Best man duties are out of the way!!! RELIEF AND FREEDOM. Wouldn't change it for anything! A superb day and a happy couple, just quite stressful and nerve racking!
What this does mean though is that I can fully concentrate on the upcoming cycle tour.
If I start tomorrow, there will be a short section down to South Devon, before I spend some time with family for Easter.
I then intend to head South West from there, continuing round the coast.
I expect my trip to be punctuated with detours because of various other wedding commitments. So I don't expect to do it in one sitting, but as good as. As soon as weddings are done, then I shall continue.
Of course the whole thing is dependant on whether my knee can take the repetitive nature of cycle touring, so to a degree, we are just going to have to wait and see. I am not in a rush though! Plus, I have managed to sort the gearing out on my bike, so it is much more appropriate for touring and my knee.
Having also toyed with multiple packing options, I have now made the choice to dispense with the panniers and the trailer, over the minimalist and lightweight drybag on rack solution. I purchased a Gourdon 30 drybag rucksack from Alpkit and the idea is to use this as the only main bag and bungee it on top of the rear rack. I stole this idea along with many others from a great read, Ultralight bicycle touring. Check it out!
This means that I will not have multiple unweildy pannier bags and will be able to lock the bike up, stick the rucksack on my back and go exploring when the mood takes me. If this plan works, it allows me much more freedom. Granted I won't be able to carry as much, but this isn't a bad thing. More stuff equals more weight and with several thousand miles on the agenda, the less load the better!
Anyway, if you don't see ant posts for a while, you know why!
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