Packing

I was out of town for the weekend, so final trip preparations were pushed back a few days. Now I'm really getting to the serious stuff...like packing clothes! Here's what I'll be wearing for the next 3 months (don't judge me!):

• 3 pair bike socks
  
• 1 pair warm socks
  
• 1 pair bike gloves
  
• 1 pair mesh shorts
  
• 1 pair zip-off long pants
  
• 1 bathing suit
  
• 2 pair bike shorts
  
• 2 pair underwear (not worn with bike shorts)
  
• 3 anti-sweat shirts (the moisture-wicking ones, to be worn while biking)
  
• 1 long-sleeve anti-sweat shirt
  
• 1 long-sleeve warm Under Armor shirt
  
• 1 fleece zip-up
  
• 1 rain jacket
  

And it all (minus the fleece) fits in this tiny bag:


That little guy is a front pannier. I've laid out most of my stuff, and I'm entertaining the idea of only taking rear panniers. I suppose you're supposed to balance your stuff between front and back, but it would be nice to consolidate down to only 2 bags. I only used rear bags on my other trips, and while I do have slightly more stuff this time, my sleeping bag and tent are now significantly smaller, and those are the two biggest things.

We will see. And maybe without front bags I'll flip over backwards going over a mountain. Fun times!

Fenders

I wouldn't wish installing bike fenders on my worst enemy. Once they're on they're fine, but getting them on...unacceptably difficult.

Nerd gear

Right now the one serious piece of electronics I'm packing is my phone (HTC Incredible). I'll embarrass myself if I fawn too hard over technology, but here it goes...what else would I need? Maps? Music? Internet? Camera? And, um, telephone? Check check check. What a country.

All that computing power comes at the expense of battery drain, of course. So here's the plan. I found these USB-rechargeable battery packs:



I actually ended up with one of them and one of the older generation, which was disappointing because it didn't have the LEDs that show how much charge is left. Not a big deal, the actual battery seems to work fine.

These guys will charge from a USB connection, just like the phone. When I have a wall outlet available, I can plug in my AC adapter, and charge up these batteries. Each one should be good for almost 2 full phone charges. I plan to keep the phone off or in Airplane mode most of the time, so one full charge should get through a few days. Between the phone battery and the two packs I hope to have one week's worth of power.

I understand your concern. What happens if I can't get to an outlet? Here's where things get good:



That's right - a solar panel with a USB output! The panel is spec'd for 7 watts. I'm sure that real conditions will never see that, but the phone only takes 2.5 watts while charging...decent light should get me that. It's also foldable and has attachment loops, so I can fasten it to the top of the rack in the back and keep it plugged in to one of the batteries. A full day of halfway-decent sun should be enough to charge it up.

I've played with both the panel and the batteries so I have pretty high confidence that they'll be all I need. If they fall short I still have a few options:

• Take extra care to find wall outlets. At campgrounds, during lunch, etc.
  
• Get a hand crank charger. Probably not feasible to use this to keep the batteries charged, but would guarantee me SOME power in a pinch.
  
• Wheel-mounted generator. They sell little generators that spin when they make contact with the spinning wheel. I stayed away from this because I don't want the extra drag, and they'll wear out the tire a little faster (a legit concern for a long trip). Even using this only when going down hill should generate a ton of power.
  

Anyway, that's my nerd gear and how I'll be keeping it powered. Glayvin!

Bike shoes

I tried a couple pairs of bike shoes about a month ago and didn't really like them. I'm just about ready to go in sneakers, but I'm giving them one last chance. I have a nice set of one-sided pedals that are flat on one side, and with clips on the other. They'd be perfect since I want to use sandals on days when it's really hot or raining. Maybe these will stick.

The first pair I tried was kind of a sneaker/bike shoe hybrid. There were OK but not much better than sneakers. Also, they sold me a pair that was too small. The second pair I tried were biking sandals. They had great reviews online, but they were pretty uncomfortable and just about the ugliest things I've ever seen. So now this pair is more of a normal-looking bike shoe. It felt good on the bike and I'll wear them through the day in hopes they'll be comfortable.

Don't worry - these posts should get significantly more exciting when I get going.

Some workplace fasion:

First Ride

I built the bike on Friday, then tweaked it on Saturday. Sunday was the first time really taking it out on the road.

