C&O- A Week To Go

At the start of my training for this trip, about six weeks ago, I was concerned about my ability to ramp up my body for the ride. As I covered in a previous blog, the muscles for hiking and cycling are pretty much the same, but they are used differently. Initially my legs would explain to me in excruciating detail, with emphasis on excruciating, about how they were not happy with the cycling I was doing. Well, after six weeks, we have come to kind of an agreement. This means that I am regularly riding 30-40 miles a day most days, and my legs let me accomplish a version of walking when I’m done. Sort of an antalgic gait, as we would say in medicalese, or limp as you might say in English. This improves pretty quickly after I’m off the bike.

In addition to my training, deciding what to take has been a bit of a problem, too. Rather than the gear I’m used to, like sleeping bags, cooking gear, etc., I have to bring a tire pump, tool kit, helmet, bike lock, flashing light, etc. I just know I’ll forget something.

It also is looking like we will have several days of rain. Something I was hoping we would avoid by doing this in May. Which is generally a less rainy month. But one thing we will have for sure is “an adventure.“ And, I will have it with my son, Will. Which is the real point of the whole thing. The journey is the reward.

For anyone interested in the kind of bikes we are using, they will be Scott Speedster Gravel 20 bikes, with Shimano GRX components. These run on the far side of two grand new. This kind of money for a bike amazes me, but I haven’t been in the market for one in a couple of decades, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Anyway, I think they’re pretty decent bikes and they will be sized for Will and me.

So, I head out next Friday morning on the bus up to Portland. That will take me to the Portland bus station where I will get an Uber to the airport and catch a flight to Phoenix in the evening. From Phoenix it’s a direct flight into DC arriving Saturday morning. So yes, I’m taking the redeye. As usual I will start blogging Friday and daily thereafter until we finish the trip. Or, that’s my plan anyway.

Until Friday, happy trails…