Well, not today…

I knew that today was 50-50 for me. Originally, today wasn’t even supposed to be my first day – that’s tomorrow. Due to a landslide on one of the roads I was planning on taking, I had to detour and that added a whole extra day (seriously).

Anyway. I’m feeling better. I am definitely still sick, but feeling much better. Last night, I woke up at 2am with an incredible headache. I took something for it and didn’t fall asleep until 4am, waking again a little before 8 (which is amazingly late for me).

I loaded up the scooter around 10am, unsure about whether I’d actually be able to do this. I had to take it for a test run with full packs and I did. A scooter with full packs handles much differently than normal. On my first outing, it really took me by surprise. It felt like the tires were flat (of course, they were both at the PSI they’re supposed to be for this amount of weight). It wasn’t wobbling, but it just felt very off.

Returning to the apartment, I was ready to call the whole thing off. About a half hour later, I got back on it and though it handled about the same, I became used to it. I brought her up to speed, around 60mph, and she handled like a dream. The “offness” happens around 30mph, but at cruising speed, all is fine.

I gained huge amounts of confidence and was ready to go. But my body thought differently. I was suddenly worn out, tired and ready for a sit-down.

So I resolved “not today.”

Today, however, is a wonderful day for a ride. It’s a little cloudy, but very little chance of rain. There’s a chill in the air, but with full gear on, I wouldn’t notice it. Tomorrow, however, I’ll be in and out of rain all day. Mostly in. At night, the temperature will drop to 32 where I’m staying (though that would be true even if I left today).

After that initiation, the sun will shine and the temps will climb as I move south and east. I’ve considered getting a motel for the night – honestly, that might be a very good choice. I have reservations, which I’d have to cancel, so the decision will need to be made asap, which I’ll do.

There are a few loose ends that need to be brought together, so leaving tomorrow is logistically, a much better idea. I’m just not looking forward to riding in more rain.

That said, it will never ever be as bad as it was in Missouri in 2008.

Tonight, I’ll gas up, get some last minute essentials (like water) and get to bed early. I plan on hitting the road at 6am, all bundled up and ready for 10,000 miles of America.