Reflections on a week with no riding + My proposed route

Well well, it's been awhile. I thought I ought to return with a blog before you thought I was backing out of this endeavor of mine. I must assure you that it is still on. Some may think I am a bit crazy for doing such a thing in such short a time, but if I knew I would succeed in this, it would be too easy. The super bowl is playing on the tube in the background, but seeing that I am not much of a football fan, I thought I'd pen a blog instead. The game may be  more interesting if the players were all riding bikes or shooting arrows, but I digress. Although...I do enjoy the commercials and trailers. I just got chills up my spine when I saw the new Transformers movie. Maybe I'll get to see it on my trip.

Last Monday on the way to my ASL class, my rear tire blew causing me to walk the rest of the way. Since my tire-changing expertise is lacking, especially when it involves my rear tube, I needed to take it in to a bike shop. A few lazy days later, I finally did. However, needless to say, I went without riding a bike for the longest time since September. It's been a week since I've felt the wind at my back (or front) and experienced the challenge of traveling up a hill. I have had to take that wretched form of transportation called a car. Ironically, the less I drive, the more I dislike driving. That should be backwards. But alas, my tire is fixed and God-willing I should be back on two wheels tomorrow for my morning commute.

Simply put: driving is lame. Stuck in traffic, stop and go, impatient honkers, expensive fuel prices and insurance...it does get you places faster, I'll give you that....only sometimes though, sometimes a bike is faster. But the heater in the auto succumbs you to comfort so easily. I'm sure, even being gone a week, it will still take a little bit of time to get used to riding again...to be in the elements, the cold, the heat, the wind, the hills, the freedom. I have given some thought, not seriously min you, that when my car's life comes to an end, I should take note of my transportation needs and perhaps just forget about getting a new car...and make cycle-commuting my life...but only time will tell on that one.

I did recently get some panniers for my bike and am still figuring them out...things are coming together! In the coming weeks I will talk to my support guy (who is currently on a mission to Mexico) about some specifics and share with him my proposed route for the trip in which I attached here. I hope you enjoy it. If you or someone you know lives along my route and would like to accommodate me, please let me know...that would be so great!! Or, if you see a leg of the journey in which you would like to travel with me, either by bike or auto, that's cool too. I'd love the company! But for now, I'm out. Take care and enjoy your own adventures.