We\’ve got it easy. Yes, really!

We all know what a pain it is just to get ready for the weekly long ride. There are jumbled heaps of stuff everywhere, like a pile of Scrabble tiles; and we have to prep our ride food. What, then, is it like to get ready for a bicycle tour of several weeks?

What do I need to take? How much can I take? Can I be ready for whatever weather I\’m likely to encounter? Unless I\’m very lucky, it\’s unlikely that I won\’t get rained on at least once; and I need to be prepared for layering.

If I didn\’t have whatever clothing and equipment I needed for such a tour, I\’d have to borrow or buy them. That means visiting stores; and browsing web sites and catalogs.  What a nuisance that is; not to mention that it\’s expensive! But we\’re lucky to have such resources nowadays.

I have to remind myself to be glad that I\’m not Thor Heyerdahl, getting ready for his Kon-Tiki expedition. In his book about the raft trip, Heyerdahl describes the difficulties in obtaining the balsa logs needed; and finding a secure place to build the raft.

He tells how, come sailing day, there were heaps of supplies on the raft that still needed to be stowed away. Once at sea, he and his five companions had a very difficult time steering the raft. In 1947, nobody was around who could tell them how to do it.

Kon-Tiki is worth reading, even if you\’re going on a bicycle trip; and not a trans-Pacific journey by raft. If nothing else, we\’ll see that we\’ve got it easy!