I don’t feel I need to train that much for the trip, but I could stand to lose 10 or so pounds to make the riding a little bit easier. I went out this morning and caught some gravel because it’s more fun than pavement.

Kathy and I went out for a 4-hour ride in the wind and mostly light rain. I loaded all my gear in my panniers to see how the bike handles with all the weight on. I still need to shift some of the weight to the front to keep the bike from shimmying at higher speeds.

After 2-1/2 hours, Kathy recommended we stop at the Wandermere Shari’s restaurant. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at Shari’s but I was quickly reminded how much the place disappoints. They don’t ask you how the food is because they already know. They work there. But the tea was good.

The weather alternated between driving light rain, plain old high winds, and windy with sunshine. During those more intense weather moments Kathy would exclaim, “Isn’t this fun? We are having so much fun right now.” Gotta love the girl. Whether rain, wind, or sun, I was squinting almost the whole time–except for when we had a tail wind. Then it was sweet riding.