A Million Details

Little did I know when I dreamed up my upcoming bicycle tour that there would be so many details to work out. Everything from what and how much food to carry, to when and where I’d clean my clothes. I’ve actually got the food and clothes cleaning part down, I think, but now I’m trying to work out all the details concerning where I’ll be pitching my tent each night. Will it be a City Park, a church, a fire house, a motel (last resort), some one’s back yard, a cemetery (right before the last resort), a ball field or maybe even a bush camp? I have locations somewhat in mind for all the nights on the road except for getting permission from someone. That’s something that will take even more time.

I’m also micro-adjusting and scrutinizing all my gear. Trying to get the weight distributed just right, front to back, left to right, and not taking anything that I don’t think I’ll need. I examine and reexamine everything to determine its value on the trip. Some of it I just won’t know until I get on the road or do some test camps. Sometimes you can over analyze the most minor details and other times under analyze the major ones. Trying to wrap my pea brain around a lot of this stuff is like trying to fend off gnats while climbing a long hill at 6 mph (been there, done that). I can’t imagine how multi-member families plan cross country trips. I’m having a hard enough time doing it just for myself.

I think this all seems to be part of the challenge and the adventure of the trip as a whole. Developing a plan and gearing up for it correctly is important. It’s not just getting to the destination that’s important, but the preparation and getting out there and getting in the game and doing it that’s important as well.

But, it will be great to finally get on the road and experience what exactly lies out there instead of just reading about it. Perhaps what I might be looking for out there, is actually here, but here is just someone else’s out there that they may not have experience yet. But, until that time, I’ve got a million things to do and a short time to do it.