Home again

North Andover, MA

It's hard to believe I've been home for a week already. The days of my trip seemed to blend together, and the days I've spent at home are doing the same thing. Walking into my condo after 2 1/2 months away definitely felt odd, but it felt like home too. I was pretty wacked from the overnight flight, so the first thing I did was throw my clothes into the washing machine and take a nap. And yes, I did set the alarm clock. I figured if I slept more than a couple of hours that I'd never get adjusted to Eastern time, but I knew if I didn't have a couple of hours of sleep that I wasn't going to function too well. And it felt great to be sleeping in my own bed. I have an air mattress (Select Comfort), so sleeping in a hotel bed doesn't feel much better than sleeping on the ground in my tent when I compare it to sleeping in my own bed!

After my nap I headed to one of the local farm markets to pick up some fresh produce. Ever since I got home I've been eating my favorite late summer foods - tomato sandwiches, fresh corn, the still wonderful summer fruits, and my own version of fruit smoothies. You can get smoothies on the road, but I use lots of fruit and plain yogurt in mine, and the smoothies you tend to find for sale usually include ice cream or frozen yogurt - it's just not the same. (Notice that I'm still focused on food!)

I'm definitely enjoying the simple things in life at home - my own bed, access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and good bread. It's been an adjustment to realize that I can wear different clothes every day if I want to, and I can use the washer and dryer at will - no more washing out my cycling clothes every night! I'm also enjoying changing my daily routine. For 2 1/2 months, I rode my bike all day, found a place to stay, took a shower, washed my clothes, got myself some food, wrote my journal entry, uploaded it, and went to sleep. Wow. That was a good routine, a lot of fun, but it's good to be home again.

I came home with the same enthusiasm for cycling that I started with. I did take a few days off, but I've been back on the road on my skinny-tire road bike. As usual, after riding a touring bike for a long time the road bike felt funny - but I'm definitely used to it again. I've been focusing on short rides so far since I'm still trying to catch up on sleep. It took me quite a while to get my body back on this time zone, but I hope I'm finally there. I've been riding without my camera for the first time in almost 3 months. I figured I didn't need it with me, but of course I was wrong. Yesterday I rode by a house with several goats in the yard, one of which was trying to climb the fence. That would have been a great picture!

It was a great trip, and a great experience, and I'm sure I'll do it again.