Nerves

  

David:

Two weeks from now, Chris and I will be driving with our friend Kathy on our way south to St. Augustine Florida to begin our cross-country bike ride.  What is the best way to spend a day like this?  I'm not sure the best way, but here's what we did.

Had brunch with close friends from Lancaster whom we hadn't seen since COVID hit. Life must go on. Spent time going over the Southern Tier maps, cross-referencing them with our Atlas of the United States.  It makes it feel very real flipping through the Atlas and the eight States we'll pass through. Walked our dog - we wonder if Callie will remember us after we're gone for almost 3 months?  We're trying to get good memories built. Tried to blow up a sleeping pad that family gave us to try out. Decided the valves didn't work for us, and bought two new ones online. Looked at a Coleman stove and compared it with a newer more compact burner. So much has changed in camping gear since we were out last:  is it important to get the newest and latest, or is there still value in the tried-and-true? Talked again about dogs: the Southern Tier maps outline very long stretches - entire States actually - where roving packs of dogs are a real issue.  Neither of us are good in a dog fight. But do we go with pepper spray, water bottles, bear spray, shrill whistles or loud air-horns? So many options.  We need Doug to give us a crash course in bike repair - tire changes at the least. But my bike isn't back from Lincoln Avenue Cycling, an amazing bike shop in Goshen, IN, that is outfitting me.  https://www.lincolnavenuecycling.com/   So next week.

Do I feel prepared for this trip?  No.  Am I scared?  Oh yeah. There are many people who have written blogs about biking the Southern Tier.  It is helpful to learn from their experience.  It can also be disheartening to read how much preparation they did, how much they knew about bikes and repairing bikes, how long they trained beforehand.  But we are heading  out with a sense of optimism. We're looking for an adventure, and that's sure to happen.  We're looking forward to spending close to 3 months together. We're looking forward to seeing a swath of this country that we have never seen in exactly this way before.  It will be okay.  We will be well.