Onwards!

That's more like it. In the past 6 days my physical condition has improved by leaps and bounds. My knees, back, and butt feel top-shelf. Granted, only once have I taken the fully loaded beast out. All other rides were done on the much lighter, faster and more responsive road bike. Miles are miles though, right?


Okay. I know I need to start riding the mule more often, and I will. I finally have all the major gear needed for the trip and can now train on it with an accurate feel for what I'll be enduring daily for the next few months. I must say, the touring rig is quite difficult to handle. At low speeds the handlebars jerk nervously back and forth as I try and stabilize the collective 45lbs of gear spread across the bike. Once at speed steering becomes less an issue, that is of course until I try and turn. Unlike the catlike behaviour of most road racing bicycles, the loaded tourer turns in wide arcs much like a schoolbus. I must keep this in mind before I go barreling into hairpin turns.

I camped out in my backyard two nights ago in order to test out my new tent and sleeping bag. The ground in the yard is awfully lumpy, which resulted in a restless, uneven sleep. At first I was quite warm so I took off my pants and slept only with a sweater. This soon proved problematic as the temperature between my lower extremeties and upper body fluctuated wildly. Being the stubborn fool I am, I decided to stick it out instead of re-installing my pants. I simply zipped up my mummy bag to it's maximum, pulled the draw string tight as possible and hunkered down. To my utter delight, I awoke in a puddle of sweat and stink, as the morning sun had heated the tent to an oppressive temperature. This was unsatisfactory, and I wanted out immediately. After a good minute or two of fumbling for the both door and zipper to my bag I was free from the death pod; pantless and happy. Lesson learned: Leave the fly open.

So I leave on May 25, guaranteed. This seems like it should be a sufficient amount of time to tie up all the loose ends—especially considering I don't work at the moment—but I have a sneaking feeling that I'll be scrambling right up to the last minute.