winter sucks

Sitting around watching snow fly is not really much fun.  Another winter storm is in town, piling up over the last one we had on Christmas.  So I got to thinking about riding a bike on a nice hot summer day.  Seems like a long way off.  It's only 10:30 am, but I think it's getting dark already. My ads looking for a bike aren't getting anywhere, it's not a real common bike, a tandem that's also a recumbent.  May have to go with a new one, but I'd rather not spend that much money, may cost around $6000. Ouch.  Web site for tandems is www.hostelshoppe.com I think, but I'm putting that out from memory, could be wrong.  Time now to go off to the exercise bike or the swimming pool to pretend I'm a hamster or a goldfish.

Not much new to write about. But at a Christmas party last weekend, Judy Hawkins, the retired before me Judy Hawkins, had an idea I liked about what to include in the blog. On a trip to Europe about 30 years ago, she kept track of expenses and prices of things throughout the trip. So I am going to try to do the same. Seems like it might be interesting to read about motel 6 charging $35 dollars a night, to someone reading it in 2050 that's paying $400/night. I'll try to mention things that may change too, like how we used a cell phone, which will someday be like a black and white tv or a bathtub filled with water heated over the fireplace. Enough said.

Pressure

Now that Tim has let the cat out of the bag about the blog, someone might actually read it, which means there is pressure to write something interesting. Thanks Tim, for getting me started on this. Hadn't we had a few beers when we/you came up with this idea?

The plan so far is to start in Astoria, Oregon, famous as the final stop on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Their fort is still there. We'll have to visit for inspiration, they probably had less trouble getting across the country than we will. From Astoria we come down to Denver via Montana and Yellowstone country. We will take a couple of weeks off, to see my neice Kelci play in a national soccer tournament in Hawaii. Then it's off through Cornhusker country to Iowa where we'll ride across with DLO on ragbrai. Heading to Cinci from there, and on to Yorktown, Virginia. Then we'll go on north up to Wash. DC. That's where Tim and Nic have an arrangement with some good divorce lawyers. They want to make sure they've been taken care of.

Don't have a bike yet, looking for a recumbent tandem with a bag on the back, to carry all we will need for about 3months. No camping, even if we have to ride through the night. We'll splurge on a light. Out.

Guide Book

I found a guide book that comes pretty close to the route we want to follow. The only problem is that is goes from east to west, and we are going the opposite direction. But it still might be useful, since it has mileages and lists all the towns with a motel or bed and breakfast in it. We are definitely going to need a bed and breakfast each day. Especially Laura, she will be worn out from all the post ride, pre meal massaging she will be doing. My legs are going to love it!

Clothes etc.

Lately I've been a little concerned about the amount of clothes we need to take, because I was reading in some journals about cold, wet riding that we could run into. Basically, I would like to travel with a visa card and one change of clothes at night, rinsing out the bike stuff for the next day. Maybe do laundry once or twice. Maybe. But the more I thought about it, we will have to bring rain clothes and something kind of warm. Then there's the dop kit for both of us, mine being the small one. So looks like we need big bag on the back of the bike, which is for sale. Ah, but the weight! The last bike I checked was about 40 lbs. and if we keep the bag to under ten maybe we'll make it up all those hills. I can see us jettisoning things like the crew of a sinking airplane. Which goes first, my stuff or hers?