My friend Denise has invited me to cycle up the West Coast with her, from her home in San Diego into Oregon.
The last time I biked long-distance, I was 20 pounds and 30 years lighter:
when I was twenty-four, bink and I cycled around Ireland for a month.
We just did it, left home with no physical preparation at all, and that worked just fine.
Now, I'm not in great shape, and I'd only have two weeks to prepare.
I've been asking people, Should I go?
The answers reveal personality as much as knowledge.
Friend #1 gave a cautious go-ahead ("it'd be an adventure..."), and then brought up a dozen practical concerns.
Friend #2 said, "THIS IS A DISASTER!" And listed a dozen things that he was sure could and probably would go wrong.
Friend #3, a big cyclist, who I ran into while we were both biking, said, "Go! It doesn't matter that you're not in shape; you are standing here with a bike, that's good enough! Get a cell phone before you go, but please go! "
Friend #4, another experienced bike-tripper, said, "The question isn't your fitness, the question is your companion: would you travel well together? I can lend you a one-person tent so you can be independent."
Friend #5 said, "I can't bike anymore since I hurt my back. Go now, while you can."
It was Friend #2 (his unequivocal no!) and Friend #4 (her unequivocal yes!) who made me decide to give it my best try over the next week:
I will do least one 50-mile day, and every day I will bike some steep hills (in short supply here on the plains, but there are a couple nearby that I could go up and down, over and over).
I told Denise that if, after one week, my heart and knees have not exploded, I would commit to the first 250 miles, from San Diego up to Santa Barbara (about one week)--taking along Friend #4's wee tent.
It gets hillier, north of Santa Barbara, and I'd either stop there or, from there on, take it one day at a time. (I would like to bike through the redwoods...)
I'd really like a cycling adventure to clear my heart & mind.
Then when I got home, most likely to an empty apartment, I'd get serious about job hunting. [I know I've said this before, but now I'd absolutely have to!]
So, if I don't do this West Coast trip, I'm going to plan a shorter, flatter cycling trip here---say, up to Duluth and back (about 300 miles, RT).
William Shatner provides me best encouragement of all--his repeated mantra:
The last time I biked long-distance, I was 20 pounds and 30 years lighter: when I was twenty-four, bink and I cycled around Ireland for a month.
We just did it, left home with no physical preparation at all, and that worked just fine.
Now, I'm not in great shape, and I'd only have two weeks to prepare.
I've been asking people, Should I go?
The answers reveal personality as much as knowledge.
Friend #1 gave a cautious go-ahead ("it'd be an adventure..."), and then brought up a dozen practical concerns.
Friend #2 said, "THIS IS A DISASTER!" And listed a dozen things that he was sure could and probably would go wrong.
Friend #3, a big cyclist, who I ran into while we were both biking, said, "Go! It doesn't matter that you're not in shape; you are standing here with a bike, that's good enough! Get a cell phone before you go, but please go! "
Friend #4, another experienced bike-tripper, said, "The question isn't your fitness, the question is your companion: would you travel well together? I can lend you a one-person tent so you can be independent."
Friend #5 said, "I can't bike anymore since I hurt my back. Go now, while you can."
It was Friend #2 (his unequivocal no!) and Friend #4 (her unequivocal yes!) who made me decide to give it my best try over the next week:
I will do least one 50-mile day, and every day I will bike some steep hills (in short supply here on the plains, but there are a couple nearby that I could go up and down, over and over).
I told Denise that if, after one week, my heart and knees have not exploded, I would commit to the first 250 miles, from San Diego up to Santa Barbara (about one week)--taking along Friend #4's wee tent.
It gets hillier, north of Santa Barbara, and I'd either stop there or, from there on, take it one day at a time. (I would like to bike through the redwoods...)
I'd really like a cycling adventure to clear my heart & mind.
Then when I got home, most likely to an empty apartment, I'd get serious about job hunting. [I know I've said this before, but now I'd absolutely have to!]
So, if I don't do this West Coast trip, I'm going to plan a shorter, flatter cycling trip here---say, up to Duluth and back (about 300 miles, RT).
William Shatner provides me best encouragement of all--his repeated mantra:
"I can make this work."
Make what work, and how, is up to me.
