Pre trip jitters

                I cracked my eye lids to reveal just a glimmer of light seeping in through the blinds directly in front of my bed. I knew I had to get up early today but I could not help the sense of sadness and joy I was feeling. I knew that this would be the last time I slept in this bed, in this house possibly in this city as a St. Pete resident. I felt like there was so much to do even though the only thing there was to do was to ride. My mom got up a  little earlier that day, I knew that she would not get a good nights rest.She was worrying herself sick and us too. She tried everything she could to get us not to go but we had to do this, we wanted to do this.Any way she opened my door and let little Gaby in. LG as I call her was a energy filled boston terrier that adored me I and I her. She jumped on the bed and began to lick off all the traces of sleep from my face. Smokey, my dog of  7 years sensed the excitment and jumped on the bed to join the fun. She being the alpha dog gave Gaby a lilttle nudge so she could get all the places that LG didn't get. They like little kids began a sort of play wrestling but quickly sprang off the bed when they heard the leashes come out for their morning walk. Now it was time to get going. I brushed my teeth and put on my biking gear. The only thing there was to do now was to pack up the tent and wait for my dad to get home so he could see us off. I would have left the day before but it didn't feel right with out getting a hug from my daddy. We laid all our gear by our bikes and did a final check to make sure we weren't leaving any thing behind or taking anything extra that would slow our progress. Smokey back from her morning stroll knew what was going down. I had left her before to live in Hawaii for half a year and she knew the routine of preparing to leave. She laid down next to my bike with a distant look across her face. I'm sure some of you may think I am crazy but Smokey is a keen, emotional creature. But I had to go, no matter how hard it was for me and every one around me. My mom was keeping her distance this morning. I knew this was very hard for her. She tried to keep it from me but a daughter knows her mother like a mother knows her daughter. She came up to me and gave me a deep hug and said her goodbye's. I quickly ran for the camera to capture the moment but as quickly as it came...she was gone. Quick bye-bye's are the way to go with her. No need to show tears. Now we were packing up our bikes and the anxiety was building as high as the Rockies. All we could do was look at each other and smile and ask over and over, "Are you ready". If there was a time to turn back it would have been then. But we both knew we couldn't wait any longer to start our journey. In pulls my dad into the driveway. "Ya'll ready" ? "Of course", I replied. He examined our bikes and the way we had them set up. It looked as if he was trying to find a problem so we could delay our departure. But there was nothing negative to say. We took some pics, exchanged hugs amnd said see ya later. He was off to tennis camp and once again we were left with our nerves. I had mine in check. I never felt too nervous when I knew that things were going to be in my favor. Gaby was as nervous a 18 year old boy on draft day. The time had come. I said bye-bye to Smokey and little Gaby, took a deep breath and pushed off. We couldn't leave right away though. We needed to stop by the bike shop to get some air in our tires and a computer for my bike. We entered the bike store to see a nice familair face. Dave, the guy who had helped us in the time leading up to the trip. He filled our tires, hooked up a gadget to measure various things and installed an extra light on my bike. Exit the bike store and our trip begins. I immediatley wondered if the last pedal would feel as good as the first.