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Edgy packing a couple days
lacking energy for tearing away
whether to go
weather forecasting the direction to start
then the bike was packed
raingear wrenches On The Road and a notebook in the saddlebag
Marmot tent ground-cloth poles and stakes in the other saddlebag
clothing Thermarest and sleeping bag in the trunk on the seat
bike cover and camp shoes bungeed on the rack
maps books and travel guides in a leather case
sun-lotion bug-off water-bottle E-ZPass
windshield-cleaner and bike-lock in side cases
a July blue-sky cumulus day
climbed on went down the driveway
turned right and was gone
eastern Canada to Thunder Bay International Falls
Sturgis Wyoming Montana 
yelling into the wind 
yelling the same phrases again
yelling rhythms of words 
memory and poetry in the wind
hard wind ripped the leatherette trunk
a pencil at night scratching nonsense in the tent
packing the bike each morning
choosing the direction of the day
Alberta British Columbia Washington Oregon Idaho
Wyoming South Dakota Minnesota
Iowa Illinois Indiana
Kentucky Ohio Pennsylvania
double socks for autumn-cold hands 
New York Vermont and home.