Pilgrimages don’t actually start the day you take Step One on some specific route. Pilgrimages start the day that you DECIDE when you are going to take Step One.

I started writing under the Pedal Pilgrim name in 2013 as I followed this nagging sense of call to nurture and discover a new form of spiritual practice and belief in America.

Those were the words that originated in my blog the night after I conquered Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved highway in the world at 12,173 feet, on a bicycle loaded with fifty pounds of gear. I had ridden that same route twice when I was thirty years younger and absent the gear.

I have heard the comment more than once. “You are searching and I hope you find some answers.” This last one came in response to my blog about being “Camino-bound.”

I think I was made for this moment. On May 15 I will fly to Paris, take the train to St. Jean Pied de Port and then take my first steps on the Camino Francais, the 500-mile pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

It has been over five years since I have had any meaningful connection with you. I write this post to let you know that the long interruption is over.