Written by: Susie Wolf, Orange Ride
It is hard to believe we are starting our fourth week. Time seems meaningless. One day fades into the next; the mountains fade into the valleys; June has faded into July. It is already 4th of July weekend. It’s two o’clock in the morning, and I can still hear fireworks. Everyone else is celebrating the holiday. I’m still celebrating starting an amazing ride across America.
After three weeks of riding over mountains and through valleys, around breathtaking bends, and along beautiful lakes and rushing rivers, I’m starting to believe that I cannot only start, but really finish this ride all the way across the United States. It’s already time for me to think about getting my plane ticket home from Washington, D.C. to Illinois. I’m afraid that as one day fades into the next, the special moments and beautiful vistas will fade into each other and become a distant memory. Studies have shown that as memories of sights and sounds fade, memories of strong emotions, tactile feelings, and smells remain, and can trigger vivid memories. I am storing up the smell of pungent evergreens, the feeling of the wind on my skin as I go down the mountain passes, and the joy of being a part of such an amazing group of people, working and biking to provide homes to people in need of adequate housing worldwide.
