Downsizing to a New Setup

Before Eleanor came to visit, I was realizing I didn’t need my two front panniers. Everything I had packed in there was light, and it could all fit into my two rear bags. I didn’t like how easy it was to detach the front panniers. The rear ones, on the other hand, are strapped down underneath my tent and sleeping bag. Getting rid of the front panniers would give me a couple less things to worry about. I could also get rid of my front rack, which is probably about 5 lbs.

And I wrapped a green strap around my seat tube.

Inspired by the possibilities of downsizing, I took a hard look at everything else I was carrying. Did I really need it? Was I realistically going to use it? The other major item I decided against was my pot and homemade stove. With food so cheap and so good and so easily available, I couldn’t see myself cooking up some pasta while passing up a much tastier meal for $2. Plus, then I wouldn’t need to carry food or fuel for the stove. It was a pretty easy decision.

The downside to losing my front panniers is that all the weight is in the rear. The handling of the bike is less stable, and I feel bad for the rear tire because the weight from my butt is on it too.

And although I’ve lost some weight and bulk, I’ve upgraded on water carrying capacity, and water is heavy, so it’s hard to tell if I’m actually lighter.

I’m thinking about some way to carry my extra 1.5 L water bottles in the front. I was thinking about attaching two hose clamps at two points on the fork, on each side, but that would mean I would have to screw and unscrew them each time I wanted to fill up. Getting a cheap rack here would also be an option, and I might be able to strap my sleeping bag onto the top of it too, so I can spread the weight more evenly across the bike.

Eoin’s Bike

I’m riding the Surly Long Haul Trucker.  Peter put it together for me at Trophy Bikes in Philadelphia, and added a Brooks B-17 leather saddle, Surly racks, SKS fenders, and upgraded to Schwalbe Marathon 700×32c tires.  I also got grey Ortlieb Back roller and Front roller classics through Trophy.  Thanks Peter!

I got a TransIt handlebar bag from Performance, and added my TransIt seat bag that I already had on my other bike.  Eleanor let me borrow her JLord fish frame pad, and then I found another JLord pad, a white one, at my old place in Atlanta, and I put that on my down tube.  Cool!

Atlanta: Ready to Leave

Today was a slow day. Raining the whole time. I checked my packing a few times, and walked down to Kroger and got bagels, mac and cheese, peanut butter, and powdered drink mix packets for electrolytes. Slow day, time to leave Atlanta.

In the evening, I went to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market for a CouchSurfing dinner. I met up with my old carpool friend, John and his wife, Marilyn, Will Clarke, and Rodney. It was good catching up, and feeding off their enthusiasm for my trip.

Then we all went to The Porter in Little 5 Points and had some beers. Simon, Courtney, Kenny, Celia, and Andrew joined us too. I realized I won’t be enjoying a time like this for a long while. I’ll look back on it in a few weeks when I’m sweaty and huddled under a tent and it’ll seem like years ago.

Andrew, who gave me a ride from Knoxville to Atlanta, was really generous. He gave me three dehydrated meals and a pack of Wet Ones to take with me. Awesome guy. All I had to offer was a DVD copy of Apocalypse Briggs. Hey, it’s art. Art riddled with mistakes and corny jokes.

My luck from the Philly to Knoxville to Atlanta trip continued into Atlanta. One of Simon’s roommates was out of town for a long time, so I had a bed and free run of the place, just like old times. It was pretty cool being able to stay in my old apartment, although there were a lot of minor changes that threw me off. As they say, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Whatever.

Playing “Down in the Valley” on harmonica for Simon.  … And remember our prom.

Courtney and Simon organized a potluck dinner for our trip.  It was great having everyone over.  We played a charades/taboo game, which featured “Slam Dunk,” “Keep on Skankin’,” “Eoin’s Conehead,” and “Big Throbbing Cock.”

Conyers

I split my time between Conyers, where Ryan lives, and Atlanta. I got a great welcome from Ryan’s family, Trish, Scott, and Shea, and I got fed really well. Their fridge was stacked, and Trish kept urging me to help myself. I tried to resist, but I quickly gave in. I felt really at home with them. “Mmmm, gotta love me some sweet tea” – Annoying Ian

Ryan and I hung out with Ashley and her friend from Massachusetts, Kristen. We enjoyed an “evening gone wrong” together. The plan was to go bowling. Ryan and I went to the bowling lanes at 10:00 and found out that it would be $17 per person, unlimited play. But there was a wait and the place was closing at midnight. 90 minutes play, tops, for $17. Sucks.

