I am ready

There is literally nothing left that has to be done between now and 5:30 am tomorrow when I start the bike.

All the bags are secured to the bag.  All of the necessary items are in the bags.  Reservations, directions and plans for all 8 days have been printed out.

I did not expect this at all.  The last couple of days have been very rough as I am already missing my family.  I also had the typical anxiety around getting everything ready.  There was also a pretty palpable sense of dread when I thought about leaving.  

I expected to only get about 4 hours of sleep tonight.  It’s the way these trips always go.  You can never do enough before leaving.  You never get it all done.  I’m all done.

J says to me “Good.  Now try and relax”

I had absolutely no response to that.  After all, this is a first in many ways.  I think I’ll just treat tonight like any other Thursday night.  Quick trip to the bar to say "Hi" to the Dart people.  I'll spend some time with the kids and help with bath and bedtimes.  Maybe catch up on Archer and hang out with J until bed time.

Thus, I’m afraid that this will be a somewhat anti-climactic blog post.  I’m completely ready, I feel great.

I’ll leave you with a quick pic of the loaded bike:

Compare it to the one at the top of the page.  I’ve learned a lot in 10 months.  In a way, the preparation has been its own interesting journey. 

Recognize this?

         

Kaylee: How come you don't care where you're  going?           

Book: 'Cause how you get there is the worthier part.