Lately the Anderson's have introduced the idea of making lists, to help make sure that they avoid common glitches,  like locking themselves out of an apartment, or forgetting wallet, camera, batteries, etc. on various types of outings. This is a good idea, but of course the Anderson's did not invent the idea of the List. 

Rather we would credit the concept of the List to Frog and Toad. Frog and Toad are the creation of Arnold Lobel, in a series of books that were standards for our kids. Here are Frog and Toad on a bike:

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It happened that one day Toad woke up and realized that he had a lot to do during the day. So he got the idea of listing the activities, like this:

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Since Toad had already woken up, he could scratch off "Wake Up" and carry on.  The plot tension for the story comes when Toad goes to Frog's house to take the  walk with Frog. During the walk, a wind comes and blows away the List, leaving Frog and Toad stranded. Without the List they don't know what to do next. They sit down, and are stranded. Better buy the book to find out how they get out of it!

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The List as a concept has a long and venerable history with cycle touring and blogs about it. In the old days, when long distance touring was a novelty, blogs routinely covered what gear was coming along, in detail. Whether one, two, or three pairs of underwear were needed was a source of endless fascination, and whatever it was going to be, that was duly listed.

Since the old days, the mystery of what to bring has largely been solved, and the details are seldom reported. But the importance of lists remains, and we are now empowered in dealing with them by spreadsheets. Dodie is the queen of spreadsheets on our team, though I seem to be on 24/7 call as Technical Support. There is indeed a spreadsheet for exactly every object stored in our eight bags, plus things strapped on to the bikes. So in principle, if I want to know where the Cold Tablets have been stashed, it can be looked up.  Dodie says she doesn't really use this type of sheet now, because she has it all memorized!

But there are other Lists,  lots of 'em. An important one covers every hotel reservation we have made, offering details of the hotel name, location, distance from the last one, the cost and whether it has already been paid, whether breakfast is included, and lots more facts. Then there is a list of other reservations we have made: ferries, tours, flights. And very importantly, the List of what gear we left with the bikes, last time we stored them. Closely wedded to this is the list of what gear we need to bring along, because we didn't leave it with the bike. A use of this just came up today, when we couldn't remember if I had a raincoat in Valencia. If not, then one really needs to come along on the plane!

It's not just a matter of having these lists, it's important for them to be complete and accurate. This is Dodie's super power (and my super weakness). Dodie not only makes these lists, she checks them twice, and more.

But watch out now, once the list exists it needs to be safeguarded. There might be a copy in a computer somewhere, but paper is what you really need for information access on the go. So Dodie, watch out for any big winds, and we know there are a lot of them in Spain!