Nine weeks. That is all that stands between me and taking off on the ride. This time, nine weeks from now, I should be asleep getting a solid night of rest before I take off on the first day of my ride. In all honesty, I doubt I will be sleeping much that last night. I will be running through all the items I need to pack up, the route we will drive to the starting point, all the the rest stops and meal stops the next day, how long it will take to load, and of course I will be thinking obsessively about all the things that could go wrong. It is the last thing I want to focus on but human nature is to overthink all the bad while trying to think about the good.
I want to think about what it will feel like coming across the finish line that first day. I can't wait to take pictures at my rest stops and hopefully meet other cyclists and new friends along the journey. I plan to blog and share things as I travel but it will undoubtedly be a learning experience each and every day.
Right now I am starting to make all my packing lists, practice loading and unloading everything, and going over everything adding and subtracting items as I think of what I need. I am thrilled that when I practiced loading the car we found I have more space than we originally thought I would so if there is anything I have forgotten currently I will have room to add it. I still need to run through the packing of my duffle bag with my clothes and go through my gear box to see what all I have, what needs to be restocked or purchased and then how best to put it in the container.
I am beginning to schedule things like the bike tune up I will be having done a week or two before I leave as well as the physical checkup my driver insisted upon to make sure we are aware of any medical concerns I may face while out on the road. It feels like a lot because it is a lot but the biggest concern I have at the moment is simply raising money for the charities. I am hoping people will understand and relate to what I am doing, and more importantly, to why I am doing it. I hope they will visit my website www.writingforces.com to check out the Ride 22 On 66 page or the page on Facebook under the same name.
The organizations I am riding for and the people they support mean everything to me. It is groups like them that quite literally kept me alive during some of my darkest times with PTSD and it is my mission to help show just how grateful I, and people like me, are for what they do everyday.
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