I was there. I was in the parking lot ready go. The bike was assembled. The car was secure. The accessories were charged. The water was cold. Everything was in place for a quick ride with a bike group to ride from Baltimore to Washington DC. Everything was in place. All I had to do was wait for the ride to assemble and I could be part of the group that rode this yearly trek. Everything was ready. Everything was perfect, to perfect. The night before I was all jitters. While there were rumors of the ride starting this weekend, nothing had been accounced until only twenty-four hours prior. By then all the plans or appointments that would have been made were tossed out the window. This fourty-five mile ride through the quiet residential street, and the fast paced city by ways was known for being relaxing and technical at the same time. There were parts of the ride that would send a bike barreling in to the horizon like a water snake flying through rapids with the current. Other parts of the ride where the hills would seem endless. When the road went flat, the background was slow enough for passer-bys to look and appreciate the scenery. Other times, on the back roads, when the rolling hills were present and the wide asphalt would narrow to a single lane, it was hard not to get sucked in to the natural sights of flowing grass, waving trees, colorful plants and a soothing breeze. Its almost enough to want to stop and literally lose ones self in this immersive painting of light and color. When the word of the ride came to pass, nerves were afloat. What would need to be taken? How much of this? What about that? This might be handy. That might be needed. Everything in the home shop from a small air compressor use to inflat a repaired tire to a chain breaker that would remove damaged links. All would be nice to have, yet all cannot be taken. I was so caught up in what should be taken, not only for myself but for anyone that would happen to join the ride, that the bag that I bring was full of tools and replacement parts aplenty. Before I knew it, the sun had set and it was time for settle on what accompany me on the ride. The next morning, I woke before the alarm sounded. The first time I woke it was to answer the call of nature. The second time I had just shy of five minutes before the alarm would sound. I disabled the alarm and quickly began assembling the gear for the bike ride. I pumped up the tires of the bike and loaded it in to the car. A headband was placed on my head. I do this so as not to forget it. In the last century, I completed the sweat from my brow dripped in to my eyes making the humid day that much harder to see. Since then a headband has become part of my kit for every ride. The backpack that I carry was quickly inventoried. A fully charged air compressor, spare usb-c and usb micro cables, just in case the lights on the bike or the GPS computer run out of a charge. A patch repair kit with enough patches to make an inner tube, glue, sandpaper and a small grated plated. Tyre levers for removing the bead from the rim. A second backup battery just in case the battery for the devices did not charge or I needed to recharge my cell phone. A two liter water bladder, frozen. There were to many times that I had been on the bike on a long ride, and found myself out of water or the water that I had was to hot to drink. Freezing the water the night before was a trick I picked up in my youth. It keeps the water cool and limits how quickly the one drinks the water, turning gulps in to sips. This allows the water the last a longer as one cannot drink the water until it has thawed enough to fit through the included straw. The detachable straw for the bladder. An assortment of adapters to covert the included air compressor from Strada valves to Presta and vice versa. A battery powered tire pressure gauge, two smaller hand air pumps, and of course the two pockets on the side that wrapped around the waist for a wallet and keys respectively. Everything was in place. The bag was placed in the car. Another run around the house to find my new cycling kit. It arrived a few months ago and I was saving it to be part of the group on a ride such as today. When I opened the package, somehow the bib shorts were not ordered with the jersey. Disappointed I grabbed a pair of neutral shorts and paired them with the jersey. “Its good enough.” I thought. If nothing else this setup gave me one pocked that I could use on my right hip. It may look silly, but the utility was priceless. I wrapped my heartrate monitor around my chest, grapped my prescription sunglasses, cycling shoes and gloves and placed them in the car. “That was everything.” I thought. “Wasn’t it?” I wondered if I should eat something before the ride. Being on the road for at least two hours burns through calories like children burn though candy. Eating something now would mean that a nature call would be soon to approach on the ride. On the other hand, not eating something would mean that I could lose energy before reaching the destination. I took the gamble. Better to ride to get something to eat, and use that for motivation then to make a mess of myself because there wasn’t a bathroom near by. The total distance of the ride was approximately fourty-five miles. I pedal ten miles less than that daily without issue. It made sense that adding the few extra miles would not cause to much of an issue. Finally I placed a pair of soft soled gym shoes on my feet, grabbed my wallet, cell phone, GPS computer, keys and glasses, locked the house behind me and headed to the car. I had plenty of time, to drive to a safe parking place before the ride. As I drove through the quiet empty interstate highway, I felt proud of the fact that I had though of everything. I had considered everything that I would need, and considered every resource to get to the ride. The nerves were starting to settle and being replaced by excitement. The plan was coming together. I had everything I needed and all I would have to do is wait for the ride to assemble. As I pulled in to the parking lot a good ways from the start point, I had time to consider the best place to park the car. I needed to be out of the way so that patrons of the surrounding stores would not be tempted to vandalize the car. I also needed to be close enough to an exit so that when it was time to leave, I could get the bike disassembled, get in the car and get on the road without having to wait for anyone to pull in or out of their parking spots. Shopping on the weekend is both a rite of passage for something and therapy for others. By the time the ride was over, the parking lot would be full and quickly filling with people looking for convenient placed to set their vehicles. I settled on a spot in the middle of the lot that was close enough to the street without being obvious. I pulled the bike from the truck, slipped my fingers in to my gloves, placed the backpack on my shoulders, placed my glasses in the passenger seat and affixed my prescription sunglasses in their place. The GPS computer was locked on the handle bars, the water bottles were lodged in to the holders on the bike, and my cycling shoes were placed on my feet. I was ready. My keys and wallet were secured away in the bag pockets. I was ready. All I had to do was pedal to the start point an wait. As I tossed my leg over the top tube a strange cool feeling whisked over the top of my head. As warm as the morning weather had been, it was unusually cool for summer. I tapped the top of my head and my heart sank. I didn’t have my helmet. Of all the things I could forget, I left my helmet back at the house. The ride would start no later than seven thirty. Even if I was able to break the laws of physics and get to the house to get my helmet, I would be costing the rest of the group time as they would have to wait for me to get back to the parking lot. Then they would have to wait even longer for me to go through all this assembly again, so I could pedal to the park. Disappointed, discouraged, and completely disillusioned, I put everything back in the car and headed back home. The thought of circling back to the parking lot and catching up to the group after the fact crossed my mind. I had the route. I knew the destination. It was not like I had not ridden alone before. Depending on when I actually made it back, I would have a wind sprint from the start all the way until I caught up to them. Maybe if I was faster, maybe. For now, as much as I want to, Ill travel on the range of caution an just ride inside. I was there. I was in the parking lot ready go. The bike was assembled. The car was secure. The accessories were charged. The water was cold. Everything was in place for a quick ride with a bike group to ride from Baltimore to Washington DC. Everything was in place. All I had to do was wait for the ride to assemble and I could be part of the group that rode this yearly trek. Everything was ready. Everything was perfect, to perfect.