The Random Crap Thread 2: It Hits the Fan.
- Thread starter North_Ranger
- Start date
I'm just about all packed for my first bikepacking trip tomorrow morning. The plan is bus up to Lacewood Terminal, ride the trails to Graves Island, camp overnight (I already reserved a spot), and bike home Monday morning.
I'm worried the back has too much weight. I couldn't afford front racks. I have some cooking stuff in the front bag. I don't think I have a way to strap the tent to the front. I couldn't think of a better set up with what I have. Hopefully, my bike doesn't break down along the way or back. I'm worried I'm setting myself up for a disaster.
I'm a little nervous and could use some words of encouragement.
I'm worried the back has too much weight. I couldn't afford front racks. I have some cooking stuff in the front bag. I don't think I have a way to strap the tent to the front. I couldn't think of a better set up with what I have. Hopefully, my bike doesn't break down along the way or back. I'm worried I'm setting myself up for a disaster.
I'm a little nervous and could use some words of encouragement.
You got this! You can rebalance if it isn't working. And this is an experiment. Plan for things to not be perfect. That is how you learn for a bigger ride later.
I have a water bottle and cage (cage is pictured above, just by the pedals). I'll also bring an extra 32 oz bottle with me. And refill when I hit the halfway point at the Bike & Bean. There's several water stations at the campgrounds.
It's just an overnight thing, so I'm going to leave them lots of food and water, and make sure their litter box is super cleaned. If I do the PEI trip, I'll definitely get someone to watch over them.
You got this! And it's also a practice run, so it will not be perfect. Let it not be perfect, adjust, and learn.
Have a great time!
I am literally screaming my head off because I am ordering $100 worth of Chinese knives but they won't let me.
Ah, good. I never know what anyone else's weather is like (it's already full summer here), so I wanted to be sure.
Is it safe to assume you've got a source of easily digestible source of carbs with you?
Yes, bringing some Cliff bars with me. I also bought a scone at the Bike & Bean, and some pepperoni sticks.
I actually got a brunch at Bike & Bean.
(Posting this while taking a brief pit stop. About halfway there as of this writing!)
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Thank you for the pitstop update! I was wondering how it was going.
Awesome!
How's this for an update?
So, I'm almost to Graves Island. The trail has been pretty good most of the way. The gravel was really thick but loose past Bike & Bean.
I'm at East River now and...the trail past here is closed. Shit. I see there's a road called Lighthouse Rte, so I guess it's roads the rest of the way. Bright side is it's a shorter route, too.
Made it. 
That's pretty dope.
Have a great night! I hope the weather cooperates.
It's been misting or raining since I got here, so I climbed into my tent. Watched a movie. Tried watching the latest Doctor Who, but the formatting didn't work on the file I downloaded.
And now I'm...kinda bored. In retrospect, I should have copied more movies.
Also, this whole experience, while great, has been really lonely. I don't have anyone to share it with.
Made some good chili, though.
Dave
Staff member
Sam just moved from Spokane to Wichita, KS. She was able to pick the keys up to her new house Saturday (rental) so the wife and I drove down to help her move some stuff in, check some stuff out, etc. The focus, though, on this post is the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at.
The place we stayed was called the Delano Bed & Breakfast. Nice little place. Pretty old and antique but it was reasonably priced and has GREAT reviews. The adventure begins when we get there and the bed is a LOT smaller than we'd anticipated. This is a problem for two American-sized individuals. We go to bed that night and it's cozy but doable. My wife sits down on the antique bed - which creaks like you are putting wood through a chipper - and the whole side of the bed collapses. Oh shit. Thankfully, it was just that it was an old bed and the wooden slats under the mattress were not in the frame squarely. In fact, one of the slats was on TOP of the frame, which left the other one a mere centimeter or two away from disaster, which we found out to our chagrin. Which also made Kerri fearful of sleeping on it the rest of the night. Add in the fact that the rooms were small and each had their own individual heating/cooling system so it got REAL COLD REAL FAST when we turned on the AC. Well, neither of us slept much that first night.
Breakfast the next morning was pretty amazing, actually. Homemade yogurt and fresh tarts hot from the oven with blackberries with Kenyan tea. Really great breakfast! Then off to Sam's where we worked all day and I spent so much money that we're effectively broke until I get paid Friday. Good thing we like Ramen and Mac & Cheese!
Anyway, we get Sam situated and it turns out she has two air mattresses. We decide that Kerri will stay with Sam her first night in the "not slum but not great" neighborhood she's in, and I go back to the B&B. This is an important point - as of this decision, there was nobody else booked at this B&B other than myself. I get back, take a shower, get into bed & start reading so I can fall asleep. I get a text from the host that she booked the other room - there are two - last minute so I would have neighbors. I joked with her that I'd be quiet and she laughingly responded that she hoped so since we were the resident bed-breakers.
About 9 I hear someone coming in, talking on the speaker phone very loudly. The B&B dog, Dozer, was freaking out. Quick aside, we loved Dozer. He was very cute and loved to visit the people staying. 10 out of 10 would pet again. But I digress. So the girl talking on the phone, sounding in her early 20's, came walking down the hall talking to the host and I can hear the host saying, "Last door on the left side. It has <<name>> on it." Sure enough, instead of going to the RIGHT door, she opens MY door, which I had not locked when I'd gotten into bed as nobody else was going to be there. MY ERROR! I get it. So here's an old fat guy sitting shirtless in bed and the door opens. I didn't see her but she could not help but see me. I said, "Wrong door." and it closed at the speed of sound and I could hear her - still on speaker phone with the host - completely flustered and embarrassed fumbling with the door on the other side while I laughed.
