yesterday i got them. today i’ve got them. they’re not bad, and i’m not sure why they’re even there. i know everything will be fine and i’ll have an excellent ride. it’s just difficult to believe that in four days i’m going to leave for an adventure that will take almost two months.

i’m a half pound over my luggage weight limit and will likely just move stuff to a carry on but i’m still trying to think of what weight i can just get rid of. currently all carry weight is around 50 lbs. there are things that i’m going to get rid of along the way, and weight will fluxuate with food, but i’d like to lose ten pounds. i just don’t know how to get rid of it. maybe tomorrow’s post will be contents and someone can suggest what to get rid of.

after the incident that happened last week, i had to replace the carbon bars that cracked/broke. the new ones are bontrager rl road/aero bars. i love the internal routing on them and they’re super comfortable. the wider space from the aero bars means less impact on a smaller area of my hands and will make me less likely to have hand fatigue.

today i’ll be going through all of my packing, unpacking, sorting, repacking, removing again and deciding what really needs to go and what will be cumbersome. as much as i really want the helinox chair one to go with me, it takes up a bit of space(still undecided).

i love to watch youtube. there’s a ton of great channels. one of my favorites is casey neistat. he’s got some amazing ideas and he’s constantly busy. i see quite a few similarities in our personalities and lifestyles. we both feel that too much sleep is a waste of the precious hours we could be productive. on a video he did recently, he explained something very simple that, oddly enough, people don’t understand. the image with this post should explain it, but here’s the basics:

“the only thing between you and everything you want to do in life is doing it.”

sometimes these things are tough. you work through them to achieve your goals. work hard on the things you want. do what you need to get where you want. stay positive the whole time.

usually after i explain to people that i ride my bicycle everyday, there are a few questions that follow. hopefully this post will clear things up. the most common questions are below.

“you ride everyday?”
“what if it’s raining?”
“even in the snow?”
“how do you do that?”
“don’t you get wet/cold?”

quite simply, yes. i. ride. every. day. if it’s raining, i’ll get wet. if it’s -30, i’ll get a chill. riding a bicycle through inclement weather is very similar to any other day. you sit on a seat and pedal. if there are obstacles or hazards you either avoid or prepare for them accordingly.

today the article on dnainfo came out. justin breen did an excellent writeup about me and i’m happy with the way it turned out as well as all of the people sending positive comments. really, there was only one guy that wasn’t positive about this, and that was a month ago. i’m guessing it was just jealousy.

innerworkings(the company i work for) mentioned a meeting tomorrow about a companywide fundraiser for my fundraising. that’s pretty awesome and i am glad to be at such an amazing place.

my family is visiting from michigan, and when i say family, i don’t just mean my brother, sister and mom. there’s 12 total, including in-laws, nephews and nieces. the most exhausting part is getting everyone to agree to do the same thing.

over the weekend my s.o. and i went to tour de fat and we played an intense game of jenga with some kids. they were really good. we almost had all the blocks stacked, maybe three turns away from the end when it tumbled. i commend their efforts.

the bike went in for the final tuneup yesterday and i pick it up today. the rear wheel was slightly out of true and the shifter was having a small issue, but i’ve put at least 2500 miles on it.

okay, first time i’ll mention it here, last time you’ll hear about it here:
going to the doctor is a huge inconvenience, it’s not that i don’t want to, it’s just that it’s difficult to make it happen. that’s it.

i have things to do. it’s funny. i feel like having the time i have before i go isn’t really much of anything. my significant other always jokes that i can’t relax and i need to be doing something all the time. that’s true i guess. maybe i sleep too little so that i can accomplish more in the hours that i need to. it’s really a determination of complete process. less idle hours sleeping equals more productive awake hours. i know how much the minimum sleep i need is and i get just barely over that. i function well this way. if i’m awake for 19 hours a day i can accomplish more. i put thought and detail into things that i do. i love detail, thought and planning. putting all of that into a day with things that i need to do is great. plus, when i feel like i can relax, there’s always a few minutes for enjoying the day.