If you have never taken a trip like this, then you have no idea how hard it is to pack. I just spent 30 minutes deciding which shirts to pack. Once you leave the front door, you can't change....you are stuck with your choices through thick and thin.

I even put 3 shirts in 3 stuff-sacks and had Laura pick one blindly based upon weight and compression. Sure enough, she picked the one I don't like wearing. But I don't have room for the others. Here are all the things to consider when packing a single warm shirt to wear.

This list is in order of importance to me.....notice Warmth is last and the entire point is to bring a warm shirt. Style didn't make the list....

Volume
Weight
Quick Drying
Easy cleaning
Pockets (zippered or not)
Warmth

What a way to start our 10th year of marriage! Chris and I will be celebrating our anniversary on June 21st. What better way to celebrate than take the best people we know on a bike trip with us.

Well we are all home again. What a fun adventure. I had a great time. Thank you Katie for pushing for the trip and for your very good navigation. The day our trip started, she gave me the nickname "PAPA Smurf" and put a label on my blue bike. I then knew that this was going to be another good trip. Thank you to Chris and Laura for all of their hard planning to make the trip happen. Thanks to TJ, I am very glad you came on the trip, you helped make the trip more fun. (But I never did get you to carry one of my bags). I could not have asked for a better group to travel with. Everyone helped each other keep their moral up and kept the trip fun. We always said it is about the trip, not about the destination.

I added pictures and info to day 38 of the NT trip. Sorry for the delay.

Man, it doesn't seem like we missed that many days on the trip, but adding them later reminds me. There were many stretches where we were too tired to stay up late posting, and many stretches without Internet access.

http://benthub.com/node/880

I added pics and more info to day 37. This is the day we entered Idaho and discovered that sour cream pie was good. Well, I liked it.

http://benthub.com/node/879

I am still having this surreal feeling, I just can't believe that we made it. When we were in Glacier I had a hard time telling myself that we most likely weren't going to make it. I'm so happy to know that we are successful, mainly because this trip challenged us in so many ways, it sure was an amazing feat. I am so proud of this group, we never fought or argued really just kept pushing through till the end. Looking out at the ocean I just stared out thinking, I biked here? Wow. I wanted to thank everyone who has supported me through my fundraiser! Also I want to thank Al Lens for the Canadian coins and to tell Chuck that we missed you on this trip!! Lastly, I have never been away from home this long and I miss my family a lot! Love you guys!

I added pictures and more information to day 33 and day 34 post. Sorry for the delay on the final day, day 52, it has been tough to post during the car ride. Coverage is tough in the mountains.

Day 33 http://benthub.com/node/843
Day 34 http://benthub.com/node/844
Day 52 http://benthub.com/node/996

We are pushing hard to get home so I can be to work on Monday. Construction and traffic jams and accidents are not helping.

We left the Olympic Suites early, after a quick breakfast of oatmeal. Well, Rog didn't eat oatmeal. Nobody knows what Rog eats.

We left Dee behind, because the map showed an 18 mile ride to the ocean. Dee was giving us a head start then meeting us at the beach.

I see Katie's fundraising goal at Livestrong hasn't been met, yet. I admit that I waited until yesterday to donate ... what about the rest of you -- have you done it, yet? She needs another $325 to reach her goal. Help! It would be a great surprise for her when she gets home after the long drive from Washington State.

Pictures to be added later. I will have some time during the drive home, and will add them. Check back later.

We left our hotel after a carb only breakfast, and headed out on our last full day of touring. We had a room booked already in Forks, which is usually a bad idea in the world of unpredictable unsupported bicycle touring. We are out of time however.....it is now or never. I have to head back to work soon. Time is up! One last push.