So here we go again. But this is a mini-tour to prep for the big one in July. I won't describe our July tour as epic, as there are plenty of people out there doing epic tours around the world and elsewhere. But it will be a healthy two months in Europe, my longest tour there ever and only surpassed by my trip up the East Coast in 2015.

But it's always good to do a shake-down cruise before a big one, so when Happy suggested to Jerry and me that we bike to New Hope, PA so he could attend a two-day conference at Deer Park Camp & Retreat Center (outside of town), I could hardly say no, could I?

Oh, I could find lots of reasons but no real reason. The two wheels call!

So, here we go again. This will be my third tour with Happy and my second with Jerry. But I have biked with both on many day rides. Happy is funny. He was surprised I agreed to tour with him again after our East Coast trip. That was our first tour, and he was still a newbie (so maybe there were times we tried each other's patience). But we did Florida last year for a month, and he did all of the hotel reservations for us upfront! Good boy! Jerry, on the other hand, is a very seasoned tourer and is slowly moving into the world of GPS navigation. OMG, no paper maps! So this trip will be a trial run for him in that department.

But, we all bring strengths and weaknesses to any trip. And together, we are always stronger.

In July, we leave for Europe and will bike (in loose terms) from Paris to Geneva to Liechtenstein (I love that name) to Munich to Vienna to Bratislava to Prague to Berlin. Whew, that was tiring just to write. Seven countries and the Swiss Lake Route. Should be lots of fun! Look for that blog later in the summer!

In the meanwhile, off to New Hope. New Hope. Something we need in these trying times. Something I will be looking for!