Gearing Up Part One

The first consideration, for a 3000 mile + bike trip, is the bike.  The bike will be my best friend for the next couple of months, so I need to make sure it can do everything I want it to do, and still be as comfortable as possible.

My bike is a Schwinn World Tour DLX, with an extra large frame to fit my extra long legs.  It has a smooth and easy ride, and with its triple crankset (50/39/30T), it is great for going up hills.

It came equipped with the rear pannier rack, which will carry a large proportion of my equipment along the road.  However, I understand that stability is increased if the load is distributed front and back.  So, next, I went looking for a front pannier rack.

I went with a Tubus Tara model lowrider front rack, since it has a maximum payload of 15 kg or about 33 lbs, as opposed to the 25 lb limit most others have.  Hopefully I won't need that much weight on the front, but it is nice to know I can carry it if I need to.  It was also easy to install, with directions on Tubus' website.

There are many things that I've always wanted to do: travel to Europe; see the archaeological sites in Mexico, Scotland, China; climb a mountain; jump out of an airplane; write fiction... The list goes on and on, and I add things to it constantly.

Some things I have done, but more I have put off. In the past I have always been busy earning my passage through life to do most of the things I have wanted to do. There were always more important things to do, people to take care of, obligations I had made.

Now, however, I stand at a crossroad in my life. I have finished with one pursuit, and have not yet decided what my next pursuit will be. Now is the time to do at least one of those things I have always wanted to do. This summer, I will ride my bicycle across the country from Irvine, CA to Detroit, MI.

I plan to leave Irvine at the end of June and arrive in Oakland, CA, two weeks later. I know I could get to Oakland in less than two weeks. If I rode 60 miles per day, I would arrive in approximately 9 days. However, I have never ridden so far with all that I need on my bike. So, I plan to take the extra time in order to get used to all of the difficulties I will encounter along the way.