I named my bike. I call her Nellie, after James Bond's mini helicopter (called Little Nellie) in You Only Live Twice. It looks a little like a faired recumbent with a couple of rotors (and machine guns and missile launchers) attached.

Before I decided on riding to Albany, I thought it would be a good idea to have someone ride with me through central Pennsylvania. I asked my friend Paul Cicchetti to join me. Paul has plenty of diverse riding experience under his helmet. In 1991, three weeks after he crashed and broke his collarbone, he rode three days of Bike Virginia, including a century on the third day. Another time we went for a ride from Harpers Ferry WV to Antietam MD and back. On the way up a hill from the Potomac River, a bee flew in Paul's mouth and stung him. He finished the ride with little complaint. A few years after that he lucked into a free and very posh supported bike tour in France. He also endured living with me for a year in grad school. And he plays ice hockey. He is battle tested.

As it turns out, I apparently asked him too late. He wanted to squeeze in a couple of days at the beginning of the ride. The logistics of getting a bike to and from upstate New York was more trouble than it was worth, so Paul dropped out.

With Paul out of the picture I turned to assembling all the stuff I will take with me. I'm taking pretty much what I took last year. I am freeing up some space by carrying only the Route 5 bike map and a tourist map of New York. (On last year's ride I had several pounds of maps for central Ohio alone.) Instead of cotton t-shirts, I will be taking three shirts made of synthetic, wicking fabric. One will be long sleeved. I will also take a cheap poncho with a hood. It weighs about an ounce and packs down to a very small size.

I downloaded a list of bike shops in New York State that carry recumbents. This way if one of my exotic bike parts breaks I'll should have half a chance of finding parts and such. In addition to last year's bike related gear, I have added two small rolls of black duct tape. I decided not to bring spare tires. (Last year I shredded my rear tire, apparently because of an ill fitting Mr. Tuffy liner, which is designed ironically to prevent flats. I have long since taken the liners out.)

I am packing all my gear in Zip Lock bags of various sizes. That way my stuff will be easy to find in my panniers and will stay dry. Following bike touring tradition, I gathered all my goodies and laid them out on the floor of the family room. Then I loaded up the panniers. It looks like I will have room to spare, so I may bring some Teva sandals for off-bike use.

On last year's ride, my rear brake became impregnated with grit from an unpaved rail trail I rode for about 100 miles. As far as I can tell this came about because my rear fender does not adequately protect the brake mechanism which, on my recumbent, is located just below the fender. Also, the fender has a small hole in it where a zip tie holds it to the frame. Over the weekend I fashioned a simple fender extension from some duct tape. I made sure to cover as much of the hole as possible. As long as the glue holds on the tape, it should solve my problem.

One other change from last year. On Saturday evening I intended to update this journal but my computer died. I messed around with it for a few hours. It's hopeless and very frustrating.

I'm think I'm ready to ride now.