Anticipation

Credit to Carly Simon for capturing a little bit of the sense I feel just before a trip. By nature I’m a worrier. “What did I forget?” “Did I mess up the hotel reservations?” “How many pair of clean underwear is enough?” You get the idea. No detail goes unworried.

What usually happens is that I fuss over things that mean very little once the wheels are rolling. My trusty steed is pretty well packed to the gills (as usual). The rain suit is unfortunately handy. etc., etc. etc. What really happens is either I just run out of time to mess with things or some seemingly insignificant change / adjustment really messes up one of the physical laws of mechanical devices, in which case the launch is slightly delayed while I “unchange” back to the way the bike was before.

The current situation is that I have used all available time for worrying and changing things. The launch is set. The “anticipation” phase will soon become the “actuality” phase of this trip. This journey will be a new experience. I turned over the route planning activities to my riding partner (who also happens to be my wife). She did a super job now all I have to worry about is the orange barrel barrage along the route she worked out and the possibility of rain. (My worry list is endless.)

Everything is packed. The route is loaded in the GPS. “The time to hesitate is through – no time to wallow in the mire”. (Thanks to the Doors.) The latest version of Rambling will start in the morning.

Thanks for riding / reading along with us. (Maybe I’ve got time to rebuild the engine on my bike just for good measure —– nah, not this time.)