November 5th, 2015

What happened…

Andrew writes: There was a strange man sleeping on the couch when I walked into the kitchen this morning. It turns out that he is/was Mauricio, Fiko’s brother. Amanda and I may or may not have been sleeping in his bed last night, which prevented him from using it when he come home late. Ahh well, I offered him some breakfast and then Fiko came and joined us and we talked for a bit before setting out on the road before 0900hrs. It is strangely overwhelming the amount of hospitality shown by this small family, in their small home. Amanda and I are complete strangers, and they just handed us the keys and went to work. So trusting, so kind.

Now that we’re riding, it only took a few turns to get us on to the highway and up and out of the city. Mountains dot the horizon, with forests of cactus and other greenery stretching as far as the eye can see towards them. On our left, the cactus fields continue down to the ocean’s edge. As beautiful as it is to look at, some of the beauty was marred by Amanda’s attitude today.

It’s hard to let it slide off me, how she can harbour resentment and anger towards me over the decision for us to come to Mexico. I have to let it go through. There is nothing I can do. What’s done is done, and we can only go forward, literally forward, all the time. So in the meantime, I’ll continue to let her take her anger out on her bicycle, and try to console her, and most importantly, listen to her, and try to soothe her hurt feelings.

It seemed like a short ride to El Pescadero, and Kevin came and met us at the OXXO, with his little black dog in tow. We went back to his tiny casita, and he showed where we would be sleeping. He offered us his bed, and then I couldn’t figure out where he would sleep. There literally was not enough room left in the apartment for someone to stretch out in a sleeping bag. Kevin said he would be sleeping outside in the garden; wow, I was pretty blown away by this! Kevin headed down the lane to a small field where he was helping a local boy burn the vegetation to create a football pitch. Amanda and I went to a taqueria for dinner, and then joined Kevin and Dillon in the field for a bit of a chat. Finally, like all touring cyclists that Kevin has ever met, we went to bed at 0900hrs. Except I did stay up a bit later, and showed Kevin some pictures from our travels. I think tomorrow we’ll stay here for a day to enjoy the beach, and hopefully spend some more time getting to know Kevin too.

Amanda writes: Riding out of Cabo San Lucas was like riding out of any other big city. Lots of cars, lots of people and you just need to focus on the road and debris on the shoulder.

My mind was still completely focused on how we were in Baja California Sur instead of Colorado. While I know there is no point in dwelling I just couldn’t get it out of my head. I’ve even planned that once we arrive in San Carlos I’m going to hitch a ride back to Denver and do the ride. It will only take me 20-30 days so I could be back by Christmas. Andrew is just going to kite surf all day every day anyway and then I can get it out of my system. What am I trying to prove again? I mean I have never heard “oh the landscape in Southern Colorado and New Mexico is stunning”. Apparently it is important to me to ride every mile; or is it? I was just so stuck on it and thinking of how we ended up here. I was reminded we spent 5 days farting around in the Lethbridge area so Andrew could kite surf. And then another full 7 days in Great Falls all for the benefit of a couple of days of kiting. Add to this the fact that I came to Denver so I could see an NFL game and we decided it was too much money, yet apparently flying to Cabo fits the bloody budget along with buying kite gear and shipping it around the country. I just got so wrapped up in choices that I’m now questioning how we came to the Cabo conclusion without the way I like to flow chart shit.

Now putting all that crap aside I had a great time in Alberta with my friend Dona and with our friends Jim & Shirley for a couple of days post kiting. I also had such a good recharge in Great Falls. I was trying so hard to realize my good fortune of being in a beautiful landscape where on my left side I have the beautiful Pacific Ocean spotted with some fishing yachts and on my right glorious mountains with luscious green trees. Why am I mad again?

My day turned around for me when my mind wandered toward a friend of mine that is currently battling cancer and right now cancer has the upper hand. My friend Derek is only a year older than me with a wife and two young children along with an amazing family. He was diagnosed with cancer right about the time we embarked on our trip. Up to this point he has opened a can of whoop ass on cancer and while I hope he keeps up the battle, I hope its not at the expense of discomfort and pain. I met Derek via his Sister Kim. Kim hired me for my second HR job and we hit it off. Kim has been a staple in my life ever since. She was by my side when I decided to end my first marriage and surrounded me with more friends and introduced me to the love of running, bicycle commuting and an active lifestyle. I have this wonderful memory of Kim and friends helping me move into my first place by myself and of her husband Mike (also a super rad friend) coming by after work to go running with me. It was through Kim that I met Derek and he invited me to play on his softball team. He was so welcoming and I felt like I had known him forever. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet their parents and hang with their other sister Kelly. Kim’s sister had kids about the same time as one of my sisters and we shared stories of our nieces and nephews and even dreamed of setting them up because they were obviously the best kids on the planet and well suited for each other. I mean how could they not be when we were their Aunt’s.

So here I am riding thinking my life is so terrible because I was too easily persuaded into doing something I didn’t really want to do, even though it was my choice because I didn’t say no four times, I only said it three. And then it struck me … my life is not terrible and I need to get my head out of my ass. Here’s my friend whose family is gathered around him as he battles cancer and I’m riding my bike in Baja California with my health in check and my partner beside me. Why exactly again am I sad and mad? Life is good. Thank you Derek for reminding me to get my head out of my ass and tonight I toast you and the Watts clan. Salud!

Today’s Photographs