Preparing for the Road

As astounding as it seems to me, and as near-unbelievable as it may be, tomorrow is my last day in Dillon. It's been a very rewarding and enjoyable 3 weeks. I've trained with more discipline than I ever have before (it's easier than you think when you live in the gym and your profession demands at least 10 hours a week of working out), enjoyed some of the most picturesque views Colorado has to offer (I would have preferred to use "panoramas" instead of "views", but I couldn't bring myself to utilize such cheesy alliteration in this blog), got in a few more (perhaps my last of the season - gasp!) snow days, and spent a lot of time reading, writing, and relaxing. It's been borderline luxurious (although my mother would probably not consider living out of a backpack for 3 weeks and sleeping on a couch that may or may not house a dead mouse (I can avoid alliteration, but witty rhyming was irresistible) in the back room of a gym "luxurious, I would, and do).

All that being said, it's still exciting to have the open road lying ahead. I leave first thing (well, second thing - I have to spin first, of course) Friday morning, heading points northwest to Seattle, WA. After almost 8 years of telling all of my friends I'd come back, I'm finally making good on my word. Interestingly enough, I don't get even the slightest impression that any of them ever doubted me. I'm excited to spend some legitimate time in the Pacific Northwest again - part of me never really left. It's not so much that I know it's my home, but that I know it can be my home base.

Seattle is near the Cascade mountains (which serve to complement both my cycling and snowboarding obsessions), the Puget Sound (for the stray day - more witty rhyming - when I need the water), Canada (it's always fun to be able to shoot into another country for a day or even just a beer should you feel like it ), and is home to a major international airport (which makes getting to major international destinations a lot more accessible).

I struggle to find things I don't agree with about Seattle. I look forward to jazz shows, city (real city!) commuting by bike, excessive amounts of coffee, and the hundreds of other little luxuries a city proper has to offer. I look forward to reconnecting with friends, and to finding new ones. I look forward to learning how to ride a bike all over again. I look forward to rejoining my first kickball team on the field of competition. I look forward to what I don't know yet to look forward to.

"The world is as a book, and those who do not travel read but only the first page." - St. Augustine