First Steps to Prepare

For better or for worse, my first concrete steps to prepare for my TransAmerican bicycle trip have involved spending money.. ;-)


Purchase #1 - Touring Bicycle

I am about to purchase a touring bicycle from the wife of a friend of mine. It's a Gazelle Medeo -- a sturdy but light bike, with front and rear racks, a multigrip handlebar, and excellent parts (it handles like a mountain bike). This photo below gives an impression of what the bicycle looks like.. (a photo of the actual bicycle will come soon, after I have had the chance to take it for a weekend-long test ride.)

Purchase #2 - Rear panniers

I have bought a set of waterproof rear pannier bags from Ortlieb. They are quite spacious, and easily clip on and off. (There's an optional extension, that I haven't purchased yet, that can turn a pannier into a backpack. That should be handy for the pannier I will keep valuable things in -- laptop, wallet, etc..) The photo below gives an impression of what the pannier bag looks like.

Purchase #3 - Reading Material


To help me plan for the trip mentally, I have bought a couple of excellent looking books..


Bicycling Coast to Coast: A Complete Route Guide Virginia to Oregon - Donna Lynn Ikenberry

"Author and veteran cycler Donna Lynn Ikenberry pedaled across the USA, and now she's giving you the inside scoop on how to get the most out of your trip! ... Based on the Adventure Cycling Association's popular Transamerica Bicycle Route, the tour is broken into 77 day trips ... including detailed route descriptions, with information on mileage, camping, and lodging options, equipment needs and more. " (From the book jacket)

Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook: Worldwide Cycling Route & Planning Guide - Stephen Lord

"Every cyclist dreams of making the Big Trip, the Grand Cycle Tour abroad. The Adventure Cycling Handbook is the comprehensive manual that will make that dream a reality ... whether cyclists are planning their own Big Trip or just enjoy reading about other people's adventures, the handbook is guaranteed to illuminate, entertain and above all, inspire." (From Amazon)

Handboek Fietsreparaties - Rob van der Plas

"De moderne fiets is een knap, maar eenvoudig stukje techniek – vooropgesteld dat hij goed wordt onderhouden. En daarbij wil dit nieuwste boek van Rob van der Plas u behulpzaam zijn. Aan de hand van duidelijke instructies kunt u zelf het noodzakelijke onderhoud van en de meeste reparaties aan uw rijwiel uitvoeren, hetzij thuis hetzij onderweg. En door aan uw fiets te sleutelen, wordt u ook een betere berijder, omdat u al doende meer inzicht krijgt in de werking van uw fiets." (From the publisher's website)

Other preparations

In the upcoming week or two, there's a few more things that I want to do to prepare for weekend cycle touring here in the Netherlands.

• To help further orient myself in the wide world of cycle touring, next Saturday I will be attending the 'Fiets en Wandelbeurs' (Bicycle and Hiking Expo) in the Amsterdam RAI. I will be going together with my friend Philip Homburg, whom I expect that I'll be making many training rides (here in the Netherlands) with.

• Purchase a tent - I have zero experience right now with bicycle camping, so I'm very eager to try camping out on a weekend long ride! I already have a bike + panniers + sleeping bag.. so a tent + sleeping mat are the last pieces of kit that I need to try my hand at bicycle camping!


• Do a weekend (2-day) bicycle camping trip. I was thinking that a nice first trip would be to cycle (part of the way) around the Ijsselmeer.

BTW.. as one last aside.. for those in Amsterdam who are interested in tour cycling (or other trips that speak to the imagination), I HIGHLY recommend these stores:

• De Vakantiefietser - Westerstraat 216
• Pied à Terre - Overtoom 135-137

Trip Dates (2 May-27 July) + TODO List

The vacation dates for my TransAm cycle trip have now been agreed upon with my boss at the Vrije Universiteit: 1 May - 28 July. Since 1 May and 28 July will be occupied with airplane flights (and logistics of getting to the start/finish points), that means I will be cycling from 2 May to 27 July.

That would give me 87 days (almost 3 months) to cycle the 4,262 miles.. which is 49 miles (79 km) per day on average. That should be doable! (Although the 87 days naturally includes rest days.. so some days will be longer than others.)

There are lots of things that I'll need to think about in the upcoming week(s). This includes:

- A training schedule
- Selection of a bicycle + camping gear
- Planning my route
- Learning bicycle repair
- Booking an airplane ticket
- Creating a mobile computing setup
- Selecting other equipment to bring

Can anyone think of anything that I've forgotten?

Also.. here's a link to the cycle route that I plan to ride:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm

Cheers!
Melanie

Old Dreams. New Blog.

I've daydreamed about long bicycle rides since I was in high school.

My first encounter with a multi-day cycle ride was the Florida AIDS Ride. In May 1997 I wrote in an email:

"You wouldn't believe the incredible day I've had. Today, I volunteered at the closing ceremonies for the Florida AIDS Ride 2. It was so amazing to see all of the riders, just finishing up 275 miles, and all of their friends, and family behind them. And that's neglecting the 2 million dollars for AIDS charities that they raised!
...
I'm not a spiritual person, but if there is a god, I believe that it manifests in unlikely forms like AIDS rides.. Sometimes I think that it is simply a part of anything that happens to be interesting and different. If that is the case, I have such an urgent need to be holy."

I promised to myself that I would ride in the Florida AIDS Ride 3. But the next year, the Florida AIDS Ride shut down.

I forgot about distance cycling until I moved to Boston in 2001. That was when I discovered that one of the last remaining AIDS Rides, the Northeast AIDS Ride, was accepting applications. All I had to do was commit to riding 350 miles (~565 kilometers) in 4 days, and fundraising US$2100 for AIDS Charities! I swallowed.. and signed up.

Over the next 4 months, I logged 1000 miles in training rides and raised US$2320. And it was tough.. but I finished the 350 mile ride on my hybrid Crestview Diamondback. In retrospect, I can say that the Northeast AIDS Ride was one of the most inspiring (and physically demanding) experiences that I've ever had in my life!

That is the story of how I got the cycling bug. During my AIDS Ride training, I fell in love with the solitude.. the panoramic scenery.. the honesty of physical exertion.. the taste of suntan oil mixed with sweat.. and the roadside comeraderie of other eccentrics that harbor the same obsession.

I yearned to bicycle across America. In 2001, I applied for a job as a "road hand" at a cross-country bicycle touring company, America By Bicycle. But my application was (logically) rejected, due to my lack of cycling experience. In 2002, I moved to Europe, and temporarily put my distance cycling dream to rest. But the flame never died.. I would someday.. become a cyclist again.

It's now February 2009, and I'm 30 years old. I'm in decent physical shape (although it takes more effort to maintain then it used to). I just finished my Ph.D. and I have ~3 months of saved vacation. Conclusion: Now is the Time!

This blog will document my Transamerican Bicycle journey... both before and during the actual trip. There will be nitpicky training details. Discussion of logistical preparations. And the unavoidable ruminations and philosophizing.

But this journey, like so many others in my life, defines who I am. And by sharing this journey with me, you are also becoming a part of something... that makes my life worth living.

Melanie