My pile of supplies and gear dumped in the spare bedroom the night before leaving home

It's 22h30 and you'd think I'd be ready to leave by now since I leave on Amtrak early tomorrow morning.

But this trip wasn't planned; I don't usually do winter bike trips due to the wet weather that's typical in California at this time of the year.

I impulsively decided earlier this week to do this trip when I realized that dry weather has been forecast for the Mojave Desert for the next week.

I spent much of the weekend doing last-minute errands such as buying a new tent and new front saddlebags, all of which needed replacing after eight years of performance.

My new front waterproof saddlebags are from Ortlieb, almost like my old ones, but red instead of dark green. They're not cheap, but they're more than worth the money because they deal with use and abuse so well.