Inventory

I didn't mean to startle you with another accident story,
but falling twelve feet down is a scary experience. If nothing else,
it makes your heart beat faster. My injuries were fairly minor,
just a little roof rash on my palm and elbow and an achey knee.
It might have been much, much worse. I got lucky. Again.

***


I've spent the past couple days making preparations, planning the route,
deciding how to organize my cargo so the weight is evenly distributed,
determining what is necessary and what I need to discard, or donate, I should say, to one of the many charities in this town.

I still need to collect a few things, like head and tail lights, a helmet, extra tubes,
air pump, water, sunscreen, bug spray.

I intend to spend at least a couple days crossing the mountains,
and I know there's internet in Astoria, but I just don't know how
accessible it will be for someone like me. I'll post when I can.

In the meantime, if you want to see video of parts of my five day trip
from Chicago to here, there's high-lights selected by my friend Tom Grimley.
I recommend this one and this other one. But there's also this.