Further Planning

School has finished up and I continue to prepare for the ride. It's been nice the past two days to really devote my time and energy to thoughts about the ride. Prior, I worried my planning for the ride was at the expense of my schoolwork; it was just so easy to put down the theology and pick up a map. Not so anymore. Well, still easy, but at least I do so with a free conscience.

You will notice to the right I've posted links to rough google maps of the route. Though I will not stick to these exact directions (I have more detailed maps), they do allow for a basic view of the direction I'll be heading as well as some specific cities I'll be adventuring through. I'll be working from Adventure Cycling Association maps. The benefit of these is that they are specifically made for cyclists - detailed cycle friendly roads, bike shops, elevation profiles, etc. - serving as an added safety feature. Further, as posted in their Q&A section:

I'm going to ride across the country by myself. Will I be safe?
There are advantages to riding on our routes as far as safety is concerned.
Other cyclists will also be on the route. Because these routes are established,
folks along the way are accustomed to seeing cyclists. People are generally very
kind to cyclists, but it is important to trust your intuition and to use common sense.

Common sense? Good thing Mr. Maddux gave me so many Common Sense Quizzes in 7th grade.

Later this week, I'll be meeting with David Fraccaro, my friend and boss over at Sojourners, to discuss specific presentation content. Currently we are working together to plot out a list of churches who will have me. I am also drafting a letter to send to the several networks I've found myself in over the last few years, telling them about Sojourners, the ride, and ways in which they can help. Regarding health and fitness, I have decided to start a kind of conditioning. I'll be running for the next few days until I'm back in Greencastle, IN and can get on my bike. Then I'll have five days of getting my body ready on the bike before heading back to NYC for the ride early June.

Finding a partner to ride beside me has been very difficult (as I expected). Not many are ready and willing to sit on a bike for +4000 miles... My friend Ivan was considering it seriously, but recently declared, "I enjoy nothing more than jumping headfirst into something big and new... But this time I think I'm going to have to sit on the sidelines." Not finding a partner has caused a lot of worry and serious wrestling with the issue of riding at all. I continue to stay the course however, shooting for the June 1 departure.