July 1st: Presentation at PCYC Upper Ross

Day 261

Today we did our presentation and all our worries were for naught. Eight people showed up for our climbing and cycling talk. Armed with a laptop and a projector we put together a slide show and did our best to have some cohesiveness. The one of many things that Cher and I agree that we have learned is just how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to travel, and how this has made us more aware of our ability to contribute to society. There are hundreds of little lessons that we could point to that have taught us about ourselves and our cultures, but it’s only through being an outsider that we were able to gain these types of insights. We like to believe that our speech was coherent enough to inspire a couple of young people to undertake an adventure of their own and to win over the curiosity of the local police officer who works at the youth center.

The after party

Regardless we found the act of giving a speech had several positives. For one when we wanted to quit cycling in mid way, we couldn’t. What a disappointment that would have been to say to the audience. “We were going to cycle through the outback, but it’s hot, dry and windy, so we bought a car and drove through.” Secondly it gave us time to make sense of what we saw and experienced. Most importantly it was a chance to contribute a realistic view of what is possible with a little planning, patience and courage. Which is why we started our blog in the first place.