2 days before we leave
It's now 2 days before we leave for this latest Camino/cycling adventure to Spain. The words italicized below are from the beginning of the blog I begin on our last Camino bicycle trip along the Camino del Norte. It brings me some sense of security to know that at the start of each Camino I've expressed the same trepidation.
If didn't know I was 69 I'd feel better about this trip. Hence the title of this blog: "Slowly, please. "
If didn't know I was 69 I'd feel better about this trip. Hence the title of this blog: "Slowly, please. "
Craig and I both woke up with some trepidation this morning as we prepared to leave home. Doubts about our fitness for this endeavor crept in. Looking for a specific phrase that Craig called me (later for that:)) on our last Camino, we ended up re-reading the blog from 2014. Seems we had the same doubts two years ago and prevailed . That was helpful.
Preparations for this adventure consumed us for the last week and earlier including all the home maintenance , visits with family and friends, and training and of course packing . Craig juggled the suitcase items so that each one weighs 48 pounds, just under the free limit. Then we each have 2 panniers, mine weighing in at about 18 and Craig's 35. I'll post our packing lists separately.
So now it is 2019 and we are 72. And now I need to forget that number. We train. We plan. We prepare. We pack. And then we shall see. This time, we can hardly call this trip a Camino. It is Camino lighter than light and only Camino in the sense that we plan to follow the route of the Via De La Plata roughly, letting our interests, our comforts, the external and internal conditions of the moment guide us. We have 3 weeks. We arrive in Madrid where we have two nights reserved. From there, stay tuned!
And this is what life looks like as we depart.
So now it is 2019 and we are 72. And now I need to forget that number. We train. We plan. We prepare. We pack. And then we shall see. This time, we can hardly call this trip a Camino. It is Camino lighter than light and only Camino in the sense that we plan to follow the route of the Via De La Plata roughly, letting our interests, our comforts, the external and internal conditions of the moment guide us. We have 3 weeks. We arrive in Madrid where we have two nights reserved. From there, stay tuned!
And this is what life looks like as we depart.










Age is but a number, enjoy what you're doing but do it a little slower if necessary. I am also approaching 70 (next year), a time when men often collide with their limitations and feel the first chill of mortality (a slight misquote).
ReplyDeleteYour place looks beautiful, there must be some great riding in the National Park.
And Craig turned 73 today -November 7th. He wasn't riding but he was up on our roof blowing off the leaves!
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