Finding our Freedom

Day 1

Road kill count: 3 frogs, 2 birds, a rat, and some poor unidentifiable creature (We named it Ferrel)

Posting from: Walk Ons in Baton Rouge

Trip Total: 28 

It's hard to believe the day of our departure has finally arrived! We hit the road at around 8am this morning. The weather was perfect; overcast and about 70 degrees. We said goodbye to my Dad and we were off. My long time friend, Adam, rode with us on our first ride out of Gonzales, La. We rode 28 miles to Baton Rouge, and we are sitting in Walk Ons watching the Saints game as I write this. After their inevitable victory over the Cardinals, we will be on our way to our campsite for the night.

The ride here went pretty smooth. We rode past all of the chemical plants on highway 30, so the scenery wasn't much to look at. Pedaling was difficult though, I think Rheann must have started a large rock collection and put it into my bag this morning. That is the only explanation for how difficult my ride was. My legs are tired, even though I have completed much longer rides. Rocks or not, it's nothing a beer or 7 can't fix!

I wish you could describe the feeling of freedom I have right now. The rides will be long and tough, but we don't have any deadlines to make. We don't have to call anyone "sir". It is just Rheann and I on the open road.  We have only ourselves to depend on, and we will have to rise to meet every challenge we are going to face. It won't be easy, but trust me when I tell you that this feels so right. We have both been preparing for this journey our whole lives, we just didn't know it.

We will be spending the night in Farr Park, then we have a long 50 mile ride tomorrow. Hopefully we don't have any problems with raccoons tonight! We will need our rest, because our journey is just beginning!