Getting Ready To Go

A Moment of Silence

This trip is coming up fast and I spent much of the past few days getting things done so I could leave town on Tuesday. Mid-week trips are so weird. In a way, it is better to travel mid-week as long as you avoid bigger cities during their rush hours. I know. I went through Kansas City at the wrong time of the afternoon in 2022 coming back from the GCHoF thing and paid the price! 

I had a bunch of bicycle stuff to attend to Thursday last week and then Friday was initial packing after doing the laundry. I've been pre-writing some stuff for this blog, including this post, so the blog will not be interrupted while I am busy getting ready or when I am gone. 

During one of my test rides through the neighboring cemetery I noted the cemetery volunteers were having an "end of season" meal/party. These volunteers do a ton of beautifying and lawn work the week before Memorial Day weekend. The place is a bee hive of activity which goes unmatched the rest of the year. This is the cemetery's biggest weekend, and once the workers got everything in order, I suppose blowing off a little steam by having a beer and some food was in order. 

So, if you go visit a cemetery this weekend, you might say a little prayer of thanks for those workers who give of their time to make these places of honor look the part. Judging from what I've seen, this takes a lot of hours and work. 

Thursday was also the day I was contacted by Sakamoto-san, a  Japanese journalist who wants to write a 10 page feature on the history of gravel cycling in the USA and gravel culture. He was tipped off to me by Kae Takashita, who won the woman's C.O.G.100 N.Y. Roll and I put on back in 2019. We chatted via Messenger a bit and set up a meeting in Emporia on Thursday coming up. This man is doing Unbound as well, so he's in town for that also. Should be a fun meet-up.

Anyway, today I am taking the day off to rest, and tomorrow I hope to get some riding done. Look for a report on that on Tuesday. I've got a special post ready for Wednesday. Thursday I may have some notes from the road, and Friday the full-on GCHoF report will begin.