Suit to Saddle

Whether to share the details had remained a dilemma for me, until now.

When it was my turn, I told them I had often imagined what it would be like to cycle across the country. On many coast-to-coast business trips, I would look out the airplane window and marvel at the landscape below. Flying from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, leaving the hustle and bustle of city life, I had found myself lost in wonderment as I gazed at the snowcapped mountains. I imagined what it was like to live in a small community surrounded by a vast wilderness. I thought about the westward migration. I was in awe at the enormity of our great country. I fiddled with my hands, wondering what would come out of my mouth next. I told the group that I was between jobs and had decided to take advantage of the time off to meet the challenge. I looked forward to riding through the California desert, testing my limits, meeting new people, and experiencing something I had thought was only a pipe dream. At fifty-six years of age, I wanted to dive in now rather than wait to fulfill this bucket-list goal after retirement. All of it was true, but there was more that I was not ready to reveal.