What to wear when you're not on the bike

Here's part two of "what did you pack for your trip?" focusing on the non-cycling apparel.

Again, we had the issue of packing for multiple seasons. It was spring when we left, but we were heading for the Sierras. We expected to cross the Cascades in June, and knew it could be cold at that elevation. (Although, as it turned out, there was a heat wave that week, and it was in the 90s in the mountains!)  No matter what route we took, we'd be spending August somewhere, and that was bound to be hot. And then, we figured we would not be home for at least six months, which would put us back into fall weather - particularly at the higher elevations.

So, we each packed a pair of pants, and a pair of shorts (mine were Capri pants.)  I had a tank top, a short sleeve top, and a long sleeve shirt (mostly for protection from the sun) that were comfortable for warm or hot weather. I also had a sundress, which was great on laundry day (the bra was built in.) For cool weather, I had a long-sleeve t-shirt and a wool blend shirt.  Roger had pretty much the same thing, in a guy-kind-of-way:  two shirts with collars and a t-shirt, plus his warm shirt.

Kathy's rain jacket, long and short-sleeve shirts, lounge pants, wool shirt, long-sleeve t-shirt, my sleeping tee and tank top. Sent home the skirt and the other t-shirt.

We each took a pair of those "lounge-y" pants and a t-shirt for sleeping in. They turned out to be great - we could wear them around the camp site if we were camping, and they were modest enough that we more than once went down the hall to the breakfast room to get coffee while wearing them.

I had three "accessories" with me: a single pair of earrings, and two scarves. One was just for color, and the other one (an oversize, super lightweight square) turned out to be great as a little shawl during the summer when I was wearing the tank top or sundress, and needed something on my shoulders indoors (because restaurants in the South are always freezing!)  From the photo, you can see that all my stuff "went together" - it was pretty much all in the same color palette. That worked well, as it allowed me to mix and match.

My sundress with the scarf/shawl and my cousins Vic and Nancy, Rita and Peyton

We each had a pair of Keen sandals. I love mine!

Along the way, we sometimes had people give us t-shirts, so we occasionally had a couple extra things to wear. And then we would send them home when we needed to lighten up the load.

Recognizing that I can go just about anywhere with this very limited wardrobe has been liberating. One of the things I want to do when I get home is go through my closet and get rid of a bunch of stuff!