Back Home REDONE Oct 16 2010

I apologize in advance todays blog is all over the map because I am worried about coming home. My mind is racing and does not know what to make of the whole situation. I have had over 110days to think of this moment and now it is here.

It was a stranger feeling this morning waking up and realizing that tonight I will be sleeping in my own bed. It was also a strange feeling knowing that I would be saying goodbye to the Holland family who have taken me in for the past week. Having the stability of a family unit was a big help in detoxing me from bike touring. That being said I think I have some attachment issues because I really was not looking forward to that goodbye.

I made the conscious choice to plant a butt firmly on the coach and spend some quality time thinking while watching a full day of college football. The sporting events were a great way to distract me from my own emotions because man they are going at 110%.

I would summarize the games that I watched but really it does not matter. At the end of the day it is simply guys smashing their bodies together in a coordinated fashion. Or in the case of the auburn game bodies running down the field for touchdowns.

Now I am going to cut to the meat of the day, which came when I entered the airport. Thankfully Babs and Rich walked me in and showed me where to go because I was a little nervous of the whole getting on a plane thing. After swiftly passing through security I was in a case of hurry up and wait. There I sat for two hours with nothing to ponder but my own insanity. That mixed with the awesomeness that is airport food.

Airport food. Let me rant on that for a second. I am hungry so thinking ahead that plane food is going to be a rip-off I decide I would be smart and buy a meal before I got on the plane. So I go to a reputable name like starbucks thinking that I could get a muffin or something of that nature. Well the muffin was half the size and double the price. It left me still hungry and my wallet a little lighter. Still its better then plane food.

So there I was sitting alone in an airport terminal. It was like a scene out of a movie. Slowly people started to trickle in with loved ones in tow. It was almost as if I had this weird funk around me because for 8 seats in either direction there was no one. It was a strange feeling of loneliness; I have traveled great distances of nothingness but here surrounded by people no one wanted to be around me. Then I thought about it from the opposite side of things. This world is as lonely as you want to make it. I was infact the problem here. If I wanted to be social it was up to me to take the reins and sit next to someone and start a conversation. That is the beauty of being human we get to decide the type of life we live.

Before I knew it I saw flight 1799 pulling into the gate. Shortly thereafter I was on the plan buckled in. Now I really rolled the dice because I could select a seat for 15 extra dollars or let them choose for free. When I was waiting to board I saw a large amount of children, which did not make my chances of sitting next to an adult good.

Before I knew it I was sitting on the plane ready to roll. All worked out for the best. I have an empty seat beside me, and a nice man going to visit family in Vancouver sitting by the window. This flight also came with a very pleasant surprise. I sat in my seat minding my own business thinking about home when the stewardess pats me on the shoulder and says “good job”. Odd. I then respond with a “how did you know”? She said kindly back “we have our ways”. So whoever got that organized thank you because as I type I have a few people asking about the trip after they made a lengthy announcement via the intercom. It helping to distract me from my own thoughts of life after riding. 110 Days wiser and still asking myself the same questions, perhaps it is something I will not find the answer to. Maybe I just have to throw myself at the wall and see if I stick to something (plus one cool point for using a poo reference again). I can see my friends and family reading this going “same old Evan”.

The landing and such will be uploaded tomorrow, as I will be getting in around 11pm and home by midnight. Needless to say I will be a little tired.

Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.