By Phoenix I am referring to this trip. Let me back up a little to 12 months ago.
Twelve months ago I was ready to make final preparations to finally get this trip started. Initially when I completed my last trip in December of 2014 I had made a promise to myself that, at the time unbeknownst to me, I would break. That promise was that I would take a long motorcycle trip every couple of years. But promises were made to be broken apparently.
When I made this promise I was still driving for the same company that I had returned to after my last trip. I knew I had the flexibility to take another leave of absence, quit my job, and return. However things changed.
My mom got sicker with cancer, I left that company I drove for, I moved to Virginia to be closer to my mom and started with another trucking company. Fast forward and I met someone at my cousin’s wedding, the new company was screwing me over with the route they promised and I decided to look for another driving job back in my home state of Jersey. I got that job, my present job, moved myself back up to Jersey while I took frequent trips back down to Virginia to spend time with my mom. My mom got sicker, I reacclimated myself to the Jersey lifestyle and dug in for a while. That promise of two years extended to three years and during that time my mom unexpected died completely devastating me and this promised trip became not much more than a dream as I focused on just making it through one day to the next.
I had made the commitment to myself that I would finally make the trip this past year, in September of 2018. However, about a year ago, in December of 2017, I unexpectedly acquired the highest paying route in the company. This route that covered all of the stores in the snow-battered Buffalo/Syracuse/Rochester turned out to be my favorite. I loved the stores, the people, the drive and, of course, the money. I finally, after 20 years, was in a position to get ahead financially and pay off that nagging 20 year law school loan that has been haunting me year after year. So I made the very difficult decision that I would delay the trip at least one more year while I paid off the student loan and saved extra money. I sold out my dream for this position and it was one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make. It gnawed at me and the trip planning completely fell to the side.
That was until just about a week ago. A little over a week ago I found out that the company would no longer be servicing those stores on my route and that I would go back to the less desirable routes the company offered. I love the company I work for, my boss is awesome, the guys I work with are fantastic and I’ll still earn a great living. However, this latest move by the company is just the catalyst I needed to commit myself to taking this trip this coming year. If I’m lucky, my company will rehire me when I return.
So now, I’m about 10 months off and I am back in full planning and preparation mode for this adventure. Here we go!