An Introduction...

So as some of you may have heard, I plan on biking across the country this October and November.  My route will take me from Seattle, Washington to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania via some as yet to be determined route. Ever since I got into cycling a few years back, it has been something that I have wanted to do at some point in my lifetime. Further ambition was provided by my friend Doug who biked cross country earlier this summer to raise awareness for TBI - check out his travels here.  An awesome opportunity arose last week when my friend Goran was looking for someone to drive his car out to Seattle.  He is moving out there in the end of October when he finishes up his thesis at UPenn and he wasn't going to have enough time before his job starts to drive out there himself. That's when I realized this was the perfect opportunity for me to fulfill my dream and I stepped in and volunteered. It's a win-win situation for both of us for a somewhat 'big' and somewhat last minute request and trip! 


I haven't done any route planning yet other than a quick Google Maps 'biking' directions which would put me at somewhere around 3150 miles and traversing the country by way of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and finally Pennsylvania. A more direct 'car' route is only around 2800 miles and cuts out Maryland.  I aim to average 100 miles or more a day and complete the trip in just around a month's time.  I'm going to do some research on the typical weather conditions in the states that I am traveling through as well.  I can put up with cold, fall weather that I'm sure will be typical, but I'd prefer not to bike through snowstorms.  The trip is going to be epic enough as it is - I can save snow biking for back in Philly on my mountain bike in the Wiss and Belmont!

I am pretty much set with my bike and gear.  I just need to finish modifying my bar-end shifters on my touring bike (Windsor Tourist) to fit into my new, weirdly sized handlebars and I will probably install some new fenders as well but I already have all the racks, panniers and bags that I need.  My parents have a small two person tent (or one large person such as myself!) that I have borrowed in the past that they will loan me for nights that I can't find indoor housing accomodations. I might rebuild my Powertap (which needs to be rebuilt anyways) into a spare touring rim that I have laying around so that I get some cool data from my trip such as how many kilojoules I burn biking across the country and what that equals in gasoline!  My handy Garmin Edge 800 will be traveling with me for mapping and general cyclometer duties.  I will also have several headlamps and numerous rechargeable batteries which I will recharge along the way.  A few years back a malfunction with my only 'seeing' light forced me to walk my bike through a pitch black 1.3 mile long tunnel along the abandoned section of the PA Turnpike lit only by the dim light of a rear blinky.  I aim not to repeat that adventure... Plus with the days getting shorter, my goal is to bike during all available daylight hours (roughly 12) and set up and tear down camp while it is dark.

Blog entries will be somewhat sporadic until the trip starts, but I aim to post daily reports of my adventure once it begins.  I'm currently debating between bringing my lightweight laptop (around 3.5 pounds), or purchasing a cheap smartphone and postpaid voice and data plan for the duration of the trip to stay in touch with the outside world. The LG Optimus seems like an outstanding phone and Virgin Mobile has a pretty good plan for $35 a month for unlimited data (used to be $25 up until a few months ago!).

In the meantime, feel free to enjoy some posts about the trip planning, this weekend's trip to Boston for the Mayor's Cup USACrits final, and my annual bike trip up to NYC with my friends over Columbus Day weekend.  I plan on leaving shortly after I return from my NYC trip and aim to make it out to Seattle in 4 or 5 days.  Perhaps a day or two longer if I take my time and enjoy some sights on the way.  I'll probably hang around Seattle for a day or two and hopefully meet up with my friend Joel before beginning my long trip back to Philly by bike.

Feel free to subscribe to my posts - that way you don't need to check back to see if I have updated my blog. As I discover more of the functionality of Blogspot I aim to include a route/mapping feature where you can see where I am currently located.  Perhaps a Twitter feed if I get a smartphone?