Pretty much ready

A fine set of knees.

Been here in Seattle for a week and will leave tomorrow for Astoria, and the big ride starts Friday. Brother-in-law Jimmy and I have taken four big rides here and done some hills, and I feel as ready as I'll be, which may not be saying anything. I am sure there will be desperate moments ahead. We had fun yesterday riding around Puget Sound and back, with a stop midway at the Ballard Locks, where big ships inch their way through narrow little canals, like camels though the eye of a needle. Had great hamburgers at the Red Mill Totem House. There was a haze all day the locals call the "Marine Layer." Learn something new every day.

We had a kind of frenzied 24 hours searching by phone and foot for a couple new wheels for my bike. Recycled Cycles came through, and I hope I have what I need. My aging bike had a couple of worn-out rims, making braking a long, slow thing. (I had to look this up to believe it, that rims can wear out.) We will know for sure when we get to the Astoria bike store. Like I said, learn something new every day.

So, by the end of today, I'll be ready to go. Infinite gratitude to the in-laws here in Seattle -- Jimmy, Mimi, Sarah -- who have put me up and fed me and let me ride with J without complaint. I deeply appreciate it.

Onward!

Old problems, new problems

At Boeing, inspecting the fleet

I'm in Seattle, getting in some big-hill riding with my bother-in-law, Jim V. It's a week till I actually head east, I'm in a long countdown. I have regular clothes, and riding clothes, and it's all in a tumble in the little spare room I occupy. I keep losing things, then finding them again, then losing them again, and I think the whole trip will be like that -- did I leave that map in The Dalles?

I've been waiting, kind of, for months, and it's driving me a little mad. Once I start, I think I will be cured -- but then  I'll have a whole other set of problems to confront. It's like applying for a job you really want. You get it -- then what?

I shipped my bike to a bike store in Astoria. They put it together, and I called them. We discussed the brakes and the tires, and lots of money later I'm getting new wheels and tires. The reason I couldn't STOP THE BIKE was that, after, what? 12, 15 years? the rims had been polished smooth and were thinning, and there was nothing for the brakes to grab onto. So they say. I guess I'll believe it. I need brakes.

Packed

I'm closer to ready to go. Spent hours and hours on this display, cutting out half the cooking gear I showed last time and a number of things I was fond of but weren't strictly necessary. It weighs in at 41 pounds, more than I would like. And there will be a few additions (tied on the rack, such as tent poles and sandals). If you add 35 pounds for the bike, my total weight will top 75 pounds. Then add me -- at 14 "stone," as Daenerys Targaryen might say -- well, it'll be like driving a truck.

I did some online looking and found one reassuring site that put the typical bike-and-cargo weight range for long-distance bikers at between 60 and 100 or more pounds (like, for example, if you bring your St. Bernard and its kennel), so by that scale I'll be not quite midway.

Clothing was the most difficult thing. It could be darn cold, and it could be searing hot. It could rain, or snow, or not.  I have a light insulated jacket, a raincoat and rain pants -- all packably small -- and a small  assortment of top wear and bottom wear. Probably within days I'll be wearing just one thing day in and day out, changing socks and undies once in a while.

To keep track of it all, I am working on an index. Thus:

It's an index card. When I get a good draft, I'll laminate it with tape and put a string on it so I don't lose it, cuz my memory just can't go there.

I leave for Seattle next Tuesday night and will hang around bothering my relatives until May 30, when Jimmy V will take me and a cousin, Chris, and his friend, Mike, to Astoria. We'll start off Friday May 31, and meet up with old friend Bruce (riding a small folding "clown bike" and pulling a trailer) a day or two later in or near Portland.

I shipped my bike a week ago, and this stuff goes out today. It'll be nice to have that done.

I'm really looking forward to that first mile. And, in my absence, Julie can watch "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Chopped" all she wants.

The camp kitchen

What a mess.

This is the latest version of my cooking setup for the big ride. I've spent hours on it, and it is still likely to change. In the past I have been woefully unprepared to eat, as hungry as I've been. Last summer, I sat at a campsite in the late afternoon realizing I had no food for dinner, and nothing for breakfast, and poor tools even if I had had anything to cook. And I certainly didn't have a few miles left in me to go in search of something. The neighboring campers, grilling a big meal for the family, took pity and offered me a plate of steak, corn and potato salad. I thanked them and wolfed it down. Best meal I've ever had.

So I want to do a better job of that. The other day I found among my camping stuff a 10-year-old freeze-dried meal -- spaghetti and meat sauce, literally 10 years old -- and cooked it up, and it was great. And a lot -- enough for two. So I'm going to get a few of those, and of course, ramen and instant oatmeal, besides my normal snack foods, just to get started.

So what we have here in the picture are fork, knife and spoon; "spatula" (this will change); scrubbers; a salt/pepper shaker; a firestarter stick; a little brass stove (just $15!); an aluminum wind screen; soap, cooking oil, and stove fuel (the yellow Heet); a little funnel; matches as a backup; and pots and pans. It seems like lot, and doesn't pack very smoothly, but, mostly, it's what I had, and I didn't want to spend and arm and a leg for the latest thing.

And now I'm thinking I could leave half of that stuff at home if I give up any kind of frying -- think eggs -- and just boil water for the instant foods. Like I said, a work in progress.

We shall see.