planning the route

I have been spending so much time being spread really thin, with my firing this week and my class next week and finals...OK school is now officially over and my direction now is to fill that time with things that will help us get ready for the ride. We arrive in Michigan August 10th and Chris will start riding August 14.

Things we have found out already:

1. 16 year-olds in theory can sign for their passports, but will be rejected when the Passport office gets the application - so if your 16 year old is applying for a passport, don't listen to the Post Office person and ask to co-sign the form, it will save you a headache.

2. There are short-tempered people, even in the biking world, and sometimes they are part of an organization that promotes the sport, chalk this up to someone's bad day and be persistent, go somewhere else to find what you need if you have to.

3. Planning a route on paper is sometimes as hard as scouting it, especially when the route is in a different country. I have spent hours trying to find people to talk to about route decisions as well as scouring maps.

4. you cannot cross the Blue Water Bridge by bike- there are two options- 1. take the ferry (15 miles south of Port Huron) or 2. load the bikes on the car at the bridge and go across w/the rest of the family.

With that said I have been getting some time in on the road, and Chris has had to train without me at times. I guess that is good, since he will ultimately be the one who has to pull the distance, and even with company, will feel alone at times.

So our route plan so far is this:

August 14- Lexinginton to London (85 miles)
August 15- London to St Catherines (90 miles)
August 16- Niagara Falls - see the falls- etc. (36 miles)
August 17 - Niagara to Rochester (85 miles)
August 18 - Rochester to Verona (115 miles)- camp by the lake
August 19- Verona to Herkimer (50 Miles) - short day maybe we'll mine for diamonds?
August 20 -Herkimer to Saratoga (85 miles) - hills start to be noticeable stay in the river valley until Amsterdam
August 21-rest day - go to the races, swimming, etc
August 22- rest day
August 23- Saratoga to Copake Falls (80 Miles)- walk up to Bish Bash Falls
August 24- Copake Falls to Somers (70 Miles)
August 25 - SLEEEEEEPPPP!!!!!

Ok, I need to get out for my ride- more later.