The bike is boxed up, and the panniers are packed away in another box. The van is loaded. We leave for the Minneapolis airport in 11 hours. SO EXCITING!!
I had a bit of a scare on Sunday when I discovered that my rear wheel had a concernong wobble. I wanted a brand new Scwalbe Marathon Plus tire on the back, but last time I tried that, in New Orleans on GUMBIRD, the wobble forced me to get a new tire at a bike shop in Mississippi.
So this time I paid Spring Street Sports to install it for me on Saturday. When I discovered the wobble, I had a bit of PTSD flashback. But SSS is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so I had to wait until Tuesday morning for them to check it out. Fortunately, owner Dave figured out that he just had to reseat the valve and now it’s much better.
I added a couple of days to the early route due to rain and horrific climbs — 7000 feet of elevation gain in the first 50 miles! And 10,000 feet in the first 100 miles. I don’t want to burn out in the first week. Fortunately, I have flexibility in the schedule. Tomorrow we fly!