DC Shake Out Trip

Carol:
Colin and I went bike camping on the weekend of April 8th to shake out any hiccups we might have in our packing/planning. We encountered and overcame so many comedic errors, that I think we're more than prepared for our ride!
Riding out the C&O towpath was fine, though we realized a few miles in that we forgot a lighter for the fire. Colin rode back to town to buy a lighter, while I headed towards the campsite. The campsite sign noted in large letters "Permit Required" which we definitely did not prepare for. Thankfully, two boy scout troops were camping there for the night and asked us to join their site. By the time Colin met up with me, it had started to get dark, so we quickly set up camp. Cold burritos by a warm fire never tasted so good!
That night, I woke up several times both due to the below 30 degree weather and my aching shoulder on the hard, hard ground. In the morning, we woke up to rain pounding down on the tent. Deciding we couldn't wait the 4 hours for the rain to pass, we summoned the courage to pack up in the pouring rain. We decided to head home early to avoid the snow, sleet and gale scheduled for later that afternoon. As luck would have it, Colin caught a flat on the towpath home, which he fixed with our spare CO2 tubes. We arrived home in the early afternoon - muddy, tired, and confident that we could complete our cross-country trip. Shake out trip: wild success!