Training and thoughts

It's turning chilly here in Chicago, but still so very beautiful. I felt really good on my ride today, although it was just a short 10mi/16km ride through the city.  I have realized that while urban riding it is much harder for me to reach aerobic plateaus, it does let me work on my anarobic strenth, so I did the whole ride sprinting, then resting at stoplights.  It was a good ride, and I got warmed up about a quarter of the way through.
I would like to write some more about my philosophy for this trip, as it is not simply a ride across this great land.  When I was growing up, I travelled all over this country with my family.  I was born in Ohio, and when I was three my parents joined the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).  Their first assignment was in Prince Albert, SK, and so began my travels.  It seemed that every summer our family would go on vacation to remote locations all across the United States and Canada.  We never had much money, and so most of our stops along these trips were focused on free or cheap attractions like national parks and campgrounds, or visiting old friends of theirs across the country. 
I would like to create some sort of feeling like that again.  I would like to once again be taken aback by the beauty of our country, to experience again the joy of making new connections with the people that I run across in my travels.  The spirit of America runs deep through the land and through the people in all different walks of life in different ways, and I intend to explore it.

In another area, I have been recieving very positive feedback about my goal so far, and I really appriciate it, it keeps me going on these cold days and with the sore muscles and achy feet.