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 Mike's AssessmentBack to Shakedown RideBy Mike Beris - 2008-11-29
Beep beep beep!
Is it time to get up already? Man, that hardly seemed like 8 hours. At least the inside of our tent glows with happy, yellow-orange light. Guess I should peek outside and see if it’s still raining out. Ziiiiiip Hmm, looks like it’s drizzling. I thought maybe after a full evening and night of the wet stuff, we’d have some relief. It was good that we had that little roof overhang to cook under last night.
I can’t believe Dan and Daniel would rather put their bags exposed to the rain than under the roof! Oh well, to each his own. Now to go check on my things… Phew, it’s chilly in the morning air. Maybe I should have put on my other pants on top of…hey: why is my bike laying on the ground? Crap. Crap! Gah! Crap!! Someone tried to rip me off! Okay, breathe. Walking faster now There’s the trailer; they didn’t get that. My bike: it’s tipped over, but nothing looks broken. Phew. Panniers: come on guys…be good to me… Yes! They’re all there! Oh man, that’s a relief. Good thing I had them locked up in my Pacsafe mesh net. What’s this? Whoa! This guy must have been gutsy! He actually tried to cut through the steel cable that cinches it shut! Haha, he failed! Pacsafe, 1: thief, 0. Uh oh, hold the celebration, Mike. Wasn’t there something else out here last night? Oh yeah. D’oh. I left the Jetboil stove and pot out because they were still wet. And somehow, the thief saw through my back-up security plan of hiding them under a clear plastic bag. Evil genius! If only he used his powers for good! Okay, to reassess: this jerk got my Jetboil personal cooking system and pot, two canisters of fuel, and…what’s this? He stole a loaf of bread? What the grumblegrumble. Sigh Time to go face the guys. "Hey, you were right." "What?" "We got ripped off." "What’d they get?" "The Jetboil, both fuel canisters, the bread." "No! They got our bread!?" "Well, yeah, but the Jetb-" "Now how are we going to eat our peanut butter and jelly?" "Looks like we have to get creative."
This was the scene on the morning of day three of our Shakedown trip. Besides having to nurse my pride in front of Dan and Daniel (who took less of a gamble by allowing their stuff to get wet instead of stolen), I had to change a flat innertube I had earned the night before, while fantasizing about destroying the guy who caused me to feel so violated, so powerless, so naive. I was already thinking globally: didn’t he know that we’re countrymen? We speak the same language! We’re practically neighbors! Apparently, this fellow was more concerned with getting something to eat than considering how his actions would color my perception of humanity. I took a risk: that people would rather be in their warm, dry houses between the hours of 11pm and 7am, than out in the cold, dark rain, at a campsite only accessible by the towpath itself and a long winding road through the woods. Well, I was wrong. Maybe he did it because of hunger, maybe greed, but he taught us one of the many practical lessons we learned that week: give people a chance to steal something and they will. Call it pessimism. Maybe its just a healthy dose of street-smarts. At any rate, he helped us achieve our goal for the week. Our goal was to test our gear and answer some lingering questions: Would our panniers keep our clothes dry? (yes, if they’re in the built-in waterproof bag) How fast can we set up our tent? (18 minutes with two guys) Do our new Showers Pass pants really keep us dry in a downpour? (Yes, plus they make us look like firemen) Should we bring multiple Jetboils? (Two stoves should be enough, unless they get stolen) Where is the best spot to store a camera? (Handlebar bag) How do these pedals work? (Great) Are my new handlebars awesome or what? (Heck yes) Do these walkie-talkies work (Heck no) Are we seriously getting ourselves into this? I mean really? What the heck are we thinking? What do we have against beds? Is this what we’re signing up for? There are NO women going with us? Are we freakin’ crazy? These last 7 questions can be answered by the mantra we repeated whenever the going seemed to get tough: "I am an adventure cyclist!"
We each knew what it meant. It meant yes, we are getting ourselves into this. Yes, really. Yes, this is the life we are choosing: one of challenge and discomfort. Yes, the ground is our bed. Yes, we will get lonely. It’s an all-inclusive deal. No extra charge for the occasional slice of humble pie, or the inevitable homesickness down the line, or the frustration of being robbed. "I am an adventure cyclist!" It costs us our cushy lives: secure jobs, people who love us, a stocked fridge, heat in the cold, cold in the heat, a car, Blockbuster online, maybe a future with that girl… "I am an adventure cyclist!"
We’re signed up for a 14-month stint. This Shakedown trip taught me that our gear needs some last minute adjustments, but so do I. I need to trust that God will take care of the hard questions. I just need to worry about locking up the Jetboil. 
Peanut GalleryGood Call at the end!cyoung11_66 2009-02-27 22:08:30 UTC
Mike, I actually am somewhat envious, wish I was young enough, energetic enough, and had friends that I could travel like you men are!! But I also like your sentiment of trusting God, we all have those hard questions and we all have to learn that lesson, no matter what our job or location is. So thanks for the reminder! |
