Are we worried about our lack of bike touring experience? Not really. We have tons of hiking and camping experience. We are good at navigation. I can repair a bike in the field from flat tires to errant shifters to stuck brakes. Our 91 day experience on the PCT last spring prepared us for long term travel using minimal equipment with lots of interaction with people on the trail and in the trail towns. We feel ready for this.
The "stuff" we are bringing for this trip is extremely similar to that which we took on the PCT. I packed up today and weighed in at 20 pounds. Tent, down quilt, sleeping pads, pots and stove, iPad, chargers, water bottles, 1st Aid Kit, and clothing are the same. Instead of a 3 pound bear can I have a 3 pound cable and bike lock to protect my gear. Trekking poles are traded for spare inner tubes, tire patch kits, a multitool and a crescent wrench. The similarities between the two trips are remarkable. If we have an experience comparable to the PCT, we are in for a treat.
We are 6 days from our flight. We leave from Vancouver BC Thursday morning at 10:30am, arriving in Paris, France Friday morning at 8:30am. We will spend until July 14 in Paris, Versailles, Mont St. Michele, and Normandy with Andy, Jeff, Tabitha and Jackie before we take a train to Luzern, Switzerland to meet with Roger and Marlis, a couple we met in Yosemite two years ago. We will visit with them for a day, then board a train for Oberalpass, Switzerland and begin our bike ride to the North Sea via the Rhine River.
Last year, the months leading up to our April 7th departure were spent packing the 91 days of food we would need for our trip. This time, we outfitted our bikes with new components, tires and cables. My bike is 25 years old, Sally's about 12. They each were in need of modernizing and updating. They are now ready to go. So are we.
There are a few more jobs to complete, but we will take time to visit and swim with Cindy Garrison in Olympia this Saturday and take a trip to Long Beach to see the progress occurring on the Caldwell beach house.
Attached is a photo of my gear and clothing for 2 months in Europe on a bike and a time lapse video of packing it into panniers, loading it on my bike and riding off.
