It is Saturday 13th July and just one week before this adventure begins. Can a couple of middle aged Brits make it to Vancouver and then cycle the Sierra route without damaging ourselves too much. Some of our friends think we are completely mad to even attempt this with comments like “what is wrong with a 5 star hotel anyway”. However most are very supportive!
We did a practice ride last weekend when we cycled to just north of Banbury and back. Pretty good practice as this part of England rarely has any road that is flat.
The weather was good and we survived as the photo shows!
However nearly every day there are parcels arriving with things to take and I wonder if our panniers are going to cope. The bikes are in the bike shop at present – the brilliant Two Wheels of Stourbridge, to put smaller front chain wheels on so we can get up steeper hills. They did ask why we had left it so late but we only decided to do this ride a few weeks ago!
Next job is packing to see if all the kit fits in the panniers. This is now completed and it looks as if will all fit in. Last minute planning and not long before we are off.
The Slow Cycling Blog 
I read this somewhere about the gear on a long bike trip and have found it accurate: lay all your gear out, take only half of it and take double the money you planned on bringing. Good luck! In two weeks my wife and I will haul our tandem to North Fork and start riding north to Graeagle. We’ll do the other parts next summer. If you need a place to stay in Graeagle let me know, we can probably set you up.
We feel truly blessed to have had such fine people riding by Pine Flat Lake and hope GOD will bless you and keep you safe as you finish your journey. Keep in touch!