Final Preparations

During a last minute shopping trip, the skilled REI staff loaded my basket no doubt figuring I have a station wagon following me for support.

Pictured here, Ron, enthusiastically suggests I purchase a Jetboil – claiming 5 of his friends recently made the switch and it literally changed their lives! SOLD, I wonder what it does?

Today turned out to be a productive day! I got quite a bit accomplished, for example, smartly delegating the bike packaging to the professionals at Palm Desert Cyclery. Hopefully, with UPS 2-Day express shipping my bike will arrive in one piece to Bikes and Beyond, up in Astoria, Oregon where I'll reassemble it and rig my panniers.

Later, my long time buddy Steve and I trekked 90 miles to REI for a power-shopping trip. I love REI - so much gear that is so foreign to me, a world of wonderment and adventure indeed. All you need is a credit card and less common sense than the ordinary man and you're good to go. Just my kind of place. The experience did, however, serve to remind me of how little I know about the great outdoors and all the gear required to enjoy it. And, as one might expect, this causes me great consternation, coming as it does from a Montana native who should by second nature be adept at this.

"Surely, I'll be fine" I keep mumbling to myself - even though I know the last time I've camped in a tent was a lifetime ago. Another concern, why have I waited until 3 days prior to my departure to gather my touring gear?

Clearly, your typical cross-country wack-job cyclist would plan a trip of this scope far more carefully. There would be much rumination about all the adversity one might encounter, and there would be carefully crafted remedies specific to each perceived problem. Certainly, my insistence on working without a net, or a care for that matter, goes beyond mere lack of planning. Instead, it actually may represent future fodder for the kind of discussions relegated to the psychiatry couch. But for now, I can't let doubts creep into my psyche - there is no time for such nonsence.

I'm faced with the reality that when I start my trip I'll actually never have ridden a bicycle with a load like I'll be carrying. However, I've attempted to similulate my load by strapping dumbell weights to the front and rear racks - pedaling around the neighborhood, no doubt looking like a dork. I'm also aware that the bike will certainly handle differently, be harder to pedal, and it will no doubt have taken on a whole new personality. Oh well, there's a good chance by then I'll have a whole new personality as well.


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