Collecting Gear and Loneliness

     I spent part of this day: 1) worrying about the weather, 2) narrating audiobooks at the Perkins School for the Blind, 3) collecting gear, aka stuff which I expect to need on the trip, and 4) updating maps on my old but reliable Garmin GPS.  We had about four inches of snow overnight. This makes me wonder what will be left on Sunday when I'm riding south, and how wet and dirty things will be.

     Whenever I chat with people about my trips (that of last October and the present one), I'm usually asked if I'm going (or went) by myself. I tell everyone that I did the first one alone, and am going by myself again on this one. I do like being alone, and appreciate not having to adapt to someone else's schedule or plans.  That said, I have spent many a day bicycling, hiking, sailing, paddling (a canoe), and one 1,000-mile trip motorcycling with my pal Martin Hensel. He has helped me understand the concept that being alone is not always the best thing.

    My sister Mary-Kay asked me if I were lonely during the October trip. I thought about that trip some and realized that I was lonely some of the time. When I was riding the bike, I was concentrating on the road, the drivers, the country around me, the GPS, glancing in the mirrors, watching my speed. I believe that a motorcycle rider has to pay attention to a lot of things all the time. The intensity of the experience, the movement of the motorcycle, the banking through turns, and yes, the little edge of fear...all of these keep me in the moment.

     Once I'm off the bike and have to find a place to sleep (not on the ground, thank you), find something to eat, then find an Internet connection so I can write this blog, I'm occupied with what I'd call "administrative activities." Finally, I have the luxury of being lonely, and of missing my wonderful wife Beth, our kids, and their children.