Well my friends, it's all over. I pedaled onto the beach on Thursday with a big grin and headed straight for the water. It's been a grand total of fifty days on the road and every second has been incredible. I've yelled obscenities at the wind in Texas, I've flipped off a handful of horrible drivers (mostly in Arizona), I've laughed while riding out of the mountains in Southern New Mexico, and I've shared amazing evenings and nights with people that have inspired me. That's what I come back to in my mind when I look back on the last month and a half. I would have quit the first week had I not discovered early on that at the end of a long day of riding waits an undiscovered stranger capable of restoring something in my soul that a lonely road will begin to remove. If nothing else this trip has taught me that cynicism is something a man creates in his own seclusion. All you've got to do is get out of your home, your car, and allow yourself the vulnerability to experience the goodness in people that begins with eye contact and simple curiosity. We have sheltered ourselves here in America and the walls we put up destroy our understanding of the common ground we can find in any person, in any place.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the people that have kept me and fed me. Collectively, you have made this possible and I'll never forget you.
Get on the bike!
-Nate
I spent Saturday in Silver City where I happened upon one of the biggest road racing events in the country, The Tour of the Gila. 
And this one's just for fun. Rawson was volunteering as a support vehicle driver for the race. This was after a couple drinks and some roof climbing.