A Pox on 10 Day Forecasts!

Obviously, the weather is going to play a pretty significant role in my trip. I've got rain gear for every bit of me and my luggage, and tires that perform nearly as well in the rain as on dry pavement (so Michelin says), and unless there's a blinding downpour, I plan to slog on (within reasonable expectations) through the rain. In the middle of last week, the first few days of my trip were finally showing up on the extended forecasts on weather.com. At first check, it looked beautiful for my departure from Greenville, but iffy once I got to Kansas City and maybe a mess in Orange City, IA. Checked back two days later and it's clouding up down here, but looking better out west. Check it this morning and there's rain in Hartington, NE on Memorial Day. Checked this afternoon (not that I'm compulsive about the weather or anything) and now it's showing sunshine in Hartington. Talk about a stinking roller coaster of weather expectations! My cubicle neighbor advised me to try to focus on just the next 48 hours or so, but what fun is that??

Predictably, the 'oh, and one more thing' goblin has struck again. Look at the picture from the previous post. Notice how the lower part of the bike is all nice and black. Except for that big blob of silver right in the middle that sticks out like a model of conspicuity. (Weak, I know, but I didn't want to write 'sore thumb'.) Anyway...I took the bike back to TJ's this evening to have him paint that part as well. I'd thought about it when I picked up the bike Friday and then someone at work today mentioned it as something to consider getting done (not realizing I leave in two days and such a suggestion might reduce me to a quivering mass of babbling idiocy). And so I babble. But having someone else mention it made me think it wasn't me just being extra picky to want it fixed. Now I won't be stopping across the country and showing off a bike that was 'mostly' done the way I wanted it. It's tweaking the little things that drive you crazy. Babble. Babble.
Twitch.