Thank You Allan

Today's ride was awesome. I went to Valley Forge planning on doing the entire loop (I usually only do about three fourths of it) and maybe even riding up into Audubon. I've been really attacking hills lately and trying to incorporate at least one hard hill into each ride I do. If I go on flat rides, I ride through Bridgeport in my big ring to make up for it. Good pain kind of stuff.

Today, on the way back, I ran into a man in his late 50's riding an old, black Trek 950 with fenders and pulling a Bob carrier. He was stopped in the middle of the park looking at a map, so I rode up to him to see if i could help him out. He was looking for the Schuylkill River Path, so I gave him directions and was on my way.

Once I got to the bridge to cross back to the path, it occurred to me that the path can be slightly confusing to figure out which way to go for people who have never been on it before. I decided I would wait and further explain my directions. The guy was very appreciative. We walked across the bridge, talking, and once we were on the other side I decided that instead of riding up to Audubon, I would help this guy get to Norristown.

His name is Allan, and he is doing a four corners ride of the U.S. He left San Diego a few months ago and rode to Key West. He is now on his way to Maine and will be heading to Seattle after that, then back to San Diego. He's been living in southeast Asia for the past God knows how long, just trying to live a simple life. He has no base of operations there, he just rides his bike everywhere.

On the ride back we just talked about the different microcosms that make up this country, and a little about politics and gun control. I got him pretty close to where he needed to be and we said our good byes. It was really cool to meet a guy living almost completely off the grid, living life the way he wanted to, when he wanted to. It was inspiring, and for that, I thank you Allan. Good luck on your journey.