course we'd taken a side road right through it. I really need to get around

1058
01:54:12,800 --> 01:54:19,800
to writing that letter of complaint to the map people one of these days. After a bit

1059
01:54:19,800 --> 01:54:25,840
of tense ride, we did make it to Panama City in one piece. Well, pretty much anyway. We

1060
01:54:25,840 --> 01:54:30,920
ate some terrible food and ended up feeling sick for most of the ride. I had tried hard

1061
01:54:30,920 --> 01:54:37,000
on the trip to sample local cuisine and avoid too many questions about strange looking ingredients

1062
01:54:37,000 --> 01:54:42,760
and so far it had worked out fantastically. This time my strategy didn't pay off. We

1063
01:54:42,760 --> 01:54:48,920
stopped at a kind of funky looking fast food place and ordered a bunch of deep fried junk.

1064
01:54:48,920 --> 01:54:55,160
It didn't go down so well. In the midst after our lunch stomach aches, we managed two flat

1065
01:54:55,160 --> 01:55:02,340
tires that cost over an hour to fix. It wasn't a complete loss since we ended up ironically

1066
01:55:02,340 --> 01:55:09,880
riding for 15 miles or so with a national Panamanian cycling team. And they hooked us

1067
01:55:09,880 --> 01:55:19,000
up with some new tubes, a Coke, and even gave us a hand fixing our flat. I was reminded

1068
01:55:19,000 --> 01:55:27,000
during this day how setbacks are inevitable. However, an unfortunate event doesn't mean

1069
01:55:27,000 --> 01:55:34,720
it's the end of things. Little mercies like a cold Coke, bug spray, and sympathy from

1070
01:55:34,720 --> 01:55:47,900
a stranger do wonders. Growing this kind of outlook isn't easy, but it's worth the energy.

1071
01:55:47,900 --> 01:55:56,800
Number nine, South America. I got my black belt in perspective when we finally made it

1072
01:55:56,800 --> 01:56:05,760
to our stop in Medellin, Colombia. The day started out great. We had crossed the border

1073
01:56:05,760 --> 01:56:13,200
into our destination country and the finish line was practically in sight. We stopped

1074
01:56:13,200 --> 01:56:20,480
for a big meal. That is when I learned about paella. Mandeja paella is basically the equivalent

1075
01:56:20,480 --> 01:56:25,840
of ordering all the dishes you want to put on one big plate. If you order this in Colombia,

1076
01:56:25,840 --> 01:56:31,880
you have to be ready for a big meal because it comes with everything. Pork, rice, carne

1077
01:56:31,880 --> 01:56:41,320
malida, chicharrones, fried eggs, plantains, chorizo, arepa, hojo sauce, avocado, lots

1078
01:56:41,320 --> 01:56:46,760
of lemons for squeezing. Most people would be bursting at the seams, but I loved every

1079
01:56:46,760 --> 01:56:52,880
bite. After lunch, I went on a slow ride around town. I met a super friendly guy during the

1080
01:56:52,880 --> 01:57:00,200
ride and we rode together for about an hour or so. He showed me around town. We even stopped

1081
01:57:00,200 --> 01:57:05,800
by his house and met up with his friend. It was nice talking with other cyclists and they

1082
01:57:05,800 --> 01:57:11,240
gave me a nice overview of the town from a local perspective. At one point, our little

1083
01:57:11,240 --> 01:57:16,280
group stopped at a little cantina for a beer and the friend asked me if he could sit on

1084
01:57:16,280 --> 01:57:23,180
my bike to see how it felt. We were cyclists with the gear and the shoes. We were all laughing

1085
01:57:23,180 --> 01:57:30,480
and having a great time or so I thought. I didn't want to be rude. He sat on my bike

1086
01:57:30,480 --> 01:57:40,880
and promptly rode off like that. That was it. My bike was gone. I remember being stunned

1087
01:57:40,880 --> 01:57:46,840
and shocked. A local came over and asked me what was happening and called the police when

1088
01:57:46,840 --> 01:57:52,240
they showed up and found that I had ridden that bike from Ohio and that it was my father's

1089
01:57:52,240 --> 01:58:00,840
bicycle that he had ridden to work for 37 years and that I was helping to bring clean water

1090
01:58:00,840 --> 01:58:10,600
to people in Fiji. The officer pulled his gun out and vowed to shoot the perpetrator.

