A Final Prep Ride, Expensive Purchases, and a Commemorative Tree

I took one final long prep ride earlier this week. On Easter Sunday, I rode back home to Pittsburgh and on Tuesday morning I rode back to Cleveland (115-140 miles each way, depending on the route you take). On the way to Pittsburgh, I was reminded of how dull and tiring highway riding can be, so on the ride back to Cleveland, I decided to avoid highways. It took about 45 extra minutes to get home without highways, but I got to see a lot of small towns I'd never been to - like Columbiana, OH, the birthplace of Harvey Firestone - and smell plenty of cow manure. The downside was that I spent a lot of time on single lane roads where I got caught behind some lethargic vehicles, including a truck hauling hay, a truck hauling gravel, and more 18 wheelers than I ever imagined traveled back country roads. On the whole though, taking backroads and seeing small towns felt more in the spirit of the upcoming odyssey, so I think I'll aim to avoid major highways as much as possible when the trip officially starts. 

On both the highway and the backroad routes, I was frustrated by how loudly I was hearing the wind and road noise. I've been meaning to get a new helmet for months but kept procrastinating on it (along with the about 12 other things I need to do before I start the trip). Realizing that I've finally hit crunch time though, I finally went to my local Cycle Gear shop today. 

When I first thought of taking this trip, I figured a motorcycle was kind of roughing it compared to a car and assumed it would be a much cheaper way to tour the US. While the sticker price of a budget bike may be less than a budget car, you need tons of accessories for motorcycle touring, and that's where they really get you. Last year I dropped about $1100 on a pannier bag/luggage system and a touring windshield. Today I dropped close to $2000: $650 for a new helmet, $220 for a photochromic visor, $790 on a wearable airbag system, $100 on a pair of riding boots (on sale for 33% off), and $35 for a new pair of gloves (went cheap on these). Luckily, I already had an old touring jacket and pants from my brother or I would have probably had to drop about $500 more. If I buy anything else (which I undoubtedly will), my gear will soon be worth more than my motorcycle. I'm realizing motorcycling is similar backpacking, it costs a whole lot more to travel light. Here's to hoping I can recoup some of these costs in fuel and auto insurance savings on the trip. 

A final prep ride and buying new gear were just a few of the big steps this week. Saying goodbye to friends in Cleveland has been another. Tonight I had my final Bible study (and subsequent trip to Goldhorn Brewery) with the boys from St. Vitus. Last night, the Kays (who have become family to me over the past 6 years in Cleveland) put together a send off party for me that included the dedication of a commemorative tree that I helped plant 4 years ago (a river birch), a certificate acknowledging my cat sitting prowess (no, I will not be available to cat sit during your summer vacation), and enough Taco Bell gift cards to buy a Doritos Locos Taco in every state. While there were plenty of old friends reconnecting at this get-together, there were also a lot of new connections made between friends from different communities I was a part of in Cleveland.

Day to day life can be so busy, making it difficult to find time connect with friends. Even when we do have time, it can feel awkward to go to an event where we don't know anyone or reach out to friends we've neglected to contact in a while. This send off helped to remind me of just how important community is - connecting with friends and seeing my friends connect with each other gave me a sense of fullness and peace I've struggled to find elsewhere of late. In many ways this get-together reminded me of what I'm hoping to do on this motorcycle odyssey - find community by reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. If you'd like to connect while I'm on the trip (or you know someone I should meet), please feel free to reach out - call, text, email, or drop it in the blog comments, whatever works.