Plan update

 So, further "refinement" to my plans.

Over the last week, I've been thinking a lot about what I want out of this trip. In 2017 when I did the southern part of the Great Divide, I wanted solitude and quiet. I'd just quit an extremely stressful job, I'd been traveling for work pretty frequently, Lindsey and Percy and I had tried to do a family "van life" trip which was unsuccessful and we were all feeling the need to get away from each other and people in general. The section of the Great Divide that I did was perfect for this -- I had a few days in gentrified Colorado, from Silverthorne down to Salida, then a few delightful weeks in the beautiful emptiness of southern Colorado and New Mexico.

Obviously things are different right now.

Bicycles are incredible tools for solitude, but they're also incredible tools for socialization. I'm not an incredibly social person, to put it mildly, but after the last year or so I find myself wanting to be around people, even (perhaps ideally) even if I'm not interacting with them directly. At the same time, I think that living in Colorado for the past 10 years has made me a little weary of the commodification of wilderness, for lack of a better phrase. I think this summer is gonna be pretty nuts in The American West. Justifiably! I don't say this to denigrate anybody's desire to get into the mountains and be surrounded by the stunning natural beauty of the west -- god knows that's a thing I've enjoyed for at least 30 years. But I think, based on a short trip to Fruita last week, that the crowds are going to spill into the wilderness in ways that I might not love.

I was thinking about the first bike tour I did, and how much I enjoyed the section of it from New England down to New Orleans, and why I loved that part in particular. Part of it, of course, was that I was 17 and everything was new. There was also something to riding from town to town, though, and the simple joy of going into a convenience store or a diner for a cold drink after 50 miles or so of riding. It's also nice to tour in a way that doesn't require strategizing about food for more than a day.

The biggest thing, though, is thinking about where I want my ride to end. I initially wanted to end in Seattle because, for a long time, it was home. I spent a huge part of my life there, from when I was in my early twenties until I was nearly forty. I still have good friends there and generally in the northwest, and it would be fantastic to see them.

But: I haven't seen my family in over a year. My grandmother's in her mid-90s and I might not be able to see her many more times. I'd love to see my mom and dad, and my brother, and my sister and her delightful kids (I'd love to see my other sister too but she's in Hawaii and it's tough to get there by bicycle). I'd love it if Lindsey and Percy met me there. That all feels meaningful and good, and important after this year of isolation and uncertainty.

I have a picture from 1989 of me and the other folks I rode cross-country with, standing awkwardly and nerdily on my parent's lawn, the day we left. Finishing there would, I think, close a strand of a very long and very circuitous loop.

So, my new plan is to leave from my house in Boulder, ride down to Pueblo, get on the Adventure Cycling Transamerica trail to Richmond, VA, then head up to Hamilton, MA. This will be mostly paved riding, though I will try to find detours onto gravel and lesser-traveled roads when I can. It doesn't change my timeline; it's a few more miles but a little less climbing so it'll balance out. It's not "epic" in the same way as a trip along the continental divide, but it will be meaningful (and fun! and hard!)

I'm hanging out here in Boulder until Friday, for Percy's end-of-school-year celebration, then leaving on Saturday.