Here We Go Again...........

I had to think long and hard about this one.  I have really enjoyed the last two long bike trips but two months is a long time to be away from home - again.  So many things that should be done around the house at this time of year and so many local activities that I will be missing out on.  But - the route looks spectacular, so off I go...............

I'm travelling once again with WomanTours.  A "princess tour" I call it.  Fully supported, we stay in decent hotels every night and a chef travels with us to cook all our dinners.  The mileage is reasonable and we get regular rest days.   And - I'm in the average demographic for their clientele so we generally all get along pretty well.  The big challenge on this one is that the Sierra Cascades route roughly parallels the Pacific Crest Trail through the Sierra Nevada and Cascades mountain ranges of California, Oregon and Washington.  This is a road biking trip so we'll be confined to where the blacktop goes on either side of the backpacking route.  It looks like we'll be crossing the PCT 16 times in total.  WomanTours was kind enough to send more detailed info on the route last week and I think I can safely say this may very well be (physically) the hardest thing I've ever done!  The trip is 47 days long with 38 days of riding.  So - a few more rest days than usual, and with good reason!  Our average mileage is 93 km with about 3500 feet of climbing.  That's an average!!  Our scariest day will be June 10th.  169 km and 8500 feet of climbing - yikes!  There are 8 days with over 5000 feet of climbing.  Maybe I should have done some training this time :(.

Speaking of which.  At least the timing of this trip is a little later in the year than the other two so I've been able to be on my bike a bit.  I did a 9-day trip with our club out to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in early April.  So very nice to see green grass, colourful flowers, and ocean waters.  There were lots of hills on the islands - many in the category of "rude" grades (over 15%).  Hopefully the majority of our climbing on the Sierra Cascades trip will not be quite so steep.  Although - we stay off the major highways where we can and go on secondary roads, many of which the map indicates are closed in winter.  So..... not sure what to expect.

Oh well........  maybe this trip will be the one where I finally crawl in the van.  Stay tuned!

Lots to do before departure.  Getting excited!!