East Coast: Prep, Pack, Go

Dear friends and family,

Well, I am off to another bike tour, this time starting at the outer banks of North Carolina and heading northwest. I intend to link up as many trails as possible to stay off busy roads. Go until either snow shows up or I get tired.

I am taking my touring bike; the Surly disc trucker, for this trip. Due to the expensive hotels in the US, I plan on camping often, so my kit weighs much more than the prior trips. It includes not only camping gear, but cooking as well, so it adds something over ten pounds of weight. I put a front rack on the bike to accommodate two more panniers, yellow of course, to spread the load. 

Of course the new rack is heavy so made the bike in bag just over the 50 pound luggage limit, so the seat and post are in my carry-on bag. Airport security didn’t like the looks of it on the X-ray, so needed to investigate before they approved.

When loaded I did manage to ride it around the storage unit parking lot, but that’s been the extent of my training on a loaded bike. Several unloaded rides were accomplished, just couldn’t get myself on the fully loaded bike yet. I guess I’ll pay a price for that tomorrow when I start.

I parked the truck with camper in my storage unit. Six inches to spare above and just under a foot extra in length, so a tight fit, but enough. I sure like this convenience, being only a short Uber ride to SeaTac airport. 

Sometimes I feel like I have too much stuff, owning a truck and camper now, but it sure is cost saving with no rental car or hotels any more. 

I attended the port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival yesterday. I was the treasurer for over ten years and my job in the festival was to collect all the cash during the days ( no credit cards were used in the nineties at festivals) , count it, and deposit it at the end of each day. I was followed by an off duty cop with a gun to keep me safe. Most people I knew yesterday reminded me of that scene, me walking fast with my long legs and the shorter cop chasing me. 

Yesterday I had to pay to enter, which felt funny, and none of the volunteers knew me from that role. I love seeing new volunteers, often new residents of town, but felt a little like a “has been”. 

I think I saw 90% of the people I love in Port Townsend at said festival, which felt great. Most looked pretty good for a five year gap since I saw them last. Lots of curiosity about my adventures in that period of time and I truly felt like my mantra poem by Robert Service ” The race of men that don’t fit in”, since I no longer felt I did- if ever.

I am not sure how to answer their question of “Where do you live now?”

Often I answered ” Wrangell, Alaska, on the boat” or a comment like ” I am homeless”, which I am, but sure has negative connotations, as if I live in a box under a freeway bridge.

After hearing myself answer like this I do question my life choices. For now, I am truly living my dream life of adventuring and writing. For once I am living my life for myself and not needing or wanting to prove anything to parents ( even though long deceased), or society. 

This isn’t easy, either physically or psychologically, but I am driven to be and learn all I can about the inner journey of life using outside adventures as my platform.

The inner game of adventure, that’s what I seek to know.

Sending love,

Charley