Returning a half-day early from the road trip, Whitey is off-loaded and empty, laundry is done and gear stowed. With all the media download issues (as a direct result my failure to pack the card reader) I decided to get that chore done first. It is tedious, slow and anal, three things that I find painful tests of my patience, however necessary.
As my ability to improvise was tested as well, there being precious few hot spots to post news of the trip as it was happening, I have decided to binge, and make up for lost time. This will get me (closer) to the volume requirements of the One A Day challenge we agreed upon way back on December 31 of last year. I promise to have a tech fix ready for the August event.
This, then, is one of three over the course of the day. Let’s do it in the following manner, thematically and pragmatically:
Part One: Errors and Omissions.
Part Two: The Trip.
Part Three: Lessons and Learning.
I don’t really know why I chose to be so cavalier about preparations. Usually I get it down to the last detail, this being something that was a necessity in both my triathlon and filming days. Nothing will suck energy faster than forgetting to pack your bike shoes or battery charger. But, for whatever reasons, when the clock announced that the time to depart was at hand, I did a last look check, grabbed a cup of coffee and hit the road. This was to be a decision that would haunt me all week, beginning before I even got to the end of the driveway.
For the sake of brevity I will mention a few of the things that I left behind. You can add your own system of ranking my forgetfulness in any way you like. I forgot:
A cooking utensil in which to boil water.
My sleeping bag.
The media card reader.
External media storage.
Full leg cycling pants.
Gloves.
A jacket.
A pillow.
Maps.
Try to travel 600 miles, ride everyday, visit new places, shoot video, camp and then blog about it without your usual and full arsenal of adventure weaponry.
And while I quickly found about how maddening it can be - I also remembered that anything is possible as long as your attitude is properly adjusted.
By any measurement other than the one above, the trip was a great success. We rode, visited and enjoyed five days in the spectacular wilderness literally in our backyards. I have often said that we tend to take all the natural beauty that surrounds us for granted and this trip was another reminder that there are thousands of adventures less than a four hour drive, or an eight hour ride from us.
Yes there were errors and certainly a few omissions. Had we of been convicted by a jury of our peers our crimes would have been misdemeanors of commission and not of omission. We got up, got out of bed and placed our helmets upon our heads. We became one with the road.
We were rained on but eventually dried out. We were lost but found our way. We were tired but carried on. I learned as much about my companions, their skills, their dreams, their courage and capacity for change, as much as I did about mine. Sometimes we went left when we should have gone right. Sometimes we didn’t make it from the shadows into light. Sometimes we heard movement in the middle of the night.
Now it’s done and in the books. We’re back to normal, safe in our comfort zones, running from one task to the next. Which is all quite OK. This is the time to take care of business, get those ducks in a row, and initiate more detailed practice in the areas in need of improvement. All in preparation for the next adventure.
Maybe next time we’ll be more prepared, more open, more spontaneous, ready to meet a larger challenge, a higher hill.
Almost assuredly we will error again. The guarantee of omission is hovering around 99%.
A chance I am willing to take.
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