Want to add there’s a new yorker cartoon in which a woman is walking out and says to the man - who is dressed in bike clothes - “I can put up with the other women and the gambling but I didn’t agree to bike shorts.”
@Onward your trip sounds wonderful, and believe me, a lot of folks would be walking their bike up a 12% grade. I’m glad you found my advice useful.
I’m going to look into the company you used.
Sounds like great fun, Onward, and way to go for doing all the riding except that one 12 percent grade and the part after it. Twelve percent is tough.