July 7, 2024
Why hurry up and wait?
If you looked at the state of our home today, you'd never know that we're headed off on another cycle tour in about a week's time. We seem to be in no hurry at all from the appearances of things around here. The usual things are in their usual places, and there is no sign of the pre-trip clutter which usually descends upon our tiny place at this time of year; even though we leave just over a week from today.
We're not entirely sure how long we can continue on with this 'poo pooing' and shoulder shrugging behavior. Maybe it's from years of experience of packing for cycle tours, or maybe it's sheer stupidity or even just plain laziness. But, there are no bikes packed into boxes and little gear has been disgorged from the tubs under the bed. Not even hardly a sniff of any evidence that we're going anywhere. But, there is one small insignificant pile taking up far too much room. If you don't believe us, take a look. We better get to work!
But, for some reason, at some point this morning, our minds and conversations naturally turned to chatter about things needing to get done. I blame that annual pang felt in the pits of our stomachs as our annual cycle tours approach. It's really an indescribable feeling; and strangely motivating...in a pleasantly unsettling way...if that makes any sense to anyone? The best way I can describe this emotion is a swirling elixir of worry, anxiety and excitement. It's dreadful and wonderful all at the same time. For those that travel, you know this feeling; and I'm sure many of you out there in the CycleBlaze world are very familiar with this sensation. Suddenly, and without warning, that sensation nudged our cavalier attitudes towards serious conversations about planning and packing.....that, and getting this journal up and going. 3-2-1 Action!
So, we rolled out our gear tubs from under the bed, popped open the lids, and found everything in the same place where we had stowed them last year. We pulled out the usual necessities like headlamps, collapsible bowls and utensils, some travel towels and few other tidbits, until a rather hopelessly small, insignificant pile was able to be scooped up into two hands and moved into the dining room for primary inspection. We both stood over this sorry excuse for a pile, and slapped ourselves on the back for a job well done. We briskly dusted off our hands with a dismissive, slap, slap, and moved on to more trivial things.
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What remained in the tubs was a reminder of the days when we used to exclusively camp when on tour. Tents, Thermarests, our MSR stove, and sleeping bags all remained.
Although the camping days might not be over entirely (especially when we retire and are on fixed incomes* but who are we kidding...maybe we'll never to go back?), they have become completely absent over the past couple of tours. We must say, having a bed, shower, and the odd air-conditioned room at the end of the day has been quite nice....really nice!
So, we both looked down at the small mound of stuff sitting on our dining room table, shrugged off a job well done, and moved onto other things.
I hope you join along with us on this adventure. So, for now we're trying to pace ourselves and avoid the dreadful: Hurry up and Wait.
Finally, keeping a daily journal while on the road will certainly have grammar errors, missing words, and other syntax and meaning errors. But, since we're all friends here, you'll forgive me for this.
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