Plane of Existance Level 5

-from Tuesday, July 3rd
Today was the best day of the tour and one of the best days I have ever spent on a bike tour. That is remarkable because I have now spent over 150 days on bike tours.
I have experienced quite a bit of pain on this tour, both physically and mentally. Today was the first time during the tour I rode without any physical pain at all. I felt wonderful and strong all day long. Somehow, riding up Going to The Sun Road raised up my spirits and vanquished all my mental pain too. I suppose I just simply forgot how beautiful Glacier National Park is. Being out in nature and emmersed in such spectacular scenary lifts the spirits and heals the soul.
Most of the time we live on the first plane of existance, our every day to day normal lives. For us souls living in the corportate world we end up stressed out over work and the daily grind and routine at work. We don't quite realize how much work affects the rest of our lives when we are in the middle of it. We may say we leave work at work, and often we do, but we go to sleep at night knowing we have to go to work the next day.
Then on weekends, when we forget about work, we enter the second plain of existance. We do leave work behind and we think about home and family and doing stuff with friends.
Then when we are on vacation, usually around the 6th or 7th day, we enter the third plain of existance. Stresses about work and home are now gone. You can usually tell you have reached this state of mind when you are waiting in a line and don't care how long the line takes, you just feel totally relaxed. On this tour it took me three weeks to reach level three instead of a week. I think I took so long to reach level three because the tour was so fast paced and stressful. I did not anticipate getting up at 4am each morning, eating breakfast at 6am and being on the road by 7am.
Last week I entered the fourth plane of existance. I was so physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, that I was too tired to care about anything. I simply wanted to rest and not think about anything. I reached level 4 in Jackson MT. The next day I was in such a peaceful state of mind, that I had the best ride of the tour, even though it was nearly a 100 mile day. In the morning, I saw a moose cross the road right directly in front of me. The moose was less than 10 yards from me, This close encounter with the largest animal in the deer family was extraordinary. I did not even try to get out my camera, he was walking along steadily, I just wanted to enjoy the moment. Sometimes you are not exactly sure what kind of animal you are seeing, but this animal was so large I knew right away he was a moose. The creature was simply magnificient. Sometimes you can lose the experience of a trip if you become a slave to the camera. Anyhow, I was in such a relaxed and peaceful state of mind
that even the animal kingdom sensed my peaceful spirit and knew it was safe to be around me. That ride up to Chief Joseph Pass was best of the tour until today.
Today I reached the fifth level of existance. My body had no pain for the first time on the tour. I felt strong and powerful on the bike, almost as if I was one with the bike. The bike felt as if the handlebars, frame, and pedals were just an extension of my arms and legs. All my mental pain dissappeared as I raced off from the very start this morning in the absolute excitment and eager anticipation of riding up Going to the Sun Road on a perfect day in brilliant sunshine. The 22 mile, 3,500 foot climb up Going to The Sun Road seemed almost effortless. I felt like I was just dancing on the pedals.
I want to thank all the people who are reading and following along with me on this blog and this journey, and also for sending me messages of encouragement and support. Your support, thoughts, and words of encouragement has helped me more than you will ever know. Just knowing that there are people reading this blog has helped me tremendously during this odessey. I really don't think I could have done this without your support and thoughts. Thank you.
There is so much time to think on the bike. I have been on the bike almost two hundred hours over the last month. There is a lot of time to think about what to write on the blog, but not much time to write these thoughts. I am so thankful for this rest day so I can take the time to express my gratitude to you all. This gratitude has existed in my mind each day, but today was the first time I had a chance to sit down and express my thoughts and thanks the way I wanted to. Thank you all.
I think there must be a level 6. I am not sure what the sixth level is, but I think I have a pretty good idea now that I am at level five. I am not sure how planes of existance there are. I don't think there is a limit and they are defined by one's self.
Some may think I have finally gone off the deep end, and perhaps I have. I can tell you that the deep end feels pretty good.
Today has been an outstanding day.
- Mountain Lion