The original version of the cross-country bicycle trip my husband and I are currently on had us leaving in mid-May. In preparation for that, we did some weekend excursions to fine tune gear selection used in previous tours. So, prior to my fall, I was actually feeling pretty ready to go.
Then I fell, and we didn't leave until mid-July. I should still have been ready, right? In fact, even MORE ready, since I had more time to prepare.
And yet...
I somehow found myself in "if not for the last minute, nothing would ever get done" mode.
Wait, how long did I know we were going on this trip? (Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question!)
Well nothing like a hard deadline to get things moving. It was definitely one of those 80/20 things too. I started piling up the things, and kept feeling like it was getting close to being EVERYTHING, but then there'd still be other things. Eric was ahead of the curve from me, and wrote up a list that helped for the gathering.
Also, I'm from a family legacy of "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it," which isn't particularly helpful when packing for a cycling trip. And, over the years I've started using more pills and potions for daily living, so there's all that to deal with.
Also two (too?), the trip was somewhat open ended time-wise when I was packing. We were taking the train to Chicago, then riding bikes from there to Brooklyn, with a hand-wavey estimate of a month to a month and a half. But then depending how that went, we might extend the trip.
So part of me was trying to think of all the "might happens" over that indefinite time line and decide how prepared I wanted to be for all of them. Another part kept trying to remind the Must Be Prepared For Everything part, "You know we aren't going to Antarctica, or the Moon or something. There will be stores if you need something. And post offices if you want to send something back that you realize you don't really need to carry."
but
but
BUT
I want to do the Perfect Packing™ - have just the right things. Everything I need, nothing I don't.
Anyway, eventually there was the Good Enough pile of things.
Then there was the getting all the things in the bags - which I managed to do on Saturday, more than a full day before we left on Monday! I was hoping to not be overfull to start with, and I did OK with that. Everything closed without having to strain them, yay! (At one point I was thinking I was going to have LOTS of room, and the I realized I hadn't put my sleeping bag in yet. DOH!)
We did a short test ride at home, and are now a little over a month into the trip, and I'm feeling pretty good about my packing choices. WOOT WOOT. At first I was thinking it would be nice to have little labels saying what went in which pannier - both so I wouldn't have to open to see what was in there to get a particular thing, and also for help in packing up - but I'm starting to remember what is where. And a few things are moving around a bit here and there.
In case you were wondering: Yes, when I was putting the stuff in the bags originally I was weighing them to try to get each set (front/back) balanced from left to right. Turns out I wasn't the greatest at estimating what would be equal, and there's also the size and shape factors that go into fitting things in bags, but eventually I got pretty close. Of course it's off now - I've added or moved some things, and some of the consumables are being consumed. But it doesn't seem to have affected the bike handling, so yay for that.
And yes, it's an interesting life exercise to condense your Stuff to what you Really Need for Daily Living, and can transport under your own power.
We have sent one package home, I had brought a set of graphite and charcoal drawing pencils that I found I wasn't actually using, so sent those home, along with some souvenirs I'd picked up.
I'd debated between the drawing pencils set and colored pencils, turned out the colored pencils would have been the better choice. After I sent the drawing pencils back I picked up a set of colored pencils. Earlier in the trip I got a small pair of scissors, a roll of scotch tape, and a box of gallon freezer ziplock bags - all obvious in hindsight, but were easy to get, and I could do without if they hadn't been.
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I was hoping you'd blog while on your trip, Megan! Glad the packing process and planning went pretty well. Like you, I've sent stuff home and picked stuff up. I've also attempted to "load balance", and, for me, I've found the L-R balance matters less than front-rear balance. Despite what I've learned, I still hate packing for the rides, even when I've made lists!