Shake down cruise!!!

Today, Keith and I took the bikes fully loaded to see if we were ready for the trip next week. My bike has a couple of issues that I will need to fix before next Tuesday, my front bag is sagging and I need to replace the bolts and the front brakes don't seem to be working as well as they should. They are squeaking and don't appear to have as much stopping power as I am used to. I will clean the rims and replace the pads before we leave. The good news is there are very few steep hills on the rails to trails route we are taking.

Last minute prep.

On the Northside portion of the trail.

View of Pittsburgh from Washington's landing

Crew practicing

Ready for lunch.

Self explanatory!

The day started off cloudy with a few drops of rain but it was cool so it was actually pretty pleasant. We rode the Eliza Furnace trail in Pittsburgh which is paved for the most part. We rode down the Ohio and then up the Allegheny to Washington's landing where we decided to have lunch. We practiced our touring pace by lingering for an hour over lunch and a couple of glasses of wine. I have to say the Keith has this part of touring down pat! By now, it was after one so we decided to head back to the cars. Of course if you know me, there was the mandatory Starbucks stop before we ended the ride. The sun came out and it started to get hot as we got back to the parking lot. We managed to get 26 miles in and felt pretty good about it. I believe we are ready to go!

Getting ready for the 2011 bike trip!!!!

Keith and his new Surly Long Haul Trucker

Next week will begin the 2011 bike trip. This one will be pretty tame compared to the 2009 - 3,970 mile San Francisco to Portsmouth NH trip and the 2010 - 2,356 mile ride from Bar Harbor to Key West trip. This time it is for one week and approximately 340 miles from Pittsburgh to DC. I know, it is hardly worth getting the tires pumped on the bike for such a short trip but I think it will still be pretty exciting. We will be traveling on the Rails to Trails Great Allegheny Passage until we get to Maryland and then to follow the old historic C&O canal into Washington DC. Keith Stewart will be riding along and we expect to see some pretty interesting scenery and historic sites as we ride along. We will be averaging about 60 miles a day and staying in B&Bs for the most part. This will be Keith's first long distance ride and he is really looking forward to it. I have to confess that I am also looking to get back into the saddle again. Long distance cycling gets into your blood and calls you out. Never mind all of the past hardships or long days or rain or floods, all you can remember is the great sights, people and adventures encountered and your soul says lets roll!!!!

Keep watching the blog, we start riding on August 2, 2011!