Several months after my (not-so-)epic journey
ended, a cycling friend (whom I had met on DALMAC) introduced me to
DeAnne, a co-worker of hers. De, it turned out, was also a cyclist.
After several years of riding DALMACs (and other assorted activities)
together, we decided to join my sister in far-off, exotic Seattle (where
it rains all the time, but that didn't deter us). And we decided to
repeat my TransAmerica adventure.
It's funny how life gets in the way of life. Kids
came along, and we thought, "What the heck - we'll do it with them in a
trailer!" Then they got older, and we thought, "We'll do it with them
on the backs of tandems!" And they kept right on aging, while we kept
looking for the right time to chuck work and repeat the trip. Then,
much to our chagrin, they kept right on aging, and we kept on working,
and here we are.
Well, almost. Chris, my oldest, graduated from the
University of Washington in 2009, and that would have been a great time
for a father-and-son expedition - especially since he did not have any
immediate job prospects. But I was too leery of quitting my job - my
boss said I couldn't simply get a leave of absence - and he said that
the chances of my being rehired were "pretty good". Remember, this was
around the time of the dot-com bust. I should have done it. But I
didn't. Now, I'm retired, and he has a good job in aerospace and he's
the one who has to worry about time off.
Well, screw that. I'm going. See you there.
