Here we go! T-minus 44 hours til I leave. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! I'm not nervous about bad drivers, or rain, my pets, or lack of food--all of those are minor. If I can cycle in Baltimore, MD, where [trust me on this] the WORST drivers in the USA are, I think I can handle back-country, drunken factory workers. I'm assuming they'll think my blinky lights are the Po-Po attempting to pull them over for drunk driving, so if anything they'll speed away from me. Rain, well, rain will keep me cool. All of my stuff will be in sealed, plastic bags within my water resistant panniers, so nothing should get wet. My pets are in amazing hands; I have AWESOME friends who are looking after them and can take on anything! I trust their judgement: there's a phone tree and a schedule if anything goes a haywire. Food--food is my best friend, so I will never NOT have it on me :) Plus, I'm really excited to stop at little dive diners and whatnot in the Middle-of-Nowhere, USA. Maybe I'll find a gem!
My biggest concern is getting to where I need to be each night; I'm DEFINITELY pushing myself physically on this trek; I've never done a tour over 100 miles, so we'll see how this goes! Part of the uncertainty is because I'll be in the middle of nowhere, in an area I've never been, so some of the roads may be marked [or more likely, NOT] differently. I wrote down as much info as I could from what was given to me via Google Maps. I created my own maps for each day, which I'll have my sister post once I've left an area--maybe a day or two after to make sure no creepy-crawlies are following me :) I have to get the ones I printed off laminated tomorrow, this way it doesn't matter how much it rains--they'll be protected. I'll also have traditional maps and my atlas with me too, so I can see where I am on a larger, more accurate scale. Let's just hope that all of what I wrote down fits perfectly and I don't miss a turn, have to back track, or get so frigging lost it's unbelievable and end up in the wrong state! I've always been really good with directions if I have a map--plus I'll be moving at Grandma Speed, which is pretty close to Ludicrous Speed [Spaceballs reference], so I don't think that I should have much trouble.
I'm also a little leary that, because of my slow speed, I won't get to the 1st two campgrounds in time for their "First Come, First Serve" sites; all of their reservable sites are taken... wah waaaaaah. All of the other ones, in Ohio and Michigan, I've reserved my site. Done & done. I still have to buy my ferry ticket to cross Lake Michigan, but I'm afraid that I'll be running behind, for whatever reason, and I'll miss it & have to purchase another one--and they're not cheap. The campsites I can at least get refunded most of the money if I don't make it, but the ferry (I think) is non-refundable. I'll check tonight.
As far as gear goes, I'm almost set. I have to get bottle holders, a new nipple for my Camelback, eye protection, a mirror, and 2 bolts (one wiggled loose from the frame, and then the special one, that came with my bike rack, fell out.. not happy). My buddy, "Jasper," is giving me the hook-up tomorrow. I have to have a once-over on the bike done, probably some new brake pads, and then I'll be golden!
Gear I have:
EXTREMELY bright colored shirts, biking shorts, tons of socks, spandex galore, biking/regular shoes & flip flops, helmet, blinking lights for front & back, a hanky for my snot (I've never been very good at farmer blowing--it ends up dangling there & sticking to my face), tent, thin sleeping mat, blow-up pillow & fleece blanky, tiny propane burner & camping cookware, chargers for my phone & mp3 player, HUGE First Aid kit :), vitamins/supplements, TP, camping towel & toiletries, pepper spray & a newly sharpened buck knife, bungee cords, extra tubes & a chain, tools to fix my bike, my many maps & camping reservations, music (to study & to give to my piano player upon arrival), etc... all of which is around 30 lbs [food & fluid included].
Here we go, ready or NOT!
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