Counting Down - Six Days to Go

We are getting close to the day we dip our bike tires in the Pacific Ocean in Fort Stevens State Park, west of Astoria. The theme, as we get ready, seems to be list making, and checking off, and making a new list to keep track of where everything got put during the previous list. Organizing a long bike ride is like creating an enormous Mandelbrot tapestry. Thank heavens our support driver, Pat, had a career as an Operating Room nurse, where organization was paramount! Forceps, please.

The lists include (in no particular order, and some lists may be nested in others):

• Food (and menus)
• Lodging 
• On-the-road contacts
• First Aid 
• Routes and maps
• Bicycles 
• Bicycle clothing (cold and hot weather) 
• Spare parts to carry on the road every day 
• Spare parts to leave in the support vehicle 
• Camping gear 
• Personal clothing for when we are off the road 
• Hydration strategies 
• Dog stuff for our black lab mascot Annie 
• Lotions and potions and ointments 
• Diaries (Bryce gave each member of the team a diary ... thank you, Bryce!) 
• Books, balls, music, and other personal entertainment accessories 
• Computer stuff 
• Emergency contact information 
• Fund-raising materials (tee shirts, banners, business cards)
• Spreadsheets and ledgers
• Car maintenance manuals 
• Bike maintenance manuals 
• Ways to charge everyone's bike computers, cell phones, cameras, etc. 
• Communication devices (Ham Radio, walkie talkies, NOA radio) 
• Things we forgot to pack 
• Things we can do without, and can leave at home or ship home, or ship ahead
• Things to do today 
• Things to do tomorrow (including mechanical checks of all the bikes) 
• Things to do Sunday, when we have a support vehicle packing party and "Meet the Crew" fundraiser
• List of where we packed everything on each of the previous lists
• A non-list of all the serendipity and adventure that will inevitably be part of our 59-day journey 

And then, we think of a better way to pack, and we repack. The countdown has begun. On June 18th, at 10:00 am, we begin to discover how we should have packed, what we should have brought along, what to do different next time (if only). Six more days. Not many more chances for training rides. The proof will be in the pudding. (Now, where did we pack the pudding?)