Getting closer!

Suppose it'll be about two weeks until I start riding. Leaving Boulder in four days.

Life's been hectic lately - lots of school stuff going on, a fair bit going on at work, and much uncertainty about the fate of our neat little house in Boulder at the end of the summer. Because of that, I spent a good bit of last weekend getting all my stuff packed up and moving it into my aunt and uncle's basement in Longmont, about 20 miles up the road from here. The original plan was to just pack it into the basement here and get it out when I get back to town in August. Hopefully, things will work out so that we can keep this house next fall - it's a fun place and it would be nice to have somewhere to come back to rather than just jumping into looking for a room and moving again.

At this point, I'm living essentially out of the same gear I'm taking on the ride, plus a pair of jeans, a second T-Shirt, and some school stuff to finish up finals with. It feels good to get closer to a minimalist lifestyle, but I can't wait to get out on the road and away from school, work, and city life.

This semester has been really draining - I've completed 20 credit hours (12 is considered "full-time student",) with 15 of those coming from the engineering or applied math departments and the rest from Spanish. In addition, I've been working something on the order of 20 hours a week for the school's IT department fixing computers. Most days have started with an alarm at 7am and run nonstop to a finish after midnight.

It's been interesting to observe people's reactions to the idea of this trip over the last couple weeks - it seems like everyone has a different idea of what will be challenging and what will make it rewarding. Probably the most common response has been along the lines of "wow, that's a long way!", then not getting much farther than that in conversation. Many have expressed concerned over a grab bag of things; physical difficulty, boredom, mechanical issues, money, logistics, accidents, or some vague idea of "bad people." Others have a more positive first reaction and mentioned how interesting it will be to see more of the US, how rewarding it would be to finish, exercise benefits, bragging rights, self discovery, and all kinds of random things. Finally, there have already been a few of the "I wish I would have done that" sort of responses.

Really though, it's more about taking a break, and sort of "going home."