What? Me Worry?

I saw a great quote the other day: "Worry is a misuse of imagination."

Of course, it's human nature to think about what might go wrong with something ... and that's not necessarily bad. It's actually a sick kind of fun to attempt to anticipate potential problems, and then devise strategies to overcome them. I've been doing a lot of that over the past couple of months in preparation for my Big Trip, which starts Friday.

In case you didn't know, I'm flying in to Seattle, Washington. From there, I will head out on my bike to the coast, riding mostly down Hwy 101 through Oregon and into California, then going inland for a bit until I pick up CA 1 to go back to the shore. Eventually, I will cross the Golden Gate Bridge to my destination in San Francisco.

Most days, I'll be on popular roads with towns and grocery stores and bike shops. If something goes awry, it shouldn't be difficult to hobble things together enough to get somewhere where I can either buy what I need to fix what's wrong, or make other arrangements.

But there are some days on my trip when I will be out in the boonies. If there's a problem there, I'd better have with me everything that I need to get my bike moving again ... or else be prepared for a long walk.

But I'm not going to worry about those things. I have been, and will continue to be, concerned about those days. And I don't blame RandoGirl and the RandoDaughter and all of my friends for being concerned for me on those days -- any more than I would blame them for being concerned about me when I go out and do any long bike ride.

Just, please, don't worry.

If it helps, let me tell you what I've done to mitigate potential problems:

It all starts with the right equipment. Everything on the bike right now is in top shape, with new tires, new chain, and all of the hubs and bottom brackets and headsets and bolts well-greased and snug. Over the past couple of months I have tested, tweaked, and refined everything so that it is maximally operational, logically positioned, sufficiently accessible, and as solidly locked down as I can get it.

Next come the things to fix the obvious "what ifs" -- four spare tubes, a big patch kit, a spare tire, a roll of tape, bunches of zip ties, a fiber-fix spoke, tire boots, backup lighting, links for the chain, and tools to effectuate most repairs. I thought about carrying spare cables for brakes and derailleurs, but I rarely hear about anyone getting a good result from this. If I have to ride singlespeed for a few miles, it won't be the first time. If both of my brake cables should somehow go at the same time ... well, I would be very unpleasantly surprised.

As to my tent, sleeping bag, cooking equipment, and so forth, all of that is in good shape, too. I've got patch kits for any of those that might spring a leak, and I am bringing a proper mix of gear to get me through all but the most extreme weather.

Of course, to quote Mike Tyson: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

What Mike probably means by that is what Helmuth von Moltke the Elder meant when he said that "no plan survives first contact with the enemy." At that point, you rely on conditioning, resourcefulness, whatever knowledge and experience you may have gained thus far in your life, and a cool head. When that fails, you go the Blanche DuBois route and rely upon "the kindness of strangers."

So, what I'm asking you all to do is not waste perfectly good imagination thinking up dire events that could befall me during my Big Trip. Instead, just keep reading here for the next few weeks as I chronicle a trip that I have wanted to do -- in one form or another -- for almost 20 years. If you want to expend an emotion on me, make it Envy.

The Big Tent

In politics, a "Big Tent" party is one that is trying to bring more people in by being diverse and less divisive. Sunday was a "big tent" day for me, as I tried to do some things that brought new blood -- figuratively, fortunately -- into the Harpeth Bike Club.

It started with a skills clinic in the morning, taught by Coach Emma Cribb from the I Am Racing bike team.

Coach Emma stayed off the bike this time -- a rarity for her -- because of her advanced pregnancy, but brought three teammates for the riding portion of the clinic. It focused on paceline and group-riding skills, and was extremely informative and well-delivered.

I was even able to help out, teaching one of the students how to park her bike against the curb. Riding stuff I may be only so-so on, but when it comes to getting off of a bicycle I am a pro.

After the clinic a group of us went out to practice some of what Emma had preached, heading down Wilson Pike to Cox, then back via McDaniel, Meeks, and Peytonsville Roads. The clouds had cleared up and a light breeze was blowing, making for the kind of August days that we just don't get enough of in middle Tennessee.

It had been a long morning since I had grabbed my coffee in bagel on the way to the clinic, so I rode from there over to Sonic and ate lunch. RandoGirl picked me up there and we drove over to Arrington Vineyards for a 1 pm group ride.

We had a big turnout, probably because 1) the weather was still nice and cool, although we had a couple of raindrops hit us during the ride, and 2) the ride organizers -- Regina Jensen and Ed Condon -- had mandated a 13-15 MPH maximum speed.

Regina and Ed regularly enforced the speed limit during the ride, so we all behaved and didn't race one another for the top of every hill. This also meant that we slowed down, talked, enjoyed the countryside, and actually just had fun riding a bike.

Weird, huh?