Day 16 The Arrival

Our last day of cycling together reads like a movie script.

The setting: our course today is a microcosm of the journey itself. Those who wanted to take there time did so. Those who were running out of time helped to shepard others and maintain momentum. Those who wanted to shatter their best time did exactly that.  It was great once we got rolling. There were challenges, but nothing we couldn't handle. The views were gorgeous (on the rare occassion where we could look up from our Garmin screens). There were wrong turns, van rescues, popped tires, bike falls, people lost, people found, and in the end we all arrived safely.

Heroes: I have a saying that I try to live by: surround yourself with champions. Champions are forged by challenges and how they choose to react to them. Champions can help keep you motivated, lead by example, and can even find a way to make it fun. I was surrounded by champions each day: people for whom "opting out" means taking the option to go out. 

However, some hero's were shining extra bright today. Geoff had his challenges throughout our 2.5 week journey, and though it rarely soured his famous Aussie calm, it was on his mind. Geoff started the day at 6:00 and delivered a swift kick to ol' James [Note: "James" is a pseudonym for Parkinson's Disease, named for it's original discoverer, James Parkinson.] Geoff rolled into Barcelona at the front of the pack.

And then there was Alison, who was determined that today she would finish the ride - the whole ride - and that she would do it on time and without van assistance. She completed this challenging day on her own steam and exactly when she said she would.

Villains: I would have to say that heat and course setting were the only villains today. "Heat is the new headwind", though as a Canadian, I'll come to regret those words come February. And course setting, which has been excellent all along, took us by a topless beach in the last 5 km and caused my only fall of the trip.

In the end, I walk away with a great experience and some very close friends. 

As to friendship, I think about how rare it is to strike up new close and intimate friendships at this point in our lives. It was so easy as kids. You could play in the park with a new kid one day and wind up friends for life. This continued all the way through to University, where we were unguarded with our hearts and circumstances kept us all together, on the same schedule and with the same challenges. But something happens after that. Perhaps we take on a cloak of professionalism that hides our challenges and masks our genuine thoughts and emotions. Perhaps it is that we get so busy and life is so complex, that we don't have the time to really meet people. 

So a journey like this one is a rarity. 19 people made the time. We put ourselves out there, trying something really hard together; with no place to hide, openly showing our vulnerabilities, anguish and elation; relying on each other unreservedly for help and understanding; all on the same schedule and with life's distractions on hold. Put 19 outgoing adventurers in these circumstances and great friendships are going to happen. And they did.

I even got a little closer with ol' James along the way.