Yikes.
Chargers, Kindle, mini shampoo bottles, Ibuprofen, knee gel, bike tubes etc etc
I’m at the stage of packing for the bike rally and arranging transportation home where all of that seems like lots more work than just biking to Montreal.
What’s so hard?
Partly it’s packing tomorrow and not seeing stuff again until we get into our first night’s place for camping. Glasses? Where do they go? I’m wearing sunglasses on the bike but need my glasses glasses for Saturday. Some years I pack them and spend Saturday blurry. Other years I’ve carried them along in my jersey pocket. Still deciding for this year.
Partly it’s because you have two big bins, so room for lots of stuff. I usually dedicate one bin to clothes etc and one bin to camping things, pillow, tent, sleeping bag etc. But then once the rally is over, you’re in Montreal. The bike rally team brings bikes back to Toronto but you’re responsible for lugging everything else to the Grey Nuns Residence at Concordia where we’re staying for the weekend and getting it back to Toronto. It’s easier to have less stuff.
Partly it’s that weekend in Montreal after. For the actual rally week, it’s all bike clothes, shorts and t-shirts, and ball caps and flip flops. But for the weekend in Montreal I want something just slightly more stylish. But then I have to keep those clothes in my bin and carry them around so decisions need to be made.
And finally, there’s the pandemic. I used to travel a couple of times a month, often for work. I was a seriously good packer of carry on luggage. But I’ve lost my packing mojo. On my last trip to Vancouver, in March 2022, I arrived without my prescription medication and mother had to FedEx drugs to me.
I’ve been traveling about during the pandemic but mostly in a car with a lot of stuff.
Wish me luck!!!
Best wishes for a wonderful ride! I will be riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation in September, so will be watching your event with great interest. I hope your weather is good, and offers plenty of tailwinds!
Thanks! It’s usually a tailwind ride and no real hills to speak of. I’m a bit worried about heat and thunderstorms. Your ride sounds fabulous but hilly right?
Well, yes, but hilly is all we have in the San Francisco area. I recently did a 6 day ride from Pittsburgh to DC on a rail trail & canal tow path, very flat,and found it hard in an odd way: such flat riding requires continuous pedaling – no coasting – and no variation in the effort needed. Never thought I’d say it, but I prefer hilly rides.