Cannonball dreams

I had a dream last night about riding in the Cannonball.  There was nothing quirky or fantastical about it - just a simple dream about a run of the mill ride - but it's a sign that my non-stop daydreaming about it has now seeped into my sleep.

I should back up a moment to explain...The Cannonball is a biennial coast-to-coast endurance run for scooters. As noted on the Cannonball website, it "will be run as a time/distance/regularity rally where points are awarded based on miles completed and the ability to maintain the standard pace." The 2012 Cannonball is scheduled for April 22-29 and will run from Savannah, Georgia to San Diego, California.

I first heard of the Cannonball in the summer of 2010 just shortly after buying my first scooter.  I was living in Portland, Maine at the time and was immediately intrigued when I learned the route that year was ending there after setting out from Vancouver, British Columbia.  Even though I was brand new to scooters I had a few fleeting days of believing that I could enter and ride, though it didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't ready for that sort of a slog.  I was left to get my vicarious thrills from reading about it.

I followed the conversations and preparations of numerous riders through their blogs, as well as the discussions on Modern Vespa and the Cannonball forum.  As the race began and unfolded I checked in frequently throughout each day for news.  I was hooked.  My wife and I showed up at the finish line on Day 10 to meet some of the early arrivals and we were able to put some faces to the names we'd been following.  Standing there on the outside looking in I knew that I wanted to ride in 2012.

So here we are now, just under four months from the start.  While it's not the only thing I think about, it's getting damned close to it.  This seems as good a time as any to start this blog.  I learned a lot from reading about other riders' experiences.  Perhaps someone can pick up something helpful from my blathering.