May 24, 2021
One week to go
We have one week to go until we start. We feel like we are as ready to go as we can be. We have completed many of the numerous logistical task that we need to do so we can be gone for 3 months. There were many tasks to complete some are not very obvious. Last week Janet handled a critical task. Our credit card expires in July. Normally, our credit card gets automatically renewed and a new card shows up in the mail. We won’t have access to mail, so our card would of expired and that would of been difficult on the road. Fortunately Janet found out it was expiring and got us new cards. We think we got all those types of tasks done so we are ready to go in that respect.
In regards to being physically in shape for this trip, we hope we are ready but we won’t know until we get on the trip. In our previous trips it is usually “ready or not, here we go”. I remember my first bike trip when I was 16 or 17 years old. My friend Buzz and I would ride a 1 mile loop in our neighborhood 3 times and then go play pool in Buzz’s basement. We felt this was a good training regiment and we were ready for the trip. We were wrong. I remember being on the road and my legs were killing me. Over the years we have taken getting ready a little more seriously, mainly by trying to ride lots of miles prior to the trip.
This time we are training much more seriously. For the first time we are riding with loaded bikes prior to the start of the trip. For the last several weeks we have done all our rides with all our packs on our bikes. This has been very helpful in our training and we are seeing several benefits. First we are getting used to the way the bikes handle differently with the loaded packs. There are lots of little changes to handling the bike. One of the most important is swinging our leg over the back bags when we get on and off the bike. We have fallen many times with mounting/dismounting failures. It has been beneficial to practice this move over the past few weeks.
The second benefit to loaded riding is the increase effort it takes to ride the bikes and the increase fitness from riding loaded. On the flat roads riding a loaded bike is not much different in effort than riding an unloaded bike. Going downhill is noticeably faster. The real challenge is riding up hills. Normal hills take significant more effort. Even small rises in the road take increase effort. Practicing riding with the load and figuring out which gears to used that enable efficient riding has been beneficial.
Lastly, we have gained a lot of confidence that we can do the trip. Yesterday we did a 42 mile ride and we survived. We were tired, but, we know we can do a longer ride. On the bike trip we just have to do that ride about 90 days in a row 😁
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The last thing I would like to discuss is our bags. For this trip each of us will have 4 bags attached to our bikes. We will have two bags on the back rack and two bags on the front rack. In addition Janet and I have trunk bags on the top of our front racks. We will have a foam sleeping pad strapped to the top of our back rack along with some other gear (bike pump, tent poles, etc.). Our bags are between 35 and 40 liters in volume. We chose this size because it makes us really think about what and how to pack. We have to take enough to be comfortable in both extreme heat and in cold weather. The mountain passes are still snow covered, in fact one of the roads we are going to ride is still closed because it has not been cleared of snow. We can’t fit all the clothes we would like to so we have to be very smart about how we pack. Almost everything we take can either be layered or has multiple uses. We have packed and repacked our bags multiple times. The benefit of this is it helps keep the weight down. Janet and Ross packs will be around 35 pounds and mine are about 45 pounds. If we find that we are not using an item we will mail it home. Hopefully we have found the optimal trade off between weight and comfort.
As you can imagine we are very excited to start this trip. Next Monday we will go to the bay near our house, dip our back wheels and then start the journey. I will post a new journal entry on Monday.
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I look forward to your journal. I’m so impressed by people who “get back on the horse” after major surgery like hip replacement. Also, we’re practically neighbors as I live on Lummi Island. Why I could have seen you through the telescope in my living room as you pedaled up Lummi Shore Drive last week! Since I recently broke my ankle, my cross county ride is again postponed (initially due to my husband’s health issues, then COVID, and now for not acting my age) so I will live vicariously through your adventures.
I wish you sunny skies and cool breezes from behind.
Sandy Earle
3 years ago
Hi neighbor! Lummi peninsula is one of our favorite rides. We always stop for a break near the ferry and look across the water at Lummi island. I bet we have been looking at your house each time 😁.
Sorry to hear about your injury. Be patient and your time for your bike trip will come. When I had my injury, biking was a major motivator for me during my rehab. My main goal was to get back to biking at the same level as prior to my accident. It took a little bit but I got there and I am sure you will too.
Thanks for the encouraging words and I hope you will enjoy following us on our trip.
Terry
3 years ago
3 years ago
Janet
3 years ago