Saturday July 4, 2009

Today is the day to pack the bike and leave. It took longer than I thought to organize everything and pack it in my bags.
I tried to weigh the bike. I have a home scale that goes to 280 lbs. I weigh 180 lbs. When I picked up the bike it exceeded the limit so I estimate the loaded bike to weigh over 100 lbs.
Hallelujah. I am on the road. I left about 4:00 pm. Biked along the W&OD trail to Leesburg then got on highway 15. 15 is not meant for bicycles but considering the design of most Virginia roads it is a great road to ride on. It actually has wide shoulders. After about six miles I got to Whites Ferry, took a boat across the Potomac and got on the C&O Canal Trail.
In preparing for this trip, I took a number of long rides and got comfortable with distance rides. However I did not fully load the bike. That much weight makes a big difference for both me and the bike. It struggles and so do I. I hope its wheels, frame and racks can take it. I hope my legs, strength and energy levels can take it.
I camped at milepost 43. After the first night I thought: “I was very comfortable in camp. I am on a great camping trip. It is a better camping trip than a bike ride because I brought everything but the kitchen sink and I even brought a collapsible kitchen sink.