10 September, 2008: Epilogue (and Prologue)

Apologies for the delayed entry. It has taken from July 27th until today, September 10th, to heal, to decompress and to catalogue.

First, the physical: My knees are mostly better. I am once again running and continue to ride a few hundred miles per week (and anticipate that I will regain feeling in my big toes any week now :-) I am slower, older, but somehow also stronger. You can throw me on the streets (or worse, into an office) and I will remain incorrigible. This was not entirely true before this summer.

Then there is geography: Ochre sunflower fields, rain drops, the sulfite smell of French vineyards, the apotheosis of the Alps, cobblestone passages through towns out of time. More than I will ever succeed in absorbing. Some of it recorded in journals, mine and C.J.'s. A few photographic bits from C.J.'s camera are now on-line: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7146&id=1004730576.

Also the social: Too many people to remember, much less mention. Characters all, each deserving of a stage. Yet it is the way of men and time to crawl in unending single-file lines, to lend themselves to blurry anonymity. I hope to single out a few moments and a few people, to make of them written souvenirs and possibly friends.

Not to forget the spiritual: I am less agnostic than before. Prayer works, although perhaps not always according to the "ask-and-you-shall-receive" theory. The French press picked up on the "angels in camping cars" line and ran with it. I think I disappointed Mom the last time I was home by skipping Sunday mass. One lesson taken from those 21 days in July is that God, or my God anyway, is more likely to be found in a repaired bicycle component than in a church pew. "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" Go ride your bike.

Then there is the lingering question: "Is it enough?" as Laura Huxley asked her septuagenarian husband on his deathbed. Aldous gave the only honest reply, which is also my reply: "It is never enough." Besides, I have yet to reach my fundraising goal.

Thus, I plan to return to France next summer, with as many of you as I can drag along for Lance's return to the Tour and Rick's Ride 2009. This time, we'll divvy up the stages among the team (Rick was always fond of relays!), along with as many baguettes and bottles of Bordeaux as we can fit in our bottle cages.

People normally pay many thousands of dollars to ride a couple of Tour stages. You can do the same thing for much less, and the money we raise will go to BORP and Kinetic Kids. Click here to learn more about joining the Rick's Ride 2009 Team!