One of my biggest fears is being inside a porta-potty during an earthquake only to have the porta-potty fall with the door side down. So compared to THAT bike touring does not seem at all scary. But people often ask me if I'm scared when I tour?

I'm never really sure how to answer that? I guess there are things that COULD be scary if I made the choice to let those fears overpower the fun things. Teen drivers texting, and running out of food with an hour left in a day's ride come to mind.

There COULD be weirdos out there, but 90% of the people I meet are friendly and helpful, and so far it's been my experience that the other 10% just don't care one way or another.

There are a lot of other things that can be even more scary. Heart disease, stoke and cancer are scary but exercise helps decrease risk factors for those diseases; and I'm pretty sure bike touring can help in the activity levels department?

But more than that, I hate to think about what will happen in 20 years if I do NOT go on bike trips, simply out of fear. In the end, regret surely must be worse than fear? Besides, all life is a calculate risk based on the choices we make regarding our lifestyles.

So, I'm going; I'm going to have a great time. Some of the trip I will be riding with friends and some of the trip I will be riding alone. I will take as many precautions as possible; I will watch my rear view mirror for texters; I will buy a SPOT locate-r*; I will carry enough food each day for that last hour of riding; I will squat behind trees and bushes and bring my own toilet paper as an alternative to the potential porta-potty nightmare. There may even be scary incidents at times but I'll take that as it comes. After that I won't worry--because life should be lived as fully as individual capabilities and interests allow.

No regrets. And in 20 years, well, I hope to be on the road--on a bike tour!

It's only February but I'm already getting excited about the trip. The weather is not too bad this morning. No time like the present to start training!

*See "Adventures Of The Girl Friday" for more on the SPOT locate-r.