Sleeping bag

[Aint Doody]

I agree with Tri Girl. If it's not too chilly, go for the Coleman fleece. They're great.

[Melalvai]

Thanks for the tips. I probably could have gotten by with spending less money, but I got a nice sleeping bag from REI, which seems very lightweight to me.

The trip is almost here, 6 days away! I'm alternating anxious and excited. This post is mostly about my anxiety, because I'm hoping you all will calm my fears. But I have plenty of excitement about the trip too.

I've worked and worked over maps and google, and advice from people who are more familiar with other parts of the state. My route is a little more strenuous than I'd hoped. That's one of the things I'm worried about.
Day 1: 78 miles
Day 2: 79 miles
Day 3: 60 miles
Day 4: 82 miles
Day 5: ~65-70 miles.

I'd hoped to keep it closer to 70-75 miles a day. I know from my training rides that I can do 70 miles, even with tent etc, even with wind. (My training rides prove I can do it once anyway. I wish I'd had a chance to try two in a row!) The location of campgrounds dictates my route.

The other thing I'm worried about is the heat. I know, drink lots of water and gatorade and electrolytes. I also know that the first heat of summer hits me like a brick, and it simply takes time to adjust, no matter how much V-8 and water and so on.

I'll browse the archives when I get a chance, but I'll go ahead and ask anyway: what do you suggest I carry to eat? I'll stop at any grocery store and restaurant when I get a chance, but this is rural Missouri & rural Iowa, not necessarily a lot of places to stop. I'm already tired of gas station food just from my training rides.

[ZenSojourner]

Dates. Raisins. Peanut butter crackers, Ritz makes some good ones.

Personally I have to dilute Gatorade A LOT (about 1:4), I prefer Propel

Bananas, can't go touring without bananas!

Maybe some freeze dried camping food.

[PamNY]

Are you taking gear to cook? With or without a stove, I like whey protein powder which will mix with milk or juice.

If you eat fish, tuna in packets is good. You can also find salmon and chicken packaged that way.

Lots of travel-size stuff is available from Minimus. It's pricey and not very green because of the packaging, but handy nonetheless.

Pam

[Melalvai]

Tuna, that's a good idea. I wasn't going to bring cooking gear, but as I've thought about it, I think I will bring a small pan & spoon. I can cook rice (oh, better bring a 1/4 cup measure) or oatmeal. Plain brown rice & tuna will be so good after a day of riding and eating at restaurants. I could happily eat is without salt but I'll bring salt anyway, it'll do me good.

I'll probably buy 2 or 3 bananas at every grocery store I find! Sometimes gas stations have them too (much more expensive but bananas are so cheap to start with). I can eat ramen without guilt because I'll need those empty calories & salt!

Matches...I have a tiny little propane stove but the bottle of propane is a pound or two perhaps. I'm not really sure. But maybe I can get by on a little fire. I'm not a wizard at starting fires without lighter fluid. But if I have to bring lighter fluid I might as well forget the wood fire and just bring the propane.

Only six days left. It's not so much the amount of stuff yet to do. It's the number of decisions I still have to make.

Today: Set up the tent. Fix the broken pole, decide if it is too old and not in good enough shape. (I'll risk it.) I'm done with that! Next: buy groceries, contact folks in areas I'll be passing through.
Monday: Move into my new office. Do actual work stuff. Get my brake pads replaced, replacement reelights mounted, and one last bike check.
Tuesday: mow the yard
Wed: Teach.
Thurs & Fri: Grade quizzes. Grade group reports. Grade the other reports. Grade the final papers. (It wasn't my idea to have 4 things due the same day!) (I only have one section, so 24 students.)

That leaves me tomorrow and Tuesday to pack.

[Tri Girl]

Sounds like you're a little bit of everything: excited, nervous, impatient, stressed, happy.
I think you've got a good plan. The mileage might be higher than you'd hoped, but it sounds like you're ready. Glad you found a sleeping bag.

If you're able to update from the road, we'd love to hear from you to know you're safe and having a great time. Don't forget the pictures. I'd love to see the area you're passing through.

Best of luck. Be safe and have FUN!

[PamNY]

If you have time, I'd love to hear a trip report. As much detail as you can provide will be great! I love camping but haven't done bike touring yet.

You can make fire starters with dryer lint and wax, though I don't know that these would be lighter/easier to carry than lighter fluid. If you want to try it, fill the indentations in a cardboard egg carton with dryer lint and pour melted wax over them. Cut them apart and use 1-2 per fire. Just light the cardboard part and away you go.

Have a great time!

Pam

[Cataboo]

It may be too late, but if you need firestarters ... go to goinggear.com, he has a ton of good firestarters for reasonable prices (not to mention lights & carabiners, and the like). He does have a lot of videos up on youtube about how to start fires with the various things he does sell. He tends to ship priority mail & if you let him know you need it quick, he'll get it out quick.

An alternative on the dryer lint & wax is dryer lint with petroleum jelly... If you go on goingprepared.com in the forums, there's something on how to make it. (The guy that runs goinggear runs it, so you can PM him on there if you have questions)

If you want something simple & small to cook in, you can make a pepsi can stove:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage-can_stove

As for food to bring... I tend to bring cliff bars & cliff shot bloks. I don't particularly like either, but they're great when I'm hungry and have been being active.

When I'm camping, I tend to just go to the grocery and get the dry bag of pasta or rice that you just add water & cook for 5-10 mins.

Couscous is very easy to cook and lightweight.

I tend to bring a little bag of spices to add - black peppercorns, coriander or cumin seeds, some dry sundried tomatos, chipolte peppers, things like that.