Packing for a cycling trip is not hard. It’s rather like following a script. There is no room to improvise. Literally, every inch of space is already allocated.
It helps to have done this before. Last year’s trip was the true test, and after two months on the road I can say with absolute certainty that I got it just right. I had exactly what I needed. No more, no less. And so I return to my List. It will not surprise anyone who knows me to find out that I have detailed documentation on every single item I carried. And despite the brevity of contents in my panniers, my list runs to four pages. I’m nothing if not thorough. Want to know how many ziplock bags I used to keep everything dry? My list will tell you: 8 gallon and 9 quart sized bags.
The hardest part is collecting everything. Where did I put my Swiss Army Knife? What happened to the little bottles for toiletries? Looks like I’d better put granola bars on my shopping list. But before long, I fill my assigned spare bed in the guest room. All the paraphernalia I’ll need 
for 4-5 weeks of travel fits on a single size mattress.
From there, it is a simple matter of stuffing the works into those ziplock bags, squeezing out every last ounce of air and fitting them into my panniers. If I have any doubt as to where certain items belong, I have only to refer back to an old blog post. Who knew that blogging would come in so handy?
Honestly, it’s a lot harder to pack for the road trip out to Glacier where we will start our Glaciers to the Sea cycling tour. After all, I have a whole car at my disposal. There are endless things I can bring, especially as my cycling gear takes so little room. And I don’t even need any ziplock bags.
We’ve seen the thickets of thimble berries growing in “our woods” every summer. And each year the birds, critters and perhaps other berry lovers have gotten to them first. This year appears to be a bumper crop. Loads of big red berries hang from the branches, with many more promising to follow. We promised ourselves that this year we’d pick them and make jam.
A few days ago it became clear that the time was NOW. At least for the first round of picking. Each bush had one or more perfectly ripe berries. So Rich and I ventured out to see what we could gather. Although it meant only a berry here and a berry there, the bushes were plentiful enough to make it a worthwhile hunt. Moving across the road, we reaped even more berries – enough to come up with 4 1/2 cups between us. And judging by the remaining unripe berries, we could easily duplicate that several times if we keep diligent watch.
I had to hunt down a recipe for jam, and was surprised just how simple it was. Only two ingredients in equal quantities – thimble berries and sugar. It also warned that cleaning the berries was as time consuming as picking them. I won’t argue that point. And picking was a lot more fun.
reacquainted myself with the process. Then I dug in. (Notice “we” became “I” at this point…) Soon the house was redolent with sweet berry smell as the mixture simmered on the stove. It wasn’t long before it began to thicken and resemble jam, and filled more jars than I expected.
Superior Footprints 