Countdown!

It’s like there’s one of those countdown clocks imprinted on the inside of each of my eyelids. This is most definitely a new development, as I’ve spent much of the past year in a state of happy denial/procrastination. I knew that I was going to India on some conscious level, but it always felt like some distant speck on the horizon of time. When that cushion of time shrunk to mere weeks, it became more of a reality, but my thoughts of the race were always a bit blurred around the edges, like in the morning when you’re trying to recall the dreams of the previous night. Two weeks and some change until I board the plane that will take me halfway around the world, my thoughts are alternately dominated by, “What on earth was I thinking?†and, “I hope I can find a sari that fits me,†or something else that has just as much relevance to the fact that we’ll be forcing a vehicle wholly unsuited to the challenge across an entire subcontinent.

I was rather pleased with myself when I made the all-important steps of purchasing both a map and a Lonely Planet. Of course, I haven’t used it to map distances along the way or research accommodations, but rather to pick up interesting and thoroughly useless facts, such as that the 1982 movie Gandhi had 300,000 extras.

In my travels I’ve learned that the best laid plans often go by the wayside, and the easiest strategy is just to be open to the adventure and willing to go where the wind takes you,. Of course, the rickshaw run is a far cry from meandering along the backpacker trail of Southeast Asia. Recognizing that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ll do anything differently, just that the seconds flying off the countdown clock fills me with an entirely different sense of anticipation than anything I’ve ever experienced. Bring it on.

Best,

Carleen

Preparation...or lack thereof

With the start date of the race looming less than three months ahead, one would think we’d be preparing for the adventure that awaits us. But, one would think wrong. So far, the extent of our preparations has been to skim through a list of vaccinations and immunizations we’ll need before we go, and order another copy of Shantaram, the Gregory David Roberts tale that made me want to go to India in the first place. I’ve also looked at a map of India a couple of times.

Countess and I have welcomed our newest teammate, Eva, a dear friend who I raised hell with a lifetime ago in the tiny Western Pennsylvania town of Bellwood. Peter, much to our chagrin, had to drop out for family reasons, but Eva also claims to have an excellent sense of direction, and though she doesn’t know how to fix stuff, she’s an Interior Design major who will beautify Rickety beyond our wildest dreams.

Peter still managed to raise some cash for us with his ‘Running on Change’ scheme. Armed with a jar full of Canadian coins, his friends bet on how far those shiny pieces would get him on his drive from Toronto to Vancouver, netting us 45 pounds! Thanks, guys!

Randomness Rules

Getting signed up for the Run was a transcontinental venture. I was on a bus in Laos at the time, so my friend in Philly hit the sign up button for me, and a week later, I got the email that I had moved off the waiting list. I did a ridiculous happy dance in a Siem Reap guesthouse amongst a lot of hungover people.

This was two days after the 22 hour exploding bus ride from hell, so I needed good news. Anytime there's a Camboidian loan shark and a "VIP sleeper bus" you should exercise caution.

 Regardless, I now have a killer team, and it's going to be a killer time. It's odd to have an entire year of my life mapped out, but it looks like it'll be Alaska to Northern Cal for some farming pursuits, then LA-San Diego-Phoenix-Pennsylvania-Key West-India!

 The team- well, it's a little bit random. Countess (Shawn McRae) is a super hot, vegan, hasher, shaved head African American professor in Korea (I spent two years there pretending to be a teacher), and Peter is a Canadian dude that I knew for all of 45 minutes before we began seriously began discussing him joining the Run. It was like a drunken interview. We're sitting at a place called Angkor What? where the walls say things like, "why did God give women yeast?"  He's telling me things like: "I can fix stuff," and, "I have an excellent sense of direction." Well, since I have a shit sense of direction and have to call my dad for help changing a tire, I took him. And he's got an incredible sponsor...we think. One that will use our money to build a school for 5-14 year olds in Nepal. My very dear friend from Penn State- Nora, who just got her TEFL Master's degree in Puerto Rico and is every bit as ridiculous as I am, might be joining us, even if we have to use bungee cords and caribiners to strap her to the roof. 

 Our team is called "Rickety Cricket," - a nod to the greatest show on television- *It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia*. If you haven't watched it, get your ass on surfthechannel.com and watch either 'Dennis and Dee Go On Welfare' or 'Invincible.' I don't think either of those involve the Rickshaw's namesake, but they're my two favorite episodes and if you don't appreciate the humor, you probably suck. 

Our goal is $10,000 USD. I'm hoping to line up some charity concerts with my very favorite jam bands either here or in the Keys, and Countess is all about the rallying of funds, plus Peter's got some connection with a guy that's done nothing but good for the last 25 years. It's going to be epic, and even though my mother, family and friends all think I'm going to get myself killed, I'm convinced we'll all be protected by all that good karma. Let's do this shit. Can't wait to meet you all!

 Cheers, 

Carleen