Day 112, Wednesday, October 5

Do nothing day spent in Sacramento waiting for San Fran BMW to assess my bike. I’ll plan on calling them tomorrow to see if there’s progress. At this point, I’m going to expect the worst and assume I’ll be stuck without my bike for 3 weeks. It really feels like somebody has stolen my legs out from underneath me and like this dream I’ve been living is sort of falling apart around me. I want to think I’m only just over half way through the trip but I won’t really know whether that’s true until I hear the estimate from the shop. Also I’ve got to figure out how I’m going to get all of my stuff back in one place. My motorcycle helmet, riding suit, and hard cases are in Petaluma at the Trek Travel guide house. My tent, tarp, cookware, and all of my clothes are up in the mountains North of Willits, and my trailer, bicycle, and other stuff are here with me in Sacramento. I haven’t felt this disconnected since the day I quit my job. At least every day I’ve been on the road, I’ve had a goal and a target. Now I sit here idled by a poor deer that took a wrong step and lost its life. It really feels hollow. I don’t do idle very well.
It’s becoming clear to me that when this trip I’m on has carried me back to the first stage of my final destination (my parents’ home in Brevard, NC), I’m going to have a helluva hard time rejoining the "real world". The passion for travel and for being on the move has lit a fire under my feet that’s going to be very hard to cool off.
Other things of note: I called Kirsten, who I met on Sept 14 whale watching, this afternoon hoping she’d be in town and that I’d be able to scoot over to San Fran to see her while I’m waylaid here. She was extremely fun to talk with out on the boat and I’ve been looking forward to taking her up on her invitation to dinner when I’m in the area. Unfortunately, I got her answering machine instead of her, but I was pleased when she called back and we decided to get together on Sunday. In a strange way, she sort of represents a strand keeping me tied into the dream that is my trip