7500 Miles

I had a big shopping excursion to REI and Scheels on Tuesday to get the rest of my camping-specific equipment for the trip. Needless to say I’m looking forward to my REI dividend this year. Today was spent going to more general stores, making travel arrangements, getting first aid supplies, finding the last few spare parts for my bike, tracking down my tires, etc.

After calling/emailing the company I bought my tires from every day this week trying to track them down, only to get a voicemail box each time, I finally gave up and called the tire manufacturer (Schwalbe). It turns out that while the company had promised same-day shipping, they didn’t actually pass along the order to Schwalbe this week (presumably after I started calling them). They did charge my credit card in mid-December, though. Lesson learned: never buy anything from Every Bicycle Tire. The people at Schwalbe were very helpful, though.

Meanwhile, at the pharmacy, a similar story was unfolding. Over the weekend I discovered that I needed more medication for my 4-month excursion. I went to the pharmacy on Monday. They told me I didn’t have any more refills and my doctor would have to fax a new prescription to them. I called my doctor and they said they would fax the prescription. On Wednesday, I went to pick up the meds. The pharmacy said they didn’t get the fax. The doctor said they sent it on Monday. This time I called the doctor from the pharmacy and waited until I could see the fax printing out. Fax in hand, they could now place an order since it wasn’t in stock. Today required two trips to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled, but it finally got done.

And, when I got home… The tires had arrived!!

Now I have everything major I need for the trip. Anything else missing I can improvise or do without. The trick is getting it all to fit into the appropriate sized bags and boxes for the plane and a different set of bags for the locker on the trip.

Four months of hard bike riding in Africa is not your typical trip. And as a not-so-typical trip, many of the things I want to take with me aren’t available on local store shelves. That means I have to order stuff and have it delivered. Sure, that can be convenient at times, but it also puts me at the whim of the UPS man.

Last week, my new solar panel was supposed to arrive. With it, I will be able to keep my cameras, lights, phone, and water purifier working. Maybe–and this is a stretch–I can keep my netbook’s battery topped off, too.

I had been following the tracking numbers of all my various shipments closely, so I saw ahead of time that a signature would be required. Most of the day had passed, and I still wanted to go to the gym, so I brilliantly scrawled out a note to the UPS guy saying it was OK to leave the package at the door. I wrote the tracking number and signed it. When I returned from the gym I discovered that my plan wasn’t so brilliant after all. On top of my note was a sticker from UPS saying that I had to sign for the package in person, and a 2nd delivery attempt would be made in 5 days. Five days?! I called to check on this. Sure enough, I’d have to wait five days for the package, and make sure I was available to sign for it whenever it came.

“Whenever” is a broad term. The package and the truck went out for delivery at 4:41 this morning. I napped by the front door until 8 before I finally got up. No package yet. My activities were confined to things I could do within proximity to the front door. Lunchtime came and went. Still no package. UPS says that most packages are delivered by 7PM, but even 7PM came and went without any sign of that big, brown truck.

At this point I had already skipped my weight lifting class and my spinning class for the day and I wasn’t about to give up. I am also expecting my tires to arrive any day, and with five days between delivery attempts, missing a delivery now means I would have to go without. (Tires are kind of important, don’t you think?)

At 7:29PM I’m startled by the deep rumbling sound of a diesel engine and air brakes. I had nearly dozed off while sitting in front of the house, leaning up against the front door. “Did you lock yourself out or something?” the UPS man asks.
“No. I was waiting for you. I couldn’t afford to miss you a 2nd time,” I said, pointing at the note I had left.
“Oh, I would have left the package if you did that.” I didn’t tell him that the sign was there last week.

Still no tires.

The Tour d’Afrique starts in just two weeks! I actually leave Nevada on the 8th, giving me just over a week to get everything ready. Seeing as I still have a lot of packing and other preparation to get done before I leave, and seeing as this is the perfect time to make New Year’s resolutions, I did what any irrational mind would do.

I went skiing.

It was the first time I have been skiing in about 4 years. The lift ticket still attached to my boot said “April, 2005,” but I know I rented equipment a couple times the next year. The weather didn’t exactly cooperate, but it wasn’t miserable. Despite never seeing the sky or the breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe, it was still worth it. Plus, I had a chance to try out my Christmas present this year: a helmet cam for Africa.