Early planning.
Upon my return home from ACA's Lewis and Clark Ride last year I consoled myself over the finish of my fabulous trip with plans for another long trip the following summer. I wasn't ready to finish cycling after a month on the road, but I was lonely for my family. This time I would bring my husband along. I have advertised in several places (ACA, touring list) for companions. At this point I have eight or so potential companions. Most of them are recumbent riders. Who knows how many will really be interested come late spring.
I wasn't even home yet from the L & C before I had the idea to return to the northwest. It was beautiful country. Bicycling home had the attraction of needing transportation only one way. I paid $165. to have my bicycle and BOB trailer packed and shipped home from Portland last summer. (gulp) Yes, riding home was the way to go! We have a good friend whose mother lives in Washington on the coast. Shelia volunteered to ride with us to Portland, visit her mother, and drive our truck home. We also checked the price of renting the smallest size UHaul. It was $750. one way. The pick up seems the cheapest option. I first thought of following the Trans Am route back to Colorado. Then I started finding places to visit along the way. I wanted to do some of the Pacific Coast. Circumvent Crater Lake. Revisit Winchester and Lolo Pass. Revisit Jackson, MT. My potential route wound all over!
I initially allowed four weeks for the trip. After roughing out the locations I wanted to visit and the mileage, I added another week to the trip. This is still pushing it. I'm coming up with 2,000 miles. We'd like to average 60 miles a day with one day off a week. We'll either need to add a few more days to the trip, subtract miles, or ride more miles per day. One choice is to start in Astoria rather than Portland. I really enjoyed Portland and want to show my husband the vibrant downtown area. I also would like a couple of days of riding before we hit the climbs on the coast. I don't want to cut anything out!
I have spent many, many hours researching the route. It is almost as much fun planning as riding! I was very happy with my equipment choices last year and will make no significant changes this year. The only thing I desired that I did not have was a camp chair(and an extra set of underwear!). Ryan had a folding bleacher type seat on the L & C. I am strongly thinking of bringing a camp chair along this year. I have found only one journal on crazyguy that mentions bringing a chair. I contacted that author. He said he didn't use the chair and sent it home early in the trip. Update: It is now early March. After a fair amount of research looking for a 'real' chair I purchased one Sling-Light Chair http://www.slinglight.com. At $99. it is pricy, but at 22 oz., the weight is right. We have just received the chair. First impressions were positive and we are most likely going to order a second one. It doesn't fold down too small, but I believe it will strap down on top of the BOB without much problem.
I have also order a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS. I ordered the 305 for accurate altitude. I have read the 205 doesn't always have correct altitude readings. It has not arrived yet. That is another item we are trying out before we purchase a second unit. One major downside to this particular GPS is that there is only 12 hours between charges. I'm hoping we can figure out a solar method of charging it as I know we will not have electricity every night.
Our touring has evolved into hotel trips as our pocketbooks fattened. The ACA Lewis and Clark trip was the first camping trip I had done in years. I was surprised to discover I loved bicycle camping. The feeling of self sufficiency and having everything I needed right there with me was fantastic. I now think all bicycle tours should be lengthy and self contained. My husband Jacinto is not quite sure on either point. He agreed to a long trip without too much convincing. The camping part is a harder sell. Some of my favorite campgrounds on the L & C were remote with no showers. I got pretty good at taking a bath out of the soup pot. Jacinto has already purchased a Solar Shower. No bathing out of the soup pot for him! I do suspect we will be checking into the occasional hotel. I've told Jacinto about the delicious food we cooked in camp on the Lewis and Clark trip. I hope we can duplicate some of those great meals while on our 2006 tour.
Our planned departure date from Portland is Sunday, June 11, 2006. I chose a Sunday departure for the ease of getting out of the city with no commuter traffic.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |