Next Step: Find the Right Bike!

Is this it? This is my bike du jour, which I actually won for fundraising during Climate Ride. But  I'm skeptical it's the right bike for this trip because it will be really hard to add front panniers -- and, if I do, it will require removing the axle when changing a flat. Also, I'll have to change the gearing to make it much lower. And the wheelbase is a bit short, potentially making the bike "twitchy" under a full load. And it's straight (not drop) handlebars, which could be tough with those MT headwinds. And so on...

Bob's advice is to get a real touring bike, the right tool for the job, so to speak, so I'm researching....

A Riding Buddy!

I was planning to do this ride solo -- basically on the theory that no one would be crazy enough to join me. But then I mentioned the idea to my relatively new friend, Bob Loper (pictured below with his wife, Rachael, and myself), and the bug got into his head. We all met for the first time on the 2011 Climate Ride from NYC to DC (a measly 300 miles), and, facilitated by our mutual love of good food and wine, hit it off. Living together on the road for 90 days, however, will be a challenge of a different order!

Planning the Trip

Well, I feel like it's getting real at this point. And by that I mean my plans (not widely disseminated yet) to bicycle cross country this summer. My maps, a dozen in all, have just arrived from Adventure Cycling Association.