Under Way Again

The bicycle tour is under way once more and there is no turning back now! I decided to take some time off to retool and make changes to my travel setup. I think I was a bit too ambitious about how much gear I could carry and have managed to purge 65 pounds of stuff once deemed important or necessary for a year on the road. I will miss a few things like my rain fly that I packed to have instant shade on a sunny day and my Helinox table to have a place to spread out and work on writing or cooking. But I will find a way! I also shed things like my hammock, packed for relaxing some afternoons, and a couple of books I couldn’t get for my Kindle. The biggest cut item was food. I severely overestimated how much food I could carry. Where I started with a 32 liter dry bag filled with food, it’s now a 10 liter Ursack Allmitey. If it doesn’t fit in that bag, I don’t need it. And the Ursack is bear and rodent proof. Now when I’m traveling in bear country, I will be less worried about Yogi making off with my picnic basket!

Restarting this journey has not been without perils. My first day out i managed to get a slight case of food poisoning! Thankfully it was mild but I opted to stay at a state park campground in case anything turned bad. And this led me to Henry and Anne. Both retired, Henry was an engineer for more than 45 years and Anne was once a garden shop owner. These two, while on their own vacation, decided to make sure I was well taken care of in my time of need. Whether they were just checking on how I was feeling or bringing me chicken soup and crackers, it was very comforting to know people were watching out for me.

I had lots of time to talk with Henry and Anne. I soon realized we are very similar people. We choose to live life to it’s fullest. Respect nature, love and care for people put in your path. Life is so much better when we choose to be kind to one another.

Since I’ve been more focused on getting better, I haven’t had the camera out this week, but I will do better! I’m hoping to get some good shots of the eclipse Sunday night!