Getting ready for the ride!

I've been putting a lot of time in to getting ready for this ride! Planning the route, organizing gear, contemplating what things I will need and what will just be unnecessary added weight... Today I made a mini ride with loaded pannier bags- up the NYC West Side bike path, over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, and up the 10 mile River Road, north along the Hudson River. It was a good test- there are a lot of hills- a few pretty long and steep. I'll be doing another two-day loaded ride this weekend, heading northwest to Warwick, NY to stay at my friend Amy's house in the woods for a night, and test out my camping gear. I've decide on a bivy sac and tarp, instead of a tent, to cut weight. I considered not taking a sleeping pad, and tried camping without one last weekend. I had a lot of trouble sleeping! So, the sleeping pad will join me. I picked up some pedal cages and extra tube patches yesterday. I will NOT be trying to use clipless pedals this time, in an effort to avoid fracturing my knee cap, as I did last year. There are a few random items to obtain before I go, but everything is close to being ready. I have the maps and route info on my phone as well as printed out on paper. I'll be making a few scans of some good atlas pages, which include campsite location info along the way. I'll pack a bunch of protein bars, but other than that, I'll buy food along the way as I ride. No stove or cook kit- unecessary added weight when you'll be biking through towns regularly and can find most of what you need (or want- like ice cream). As long as I don't have to ride too far before finding coffee in the AM, I'll be fine :)