Home Run

Lets see now lets see. As it turned out, we actually did make it as a group down to Tapachula, the final destination of my bike trip. We were, and then we werent, but then we did have time to make it, and it was great to ride in, rather than limp in on the bus and seperate from the group.

I think ill write this up briefly though. The last bit of the ride, rather than fist in the air whoop whooping our way home, i was actually finding it really hard, and was pretty frustrated. Like when youre writing the last few lines of a letter and your hand hurts the most. Strange reaction to have, but it didnt bother me since theres been enough highs to last me a while yet.

I met a man and his family, and went back to see them later in the night and gave them my bike. That felt really good, not just because it was 'a nice thing to do' but also because it felt so liberating to get shot of it all and just be on foot without all the hassles that come with wheeling it around. The sense of finality was overwhelming, and it was good.

A bit of a booze up, a last supper, we said our fairwells and i got a taxi to the airport in the morning and flew up to Tijuana, south side of the USa border. I was smiling and happy rather than sad though. I know ill see them all again, and theyll be friends for life.

Some probelms at the tijuana border control, where they made me feel like a criminal, and well i wont explain it all because its just stupid. I had 4 nights in san diego where it was ncie and cool, and spent it with Natalie the swede (who i met the forst time round), and i could wear a pair of trousers in the daytime too. Jeff, a friend who was restoring a Yacht at the posh boat yard gave us a nice evening on the boat. I got a lift up to LA the next day from someone who was going that way (Nancy Chong, with a nice little truck, but a horrid Gloria Estefan soundtrack) , and met up with Mattias and Timo, whod been so good to me last time i was there, and had another great time in a posh (im posh arent I) restaurant. It was so dark i couldnt see the plate, but i know it was a nice lamb chop.

Got the greyhound up to San francisco, and now im staying with Nic in the hostel that she works at. Coming into the city across the giant Bay bridge at night felt like being in Tron or Metropolis, but without the lazer tanks or robot germans. We'll do a short road trip north tomorrow, to Mount Chasta (i htink thats what it is) witha coupld of others for the weekend. Nics arranged that which is really nice. Im to do the driving which shouild be fun.

Its nice to bookend all of this by going back through the places i started at, and seeing all the people whove made the trip what it's been. Digesting the bike trip
will take a bit of time, but its quite exciting to be able to look at a
map of the world and be able to see a big chunk that i did just on a bike.
Ive done 2600 miles on the nose since the start of it.

A guy called Charlie approached me in the street last night just after id arrived here, whod spotted my bike panniers, and turns out he was doing a trip right around the edges of USA, and stopping off in San Francisco for the night. We shared some stories, and gave the nod to each others beard's. Its like being part of a little group of people, you dont know them, but theyre all really nice and probably your friend.

Soon ill be home and.... well i dont really know, but i think ill enjoy that too.