As much fun as I have on the road, and it’s a lot, I think I have nearly as much fun during the planning stage as the actual trip. This same feeling applies to backpacking trips, Moto trips or any other form of getaway for me. I like the research and the exploring (online) that I do in advance as much as anything. That’s when you really have every option available to you…the dreaming stage. When I’m creating a trip everything is still possible. It’s only when I start to factor in budget, time constraints, etc. that I have to let go of little bits of the dream, one at a time, until what remains is the more realistic version of my fantasy.
In my dream version of my Moto trips, I have a support team who travels along ahead of me to set up my safari-style base camp at the end of each day, complete with canvas wall tent, bottles of wine and actual wine glasses, a roaring camp fire and fresh caught fish while a phonograph plays a concerto in the background (ie Out of Africa). Well, not really, but I’m sure I’d love that too.
My actual fantasy is that when I get maps in hand and start to plot out a route, I have the unlimited time and resources to go play and ride up and down any road that I want to for as long as I want to. Topographic lines, map symbols and water features set my mind into motion. What would it be like to camp here? Or to climb that?
I’ve ordered some maps for this upcoming Continental Divide ride with friends and have been reading some blogs just to get my feet wet. Four and a half months will pass in a blur this summer, so in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the anticipation of it all. I went to Cheyenne last weekend to pick up my bike and am excited to starting kitting it out and taking it out on local trails.
Let the anticipation begin…
Sturgis Chick 
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