When I first met Neil, he was a triathlete. I swam, biked and ran myself but could not imagine doing all three at the level that he did. Crazy. Over our marriage, I have watched him train for several marathons and when he needed a change from that, he began to train for long distance bike rides (and still keep up the running). Last year he did the RSVP from Seattle to Vancouver and this year he decided he wanted to do a solo ride down to Burlington in Washington state and back. He booked a hotel for an overnight stay, planned his route and on Sunday morning before we all awoke, he was off.
Now that we are texters, I asked Neil to text me every couple of ours to let me know where he was and that he was okay. The texts on the way down were uneventful, on the way back, not so much. There was pouring rain, soaking wet socks and shoes, no brakes and then having to stop and get new brake pads installed and then when he was through the border and on his way home, a flat tire.
We were happy to see him pull up the driveway on Monday evening, exhausted but smiling.
I totally get his need to get away and be on his own for a bit. I think its healthy to be with ourselves and in our heads. With the difficult year he had at work, the need for some peace was much needed.
I have great admiration for this man who sets a goal and is so disciplined in setting up a plan to achieve that goal. He's such an inspiration to me and our boys!
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