first off, i am having a blast!!!! i hurt, i get frustrated, -fill in blank-, etc. it is all worth it and all part of life. 

i am excited to share with others MY journey. MY JOURNEY......... i was worring about keeping up on this website, like i owed it to someone. that i had deadlines and things. the joke is on me. this is my journey. and i am excited to share it!!!!

with that said........ a lot has been coming up when talking with others that are doing simular things. i am not the first person to ride a bicycle across country. i am not the youngest or oldest who has ever done it. many people have done it faster, further, more extreme than i. hats off!! much respect. i wanted to take a day off and worried about my schedule. or the fact that somebody was reading about MY journey and saying to themselves, 'He will never make it at this pace." 

the only thing i can tell you for sure is that my GOAL is Maine. it might take more than this summer. i don't know. i think i can make it. the thing i know for sure is that i don't want to miss my immediate surroundings b/c all i can see is Maine. i am going to listen to and respect my body. it doesn't make sense to me to be able to say 'i rode a bike coast to coast; my hand was numb for months after it though, etc.'

the couple i met my first night were asking me if they should get a hotel at the head of the PCT. they thought it would take away from the story. many people were offering advice because they had just seen the movie 'wild.' does it matter you slept one night in a hotel before hiking the whole state of oregon? i say stfu. it might change the story if you accepted a ride? stfu. i don't know the future. i am not against adapting to my surroundings. i have found much more peace in life when I am able to let go of rigid thoughts or plans and problem solve as things appear.

sometimes i appear aloof. that is not the case at all. i am just trying to observe before doing something i can't take back.

i am so so excited about everything! everything! everything! i hope you can get some excitement and joy out of MY journey as well. above was more for me to remind myself to go at it as i see fit. SLOW DOWN. don't ruin your body.

so much i do seems like a robot. i rush to here to get that done, rush back there, missing so much. experience the day in front of me and not dwell on past or future.

peace