My posse

In late July of 2009, when I decided to ride a bike to California, I posted an ad for companions on a very popular bicycling website (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/). To my surprise, I recieved quite a few responses, but as the months passed, life happened and people dropped out, while others signed on. Because of the number of people who had originally expressed an interest, I created a Yahoo! Group so that we could all get to know each other in a collective online environment (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/southerntier2010/). Then, after the first of the year, I sought commitments from interested persons and was pleasantly surprised to learn that six other people were planning to go. They are:
Carol and her service dog, Rosie (a Yorkie), who hail from Michigan; Allen from Kansas;
Bryan from New Jersey:

Jeff from South Carolina
Mike from New York
and Ryan from Virginia:

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Carol, Allen, and Bryan all started February 1 in St. Augustine, Florida, where the Southern Tier bicycle route starts (or ends, depending on which direction you're riding). They are riding to Pensacola, where we'll all meet and take off on February 15.

Similarly, Jeff is riding solo from S.C., and Ryan is riding solo from Virginia. Again, everyone will converge at my house.

Since they will have been riding for several weeks by the time they get to my house, I'm a little concerned that I won't be able to match their pace. "What if" scenarios routinely play in my head, despite my best efforts to re-direct them, so I have been contemplating the thought of making this trip alone if, for some reason, I turn out to be the weakest link and am left behind. It's a disquieting thought. The whole point of posting an ad and soliciting companions was so that I wouldn't have to ride alone. But what if . . .? Honestly, I'm not sure. I guess I'll cross that bridge (or not) if it happens.

On the other hand, I don't want to grind myself into the ground trying to keep up, just to have companions. I want to enjoy my journey. I know that much of the landscape will be similar, and thus boring. But it's still the journey, not the destination, that is important. To me, it's the whole point. I could have taken a bus, train, or plane to California in April to begin my hike. But I chose to ride a bike in order to experience all that I will encounter (good and bad) with that method of transportation. Thus, I do not want to experience each day grinding out the miles to get from one place to another.

Now, having said that, mileage per day is (and needs to be) somewhat flexible. It will be much nicer to spend the night at a campground, particularly one with flush toilets and hot showers, than it will be to stealth camp along the side of the road somewhere. Thus, destination is not unimportant. In fact, it can be a good motivating factor -- especially if it's been cold or wet or windy or all three. Thus, if the next campground is, for example, 65 miles from where we rested the night before, then that might be our goal for the day. I just hope that we don't do too many higher mileage days during the first week or two. I'd rather not be miserably sore every day. It will make the trip far less enjoyable. I'd like to think I'm fit enough to handle it, but I'm not sure. Unfortunately, I haven't been riding much lately, as I'm still working and trying to prepare for a seven-month absence from my home and pets and friends and family. So much to do!