A trickle of a tear, yes. Or maybe a few. Oh my holy schnockers - the less than a month countdown has begun. I will miss this place, for sure...and the town characters I've met along the way...baby small towns are in a class of their own. That's for certain. But you know what? It'll always be here. And I'll be back. And I bet if I came back in twenty years, a lot of these very same characters who are here now will still be here.
Methinks I'll return for a visit next southern hemisphere summer in route to Australia for yet another working holiday stint - my time is running out, so why not?! I'm aging so fast - well, aging so fast in terms of numbers. I think in spirit, I'm actually de-aging. I'm pretty sure of it. How are you aging - up or down?
Bittersweet is the right word. But to be honest, content is an even better word. I'm so happy to be here and so happy to go back to my one true love. Actually, my one true love is mountain biking. But I can do that anywhere. There just happens to be no place on planet Earth like Hawai'i - well, no place that I've yet discovered. So I'll keep going back. And leaving to play and work and live and adventure somewhere new. One day I will settle long-term, but that day just ain't gonna happen yet y'all. I've finally come to terms with this.
So guess what?! Look what happened to my bike - rather the rim of my wheel. No good. I'm mostly sad that I just can't hop on my bike and go for a ride at the moment. Or tomorrow.
When life "seems" to suck sometimes, I always think of people forced into a life of prostitution completely out of there will. Then stuff like this becomes so minor. Which it really is, in the scheme of the universe.
That being said, I still have to deal with it. It wouldn't be such a dilemma if I didn't have a race I'm getting ready for in less than a month. Otherwise, I'd just stick it in a box and not think about it til I get back. Then go kayaking. Or sailing. Or swim around my little kiwi island. But my race is, in fact, less than a month away. Maui Xterra I'm so excited!! (and even more excited to see mi familia!) And with my new way of eating - essentially paleo, or my preferred words 'species specific' (check out Mark's Daily Apple - most informative website regarding 'primal' living, and the success stories are super fun), I feel superhuman at times. Training has been going incredibly well.
Then BAM!, the bike kerplops. Better the wheel than the frame, right? And better now than the day of the race. And that wheel is 5+ years old - plenty of crashes, bob trailer pulling 3500+ kms, several planes traveled, etc. It's been well-loved, at least.
And life goes on. The one pleasant thing about this whole situation is that my work hours have increased significantly and I picked up a side job on my day-off (no more), so I should be able to afford a replacement.
On to happier news... Happy thru-hike AT Anniversary for me! Just over three years ago I summited Katahdin after losing my sanity and consciously choosing to walk 2178 miles from GA to ME. Crazy people we are. But what a lifestyle - one I'd go for again in a heartbeat...especially now that I know what the heck is going on with my body. But that's another story entirely. Worthy of 26 blog posts. Maybe 25...let me just say, thank you antibiotics (NOT!).
Countdown to Hawaii, 24 days!
I realized I haven't posted in over two months - which means more pics of Bay of Islands adventures to come! The pics in this post, aside from the Katahdin pic and cracked rim, are from a recent little ride from Paihia to Kerikeri and along some of the backroads - beautiful, eh. I say, take the side roads when you can - even if it'll make you're journey a tad bit longer (or maybe a lot longer than a tad bit longer...even better). That's my 2 cents.
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