Woke up early at 5:30 a.m., couldn't fall back asleep. A mix of nervous excitement and happiness the time has finally come to do this trip! I was also lying in bed worrying I'll forget something important, worrying I'm bringing too much, worrying how I'll make it all fit on the bike...worrying.
In a last minute thing last night, I pre-mapped some routes on ridewithgps to bike all the way home. Stole a route from a guy i met in the Adirondacks who was biking cross country from Boston. Biking home from the end of the VTXL would add 2 more nights and 3 days to the trip. If I'm really enjoying myself and the weather cooperates, I might do that. I know all the rail trails and quiet road routes to avoid the heavier traffic once I get to Rutland Mass, ~30miles west of home.
Anyhoo, it's 7:30a.m 'ish now, I've rechecked all the stuff on the list. Truck is packed. But no point leaving early, Vermont's Brighton St park's check-in isn't until 2p.m. , so I'm going to try and relax until 9:30a.m. Maybe also take a shower I don't really need.
The plan is to drive up mostly via NH, and then cut over to the Northeast corner of Vermont after driving the highway past Franconia Notch. It's pretty through there. On the way, going to stop for lunch at Lincoln Diner in Lincoln NH; Jacqui loves a good diner.
Yesterday, I pre-made spaghetti and lentil based meatballs for dinner (I swear they're really good!) . I've made them 3 times now, and I've added them to my weight loss plan page's favorite recipes.
I also pre-cooked bacon to go with pancakes tomorrow morning's breakfast at camp. It's just easier to cook bacon at home. (And much safer when in bear country)
- preheat oven to 400F
- line a normal size, rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil
- lay out bacon into single layer with gaps between each strip
- bake for 20 minutes on middle rack
- we like bacon crispy, so after 20 min add 2 minute increments to check for doneness. It goes fast at the very end and can burn.
For the campfire later, I also made paper towel bacon grease fire starter material.
- Mop up all the bacon grease with paper towel on the aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. just lay paper sheets flat into the grease, don't bunch them
- let towels cool, and then place them in a good quality gallon freezer bag. Fold them first as needed.
- Store ziploc bag in another air tight container.
- Don't leave container in your vehicle overnight
- I store them in the 5 gallon trash bucket with an airtight lid I strap to the back of the truck's passenger side rear bumper swing arm, so if a bear smells it, it won't tear into my truck looking for it. It can just rip the bucket off the truck and enjoy its snack. (touch wood, hasn't happened yet, but bears can tear through your vehicle like tissue paper)
Tonight at camp, I'll be organizing stuff I've dumped into tote bags. I figured it would give me something to do, so I'm not annoying Jacqui all night yapping. When I bike tomorrow, I also get to leave a lot of stuff at the campsite inside my tent, so it'll make things easier first day. On the Erie trip, it took me 30 minutes to load up the bike. I'll only need 5-10 minutes Tuesday, less annoying for Jacqui when she drops me off. Worst case, if I can't make everything fit wednesday morning. I'll throw stuff out before leaving the campground Wednesday. Talking food mostly.
Anyway, that's all for now. Going to relax before the drive starts, later! Blogging calms me down, and helps me kill time when I'm worrying. Hopefully this wasn't a boring read.
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