Now for the last minute things....

So the week of the bike ride is upon me. My last day of work for a month is done and I have 2 days in which to panic efficiently and get everything done.
What is left to do you ask.... surely everything is sorted by now? And yes most things are done. 9.6kg of kit however and I am still not happy. Surely I could do without that extra pair of socks. Do I really need 5 packets of ibruprofen.... or if I took out the 'just in case' 2nd adaptor... or cut the end off the toothbrush (yes touring cyclists do do that to save 1 g)
So tomorrow one of my first tasks will be to go through the kit again and justify every single kg of weight.

Next up will be packing my bike in the box, ensuring that all remotely breakable parts are encased in bubble wrap and the box is secure.

Then I think double checking my passport, money, travel insurance and paperwork comes high up the to do list.

The other advantage of keeping myself busy over the next 2 days will be less time to dwell on what if's. I haveplanned for as much as I can and the rest will be a case of reacting and dealing with issues as they come up. There is an endless list of things that could happen but I cannot, as in life, prepare for every eventuality. If we had no surprises in life, it would be boring, and with travelling it is much the same.

Sometimes the unexpected happenings are where we find the most enjoyment, learn the most about ourselves or experience something that changes us forever.

The only real worry I have is whether I will be up to the task. But whatever happens you can be sure I will break myself before I give up and try to be worthy of all the kind and generous people who have shown their support by donating, sharing my page and blog and in some cases going the extra mile to keep me positive!

So now that is said I thought I would share a funny, well according to everyone else anyway, story. The background to this is begins with a course at work which involved me coming up with a plan to implement a change. Mine involved getting my long suffering colleagues to walk up the stairs (all 6 flights) to work for 6 weeks. I wasn't very popular I can tell you. This was all part of my long running, formerly unofficial campaign to get everyone fitter. 
So with this in mind imagine my upset, dismay, and general feeling of a dagger to my very soul, when it was suggested that should I die on this trip (I'm not planning to btw) they would dedicate, with a plaque, in my honour.... A LIFT!    cue huge amounts of laughter from everyone, except myself!

So watch out for my daily blogs, photos and snippets of life on the long dudty road called Route 66!