We've come to the end of the line... for now (me and the mouse in my pocket, and all of you faithful followers). I rolled into El Paso today on smooth roads, mostly downhill, with a tailwind, and on the cusp of a winter storm. It would have been a perfect finish if not for the frostbite (not literally, but...)
I'll hunker down tomorrow and let the roughly 1,000,000 people of El Paso del Norte and its sister city across the border, Ciudad Juarez , hash it out in the snow. That'll give me time to arrange to have the bike shipped home, etc. Perhaps Wednesday, weather permitting, I may take a short pleasure ride into New Mexico. We'll see.
I can't begin to explain how much I have appreciated all of your support and encouragement. Many of you have conversed with me via comments and e-mail. Many others have let me know you were following me 'silently'. Thanks to all of you, and of course to the folks I have met and stayed with along the way, I have virtually never felt alone during this (almost) 7 weeks.
To say that this has been a rich experience would be an understatement. I'm not particularly disappointed that I didn't make it to California. I wanted to get on my bike and ride across America as far as I could in the time that I had. And that is exactly what happened.
Happy New Year and Happy New Decade to all. If it meets with universal approval I will be home New Year's Eve.
With much love,
Carl
Monday, December 28, 2009
My last blog entry :(
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Nice Ride!!! See you on New Years Day.
ReplyDeleteMark
Carl, thanks for the great job sharing your experiences and thoughts on your very special adventure.
ReplyDeleteWe got home late last night after a fun three days in San Antonio with my Oregon cousin and his wife. They both definitely remembered seeing a cyclist with an orange vest and black saddlebags when they were returning to Marfa from Alpine Thursday afternoon. They thought that the guy was a little nuts to be out there in that wind and weather, and talked about him after they passed. Of course we didn't jump to any conclusions because there must have been a lot of cyclists fitting that description on that stretch of road at the time of day on Christmas Eve.
Hope to see you in Burlington this summer.
Herb
Herb, yeah I was really fighting for roadspace out there Christmas eve with all the other orange-vested cyclists. It was quite a competition, kind of like survivor.
ReplyDeleteGlad you and Susie had a good time down south and made it home safely. I'll look forward to seeing you both in Vermont.
Happy New Year,
Mark,
See you in a couple of days.
Carl
I'll miss checking in for your updates every day. It's kinda like not wanting a good book to end, but end it must.So glad you made it safely. Hope your trip home goes smoothly with no major weather or security hassles. Have a great New Year. Say "hi" to Victor for me!
ReplyDeleteCarl, I wish I had started catching your posts before they were all done. Great job though. I'm in the process of going through them all. Hope to see you soon.
ReplyDeleteTom A.
Carol,
ReplyDeleteI'm not really ready for this book to end, but as you said, end it must. Feels like it should have a couple more chapters. Maybe it'll be like the terminator, and just keep coming back.
Hey Tom, thanks for checking out the blog. I saw Cindy's name up there too, and I know your dad has been checkin' in. Wow, I'm traveling with a lot of Andersons!
Great job Carl!! I loved reading all you blogs and especially liked the pictures of all the places you visited. See you soon! Happy New Year.
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