Too Much Weight - Change of Plans

Noticed my rear wheel was wobbling. 

Got to Port Angeles and Siri gave me a couple of bike shops. 

Called the Bike Garage and talked to Tom and told him about the wobbly wheel and he said bring it by. 

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So I did. Unloaded the bike and Tom put it on the rack. 

Broken Spoke.  A clear sign of too much weight. 

So Tom's working on the bike. And I'm working on a new plan:

1.  Get my bike fixed. 

2. Stay in a motel in Port Angeles tonight. 

3.  Go through my stuff and take out everything that is not absolutely essential. Send back 2 SS shirts, 1 LS shirt, my pair of Wrangler cargo pants (I'll use the long cycling pants I bought in Seattle), 1 bicycle tube, some of the extra replacement nuts and bolts, keep half the sugar and Cream mate and throw the rest away, etc. 

I'll likely come up with 10 - 12 lbs of stuff. 

4.  In the morning, I'll take the extra stuff to the UPS office next door to the Bike Garage and mail it home. 

5.  I'll leave all my panniers and rack bag at the Bike Garage. 

6. I'll ride the 5 mile 10 - 12% grade (that is a crazy Tour de France HC climb) from the Olympic National Park Visitor to the Heart of the Hills Campground and the remaining 12 miles to the top of Hurricane Ridge tomorrow WITH A BARE BIKE. Everybody and I do mean everybody (even several old ladies) has been telling me what a massive climb the 1st 5 miles is to Heart of the Hills Campground. 

Then Tom with the Bike Garage sealed it when I brought my bike in. 

He recommended I stay in
an alternate campground and do the 5 mile 10 - 12% grade and the remaining 12 mile 2 - 4% grade with an unloaded bike. 

He says he does the climb to Heart of the Hills every week on a road bike an it takes him an hour. 

So I'm heeding the warnings. 

7.  I'll do the 17 mile climb and the descent back into Port Angeles and then go back by the Bike Garage, pick up my load and head to a campground on the west side of Crescent Lake tomorrow night. 

You gotta make adjustments. 

A tour like this is a dynamic beast. 

So when Life gives you Lemonade....

You go have a Margarita...

And a plate of Mexican Food with lots of jalapeños. 

There.... I feel better already. 

I'll get some pics and recap from yesterday and today on the blog once I get settled into my motel. 

Is this a Hoot or What?