Today: 76 Miles – AVG Speed: 14.2MPH – Top Speed: 40.2MPH
Total: 5,395 Miles
How do you finish something without actually finishing it? This is how.
The goal when this trip was first imagined was Atlantic to Pacific, coast-to-coast, ocean to ocean. Today we completed that, but the feeling of a job done wasn't there. It was a beautiful day. I couldn’t have handpicked better conditions in which to finish. There were no clouds and the temperature hovered at around 90 degrees. The wind was minimal and the topography had enough variation to be interesting, but not too wild to induce pain or frustration. In other words, as perfect day as I could've wished for.
With six miles before reaching the coast I popped into a supermarket for a bottle of wine, cheese, salami, biscuits and fresh tomatoes. I wanted to relax at the beach in comfort and had envisaged an evening of watching the sun go down with a glass of red.
After checking in at the hostel and showering I began the final two miles to the beach and after navigating over a tricky rock surface and some loose sand, that was it. I was there. All done. The ocean was as large as oceans tend to be, and the beach was empty except for a romantic couple and an elderly man with his aging black labrador. I paced back and forth with the tide and stood motionless as the waves softened the sand below my feet. It was serene, but I’m not sure what I was expecting to think. Tears or triumph, perhaps, but in all honesty it was an anti-climax, and I think that’s because I was alone. Tomorrow, I‘ll be finishing this thing properly in San Francisco and seeing the friendly face they gave life to this confused one, but if today proves anything, it’s that achievement is nothing if experienced alone, and I’ve learnt that the hard way. Maybe, though, it’s just that any symbolic arrival can’t nearly match the highs of the journey itself, and that what should be sought is the pride and exultation of endeavour, rather than the glory of success. Tomorrow we will finish this thing, Betty and I. Then, perhaps, we'll have that feeling.
Plus flies and a weird jumping bug thing made my tomatoes their home for the night.
Total: 5,395 Miles
How do you finish something without actually finishing it? This is how.
The goal when this trip was first imagined was Atlantic to Pacific, coast-to-coast, ocean to ocean. Today we completed that, but the feeling of a job done wasn't there. It was a beautiful day. I couldn’t have handpicked better conditions in which to finish. There were no clouds and the temperature hovered at around 90 degrees. The wind was minimal and the topography had enough variation to be interesting, but not too wild to induce pain or frustration. In other words, as perfect day as I could've wished for.
With six miles before reaching the coast I popped into a supermarket for a bottle of wine, cheese, salami, biscuits and fresh tomatoes. I wanted to relax at the beach in comfort and had envisaged an evening of watching the sun go down with a glass of red.
After checking in at the hostel and showering I began the final two miles to the beach and after navigating over a tricky rock surface and some loose sand, that was it. I was there. All done. The ocean was as large as oceans tend to be, and the beach was empty except for a romantic couple and an elderly man with his aging black labrador. I paced back and forth with the tide and stood motionless as the waves softened the sand below my feet. It was serene, but I’m not sure what I was expecting to think. Tears or triumph, perhaps, but in all honesty it was an anti-climax, and I think that’s because I was alone. Tomorrow, I‘ll be finishing this thing properly in San Francisco and seeing the friendly face they gave life to this confused one, but if today proves anything, it’s that achievement is nothing if experienced alone, and I’ve learnt that the hard way. Maybe, though, it’s just that any symbolic arrival can’t nearly match the highs of the journey itself, and that what should be sought is the pride and exultation of endeavour, rather than the glory of success. Tomorrow we will finish this thing, Betty and I. Then, perhaps, we'll have that feeling.
Plus flies and a weird jumping bug thing made my tomatoes their home for the night.
looks good, though.
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