Damn...this was hard! We just finished our FULLY LOADED cycling shakedown trip...at least setting up camp was a breeze! You can expect to see significant deletions of equipment on the equipment page as we start tossing items before our journey begins on Sunday. This day and night was truly a shakedown. For example we learned:

Don't lay your bike down on the mirror...as it will break.
Don't load unevenly...as you will shimmy and shake.
Don't omit fender mounting screws...as you will hear a rattle.
Don't over tighten your brakes...as downhill will be a battle.

Actually this trip reinforced that we had prepared well prior to today. We had beautiful weather while cycling around the Washoe Valley of northern Nevada...as you can see from the photos. Our evening was special because Gene's wife Sue and our friends Jeff and his Wife Shari joined us at the campsite to celebrate Gene's 59th birthday, complete with champagne, cake, and gifts. Notice in the photo that water bottles easily double as champagne flutes. By the way, Jeff is the very talented designer of this web site.