My bags are packed I’m ready to go…..well sort of.

Training miles last week: 77.8 cycling miles.

Had a good riding weekend. However, most notable was the wind, both days.  Jodee and I rode in the countryside, the best place to ride. The picture is of an old country school house. A plaque on the building reports it is on the Historic Registry. We sat on the front porch and ate the lunch we had packed.  If one listened carefully one could almost hear the laughter of children in the blowing wind, their essence can still be felt within the peeling paint and stone foundation.

Back to reality. As you can see from the picture my suitcase is full. I have had to beg for free space in Lisa’s and Jodee’s carry-ons for my tent and clothes bag. I keep looking at and lifting the suitcase and saying, “Really? I need all of that”? And yes, it is all necessary.

My only error, thus far, was when I ordered that big blue bottle of electrolytes in the suitcase; I ordered tablets rather than capsules. I swear the bottle weighs a pound, should have gotten capsules as they are much lighter. Oh well, I’ll probably go through half of them climbing the Appalachians!

My calendar is booked solid for the next 7 days and don’t think I will be able to squeeze in a final bike ride before we board our plane a week from today. I’m sure we will get a bit of riding in during our week in North Carolina before we head up to Yorktown on May 2^nd.    ….I’ll keep you posted.

 

Dismantled and Packing

Countdown: 12 days before our flight…yikes!
Last week’s training numbers: 131.5 cycling miles.

Here are our “babies” (3 bikes and a Bob) all dismantled, covered with foam, packaged, protected, and ready for some really big boxes. A BIG thanks to Dave, our “pack-man”. Jodee’s bike is at the top of the picture, Lisa’s in the middle, and mine at the bottom with the cool wood fenders. Soon we will get the bad news which is how much FedEx is going to charge to get our babies to North Carolina. What? I thought you were riding from Yorktown VA? We are, but will make a stop in NC to visit big sister, Dad, and give another talk at his Retirement Community.

Seeing the bikes all ready for boxing is sobering and makes this whole trip real. The dreaming, planning, talking, and speculating has manifested into reality.

This week I placed my last REI order, a compression sack for my clothes since my other one disappeared when my daughter vacationed in Europe years ago. I also stopped by my local REI today and bought a waterproof compression sack for my sleeping bag. The bag I currently use is like stuffing a sleeping bag into an envelope, too much effort. The new sack, a (Sea to Summit-eVent) is great, it cost a small fortune, but will serve the important function of keeping my bag dry.

eVent compression sack

Normally I put my sleeping bag in my rear pannier but with the added electronics I am carrying (netbook, waterproof netbook bag, cords, etc), I just don’t have room to put it in the pannier so now it will be bungeed on the back protected from spring downpours, hail, sprinkles, and spitting Llama’s.

I picked up a used suit case at a local second hand store and have begun to throw things into it. I will leave the suitcase on the east coast as I didn’t want to bring my good one. On the plane I will carry my handle bar bag as my purse and one of my rear panniers as my carry-on. Everything else will go into the suitcase and checked.

So much to do, so little time: Got the taxes in the mail today, and have an appointment this week to get my will in order (no premonitions, just being a responsible adult). I’m still busy with work and am planning to do lots of cleaning next week, can’t stand to leave the place a mess, not that the cat will care.

By the way, don’t be fooled by that sweet cat face, she has been diagnosed with “conduct disorder” in the Feline DSM-V.

 

…I’ll keep you posted.