Fully loaded and ready to roll

Lydia here, 

Bikes are ready! Ryan's Surly, pictured directly below, has 2 large panniers on the back rack and 2 small panniers on the front rack. His saddle bag (which has now become his handlebar bag) will hold quick access things such as food and maps. His bike is super heavy now with all the gear. As the tour goes, we will swap bags to we can sharrrreeee the looooooaaaaad. Just call us Frodo and Sam. 

My bike, picture below, is carrying a little less gear, but weight wise, is pretty close. The back bag has most of our camping equipment (tent, sleeping bags, pillows, chair, sleeping pads, etc) and the front has all of our toiletries, phone,camera, and cords. Never underestimate the art of strategic packing, these bags are full! Yeah, I went to college, the college of TETRIS! The back bag is actually a waterproof backpack  that we converted into bike bag. Bonus, it matches the handlebar bag that Mickey provided with the bike! 10 points!

And so the packing begins...

Hi! Lydia here, 

Just one more day and we are heading to New Buffalo! A lot has happened the last few days and its all finally coming to a head. 

Yesterday Ryan's mom dropped off her Schwinn for me to use on the tour. I cannot express how grateful I am! There was no way I could have used my current bike on this trip because it is a racing frame and it is uncomfortable for long distance. Mickey's bike fits me perfectly and has such a comfortable posture! I was starting to stress about the daunting task of trying to buy a bike, but Mickey, saved me from having to do so. 

Today was spent dropping my animals off with my cousin (Thanks Becca for watching them!!!) and buying last minute gear. I FINALLY bought a pack pillow. For the last 3 years I have been Macgyvering a pillow by using my clothing stuffed in a cloth compression sack. Though this may have done the trick in the past, it was far from comfortable. If you have never used a pack pillow, check them out. Mine is the Term-a-rest pillow pictured below! I cannot wait to use it! 

Hello all, Ryan here:

 Well, I think we have everything. Got the bikes loaded up and took them out for a quick spin around the neighborhood and everything seemed to hold in place. There is still some maintenance to be done on Lydia's Schwinn, but most everything seems mechanically sound. Oh, and in case you didn't know already, I passed my Master's defense on Monday morning! While there is still work to be done before I am fully finished with the degree, I am very relieved. Now, all I can think about is cruising along Lake Michigan's eastern shoreline. It may look like a blizzard of gear, but we actually organized everything very well, thanks in no part to my organizational skills (Figure 1)! All credit goes to Lydia for this one. Each of our bags (most of them are not pictured here) have a purpose i.e. food, sleeping/shelter, tools, etc. Also, It appears that we are actually going to have some extra room, so that will be nice to have flexibility in what we can pick up along our journey. Route planning and a picking up a few more things, along with a whirlwind cleaning session are happening tomorrow, I will try to post some photos of the bikes loaded up in the daylight.

Peace through pedals,

-Ryan

Figure 1: All that and a bag a chips