Ok, weddings are over and the slate is clean. Time to get busy. This past week was pretty productive. I rode five days and slowly added more weight to the iron horse. My ride is a Trek 520 touring bike. Steel frame with bar end shifters and 700/35 tires. Brooks seat for my tender tush. Gearing designed for carrying heavy loads up and over hills. And that's a good thing. My plan is a solo, self-contained trans-america trip so I'll have to carry a lot of gear, food, and water. To pack and carry all my crap in, I got Matt (from the bike shop) to order front and back panniers (saddle bags) from Arkel. Arkel is a supplier out of Canada and let me tell you, they do it right. They are sturdy, easy to operate and have soooo many storage compartments. The only drawback I think is due to the sturdy frame, fully loaded they will be heavier than some other brands. I don't have them fully loaded yet, just biking gear, no food or cloths but I can tell I'll have a pretty good load. Now, I am estimating around 80 lbs but I'll get a more accurate weight just prior to departure. I've attached a photo of the bike with the panniers. I got blue ones basically because that's my favorite color (Air Force) but also they should be more visible than the plain ones. That's my biggest fear, some moron running me down claiming he couldn't see me. In case something does happen along the way and assuming I am only hurt, I am taking a Spot. Spot is a hand-held device that sends an emergency message to family and friends requesting help. Also, I'll have a cell phone, maybe a laptop and a healthy fear for the unexpected. If you've got any suggestions send them now I am sure I haven't thought of everything and everything helps.
Well, I checked out the route, as per your directions. As it starts way up there and ends kinda lower in the middle, I figure it's almost all down hill. Good choice. Take an mp3 player of some sort...4,300 miles of "I Like Big Butts" would have to change a man...
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