My Bags are Packed

My bags are packed and I am ready to go on my cross country bike ride. I was going to leave tomorrow from the Golden Gate Bridge but the weather forecast is for three quarter to an inch of rain. The rain I am not so worried about because I am well prepared for rain but the first leg of my trip starts out with a dangerous narrow highway that has already claimed quite a few bikers so I do not want to ride it in poor visibility conditions. I can wait a day for safety's sake. If I was already on the road and the same thing came up I would wait so why not delay the start.

My bike is a a Novara Randonee from REI with front and rear panniers from Ortlieb. I loaded it with the things I wanted to take then went out for a 30 mile ride to test it out. When I got home from the ride I took a whole lot of things out of my bags. They were just too heavy. I have a tent, sleeping bag and pad, camera, rain gear, clothes, phone and computer with chargers, spare inner tubes and tools and my meds etc. It all was too much. Less clothing is going to be the way to go. The deodorant, shaving lotion and shampoo were not needed and can be bought along the way. I can buy anything I need as I go rather than carry it all.

I did have a small seizure on Sunday which is causing some residual pain problems for me. It is making it very hard for me to walk at all right now. It must be my body's way of warning me that I am after all, just a geriatric disabled man planning an almost impossible ride. The seizures could be the problem that ends my trip somewhere along the way. I could have a seizure and tumble in front of a big truck or car or fall and just seriously injure myself. It is a risk I am willing to take. I do want to push myself. I can barely walk to the back of a grocery store to buy milk and here I am planning on pedaling across the country on a bicycle. Kind of a stupid plan I know. Other people have overcome even more difficult situations so I will get to see how I do when the proverbial shit hits the fan along the way.

Tomorrow will be a day of rest and reading. No big drinking party send off for me. My Irish roots might handle a hangover on day one but I just don't do that anymore. I would rather be well hydrated and rested, at least to start the ride.

Lots of friends are trying to talk me out of this ride but I just smile thank them for their concerns and ignore their advice. I am taking a big risk and that is all there is to it. If I don't leave I just might take the 250 foot trip from the bridge instead. The ride is clearly the better option for me right now.

I will be missing my family and friends. My daughter and grandson are moving to CA it looks like now. Her husband finished his tour in Afghanistan this month and will be stationed at Fort Irwin in the Mohave desert which is near where I was living in Bakersfield. I planned this trip before I heard they might be coming to a base so close to where I lived. I can't delay the trip because I need to get through the desert before the temps hit 115 to 120 degrees and I am cutting it close already. If I am delayed due to health reasons or some other unforeseen problems then I might need to abort or jump a train to get through the heat. What happens happens, I am just going to give it my best effort and then roll with whatever comes along. There is no failure except not starting at all.










o