Why now?

Riding my bike across the country has been a dream of mine since I was a child. Last summer, Nick and I went to Colorado on vacation and met up with Rick, my childhood friend. Rick and I hadn't seen each other in probably 40 years or more. It was great seeing him after so many years. Revisiting the events of our youth including the numerous bike rides we took. We'd head out at 7:00 AM and wouldn't get back home until 9:00 at night! While we were at lunch, Rick looked at Nick and said "can you believe your dad and I used to think we were going to ride our bikes across the country".

WOW! Was that powerful! Then a few months ago Nick and I were at lunch and I asked him if he was disappointed that we couldn't do the ride years ago and he told me that he was. I told him that I was too and asked him if he wanted to do the ride this summer after he graduates and he said that he did...since that time, Nick has made the decision to serve his country and has enlisted in the United States Military and begins his service this summer...I am so very proud of him!
These events (and others) really got me thinking...when is the perfect time to do this ride and the answer became very apparent to me...there will never be the "perfect" time. There will always be a reason that it's not the right time...it was at that moment that I committed to completing the ride the summer of 2017. We never know what tomorrow holds, how much time we have left on this earth and it was more clear to me than ever before that now was the time.
I will be completing the ride not only for myself but for my brother Bob and my son, Nick. (See Why I'm Riding).
I spoke with my employer about my plans and asked if I could take a leave of absence to complete the ride and they said yes!!!
So, the journey has begun...I will start my ride after Nick leaves to begin basic training. I am so excited and so thankful for all the support and encouragement I've been shown!