I’m feeling a few lifestyle changes now that I’m away from home and starting this bike tour tomorrow.

I have one outfit. Besides my cycling clothes, I only have one button-down shirt and some navy pants. The pants are too tight actually – the button is strained at the waist revealing the top of the zipper and the pockets are riding out on the sides. I figure these pants are going to get really loose from all the wear, especially at the knees – flopping like your comfy socks on Christmas morning. If not, I guess they’ll be my goal pants – I’ll be losing a lot of weight, why not set a goal.

Hand-washing laundry sucks. I’ve got two pairs of underwear and three pairs of socks. Every night I’ll have to be dunking some clothes in the sink, washing the brown-grey out, and then hanging them overnight to dry.

I didn’t bring deodorant; I brought a crystal. I’m very loyal to Old Spice Pure Sport but the stick is too big. I saw a magical deodorizing crystal on Amazon, so I got it for its small size and magic.

Not knowing the language makes you an outsider. I’m just going to have to deal with being an outsider for a few months. At least when I was in Central America I picked up on some Spanish and could make sense of it, but I really have no chance with Vietnamese. I’m going to learn the basic basics to give greetings and say thank you but there’s no way I’m going to have a conversation.