Nerves

Yes. I am nervous. This is a very big trip, and a lot of things have to go right. Since I was hired back to teach at CU in the fall, I will definitely need to be back by the end of August (though this trip originally had me arriving home at the beginning of August). I'm dealing with knee pain and soreness—over the last two months I have slowly been building up my endurance and have been experiencing much less pain, but it's still something I'm acutely concerned about. It seems that the pain is getting worse when I do extended stretches of uphill biking, so the first few days will be a great test for me! I am still optimistic about success, but I know that something could go wrong any day. My mantra is: go slow, be safe, and don't be stupid.

The plan is to leave on Saturday (the 18th) and visit Boise, Portland, and Vancouver on the way up to the start. I should be starting the trip on the 21st or 22nd, depending on how much sight-seeing we want to do. Meanwhile, I'm continuing my training in the majestic Colorado rockies!

In other news, I have purchased a fancy-pants keyboard to connect to my phone. That way I can type more easily from the road. The Durango trip taught me that I don't have the best fine motor controls after a long day of riding, so a full size keyboard should be much more appealing that a little tiny screen. I also learned from the Durango trip that I don't always make sense after a long trip. My brain turns slightly to much, so it will definitely be fun to read all of the interesting things I write (I'm reading over my Longmont-Durango journal right now).

Megan, my lovely wife, must have had some time to kill at work yesterday because she came up with a pretty epic trip schedule. This is a very conservative list (lots of rest days and not too many miles), but it does get me back home before school starts. I'm hoping to eat this schedule for breakfast, but you never know. Maybe this will be a stretch for me... It will all depend on how my body reacts to the mountains, the weather, the miles, and the road conditions. Wish us lu

