West Coast Adventure - Day 23

"Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me"
Chorus to Homeward Bound, by Simon & Garfunkel

Twenty three days, and nearly 6,700 miles, later...I'm home. All of a sudden my body aches in ways I wasn't aware it was aching. I feel weary in ways I didn't realize I felt weary. The end of the journey seems to have opened the floodgates to the effects of travel.

As I crossed the border back into Michigan, at about 4:30PM, my thoughts turned to reflection on the travels of the past 16 months. I've ridden almost 23,000 miles and I've got plans to ride a couple thousand more before the snow flies. I've ridden to the east coast and I've ridden to the west. I've ridden in sunshine, wind, rain, extreme heat and not quite extreme cold. I've seen mountains, valleys, gorges, plains, deserts, ranges, oceans, rivers, lakes, swamps...in short, I've seen more of America than most people will see in their entire lives. On more than one occasion, I've been told that my travels have raised the "jealousy" factor among some of my fellow riders, a sentiment I can certainly understand.

However, truth be told, I'd give back every vista, every scenic view, every stunning panorama, every inspiring moment, every sunrise and sunset...every mile...just to go to work at 7:00AM, spend 8 to 10 hours stressed to the max, and then come home to kiss my wife, pick my little girl up, and kiss her cheeks and nose while tickling her and listening to her squeal with delight because daddy's home...

...sorry if that's a Debbie Downer moment there. It's just what I've been thinking about for the past few hours. Either way, it's good to be home, such as it is.

Tomorrow is another day and another road. :)