(February 12 to 17)

The Trip Home

What Now?

During my short stay in San Diego, I rode my bike down to the harbor to enjoy the tourist sights. I've always loved the "wooden ships & iron men" era of naval history!

 The view of my coach seating car. As you can see, the train wasn't all that full for most of my trip East.

My "Sunset Limited" Amtrak train at its stop in Houston, TX. It was nice to be able to get out of the train occasionally to stretch my legs and get some sunshine.

 

I was amazed to be greeted at Union Station in New Orleans by a group of my cycling friends from home!!

 

From L to R:
Karen Haskins, Jan Clark, Kellye Carlisle, Leslie Robinson and Elizabeth Spooner.  

 

Monty Clark, a cyclist I hope I can grow up to be someday.

 

San Diego Interlude

It won't surprise you to know that on the first day...well, the first few days really...following the end of my journey I really struggled to adjust to not being on a bike tour any longer. No more was I able to answer the question of "what am I going to do today?" with "ride my bike West!"

Yes, I did have some errands to run to get ready to return in that I needed to ship some of my gear home that I didn't want to have to carry on the train, and I needed to get some new tires for my bike. Luckily, my good friend Lisa Girolamo no only let me stay on her couch for three days, but also let me borrow her car to get things done.

 

And, yes, I did do some tourist-y things like visit the harbor, get some donuts at the world famous Donut Barn, etc., But, I'd lived in San Diego for six years and worked downtown near where Lisa's place is so there wasn't much I hadn't already seen.

 

And, I did visit my favorite ex-wife Denise, her two boys Jordan and Owen and my good friend Punkee...which was an awesome time.

 

And, I did start applying to some bike tour companies for one of the things I thought I might do once I'd returned to "real life": bike tour leader.

 

But mostly I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I would do next. I mean, I was unemployed. And, while I had money to take care of my needs for a while, it wasn't going to last forever and I needed to get start earning money in some fashion. One thing I knew, however, is that I was committed to NOT going back to the old corporate world I'd come from. I was going to do my best to forge a new path.

 

Amtrak Train Journey East
I made the decision to get back home via Amtrak because they offered me the chance to have my bike travel on the train without needing to check it as baggage. No boxes, pedal removal, etc.. And it was a great decision. I loved how easy it was to get my bike to where it needed to go.

I so love train travel! Unlike traveling on a plane, there is no security to worry about and you can get up and walk throughout the train whenever you wish. You can eat in the dining car, go down and grab a snack from the snack bar, go sit in the viewing car or simply stay in your seat. So informal vs. an airplane trip! I really enjoyed meals in the dining car because you get to meet all sorts of new folks who end up sitting in your booth with you. Now, admittedly, it was hard for me to sleep comfortably in my coach seat (and when I do this again I might spring for the extra money and get a sleeping berth), but I managed. And, I think I'd bring some extra snacks with me just to cut down on the cost of food given its relatively expensive to buy it on the train. But as a way to get to and from a bike tour in the US, I'd highly recommend it.

 

Homecoming
I want to send a BIG shout-out to a group of my cycling friends who drove down to surprise me at the New Orleans train station! I was amazed and humbled. It was the perfect ending to the journey of a lifetime. Not only did they do me the honor of a surprise greeting when I stepped off the train and into the station, they'd planned an entire "day" of fun beginning with dinner that night and a ride on the beautiful Tammany Trace in Slidell, LA the next day. Every epic journey needs an epic homecoming and mine was fabulous!