Day 6

Day 6: October 4, 2021 (Peoria AZ to Mesa AZ)

We started at 6 AM.  The first part of the ride was on a bike path.  It was pretty nice not to have to worry about cars.  Although, the bike path was not well marked (at least for me) and I got turned around a few times.  

Today, we had the Mayor of Mesa, a coach from the A’s and three pitchers from the A’s met me at Athalonz office at 11 AM.  We also had two motorcycle police officers there that gave me a short police escort.  I have to admit that was pretty cool.

We took some nice photos with the mayor and the baseball players.  We videoed the police escort.  So, some good content for the ride.

After that, I met with my team and told them I had decided to stop the ride and focus on writing my story.  They were all against it.  In short, they convinced me to think about it some more and to continue on..

Later in the day, I had a long talk with my daughter Patty.  She helped me greatly and convinced to continue with the ride, but with a new focus.  I’ve spent too much energy on the external (press coverage, helping stop abuse, etc.) and not enough on the internal (my story, which is healing for me).

So, I have renewed enthusiasm for the ride and with a new perspective.  I’ll ride 4-5 hours per day and write 2-4 hours per day.  I’m sticking to the schedule that’s online, but with a new focus, a new strategy, and renewed energy.