T – 72

It’s getting real. Ready or not, I leave on a plane Monday evening, bike, camping gear and essential items in tow. ‘Essential items’ doesn’t feel as minimalist as it sounds when it’s packed on the bike! Especially this week when I ventured out in the heat. More than a moment of doubt as I struggled to get from point A to B. I had to stop frequently and seek out shady spots roadside. It took me a while to realize that touring will be more like this – stopping, taking time, seeking shelter, going slow – than any ride I’ve done before. My bike plus gear, excluding water at 2lbs a liter, weighs in at 58lbs. My road bike weighs 18lbs. (Strava isn’t the right tracking program for a tour!)

I’ve had all the time in the world to get ready for this trip, but invariably I’ll have forgotten to do something or bring something – hopefully nothing too important. But I’m actually tired of obsessing over the planning, I’m ready to be done with that. I’m ready to start the doing. Ready or not. You can only prepare so much. Hopefully I covered the right material.

Today is a beautiful summer day and I feel sad to leave my beautiful home and easy life in the prime of this season. But I’m always sad when I leave, so I know this is normal for me. I will have summer where I’m going! A different type perhaps, but different is what this trip is about.

Right now I am enjoying a luxurious treat – a pedicure – a little femininity before I become a bike hobo. The salon is packed this afternoon. I look around – young girls, wives and husbands, mothers and daughters, women like me. I’m momentarily shocked by a woman across from me – her overly plumped top lip looks bizarrely out of place, a sad attempt to roll back the years. I think about my own insecurities about aging and ‘losing my looks’. I hope I can build my inner beauty and not succumb to the temptation of trying to fight nature. Nature wins eventually. But I understand the temptation.

Again I think about how I will exchange guaranteed perfect summer weather and my comfortable life for everything unpredictable and uncomfortable. I look around the salon once more as I leave. I feel good about my decision.