Yesterday was arrival day; today is gear day; tomorrow I’m hitting the open road bright and early.

My Sojourn arrived safely and securely (thanks to my host Alex for putting up with my neurotic messaging all last week about it) and it’s now reassembled – with just a little fine tuning left to do. I then have to get all my gear packed up and on it. Probably 90 lbs with the bike and all. Shouldn’t take a whole day to do this, but I was out late on Frenchmen Street last night, so there’s a bit of hanging – the norm in this fine city.

I often state that 80% of cities are homogenous and while overseas have many times advised a foreigner planning a trip to the USA to forgo Vegas or NYC and hit New Orleans first – there’s so much more to be experienced in a city with a truly unique character and charm like no other. I’ve been to 60-70 cities worldwide and maybe 10-15 of them warrant a return visit. New Orleans is at or near the top of that list!

I also often state that anyone can complete a long distance bike tour with the proper time available and proper gear – and so the true gold out on the online cycle touring community is the packing list. Most anyone who has an online site/blog/etc on the subject will share theirs, and it makes for a great starting point for anyone considering a tour. My last packing list is almost a decade old, so I will finally be updating it later today or tomorrow once I’m all packed up.

But for now, coffee and beignets.