Hi, Biker Dan Fans! Here is a quick update.
The current plan is to start driving for Lake Michigan on Tuesday, August 1. There was no significance to that date, it just was easy & soon. (I’m antsy to get going. As it turns out, I have no time constraints. The “Reunion” I thought was happening was just a year-old message that popped up somehow. Duh!) However, it does mean that I will probably start riding on Saturday, 8/5, which is PMC weekend back in Massachusetts. So that feels like a good symmetry, even if it was unintentional.
The first day’s drive will be to my hometown of Williamsport, PA (all together now: “Home of Little League Baseball!”), where we will stay with brother Marvin & Debbie. The “we” is not with Jennifer, as you might expect, but with good friend Grover, who is hitching a ride as far as Toledo, OH. He will take a bus from there to his final destination.
So the next day, Wednesday, will be an overnight in or near Toledo. I will drop Grover at the bus station Thursday morning, then drive to Michigan City, arriving mid-afternoon.
As luck would have it, a long-time friend of a cousin by marriage lives in Michigan City, where that cousin grew up. Tom has very graciously offered to host me when I arrive, and leave my car parked in his driveway for 6 or 7 weeks.
My bike, Bill the Pony II, has a new carbon fiber front fork (Enve Adventure), replacing the original steel fork (Waterford), and wheel (another Velocity Dyad with Chris King thru-axle hub). It is a big improvement, saving about 1.5 pounds, providing a thru-axle front hub (the motivating reason for the switch), probably better riding, and much cooler looking. But I do admit to minor qualms about other aspects of the bike (including subtle noises & still a bit of a shimmy), despite a lot of work in addition to the new fork & wheel. It will bear watching. Overall though, everything feels good mechanically.
I feel ready to ride. Jennifer & I just returned from 3 weeks in the UK. It was a great trip! We did a ton of walking, but zero riding. Still, I had a pretty good base of fitness before the trip, and 5 to 12 miles a day of walking helped a lot to maintain that.
Just before leaving for the UK, I did an overnight bike camping trip to St. Johnsbury, VT. It was a Charles River Wheelers ride, led by my good friend Jerry, and served well as a shakedown for this big ride. So as soon as I finish this post, and maybe even before, I will find the checklist from that ride and repack my panniers the same as before. The photo at the top is my bike packed for the shakedown.
That’s it for now. Next post will probably be from on the road.
Biker Dan's Blog 
What are you carrying on the top of your rear rack?
Tent poles plus my bulky comfort items: camp seat. sit pad, & Crocs. The seat is close to 2 pounds and worth every penny of it, for these old bones to be able to relax comfortably.