I wrote that first post back in January when we were full of hope and excitement about going Way Two Far this summer.  Well, wtf, that's not going to happen.  We waited past our planned April 5th departure date for a start time that seemed less anxiety-provoking and at least somewhat safer.  We finally have decided to go Not Two Far beginning May 31st.  This will be an abbreviated version of WTF.  Kerry, John and I will drive to Natchez, MS.  The guys will ride their single bikes up the Natchez Trace Parkway and into southern Illinois and I will SAG with our tandem on the bike rack.  In Ullin, Illinois, Kerry and I will take off on the tandem for three months around the Midwest and John will drive our car, with the single bikes, back home to Florida. (No SAG for us!) When we finish touring, Kerry and I will rent a car for the trip back home.

We hope to share our trip with several friends this summer.  In addition to the first two weeks with John, we also expect to have a week riding with a family in Minnesota, several days with friends in Michigan and another week with a friend perhaps in Ohio.  It will be a little like the Anspach-Rickey's Hop On, Hop Off tour.

In this midst of this unprecedented international pandemic, an unprecedented situation for me occurs as we start on this trip.  Not only do I not have every daily lodging planned and reserved, we don't even have every daily route mapped!  We will have to do like normal cycle tourers and plan as we go.  This is uncharted territory for us.  We may find we like planning as we go, but I don't know.  It is contrary to what we've always done when we traveled and we are the  proverbial "old dogs".  We are not being entirely wild and crazy, though.  Everything is in place for the first two weeks and we have routes planned and lodgings located for the next three.  There's only so much loosey-goosey spontaneity I can stand!