Getting Ready for a Bicycle Tour

This is a sign.  For some reason, this video clip appears at the top of my recommended YouTube videos, even though I haven't watch bicycle tour videos for a long long time.  But, I've always wanted to do something like this, maybe not as far from Beijing to Tehran for my first tour.  I've been thinking and planning for the last few years but never had to courage and motivation to actually do it.  Things I fear and holding me back are:

1. Getting a flat in the middle of nowhere and running out of CO2 inflator.
2. Encountering wild animals (mountain lions, coyotes, raccoons) at night.  Seen all the animals I've mentioned and almost got attacked by an adult coyote one time while I was biking.
3. Getting hit by a car in narrow roads or in busy cities.  Trust me, I am experience at bicycle commuting - been doing that for more than 10 years-, but I'm still afraid that it would happen one day.

I am from the SF Bay Area, and the longest I've biked in a day is a lap around the Bay, which I believed to be 60 miles, give or take.  That was ten years ago when I was considered athletic.  During the last 8 years or so, I've been employed in a tech company that offers free all you can eat breakfast, lunch, and even dinner if you are staying late, not to mention free snacks, caffeine, and beverages.  Most people would consider it very fortunate.  However, from a health standpoint, this can be literally suicidal if you can't control your eating and snacking habit.  I remembered I weigh 170 lbs (77.1 kg) when I first started to work for this company, and my weight gradually increased to 210 lbs, what cyclist called a "Clydesdale" for 200+ lbs. people, when I left.  Just being obese is not really a problem, but my blood pressure was also very high to the point I almost need medication to lower it.  No matter how much I exercised, I couldn't lose more than 2 lbs (0.91 kg), and it could go back up pretty quickly.

A few months back, beginning in 2020, I had a New Year resolution, and that is to lose 10 lbs before the end of the year.  I think less than a pound per month is a small goal, pretty reasonable, and something many people can achieve.  To reach this goal, I've done some research online on what are the best ways to lose weight slowly and also came up with a few ways on my own:

1. No junk food (cookies, chocolate bars, candies and all those good stuff), sugary drinks (soda, orange juice, hot cocoa, etc.), and no dessert at all or as little as you can
2. Control my portions for every meals
3. Cut back on sugar and salt
4. Eat more fruits especially when you are craving for sugar
5. Chew your food and eat slowly to trick your mind into eating less
6. Exercise daily - doesn't have to be intense, even walking for 2 mi/day is fine

By following the above rules religiously every single day for the past 6+ months, fast forward to today nearly the end of June 2020,  I am able to lose 34 lbs, down to 176 lbs, which is way more than the goal I initially set in the beginning of the year.  Now, I can finally begin to think about more intense activities like long distance biking without worrying about injuring myself.  I still would like to cut my weight down to 170 lbs before I start to train for stamina.  That's possible, I believed. In a few more months, I need to hit the gym (of course, wait til COVID-19 is over) and should be physically fit for a bike tour.

My goal is not going to bike from the west to the east coast in my first attempt; that's insane just thinking about it.  I think I am going to start somewhere not too far away, a tour that will take 2 to 3 days to complete round trip.  I am really thinking about Santa Cruz or Monterey as my first destination.  That means I have to bike in a narrow-single-lane two-way highway 1 for hours and hours, which is going to be real dangerous. But I would still like to accomplish this hopefully before the end of this year.  Lastly, I really hope I can find someone to bike with me.  Just in case, if a mountain lion approach us, I will have 50% to survive through natural selection or survival of the fittest :)

If you have any suggestions for a noob tourer, please let me know in the comments below.  I would love to hear it.  For the time being, I will read more articles from www.crazyguyonabike.com and watch YouTube video to get myself pumped.