Kicking It Off

Well, we’re in it now, baby. I sent the sum into the touring company and booked my flight out to California. 3500 miles in 33 days. I’m hoping for a transformative experience. Lord knows I could use some transforming.

So, some details of the ride. It starts in Costa Mesa, California, on Sunday, April 19th and ends in Amesbury, Massachusetts on Thursday, May 21st. We average 115 miles per day. There are two rest days--one in Albuquerque, the other in Springfield, Illinois. The longest day is 145 miles in Missouri and Illinois. The shortest is 77 miles in Illinois and Indiana. The ride starts with seven consecutive centuries. It goes from Ohio to New York without a stop in Pennsylvania. I don’t know why that impresses me so much, but it does.

I’m looking forward to simplifying life down to its simplest, physical components for the duration. There’s not a whole lot to think about—sleep, eat, ride, repeat. This blog will likely be the extent of my intellectual activity, and I can only hope it will live up to my ambitions for it. Higher brain functions tend to phase out as the consecutive centuries add up. We may have some terse days. We may have some nonsensical days. We will, however, have photos and video courtesy of the wonderful birthday gift that the ladies Hannah and Kelly Jones gave me for the trip. It’s a waterproof video and still digital camera that mounts on the handlebars and weighs under a pound. It’s about the cleverest gadget I’ve ever seen. Very 007.

By the time I leave Richmond the first draft of the book will be in the can, and it’s best to let those things sit for a while before going back for the editing. I’ll miss it. I get now why some authors will produce these endless cascades of words. You fall in love with the characters and the story and the sound of your own voice in your head. Why shut that off? I mean think about it. A day at the office for me is sitting around and making stuff up. Not bad. It takes discipline to cut it off now while it’s still a tight and efficient story.

Preparations have begun. Sexybike will be getting some component upgrades, new tires, and such. We’re going to tart her up proper. I am now officially obsessive about my training. I tallied 415 miles last week, including two centuries. I’ve done consecutive centuries as well. I feel strong. I feel up for it. Folks around me have been hugely helpful and supportive. First, I have to thank Jim Peterson, who has joined me for three centuries so far and been an awesome training partner. Larry Skalaks has jumped in for a century and some other training miles as well. Hugh Aaron has opened his endless files of cue sheets to me to keep the training fresh and interesting. All of the folks with the Richmond Area Bicycling Association have been wonderful with their scheduled rides and encouragement. Every time somebody has told me, “yeah, that’s quite an undertaking, but you can do it,” another hill becomes a flat. At the rate those fine folks are going the road won’t turn up until the Appalachians.

Last things. Everyone should feel free to contribute to the blog. All comments are welcome, and it will be my primary mode of communication during the ride. I’ll probably do another post or two before the ride and then post daily once it starts. If anybody wants to get some miles in this early spring, let me know. I’m spending a lot of time alone with my thoughts on the bike, and anyone familiar with my thoughts will tell you how trying that can be.

So long for now.

Andy