the biking begins

here i am! i've been waiting for inspiration before i dive back in to reliving italy. it's not happening. with that said, i'm just going to type it out. minus the inspiration. i think in order to write i need to do it with consistency because i'm not going to find inspiration hidden in my closet. so my warning to you- this is not inspired. just plain ol' typing. proceed with caution.

i have been asked over and over about my favorite part of my italian biking adventure. that's a tough question. someone else asked what was my favorite "moment" and that's a question i like to answer. it was the day our biking actually began. it was the moment we left our beautiful apartment overlooking lake como and the entire trip actually became real. biking through italy was no longer something we were planning and talking about for months. it was something we were DOING!

coupled with that feeling was the feeling of awe. up and down mountain passes. across a stretch of switzerland. breath taking. car dodging. jello for legs. everything was a first. i remember coasting down a hill (after a brutal climb!) and entering a small town. the road was narrow, the buildings were close, and i was moving fast. this is a poor simile but it was like i was in a movie. or maybe it was like i was lance armstrong. whatever it was, i thought to myself... "dang it! i shoulda mounted a helmet cam!"

but i didn't. so it all rests behind my eyes. vivid memories that my writing will never accurately convey. unless, that is, i'm talking with the four other people i traveled with. they'd "get it" because they were there.

and that makes me think we (as in all of us) need to make the effort of sharing experiences. we need to adventure together. write stories with our lives with many co-authors. because, honestly, if you're reading this and you weren't with me in italy... you're living a part of my story. what is YOUR story? what are you living? let me know... i'd like to live a part of yours.

once we've lived enough of everyone else's stories... let's write our own. let's embrace adventure, and risk, and challenge. let's do something worth telling about. i just hope all our stories are meaningful.

italy created memories. the trip wasn't necessarily intended to be meaningful but it was, because the story played itself out. the most important thing that happened on my grand biking adventure: i love kate, my wife, more than i ever have. i hope your story upgrades your life...