Getting Ready!

Last year’s inaugural bicycle tour was so enjoyable, we’re doing it again.  And this time we’re taking off the “training wheels” – no support vehicle at all!  I’m excited, but  I’m also a tiny bit nervous!  This trail is more remote in general than the Katy Trail.  It’s also longer and a little more rugged.  To add to the challenge, we have to carry everything with us that we need for 9 days, except the food and water.  Still, some days we’ll need to carry that, too!

We’ve invested in good panniers and have been using them all summer for things like trips to the farmer’s market and an overnight on the Cardinal Trail again.  We followed that up with a “metric century” around our county on Labor Day.  That’s longer than any of the days we’ll have on this trail, but a good test of endurance.  We’ve also upgraded our handlebars to trekker-style bars for more upright positioning and more options for moving our grip around to reduce fatigue.

Our overnight trip from Richmond, IN to Muncie on the  Cardinal Greenway.  Great for testing out equipment!

Brian has figured out the optimal route, balancing out good distances each day with making sure we have time to actually enjoy ourselves.  Instead of just going flat out 5 or 6 days straight, we are stretching the 350 miles over 9 days.  We’ll be seeing parts of the country we haven’t seen before, so we want to take our time.  We’ve got a couple sightseeing things along the way and will end with about 2 days of time in Washington, D.C. to explore before taking the train back to Pittsburgh.

I’m still working out packing.  I’ve got the two panniers and a trunk, in addition to my front bag.  Since we’ll be sightseeing in D.C.,  I need more than just cycling clothes.  And given the time of year, I need options for cool days in addition to warm days.  Oh, and shoes! I love my cycling shoes – Shimano mountain biking shoes – since I don’t use clipless pedals anymore, but they aren’t suitable for dinner out or walking around monuments all day.  The dilemma is that every single thing I take is added weight I have to carry the whole time.  That’s a strong incentive to evaluate every item that goes!

Stay tuned as we get under way for how the equipment and packing works out!