Relative Something

All too soon the trip is over. I am home again. Got home yesterday to a precious greeting from Asher who has yet to learn not to jump up on people. The return to reality is both comforting and overwhelming. I would like to process the lingering afterglow of the previous week at the same time as catching up on tasks around the property that I usually tend to on a daily basis. There is a week’s worth of manure compost to turn over.

After arriving home, I quickly unpacked my gear and set things out to dry before making my way with Cyndie and Asher down to see the horses.

Then I received a ping on my phone that lightning was in the area. The recent experience in Sauk Centre of walking to dinner under sunny skies and leaving my tent fly open was a lesson learned. Downpours can appear with surprising speed. I cut short the horse visit and rushed up to get my gear inside just as the first drops started falling.

The week of biking and camping on The Tour of Minnesota for 2023 was good for me. I didn’t even put my battery on the bike but packed it in my bags just in case. I credit the accumulating years of planking and stretching exercise routines for having me stronger than at any previous time in my life. Combined with my change from a classic touring bike to the Trek Domane made for the best riding I’ve ever done.

I stood up to pedal up an incline and Rich Gordon said, “Keep standing so I can take a picture!”

As I huffed and puffed the extra effort to climb while off the saddle, Rich fumbled to get his phone from the back pocket of his jersey. Then he needed to check traffic behind us before pulling beside me.

“Keep standing!”

He had to get the camera app open. Needed to get the orientation right. This wasn’t going to be his selfie.

“Keep standing!”

Pretty soon we were both laughing over his getting me to stand much longer than I would have otherwise done. At least he gave me the gift of a great shot.

The air quality was annoyingly bad enough that I needed to hit the Albuterol for relief on multiple days.

I hope to resurrect a few more stories from the trip in the days ahead and share plenty of fun photos after I find time to process them.

As always, the interactions and hijinks of the wonderful people who participate in such adventures are a highlight that can overshadow the natural wonders we bike past. The weather was both good and not so good. We coped just fine.

My tent was one of the last to come down yesterday morning.

I was eager to get home but I already miss the thrill of being out on the road early every morning pedaling long miles with precious friends under the mixture of trees and wide open skies.

This year’s Tour was a good one.

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