25 June 2012

Eureka to Newton KS 76 miles (TransAm 1,794)

We knew before Gina started her trip that cycling across Kansas would take resolve. Resolve to ride endless miles with nary a corner to turn. Resolve to cycle beneath an intensely burning sun. Resolve to battle forward through likely headwinds. Resolve to take it all in stride on days like today when faced with a 38 mile stretch of no services – no toilet, no pastry shops, no mini-marts with A/C and walk-up coolers full of frosty beverages. And perhaps the final resolve of all – the resolve to never cycle across Kansas again.

Now that I’m seeing the daily photos of these straight-as-an-arrow roads Gina and her fellow TransAmmers are riding down, it stirs within a resolve for other things. Like the resolve to never get so comfortable in my daily routine as to do nothing but follow that long straight line into the future. Resolving to continue to take risks, make unexpected choices, change my mind, say Yes instead of No, turn left instead of right, order that second (okay, third) margarita.

I love routine as much as the next person; the predictability and effortlessness always provide a degree of comfort and satisfaction. I like taking time every morning to read my “woo-woo” books, I like knowing that the coffee will be ready when I return from my jog, I like skimming the latest news on the internet until it’s time to go to work. Yep, I like that routine part of my life and at times have missed (and sorely complained about) it when it’s not been there.

But if I were to look into a crystal ball and see a vision like Gina’s photos, of nothing but a long, flat, straight-as-an-arrow Kansas road as my future? Well, that would be a little bit of comfortable and an awful lot of boring. Easy, maybe, familiar, definitely, and still challenging when the headwinds blow, but undoubtedly not as rewarding as an exit off the turnpike onto avenues unknown might be. What’s my point? I don’t know, really, just thinking about the road ahead and resolving to take another detour. Maybe not across Kansas, but then again, I wouldn’t rule anything out just yet.