Epic Adventure or Epic Disaster?

Well, things have not been going particularly smoothly this week in the continuing preparations for the cross country trip. The saddlebags arrived, though I mistook the box for the helmet I'd also ordered. Yes, both hard bags were in that box. Yes, they were that small.

The helmet *did* arrive and it's too small.

I caved and replaced the camera that got crushed on Rt. 83, got home to find it uses a specific battery that, while rechargeable, would have to be plugged into an outlet rather than just get a new set of rechargeable AA's, which is what I'd asked for. The search begins again.

I had my bike in the shop for a top to bottom and that took a day longer than expected, so the Lindby Bars that I got last week are still in the box. The cats don't mind, though. They've been enjoying the extra seating. The shop overfilled the oil and checking the oil glass is moot for a while.

On a practice run to West Virginia (conveniently located at a casino) I left my gps tracker on a ledge in the parking garage (inconveniently located in West Virginia). I realized it far enough away that I couldn't go back for it, but soon enough that security was able to find it for me. It's in the mail and will hopefully arrive before I leave.

I'm waiting for the next pair of bags to arrive on Wed (so they say). Wed is the last day that I have any hours for that kind of work and I doubt that they'll arrive early in the day, though I'll keep my fingers crossed. Mom was so kind as to call the bag company when I was ready to come up with Plan B: 'screw it'. I would have just sent them back and invested in some more bungees. The bags coming are significantly larger than these and I still don't know if they'll fit on the bike. Mwah ha ha! We can't have everything go right, now, can we?

So, I continue to plan and try to come up with all the what if's ('All'? Did I say 'all'? LMAO) that might come up. I'm trying to commit to healthy eating on the road and a decent bed time. While I'm hoping all will go well, I've allotted myself a limited number of stress-induced crying jags and unrestrained profanity as needed. Hopefully, all the not-going-as-planned stuff is getting taken care of now and will make for a fantastic trip. But, hey, I figure if I keep having to deal with all this nonsense for the next 5 days, the panic-inducing realitites of what I've taken on can be ignored indefinitely.

Well, at least, it will be an epic tale. :)

oh, nuh uh.

I was jumping on to check out Dale Coyner's blog to subscribe and signed in and 'Go. Do. Be.' showed up. But, wait, I've been locked out of this for months! I had finally given up and moved on! I started a new blog! Now, well, now I'm confused. Do I stay with this blog or go to the new one? Well, let's see if this actually posts and gee, I guess I need to write down my password/id combo somewhere so I don't get locked out again...and then I gotta see if I can still get into my 'new' blog. Ah, technology.

This is your camera. This is your camera on asphalt.

Well, today was Dr. Dave's Remedy Run. Dr. Dave and his wife, Lisa, hosted a fundraising get together for Hoagy's Heroes. Yesterday I spoke with Charles, a rider who had recently joined Hoagy on an Iron Butt run and lived nearby, who was also going to Dr. Dave's.

"Is 7:30 too early?"

"To be where?"

"70 and 32."

Hmmm, dinner at a decent hour with Lefty and an early bedtime...

"Nope, that works."

Of course the evening didn't go the way I'd anticipated, but that's par for the course. I foolishly cling to the idea that plans actually map out future blocks of time allowing one to plan finite, serial units of time in order that one can have order in one's life. Which is not to say that I didn't have a great evening, just that my delusion of control continues.

Well, I was up on time, showered and starting to pack up when I realized that nothing was where it should be. I'd cleaned up a bit before I left for Scotland and had just gotten back 4 days ago and hadn't really settled in again since my return.

I couldn't find *anything*. I was losing time and getting frazzled. I finally found the Passport book for the National Parks, grabbed both pairs of gloves, rain gear, tracker, phone, camera, and a handful of other stuff and it only took 4 trips back into the house from the garage. I put 2 different gloves on, cuz now I couldn't find the mates, texted Charles to let him know I might be 10 minutes late, and jumped on the bike.

On 83, wasting no time in getting to my meeting place, I catch movement in the side view mirror. It took not a second to realize that it was my headset that just took a leap. As I pull over I'm thinking about all of the things that were in that pocket on top of the headset that should have been holding it down.

Nyooooooohhhh! Top compartment is wide open and there's seven cents in the bottom. What did I shove in there before leaving? My phone. Crap! Were any of my chargers in there? Sunglasses. ugh. Oh, hell, was my camera case in there? DAMMIT. My camera, SD cards, and several rechargeable batteries. Was my gps in there? Sigh. Well, gee. I can't go looking for all of it. I have to meet someone...and no phone to let him know I'm definitely gonna be 10 mins late now. I'd felt something brush my right leg twice since the garage and the first one was close to home. Was that my stuff falling out of the pocket? Nope, gotta go. I get on the bike and run off to the park and ride where Charles was waiting.

So, quietly bemoaning the loss of my electronics, I follow Charles on a fantastic ride into Harper's Ferry and we stop for a lovely breakfast. We backtrack 2 miles to get another Park Stamp for the Master Tourer Challenge at Harper's Ferry. I resist the chorus of voices reminding me how very close we are to Charlestown Races and Slots and am rewarded with a run thru part of Skyline Drive. Beautiful! Plus...another park for the Passport book. All I had to do was ride. Charles had a plan and the address for Dr. Dave's and he done good. Passing postcard worthy scenery I only thought about how many pieces my phone might be in when I got stuck behind the Blue Hairs. If I'd had my camera...

About 5 hours and half a mile of gravel after we left, we get to Dr. Dave's. Dr. Dave and Lisa are gracious hosts and took great care of us. Hoagy and some of the guys had arrived the day before and others showed throughout the afternoon. I wish I could post pix of the bikes and riders, but, well...ya know.

There were lots of stories and much eyeing of hardware. (I got good advice on modifying the Valkyrie I'll be getting.) Good food, laughter and SUNSHINE! I think I have finally gotten rid of the chill from Scotland.

Around 5, those of us not staying for the night said goodbye and headed out. I followed Charles to familiar territory and, just after going our separate ways, I got stuck in hideous DC beltway traffic. HIDEOUS! I might as well have been coming home from a job during Tuesday rush hour. I never saw a reason for the miles and miles of 0-15 mph. It took FOREVER to get to 29, where I could escape 495 and know my way home. I had no where to be, but it'd been a long day and I was hoping to get back home with enough light to scan the road for plastic shards.

With the sky a pale blue and a bright waxing moon, I turned around at my street and headed out again in the footsteps of the morning ride. Nothing between home and 83. Nothing on 83 as I rode up to the spot where I'd seen the headset jump to it's death, but as I slowed, holy crap sandwich there was my shredded camera pouch.

I pulled over and walked back on the shoulder looking at the camera case on the pavement and the trail of modern art that used to capture memories. No phone. No gps. No glasses or headset, but I collected the case and the pieces hoping that in the still zippered outer pouch the SD cards might have survived.

I haven't put the sd cards in the computer yet, it's way past my bedtime and I'd like to entertain my optimism for the evening. So, tomorrow. Tomorrow, I try the SD cards. Tomorrow, I'll call Sprint and see if they treat me any better this time than last time I needed customer service. I'll start looking at new phones, and try to remember what else was in that pocket. Tomorrow, the girls and I are going out for a ride and I'll be sure to use a different pocket.