Two days in the wilds

So its Thursday morning now, I am all caught up writing blog post, and you are all caught up reading. I am getting a late start today, probably won't roll out until 9:30, because it takes a little longer than I had though to write these reports and all of the other things I need to do.

I have a big challenge ahead of me over the next two days. Its about 130 miles to the north end of the state, then at least 20 miles to civilization in Bayfield from there. Today will start on the Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 route, but will mostly follow some of the legendary trails this area is known for. I am looking forward to riding some fun trails, but I don't expect to cover ground quickly.

Furthermore, I will only be traveling through two towns today, Drummond after about 30 miles and Delta after 40 (and Delta hardly qualifies as a town!), and as far as I can tell, there are no towns for the rest of the ride. So in Delta I will fill up my water bottle, camelbak bladder (which resides off of my back in my frame bag to keep the weight off my body), and I will fill up the camelbak bladder that I just bought and store it in a pannier. I expect I will be able to get water somewhere in the following 90 miles, but I have no idea where, so I need to be ready. I do have some water treatment tablets I can use to get water from a stream or lake if necessary, so don't worry about me.

And I have packed plenty of food. All of this will weigh me down significantly, but its all necessary as I roll off into the wilderness.

I expect cell phone communication will be unavailable, and I won't have any internet access until Ashalnd. There I will meet up with Carol for a day or half-day off the bike before heading across the U.P.

The weather looks perfect for touring, highs in the low-80's and low's in the low-60's with no rain in the forecast, at least until Sunday.

So now I need to sign off, finish packing up and get on the road. Wish me luck!