Already of invaluable help to me is an organization which has tons of information about all aspects of the kind of ride I am intending to complete. It is the Adventure Cycling Association and can be accessed at:http://adventurecyclingassociation.com/. This is a great organization which has very detailed maps, information about equipment, bikes, support and online journals posted by many who have taken cross country tours, international tours, and several localized tours. All that plus much more. I spend part of each day online focusing on the Great River Trail tour which is the one I basically will follow on my trip.
In addition, right off the bat, I'd like to thank Bob Lee, a neighbor who has already given of his time to hear me out and encourage me in my effort. As you may remember, Bob just completed a 4 month tour up the east coast and then across the country west to east fulfilling a goal of his to raise funds for 3 very important organizations.
You can read more about his trip on his blog, http://www.3reasons.org/. I do look forward to taking him up on his very generous offer of advice as I get further along on this journey.
Additional thanks go to a couple of young employees of our local Bike shop in Barrington who listened very carefully when I spent time in there, were encouraging, recommended I speak with Bob, and in fact, gave him my name and finally, will allow me to come in to the shop during cold winter months to watch and learn while we convert my bike with the equipment I will need to complete this ride. I do have a basic understanding of the mechanics of the bike, but their instruction will be greatly appreciated. More about who they are and their help in future blogs.
What I found out from all these conversations was that good planning, the proper equipment, good physical conditioning before I leave in May and good common sense from now until I arrive at my destination are the keys to my success. To that end, my training program has been 4-5 days of training on a stationary bike at home for an hour a day for November, increased to two hours a day 4-5 days a week in December, three hours in January and four hours in February and thereafter,
That regimen ought to put me in good enough condition to enjoy the physical challenge. (I suspect my Doctor would also think this a good idea as daily exercise and a good diet is her mantra for my continued good health.) Carla and I have enough travels planned between now and May that this schedule will have gaps in it, but with the goal set, I'm confident of its success.
Last housekeeping details. I will try always to spell correctly and use correct syntax , but cannot guarantee an error free blog.
- If all this seems a little more information than you need, I want to try to detail all my thinking and progress as I travel this journey so please bear with me.
- Believe it or not, someone WILL care about the temperature on a given day, or what I eat along the way. So I'll be true to what I do and try to abbreviate what I say!
And finally if you stick with this event until its conclusion, my hope is that you'll find smatterings of what I value the most, a sense of humor about it all.
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