ocrtextconverter/data/scanned_img_text.txt

0001 Eventually I arrived at the bike shop, which charged me nothing for
0002 the trouble of storing the big, unwieldy bike case for weeks—a gesture of
0003 kindness and support I appreciated as much as any, even if it didn’t surprise
0004 me. I could hardly count the number of times folks along the way had helped
0005 me get this far. After disassembling the cig and cramming it inside I affixed
0006 the shipping label and offered one of the employees $20 to drive me to the
0007 airport on his lunch break.
0008
0009 With so many people passing by at the airline gate, it felt odd not having
0010 my good pal the touring rig at hand to help jumpstart a chat. Until my next
0011 route—the American Southwest—I'd have to readjust to life without my
0012 rolling conversation-starter. Soon, I was just another traveler dozing in an
0013 airport chair. But below my clean ball cap, an overwhelmed mind worked
0014 to process new understandings and wipe away fractured misconceptions.
0015 Behind my drooping eyelids, dozens of faces and landscapes from the Great
0016 Lakes States scrolled past. Under the low music playing in my earbuds, voices
0017 ranging from worried to hopeful described the United States. And beneath
0018 my fresh t-shirt, a vindicated heart swelled with pride. Conversations With US
0019 was now entirely part of me, and would remain so throughout America’s 50
0020 states and beyond.
0021