reboe-cycling

Now that work is over and a full year of adventures lies ahead I feel thoroughly excited.  All (well: most) preparations are done and not much remains to be done. I even reacted to last night's nightmare and changed the tires to the sturdy class 6 Schwalbe Marathon Tour Plus instead of the lightweight Almotion.  Why? A friendly colleague from my last workplace came by and gave me a beautifully crafted photo edition of Dirk Rohrbach's "Highway Junkie" in which I immediately see that he also rides those Tour Plus tires. So together with last night's dream that did it: I pulled the bike out of the box this afternoon and changed the tires which had been hanging in the garage anyhow  just in case I'd change my mind. My wife laughed her head off 😉 And then I got a nice picture card from a friendly colleague at my new workplace wishing me good luck for my adventure. Robin and Batman do have one thing in common with our little endeavor: there is a solution to every obstacle ... PS.: Being prepared is good, but sometimes letting thngs happen is even better. Ready to go!

Time waits for no one and it seems I'm getting nervous even though everything is going according to plan. There is still a lot to be done in the workplace which takes up a lot of the time I would rather spend thinking about all the things that are still to be done for the Big Trip  - as I have become accustomed to calling the ride across the North American continent. But so much has by now been accomplished: The bike is ready, I've been riding a lot, the equipment is in top shape, most of it brand new, the flight is booked with provision for the bike,  our first accomodation is secured, and I've come halfway through creating the gpx-files for the trip (I'm really wondering if the detailed planning for day to day trips is really worth the effort or whether those plans will just be obsolete once on the road and subject to daily conditions and coincidences - but that is what I feel comfortable with right now), the financial, medical and insurance aspects have all be dealt with and I only have some minor choices left open .... So all seems fine. But some worries keep nagging. For some reason I've developed saddle sore without changing my weekly routine of riding about 220 kilometers per week to work. I hope that will be solved. My fear of accidents has been revived with my little crash a week ago, will the bike hold out, did I choose the right tires, will my Nikon camera which I had to send in for repair be back in time ... etc ... But let us look on the bright side: Three and a half months lie ahead with "no obligations" but having to deal with the daily challenges of physique, route, accomodation and food. This is not a competition and definitely not a race of any kind. All I want  is to enjoy the ride and take all days as they come. When we reach the east coast we will be that much wiser.