The Final Hurrah Begins

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Now that all the throat-clearing is out of the way, it is time to recap.

If we abandon, it won't be because we didn't plan enough, skinted on the tech, left money unburnt, failed to fail, failed to train, ignored conquistador's advice, pack enough or pack too much, or didn't cheat.

So that leaves only one option: if we abandon for some other damn reason, maybe we should have taken that cruise

And with that happy thought adding trepidation to anticipation, here are our bikes in parc fermé:


For those who aren't F1 fans, parc fermé applies after the cars have passed final scrutineering, and can't be touched again before the race.

Same here.  Aside from the tech I'm using to write this, and toiletries, the bikes are loaded, checklist complete.  Touching them at this point risks inadvertently leaving something somewhere else.  For most anything forgotten, chucking a bit more dosh on the flaming pile can put things right.  But not everything.  Parc fermé it is.

Now this is all beginning to feel real:  damn, what have we gotten ourselves into?

And why did we tell so many people about it?

Add to the pile above: If we abandon, it won't be because shame wasn't on the table.

Just one more thing to do before heading off — stuff it all into the U-Haul:


Perhaps stuff isn't quite the right word.



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