Going Home

Something has happened!!!

First thing in the morning I usually check the weather forecast to see how much rain is going to fall and if I need to even consider bringing water bottles or not. To my astonishment this morning, the weather was supposed to be nice. REAL nice. We're talking 70 degrees nice. I immediately am thinking, somebody is pulling a prank on me and set a dummy weblink on my browser. So I checked a second website out at one of my favorite riding areas, Point Reyes National Seashore. When it is clear and not windy, this is the ultimate place to ride. It is so beautiful with nary a car. Well, the webcam picture that came up was this:

So now I am pumped. I start fixing food, bottles, and getting dressed. I'm thinking, "Hey, maybe I can start tanning my poor legs that have not seen the light of day since the THF ride in Arizona, WAY back in mid December." I throw on a pair of knee warmers instead of the compulsory winter leg warmers. I'm for sure going to get a head start on the leg tanning today...

Then again...Maybe not.

So I head off into the still dark morning with newly exposed skin. At first it's COLD...but as the sun starts rising, sure enough, the air gets remarkably warmer. My plan is to follow the route of Stage 1 of the Tour of California which commences next weekend. Of course I have to get to work so the entire route will not be possible, but the most beautiful part will be, Highway 1.

Once I get up and over the hill from Mill Valley (and away from the constant attraction to stop at Peet's Coffee for a quick top off), the temperature soared. I was out of the shadows of Mount Tam and into the great wide open. For me there is nothing more therapeutic than a large body of water tempered by a dramatic mountain backdrop. Maybe that's why I love living in California so much. You can't go wrong with the California coast and the gem of the Sierras, Lake Tahoe.

I was recently reminded by TW of a rather embarrassingly pretentious statement I made ten years ago. "There is no reason to leave California. It has everything anyone could possibly want." Back then, I was trying to talk TW out of moving back to the East coast, back home.

So the whole morning, I am trying to tame my enthusiasm for the awesome day I am fortunate to have on the bike. The weather and the surroundings has me amped. I am riding harder than my training plan calls for today. I need to settle down, but it is hard...because it feels so effortless and easy. My eyes (and camera) are taking in the sights all the while, TW's recollection of my statement ("There is no reason to leave California. It has everything anyone could possibly want") keeps resounding in my mind. I thought about it most of the day.

A day like today makes it hard to believe that anyone would ever want to leave such a beautiful place...but I can think of many reasons...about 35,893,799 reasons to name a few. Well...minus one or two... but I know now that just because I love this place and it represents home to me, does not necessarily mean that it was or is the same for TW. I came to the conclusion that I was being an immature, ethnocentric idiot with selfish intent. And with that, TW, I am sorry. I just wanted you to stay around. I don't blame you for wanting to get back to where you felt at home, because there is nothing like that feeling. I too moved away (just to Southern California, not across the country), only to find myself wanting to do everything I could to get back home, despite leaving a life behind. I made it back, but I know there are other places I could go and feel AT home while not being HOME...I just have to be better at selecting those places.

But Damn...I love this place!

(addendum: I was reminded that TW returned to Tahoe two additional winters and is currently planning on returning to Tahoe permanently.)