I spent the next eight months planning out how far we'd be riding each day, where we would be staying, a nice restaurant or two at the beginnng and end, and interesting things to do along the way. I looked at weather maps and at prevailing winds and google street view until I came up with the best route I could create. 

My original plan was to fly into Frankfurt, take a train to Luxembourg, then ride back. However, I was surprised to find that an open-jaw flight into Luxembourg and out of Frankfurt was within $100 of the round trip to Frankfurt. That really simplified things.

About a week before we left, I was disappointed to learn that neither Karen nor my sister would be able to go.