Clothes…check
Packing two weeks worth of clothes was not that bad. Knowing that I have to fit them in one Ortlieb pannier (one for me and one for Carina) set hard boundaries and forced us to edit. This will also be our carry-on luggage. We made sure to bring most of our bike butt-pad shorts. And, to pack little to no cotton; since it will rain and it will be humid (Midwest summers). Plus the fact that I sweat just tying my shoes. I didn’t have to buy any new clothing. I already own what’s on the list; that I’ve accumulated (on clearance sales) over the years.
Bike Tools/Gear…check
The gear packing was also painless. We ride with most of this gear whenever we go on long rides. The only annoyance is trying to remember which bike bag I left a specific tool in; but that’s the daily struggle for any ride. We’ll pack all this in a cardboard box that we’ll check-in as luggage; which we can recycle before hitting the trail. In an earlier ride Carina crashed wearing her vented, airy helmet. So, we’ll have to purchase in Pittsburgh: a new helmet, a small bottle of chain lube, two tubes (specific to the bike rental’s wheel sizes), and bug repellant.
Electronics and lights…check-ish?
Why are there so many tangled wires in my life? Any of the “rechargeables” needs a wire and port or plug to recharge. I suspect most rooms we sleep in won’t have a dozen outlets to plug in all of our electronics at once. To help solve this we’re bringing our two multiport usb/usb-c hubs. We had to lay everything out on the table and plug the whole mess in to ensure all of it charges. We’ll have to lug this bundle of wires as if we’re in an electrician’s apprenticeship program…and the wires will not see the light of day; only appearing in the room at night. I’ve decided to leave the larger hub and only take the two smaller tower hubs. I’m still contemplating if I want to haul a tablet just for blogging. We’re packing this in zip-lock bags and putting them in tote bags as our second carry-on bag.
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