First Ride

Marc arrived safely in VT yesterday and we got right to work with our preparations. I took a few photos of him during his first ride on his brand new Surly Long Haul Trucker (the LHT is the choice of 100% of cyclists riding from Rutland VT to Freeland MI in July of 2009.) As you can see, there was some problem with his razor prior to his arrival. Hopefully he will get that squared away. Marc was absolutely filled with praise for the mechanic who put together his bike. He kept repeating over and over how grateful he was to have had such a mechanical wizard work on his pretty new bike. Particularly the wrapping of his handlebar tape, which was masterfully, even artistically, done. He seemed to enjoy the bike and thought that it fit well and would do the job. Which was good news for both of us. I have finally stopped fooling around with my own bike too, and am confident that it is ready for the task at hand. Today we are taking care of last minute chores and loading our bags. Hopefully we will be on the road around 8:30 tomorrow morning.