Predictions and Preferences | Whaddya Think?

Most of you know that Tom and I have a fun little tradition on New Year’s Eve. We write predictions for the coming year. Then on the following New Year’s Eve we open the sealed envelopes, share our predictions and find out who’s most accurate.

Some of the 2020 prediction questions were:

1. How many books will each of us read in 2020?
2. What will each of our total bike miles be in 2020?
3. How many days will it take to complete riding the 2,700 mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR)?
4. How many “0” days will we take on the GDMBR? (A zero day is when riders take a rest day.)
5. How many flat tires will each bike have on the GDMBR? 
6. What teams will play in the Super Bowl and who will win?
7. What will the average price per gallon of gas be on 12-31-20? 
8. What will the Dow Jones Industrial Average be on 12-31-20? 
9. Will Steak N Shake at Keystone and 54th still be open?
10. When will Katy and Eric’s baby be born? She’s due on May 18th (two days ago).

Many prediction questions were about our planned ride in August on the GDMBR.

Ummmm I’m not sure anyone could have predicted a global pandemic in early 2020. Well unless you’re Bill Gates.

And think about it. Anyone who was asked the typical question during a job interview in 2015 missed the mark.

So now we are faced with another (unanticipated) prediction. Will the GDMBR even happen for us in 2020? Friends, family and followers have been asking.

The short answer is “yes” – that is if Canada will let us into their country and the US will let us return.  The travel restriction that began on March 21st between our two countries has  been extended (again) for 30 days until June 21. If it’s extended again until July 21, that’s pretty much a show stopper since we need time to ship our bikes to Canada ahead of our August 5th arrival.

With all the COVID cray-cray I can’t say quarantine life since mid March hasn’t been good. I’ve been doing lots of “procrastibaking”, weekly sit down family dinners for 17 have transitioned to no-contact, carry-out dinners for 15.  We took a long break from seeing our littles, and that was tough. I’ve kept up with running and Tom’s working from home so his bike commute to work just turned into longer morning bike rides. Sometimes I even tag along. We’ve made masks, meals for COVID-19 caregivers, checked in on neighbors, finished a lot of yard work and home projects, and “zoomed” and FaceTimed with friends. We can even give haircuts – except bangs. We have a #nobang rule.

Like everyone else though, there are many things we miss like face-to-face visits with our parents, volunteering, Mass and visiting our fave craft breweries, local restaurants and spending time with family and friends. I do believe we have (so far) successfully maneuvered “shelter at home” and managed to stay healthy(ish).

Regarding cycling, May is Bike Month so we’ve been riding everyday.  During shelter in place, however, we rarely got any gravel rides in and central Indiana is flat as a pancake so training for the mountainous GDMBR has been sketchy. Thinking positively, we are ready to get back to gravel riding, some hills, camping and loading up our bikes with some weight to prepare for the Great Divide ride.

What’s YOUR preference?

If the border doesn’t open, we have two contingency bike ride options and both enable us to knock off more states in our 50 State Bike Chase.

Option 1: Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail/Chesapeake & Ohio (C & O) Canal Towpath. Total Miles – 340, knock off four states. We can then take the Amtrak train back to the start point. It’s kind of an easy-peasy self supported bike tour.

Option 2: Cowboy Trail to the Mickelson Trail. This is a bit more complicated as the western terminus of the Cowboy Trail (195 miles long ) in Nebraska is about 250 miles from the southern terminus of the Mickelson Trail (109 miles) in South Dakota.  Total Miles: 554 miles, knock off two states. This ride is a bit more of a challenge and adventure.

There’s also logistics to work on about how we get back to Nebraska from northern South Dakota. Should we just ride our bikes back to Indianapolis?

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So whaddya think?

If the GDMBR  doesn’t happen in 2020 would your preference be riding the GAP/C&O or the Cowboy/Mick?

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What’s your prediction?

Do you think the Canadian border will open on or before June 21st?