Wow,  talk about making God laugh. 

I was supposed to be on the road heading south, cresting Northern California about now, a Pacific sunset on my right, Bob Seger and the rest of my 'motorcycle cruising' music playing in my ears. 

But instead I'm still here in Seattle, self-quarantined, with a cold that I picked up the night before I was planning to drive to Mt. Vernon to get my new bike.    Ordinarily, I would have probably gone ahead, counting on fresh air and the joy of the road, to speed up the healing of what feels like just an ordinary cold.   However,  with us being the hotbed of the coronavirus  in the USA, that's not an option.  

I filled in an online health form for Seattle expecting that I'd get told to report to some center for testing but instead, because I marked "No" to international travel and known exposure to anyone with the coronavirus, I got the standard advice to get lots of rest, drink water, and lay low.   

Same result when I called my doctor and spoke to the nurse.     She admitted they just don't have the testing kits available except for extreme illnesses and people who answered Yes to the questions I mentioned above.     "Stay home, don't go out, and call us only if you have trouble breathing and your fingernails are turning blue."    

I was bummed the first couple of days about the holdup but then realized that being slightly delayed from starting a RTW motorcycle trip is pretty low on the human suffering index.    To be this blessed that this is what is weighing on my mind now.   Wow, what a blessing.     

I'll spend some of this down time reading Gary LaPlante's dirt riding book   "How to ride off-road motorcycles" in hopes of still making his weekend course in Anza, California, on the way south.   When I did my one and only long trip, down and up Central America, 2 years ago, I rode off-road some but depended mainly on luck rather then much knowledge or skill to see me through it.   Not counting a few minor mishaps, my luck held and nothing really negative happened.   Although I realize a weekend course and a few practice sessions in the desert surrounding Tucson are not much prep for real off-roading, I'll at least be a lot better off then I was before.   

I know that the quote below is probably one that could apply to any long motorcycle journey.   I just didn't think it would kick in this early!

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."