It’s always the unknown that gets to me.  This is now my second long distance cycling trip, so I’m feeling a lot more comfortable than the last time around.  I know what to expect in terms of cycling day after day.  I am looking forward to experiencing the countryside close-up and meeting interesting people along the way.  And I’m even ready to enjoy Rich’s deviations from the path to see something wacky.   Basically I’m ready for our Upper Mississippi River Cycling Tour.

The uncertainty that looms over me is the weather.  Spring is a fickle season.  And this spring is crazy!  With the long lasting winter, I’ve been revisiting the cycling clothes I’ll need, planning to squeeze in an extra layer for warmth.  But today, now that we’re just 2 days out from our start, I can look at the advanced forecasts.  And lo and behold, I see 80s!  Really?  With lows in the 50s, maybe I won’t need the extra clothes after all.  Maybe I should trade them for one sleeveless shirt.  What a quandary!

And then there’s the rain.  Last trip we had so little, it never mattered.  This time I sense we are guaranteed to get wet.  Nearly every day has some chance of rain and thunderstorms.  We have invested in good cycling rain jackets, so that’s a start.  And I insisted on fully waterproof bags for our sleeping bags.  I’m not arriving at a campground to sleep in a wet bag.  For the rest, heavy duty freezer ziplock bags will have to do the trick.  It makes me wonder, why didn’t we get waterproof panniers?

I’ve cycled through rain, but only on relatively short day-rides.  On a cycling trip, the necessity to get from point A to point B in a day rules out a bit of flexibility.  But our distances are reasonable enough that we could probably wait out the worst of it, if necessary.

I’m sure we’ll be able to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws our way.  And it’s always the adverse conditions that leave the most lasting memories, right?  Not that I’m wishing bad weather on us.  Just trying to put a positive spin on it.  To soothe my jitters.