about to begin

The bicycle is ready, the panniers are packed, and I am at my starting point: Hesston, Kansas. The past few days have been quite nice and lazy - mostly sitting around the motel hanging out with the Horst family (who gave me a ride out here). Andy and Emily's wedding is Sunday, so Monday is when I start my solo trek. It will be about 530 miles out to Denver, and if my planning is at all accurate, I should get there around the 18th.

In case you're wondering why I'm doing this, there are a few reasons. A couple big ones: to visit friends and spend time doing activities with friends that we all (all two of us, for the California part of the trip) enjoy, and also to later be able say, "I did that. I accomplished that." Biking as an activity is all right; I'm pretty lukewarm about it (at least for the first couple hours on the bike - after that it's somewhat miserable). I do enjoy riding my bike, but a lot of it is liking the idea of getting around under my own power, covering some hefty distances.

I am excited, though, and also incredibly intimidated by the distances ahead of me, now that being here in Hesston is finally forcing me to face what is to come. So far I've worked hard to take it a day at a time, and I feel that's the only way I'll be able to push through this trip without getting overwhelmed.

On a lighter note, though, the weather is beautiful and my stomach is pleasantly full of almost really good chicken noodle soup from the Breadbasket in Newton.