A Girl's Gotta Eat

Okay, okay, so this isn't exactly something you'd find on the Weight Watcher's menu.  When the waitress came to take my order I actually said, "I can't believe I'm going to do this, but could I please order the Meat Lover's Special?"  What I should have done was taken an "after" picture.  The waitress, looking at my plate asked, "Do you want to finish the toast?"  It was the only scrap left.

And no, I have NOT been starving myself, but I also know that one of the things I can't do while on a rally is eat a big meal.  This is just one of the things I've learned while preparing to ride in the, "World's Toughest Motorcycle Competition."

Wednesday evening Jennifer dropped me off at the airport just south of Washington, DC to make my trek to Seattle, WA.  For a number of reasons, I shipped my bike out to the starting point of the rally.  Can I tell you, that was one tough hug to end, standing there as planes roared overhead.  Things can go wrong on such adventures, but I'm doing everything I can to prevent the preventable ones!

So, what do you do to get ready?  Last year in preparation for the Iron Butt 5000 (see the post from August to read all about it), Jennifer and I began working out.  I was in fairly good shape last year, this year, perhaps not so much.... I know, eating plates like the one above doesn't help.  So, working out was less of a focus.  This time it's been about the little things to sharpen my abilities and modifications to the motorcycle.  The auxiliary fuel cell (4 gallons) allows me to go further when there aren't stations available, chose when I want to stop to avoid "sketchy" looking places, or to travel over night when stations may be closed.  The "eyes of God" provide light that cuts through the night and gives me a larger field of vision.  Both of these modifications will help me stay safer on the road.

While I've still been running some, my concentration has been on nutrition and hydration.  Running gave me an insight into what if feels like when you're physically tired and strategies for keeping my energy level up.  One of the things I didn't like about last year's ride was how I managed rest.  What I know now was nutrition played a large roll in that mix.  I simply didn't do well in caring for myself.  If you saw what is packed onto the bike right now, you'd know I've got the goods to take care of business this year!  I also gave up drinking caffeinated coffee (yep, that's decaf in the cup) the first of May and haven't had alcohol in a week.

Today was all about preparations and quiet time.  Tomorrow I head to rally HQ and begin slipping into the rhythms of another world.  For truly, those who travel on two-wheels long distances seem to do so on another plane.