Vacation Preparation

We are only a few days away from leaving. Seems hard to believe since the trip has been so long in the planning. Right now my personality seems to be made up of two parts excitement to one part panic. This is exactly how I felt just before I left on my cross Canada bike trip so I think we are on the path to a memorable trip.

Things that are currently causing me to panic.

• Transporting the Bikes. We have confirmed with Air Lingus and there is a note in our file but what if they just can't do it? We will just have to cross that bridge if and when it happens.
• Weather - Europe seems to be quite rainy right now. If it is not completely obvious... cycling is not as much fun in the rain. We have decided not to take much rain gear along. As I have always stated, when you are cycling in the rain you either get wet from the rain or your sweat. The important part is to stay warm. It may be wise to add a few cool weather clothes.
• Accommodations - We have struggled with this problem. I think we would really like to have all the accommodations figured out but I don't think we can predict our rate of travel for more than a few days. We will try to stay a few days ahead of so we are not scrambling each day.
• The Bad Days - Trips like this will inevitably have some bad days. I'm not sure how everybody will react. This may be the biggest learning experience of all.
  

I'm sure most of these will work themselves out in the first few days. We have mostly packed our bags, we can't think of anything else to buy and the final tasks at work are getting close to done. I guess this means we are ready!