I'm back home

...but still VERY busy, catching up on stuff that didn't get done while I was gone and stuff that needs to be done for upcoming projects. I don't know when I'll get time to go through the recordings I made of my various thoughts during the trip, but I hope to do so soon.

In short, Team Type 2 finished Sunday morning, at 7 days, 15 hours and 10 minutes, two whole minutes ahead of the last finishing team in our division. Given that we had one team member and one crew member go into low-blood-sugar-related urgencies, several team and crew members fighting intestinal bugs (at least four shifts of racers went out missing a rider), some severe weather we didn't face last year and a couple of other extra challenges this year, I'm not upset. We learned a lot. Would I do it again? Perhaps. I have some conditions I would place on future participation, and Jenn and I will talk about those in the coming weeks.

Most of the race is a blur for me, but I remember being in absolute awe at what scenery I had opportunity to see out the RV windows, especially in southeastern California and Arizona. We were in the area of Monument Valley part of the time, and I couldn't help but think about geological time and how many centuries it would have taken to create the rock that became Monument Valley, and how many more to remove what had been removed to leave the magnificent sights that remain. I also thought about seeing that rock, over there, and thinking about how a century or so ago one would think in terms of "it's going to take me a week to get to that rock on foot, and I'd better have enough water with me to get there and to my next water source..."

In the short term future, I am:

Moving! We closed on the house less than fourteen hours before leaving for California. The moving party is scheduled for this weekend should anyone reading this in time feel like joining in the celebration. Food and home-made ice cream will be available, as will an assortment of beverages--some adult in nature.

Working like crazy to catch up with various things at the store. I am sure I have an assortment of item descriptions to fine-tune, in addition to doing some repairs that were waiting for my touch.

Getting ready to do RAIN in a few weeks. I was seriously preparing myself to say I wasn't ready, and to offer to drive support for Larry and Ed instead of riding. I've been talked into considering having Jenn on the back of the tandem and going a bit less than twenty miles an hour all the time, but I have to discuss it with Jenn before deciding. 160 miles in one day is simply a long day on the bike in that light. I remember struggling with some grades late in the day, and zooming up others, with no good reason for different performance levels on an hour-by-hour basis. We'll see how the discussion goes this evening...

If I don't have time to make blog entries, I know those of you who care will understand.