The Long Drive

Reading Time: 2 minutes
It's funny. It is a drive that I have done plenty of times. Tomorrow I will do the usual twelve hour drive from Switzerland to around Alicante, and I will do so with minimal stops.

In essence the drive is easy. I take the motorway from Nyon all the way to Ondara, with a small segment on open roads around Grenoble. It's long, but easy.

There is a difficulty that I face. I always do this drive alone. Whilst it gives me the freedom to drive at my speed, stop when I want to and more, it also reminds me that I am still solitary. I always feel a little fragile before a trip, especially one like this.

If I was going to Barcelona it would be an easy eight hour drive, but to go towards Ondara is a twelve hour drive. That's twelve hours of podcasts, audio books and more. With a good audio book the drive is easy.

Some people would stop along the way, and I have considered it. I don't know where I would stop. If I stopped I could break the journey in two, but would that increase fatigue over two days?

In reality this drive is a fun challenge. It's liberating to drive for twelve hours, and to listen to an audio book from cover to cover. it's fun to travel through three countries in a car like this. From the road to Grenoble in the dark to the sunrise near Valence to getting to see the Motorway after Marseille, to the wind and more as I head to the Spanish border, and then the congestion around Barcelona, before the quieter roads toward Valencia and beyond. The road is familiar, and it has memories.

It would be nice to do this trip as a person in a relationship, rather than solo. I was reading The Midnight Library and this is one of those situations. When I travel my subconscious feels the presence of the book of regrets, so rather than excitement I feel regret until I start to drive, and then I feel the adrenaline of the open road. It's the waiting for a trip that plays with us.

Yesterday I spoke to someone who said doing this trip solo would be boring. That's why podcasts and audio books are good.

I considered taking the bike but that adds a layer of complexity. This time is different. I have my climbing stuff with me. If an occasion to climb comes up then I can take that opportunity to do something a little different.

I think the problem is that I have too much time to think before a trip. If I had no time to think about the journey I'd be excited, and impatient. I should be excited and impatient. I will read most of Nexus, in theory. I finished Sapiens while eating lunch today.

Tomorrow I drive a familiar road that is one thousand two hundred kilometres long. In the US such a distance is ordinary. In Europe it's less ordinary.