AS MATTERS HAVE TURNED OUT, I could have started riding from my driveway today afternoon as per Plan A.  Sometime Monday evening one of the people my wife had reached out to regarding the theater tickets suddenly found herself available after all, thereby freeing me of the obligation to attend a play that doesn't interest me.

However, the weather forecast for today (Tuesday) calls for hot and very humid conditions, with good chances of late afternoon and evening thunderstorms, some possibly heavy and strong.  The prospect of camping in wet weather, and especially in potentially quite violent weather, isn't one that I relish.

Coupled with the energy-sapping heat and humidity, plus the extra mileage both laterally and vertically (recall that Plan B shortened the route by nearly 50 miles and removed something over 3,000 feet vertically, compared to what Plan A called for), it seemed that discretion might just be the better part of valor.  So, rather than revert to the original plan I've opted to stay with the downsized, executive-summary version of the ride.

Those wishing for a review of a dramatic performance will just have to learn to live with disappointment.

A few hours later...

Well that didn't take long did it?  In the four hours (maybe less) since I wrote the first part of this entry, the person who was going to accompany my wife to the show has reported that she's developed a persistent cough.  Although she's currently testing negative for COVID-19, it seems unreasonable to subject the rest of the audience to someone who might easily be coughing throughout the performance, so it appears I'm back in the hot seat for this evening after all.

It's just as well that I hadn't planned to ride today.  I'm nowhere near packed, having spent most of the last four hours getting our home network and TV service subscription upgraded.  I'll spend a few hours (hopefully it won't require all of that time) between now and the time we depart for the show getting things prepped for tomorrow, when I'm definitely going to actually get on the road.  Or so I hope.