I Think 800 Miles is Enough Training

The weather was decent today. Cloudy, but no rain. I took Betsy out for a road ride specifically avoiding the trail as I'm sure the trail hasn't been cleared yet (the shoulders of the roads aren't even cleared). As I headed south, I continued to notice how entire hillsides of deciduous trees were dotted with bright spots of fresh scars from all the broken branches. There was a section along the Deschutes River where the top of every tree was broken off. Sorry there are no photos. The effect just didn't show up well on the camera. Since there was still lots of branches on the shoulder, I preferred riding on roads that had no shoulder. Drivers seem to expect you to be on the shoulder regardless of what else is there. If there is no shoulder, then drivers expect you to be on the road. Most drivers will give me more clearance if I'm in the road where there is no shoulder than if I'm in the road where there is a shoulder (even though the shoulder is clearly impassable). Of course, we all know this is true of bike lanes as well. As I was nearing home, I checked my odometer. I now have a little over 800 miles on Betsy. Not too bad as that is just since Mid-November. I feel sufficiently one with Betsy now. I know how she handles in most conditions including loaded. I think I can safely give Betsy her final thorough cleaning and pack her up for New Zealand. I'll just switch back to riding Stella for these last 16 days until departure. 16 DAYS!!! That's just a couple days over two weeks (shiver of excitement coursing through me right now)!!! Miles today:32