Wig OUT!

Let’s see…

I lost the 15 extra pounds I’d been carrying, like the Michelin Man, for about a year. Check.

My pre-PBP training is over, including a full brevet series, a few extra events and lots of centuries. Check.

The bike has been overhauled. Check.

Packing is under way. Check.

So, what’s left to do?

FREAK OUT, of course. Check.

Happens every time I do one of these long rides. With more than 40 brevets under my Sam Browne belt, including two 1000Ks and two 1200Ks, you’d think I’d build up a little confidence.

Nope. Circle a ride date on the calendar, any date, and I start to question everything, including my sanity.

Am I really fit enough to do this? Why didn’t I train more? Will those rain pants work? Where am I going to carry all the stuff I need to carry? What if I break a spoke? If I taco the front wheel, will my dynohub still work? Why didn’t I work out that shoe issue? Do I even know where my passport is?

On and on it goes, a little mental merry-go-round of madness.

On Sunday, I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up the phone, called my buddy, Capn Ende.

His wife Amy answered.

She said: "Are you wigging out like my husband?"

Ahhh….a fellow tortured soul.

Suddenly, I felt better.