Scenery versus People

I was riding along today and all I had was the hum of the tyres on the tarmac. It was hypnotising. 
After a while I started thinking of the scenery all around me. It's too easy to take the beauty of nature for granted.

When you stop and really focus on the countryside it's like, " Wow"
I've not got my good camera with me on this trip but sometimes I like to just stand and look, drink it all in. I don't always want to capture the scene. In a selfish way, I see it as my reward for being out here, doing it. If the scenery is amazing then I don't want to photograph it and share it. It's my moment, it's mine.

This led me on to more thoughts. The views will always be there to revisit and it's great to see them, wherever you are in the world. But, the memory of the view lives with me for only a fleeting moment. I see it, I love it and then I move on.

More importantly for me on these trips, are the people I meet. Some can leave an indelible mark on me. Why can it feel like you have known someone for years after only a few hours conversation together?
 I love learning about other travellers and where they are going and also the reason they are doing it.

On campsites the fellow campers generally have a similar mindset to myself, so you have something in common straight away, so conversation is very easy to start. Something I'm not as good at in the 'real' world.

The world I'm in on this trip feels so comfortable for me. Riding 40 miles with no idea where I'll be camping that night. I don't think it's crazy or outrageous or anything. It's natural for me to be outside, using my body to move. And to meet interesting people, with good stories to tell is an added bonus. 

As I write this, I think to myself, I always focus on what I have taken away from meeting someone interesting. I have never thought, I wonder what they got from me? Maybe nothing at all, but then again possibly  they'll talk to other people that they meet and say that they met this English guy who was good company.
I can only be myself, as everyone else is taken. If I can leave a positive impression on someone then that's good, I suppose.

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