Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Kicking the Tires
I put about 110 miles on the new bike. 40 miles last Friday, 50 miles on Sunday and about 20 miles on Tuesday. It's nice! The brakes are so smooth that I'll be riding along just itching for a reason to tap the brake levers. Nice shifting, ergonomic handlebars. I've never had a rack on a bike so I'm enjoying putting my bag back there for my ride to work.
On Sunday, I strapped a box with three gallon paint cans onto it. I rode about 20 miles just to get the feel of the weight. It handled surprisingly well with the 25 extra pounds. It wasn't too much effort to get the bike up to speed and keep it there, even with a light headwind. I'm getting really excited about taking this trip.
To be honest, starting about three weeks ago I was having minor anxiety attacks...about once a day or so. I think it began the night after I injured my knee. I was feeling like I'd painted myself into a corner. I have a small window of time to train so I couldn't stop riding, but I couldn't ride much because of the injury.
I knew the bike I was riding was a major contributor to the injury. So the search was on for an affordable bike. It would have been so easy if I had the cash to walk into a bike shop and walk out with a new bike. I needed something affordable so I spent over two weeks contacting bike companies, talking with dealers and expanding the search. Everyday that went by was another day of riding the 'pain machine' and another day closer to the departure date. Tick-tock.
So you can see why I'm so happy to have a bike. It also happens to be the BEST bike out there for touring and I got it at a great price from REI. Now that I've had the opportunity to load it down a little, I'm getting really pumped about the ride. My knee feels much better too. I feel like I did when I was a kid and had always wanted to go backpacking. Everything I need to survive is strapped to the machine and I power the thing across the country!
I'll have a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, stove, pots, utensils, toiletries, first aid kit, cycling clothes, cold weather clothes, rain gear, camera, cell phone, a sizable tool kit, food and water. All that stuff will be stuffed into panniers (think saddlebags) that hang over the front and back wheels of the bike. Mounted on the handlebars will be a plastic map case and some food. Load it up and go east young man.
I visualize pedaling along a small farm road in Iowa with soft sunlight and looking down to see your names on the bike. Voices and faces, murmuring and smiling. I think of my buddy Brian and wonder what he would think. I can hear my grandmother exclaim, "Wow!" the way she did. My friend Dan cracking a joke about my ass being sore. In a way, doing this alone makes me feel closer to you all.
There is a satisfying feeling of doing the right thing; like handing someone a dollar they dropped or going back into the store to pay for something the checker missed on the bottom of your cart. If you could concentrate that feeling and shoot it in your arm, that's the way I feel about doing this fundraiser. It is so much more important than two months of salary or being cozied up at home as autumn sets in.
Every 60 seconds we lose another minute to do the right thing. We lose a day here or there. As my buddy Chris Schauffele would say, we lose a minute of "sucking the marrow out of life." It can be so rich if you are really felling something positive about the things you are doing.
All your supporting emails and phone calls have been a big motivator. Tracey's support has been overwhelming as well. This full-time job of fundraising has actually made us quite close in the past two months.
Last weekend we were on our front porch and a girl walked by with a kitten. Tracey asked if she could hold it. As the girl handed it over she told us that she rescued it a few blocks away from three kids who were kicking it down the street. It was so cute. We mentioned that we'd been thinking about getting a kitten and she said, "Now ya got one!" and walked off.
Now we got one.
Poor thing had fleas, an eye infection and lots of tape worms. Despite all these ailments she has the softest fur and nicest demeanor. Now a few days later, with the fleas gone and the worms dying off she's very happy. She'll be prancing and jumping and batting at empty paper bags then come snuggle up to you and start purring the moment you touch her.
We don't have a name, but send us your suggestions.
Other than that, I've been working like crazy on laying out my route to New Jersey. This is really important because I could railroad myself right into a big mountain pass or onto a busy highway with no shoulder. I think I'm going to follow the Oregon Trail through Idaho and half of Wyoming before I drop down into Colorado. From there to Chicago should be straight forward. Ohio and Pennsylvania will be challenging; I need to find a way around the Appalachians.
