January 5, 2016

I have enjoyed spending time with family and friends the last few weeks in Texas, Tennessee, and California.

Discussing my travels with fellow small-bike enthusiasts Dale & James at Middleton Brewery in Wimberley, Texas. Football, beer, live music, friends. Good times. I have a feeling Dale will be riding through Peru in the not-too-distant future.

With my time off, I was able to obtain my Tanzanian visa (the other African visas I can get at the border crossings), plan a bit more of my South America travels, and even make some plans for the continent after Africa.

The downside to spending two weeks in the States is that I gained ten pounds back. Sadly, I am ready to get back to the South American “diet” as well. I love food, I love the choices of food in the States, but the quantities are just way more than I need. And I’ve found that a big part of the problem is that it is too easily accessible. It’s harder to grab a snack or a burger or cookies or junk food and soda in most of the places I’ve been traveling. In the States, it’s all within arm’s reach all the time.

I had booked this return trip to the US before I ever left Texas back in July. I was planning ahead in order to hopefully avoid travel burn-out. But when the time came, I found I wasn’t really burned out on traveling. And within a very short time I was missing my little 250, and ready to get back on the bike and head towards Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Actually, I am beyond ready.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to email me, visit with me, buy me a meal, or otherwise say hello while I was in the U.S. It’s always good to know I have a support team out there, even if they are invisible and silent most of the time.

Now let’s get this show back on the road!