Two weeks from today, and pretty much this hour, I will be starting the first few miles of my 300+ mile ride. It is so odd how time both speeds up and slows down when something important in our lives gets close.
As I write this, Adam is putting my brand new clipless pedals on my bike, and screwing the corresponding cleats onto my new cycling shoes. Today and tomorrow will be all about learning to get in and out of them without falling over...something I am pretty apprehensive about. But once I get used to them, they should make my pedal strokes more efficient, as I can maximize my muscles' ability to both push down and pull up through each revolution. That will be helpful on those 50-60 mile days.
I can feel this journey shifting from the a physical game to a mental one. All of the sudden, I am running what-if scenarios and trying to anticipate potential plan Bs, making lots of lists, coaching myself through imagined good and bad performance, taking lots and lots of notes, etc. I even try to prepare myself for the fact that I cannot and probably will not be prepared for everything.
Yesterday I had a flashback to that first ride (in my granny sweater) where Adam took me 12 miles outside of town and dropped me off to ride home. Wow. Today, 12 miles is a short, sweet, leisurely ride, and I have now ridden up and down all manner of Wyoming highways. Its amazing.
So here we go...two more weeks of prep and planning and I will be out doing the thing I envisioned 15 months ago in that little bookstore on Bainbridge Island.
Thanks so much, blog. You will be my memory and record of all of it.
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