I suggested we play Trivial Pursuit DVD edition and get drinks. Social, somewhat active, creative, cheap. Ryan relayed the idea to Ashley and it was shot down, hard.

Ryan and I weren’t going to do bowling, so we went back home. Ashley and Kristen came over later. Major unhappiness. Staunchly against Trivial Pursuit. They came in a huff and left in a huff.

A while later, they came back. Ryan fixed some drinks, we brought out the game, and Kristen and I were kicking ass until Ryan, defeated, said “this isn’t fun anymore.” Pussy voice, really sad.

That was one of the most stressful nights I’ve had. Sour. Really sour night.

Conyers was great though. Thanks Smith-Harwell Hotel de Conyers!!

The Path

I’ve finally ironed out our US portion of the tour through my GPS software, Mapsource.  A huge pain in the ass.  I had to manually do much of the trip because it would create illogical, long paths to the next waypoint.  Maybe it knows something I don’t.  Collapsed bridges.  Nails in the road.  Potholes.  Women.

Ry Guy’s preparation

I went to the Health Department 2 weeks ago to get vaccinations for Typhoid and Hepatitis A.  $240 gone in a matter of minutes.  I had to call Eoin, the only guy that rivals me for frugality, to console me.  He said I probably could have gotten them cheaper in Mexico.  Emotion consoling was a failure.  Whatever.

The Health Department was sad.  Everyone had children.  Children had children.  One lady thought it was weird I was there without a child, and she commented on it out loud.  A little embarrassing actually.  I overheard another lady getting worried about breast exam costs.  Depressing.  This was actually the cheapest place to get vaccinations for travel.  Travel clinics are a rip off.  $500+ easy at one of those.

I was happy to leave that place.  People in bad situations that could not afford to be in the situation.  The building was nestled in a small pocket of Conyers.  Buried and hidden.  It would have forever gone unnoticed by me if I had not gone looking for it.

I’ve got all my equipment for the most part.  Eoin is ahead of me there.  He’s fully detached from a home and living as a gypsy.  Ready to go.  Ryan is still crying about the notion of leaving his mouse pad.

Equipment all laid out on the floor:

Bicycle:

Eoin stayed at Hotel de Conyers for a few days.  He said goodbye to my family today.  I got a little sad because I’ll be in that position on Tuesday.  I could see the sadness in his eyes as he rode away.  His sadness will soon become mine.  Two guys crying as they cycle.  Fighting at the camp site in their emotional maelstroms.

Having a laugh with family at Hotel de Conyers:

And the ladies:

Ride to Vinings

I rode up to Vinings to have lunch with some of my old co-workers from Home Depot.  I took the most direct route on Marietta/Atlanta Rd, but it’s really industrial.  Semis and dump trucks were whizzing past me at 60 mph as I was weaving to avoid potholes.  It would only take one set of potholes timed perfectly with a truck passing me too closely to crush me completely.  This was the same road that I took a couple of years earlier when I experimented riding to work.  I road on the shoulder and got a flat riding through the rubble, stranded 10 miles from the city.  Lots of bad experiences on this stretch.

I didn’t want to be that guy who comes back to his old high school hoping teachers will remember him.  I saw that happen when I was in high school, and I thought it was sad.  Would my return to work friends be similar?  Since they’re my friends, and I wasn’t visiting the office, I figured it would be okay.  And it was.

I made it to Los Bravos, my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area.  Travis, Dima, and Silvia, my friends from my Delivery days, came for lunch.  They all had big changes in their lives.  New houses, engagement, pregnancy.  And I’m a gypsy.

They were enthusiastic about my bike trip.  I really like that.  I get motivated when other people are supportive like that, thinking the trip will be a great experience.  They also chimed in with warnings about Mexico.  I keep hearing about it.  It’s getting tiring and irritating.  I know people say it trying to look out for me.  I’m just sick of it.

I asked Travis for a recommendation on a route back.  He told me going down Paces Ferry to West Paces Ferry to Peachtree would be safer than Marietta.  It was way better.  Less direct, but scenic, and mostly downhill, which was nice.  34 miles roundtrip.  That’s two 30-mile days back to back.  And I still had enough energy to play basketball with Simon and Dane later in the afternoon.   But then I was exhausted, and then I had a potluck dinner for me and Ryan’s trip.

Conyers to Atlanta Ride

Ryan and I rode 27 miles from his house in Conyers to Atlanta to meet up with Kevin Hicks.

