tour de gambia

so it may not come as a suprise to anyone that the tour de france is not as popular as the world cup here. i know, i know. however, as a longtime tour fan, i am itching to catch some race coverage. i've been living vicariously through another volunteer, who has seen maybe 2 stages at some taiwanese project headquarters. i also have been travelling a ridiculous amount lately, so i've been checking the versus website.
and i'm obviously upset with contador because andy schleck is by far my favorite rider these days.
but since i've been travelling so much i've been riding my bicycle more than usual. it's been pretty fantastic, especially the other day when i was riding a few villages over to do sea turtle surveys. they start really early, so i was riding my bike into the sunrise, and for once there was no one else on the road-and i mean no one. no other cyclists, no bush taxis, no donkey carts, not even a cow, goat, or sheep. and riding all by myself, in the cool of the morning, watching this incredible sunrise, i had one of those "oh my goodness i'm in africa!" moments. you just get this surge of energy and happiness and feel like maybe you can do anything. and you feel like maybe you're in one of the most beautiful places in the world. it makes everything feel so worth it, and it's exactly what i needed. i didn't have my camera with me, and i think even if i had it would have stayed in my bag. when i was joining the peace corps, everyone was talking about how you find yourself, how much of a journey it is for you. i never really thought of it that way, i viewed it more as a chance to give myself to other people, to learn how to help from the bottom-up. but watching that sunrise all alone, in a time when i hadn't really been by myself for so long, is something i never knew i needed. what i'm trying to say is, no matter where you are, sometimes you need to appreciate something completely beautiful all by yourself, and internalize that moment. the rest of the day, even though there was the normal stress (and more) and i was tired, i felt myself glowing from that golden moment. i'm not saying i'll be getting on my bike at 5:30 every morning, i'm just saying i'm not going to be complaining next time i have to.