This blog will cover my bicycle ride from Snohomish, Washington to Salem, Connecticut. I plan to depart on August 10, 2011 and, if I stick close to a target of 80 miles per day, I should reach Connecticut around October 10. I never thought I would "blog" this trip, or anything else for that matter, but it seems to be an easier approach than sending emails for keeping relatives and friends up to speed. And thanks to Greg Glod's help it wasn't too hard to set up. Also, since I got so much out of reading blogs from other riders maybe someone thinking of a ride can get something useful out of my notes on this trip.
Over the last couple of months I've been reconditioning an old steel framed bicycle that I previously had been meaning to throw away. A local bike shop thought it would work for a ride like this so I rebuilt the wheels and the bottom bracket, replaced the 7 speed cassette and renewed the cables and brakes. I've also outfitted it with a new front rack, panniers and nobby tires plus some other stuff I already had (rear rack and panniers and a Topeak travel bag attached to the seat stem). I'll be carrying a solo tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, clothes, food and water. From what I've been reading, I should be riding with a comparatively light load. The whole rig should weight less than 80 pounds, with the heaviest single item being a jar of Tylenol. I've put a few hundred miles on the bike almost fully loaded and it seems to ride fine.
I plan to follow an established bicycle route from the Adventure Cycling Association called the Northern Tier. They sell a series of 11 maps for this particular 4286 mile route that take you from Anacortes, Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine. The map sections cover anywhere from 234 miles to 573 miles and seem to provide everything you would want to know including the expected riding conditions and services along the way (bike shops, camping areas, hotels). They also include a paper addenda noting any changes to the map info or local conditions, like the flooding in Minot, ND for example. I'll be following the Norther Tier route for the first 9 map sections to Orchard Park, NY. From there I'll find my own way home for the last 7 or 8 hundred miles. I'm guessing my total ride will be somewhere around 4000 miles.
As I mentioned before, I hope to average about 80 miles a day for the trip. And like many of the rides I've read about on other blogs and web sites I plan to camp out six nights a week (which should be fascinating in itself) and take a hotel break once a week. I originally planned to ride the entire trip alone, but if I'm lucky I may have some companions for the first week or two. My younger brother (Tom), his son (Sam) and his son-in-law (Steve) may ride along for the first 5 or 6 days. Actually, it will probably work out that Tom will be scouting 20 miles up ahead while Sam and Steve ride along with me. After that it's possible that my two older brothers (Dean and Glenn) may do a car/bike thing with me for a week, which should put me well into eastern Montana. We'll see.
I think I'm ready and I expect to complete the trip. But you never know. It's been 30 years since I was 30 and I can't say that I would be shocked if one or more of my body parts decides to quit on me. In which case I'll fly home and start saying: "Bike trip? What bike trip?" I'll try to update the blog daily with the Ipad I'll be carrying. But depending on the Ipad's battery charge and the cellular coverage the blog may occasionally go silent for a day or two.
My regular blog posts should begin around August 10 or 11.
Over and out,
Joe
