Denise Goldberg's blog

Red-clad feet on a purple bike
Wandering on two (bicycle) wheels in Downeast Maine

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

The first day of summer

...a good day to pack for a tour

I'm at 2 days and counting... two days until I drive to Maine that is, still three days until I start riding. I could say that it's hard to believe that my tour is almost here, but considering how little time has elapsed since I planned the tour - well, that wasn't very long to wait, was it?

My exercise plans for this week called for riding on Monday, and then switching to just walking for the remaining days until I leave. I want to start this trip in a well-rested state, and taking a couple of days off from biking seemed like the right thing to do. I have to admit that it was hard to stay off of my bike today, but I did manage it. My rest day exercise (today) consisted of a total of 2 hours of fast walking. I'm not sure that really classifies as a rest, but at least it was a different form of exercise.

Somehow over the years I've been in the habit of packing two days (or nights!) before I leave. That way there isn't any last minute panic about things that I forgot... When I stacked everything on the floor in front of my two panniers, it looked a bit overwhelming. Is that all really going to fit in those two bags? I knew I had an out if it didn't fit since I was planning to use my smaller panniers, the ones I keep calling front panniers since that's how they were originally used. I could always change plans and use the larger rear panniers. But it looks like I'm all set. I just have to charge the batteries to my electronic toys and place them in their home inside the panniers.

Oh, and Rover has to decide which toys he wants to play with while we ride. As you can see in my packing pictures, he was busy tasting Luna Bars while I was packing. Of course his preference is for chocolate! Since he refuses to help pedal, I've been trying to convince him that he can help with the journal entries by taking notes during the day. Of course, he's never done that on any other trips...


At the beginning of my packing session it really looked like I was either bringing too much with me or I had chosen the wrong size panniers... But those panniers are bigger than they appear, and there is acually an extra "collar" of fabric inside that I can pull up to give me a little more room if needed. Not yet...


I have a bag sitting by the door to my garage that has some of the important things that don't go in the panniers but that I can't leave without. These include my helmet, bike shoes, pump, and water bottles. Forgetting any of these items would not be a good thing.

Of course I also need to try not to panic about having the right clothes packed given the weather forecast over the next few days. The National Weather Service forecast for my home turf is calling for temperatures in the 80's with a few days of 70's thrown in. The forecast for the Bar Harbor, Maine area is a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler than here. As we all know, whether the forecast is correct or not is anyone's guess!

And I have to say that it really seems odd not to need to pack my bike for air travel.