Day 0

Well, it's the day before I take off and I couldn't be more excited. I've been getting some overwhelmingly positive responses from folks on Warmshowers.org. My family (most of them) and friends are all being incredibly supportive as well. There were just a few things I had to take care of before I left...

First was to shave my head!

Now, this was quite a morning. I woke up and decided that moment was as good as any to take some buzzers to my head. So, I rolled out of bed (can't you tell?), grabbed the clippers and met my parents outside. They did not think this was a good idea - I thought it was a great idea! Initially, the clippers were having trouble slicing through my hair so my mom grabbed a pair of scissors and went to town. She had a ball. Aunt Amy, you would have loved it. Once short enough, we were ready once again to press the buzzers to my scalp. Unfortunately, the buzzers weren't.

The buzzers died right in the middle of it. Great. I plugged the clippers in to charge, plopped a hat on my head and took to something else that has been awaiting my attention - packing my panniers. I checked my list of what I needed and started covering the pool table in assorted adventuring gear.

I instantly noticed that I was lacking a few necessities (bear spray!), so after a quick stop at REI I was ready to pack. Thanks to my mom, packing was made a lot easier. I was getting anxious. I looked real ugly, and I needed to do something about it. We quickly finished packing and headed back outside to finish what we started in the morning. The clippers were finally charged and they worked like a dream. After they did their part, we designated a pink disposable woman's razor ti finish the job. A few nicked moles and one burning scalp later, I was shaved.

It doesn't look that bad, does it? I do have a rather lumpy head...

Finally, to finish it all off, we got the bags on my bike and I took it for a ride.

Heavy. Oh, so heavy. But it still rides like a dream. It handles hills incredibly well. I LOVE THIS BIKE. I'm going to enjoy every mile of this trip - well, at least half of them.

Tomorrow begins Day 1. My parents will be taking me to Sandy Hook at some point early in the morning. I'll be heading, from there, to just outside Trenton. I've been in touch with a wonderful person who is going to let me use her back yard while she is away for the weekend. i really couldn't be more excited. Nervous? Maybe a little. I can best relate this feeling to that of an incoming college freshman. A whole lot of excitement, but I really don't have a clue what I'll be getting into. We'll find out tomorrow if I'm going to love this as much as I think I will...

Folks, don't forget to donate and tell all your friends about my fundraiser. Any bit of help is greatly appreciated. I've even made it easy by creating a link-button up top for you!