After a stay of just over two weeks, the time has come to hit the road. Tomorrow afternoon my plans dictate catching a bus out of Great Falls with a final destination of Denver, Colorado, in consequence of all other options falling short. Renting a car is far too expensive, especially given the current price of gas, and finding a ride proved to be unsuccessful. While opportunities have presented themselves, nothing came along that could feasibly work. As for flying, well, it’s pricey as well, and I think there are much more rewarding ways to travel. Who needs to get to their destination in a matter of hours? (And who wants to put up with that damn security, and the lack of meals, and the price of checking a bag these days.) No, I prefer the scenic route, which is, invariably, the longer way around. The bus fulfills this need with just under 24 hours of travel time. I know that may seem like an unbearably long time to be sitting in a bus seat, but by comparison, the first option I found, through Greyhound, was nearly 40 hours travel time, with a 13 hour layover in Butte on a night with a forecast low below freezing. Granted, I was able to find a place to stay through my uncle, but still, it entailed catching a 7:00 am bus out of there. I was pretty excited to find out today that I could cut the travel time in half and eliminate a lengthy layover. On top of all that, this more direct route is actually 30 bucks cheaper. Hot damn! And I found out that I won’t need to ship anything, as the cost of bringing all of my possessions, including my bike, will only cost me 30 extra dollars, which is exactly the amount I am saving by taking this route. Compare that to what would have easily been a 100-dollar shipping expense and the uncertainty that comes with such an endeavor.

So after two weeks here in Great Falls, staying with my family, what have I been up to? To be honest, not much. This has proved incredibly difficult, but probably for the best, I suppose. I definitely needed the time to rest; I was pooped after all those long days of wind and heat. Now I feel fully rested and ready for action. Itching for action, actually. But my body still needs some attention, some mending. For one, I seem to have done a serious number on my back. Yikes, I’m only 24, this isn’t right. My back is all in knots, and I have lost some range in lateral mobility. I need to loosen up before I compound this problem into permanent damage.

When not sitting around and doing nothing, I have had plenty of time to catch up on some web work, tackle projects I had put off while on this trip. I’m happy to say they have been very successful, and it has renewed my interest in pursuing this line of work as possibly a more extensive source of income. Lately I have only sustained the work because it proves to be an ample wage to quench my large appetite and ensure I don’t completely lose my struggling ex-student lifestyle. Also, I had made promises that I needed to fulfill. But now I look forward to taking on more work, perhaps putting myself out there a bit more and advertising myself, and maybe actually finishing my own website. So if anybody reading along needs web work or knows anyone that needs web work, here’s my shameless plug.

Now one of the goals I had set for myself during this time of rest and recovery was to reflect back upon my trip thus far, to recollect the events and emotions, and to try to put some conclusions or perspective on this journey up to this juncture. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t done much of that. I had planned on rereading my journals, both this online one and my personal notebook. While I did look over some previous posts, I didn’t really do much. I did look back in my notebook, turning to the entries I wrote just before I began this bike ride over three months ago. To my dismay, I found reading them to be very difficult. The weeks and months leading up to my departure were for the most part unhappy and full of strife. I was struggling with some really tough depression, coping with a recently-ended romantic relationship (not on bad terms, which I think made it all the more difficult), and dealing with some major familial issues at home. Suffice to say, there wasn’t much in the way of jovial correspondance on my part during this time. Reading all this and revisiting that period was somewhat devastating to my emotional stability and unfortunately somewhat diminished my enthusiasm in rereading my entire account. I know it only gets better from that point on, but I needed time to process all this heavy material first.

I’m hoping now that I may be sufficiently more prepared to resurrect my endeavor, but I’ve come to realize that my journey is definitely not over; there is much more traveling and adventure to come, and I may not be able to fully revisit and reflect upon the entirety of the trip until it truly is finished, until I do have some sense of completion and distance from the quest. I don’t think I have expressed it yet in writing here, but I have mentioned the idea to and had some fantastically positive encouragement from some individuals about the prospect of ultimately turning my accounts of this journey into a book. I love writing, and for the last year or so I have had the desire to really put something down that could be considered worthy of reading. I think the age-old advice is to stick to what you know. Well, I’d say I know a little about long and strenuous journeys full of rewards and disappointments, family and strangers, saints and assholes. So why not give it a try. Now I’ve had thoughts, and even said outloud a few times, that I wouldn’t necessarily want to get something like that published, that I would probably not pursue that too tenaciously. But who am I kidding. Why lie to myself and others- I would absolutely love to have something published. Now if hardly anyone ever buys it, who cares, but to have a printed and bound copy of my thoughts and ideas, my honest story and emotions and growth, complete with full-color pictures, that at least a few people would find worthy of their time and mental energy to read, that would be pretty fulfilling for me. I like the idea of honest stories, character-driven pieces that offer glimpses into the soul of one or more individuals, that present truthful accounts of emotions and growth, whether fiction or non-fiction. Just this past week I read Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, and I completed that book with a renewed energy and passion for writing, for the art of employing words to portray the portrait of a character, a situation, an ideal, and above all, a damn good story. It’s a powerful form of expression, and I’d like to try my hand at finding personal success in the endeavor.

So tomorrow I travel again. I wish so much that I could ride this leg of the journey. I want so badly to bike through Yellowstone and along the Rocky Mountains up here, but the weather is just not suitable at the moment, and I’m not really prepared. The temperature lows are now getting down into the teens all across this area and snow is beginning to prod its way into the forecasts. I would have to do some seriuos re-evaluating of my current systems and gear to have confidence in undertaking that kind of weather. I don’t think my hammock and current sleeping bag are suited to temperatures below freezing. Luckily I will have my time in Denver to mull over these thoughts and ensure I’m fit for resuming the biking out of the city and heading south to New Mexico and west from there. I’m more than itching to get back on my bicycle, back out on the road, so I think I will do whatever it takes to get to that point. For now, I need to prepare for 24 hours of seriously confined inactivity and the undoubtedly vibrant array of characters I’m sure to accompany on this next segment of migration. Gotta keep things interesting.

But of course I can’t end this piece without first at least touching on the past few weeks of time with family. That has been an important aspect of this entire trip, and I’m happy to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here with my uncle, aunt, and cousin. Meeting friendly strangers is a blessing on a long and lonely trip, but when all is said and done, there are certain comforts that family provides that any stranger, no matter how hospitable, no matter what the level of instant connection, just simply cannot offer, in my experiences. I have never been terribly close to any of my extended family, and I am grateful to have this opportunity to visit and share and connect. These past few weeks, I have felt completely at home, which is something I’m not quite used to these days. I’ve wanted for nothing. It’s been nice. Still, my life at the moment finds me following nomadic tendencies, and the wheels must keep turning. Onward.