How do you prepare for a 33 day trip on a motorcycle?

Riding long distances requires stamina, patience, flexibility and determination. I have been planning this trip for years! It has been on my bucket list since I decided I was going to have a list! Mentally, I have been preparing myself and my family by saying it and writing it down as often as I could. If you have known me for a while, you have probably heard me mention it. If you rode a bike with me at anytime, I probably invited you to come along!! Mentally, this trip has happened many times already. I have imagined it, dreamt it, and verbalized it so many times that now it is almost as if I’m doing it again! Mind over matter. You make your dreams happen by sheer will and determination. But the mind can only take you so far, if the body can not physically get you there. This is where willpower must match stamina and strength. Being in the Navy for three decades has so many benefits. One of those is that you are required to meet certain physical standards. Staying fit is a requirement! And I love to run! For this adventure, I knew I needed to build up stamina so I decided I would start running long distances. Since the beginning of the year, I have managed to run over 425 miles in just 5 months. Last year, 2020, I ran just over five hundred miles for the entire year. Do you have to do this to prepare for 33 days in the saddle? No, but this is how I have been preparing to meet the grueling physical demands of sitting on a motorcycle for up to 10-12 hours a day. I have not been this fit since 2010. The point is, it will be hard, exhausting and challenging, and I‘m ready! Hate running? Find what you love to do for exercise, include back stretches and flexibility exercises in your routine, and you will be much better off the day you start your ride! Oh, and don’t start the month before you go!