D Day - 4

Roger is our author for the post below - as well as being our chief publicist and media manager. Through the posts that he's made on Facebook and the emails he has sent to family and friends, the word is getting out.  Boy, the pressure is on! (Kathy)

The stuff for the pack is getting weeded out.  No long sleeve jerseys, ax the water purification system, jettison the big lock in favor of a wire harness that would not stop an 8 year old.  All clothes being pressed into vacuum travel zip locks (halving the space).  Tomorrow, Kathy assures me that she will pack all this shit and we can test drive at Chris's Thursday ride. My creative incompetence seems to have relieved me of any part in the packing.  Kathy being who she is and I being who I am seems to work out some way, as long as I do not attempt in any way to touch anything related to the gear.  When we are on the road, I will be responsible for setting up and tearing down, but can have no role in putting stuff in the packs.  This division of labor somehow works.

With humble gratitude to all the accolades we have gotten for our plan, on the subject of the relative potential for us actually pulling this off, Kathy, being who she is, is the optimist and I am the realist.  10,000 m is very far on a bike.  Over 6 months we propose to haul about 480 lbs of bike riders and gear the equivalent of halfway around the prime meridian, up 60 lineal miles (with the help of our good mechanical friends: the wheel, the inclined plane, the pulley and the lever).  When we did our tour 6 years ago we did 1200 miles in about 18 days which is where we got the projected estimate.  Six years ago I barely qualified for social security.  This trip requires more gear and is being attempted by a 72 year old man and a girl.  Our projection of 60 miles/day could end up being 40 or less, in which case we would be crossing the Rockies during the spring skiing season in 2017.  Also there are road hazards, saddle sores, sickness, disability, and dementia that can upset our plan. Point being that undertaking this journey is not to be confused with actually accomplishing it.

We should have a very much better handle on reality in a week.