The Eve of Leave

Tomorrow, we leave for Ireland.  After months of dreaming and planning, suddenly the day is upon us.

I’m finding it a bit difficult to pack properly for this trip.  Right now, it’s a hot and humid day here in Michigan and the 10-day forecast for Donegal, Ireland, where the first leg of our bike tour begins, calls for a good chance of rain every day and temperatures bottoming out in the 40’s and struggling to reach 55 on some of those days.  As I stare into the suitcase, trying to imagine myself on a bicycle in a 50-degree drizzle, I’m dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and still feeling overdressed. 

That hoodie I packed just seems heavy.  Maybe a lighter one will do.  Then again, maybe not.  

We’ll do the layering thing, packing enough layers to handle whatever the weather throws at us, topped of with rain pants, a rain jacket, and waterproof shoes.  We also have to pack light because of luggage limitations on the bus from Dublin to Donegal, so layers it is.  Much of the clothing is stuff that is getting old or that we no longer care about and we will just wear it for a few days and then leave it behind.  So we’ll probably look like a couple vagabonds.

Perhaps very wet vagabonds.

This could be an interesting trip...