I did have to play with things at first, but that's to be expected. I spent a lot of time adjusting the seat post, moving the seat forward and backward, and tilting the handlebars up and down. Right now I feel a little more stretched out on it than my other bike, which is odd because it's supposed to be a little more compact and upright. I may end up with different handlebars that will bring everything a bit closer. The seat can also move down a little. I'll compare it to the measurements from my current bike and work from there. These are very boring details, and I apologize.

I went north all the way to Haverhill, then up to the NH border (just because). Ate lunch at the Groveland Diner, where I officially met my first strangers who asked to follow the blog. I think that may end up being a common thing. I'm excited for it. Turned around at the border and came home by a similar but slightly different route. I don't have a bike computer yet, but Google says I went 75 miles. Overall, definitely feel good about how things went.

The route!

Not all posts will end with exclamation points, but right now I'm still pretty excited about everything.

Here's my proposed route:


View Bike Plan in a larger map

You'll notice that it's not very straight, but I can explain. First, I'm heading down toward Asheville, NC. I want to do this so I can bike along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina. This will be a 500-mile long stretch of windy road along the hills (and mountains!) of the western parts of those states. As an extra bonus, the Parkway leads to Mount Mitchell, just outside Asheville. Mt Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi (sorry New Hampshire). There is a road to the top and I, of course, will bike it.

My brother will join me in Asheville. He'll fly down from Chicago, and we will then bike back up to Chicago.

Next, I'll continue (alone, sadly) towards Fargo, ND. I'm not sure there's much to see there, but I've been to the other 47 continental states, and what better way to hit the only one that's eluded me?

From Fargo, I'll somehow get to Denver. I say somehow because there are no roads that go southwest through the Dakotas. This is also the one stretch of the trip where I may be pretty far between towns, and also in an area that few bikers travel through. I'll do my best to be safe.

After weeks on the plains, the fun starts in Denver. I was tempted to head southwest to the 4-corners area and monument valley, but the valley is farther west than I thought, and the area is really, really unpopulated. And it's a desert. I hope to see the National Parks down there someday, but I don't think it will be during this trip. Anyway, I'll follow the Trans America bike route through the mountains. That's a route that's very popular with cyclists, so should remove any fear about being stuck in the mountains with no food or a broken bike (these things can still happen, I just won't be stuck!).

I'll jump off the Trans America (which goes to Oregon) and go north to Seattle, then follow the coast down to San Francisco. Technically, I will finish the trip in San Jose, but that's not on the water so it makes for a lousy final destination.

So that's that. Google claims 5,358 miles. That number will go up as I'm not taking the highway. From previous experience there's about 25% more miles in a bike route compared to the Google directions, so let's go ahead and predict something like 6500. At 75 miles a day, I'll arrive about 88 days later.

I am hoping to average more than that, or to end up closer to the 5500 mile mark. It would let me take some time off in interesting cities or take a rest day if I need it. If I'm running behind I can also skip either Fargo (Chicago straight to Denver) or Seattle (Denver to Oregon). Either would save a good deal of time. We'll see!

The blog!

By now you've figured out that posts will appear right here. Some wizardry has allowed my to embed a map of my current position at the top of the page. While on the trip, my phone will be able to send my current location, which will update the map. Updates should be about once an hour or two, but if my batteries are unhappy about that then it'll only be once or twice per day. Either way, the phone/GPS/map/blog combo is working together nicely and I think it's pretty cool.

Also - when I send a post from my phone, it will include a link at the bottom with my location. If you click it, you'll see a map of where I was when I sent the post. It's a neat way to see where I was at a given time, rather than my current location on top of the page.

Please feel free to add blog comments. It's probably the second-best way to stay in touch with me, other than email.

Lastly, if you scroll to the bottom, you'll see two pictures of very pretty bridges. I should be biking across the first one on June 1, and then the second one somewhere in late August.

The bike!

The bike (Co-Motion Nor'Wester Tour) finally arrived this past Thursday. The original plan was to have the shop help me install some of the more complicated parts (particularly headset and bottom bracket) but for safety sake I decided to go in to Wheelworks and work with a mechanic to do the entire set up. And I'm glad I did - while I could have gotten everything to work, there were a few things I would have missed, so it was for the best.

I was planning to take pictures as the bike was built up, but my battery died about 5 minutes into it. So, we magically jump from a bare frame in the shop to a finished bike in my yard. Enjoy...