Missin' it

I don't know if anyone will be reading this anymore, since Ragbrai is over. But I miss it.

I wish I was still out there with 15,000 riders, zooming through the bike traffic.

I wish I was still cruising into small towns with people lining the streets in their lawn chairs, waving and clapping and welcoming.

I wish I could still eat all the great food and have my slice of cherry pie every day.

I wish I could be selecting my campsite in the evenings and setting up my little home for the night.

I wish I could be laying on my cot, listening to the sounds of nature, reading a book, my eyelids closing in tandem with the setting sun.

I wish I could be watching the sunrise while my pedals continued their revolutions.

I wish I could recapture that feeling of my first glimpse of the Mississippi River at the crest of a hill, knowing my conquest was realized.

I wish I could still feel so special and even revered as I rolled into towns with my neon green wristband.

I'm not meaning to over-glorify this ride, but suffice it to say that I really enjoyed it.