In the Beginning

Ok, on the eve of a new journey.  Tomorrow at 4am, Dave Carelock and I will venture out on an adventure of the cycling kind.  We are going to be going up to Oregon and ride our bikes for four days in a 175 mile loop.  We will drive up to Redmond, OR, just north of Bend, and hang a right for another couple of hours and park the car in John Day, OR.
I have never done any touring on a bike, so this will be new. I bought a couple of panniers for the back of my bike and my motto is:  If it doesn't fit in those bags, I don't need them.  I have all of my clothes in one bag and food/electronics/everything else in the opposite bag.  In these pictures, I don't have all of my food in yet, but this will pass.  I have the sleeping bag and thermarest mat on the top part of the rack.


I am riding "Barney" vs. my Trek because I don't have any way to attach a rack to the Trek.  Yeah, it weighs more, but it has been a loyal friend all of these years and deserves an adventure.  We put "slicks" on the bike for decreased rolling resistance.  I haven't and don't intend to weigh the bike.  Sometimes the unknown is better than the known.
Dave said he as added 40lbs to his bike.  He has four extra bags full of gear.  I will hopefully be able to help him with some of it.  He is the expert with regards to bag cookery.  I have learned how to make cereal, soup and will probably learn other culinary treats in a Ziploc bag.  Yummy.
I will post on this site via Facebook as battery power allows me.  I know I will be able to charge a couple of times along our trip.
Ciao for now,
Mike