So, my first trial run was essentially a failure. That's a dirty word, failure, that dredges up uncomfortable memories of times in my youth when it felt like the weight of the world around my neck. But I'm more mature now, and I'm able to see failure as a fine thing, as being the first essential step to success. So, what do I mean when I say this trial was a failure. ...Well, I mean that instead of making it where I wanted, instead I copped out at half the distance planned and camped on my grandmother's lawn out on her farm. The wind was atrocious yesterday, about 30mph with 40mph gusts. I was arrogant, and I told myself and everyone around me that I could handle it, and that bad conditions were prime for a real trial.

...Yeah, I'd like to think I'm just a little bit wiser now. You get out into the Nebraska countryside where there's no windbreaks, already biking up quite a few hills, loaded down with gear, and 30mph winds aimed almost directly against you start to feel like nature's invisible, but unrelenting fury. It sapped the life out of me and while maybe I could have made it in that wind if I'd really tried (having more than five hours of daylight left when I got where I ended up, and having left 2 hours later than planned), it just wasn't worth it. And that I think is a good thing to realize. Coming back, I biked what took me five hours of miserable exhaustion yesterday in just three today with a smile and feeling ready for more. Granted, I know the difference of uphill to downhill factors largely into that, but I think not fighting the wind was the bigger factor. ...We'll see, when I do another test run in a week, not in the wind.

And, while things didn't go as planned distance wise, with the divergence in plans I got to go visit with my grandmother, and most other things went just as well as I hoped, if not better. My trailer works well (though I have learned not to try sharp turns with it). My tent and my sleeping bag allowed me to sleep quite warmly and comfortably, even without my bedroll, which I wasn't able to pack this time thanks to some bungie cording to the side of my trailer difficulties I'll have to work out this week. I feel more confident now that living on $10 of food a day will definitely be doable, having enough left over after this jaunt that if biking twice the distance I ate twice as much (which I shouldn't, since baseline metabolism takes quite a bit), I should still be alright, while eating (mostly) healthily, if entirely dry. And I have come to absolutely love the GPS capabilities of my phone, which even after irresponsibly spending some time gaming on it in my tent, is still at over 60% battery after a day and a half without charge. ...Oh yeah, and I took the picture that will soon become the background of this blog.

So yeah, you know what? Forget about failure. This was just a sideways success. And I'm looking forward to trying again next week and covering the distance.