Skip to main content

The Things That They Carried

The backpack is packed and checked. It weighs 17.2 lbs and will sustain me for the next month. I will carry it from St Jean Pied de Port just across the Pyrenees in France to Santiago in the northwestern corner of Galicia Spain. Contents:
2 shorts
1 long pair of pants
quick dry t-shirt
wool t-shirt
quick dry collared shirt
2 pair Darn Tough wool socks
2 pair quick-dry socks
3 pair REI boxers
one wool long sleeve base-layer
Gortex rain jacket
long fingered gloves
2 cycling caps
wool buff
col'd lizard tights
cut-off scrub shorts
plastic Birkenstocks
hiking poles
various toiletries and personal care items
goPro camera
chargers and cords
iPhone
nail clippers
reflective triangle
headlamp
sleeping bag
dry sack
a few snacks and gifts
a copy of Travels With My Donkey
US Passport
Pilgrim Passport

I'm doing this walk because my wife Amy has wanted to do this for a long time and I'd like to experience it with her. Our daughter Clare will also be with us which is very helpful since she speaks Spanish. I've never been a pilgrim before. I know this will not be easy but that is certainly part of the allure. We will be guided by the millions of footsteps that have trod this path before us.
I'm excited and nervous and all those emotions that usually come before an adventure. I'm looking forward to our first steps and entering the moment. Part of the reason that riders are attracted over and over to the long brevets is the chance to live in the moment. Trust me on this one. No one thinks about work the next week during PBP.

So wish us luck or the traditional Buen Camino!

Not included in my pack is a razor. I removed all hair from my head and face (except eyebrows) this morning. Now for the new crop to come in evenly across the north of Spain.

Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 20, 2016 at 5:44 PM

    Godspeed John, Amy and, Clare. I wish you easy steps, a light heart, new friendships and, no blisters. My prayers go with you and the pilgrims that you meet along the way. Peace, Jill

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 20, 2016 at 7:03 PM

    I am just flat out jealous! I want to do this with my oldest, Jake. Take notes!!!! Have fun. Love y'all!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownOctober 21, 2016 at 9:15 AM

    i am sure that is going to help you get up the hills. Did you weigh the whiskers after you shaved them off?

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 21, 2016 at 11:10 AM

    Yikes! Happy Hiking!

    - Jennifer

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mike Dayton's Back

I can't tell you how many miles I've spent following those broad shoulders.  For nearly every challenging ride that I've done over the past 15 years there has been one constant, sucking Dayton's wheel.  He's got a big motor and pushes through the wind.  I tell jokes and keep us on course.  We're a tandem team that forgot to fasten the couplers. In February 2016 that changed in the time of a pedal stroke.  While riding a 200k permanent midday in Johnston County four NC randonneurs were plowed down by a 1992 Crown Victoria.  Mike Dayton hit the windshield and sustained life changing injuries.  He spent time in a coma and was ventilator dependent for a week.  His recovery continues today and the reminders are all around in his house.  Dots and a stick are taped to the walls and lines are on the floor for balancing and vision exercises.  He now wears corrective glasses so that he doesn't see two of everything.  He and Kelly have bee...
20 comments
Read more

Return to the Nebraska Sandhills 1000k

A few days before the start of the Sandhills 1000k I checked my iPhone weather for Broken Bow Nebraska. The start day would be hot, near 90. The finish day would be cooler. The middle day was forecast for wind. That’s it. Just a wind symbol. If you ever ride in Nebraska and see that symbol, watch out.  That's Rando! photo, Denise Giffin This was the second edition of the Nebraska Sandhills 1000k. I rode the first edition in 2016 and loved it so much that I blogged about the ride and then that was picked up for a story in American Randonneur. The publicity did not translate to oversubscription. 8 riders attended the 2016 ride and 7 toed the line for 2018. The veterans included myself, the RBA host, Spencer Klaassen and homegrown cornhusker Rodney Geisert. The always popular Rick Blacker flew in from Olympia WA. Brian Feinberg from SFR came based on a suggestion from Robert Sexton who had thoroughly enjoyed the 2016 edition. Bill Giffin took a break from his nearby ...
3 comments
Read more

Nebraska Sandhills 1000k

Day 2 after dropping down from Piney Ridge and the Nebraska National Forest "Pack an extra bottle of water, and say your prayers" was the advice from our waitress as we enquired about the section that lay ahead in the Sandhills traveling north to Valentine, NE.   As we finished off our burgers at Paul's Liquor and Food in Mullen NE, an interested patron pointed out that we could always drink from the stock pumps. He has all his life and he's just fine.    Oasis in Mullen These windmill pumps supply thirsty cattle with a cool endless stream of water throughout the Sandhills.  Just a note of caution, collect the water as it comes out of the pipe.  Don't drink from the trough or pool itself. Stock Pump Nebraska is known for corn and beef cattle but it might as well be recognized for great cycling.   RBA Spencer Klaassen mapped out and guided us through a 1,000k adventure that highlighted the Sandhills but included varied terrai...
1 comment
Read more

Mac and Cheese 1200k 2018

Coal fired ship meet fixed gear randonneur.  http://www.ssbadger.com/about/history/ If you ever find yourself in Manistique in the Upper Peninsula at Marley's Bar and Grill and the special is a walleye sandwich, get it.  This was the exact situation that we found ourselves shortly before midnight on day 2 of the inaugural Mac and Cheese 1200.  My riding buddies Spencer Klaassen, Mark Thomas and Ian Hands and I went all in on the walleye special, and we did not regret it. The Mac and Cheese was a massive cooperative undertaking of the Great Lakes Randonneurs and the Detroit Randonneurs, led respectively by Michele Brougher and Jeremy Gray.  Their task seemed daunting but they handled the chaos with aplomb.  The first interesting task was to move most of the 63 riders across 50 miles of Lake Michigan from the finish town of Manitowoc, WI to the ride start in Ludington, MI.  Enter the Badger!  The Badger is a coal fired ferry that was up to the fo...
Post a Comment
Read more
My welcome to Ireland Míle Fáilte 2018 Míle Fáilte translates from Irish into a "thousand welcomes."  It might as well mean a million welcomes! The Irish are the most welcoming people that I've ever encountered but we weren't there for a thousand welcomes, we were there for even more. We were there for 1,200 welcoming kilometers of Irish southwest countryside or should I say 1236 to be precise.  When things were going well we were enjoying the 2018 Míle Fáilte.  When we were suffering it was simply the MF1200. 2018 full course 1,236 km 11,205 m / 768miles 36,753' Every ride has its challenges. We knew about the hills from the course profile and we had heard about the rough road surfaces and the midge swarms but there was no thought given to dealing with record high temperatures.  They hardly sell sunscreen in Ireland.  The Irish claim to have thrown out more sunscreen than they've ever used.  My arms are still peeling. This was the se...
Post a Comment
Read more