Getting ready!

Here's the plan.  First, about five days in the DC area, mostly to spend time with Ellen's mom (90 and doing pretty well).  Then, train to NYC: a couple of days in the city and then a short train to Westchester County for Coby Rinke's Bar Mitzvah on Cinco de Mayo.  Next day we fly to England and set off for nine days walking through the Yorkshire Dales with my sibs and spouses.  After the walk we'll have a couple of days to explore the Lakes District.  Then on to part three: train to Mainz Germany and about a month of bicycle touring.  We haven't nailed down the route precisely, but we are looking at riding the Rhine (between Basel and Dusseldorf), the Moselle River, and the Romantische Strasse through Bavaria.

Packing for this excursion has been a challenge: we are really packing for three very distinct trips with only minimal overlap in terms of clothing and gear.  For the DC and NY portion we need city clothes and dress-up for the Bar Mitzvah (most of those we'll leave on the east coast and pick up on our way home).  Hiking in England means being prepared for cooler and wetter.  For phase three we have our Bike Friday tandem and all the gear to go with it: panniers, bike clothes, bike shoes, helmets, tools, rags, lubes, etc.

The bike and associated clothing and gear is all in two largish (by our standards) suitcases, weighing right around 20 kg each.  Everything else is in our two 40 liter (carry-on size) backpacks.  Here's the whole setup, and a couple of shots showing the inside of the suitcases (with panniers moved to the side).