What’s next???

The phone has stopped its constant ringing for a few days now, and I finally have the chance to get back to writing after a week long of traveling around the DC area and New York City.  It seems like the opportunity to reflect on the moment that was last Tuesday January 20th has been fleeting.  I find myself a week later still unsure of what happened on the 20th.

Maybe its because I’ve been “on-the-go” for two months now, but my intuition tells me that slowing down is not going to be easy.  In fact, it might not even have to happen at all.  In the interviews and conversations I had in the days leading up to the inauguration everyone seemed to pop the question, “What are you going to do next?”  Well, since I’m all the way on the opposite coast, the easy answer- “I’m goin to Disneyland!”- didnt really work.

So what do I do from here on out?

I’ve crossed an entire continent on my bicycle; received international media attention for what I’ve done, met countless amazing individuals along my journey; been welcomed into DC by Congressmen; got the hottest ticket of 2009 (a SEATED one at that!). It would seem like everything I could have dreamed came true.  I must say that this entire endeavor–accidents, frustrations, and pain aside– was quite possibly the most positive thing I have ever been involved in.  To cap it off, I was able to sit with everyday people involved in the campaign way up near the front of the crowd.  (I could see Obama’s shoulder for most of his speech-the media tower obstructed the rest of him).

My frenzied travel schedule made it difficult to maintain the level of lucidity that I had intended to provide with this blog.  Now that I have had a few days of rest, and haven’t ridden much in over a week—this NYC winter is proving to be a little too bitter for my SoCal style—I actually have some time to really think about what went on these past two months, and let you in on the experience as well.

While the future is uncertain at the moment I’ll let you in on a couple developments in my, as well as my team members here at Biking for Obama.

On Sunday Josh and Albert and me all met with Sven Melkers, of Helmers and Melkers an entertainment and sports media agency.  He’s interested in promoting our gang in Europe, and seeing where the bicycle touring can take us.  I’m pretty excited about the prospect, and while I’m not getting my hopes up too high, I have strong feelings that something advantageous can work out for all of us.

As for an update on where we’re at today: We are sleeping in an editing studio. Literally. Josh Apter of  the Manhattan Edit Workshop , has set us up in order to start the post production process of our documentary. I really couldn’t have asked for a better situation (well maybe having showers, but I don’t stink so much now that I’m not cycling 6 hours a day).  Josh is an awesome guy, he heard about my story in early January and sent a cinematographer to film my last week in Virginia.

Anyway, I’ll be keeping everyone more updated with details on future projects as this week progresses.  Gotta get back to work!