Am I Ready? (Day -4)

Even though it is four days before my travel group meets up in Mobile, I take off two days from now. (I will stay in Boston for a night, fly out of Logan, and arrive in Mobile a day early.) I'm excited, yes, but I also feel that my nerves are a bit taut. What was I thinking that I could do this trip?! As I scurry around packing my gear and cleaning my house, I keep giving myself little pep talks. (It will be fine. Fun even. I prepared well--at least as much as I could. The anticipation is more difficult and nerve-racking than the reality will be. Etc., etc., blah, blah, blah)

So...am I ready? Let's see...

• Do I have the right gear? I think so. I will write a whole separate post about the gear I'm taking with me. I'm in the middle of trying to figure out if the gear I have amassed will all fit in the two bags I've chosen to use for the trip. Final verdict on that is still out.
• Am I healthy enough? My doctor thought I was okay to go when I saw her. She sent me the results of my blood work with a note that said, "Blood work wicked, awesome, good. Have a great time." so I guess that's that.
• Am I physically fit enough? I think I have done all I could do to prepare physically for the trip. I tried to train wisely--pushing myself to improve my strength as much as I could with the amount of time I had, without pushing myself so hard that I risked injury. I have lost a total of 25 pounds since I began training in January, and I am delighted to have less weight to haul over the miles. There are times that I hardly notice the difference because, believe me, I could still stand to lose more weight; in other words, I'm not gaunt or wasting away. (I guess I was in denial about how much weight I had packed on these last few years.) My brother says I look different, though, so I guess those who haven't seen me for awhile might notice the difference. My core and my legs feel a lot stronger. I have spent enough time on a bicycle seat that my butt has "acclimated"; I'm sure fellow cyclists can relate to this. I have ridden enough over these last few months that riding feels like a given. When I'm on a bike, I feel like I can just go and go. I get into a kind of zone where I'm not thinking about every ache and pain or how heavily I'm breathing on the uphills; I just keep pedaling while I think about other things and enjoy the view. If I don't ride for more than a day, I feel like something is missing. Particularly since riding a lot of miles every day for six weeks encourages repetitive-use injuries rather than recovery, I do have some concerns about this aging body handling the demands of the trip (my knees are creakier than they used to be, my hands have some arthritis and don't rebound from the road vibration as well as they used to, and the soreness in my right ankle gets worse if I walk a lot [not so much when riding]), but I think these things are manageable and worth giving the trip my best effort. A few people who know that I have an artificial hip have asked how my hips are doing. Honestly, my hips have felt fine and have not given me any concern throughout my training.
• I have read a number of books about slavery and the Underground Railroad to give myself context for the ride and the historic sites we will see along the way. I will write a separate post about this.
• Have I arranged housesitting and pet care? Check and check. All set. (I have even been working on emptying out the refrigerator so I won't be met by green meanies when I return.) Well...then there's the matter of the extra cat that appears to be living in my yard like s/he has adopted us. I have not done anything about that yet--except to confirm that the cat is not wearing a collar. I have wondered if s/he might have a microchip. (My cats don't have chips, but you never know.)
• I have (hopefully) anticipated every bill that will be due while I am away and prepaid them. 
• I got a hair cut that is a little shorter than usual because I hope it sees me through the whole trip. Had my teeth cleaned and checked for cavities; none. I have my last chiropractic adjustment tomorrow.
• How about connecting transportation? I have a ride to the bus in Portland on Friday. I will take a bus to Boston and ride the T to East Boston (to my sister's place). I have flights to Mobile on Saturday and a reservation for a shuttle to the inn. I have reserved a rental car in Buffalo for May 23 and I have a campground reservation for that night in Ithaca (my old stomping ground--haven't been back there in decades). I haven't figured out the night of May 24 yet. (Turns out most campgrounds want a minimum three-night reservation during Memorial Day weekend, so maybe that means I should treat myself to a motel room.) I have a little time to figure that out.
• I confirmed with the bike store in Mobile that my bike arrived on Monday--earlier than I anticipated. They hadn't opened the box yet, but the box looked fine (had no damage), so I assume that my bike is fine and will be ready for me when I arrive.
• Emotionally? I mostly feel upbeat and excited. I have had to employ a few tricks (like the pep talks) to keep my nerves at bay. Another example: Even though I love maps and normally enjoy pouring over them endlessly, I set aside all of the route maps after studying them one evening--and I haven't looked at them again since. Anticipating the mileage and looking at the ride contours was freaking me out. I decided to protect myself from all that and just study the routes one day at a time once I'm out on the road. Whatever works, right?

I think I'm ready!

Tent Practice

I have been telling myself for weeks to practice setting up the tent I will use on the bike trip. Today turned out to be the day. In the photo below is the tent (on the left--it is very small and lightweight, even though it's a two-person tent) and the ground cloth (made out of Typar--a custom-made gift from my son).

See my helper? Even though I thought I was being vigilant in keeping Bear away from the tent, he still managed to put a small hole in the tent screen before I was done. Aargh!

3 Especially "Helpful Hints for Tent Set Up"--from the tent's set up instructions:

• Our tents are easy to set up but we suggest you practice once at home before using them for the first time to avoid late night bickering with tent mates while fumbling around in the dark.
• Big Agnes tents are all freestanding, but we recommend staking them out to increase space and keep your tent from becoming a tumbleweed.
• Hang onto your stuff sacks or they'll blow away and create backcountry litter.

I didn't actually stake out the tent, but I set it up enough to determine that: 1) it is easy to set up compared to other tents I have owned, and 2) it came short one stake, even though it is brand new. This is good to know, but not a problem, since I was planning all along to add some great titanium stakes I own to the tent bag anyway.

By the time I had the tent all rolled and packed up again, all three cats were in attendance. Yes, three cats. Bear, George, and the mystery cat my brother has dubbed "Clueless." I haven't been friendly with Clueless, even though he has tried hard to snuggle up; I don't want him to think we will adopt him. He doesn't look like he's homeless, but he is hanging out here like he is. Can you find all three cats in the photo below?

And the ducks are returning to the river now that the water is open and flowing!