I’m almost ready to take off. I still have a few last minute items to pack, such as my clothes (not such a minor thing) and then I’ll be ready to hit the road. I plan to take off as early in the morning as I can possibly handle. If I can hit the road around 3am then I should be able to make it to SD by 7pm allowing plenty of time for stops.

My biggest fear right now is that I haven’t packed everything I’m going to need. I’ve been accused of being able to start my own sporting goods store with all the gear I own and I’m taking nearly all of it. You would think all that gear should cover me, but there is always something you forget in a trip like this and I’m not going to know it until I really need that item I forgot.

I tried to organize my gear into my big boxes to help me stay on track and I’m at least pretty certain that I have enough cooking gear; camping gear and bike gear. I have my tent, sleeping bag and air mattress (I can only rough so much); I have my bikes and all my bike gear; I have all those other items like my hatchet, hammer, first aid kits, biodegradable soap, trekking poles, camel baks, compasses, whistles, flares, GPS and probably a hundred other items I just thought might be good to have along. I think I have everything covered, but you really never know. It’s not like I’ve packed for a two-week road/camping trip before.

Regardless, I’m hitting the road tomorrow. Wish me luck! I’ll post as often as I can and keep all of you updated along the way. I’ll also try to remember to take lots of pictures and post them as well. If I don’t post for three or four days, don’t panic – but if you have my cell phone, it might not hurt to check in on me