June 2 - cruising

What an easy day ... leave here at 7:45 and get back at ... 7:45. It was an easy drive down, no traffic to speak of, some traffic on the way back -- stopped on the 400 around Rutherford road for a few minutes, but then smooth sailing after that. Of course I used the 407 from Stef's or it would have been an entirely different story.

On the way to Stef's I stopped just short at Neyagawa and picked up a sub ... of course I also stopped at the HD in Barrie to return a bunch of stuff and pickup a hose that I used at Stef's and will be an inside-the-house hose up here. I used the hose to drain her hot water tank. That needs to be done again; I didn't get it quite drained but also didn't get much sludge -- not sure if I gave up too soon. When I did that in Florida I was puttering in the garage while it was draining onto the driveway and it was only at the very end that I got the sludge.

Lauren was home -- she's in kindergarten and goes 2 or 3 full-days per week. I lounged around Stef's until 2:15 then stopped at the gas station on the way to the dentist. Oh -- of course Abby was playing on and off with Mya the entire time -- Mya was happy to have company. The dentist appointment didn't take very long; the caps fit perfectly; then I was back to Stef's and on the road just after 4pm.

That's pretty well it for my day ... others had more eventful days ...

I called Arlene on the way home and got an update on Deloris that she'd gotten from Sandy ...

Sandy stopped at the hospital to see how Deloris was doing -- had heard from Bonnie (how about all this lake-communication eh ?) that Deloris had her appendix out the night before. Sandy made it to the hospital before Lynne and Karen. Deloris was in some pain, but knew that Sandy was there. A morphine injection and the arrival of L&K signaled time for Sandy to leave. L&K were due to drive to the cottage later, bringing their mom's car with them, and leaving it at the cottage. I'm hoping that this incident will have convinced everyone that she shouldn't be living at the cottage alone, but obviously options need to be explored. It's a tough market for a fire sale.

Next I called Sandy to say that I'd talked to Arlene; and then later called Sandy to tell her that I was at 522 and she could put the barbecue on. She said that she had company and was running behind. After I hung up, I realized that my assumption that it was Bonnie was probably wrong, because Sandy would have said "Bonnie's here" ... so I figured that it was L&K. I was wrong again though -- it was J&G&K -- Jason & Gavin & Kyle. They were doing work in Parry Sound and having spent one night there, decided to spend their next night up here. They were visiting with Sandy when I called. After dinner I went over and said hello, sitting with them for a bit as they watched the hockey game. They'll head to Parry Sound this morning, work the day and then return home to Brantford tonight.

It's sunny out ... supposed to get up to 60F or thereabouts. I'm going to go for a ride this afternoon, probably on the new bike. I haven't ridden that one since the saddle broke off -- Aaron provided a bolt that I've yet to install, but that doesn't take long. The weekend weather prediction continues to improve, it's now showing cloudy periods and 20C -- great ! It will be 4C overnight the day before, so a cool start, but I can deal with that.

Speaking of weather, I looked at the long-term for Leesburg VA ... and it looks like the prevailing at that point will be overnight temperatures in the high 60's and daytime temps in the mid 80's -- that's my kind of weather ! Of course with hills and potential thunderstorms over a three-four day period I have to be prepared for almost anything from a cold standpoint, but it's looking good !

Speaking of that ride, Jason asked my last night if I was approaching it with any trepidation (my words, not his) ... and the answer is yes. This is a big deal for me ... why is that ? From a physical standpoint, it's a big deal, but more than that -- I have a basic fear of failure, of not being "up to the task", that dogs me on things like this. At this point, if I had a problem on the 400k this weekend, I could be philosophical about it, since I've already completed 2x400k's. There would be logical reasons. I need to complete a couple of 1200's to hit that level of philosophical-ness, I guess. Once on the course, such thoughts don't arise -- what will be will be. I need to get the first climb ... the first day ... under my belt. Perhaps that's the problem ! I don't wear a belt when riding !

ps -- I'm not that worried about it. I've done all that I can to prep and we'll see how it goes. I expect to complete, but any number of things could get in the way -- body mechanics, bike mechanics, dogs, a crash, weather, poor execution (eating/drinking), or something precluding even getting to the ride -- car problems, whatever. It's not quite like climbing Everest, but the stars do need to be aligned.

Enough ... onward ...

oh -- and don't expect any updates during the ride, at least from me. There is a website -- www.shenandoah1200.com -- that might be providing during-the-ride updates and perhaps pictures. Otherwise I'll be incommunicado most of the time.