I managed to get most of the items on my packing list into my panniers and on the back of my trike this morning.  It took a bit of struggling to figure out where everything goes, but ultimately it all fit.

For this tour I have a brand new tent.  The Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT is lighter than my old tent, but a lot larger.  Not only is there more room inside, but it includes a big covered vestibule area that will hold my panniers at night.  In the old tent, things got pretty crowded with my clydesdale self and both panniers inside the main tent.  I’m really looking forward to spreading out in all the extra space on this tour.

Unfortunately, the new tent takes up more room on the trike than the old tent.   It took some fooling around to get it all stored away snugly on the trike.  Ultimately I put both the tent and the sleeping bag inside a single large dry sack on the top of the rack.  Tent poles and other tall items fit into the large rear tube, and everything else in the panniers, with more than enough room left over for a little food if I need it.

I did a nice 20 mile shake-down ride with the bike all packed up.   I will need to redistribute the weight a bit.  I lifted the left wheel a couple of times going around corners at a not-too-fast pace.  Other than that,  it all felt pretty good.

I am ready to leave this coming Monday  – October 5th.  Can’t wait to get started!