Tuesday, May 17, 2005

I've Officially Started

Recently I stopped in at Barnes & Noble, and there was a couple finishing up a book-signing. Phil Shrout's book, America at Twelve Miles an Hour: A View from the Edge of the Road, was the story of the summer bicycle trip that he and his wife took a couple years ago. They left the Oregon Coast and bicycled to the Georgia Coast when they were in their early fifties.

I chatted with them, asking how long their trip took, because back when I was in my twenties (Before Children) my then-husband and I rode our bicycles in Western Europe for four months. I was curious to find out how far we might have ridden. Instead, though, they inspired me.

As we talked and I told them a couple stories about what it's like to be on bicycles in France or Switzerland, they were impressed at how much I still remembered from a trip that was over 20 years ago. And I got to thinking...

I could write a book, just as they had.

The idea has been kicking around in my head for the past month. Today, at Quizno's, as I ate my lunch, I opened a Quizno's napkin and jotted down a few notes. These are the first words to hit paper about this book.

It's now official. I've started writing my book.

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