In Calgary last night, heading to Banff today, for the start tomorrow of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route adventure with Chris and Dave. My first blog sentence is now written. 
The last couple months have been stressful and surreal… Dominated by the decision to leave my job life of 36 years, to enter the life of being “retired” has already revealed powerful and unanticipated internal challenges. I could write volumes on that… Yet, I find myself just now laying in a hotel bed in Calgary, then in Banff tonight, then starting a two month bike ride with two other retired guys tomorrow. That all sounds real normal, right?

The week since leaving Alaska was spent in Portland and Seattle, seeing all of my dear family, and experiencing the blessing of the helmet rituals arranged by Bridgette as wonderful pre-trip positive juju. 

The last few days in Portland were spent organizing and packing, re packing, reorganizing, negotiating with myself about what I really “need” to bring as everything translates to weight I will have to pedal with over the 2740 miles to Antelope Wells, NM on the border with Mexico. I’m sure I’m going to love and regret every single pound. 

Today we will drive to Banff and assemble the bikes, that is the main purpose of life today.

The motivation for writing a blog post has to be there, and this is all I’ve got for starters. There’s a couple simple photos from preparations for the last couple of days…

OK, it is the next day and we are in Banff now… It is been raining most of the day we got the bikes together and split up all the shared food and OMG my bike will be so freaking heavy! 

Wi-Fi where we are staying is nonexistent so at dinner right in this and will get it posted while I’m here! Don’t have too many pictures to show so far, we have been pretty busy and especially today assembling the bikes and repacking everything!

It is been raining all day, but it is expected to be sunny tomorrow according to the forecast so all my fingers and digits and other managers crossed!

Banff is a beautiful town, but extremely touristy. That one picture that everybody sees from the grand Hotel is where we start tomorrow, we haven’t even been there yet. Will see it tomorrow for sure! And hopefully not in the rain! And tonight is the last real bed we will have for quite some time…

Wishing my best to anybody who reads this! 

(And thanks to the Henry and Dargis families for the helmet juju!!)

(And for my AFD friends, yes the compulsion to grow a beard after retirement is unforgivable but also overpowering…)