Sunday, March 27, 2011

Boulder to Zion test drive



This week we got our feet a little wet (and cold) in the world of bike touring. Mary and I are completely new to this venture and are trying everything we can to become pro before too long, and decided to take a few days through warm southern Utah to try out all this new gear. I somehow talked my Dad and brother Aaron into joining us, and we also brought along our good friend Jo. My Dad and Aaron showed up with the hokiest looking set-ups, and ironicly have the most "touring" experience out of us (but not for long). My Dad has become a bit soft and hooked us up for our mini trip with lodging and amazing food, limiting the items that we had to carry. And after the first day we realized how unprepared some of us were in ways of repair gear/winter survival skills. Therefore my Dad again came to the rescue, stuck out his thumb and retrieved our support truck. The trip was great training for us and helped us feel a bit of the gravity for what this summer's undertaking is really about. The weather this trip was not the most awesome, with crazy headwinds, snow, and rain.... but that just makes everything that much more epic to talk about later. We only have a few weeks left before our departure to Bangor Maine. And almost every minute of our spare time until then is busy. But the excitement in our small, now almost empty Burton home is thick, unfortunately not as thick as our sore muscles....