Day	Start City	End City	Miles
May 18	Denver, CO	Boise, ID	--Driving (12h)
May 19	Boise, ID	Portland, OR	---Driving (7h)
May 20	Portland, OR	Vancouver, CA	---Driving (6h)
May 21	Vancouver, CA	Neah Bay, WA	---Driving (6-7h)
May 22	Neah Bay, WA	Neah Bay, WA	35 miles
May 23	Neah Bay, WA	Port Angeles, WA	40 miles
May 24	Port Angeles, WA	Port Angeles, WA	45 miles
May 25	Port Angeles, WA	Port Angeles, WA	REST DAY
May 26	Port Angeles, WA	Seattle, WA	45 miles
May 27	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA	55 miles
May 28	Seattle, WA	Ellensburg, WA	55 miles
May 29	Ellensburg, WA	Ellensburg, WA	REST DAY
May 30	Ellensburg, WA	Yakima, WA	40 miles
May 31	Yakima, WA	Yakima, WA	40 miles
June 1	Yakima, WA	Richland, WA	40 miles
June 2	Richland, WA	Richland, WA	30 miles
June 3	Richland, WA	Pendleton, OR	45 miles
June 4	Pendleton, OR	Pendleton, OR	REST DAY
June 5	Pendleton, OR	La Grande, OR	60 miles
June 6	La Grande, OR	Baker City, OR	52 miles
June 7	Baker City, OR	Baker City, OR	47 miles
June 8	Baker City, OR	Ontario, OR	47 miles
June 9	Ontario, OR	Ontario, OR	REST DAY
June 10	Ontario, OR	Boise, ID	63 miles
June 11	Boise, ID	Mnt. Home, ID	55 miles
June 12	Mnt. Home, ID	Mnt. Home, ID	45 miles
June 13	Mnt. Home, ID	Jerome, ID	45 mile
June 14	Jerome, ID	Burley, ID	48 miles
June 15	Burley, ID	Burley, ID	REST DAY
June 16	Burley, ID	Wilderness	50 miles
June 17	Wilderness	Wilderness	50 miles
June 18	Wilderness	Logan, UT	50 miles
June 19	Logan, UT	Logan, UT	50 miles
June 20	Logan, UT	Logan, UT	REST DAY
June 21	Logan, UT	Evanston, WY	50 miles
June 22	Evanston, WY	Lyman, WY	50 miles
June 23	Lyman, WY	Green River, WY	60 miles
June 23	Green River, WY	Rock Springs, WY	50 miles
June 24	Rock Springs, WY	Rock Springs, WY	50 miles
June 25	Rock Springs, WY	Rock Springs, WY	REST DAY
June 26	Rock Springs, WY	Rawlins, WY/Den	52 miles
June 27	Rawlins, WY/Den	Rawlins, WY/Den	50 miles
June 28	Rawlins, WY/Den	Laramie, WY/Den	50 miles
June 29	Laramie, WY/Den	Laramie, WY/Den	40 miles
June 30	Laramie, WY/Den	Cheyenne, WY/Den	53 miles
July 1	Cheyenne, WY/Den	Cheyenne, WY/Den	REST DAY
July 2	Cheyenne, WY/Den	Fort Collins, CO	55 miles
July 3	Fort Collins, CO	Chris/Lia (Erie), CO	45 miles
July 4	Erie/Longmont, CO	Erie/Longmont, CO	REST DAY
July 5	Erie/Longmont, CO	Watkins, CO	45 miles
July 6	Watkins, CO	Watkins, CO+40mi	40 miles
July 7	Watkins, CO+40mi	Limon, CO	45 miles
July 8	Limon, CO	Burlington, CO	37 miles
July 9	Burlington, CO	Burlington, CO	37 miles
July 10	Burlington, CO	Burlington, CO	REST DAY
July 11	Burlington, CO	Goodland, KS	37 miles
July 12	Goodland, KS	Colby, KS	40 miles
July 13	Colby, KS	Wilderness	42 miles
July 14	Wilderness	WaKeeney, KS	40 miles
July 15	WaKeeney, KS	Hays, KS	44 miles
July 16	Hays, KS	Hays, KS	REST DAY
July 17	Hays, KS	Salina, KS	50 miles
July 18	Salina, KS	Salina, KS	50 miles
July 19	Salina, KS	Junction City, KS	54 miles
July 20	Junction City, KS	Topeka, KS	50 miles
July 21	Topeka, KS	Lawrence, KS	55 miles
July 22	REST DAY	REST DAY	REST DAY
July 23	Lawrence, KS	Grandview, MO	50 miles
July 24	Grandview, MO	Sedalia, MO	58 miles
July 25	Sedalia, MO	Columbia, MO	67 miles
July 26	Columbia, MO	Jefferson City, MO	50 miles
July 27	Jefferson City, MO	St. Louis, MO	63 miles
July 28	St. Louis, MO	St. Louis, MO	REST DAY
July 29	St. Louis, MO	St. Louis, MO	63 miles
July 30	St. Louis, MO	Mt. Vernon, IL	45 miles
July 31	Mt. Vernon, IL	Mt. Vernon, IL	40 miles
Aug. 1	Mt. Vernon, IL	Evansville, IN	50 miles
Aug. 2	Evansville, IN	Evansville, IN	50 miles
Aug. 3	Evansville, IN/LEX	Evansville, IN/LEX	REST DAY
Aug. 4	Evansville, IN	Madisonville, KY	50 miles
Aug. 5	Madisonville, KY	Clarksville, TN	65 miles
Aug. 6	Clarksville, TN	Nashville, TN	50 miles
Aug. 7	Nashville, TN	Murfreesboro, TN	40 miles
Aug. 8	Murfreesboro, TN	Sewanee, TN	60 miles
Aug. 9	Sewanee, TN	Sewanee, TN	REST DAY
Aug. 10	Sewanee, TN	Rainsville, AL	65 miles
Aug. 11	Rainsville, AL	Rome, GA	56 miles
Aug. 12	Rome, GA	Carrollton, GA	57 miles
Aug. 13	Carrollton, GA	Griffin, GA	63 miles
Aug. 14	REST DAY	REST DAY	REST DAY
Aug. 15	Griffin, GA	Macon, GA	53 miles
Aug. 16	Macon, GA	Dublin, GA	55 miles
Aug. 17	Dublin, GA	Metter, GA	55 miles
Aug. 18	Metter, GA	Savannah, GA/SC	65 miles
Aug. 19	Savannah, GA	Savannah, GA	CELEBRATE!!
Aug. 20	Savannah, GA	Baton Rouge, LA	--Driving (10.5h)
Aug. 21	Baton Rouge, LA	San Antonio, TX	--Driving (7h)
Aug. 22	San Antonio, TX	Mexico	--Driving (2h ea. W)
Aug. 23	San Antonio, TX	Amarillo, TX	--Driving (8h)
Aug. 24	Amarillo, TX	HOME!!!!	--Driving (7.5h)
ALTERNATIVE ENDING
Aug. 20	Savannah, GA	Nashville, TN	--Driving (7.5h)
Aug. 21	Nashville, TN	Kansas City, MO	--Driving (8.3h)
Aug. 22	Kansas City, MO	HOME!!!	--Driving (9.3h)