April 24, 2019
Final Prep
It now about midnight – we’ll be taking off in about 10 Hours!
Starting last week, we began laying things out in our guest room in preparation of packing. All our shopping was done. We made several purchases in preparation of this trip. I needed new cycling sandals and some new shirts - Jeanna didn't buy anything new.
More importantly, earlier this month, we both bought new waterproof jackets and socks. On all our previous trips we just had windbreakers. When it’s warm, the fact that the windbreakers aren’t waterproof is not a problem. However, it’s a different story when it’s cold. I guess we’re slow learners, because for the last two years there have been times we were pretty miserable on those cold, rainy days. Anyway, we bit the bullet and bought some good jackets for this trip. Also, on previous trips we had booties which were ineffective in the rain. A friend told us about waterproof socks, so this year we’ll try wearing them with our sandals on those cold rainy days. Maybe, because we bought that stuff, it will not be cold this year – one can hope!
Also, just this evening, we picked up our new jerseys – they arrived just in the nick of time! The reason they were so late was that the factory made a mistake on the first set and omitted 'Coasting Along' on the back. Because it was the factory's fault, they let us keep both sets, so we now have 6 jerseys each!
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Yesterday, I cleaned the bike, changed the oil in the Rohloff hub and rotated the tires. I also collected up all the spare parts and tools and packed them in one of the panniers. Meanwhile, Jeanna was packing all the toiletries and generally getting other things ready. (For those interested, we carry 4 panniers. We each have a pannier for our personal clothing and our tablets. Then there is a pannier for parts, cold weather gear and all the charging cables and adapters. The final pannier carries toiletries, snacks and our rain gear. Being our panniers aren’t waterproof, we organize everything in 2 ½ gallon Zip-Loc bags.)
Today, Jeanna cleaned the house, did the laundry, and all the other "little" things that need done before one leaves on a long trip. Being the good husband I am, I left the house and went on a long bike ride so I would not be in her way 😊
I finished packing my panniers late tonight and weighed them. Like me, they need to go on a diet. The pannier with the parts, cold weather gear, etc. weighed 14.2 lbs., while the pannier with my tablet and clothing weighed 13.4 lbs. Jeanna has not packed yet, but I imagine hers will be similar. Throw in the tailrider, seat bag, and water bottles and we’ll probably be carrying around 65 lbs. of gear. Can’t wait to get to some hills!!
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