A bit later she's STILL on speaker phone talking to someone and obviously trying to guide them to the house. It's about 9:30 at this point so I'm not too put out although talking on a speaker phone annoys me. The guy gets there and they talk - loudly - about going out. Then they leave. Quiet descends and I fall asleep. 11 pm rolls around and back they come. Still speaking loudly, obviously they'd been drinking, and obviously they are the only ones in the world because now I'm awake again as they stumble into their room. It gets quiet for about 15 minutes then they proceed to have loud monkey-sex for about an hour and a half while I lay there regretting my life choices. I still don't know her name but I have it on good authority that his name is "Derek".
Next morning comes and I go for breakfast. Again, amazing breakfast with cranberry bread just out of the oven & still steaming hot. That kind of thing. I talked to the hosts for a while before I left to go to Sam's and then I was gone. I was hoping the couple would come to breakfast while I was there. I was going to greet him by name and say to the girl, "I'm sorry, Derek never mentioned your name."
The place we stayed was called the Delano Bed & Breakfast. Nice little place. Pretty old and antique but it was reasonably priced and has GREAT reviews. The adventure begins when we get there and the bed is a LOT smaller than we'd anticipated. This is a problem for two American-sized individuals. We go to bed that night and it's cozy but doable. My wife sits down on the antique bed - which creaks like you are putting wood through a chipper - and the whole side of the bed collapses. Oh shit. Thankfully, it was just that it was an old bed and the wooden slats under the mattress were not in the frame squarely. In fact, one of the slats was on TOP of the frame, which left the other one a mere centimeter or two away from disaster, which we found out to our chagrin. Which also made Kerri fearful of sleeping on it the rest of the night. Add in the fact that the rooms were small and each had their own individual heating/cooling system so it got REAL COLD REAL FAST when we turned on the AC. Well, neither of us slept much that first night.
Breakfast the next morning was pretty amazing, actually. Homemade yogurt and fresh tarts hot from the oven with blackberries with Kenyan tea. Really great breakfast! Then off to Sam's where we worked all day and I spent so much money that we're effectively broke until I get paid Friday. Good thing we like Ramen and Mac & Cheese!
Anyway, we get Sam situated and it turns out she has two air mattresses. We decide that Kerri will stay with Sam her first night in the "not slum but not great" neighborhood she's in, and I go back to the B&B. This is an important point - as of this decision, there was nobody else booked at this B&B other than myself. I get back, take a shower, get into bed & start reading so I can fall asleep. I get a text from the host that she booked the other room - there are two - last minute so I would have neighbors. I joked with her that I'd be quiet and she laughingly responded that she hoped so since we were the resident bed-breakers.
About 9 I hear someone coming in, talking on the speaker phone very loudly. The B&B dog, Dozer, was freaking out. Quick aside, we loved Dozer. He was very cute and loved to visit the people staying. 10 out of 10 would pet again. But I digress. So the girl talking on the phone, sounding in her early 20's, came walking down the hall talking to the host and I can hear the host saying, "Last door on the left side. It has <<name>> on it." Sure enough, instead of going to the RIGHT door, she opens MY door, which I had not locked when I'd gotten into bed as nobody else was going to be there. MY ERROR! I get it. So here's an old fat guy sitting shirtless in bed and the door opens. I didn't see her but she could not help but see me. I said, "Wrong door." and it closed at the speed of sound and I could hear her - still on speaker phone with the host - completely flustered and embarrassed fumbling with the door on the other side while I laughed.
A bit later she's STILL on speaker phone talking to someone and obviously trying to guide them to the house. It's about 9:30 at this point so I'm not too put out although talking on a speaker phone annoys me. The guy gets there and they talk - loudly - about going out. Then they leave. Quiet descends and I fall asleep. 11 pm rolls around and back they come. Still speaking loudly, obviously they'd been drinking, and obviously they are the only ones in the world because now I'm awake again as they stumble into their room. It gets quiet for about 15 minutes then they proceed to have loud monkey-sex for about an hour and a half while I lay there regretting my life choices. I still don't know her name but I have it on good authority that his name is "Derek".
Next morning comes and I go for breakfast. Again, amazing breakfast with cranberry bread just out of the oven & still steaming hot. That kind of thing. I talked to the hosts for a while before I left to go to Sam's and then I was gone. I was hoping the couple would come to breakfast while I was there. I was going to greet him by name and say to the girl, "I'm sorry, Derek never mentioned your name."
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Wound up getting about 4 and a half hours sleep. Packed up my camping gear and I've been biking for almost 4 hours, from Graves Island to Upper Tantallon. I left just before 9. Had a Detour because I tried getting on the roads, but discovered I was going the wrong way and had to double back. I shortened some of my return trip by taking St Margaret's Bay Rd from Cleveland Beach and on.
Just had lunch at the Bike & Bean and...I'm debating getting a bus the rest of the way. I don't know if I have it in me to bike another hour and a half. The rest of the trail is easier than what's between Bike & Bean and Graves Island, but I don't know if I have it in me.
I'll rest a bit more and think about it.
Just had lunch at the Bike & Bean and...I'm debating getting a bus the rest of the way. I don't know if I have it in me to bike another hour and a half. The rest of the trail is easier than what's between Bike & Bean and Graves Island, but I don't know if I have it in me.
I'll rest a bit more and think about it.
We believe in you! It'll be tough, but you can do it!
I'm of two minds on this. You can absolutely do this. You've got it. But also, if your body decides it's done, there is no shame in listening to it. You've already done something epic as it is.
I did it. I biked the rest of the way. Not to home, but to the bus terminal where I'd started.
I'm home now and completely exhausted.
@Squidleybits and I have been together 27 years, and yesterday I had to explain the migration habits of coconuts to her.
European or African?
It's not a question where he grips it.
My neck issues are likely made worse by a 20 pound cat that insists on sitting around my shoulders.