In a little more than a week I'll be heading out on a long bike tour. I've been going through checklists trying to make sure I have everything I need. Then it's just a matter of the weather. It's been cold and rainy. Hopefully it will warm up in time for me to leave.
I'm looking at a start date of June 5
Didn't sleep very well and woke up with a headache. Actually the headache started before I went to bed. Probably dehydrated as I also got a leg cramp in the night when I got up to pee. Yesterday was the first hot day of the season.
Had a very slow morning. No rush as I decided to just head home rather than spend another night. The sun was out but filtered as I was under the tress. Still I was able to get te orange tarp dry, and the tent rainfly mostly dry. I used the towel to wipe off the last of the moisture. Didn't bother with a morning fire.
Left on a Friday. Will spend one or two nights. Nice day, warm but with some clouds.
I'm testing an iPhone app called BlogPress which I may use on the road. It is supposed to work with Drupal which is what I use for my website. 
This looks very promising. Let's see what happens when I post.
Postscript: It worked nicely
A club touring trip organized by Phil Gagnon. We meet up at Central Point. Phil and I both rode from Ashland (separately).
Front to back - Phil, Chris, George, Leslie
We took Agate Road to Nick Young Road stopped at this Vinyard but did not taste any wine.
Every year we ride the Evans Creek loop and pass this sign. We always debate whether or not it turns to gravel. We've been searching for a route between the Rogue and Umpqua valleys and wondered if this could be it. So this year we parked at the sign and found out.
First time up Greensprings on the Trucker. I had a pretty good headwind all the way up which made it even harder. Nice day though, cool in the shade and warm in the sun. As you can see the lake was still partly frozen.
Out past the Table Rocks and then into Gold Hill. Here is a video I took with my iPhone mounted on the handlebar.
Out and back ride along the Applegate and Rogue Rivers. It was a cold winter day but the roads were dry and I had a great ride.
We always get a spell of decent weather in February, but not this nice. 55 - 65 all week, and without the strong winds we tend to get here. I got in several good rides including twice up Greensprings Summit and rides of 64 and 75 miles. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting close to being ready to ride everyday on a bike tour.
Linda shot this picture of this young Bull Elk grazing on our recent trip to the Redwoods.
Andy said he was thinking about an overnight ride, camping for one night. We thought about Stewart park but it was a little too far and most of the other options were at too high elevation for this time of year. So we opted for Valley of the Rogue Park between Gold Hill and Rogue River.
It was a decent day on Saturday though never got as warm as the forecast said. We had a good escort most of the way.
I've been ready lot's of ride logs at Adventure Cycling and at Crazy Guy On A Bike. Getting plenty of inspiration for touring and getting some good tips. A good way to spend January. Getting out on the bike 3 days a week as well.
I took advantage of a nice warm spell and got in 4 rides with the temerature in the 50's. It's cooled off again but still well above 40. Lot's of people on the roads during the day. Must be retired folks getting out and getting some rides.
It took a while to get out there. It's been warming up for a few days but raining in the afternoon. Rain held off today. Was planning to take it slow the whole way but got behind another rider early on. Took a while to catch up to a young woman who then dropped back as soon as I passed. She must have been riding hard to keep me from catching her. I definitely rode slower on the way back. Was planning on a 20 mile ride but stretched it to 30. Was pretty beat after.
Rode to work three days this week without a problem. Ribs still hurt but getting better. Hope to do a bike path ride soon.
