With the bike stuck in UK customs (I sent it home yesterday using UPS) and after a last minute visit to the shops, where I managed to find a Calvin Klein blazer for under $30 in Macy’s (it helped being a 36R!), I boarded the 192 bus to Sea-Tac Airport to fly home to the UK.
On board the pilot apologized twice for technical problems, the first was that he’d left the engines on by mistake and so had to switch them off in order for the plane to be moved backwards by airport ground staff, and the second technical problem was that he’d realized there was not enough fuel onboard, and so an about turn was required to refuel. This resulted in a one and a half hour delay. Good old BA!
As I sat there in economy it was strange to think that somewhere below us was the USA and that I had cycled across this vast land in under three months, the time quite literally flew by. People I met along the way were countless, and the scenery as varied as you could imagine (well, there were no icebergs, but still there was ice!). It was truly an unforgettable adventure. I read in Life of Pi by Yann Martel that by traveling we condense the physical world into a manageable size for our minds, how true this was, the very act of travel has this effect upon us all.
For the moment the memories are visually vivid. If I close my eyes I can reminisce and dream up situations along the way; I remember the sounds, the temperature, the smells, and even the contours of the terrain. I also remember the conversations, the smiles on people’s faces and also the kindness shown by them. I won’t miss the trucks, but I will miss the people and the landscape.
