Finishing university has been a momentous occasion for me. I can recall times as far back as middle school where I found myself disturbed by just how much more schooling I had to complete. High school was stupid, college was pretty fun, but where I find myself now is where I have wanted to be for some time now. I am prepared to be an adult, enter the work force, and have a great time flying planes the rest of my life.
To celebrate my completion of schooling and have some adventure before being nailed down to a job, I knew I wanted to do some sort of adventure. I considered hiking the Appalation Trail, canoeing the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota and the wilds of Ontario Canada, or traveling to another continent for an extended stay. However, incorporating cycling into this adventure appealed to me most.
Cycling has become a huge part of my life in the past 3 or 4 years. It is how I got to class everyday at the University of North Dakota. It's how I would arrive to parties. It's how I would go to the grocery and stores at many times. It even made me feel less guilty about my flight training where it is was typical to burn 20 gallons of Low Lead Aviation Gas during a single flight lesson. I've enjoyed my time behind the handle bars so much that I have not owned a car for 2 years now.
Working as an intern pilot flying weather modification missions in Western ND last summer was when I began dreaming up my cycling extravaganza for this summer. I admired and was jealous of the cyclists who would ride through town every couple of days. Some came solo, some in groups. I will be doing my trip solo this summer. It would be nice to have company but I prefer the solo experience. It will give me much time to think about the future and reflect on life and what I want out of it. It will also force me to meet new people in foreign places where I know no one.
These are my reasons for attempting this trip. My ride will take me from Anacortes, WA to Bar Harbor, ME. Plotted on a map that is 4,321 miles. My trip will probably end up being much more since I plan on diverting of the route often to visit with friends and family. I expect my trip to take around 4 months which would mean dipping my tire into the Atlantic ocean sometime in late October. I will do my best to update this site as often as possible during my trip with pictures and field notes, however I wil not have a computer with me so don't expect new content everyday.
I've spent the last two weeks in the Seattle area breaking in my new Civia Bike and I am confident that the bike will serve me well in the next 4000 + miles. I had wanted to put around 300 miles on the bike prior to leaving the city where repairs and tweaking are more easily accomplished and I managed around 270 miles, during which the bike performed nicely. There are plenty of cool spots to ride to around Seattle so I had no trouble finding cool places to ride to each day.
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This past week has been a celebration of things to come and many cans and bottles of Molson and Rainier Beer had to be sacrificed in the hopes of a safe and fun trip to come. It was unfortunate yet necessary.
Sam Whitley was my Seattle Host and bike hook up. I guess he is an OK guy?
Testing out the Food warmer upper out on the deck the night prior to setting out. Managed to make a pretty good dish of Pasta with a little olive oil. I credit Sam with how it turned out. Cooking has never been my thing so hopefully my skills evolve quickly or else the next 4 months could be very sad and unsatisfying.
