I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends. –Walt Whitman

It’s starting to really hit home that I might actually complete this crazy adventure soon. Today, I headed toward my good friends Chris and Steph whom I hadn’t seen in years. We used to be inseparable and they are amongst the nicest, kindest, and thoughtful people I’ve ever had the privilege to be friends with.

Beautiful roads on this side trip to Geneva and some steep little hills with grades up to 11%. Good training for Vermont. The picture with the crumpled up rear fender shows what happens when you catch a stick in your rear wheel. Weird things happen when you ride across the country and spend enough time on a bicycle.

Having a normal life, sitting on the porch and chatting with friends, listening to the happy sounds of kids playing, all made me looking forward to getting home that much more.