Decision Time

Every time I look at the weather in the NW I see rain mixed with snow. I thought for a while I'd just delay my departure till it warmed and the rain stopped but then I talked with Jean. Jean is one of my Marco ridding buddies who rode the Northern route across the US four years ago. Her ride was an all female group that was supported with a SAG wagon. They left Washington in June and she said it was still cold and rainy and would probably be that way no matter when I crossed the Cascades. Her final suggestion was "just deal with it". So, I've bought winter gear that I can ship home after crossing the Rockies and reconciled myself to the fact that there will be cold. Now, I am planning on departing for Florence, Or. on or about 28 April and start biking around 1 May. Cold or wind or constant heat, a lot of good choices.

Humanitarian Aid

If you happen to see these people in your travels please be kind. April Fooled!

Delayed

Well, the best made plans should allow for flexibility. Some time ago when I first started flying South America routes, I was introduced to Ekos. Ekos is a brand of toiletries ie. shampoo, face cream, body oils, etc. all made in Brazil. The flight attendants were raving about the product line and suggested I take some home to Theresa. Ekos products, they said contained exotic oils only found in certain trees in the Brazilian rain forest. They went on to say the properties of the oils in the shampoo made hair soft and luxurious and left their hair with a glowing sheen. And as an added benefit all the products retained a hint of the aroma from the seeds that the oils were extracted. The seeds it seems are additives in the monkeys' diet in the Amazon basin. But the seeds have a faint hypnotic effect similar to the effect that wormwood used to have in 19Th century absinthe and acted as a mild aphrodisiac. Needless to say the monkeys were over running the small region where the trees grew.
Anyway, I brought some products home and Theresa loved them. As she gave some away the word some spread and I was carry way too much through customs so I decided to become an import/exporter. I applied for the license and a tourist visa in January expecting the process to take nine months. Monday I got the package back all approved but with one snag. It seems the visas are for two years but you have to take your first trip to Brazil within 90 days of the issue date. Therefore, I am going to delay me bike trip to the fall so I can get all arrangements made in Brazil.

Repacking and Rethinking

The past few days in addition to riding I have been packing the Arkel panniers. With the front and back panniers having enough space is not a problem. The problem is limiting what I take so I can keep the weight between 20 and 45 lbs. I've read a couple of articles from other riders and have gotten a lot of ideas from their experience. For example, one writer suggests having the weight distribution 60/40. 60% of the total gear carried in the front panniers which would include spare bike parts and food. Then of course in the back I would carry clothes and toiletries and a possible spare butt if I can find one that fits. The bike is getting heavier and heavier and up to now I have 25 lbs on it and I have not even added cloths or food much less the computer, camera and stereo system. I've gone through three packings so far and haven't found the right mix yet. And don't talk about sleeping bags. When they are sold they come in a nice little packet so small you can almost stick them in your pocket. But, when you take them out of the case they become huge. Oh, I am taking a tent and sleeping bag for the remote areas in Idaho.

I think there are towns out there but I can't find them on the map so I'll be ready. The last time I "roughed it" I spent four days kayaking down rivers in North Florida with some Air Force buddies. During the first day out we spent about six hours on the Suwanee. As luck would have it water found it's way to the sandwiches that were packed too close to the ice. Since that was all we had to eat the master kayak er went hungry. Luckily the beer was unharmed. So, I'll take extra care with my equipment, try to prepare up front, pack essential items and take a credit card.

Equipment

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.

Weddings

Biking in February took a backseat because of two weddings. On the 13Th my daughter Kristi married Matt in a nice ceremony on a public beach in New Port Richie, Fl. It was a sunset ceremony attended by family and a few US Coast Guard friends of Matt's. Also, about 35 well wishers that came to see the beautiful sunset showed appreciation of their union by rendering a rousing applause at ceremony's end. Under ideal conditions Kristi and Matt exchanged their written pledges of love and devotion, although it did take Kristi a short while to fish hers out. As the bright orange sun sank into the blueish green water we all toasted Kristi and Matt with champagne compliments of Jack, a fellow "coastie".

On the 23rd Theresa and I headed to NC for wedding number two. Along the way we stopped in Georgia and spent a couple of days with her aunt and uncle and then arrived at my sister Cynthia's in Shelby, NC on Wednesday the 25Th. The next day we met Becky, a high school friend, and her handsome son, Will at Red Bridges Bar-B-Que for lunch. Now, if you want good pork and hush puppies and you just happen to be driving 74 highway through Shelby, Red's the place. After we spent a couple of hours trying to catch up on years of living, it was off to Maggie Valley. The wedding of my great niece Anndrea and Josh was on Saturday. Beautiful ceremony, lots of family members on both sides of the union, in a quaint chapel in the pines of the mountains of NC. Remember, February, mountains, cold, wet, can and did equal....SNOW!

Sunday we got up early and raced ten hours south to Gainsville, Fl to avoid a March storm that crossed the south. We got back home Tuesday to the howling welcome of our three Papillons. This is Friday-haven't been on the bike yet. Hard to get motivated after being off the bike for a couple of weeks. Got to do better and get my lazy butt moving as April is fast approaching.

Get Serious

OK, it's time to fish or cut bait. Last week I did absolutely no biking....too cold. Florida weather is supposed to be warm..Right! Sunday it warmed up and a trio of the local biking group did a 30 mile ride. I took the touring bike and we averaged about 14mph and today I did another 30 mile ride averaging around 16. I've got to get out of the need for speed if I am going to make it across the U.S. on a touring bike. I have more time on road bikes and it's a little hard adjusting to the slower pace of a sightseer. My trek 520 is not fully loaded yet but I ride with Arkel panniers which I think are the best I've seen. If you are looking for ease of operation and fit look to Arkel. They are out of Canada but Hey they're good and I like the blue color. I am narrowing it down to mid-April or beginning May to start the trip. Now if I can decide on east or west I might be able to formulate a plan. As for as the blog, I want to enter something each week until I start the trip and then at least every other day after I start it. That means taking the computer, camera, and all the crap associated with them. More weight! As to the other equipment I am taking that's still in the planning phase. Although, I do have some ButtButter that one member of my biking group gave me.