It has been interesting to go through a heatwave this summer. We have been sitting in the house as heat indices have reached 100 for several days in a row. It is simply too hot to be outside and we have been sitting in the air conditioning trying to survive. Then, it dawned on me. Last summer at this time we were in much higher temperatures out in the heat biking almost every day.
So, Gina and I pulled out some pictures last night and after an interesting conversation with Jonathon about the trip. I decided I should be writing more about our trip; there is already too much that has become foggy. It is difficult to put into words how amazing the experience was. Several times this year out of the blue, something will jog my memory and I will turn to Gina or the kids and say, "I can't believe that we biked across the country." With a mix of awe and pride, I get some response type of affirmative response.
We had no business taking the trip. Without any special skill, with very limited cycling or camping experience, we were off. A crazy idea and a little free time turns out to be the only necessary pre-conditions for a cross-country bike trip journey. It resulted in us waking up in a parking lot of a Safeway grocery store in Astoria, Oregon 3,500 miles from home. After spending the morning putting together the bikes with my small set of tools, we were eager to begin.
We took off from the Safeway and headed to the Goonies house. We then found a bike shop in town to pick up a few last supplies. While at the bike shop, we had our first equipment malfunction. Jonathon was holding my bike when it fell. I had just put a new water bottle cage on the bike. It came with plastic screws, which seemed flimsy when I put them in. And, less then an hour later, my gut instinct proved to be correct. I now was down one water bottle holder. First lesson learned, I really do not know enough about bikes. Second, lesson you do not want to have flimsy plastic screws on your bike.
Then, we rode out to the sound for a picture. While we were looking for a place to take the picture the pedal fell off of my bike. This exact same thing had happened when I first assembled a bike. However, last time I could blame the kids. This time they were smart enough to stay away from the assembly process, so I knew whose fault it was. This equipment malfunction did not result in any new learning, it simply reinforced my knowledge that I really did not know enough about bikes. This time the pedal had so badly stripped the crank that I could not get it in.
After a lost hour, we returned to the bike store and they fixed it for us. It was then we learned that most people send their bikes out and have them assembled at the bike shop. We could have simply ordered a bikes and had them shipped directly to the store. This would be an incredibly good idea, but with our limited budget every penny counted, and I thought it would help me prepare for any problems that arose on the way. And, fortunately only the arm needed to be replaced to get my bike back into riding shape, so $20 dollars later we were on our way.
At the store, the man told Gina that he could tell we were just starting our trip because our coats looked new. He wished us luck.
Notice how Gina glows in our first getting started picture? The glow would not last long.
Jay - I accidentally published this as Catey.
