4th of July Weekend Ride and August Challenge

On July 1st, I am going to proceed on a loaded tour from New Ulm, MN to Oak Park, IL. I have established a rigorous agenda including approximately 15o-miles the first day from New, Ulm, MN to Whitewater State Park, Altura, MN. From there I will proceed another 150-miles to Governor Dodge State Park, Dodgeville, WI. I will continue from there to Oak Park, IL, another 160-miles. This trip should be do-able in the three days set aside. My lovely wife will be meeting me on the third day to see what type of condition I am in and relieve me of my load.

I have modified my bike for this trip to include an 11-32 tooth cassette (rear set of gears) and a long-cage mountain derailleur. I am going to be pulling my gear in a B.O.B. Trailer. I weighed my trailer last night and the total gear-weight was about 40-lbs. Not too bad, considering my training ride earlier in the year included two 15-pound dumbbells and a cooler full of water/ice. I added some nifty items to my bike to make this aggressive trip easier. I have a GPS mounted on the handlebars, a map-pouch on the handlebars, and a "Bento Box" food container (located near the stem of the bike.

I will keep this bike configured with the modified gearing, GPS, and Bento Box until I complete the Dairyland Dare 266k ride (162.5 miles!!!).