Riding a bike across the country (or in a 4,000 mile loop, as it were), is not really about the bike ride.  The pedaling, the exhaustion, the many hills, roads, and turns, are all much more ancillary than they are vital.  Riding this far, and in this manner, is about leaving things behind.  When I first rode in 2014, I was riding to leave behind a chapter of my life, and find my new self.  This time I’m just on for a week, and riding to leave my day-to-day stresses behind, locked away in my work phone and social media accounts.