panos! i love panos!

cayuga lake from taughannock state park or whatever it's called.


lonely yellow tree. it always fascinates me how nature often (cruelly or not) places a lone unique individual among an otherwise homogenous crowd... here, my shadow points an accusatory finger at that little yellow candle flame...

back finally...

7 miles. that's how far i was from completing my 100mile ride around cayuga lake! well, anyway, this is the 2nd installment of my trip around cayuga lake with me, my backpack and my bicycle. so the first half was really nice, with sun and sand and lake and what not, but on the day i was supposed to head back to cornell, it had started snowing and the temperatures had dropped tremendously. i had no choice though, either pay 50 bucks more to stay another night, or brave the cold wind and snow and just shoot for gold...

right from the start, my right knee problem acted up again, and i basically had to pedal with one leg -- my right leg was just there as an ornament to weigh the right pedal down but for most of the journey, it was useless. only when i took 2 panadols halfway through did i regain any semblance of use for my right leg, and even then it still hurt. the panadols were such a blessing though. i totally forgot about them, even though i remembered to bring my first aid kit with me. only when i prayed to God to take away the pain from my right leg, did i suddenly remember that i actually have panadol somewhere in my backpack! so up on a hill, i washed down two tablets with my gatorade, and life wasn't so meaningless anymore.

but that wasn't the most exciting part. the most exciting part came at 7miles from ithaca, when i finally couldn't feel anything in my fingers or toes anymore. "please don't let any part of me fall off," i prayed. by then i was also totally exhausted cos there wasn't any gas station or ANYTHING along the way, so i had basically ridden about 50miles straight without stopping. the gatorade in my camelbak was frozen, and i had to chew it to get the liquid out.

i kept telling myself to go on, but at the same time i knew that my body was close to its breaking point and even though i had strength left, i was scared to death. i prayed and prayed, and then at myers road on US34b, i saw a house with christmas lights draped outside, and something told me that this is where i'm stopping. it didn't really hit me very hard, and i actually rode on for about 10m before i braked and made the U-turn that most likely saved my life. i knocked on the door, and this huge man in white opened it, and immediately welcomed me inside. his wife made me a basin of warm water which actually almost burnt me when i put my hands in (i was THAT frozen). then, because they were going to start thanksgiving dinner, they gave me a large portion of it -- the first thanksgiving dinner i ever had. baked potato, turkey, long beans, some fruity salady thing, fastastic pumpkin pie, milk, wine (from Lucas Vineyards), eggnog and some really sweet jelly concoction, all courtesy of Marsha (the mum).

and to cap it off, Bill (the dad) threw my bike in the back of his truck and drove me all the way to my doorstep. and i only wanted to warm myself up for a while.

yes, i'm disappointed that i didn't finish, but only a little. after all, i traded 7 miles of cycling in the bitter cold for the wonderful knowledge that God is always there, watching and guiding my hands. and that his children live in houses where closed doors don't exist. Marsha said to me, "We're just so grateful that you decided to visit us." Well, i'm going to visit them again, with a big bottle of wine, and a big THANK YOU written all over my heart.

this was my first Thanksgiving, and i already know why they celebrate it.

in the middle of nowhere....

well, not exactly :) i'm actually in seneca falls, after a long and arduous journey up cayuga lake, which i have to repeat tomorrow except in the opposite direction. According to mapquest, it was about 43miles, but of course that's for drivers. For cyclists, it's a different story -- up and down, up and down, and when your headlights stop working just half an hour into nightfall, 10 miles can feel like you're marathoning across the United States. For whoever cares to know, my right knee is killing me, and i hope for my sake that tomorrow i will wake up perfectly fine and ready to rumble again! for the record, i drank 2 litres of gatorade, ate 2 power bars, and peed near someone's yard cos i just couldn't take it. i mean, 2 litres.... yah that was just about all the bodily interactions i had with my environment on the trip. i forgot to have lunch, or breakfast, so i must say it was really an achievement! of course, after reaching microtel inn at seneca falls, i limped across the street to the New Chinese Buffet (or something with a similar sounding name) and ate more than i ever did in my entire life (except in BMT)!

well, i must say that this half of the trip has really taught me much about thanksgiving. it's now 7 min to thanksgiving, and i know i have tons and tons to give thanks for! about 3/4 into this leg of the journey, my ipod ran out of battery, my headlights soon after, and i was seriously afraid for my life. you know how when you have avril lavigne blasting into your ear, issues mostly just fade away, but all i could hear was the waves of cayuga lake lapping at the shore, and trucks screaming by. Thank God for rear lights. it was really comforting to see the cars passing me in the middle of the road, instead of right beside me!

the stars were beautiful. i was passing by a farm and somehow i just looked up, and there were these wonderful constellations high above me. i know it probably wasn't wise to ride a bicycle while looking up at stars, but whatever i'm still alive. (oh yah another thing to be thankful for!) but yah, beautiful beautiful beautiful. reminds me of battlestar galactica actually, that episode where they looked up at this space portal thingy and saw the twelve constellations... yah i know how it's science fiction with Mormon inclinations, but i like that show!

i also like someone. sometimes, when all your energy is spent quarrelling and worrying and being upset/jealous/angry etc, it's hard to imagine being in love. but i am. and out there, in the quiet (ok maybe not so quiet) of the night, with nothing around me that could occupy my attention (thank God for broken headlights), i felt, deep in my heart, that i just want to be with you. it didn't matter where, just as long as you're beside me. even with my legs hurting and my toes and fingers freezing, how nice would it be to just have you nearby! that if i were to speak, my words will have a soft and gentle spot to land... and if i were to sing, my voice will not just float away into the emptiness around me.... and there would be no emptiness around me.

you don't always have to go on a trip with people for it to be meaningful. a trip on your own can sometimes take your mind to places where it is supposed to go, places where it usually just skirts around, afraid to enter. it makes you look inside yourself because it is the only place you can really see, when dusk is falling and the world is just a grey, transient blur. being alone makes you yearn for company -- company that, when present, is often overlooked and taken for granted.

this is my first time having a hotel room to myself i think.... i wish i had a book to read. :)