Look who made the news!

Only two more work days left! Wow!! That's all I can say - WOW!!! Packing to move to a different location is WAY different than packing to store stuff for an undetermined amount of time. We should be finished tonight, only leaving out enough stuff to go to work two more days. Plates, towels, clothes - all in boxes - not to be seen again for a year. Wow!

This is the piece that attaches to the bag holder that will allow me to take my bags on and off the bike easier. It took us a while to get everything all lined up, but I think we got it.





This is what it looks like on the bike. The entire metal holder will come off the bike, so when I don't need to carry luggage, the frame work won't be on the bike.





This is what it looks like with the bag on the holder. Jim is going to rivet the soft bags onto the holders and the entire unit is removable.





This is the rack that is mounted to the bike that the Givi rack sits on and that the sidebag holders are mounted to. Jim had to do some adjusting so this is what it looks like off the bike.





Brian at PDQ Signs made these decals for our bikes.

Two more weeks

Two more weeks!! Jim's still getting the bikes ready and we're getting closer to having all our stuff packed away. We hauled the largest load up to Washington last weekend. Three truckloads with trailers. One pickup pulled the Mustang, one pickup pulled the Fairlane, and one pulled a trailer full of stuff, plus all the pickups had canopies so the pickups were packed full.

All we have left at home is a mattress, the kitchen table and chairs - which stay at the apartment - enough clothes to get us through work the next two weeks, a few dishes and pots and pans, bathroom stuff, the TV and some DVD's, and food.

It seemed strange to look at the trailer full of our belongings and know that all our stuff was in there and once we make one last trip in two weeks, besides our bikes, everything we own will be in there.

What started out in the planning stage six long years ago is now down to two weeks. Whether the remaining two weeks will go slow or fast is left to be known. When we first started planning, six years seemed impossibly far away. Now with two weeks left, it seems like they flew by.



These are the brackets Jim is putting on my bike to mount the soft bags on so they're easier to remove.



These are the supports that the bags will go on that will mount on the brackets Jim is putting on the bike.



This is what the bags will look like when they're attached to the supports that will allow them to be mounted on the bike.



The Fairlane loaded up.



The Mustang loaded up.



Stuff loaded up and being covered for the rain.



The Devlin's head to Washington.



Getting ready to drive the Mustang into the trailer.



Loading the Mustang into the trailer. The trunk was left open because Jim thought he'd have to crawl out through the trunk. There was enough room that he was able to squeeze out the door. Thank goodness he's a thin guy!



The Mustang loaded into the trailer with our household stuff up above on the loft.



Getting ready to load the Fairlane.



Loading the Fairlane.



The Fairlane loaded into the trailer.



The pickup loaded onto the trailer so we only had to drive one rig home.



A happy Jim that the biggest job has been completed. It's all downhill from this point on.

Packing It Out

We're down to one month left - 26 days - 4 weeks - 20 work days - not counting minutes and seconds yet. Time is really flying now. We're starting to see some progress in the packing process and Jim's been working on the bikes to get them ready to go. We're taking care of all those little things that need taken care of - insurance, prescriptions, bill paying, etc...

The party planning for the big kickoff on April 28 is starting to get underway. The weather's been cooperating, so it looks like the winter gravel may be swept up by then. Keep your fingers crossed!



We took a load of stuff up to our trailer this weekend and sold a bike Jim had originally bought to fix up.



We had some supervision as we were unloading the pickup.

Jim installs a vent to help airflow in the trailer.



We'll have lots of room for the rest of our stuff.



We're bringing another load up in two weeks. That'll be the largest load. We'll only leave enough stuff to get by the last two weeks before we take off, then we'll haul that up and be done.