Before I forget

I must write things down before I do...  It seems to me a life unwritten is only preserved in its entirety solely by the fading memories of the person who lived it.  Also in bits and pieces scattered with all the people he has met along the way.  Families and friends.  Strangers, dogs, cats, trees, rocks... the sky, the ocean.

Back

We came rolled back into Taipei yesterday afternoon, coming down a long, empty and curving downhill through the forested mountains south of the city.  It was the best downhill of the bike trip.  It was a great bike trip.

I don't think I could ask for a better place for my first bike tour, or with better inhabitants.  People of all ages cheered us on, from cars and roadsides and other bikes.  A darkly tanned man sitting in a tiny seaside town with a child on his lap cheered as soon as he saw us come into view, like he was waiting for us there by the road.  Kids shouting in unison out of a sleek black SUV as we climbed a lonely stretch up a mountain.  I joked I was tired of saying thank you, of raising my fist in acknowledgment of a cheer.  But I don't think I ever could be.

Now I'm back.  I'll write more about the trip later.  It was a great trip and I'm glad I did it.