Day 0: bike tour begins

The upcoming bike trip has been several months in the making, especially for Matt who sewed all our saddlebags and storage pouches. For me, the trip became a reality only within the last few days as we started to fill in the details: I created a Data Book for Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway and pasted together an elevation profile. I packed my gear. Carl came by to teach us a little more about bike mechanics and loan some tools. This evening, with access to the Kirks' maps and internet, Matt and I found, printed, and cut out our maps for the trip. Our train tickets are now in our hands. The bikes are boxed for the Amtrak ride. We've been giving Uwharrie some loving because we're going to miss her.

Matt and I don't plan on returning from our adventure until the end of June. We're taking the early morning train up to Philadelphia, and biking the Schuylkill River Trail out to Pottstown, PA for Matt's ten-year high school reunion. After a short stay, we'll bike through Amish country over to Gettysburg, then down the historic Journey Through Hallowed Ground route to Frindy's place in Haymarket, VA. Skyline Drive starts less than thirty miles away, and we'll bike that and the Parkway back home to Marion, NC.

I've thought before that if I were thru-hiking the AT again, I would pack my heavy digital SLR camera for the quality of the photos it takes -- it would be worth it. So this time, I'm bringing the camera strapped to my handlebars. Hopefully, Matt and I will be able to post on this journey south.