What Scares Me About This Bike Trip

Thinking about riding my bicycle from the Atlantic to the Pacific, I am “equal parts excited and terrified.”* Here’s some of the rational (and slightly irrational) fears that have been kicking around my brain for the last few months:

BEARS!

It is an established fact that nature finds me delicious. Mosquitoes have declared me “a tasty snack,” and dogs enjoy licking my legs. I am not looking forward to trying to fall asleep while wondering if the sounds of the forest are FREAKING BEARS!

Camping

I am not what you would call an avid camper. I’ve gone for a weekend, once. That is the entirely of my experience in “the great outdoors.” I’ve been watching lots of videos on how to do basic camping stuff, but until I get out there and do some of this I’m going to feel awfully stupid. I know that, as with anything, I’ll get used to it What I’m more worried about is being able to actually sleep!

Thunderstorms

I love how these first three fears all boil down to: NATURE BE SCARY! It’s one thing pedaling in the rain, it’s another entirely to be looking for shelter in the middle of nowhere while Zeus tries to electrocute your face.

Getting Injured and Not Finishing the Trip

So, I’m not exactly afraid of getting splattered by an 18-wheeler (though I’m also not not afraid of that), but I definitely AM afraid of sustaining some kind of injury which would force me to end my trip.

This is less about actually getting hurt, and more about the emotional need to be out in the world as we come out of this pandemic. The last thing I want after being stuck at home for the last 14 months is to be told I just need a few months of rest to recover from a broken arm or collarbone.

Money and/or Getting Robbed

I’ve been unemployed since the start of the pandemic. At first this was because the world got shut down, and then this was because I was afraid to go out in public before a vaccine became widely available. I got by on unemployment for a while, but that ran out some time ago. I’m fine right now, I really am, but I’m not in a position to replace my bike, video equipment, etc if someone takes off with all of it. This is definitely in the back of my mind.

What I’m Going to Do Afterwards

I plan on making it back to the Northeast in December for Pax Unplugged, my first and favorite board game convention. Then it’s back to lil’Rhody for family and holidays. But after that? I have no freakin clue. Let me know if you have any ideas?

*People say, “I’m equal parts excited and terrified,” a lot, and I think it’s high time we had a word for it. Excitified? Territed? Tweet me your better words: @boardgamebike.