I left my compass at home...

It was partly by design and partly by accident... When on the road,
it's rare to really need a compass, and thus far the navigation has
been pretty trivial (except in Nelson, the only town I've been through
that's large enough that asking for directions isn't
laughable). And when on popular, well-marked trails, compasses are
only occasionally useful.

In retrospect, I should have brought one for the hiking portions of
this trip.

But when checking e-mail today it occurred to me that my friends and
family are a more important compass to me right now anyway. They
remind me of which way is up, of who I am (which I manage to forget on
occasion), and why I do what I do. For this I am exceedingly grateful.

Besides, when I hit my next big town, I'm sure that I can call one of
them to ask the way to the closest bike shop. They're all pretty good
with the internet like that...