Prelude to the Adventure

Friday, March 21 2008

This blog will not be long; should be only 3 days and probably will all be posted after the actual ride is finished. The plan is to leave home near Raleigh NC mid afternoon and ride to Merchant's Millpond State Park to camp that night. The next morning, Saturday, break up camp early and head northeast to ride the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge-Tunnel on the bike. I've never ridden it on the bike, so that should be fun. Then continue north on the DelMarVa Penninsula into Delaware a bit. Then west into Maryland to cross the Potomac River, and south into Virginia to Westmoreland State Park, where I'll camp Saturday night. Then Sunday morning, head southwest to home.

I'm trying out a new tent to see how I like it. I have a good Sierra Designs tent that I've used several years, but have not been totally pleased with the waterproofness and overall layout of the tent. While rated as two person, I don't know where the second pair of legs would go because it narrows considerably at the foot. And I've woken up a few mornings with a small pool of water from rain.

So, I've gotten a new tent from REI, a Half-Dome HC. Also rated for 2, but it seems much more spacious than the SD. The charts say the SD has 2 more square feet, but I don't see how they can say that because the REI feels much larger. We'll see.

Also will be a test of temperature. It's supposed to get pretty chilly Saturday night, with a possibility of rain and temperatures around 34 degrees. I'll be in the Coleman Xterra sleeping bag rated at 20 degrees, so I should be fine. But I've never camped at temperatures below about 40 degrees or so. To be safe, I've included a pair of heavy fleece long pants and a sweatshirt in case I get cold.

All this is in preparation for THE BIG TRIP TO ALASKA! Gary and I will be heading out on or around June 24 for Alaska and returning on August 4. And we'll camp out about half the time we're on the road. So, this trip is a prelude to THE BIG TRIP.

I plan to write a blog each evening, logging my experiences and observations for the day. If I happen by a motel that has wireless, I may try to borrow a signal long enough to post the blog, but that may or may not actually happen. Somehow I always seem to be pushed for time.