Light rain on and off all night and on the ride. We’ve been rained on plenty of times, but we kicked ourselves this time because we intentionally did not bring some of our dry bags because the forecast said 0% chance of rain. Lesson learned: be prepared. ? A few electronics and part of our sleeping bags got wet, but should be no long term damage.
We could not find any camp stove fuel for our ultralight stove; we tried three places across the street but they only had large 16 oz. Canisters for Coleman stoves. I know we can get the ones we need at REI, and I’m hoping we can find some when we get to Lisbon as well.
So no coffee at camp, but we stopped at Leucadia Donuts for a chocolate glazed and a coffee.
The ride back was tedious. Slow going due to the added weight, wet due to the rain, and boring because it’s a route we have ridden hundreds of times. We are also feeling a bit out of shape; these two days took it out of us! But we know from experience that after a couple days of the new normal of bike touring, it’s all good. Overall, we have returned home re-energized for our tour and committed to keep up our training!
When I got home, I weighed myself and then weighed myself holding my bike fully loaded. The bike and gear came out to 22kg or about 48 lbs. Not too bad, I think…
The weight off the bikes must be difficult after a road bike …….smart move doing a trial expedition
It definitely handles differently and the hills are harder! But you actually get used to the weight pretty quickly