Why I Won't Be Moving Back East Soon

When I started to plan this December tour back East, it might have become a retreat. Between the struggles of being in a new city and facing debt head on, I was beginning to get worn down. The opportunity to work back in Buffalo seemed like a sign, maybe New York is where I belong? Maybe I should take some time off, pull the good ole 20-something move and move back into my parents house and not pay rent.

Flowers and the Hills

But that isn't the case. I was fortunate to get back into the staging industry here (where I wanted to get out of) which pays fairly well out here, so my struggles of money began to dissolve. But money only solves some happiness. The loneliness started to creep in in my new settings, especially once the seasonal work dried up.

Oddly enough being in a city had turned out to be immensely lonelier than being alone on the road. Why? Is it that hope of a destination that staves loneliness? Do greater populations mean greater introversion? Whatever the case may be, I had to find a way to stop stressing. So I did what I did all summer, I rode.

I want to go down that Fire Road.

It began with conquering some of the local hills around here and then I worked my way into climbing Diablo and Tam, but I'm not done yet, and that's the point. Here the new rides just seem endless. Even weekend camping trips or week long tours seem much better than back in NY. I remember struggling to think of where to go on day rides in Buffalo, it seemed every direction had already been taken. And when the roads start to look the same, it's time to move on. Here, it's different. I just keep piling these "have-to" rides and these desired tours starting from my doorstep into a long list of musts. North to Vancouver? Sounds great. South to LA? Beach sounds nice. West to Reno? I didn't like having money much anyway. Being beyond the Rockies or beyond the Plains line, or however you define the West, all I can think of is how great the riding is and there is no desire to go back East. Occasionally I read blogs from Mid-West riders, or some riders back East and see their photos (exceptions made for Appalachia and parts of Western and Northern New England) and want to grab them and tell them, "You'll love it out here!". Because since being here, I'm pretty sure I do.

It almost seems there is no city there, just mountains before the ocean.