1091
01:58:10,600 --> 01:58:15,920
Although in my mind I wanted him to do just that, I told him that I didn't believe in

1092
01:58:15,920 --> 01:58:21,200
violence and that God keeps track of these things in this world and that he would distribute

1093
01:58:21,200 --> 01:58:28,400
justice when he saw fit. I went on to explain that sometimes God distributes justice in

1094
01:58:28,400 --> 01:58:33,920
this life and sometimes he distributes justice in the afterlife but that's not my job to

1095
01:58:33,920 --> 01:58:40,400
worry about it. Besides, praying for God to distribute justice in others when we are the

1096
01:58:40,400 --> 01:58:45,480
victim and praying for him to give us mercy when we are the offender seems like a pretty

1097
01:58:45,480 --> 01:58:51,520
self-serving double standard. I told him that God keeps a good score of these things and

1098
01:58:51,520 --> 01:58:58,880
that my job is just to try and be the best person I can. He looked at me like I was absolutely

1099
01:58:58,880 --> 01:59:06,760
crazy but I meant every word of it. Later another guy apologized on behalf of his countrymen

1100
01:59:06,760 --> 01:59:14,240
and made sure that I knew that most Colombians are stand-up people. I told him that good

1101
01:59:14,240 --> 01:59:22,480
and bad people exist everywhere and I certainly wasn't one to grudge or hold a judge. So I

1102
01:59:22,480 --> 01:59:28,800
spent a weird unexpected morning dealing with the police and philosophizing with the locals

1103
01:59:28,800 --> 01:59:37,040
but despite my mold, my pulled together appearance, I couldn't shake how bummed I felt. The only

1104
01:59:37,040 --> 01:59:42,760
material thing in this world that I valued had been taken away from me, the bike and

1105
01:59:42,760 --> 01:59:49,880
my father rode to work and gave to me when he retired. It was like a friend of mine had

1106
01:59:49,880 --> 01:59:58,280
suddenly died. During all of this thinking I started to realize that I was a totally

1107
01:59:58,280 --> 02:00:06,640
different guy than I used to be. My impulsive and petuous nature seemed to be toned down.

1108
02:00:06,640 --> 02:00:13,240
I was milder and the name of the game was a heightened level of perspective. The old

1109
02:00:13,240 --> 02:00:19,160
me would definitely want to knock him out, to lay blame but for some reason this loss

1110
02:00:19,160 --> 02:00:26,560
felt okay. Not happy but okay. It was clear to me that the ride was over and another door

1111
02:00:26,560 --> 02:00:35,120
was opening. I had no idea. I had ridden thousands of miles through ten countries and while it

1112
02:00:35,120 --> 02:00:43,600
wasn't the victorious ending that I dreamed of, I accepted it. In life things don't work

1113
02:00:43,600 --> 02:00:51,080
out like in the movies. Things don't wrap up neatly with a perfect sunset and a trophy.

1114
02:00:51,080 --> 02:00:57,960
It was the most real kick in the pants ending I could have imagined to my era of writing.

1115
02:00:57,960 --> 02:01:04,560
Then again I was proud of me and I had made a huge difference for people who had less

1116
02:01:04,560 --> 02:01:13,840
than I did. My daughter was doing great. The mixed feelings, they never go away. I knew

1117
02:01:13,840 --> 02:01:19,800
that while my story didn't have a picture perfect ending, it had enough picture perfect

1118
02:01:19,800 --> 02:01:28,160
moments to last a lifetime.

1119
02:01:28,160 --> 02:01:35,160
Thanks for listening.