so long, farewell, alveterzane, goodbye

I gots me less than 10 days in this state...weird.  


I had Friday off from work (woot!) and the day started off a bit painfully (physically speaking), as I did a grueling ride of 33.4 miles.  In retrospect, this isn't a long ride.  Shit - I used to train for century rides!  But given the news that I have not been cycling consistently (read: at all, save for a couple outings) in the past year, this was a tough one for me.  I also had to pick some of the hillier roads in Tucson, heading North into the foothills.  While I love River and Skyline, them's some hills!  The good news is that whatever hills I went up I was able to then go back down...brilliant!  Needless to say, the rust is being knocked off and I had a good farewell ride on River and Skyline, capping a successful 50+ mile week for me.  Once again, not much for now, but I will get better, faster, and lighter.  I have a goal of trying to ride in each state I land during my journey across the country, so that will be fun too!  I am hoping to close with an amazing ride around my hometown, which I used to do all the time when I was young.  Oh the memories...


But I digress...

from left to right: Djay, Jessie, D, Mel, and yours truly

After my ride, I met D, Mel, and Jessie for one last morning chat session.  Mel is heading out to Astoria, OR and Jessie to Nebraska to teach math at a tribal college.  D is sticking around in Tucson and will continue to fight the good fight, and while I have been just honored and humbled to have such glorious women in my life, I am deeply saddened that I will not have the opportunity to see them whenever I want.  These women have had a profound effect on my life for the past two years and are a large reason for me remaining happy and healthy in Tucson.  I owe them more than they will know and know we will be close for years to come.  


After seeing the ladies, my legs felt like lead, so Jessie kindly gave me a ride home and I headed off to have lunch with Kevin and see Midnight in Paris again.  The movie was just as brilliant as the first time I saw it and it was great to spend some time with Kev.  The movie made me think a lot about the role of nostalgia and the past in our realities in more than just a romantic musing sort of sense.  But this is perhaps a different post for a different time.


The weekend ended with some conversatin' with mon frere on Father's Day, time with Jai, coffee with Dustin, and some wonderful phone conversations with dear friends.  It was a great closing to a week that afforded me a chance to be calm and relaxed, which will be needed given my week ahead will be busy busy busy!  I am offloading a chunk of my furniture tonight and my dance card is filling up - wahoo!  If anything, my mind needs to be occupied this week...not ready to deal with these silly things we call "feelings" quite yet.