The Challenge.

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Can I do that in 13 days? You bet I could. Is it actually going to happen? I'm going to try my hardest to make sure it does. 

I've had quite the revitalization since last night, in case you didn't notice. Bored, lonely, and anemic, all I wanted then was to go home. But after a murderously paced 108 mile ride today, I feel like I could conquer the world. In fact, I feel like I can ride my bike with no handlebars.

I'm determined to make this mad dash through California. It's 1,251 miles from the room I'm sitting in right now to the airport in San Diego. Yeah, I won't get to spend any days off my bike to explore San Francisco or Los Angeles. But, even when I ride 80+ miles a day, I always have time to stop and enjoy natural beauty. The great thing about northern and central California is that their highlights, the coastal views and the redwoods, are both things that can be enjoyed from the comfort of my bike flying down the road. 

Like all things, my burning desire to reach San Diego can best be explained by a quote from Titanic:

The press knows the size of Titanic, now I want them to marvel at her speed, too. We must give them something new to print. And the maiden voyage of Titanic must make headlines!

 It fits my situation perfectly, except that I'm not really trying to impress anybody with this endeavor (well mostly not). It's a test of personal ability. I've proven to myself that I can endure, that I can make it through the long haul. My bike is called  the Surly Long Haul Trucker after all. I've gone 2800 miles in 50 days at a leisurely pace, stopping everywhere I've wanted to and rarely feeling particularly tired after my rides. And yes, Mom, I agree that it's been very enjoyable that way. But I'm ready for a different challenge. Something terrible, epic, and exciting. Something like riding thirteen loaded centuries back-to-back down the California coastline.

I'm not crazy (or maybe I am?). I know my body's limits and I won't push myself too much past them. If something feels really wrong, I'm not going to hesitate to slow it down a little bit. I just want to prove to myself that I can do it.

Incidentally, I'm going to end up riding more than 4001 miles so the title of this blog is completely inaccurate. I'm now going to delete it and set up a new blog at www.4051miles.blogspot.com.