I got Ryan to lead and set the pace since he hadn’t done any longer rides yet.  He wasn’t wearing padded shorts, his seat was too low, and his drive train was clicking and out of tune, so it was a challenging ride for him.

There were some pretty steep hills.  We both teared up after descending one of them at about 35 mph.  Tears trickling down our cheeks.  Crying about leaving Conyers.

The only adversity we faced was a truck with a trailer passing really close by us, and then later when we caught up to them, one of the passengers yelled, “Get your ass on the sidewalk.”  Ryan was up ahead, so I signalled him to get off the road to let them pass.  It’s better to avoid those drivers.

It felt good coming into Atlanta.  Familiar territory.  We met up with Kevin, and had lunch at Rocky Mountain pizza.  A couple of Ryan’s old co-workers, Trish and Ryan, joined us.

After lunch, Ryan, Kevin, and I walked down to Georgia Tech’s Burger Bowl.  We fantasized about telling passing students that we were alum: “Hey, you know, we used to go to Georgia Tech.”  Pathetic graduates coming back to relive sad days.  No one cares.

Since I had my camcorder, we reshot some Hidden Creamery videos.  And we did it in that style: really quick and really shitty.

Great Smoky Mountains Ride

Being in Knoxville, TN with a bike, I felt the urge to ride out to the Smoky Mountains. When would I have that opportunity again.

I got up at 7am and left at 8. I brought three water bottles, my handlebar bag, and a backpack with granola and some fruit strapped to the rear rack. It was really nice out. A cool Saturday morning without much traffic.

I took the google map walking directions route. 90 miles round trip. The most I’d done before was 50, and that was on mostly flat ground. I was expecting the worst since Knoxville is in the foothills of the Smokies. I figured a lot of uphill.

It turned out to be not so bad most of the way. There was a lot of up and down through really scenic countryside. The last 20 miles was a well-traveled bike route, and I saw a lot of cyclists setting up to start a ride. I had already done 25 miles, and I cursed the situation as a few easily overtook me. “You assholes. I’ve been riding 2 hours already!”

I felt great when I came to the entrance to the park. It said 7 miles Cades Cove. I thought that meant a 7 mile loop. Instead, it was a steady climb for 7 miles, with a 2 or 3 mile stretch of straight ascent. It sucked. Then, I got to the entrance to Cades Cove. 11 mile loop! I considered just turning around since I was worn out from the climb, but I came all this way to see this place, so I did it.

Cades Cove was really scenic and it was a great day. The path was only wide enough for one car, and there was a lot of hills, so I held up traffic as I climbed in my granny gear. Screw you guys!

The road I was going to take out of the park was all gravel, so I decided to backtrack. I flew down it at like 30 miles per hour. Pay back for climbing it.

I was already up to 70 miles as I left the park. Way more than expected. I took a delirious lunch at Subway – meatball marinara, $5 foot long. The muscles around my throat were inflamed and I felt a sore emptiness at my sternum. My voice sounded weird and nasal too. I was breaking down.

I kept riding, thinking about it getting dark. I had about 40 miles to do in 3 hours, and with exhausted legs, sore left knee, sore hands, and weird voice.

I came to the area where I had seen cyclists starting out in the morning, and I saw one guy packing up his bike in his truck. I stopped and asked if he was going to Knoxville. Yeah. Could you give me a ride? Yeah sure.

Kurt saved my ass. And he didn’t even live in Knoxville. He just happened to be going there that day to see an expo. Lucky. This trip has been really lucky.

He dropped me off at “The Strip,” and I made it back to my CouchSurfing hosts Zach and Shiloh. 8 hours, 83 miles, feeling sick from exhaustion.

I smelled my shorts. Nasty. Worst smell. I showered, then took a 2 hour nap. Then I hobbled around, watched a little “Space Buddies” with Zach and Shiloh, and went to bed at around 11pm.

I felt a lot better in the morning, packed my things, and rode to UT’s campus to meet up with Andrew who would take me in his minivan to Atlanta. All compliments of CouchSurfing and FATE!

Philly to Knoxville to Atlanta

So I’ve been searching craigslist rideshare for a ride from Philadelphia to Atlanta.  There’ve been a few offers.  One was leaving a week too early for me.  Another guy said that his original passengers backed out last minute and he was going to charge them $180.  What!?!  Then Alma sent me an email saying she’d be leaving Thursday, March 5 and taking another person too.

Alma’s itinerary is to get to Bowling Green, VA Thursday night where we’ll stay at a meditation center.  Then she’s going to Nashville, Arkansas, Louisiana, