This is Heaven!

This portion of my travels came out of a few moments of whimsical contemplation, of entertaining one of those "what if I try this..." ideas and taking it one leap further. It has become a great lesson in trusting my instincts and an adventure of a lifetime. At 29 I still love personal challenges the way I did when I was a kid climbing trees of increasing height as a self administered antidote to an unsatisfactory fear of heights- an impulse I sincerely hope doesn't fade. This last leg of a two month bike journey has been a string of exhilarating challenges and true day to day adventure building. At the end of each day I have this feeling in my gut that reminds me a little of rock-skipping. I am reminded of the whole ritual of hunting and finding what could be the perfect rock; a smooth, flat, rounded stone that cradles just-so between the thumb and index finger- the one you just know is going to sail across and skip to perfection. In the end, piecing together this ride is like finding that stone. Each choice is an oxymoronic, cant-go-wrong-but-could-go-wrong surefire-Hail Mary blend, but at the end of the day, whether the bundle of tosses trend minimally impressive or end up on the side of pitch perfect, failing and succeeding on my own terms leads to a kind of pure and frivolous happiness. 

My route has thus become very ad-hoc. As I roll in and out of valleys, earning every bit of progress with my overburdened bike, I let the landscape and the relative zip left in my legs determine my next destination. I have a small ocean of time to meander through this paradise before I meet with friends and I have been taking full advantage of the freedom. The only down side to the solo riding is the lack of conversation. It is a little strange not to hear your own voice for days at a time. I pass through this country mostly unnoticed in a sea of other bike travelers, which is novel compared to every other place I have toured. The silence has felt good too. It feels freeing and a little bit powerful to be comfortably alone.  

The weather has turned cold for the moment, so high passes are out until temperatures thaw. This is a fickle season that bounces, a few days at a time, from sizzling to freezing and back again. I am near Zurich now after a hypothermic attempt at riding through a driving rain. I remain paused until things clear up. Here is a revised bike route so far.