Another wet and cold weekend!

So I spent a lot of time on the computer preparing for the trip. I have mapped the whole trip on Microsoft’s Streets and Trips; a great program. The program has indicated the end of each day; cost for gas; total number of miles and the number of days it will take to make the trip. Of course, reaching the indicated night stopping point depends on riding 400 miles each day which isn’t going to happen. I also gathered state maps (paper) and highlighted our route. I’ll carry these in my tank bag.

My next task was to figure out approximately where we will be each night and copy possible hotels from the Mom and Pop Motels website (the link is to the right). I’m concerned if we don’t have a daily goal to reach we may not ride the number of miles required and the last thing we want is to run out of time. We are going to have to put in some long miles a few days in order to spend 2 days at the Canyonlands, 2 days at the Redwoods, and some time sightseeing in the other National Parks. I have tourism books from every state and I have printed tons of material from the Internet which is all stashed in a canvas bag; interesting sights or places to stop.

Next I made a list of intersections as GPS navigation points to get us through or around the large cities that route 50 goes through. I’ve been told the route is well marked but just in case a sign has been lost I will know quickly an intersection to plug into Gabby (my GPS) to get us back on track.

I keep a trip list in the computer of items needed for any trip so I updated the list this weekend; indicating the number of jeans, shirts, socks, etc. to pack and making sure things like insect spray, suntan location, batteries, rain gear, cameras, all the electric connectors required for things like our cell phones, camera chargers, Palm Pilot, water & snacks, stamps to mail postcards home, basic medicines such as aspirins, allergy pills, toothpaste; things that we normally just walk in the bathroom or kitchen and get we need to make sure we take with us for three weeks. So even though we could not get outside to ride, it was a productive weekend.