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The Journals from the Road
Hey everybody! I am back on the trail again! Well, I won't tell you how much sleep I got the night before I left but let's just say a wink would be an overstatement. Saying goodbye at the airport to my family and Jason Domer was hard to do. Two and a half years feels a lot longer than three months did. With tears in our eyes and lumps in our throats we waved farewell for a while. The excitement of traveling to all of these wonder-filled places seemed muted in contrast to hugging the gang goodbye. After I boarded the plane, I sat and cried a bit, then wiped my eyes and took a few breathes and started thinking about the plane trip back to Mexico. Everything went fine on both flights. The layover in San Fran was relatively uneventful except for a woman at an information type booth called to me saying, "Excuse me sir I have a question for YOU!" The urgency of her tone made me think that airport officials must have important news and I swung around and jogged over to her counter. Wondering if I was going to be interrogated on my possible possession of a leatherman, I stood still in anticipation. Instead, I was asked if I wanted to help hungry children by making a donation to her organization. After chiding her for her tactics I helped feed hungry children and then decided it was time for some cross promotion. I gave the 17 second PeaceBike promo ad and website URL and she told me she would check it out and both parties were pleased. I made it through Mexican Customs without a hitch other than my bike box accidentally getting sent vertically on the moving luggage belt which in my bike's case became a near fatal gear compacter (All those Star Wars fans can picture the appropriate scene minus the sound effects and one-eyed monster.) Another passenger and I flipped it out of the doorway-compactor moments before PeaceForce One would have been made a Unicycle! I met Teresa outside the terminal and we loaded my gear into her car. Just after we closed the doors and sighed in relief it became quickly apparent that we were going nowhere fast. Her battery had gone into instant cardiac arrest. However, fear not, within seconds six officers of various duties were at our side trying to administer CBR (Car Battery Resucitation). We finally got a police officer to track down jumper cables. A few pesos and many thank-yous later and we were off in style. I will be riding with Teresa's bike club and then on Sunday some 1000 cycists in the weekly Bici Gatos ride out and about the city. I think I am one of the few who will be taking a crash course (I hope not;) on clipless pedals along the streets on Mexico City! I will be visiting the pyramids of the sun and the moon soon so stay tuned for images galore! More soon! Peace(Bike), TAD www.peacebike.org An 'edu-venture' around the world for peace. "We seek to connect young people around the world to each other so that their friendships build a peaceful world for us all. -Tad Beckwith |