You Found Your Way Here, Eh???

Hi. Thanks for finding your way here.
I think I should probably start by saying...
1. why I am doing this
2. what equipment I am taking
3. identify my route
4. estimate when I will finish in San Diego

1. Why I am doing this.
Well, at least 3 years ago I bought a touring bike. My friend Mike and I actually bought identical touring bikes. He intended to do some bike camping, and I had this silly cross counntry ride in my head. I left my job at Tektronix in October 2006 and this bike was hanging in the garage. I had a few ideas in mind...

First, I chose easier stuff like going to Queretaro, Mexico (an amazing colonial town) to study Spanish in an immersion program. Well it may have been easier physically than biking 2,300 miles, but with 5 hours of class a day and staying with a family that spoke no english, my mind was fried at the end of each day.

Second, seeing how well traveling Mexico went, I decided to take what I learned to Spain. My friend Aaron and I ran with the bulls in Pamplona, and partied with the people at the San Fermin festival. Aaron left after 10 days in Spain, and I continued on my own through Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Italy. What I discovered was that traveling alone was pretty fun! Although languages were an additional challenge, I did alright with english and spanish, and best of all, my travel plans could change on a moments notice as I met other travelers that would pull me their way.

After returning from Europe, as I worked on my house in San Diego, I kept thinking about the people I met in Europe. 5 Argentineans I met in Rome asked me to come visit Buenos Aires, and I thought that was the next thing in line. After just another day of swinging a hammer or weilding a paintbrush in San Diego, I went to the bar. There I met Audrey, an awesome girl originally from Wisconsin who has insprired me through her triathalons, etc to look again at that bike hanging in the garage. As she was training for an Ironman she just completed in Arizona, I would ride my 10x heavier tour bike behind her and the desire to ride across the country was reborn. South America and Buenos Aires will be a reward for me sometime following the bike ride from St. Augustine, Florida to San Diego, CA.

2. What equipment am I taking.
Bike: I have a Giant OCR Touring bike. The frame is aluminum while the fork is chrome-moly.
It has 3 water bottle mounts, shimano 105 front deraileur, shimano lx rear deraileur, shimano 105 shifters, a shimano 105 triple chainring 52/42/30, clipless pedals, adjustable stem, Avid road disc brakes, mavic rims, shimano deore hubs, and a SRAM PG950 11-32 rear cassette.

I replaced the seat with a Brookes saddle: Chambion Flyer (like the B17 but with springs). It is a leather saddle and has two springs in the design to dampen the road vibration. I replaced the Michelin Dynamic tires with 700-32c Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires which, at half the weight of the original tires, are known for the durability with testimonials by touring cyclists that they have had no flats in 2,000+ miles.
More info on Schwalbe tires: www.schwalbe.com
More info on Brookes saddles: www.brookesengland.com

I put on SKS P45 fenders to keep the mud down as I will surely ride through some rain.
The front (Tara) and rear (Cargo) racks are from Tubus, a German company that provides a 3-yr on the road warranty backed behind an overnight shipment anywhere if your racks need attention. More info on Tubus racks: http://www.tubus.com/index/lang/en/

My panniers are from Ortlieb, another German company as zee Germans are known to be zee best for bicycle touring. I have the Backroller Plus and Front roller Plus panniers to attach to the Tubus racks. In addition I have the Ortleib Rackpack and Ultimate5 Plus handlebar bag. That is a LOT of waterproof storage for my things! Maybe too much. We will see.
More info on Ortlieb panniers: http://www.ortlieb.com/index2.php?lang=en

So the bags and racks probably add another 10 pounds, so the bike weight is at 40 pounds without adding any cargo to it. I will go into what specific cargo I am taking for such an adventure during another blog post.

If you are counting, the German companies so far mentioned are: Tubus, Ortlieb, and Schwalbe. I was not looking specifically to buy German made gear, but after reviewing the equipment and reading reviews by others, it turned out that way.

3. Identify my route
ok, I just scared myself a little. I thought this was a 2,300-mile ride since I went to Google and checked distance between St. Augustine and San Diego. Now I looked at my maps and I see it is 3,115 miles. Oh well.

I found a great resource for mapping routes for me. Adventure Cycling Association is an organization that promotes travel by bicycle. I ordered maps for their Southern Tier route from St. Augustine, Florida to San Diego, CA. This is a series of 7 maps, each with a recommended lesser traveled route, and with identified campgrounds, motels/hotels, hostels, bike shops, grocery stores, post offices, and libraries (for internet). Have a look at the picture of my overall route. If you are on or near this route, go to http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/southerntier.cfm and click on "detail" on the portion where you are located. If you still think you are close, give me a call (cell 619 990 9098) if I can crash on your sofa or set up my tent in your yard.

I recommend spending some time at their site, www.adventurecycling.org. At this site, plenty of people have blogged about their journeys, and are looking for companions to travel with, etc.

For a quick assessment of my trip, here are some cities I will go through:
FLORIDA: St. Augustine, Palatka, Hawthorne, Gainseville, High Springs, Wellborn, Madison, Monticello, Tallahassee, Quincy, Chattahoochee, Marianna, Bonifay, Defuniak Springs, Crestview, Milton, Pensacola,
ALABAMA: Gulf Shores, Fairhope, Mobile, Grand Bay
MISSISSIPPI: Vancleave, Perkinston, Poplarville
LOUISIANA: Bogalusa, Easleyville, St. Francisville (near Baton Rouge), Simmesport, Lebeau, Washington, Mamou, Oberlin, Mittie, De Ridder, Merryville
TEXAS: Kirbyville, Silsbee, Kountze, Romayor, Coldspring, New Waverly, Navasota (NW of Houston), Burton, LaGrange, Bastrop, Austin, Kyle, Blanco, Kerrville, Hunt, Leakey, Camp Wood, Bracketville, Del Rio, Comstock, Langtry, Dryden, Sanderson, Marathon, Alpine, Fort Davis, Kent, Van Horn, Sierra Blanca, Fort Hancock, Fabens, El Paso
NEW MEXICO: La Mesa, Las Cruces, Hatch, Hillsboro, Silver City, Buckhorn
ARIZONA: Safford, Geronimo, Superioe, Apache Junction, Tempe, Phoeniz, Wickenburg, Aquila, Salome, Hope, Quartzsite
CALIFORNIA: Blythe, Glamis, Brawley, Seeley, Jacumba, Alpine, CA, San Diego, CA

4. Estimate when I will finish
I plan to ride about 50 miles a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. If I take 3,115 miles and divide by 50, it looks like 62 days. But I will likely take a rest day once a week. Remember this is a pleasure ride through America, not a race for speed. So 62 days will cover almost 9 weeks, so add 9 days to 62 and it looks like I will be out for 71 days or so.

If i begin pedaling in FL April 25th as planned, oh man, I just did the math... that puts me in San Diego July 4th. Remember that Audrey girl I mentioned as an inspiration for this ride? July 4th is Audrey's Birthday (as well as 97 yr old grandma's).

So there you have it.
More next time.