We're less than a week out from our starting date and everything is good to go.  We have had some challenges, though!

The first challenge was health-related.  We spent a great week in Montreal, Canada for our daughter's wedding in early August.  The only negative was that we both came back sick with COVID!  The nasty virus finally caught up with us after 3 1/2 years.  Riding on buses and on the metro evidently was too risky, I guess.

So we've had 2 weeks of significant discomfort and unscheduled downtime while we wait for the virus to clear.  Not the best way to roll into a tour, but we're generally in pretty good shape and this tour isn't too physically demanding.  So we're hopeful it will work out OK.   

The second challenge came when Rich got confused about the unscrewing direction of Schnook's rear axle and managed to strip out the allen key socket.  Makes it impossible to repair a flat tire if that socket isn't functional!

Luckily our hero David Lafferty (the brains behind Cycles Chinook) rode to our rescue.  First with advice to help Rich get the axle out, then by express shipping us a replacement axle.   Tour saved - thanks, David!

We have some commitments to satisfy this weekend, and we still need to pack and organize.   But it looks like we'll get on the road as planned on September 5th!