28th April
So the Google Map cycling icon did it again and took me way off the beaten track. I love it as much as I find this style of routing a bit annoying. Now is the time to ramp up the daily distances because I want to get home. Except that there are, hidden in between these strung along moments, short stretches of enormous happiness I rarely get anywhere else. Unlike anything else in my life other than time with my wife, which is not predictable, I now know the mix to make happiness happen: a little sunshine, back roads without cars, scudding clouds across a summer sky, a cafe, someone smiles. People are poor in happiness and however good at it to get it, sadly it's an emotion that never becomes a habit.
But I need to function finely with good knees, a lightness of movement and an ability in my head to absorb who I am for 15 hours of solitary cycling every day for three-quarters of a year. This is my make-believe life where I'd prefer to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring but at least I'm something and not hiding in the shadows waiting to die.
Just a thought ...
Breakfast in Portugal $3
Great friendly conversation in a language you don't
understand with people who smile and laugh a lot.
Breakfast in Starbucks $11
Great hello until you don't pay a tip. No connection with
fellow customers all buried in their phones and laptops.
Map of the Day
Top Man $3 for a coffee and Cake not bad But $11 is steep But Ive just paid £4.50 for a Latte on the way home so im not sure how that compares, But at least you havent got long to go
That just highlights the rampant stampede of aggressive corporate greed...where food and drink is concerned, all spiralling seemingly uncontrollably out of America to every corner of the planet. 3 bucks for an excellent coffee and local something tasty against 11 for a tasteless mass produced coffee and cheaply made pastry (to maximise profits ofcourse). I guess a trip round the world like this at street level gives you amazing perspective...good v bad, cheap v expensive, friendly v not etc etc...