phew. I am exhausted. This week has transformed me into a candle with the ,wick flaring violently at both ends. It is 10pm now, I am sitting in my kitchen in Chicago and am all but a puddle of wax at this point. Every night this week has felt so precious- friends from Kalamazoo came to visit and bid me adieu, I went out with the folks at the bike shop, I attended the late night Monday Night Ride, and I sat with friends on the new 606 bike/pedestrian trail late at night as we sipped and lit up and winked at the midnight joggers. During the day, I have been tossing my posessions in the most zero-waste method I can muster with my time frame. Plans to sell earrings and books and bike parts have transformed into simple gifts, and I just feel grateful that my items are being given a second life rather than plummeting to the firey hellhole of a landfill in southern Illinois. Out of sight, out of mind. Not for me. The thought of a t-shirt in the trash make my blood turn lumpy and sour like cottage cheese. I feel exhausted, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
I need some rest. I promise another post tomorrow when I have a 2 hour layover at the airpot in Toronto. Here is what is going down:
6am: get picked up from my appartment by my buddy Dave who has a truck
8:45am: fly to Toronto, layover, then Calgary
3pm: Arrive in Calgary, meet up with my friend from UC Berkeley, Ben, who will be riding with me for 10 days (!)
5pm: catch a shuttle from Calgary to Banff
Later....Figure out where we are going to sleep in Banff
August 2: Enjoy Banff
August 3: Start riding the Great Divide
So that's the plan for the next few days. I would say that "I can't believe it's finally happening", but ohhh man I can believe it, I can feel it, and I couldn't be more excited. More words soon.
