... and that's the way the cookie crumbles.

As i begin to type this, for the first time in over a month everything around me is familiar. I know where i am and i have seen this all before. It's weird. It feels so foreign to me. This might not make sense to you but it makes more sense if i tell you all that i am home in Knoxville, TN. I had to fly home yesterday morning.

Deciding to come home was one of the hardest decisions i have ever made. My last blog left off that i had ridden a 85-90 mile day. It was a great ride and honestly i felt pretty flippin' good afterwards. My knee was a bit weak but i felt good. We ended up finding a ditch to sleep in about 300 yards from this random racetrack in the middle of nowhere Colorado. I had a bit of trouble sleeping but most of that was due to the fact that i was using my helmet as a pillow. Plus i had been in Denver going to bed T 1am every night and Daniel and i were laying down and it was 9:15... i honestly didn't know what to do with myself. I just listened to music on my phone then forced myself to sleep about 20 minutes after that.

We woke up the next morning to the sound of racecars and their engine grumble It was a great alarm clock. You have to feel like a man if you sleep in a ditch and wake up to a car engine.. right? It was a bit muggy/foggy/overcast but i was ready to go. I stood up and felt great... minus just a bit of discomfort in my knee. I was actually ready before Daniel... mainly cause he had to replace his flat tire... gave me an extra 14 minutes of getting ready time. I wanted to start biking. We ate a lil bit of food and got on our way. People in Colorado kept talking about how Eastern Colorado was flat... WRONG! Hill after hill after hill after hill after hill.... it was ridiculous. I guess compared to the Rockies... it was a friggin slab.. but NOT flat.

So we are riding and climb after climb my knee was beginning to feel a bit weak but i felt great on the flats. At 10 in the morning Daniel had to make a call. So, we see a big climb in the distance and decide when we get to the top of that climb he was gonna make the call to one of his young life guys parents. We get to the top of the climb and he is on the phone. I was kinda just sitting there eating some bagels with peanut butter. I notice some ants on the ground so i try to stand up realizing i can't put any weight on my knee, I fell back down. I realized nothing was fixed about my knee. I knew it had been hurting on the uphills but that last big one got to me pretty good. I realized in that moment that i could finish the 100 miles on Saturday, but i wasn't able in confidence to say i could ride sunday or monday or the next day. My knee was hurting.

I pretty much broke down in that moment. I was sooo frustrated. I was soooo sad. I had been realizing slowly, for the first hour of our ride (about 15 miles) that i couldn't finish the trip. It all smacked me in the face while i was sitting there by myself waiting on Daniel. I sat there and cried out of frustration and sadness. I loved being out there. Being on the bike is my escape/release. It sucks.

Daniel finishes his convo and comes over to me and i mean obviously he knew something was up. My head was in my hands, tears on my face. I just told him, i can't finish dude. I can't promise i can ride tomorrow. I can't promise i can ride the next day. We weigh our options on what i should do since i am roughly a 100 miles from Denver and really and civilization. I remember that race track and the sound of the engines. I just said, "man, imma ride back there and hitch a ride i guess. I was so mad at life in that moment. As we rode i just thought about everything that had happened and realized there was more goign on than my plan. Nothing had gone "right" since the minute my trip started... why start now right? Daniel rode to the track with me which was great. we got a few more miles in together. I think all in all we road 25 miles together, including trips to the stores, coffee shops, and bike shops.

We get to this race track and it was awesome Porsches, Lotus, audi, corvettes, skylines... all these amazingly fast cars racing around a track. There Daniel and i sitting on our bikes. We got some funny looks to say the least. The track manager talks to me while Daniel called his mother to tell her he was finishing the trip by solo.

Daniel left and i was at this track by myself no ride to denver, can't bike it, and honestly didn't know a single person in the place. People start talking to me and really just loved what i was doing. I mentioned to someone i was trying to get back to denver and he offered me a ride to about 7 miles from my sisters place. I was stoked. I had a ride. I just had to stay at the track all day, which to some people sounds boring but they found me a helmet and i had the long sleeves and pants, and because of that i got to ride in a race car. It was nuts! I had never gone that fast in a car and i had never been on a racetrack either.

Finally i get a ride back and it was crazy to drive the same route i just biked the day before. It took me 8 hours to ride it and only 45 minutes in a car. ha. Craziness for sure. Tom Carlin was the guys name. He dropeed me off and i didn't know where i was. Chuck, the bike shop owner from lakewood, came to get me. He gave me a ride to my sisters with a slight detour to have a beer at a local bar. This is all just saturday. Sunday night i end up buying my ticket to fly out of denver. I left Tuesday morning at 1am.