Thank you for reading this blog. Thanks for donating too! By the way, it's at nearly 20%, almost $5000!
Adios,
Andrew (Drew)
On Sunday, I strapped a box with three gallon paint cans onto it. I rode about 20 miles just to get the feel of the weight. It handled surprisingly well with the 25 extra pounds. It wasn't too much effort to get the bike up to speed and keep it there, even with a light headwind. I'm getting really excited about taking this trip.
To be honest, starting about three weeks ago I was having minor anxiety attacks...about once a day or so. I think it began the night after I injured my knee. I was feeling like I'd painted myself into a corner. I have a small window of time to train so I couldn't stop riding, but I couldn't ride much because of the injury.
I knew the bike I was riding was a major contributor to the injury. So the search was on for an affordable bike. It would have been so easy if I had the cash to walk into a bike shop and walk out with a new bike. I needed something affordable so I spent over two weeks contacting bike companies, talking with dealers and expanding the search. Everyday that went by was another day of riding the 'pain machine' and another day closer to the departure date. Tick-tock.
So you can see why I'm so happy to have a bike. It also happens to be the BEST bike out there for touring and I got it at a great price from REI. Now that I've had the opportunity to load it down a little, I'm getting really pumped about the ride. My knee feels much better too. I feel like I did when I was a kid and had always wanted to go backpacking. Everything I need to survive is strapped to the machine and I power the thing across the country!
I'll have a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, stove, pots, utensils, toiletries, first aid kit, cycling clothes, cold weather clothes, rain gear, camera, cell phone, a sizable tool kit, food and water. All that stuff will be stuffed into panniers (think saddlebags) that hang over the front and back wheels of the bike. Mounted on the handlebars will be a plastic map case and some food. Load it up and go east young man.
I visualize pedaling along a small farm road in Iowa with soft sunlight and looking down to see your names on the bike. Voices and faces, murmuring and smiling. I think of my buddy Brian and wonder what he would think. I can hear my grandmother exclaim, "Wow!" the way she did. My friend Dan cracking a joke about my ass being sore. In a way, doing this alone makes me feel closer to you all.
There is a satisfying feeling of doing the right thing; like handing someone a dollar they dropped or going back into the store to pay for something the checker missed on the bottom of your cart. If you could concentrate that feeling and shoot it in your arm, that's the way I feel about doing this fundraiser. It is so much more important than two months of salary or being cozied up at home as autumn sets in.
Every 60 seconds we lose another minute to do the right thing. We lose a day here or there. As my buddy Chris Schauffele would say, we lose a minute of "sucking the marrow out of life." It can be so rich if you are really felling something positive about the things you are doing.
All your supporting emails and phone calls have been a big motivator. Tracey's support has been overwhelming as well. This full-time job of fundraising has actually made us quite close in the past two months.
Last weekend we were on our front porch and a girl walked by with a kitten. Tracey asked if she could hold it. As the girl handed it over she told us that she rescued it a few blocks away from three kids who were kicking it down the street. It was so cute. We mentioned that we'd been thinking about getting a kitten and she said, "Now ya got one!" and walked off.
Now we got one.
Poor thing had fleas, an eye infection and lots of tape worms. Despite all these ailments she has the softest fur and nicest demeanor. Now a few days later, with the fleas gone and the worms dying off she's very happy. She'll be prancing and jumping and batting at empty paper bags then come snuggle up to you and start purring the moment you touch her.
We don't have a name, but send us your suggestions.
Other than that, I've been working like crazy on laying out my route to New Jersey. This is really important because I could railroad myself right into a big mountain pass or onto a busy highway with no shoulder. I think I'm going to follow the Oregon Trail through Idaho and half of Wyoming before I drop down into Colorado. From there to Chicago should be straight forward. Ohio and Pennsylvania will be challenging; I need to find a way around the Appalachians.
Thank you for reading this blog. Thanks for donating too! By the way, it's at nearly 20%, almost $5000!
Adios,
Andrew (Drew)
# posted by Andrew Bascue @ 5:43 PM 
