Tomorrow, I will bike some parts of the C&O Canal Trail. I've been thinking about this for at least the past two years and maybe even longer. I immigrated to the US in 1984. Prior to that, I used to engage in a fair number of outdoorsy activities in India (not long-distance biking though). Anyway, the years have just gone by what with pursuing graduate school (Master's and Ph.d.), getting a job, getting married, having kids, etc., etc. However, in August 2018 my second and last child made his way to college. Being an empty nester opens up some time for yourself that you never knew existed. One of the main things I wanted to do was to engage in more outdoorsy activities. Finally, everything has come together for this trip to become a reality.

Originally, the plan was to be self-sufficient, i.e., pack food, a tent, sleeping bag, stove, etc., so that we (I and two friends) need not have to rely on reaching a town where we could lodge ourselves in a motel every night. However, that plan fell through because we felt we weren't prepared enough to implement it. Now, it's just biking and crashing in hotels/motels.

To prepare for this hike I had to pull together the following:

1. Three hybrid bikes that are serviced, cleaned, and tuned.
2. Three bike racks, for:
3. Three panniers.
4. Water bottles with filters. There are water pumps at very reasonable intervals on the trail, but there are some rumors that some of the pumps don't work. Well, if we have bottles with filters, we can draw water from the canal and safely drink it.
5. Energy gels
6. A pair of inner tubes for each bike
7. Bike chamois
8. Small set of essential bike tools
9. Some trail snacks
10. Change of clothes, underwear, socks, nightwear
11. Flip flops
12. Toothbrush, paste
13. Basic medical kit and any prescription medication
14. Cash, credit card/s
15. Shoes
16. Air pump for bike

This is my first post on this trip. I will add more posts with pictures as I progress through the bike tour.