Berea, KY!

We made it to Berea! Albeit, we were driven here in a car, WE MADE IT TO BEREA. Yes, in caps, because this was a hard fought battle. This morning we left Youngstown, Ohio, stopped by Columbus, Ohio, to clean our apartment and drop off the keys . . . and now we are here! Yeah!

My final thoughts for the first day (um, although we have not even sat on our bikes yet), include the things we should have done WAY earlier:

Load the bikes. With everything. Possibly we should have done this months ago. Instead, I chose to make piles throughout the apartment -- in two different rooms no less -- of all the things to pack. I just spent the last three hours (here in Berea) attempting to close the panniers. And I’m not even sure I have everything I need.

This is a huge no-no in the bike touring world. Many people are probably wagging their tongues and pursing their lips right now. I should be unpacking and re-packing them right now. And here I sit, typing, glancing occasionally at my panniers, in disgust.

Begin sleeping in my sleeping bag much earlier. I’ve slept in it for the past three nights. It’s awful.

When I bought my sleeping bag six months ago, I must have gotten tongue-tied or misspoke or something. Because the salesman at the camping store did not sell me a sleeping bag. No, what I have in my possession is a sleeping bad.

It’s loud. And hot. And it’s a bag. In which I must sleep. Every time I move it emits a horrible noise. On the sound spectrum it is somewhere between Jet Engine Overhead and Nails On Chalk Board.

But . . . tomorrow we get to bike! Tomorrow we’re headed east for 50 miles to Natural Bridge State Park.

Brooke