Day zero - Iberia 2013 - CycleBlaze

October 9, 2013

Day zero

Fired up, ready to go!

Preparing for departure is always crazy, with the last weeks crammed with trip preparations, wrapping up projects at work and home, and endless last minute tasks. This time seems even more manic than usual but everything came together at the end and we are packed and ready to go by early evening. Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at the godawful hour of 5:30AM, so we need to get up before 3.

We did have one last minute crisis - yesterday morning I managed to drop my iPad onto our tile floor, destroying it - well, It actually still works but is a safety hazard because of the fractured glass. I rely upon it for so many things now that touring without it is all but out of the question, so I have to fit a last minute (expensive) run to Best Buy into an already overpacked schedule and overtaxed budget.

For those that keep track, here's an abbreviated list of our very short and light packing list: 2 Bike Fridays (New World Tourists);
rear panniers;
a small set of essential tools;
a few sets of cycling clothes;
a few sets of non-cycling clothes (because we won't see anyone we know anyway);
laundry soap, in case we're wrong and need to clean up our act;
paper and plastic, so we can buy stuff;
rain jacket, pants and boots, though I'm sure we won't need them;
maps, in case we lose our GPS or whatever ;
passports (let's not lose them this time!);
camping gear: none (too old and lazy to carry tents and bags over the mountains);
bike shoes, street shoes;
toiletries;
electronics:
2 Garmin handlebar mounted GPS's, with preloaded routes;
cameras: Panasonic LX-5, contour plus video recorder (new this trip);
2 iPads - one old, one new;
2 android phones;
a pound of chargers and adapters.

Time to hit the sack.

Our pitifully small equipment list: not much for 5 weeks on the road!
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