Life Spoke

What an inspirational week! Sorry this update wasn’t posted yesterday but I’ve been training, route planning and getting the bike outfitted. This is definitely a full-time job. Someone compared the process to planning a rock concert as a one-man effort.

Let me apologize for the American Cancer Society website not working. I’ve called them and sent emails trying to get it up and working. Hopefully they can get the problem resolved by the end of this week. The fundraising is moving right along. Before the site went down I had received donations of $5805. Nearly 25% of my goal!

Training and planning are coming along well too! Saturday, I put in an 82 mile ride over five hours and 15 minutes. Sunday, I scoured over maps of Idaho and northern Utah. I found a way through Idaho that avoids the interstates completely!

I found some old fenders in my grandfather’s garage. Monday, I fitted them to the bike. Then Tuesday I pulled them back off and put a fresh coat of paint on them. Tuesday I also repaired a set of panniers that my friend John Dunn loaned me for the ride.

I’ve also been working hard at physical therapy for my knee. I’m happy to say that it feels great. After the 82 mile ride they were both sore, but none of the pain I’d experienced earlier. The way the new bike fits my body along with training, proper nutrition and recovery time have done a good job. The next step is to get fitted for cycling orthotics which will correct my flat-footedness. I got a prescription of topical ibuprofen and lidocaine, which I will rub in every twelve hours to reduce swelling and soreness on the road.

Now I have minor issues like a sore elbow and carpel tunnel to overcome but these pale in light of my long-term knee injuries. I’m doing everything I can to address physiological problems now, while I have time to take rest days. When I’m on the road I’ll have to ride EVERY day to make to the east coast before it gets too cold.

I want to mention that a number of people are under the impression that I’m going as part of a guided tour. Just to be clear, I’ll be by myself the whole time. All my gear will be on my bike. I’ll be camping along the way. There won’t be a support car following me. I’ll pick up food and water at grocery stores during the day. I’m also not following one of the established bicycle routes across the US. I have to find my own way based on the logistical planning I’m doing now. Every night I have to find a place to camp, set up the tent and cook dinner.

Speaking of dinner…I’m eating like a linebacker. I am so hungry all the time, my body is screaming for calories. I estimate that I’m eating between 3000-4000 calories daily. I can sit down and eat 1500 calories in 15 minutes. And I’m losing weight!

I’m trying to bulk up now so that I might have some fat reserves for the road. Bulking is difficult because it’s a 180 from my normal nutrition habits. Fatty meats, flax seed and olive oil, piles of fried potatoes, brown rice, nuts, beans, buttery fish…piles of food.

Not only do I have to think differently about my food choices, but it’s difficult to prepare that much food. I fairly fill my work bag with lunch foods and often I’ll stop to buy food after I’ve eaten everything I packed. Aside from the cost, I wish I could always eat this way.

I feel great too. With this knee problem clearing up I feel like an ox. My legs are strong and my core is thick. I feel like I’m ready for six weeks of bicycle riding on an 80 pound bike over mountains and prairies.

Looking forward, I am waiting to get detailed topographic maps of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. I’ll lay out a route that avoids major roads and hits my two big stops in Denver and Chicago. The manager of the Eugene REI store is working with REI stores in those cities to arrange for me to come give a talk/clinic on my experiences. I might be able to get a bike tune-up from the stores at the same time. I also enrolled in a bicycle maintenance class at REI so I can do road repairs if I break down somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

I have to get rear panniers for the bike, rain-proof shoe covers, a handlebar bag and padded handlebar tape for the carpel tunnel. Tracey and I have been working on figuring out how to get everyone’s names stenciled on the bike. I also have to arrange for a flight and shipping the bike back to Oregon in October. On top of this I’m contacting friends and family for fundraising. I’m also contacting newspapers, television and radio stations with press releases. I hope to get some press coverage to help with the fundraising.

I’ll be leaving in four weeks.