Those few days happened so fast. I still can't fathom that i am home. It's weird, but i will say this, the past month of my life has been the most incredible adventure ever. I have done things i never thought i would do, met people i never would have met, and i have seen places i never thought i would see. I think from moment one i was so set on how things would happen and how things would go down that i wasn't willing to actually be on an adventure (an adventure being something nuts that just happens how it happens). I think over the course of this trip i have learned so much and i will hopefully post one more blog about that. This trip has honestly been life changing and i have learned more about myself in a month than i ever thought i would. Everyone's encouragement has been incredible and the support i have received has been baffling. Am i sad? A bit. Frustrated? Maybe a lil bit on that one also. Disappointed? Of course. Mainly though, am I completely thankful with how the past month has happened and how things have turned out? Yes. No questions asked, this trip has been perfect.

Laughing about BBQ.

I know i am a bit late but this is the blog from three nights ago. It was an awesome night. Thursday night to be exact. It's just hard to blog when the closet town is 40 miles away much less any wifi.

So daniel got here and we had a blast. thursday we decided to go down to the bike shop, hangout, work on fitting everything just right, and just do nothing with the guys down there. I also wanted to thank them for letting me help out and all of that stuff.

We ended up hanging out at the bike shop for about 3-4 hours, just laughing and goofing off. Dave owns the bike repair shop and Chuck owns the bike dealer part. They are both super amazing dudes. Dave had let me fix my bike and everything while chuch hooked me up with new sunglasses (i left mine in Daniel's friend's car... and my knife.) and these amazing hydration tablets called NuuN. Try them out if you can. they are amazing. Made me feel great for sure.

As we are leaving the shop though Chuck invited us to have dinner with he and his wife Francy (sorry is i mispelled that). We accepted the offer on the terms that we buy Chuck a beer (which he woudln't let us anyways). What a night? They took us to this little hip part of Denver to a place called Highland Tap and Burgers (i think). I had a lamb burger and it was delicious. Never had lamb before but it was nuts good. I wanna go back and have another for sure.

After we ate Chuck, Daniel, and I all argued over BBQ. Chuck is from Kansas, Daniel from North Carolina, and me from Tennessee... I don't think i have laughed that hard in forever. It was one of my most memorable nights from this trip so far. Just the hospitality of Chuck and Francy was incredible.

Daniel and i came back to my sister's and had to clean up before we hit the road on friday morning. So ya we did that and went to sleep.

Friday morning we woke up got loaded down and stopped for food for a couple days on the way out of Denver and got on out way. Friday was an incredible ride. We started in lakewood Colorado and it is such a pretty ride goign into Denver. We went thru some of the coolest little neighborhoods. It was a bit of a slow ride averaging about 8 miles an horu thru the city but it was gorgeous and not very tough. About halfway thru Denver a guy rolled up next to us on his bike, John. He asked us what we were doing and we told ihm so he actually showed us the quickest way out of town on some random back roads and paths. it was so incredible. I don't think we would have ever found that way out of Denver, so thanks to you John.

Overall is was a really rad couple of days. I was super stoked to be back on my bike hands down. It is gorgeous out here and the people are great! I will blog yesterday and today's blogs tomorrow sometime. i feel like this is getting way too long. Hope you enjoy the read. have an amazing day!

VIVA LA MEXICO!

What a great couple of days. This trip is still living up to being the adventure of a lifetime! Wow. I have been in Denver for a week and a half and it's been nuts. Daniel finally caught back up to me last night and it was awesome to see him. He had done 140 miles yesterday and his legs and body were dead, so i rode my bike down the hill and we walked up the hill to my sisters together. I took him a cliff bar and some water too. He was in need of food and water for sure. He was straight beat. It was awesome to just kinda catch up. But shortly after he got here it was time for him to go to bed. He was exhausted. So ya that was that.

Today was great too. i woke up at 9:54 (i have woke up every day since being in denver at that exact time... it's a bit weird. i wake up at 6:52 go back to sleep then wake up at 9:54) Daniel and i sat around and watched Rob & Big and Fantasy Factory all day with a lil Man vs Food thrown in. It was overall a good day. I had 5 things of ramen noodles so that is always awesome. I love those things... i don't think they will ever get old. just gotta change it up here and there whether it be flavor or extra stuff you throw in 'em.

Yesterday though Daniel was on his way here and was at a gas station. This guy (Eric) started talking to Daniel and kept telling him how he had seen him a few times that day riding his bike. Turns out Eric works for Napa auto parts and was on a trip to promote at the Mexico vs New Zealand soccer match at invesco field. Eric gave us free tickets. and also gave us an extra one so Daniel's friend could come up to the game. Overall a legit day. I had never been to an international soccer match. it was so incredible, especially in an arena that large! It was sooo loud and the vuvuzelas were in action! Will, Dkal's friend, was awesome too, I had a great time getting to know him and hear about the adventure he is on with Compassion Ministries. Big things coming from there.

I get back on the road in like 34 hours. Super excited for that.

Also if you get the chance tell your friends about this trip. post my blog on your twitter or facebook. both of which would be awesome. there is a lil tihng on the right side bar that makes it easy. no cutting and pasted needed. Love you guys. My next blog should b from the road... but possibly another one tomorrow night!