Trip Update and the Tyranny of Too Much Lead Time

The only constant is change.  There have been times throughout this process, most of the time actually, that I was ready to say “To hell with this prep and waiting bullshit, I’m leaving tomorrow.”  Reality quickly intervenes and I’m reminded of the magnitude of this trip.  Lets recap, shall we?

Total Trip time of 14 days. 

The first seven days will consist of me riding from my driveway, down to the southernmost tip of the Texas coastline and then all the way to the southernmost tip of Florida (Key West) using only coastal roads. 

The second seven days involves a family trip to Disney World and leisurely drive across the south to get back home.

There is also a quick pretrip drive from Houston to Miami to drop off the truck for the family trip.  This will take place the week before I leave for South Padre Island (southernmost(ish) tip of Texas).

This is not something you put together overnight.  Like any big endeavor, you break into smaller pieces, schedule it all out and knock out the challenges one by one.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re going to Key West or the friggin’ moon, this is the way you do it.

I’ve been at it for about 7 months now. Gathering and testing the gear, making the modifications to the bike, researching lodgings for the ride and the family trip.  All the individual, little pieces.

Last month I did a quick overnight camping ride to practice some techniques.  A good bit of the ride was along a coastal stretch of highway.  Every two minutes or so, the fun part of my brain would say “WE’RE GOIN TO FLORIDA”.  Then it would demand that I turn the goddamn bike back to the east and ride until New Orleans.  After all, I had all the gear on the bike.  I could have logistically done it.  That’s when I knew that I would never make it to next fall.

Thus, in a discussion with J later that week, the trip moved from September to April.  I bumped this trip up 4 months.  In all the projects I’ve managed and worked on, I have never seen, nor heard of a project that retained the original scope, yet shaved 40% off of the schedule. 

My cousin is in the 82^nd airborne (US Army).  Within a couple of years of enlisting, he finished medic training, was promoted multiple times and made it into the 82^nd.  When I asked him how he accomplished all of that so quickly, he shrugged and said “We have a saying, shit happens when you’re motivated”.  It does, It has.

Still, while riding in the sunshine with water on both sides of the road, you don’t think about the prep work.  You forget the hours of planning, the endless wrenchwork and all the research.  From the top of the mountain you don’t think about the climb, you think about the view.

As usual, my wife cleared my vision a bit.  “This is the biggest thing you’ve ever planned and I’ve never known anyone else that took on something like this.”  It was both a nice thing for her to say and something I really needed to hear.  The message I took away is, don’t take this lightly just because the planning has gone so well, so far.  Give yourself credit and don’t underestimate this trip or it will kick your ass, especially with the schedule change. 

She also seemed genuinely excited about the trip.  Seeing it laid out, day by day on the computer screen made it real.  She began to see the enormity of the logistics and how everything was fitting together.  Ironically, she is behind most of the refinements to the schedule.  But the point is, seeing it through her eyes made it new for me again.

So much has changed.  Remember when I wanted to book passage back to Houston on a freighter?  (I still want to do that someday)  Yet, almost all the change has been for the better.  We have had some unpleasant surprises but everyone is healthy and we’re still doing pretty good.   

Don’t get me wrong, this trip is still risky.  Bad shit can happen quick on a bike.  Bad shit can happen on a camping trip, or the highway or at a rest stop.  Forgetting the big stuff, there will be little problems along the way.  Little problems can add up and become big.  Mechanical problems can force delays.  An accident or injury changes things dramatically.

Change is the only constant.  But we change to adapt.  I know I have.  Despite all of the risks, you just get to a point where you’re ready to go.  I’m almost there.  I have until late March to finish up but I distinctly feel like it will be too much time.  It can’t come soon enough.