Several years ago my mom and I drove to Calistoga for the day. Just before we dropped into Napa Valley we passed a woman with a fully loaded bike (front and back panniers and what looked like extra camping gear on the back rack) slogging up a steep grade in the other direction. As an experienced rider who had never toured I remember thinking, 'holy crap, look at all that STUFF she's carrying?!'

Later that day, on the way home, there she was again. About 22 miles down the road, almost to the next county, on another sharp uphill...

I knew about organized sagged trips and even thought of trying one but the cost and timing never seemed to work.

I must have seen people touring self supported before and since but never really 'got' what they were doing. But for some reason this woman sticks out in my mind as someone who I clearly knew was traveling on a bike.

Fast forward a year or so to meeting someone in person who rode across the plains of Colorado, Kansas, etc and I finally 'got' what that woman was doing.

In 2 days the Trucker and I will be riding those same roads as the mystery woman on a bike. :-)

The weather forecast looks good and I'm ready to roll. I hope to take lots of pictures of springtime in Napa and Sonoma counties. I'm looking forward to journaling on my new Aspire One netbook and sharing the experience with my friends and family.

Until then,
Karen (and the Trucker)