A strange sight in Ludington, Michigan while we were in town for the street fair
I was talking with Urbyville’s number two fan Keith (my Mom has to be fan #1) and he told me about how he checks in on the website often and during dinner with some friends, was asked what Julie and I had been up to. His response, which he repeated to me, made me take a step back and realize what a truly unique and interesting year we have had. Here is a quick recap of our wonderful 2011:
We were both promoted at work shortly before the end of 2010 so for the first couple months of the year we both were busy learning our new positions and working hard to be successful with our careers.
We decided after a couple months into the New Year that it was time to change gears. So we quit our jobs and left Washington. We drove across the country to Ohio with the idea that we’d bike all around the country on a tandem bicycle. However, the cost and difficulties with obtaining the bike caused us to reconsider.
Instead, we replaced some old hiking gear and headed down to Georgia to walk the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. With this adventure, Urbyville.com was born. We’ve been keeping up journal entries, posting videos and pictures, and finding ways to stay connected with our friends and family around the world.
The walk took a little over 3 months and when we finished the hike, we still didn’t know what we wanted. So this time, after a few week of road tripping, we bought bikes, but instead of a tandem, we each got our own Trek hybrid bikes and rode from Washington down to the border of Mexico; Life on a Bike was born. The plan was to ride to Mexico but after some information from an uncle, we decided it wouldn’t be too wise to ride the Baja Peninsula.
So we flew. We took a plane to Cabo and spent three weeks with our friends Mike and Penny in Todos Santos. They are amazing and let us stay in their second home for three weeks without paying rent. They showed us the sights, entertained us, and were simply good friends for us for our first trip abroad in six years.
From there it was back to the States, another cross country drive and then on to the east coast for the beginning of Marathon Madness. We started training for 5 marathons in 3 weeks and a chance for redemption at the 100 mile distance in February of this year. We’ve spent time with family and friends, we’ve stayed connected with the old and established more of the new.
We’re very much looking forward to 2012 and at this point, we now feel like we have very exciting plans for the next year or two. We have our first marathons this weekend and after all the running, it’s off to Guatemala for six weeks to learn Spanish.
So while 2011 was certainly a unique year, we are so excited for 2012 and what is in store for us. We plan to keep Urbyville updated and as always are thankful for friends. We are always encouraging of anyone looking to be part of our adventure and encouraging to those that simply adventure and live life to the fullest. Thanks for a great year.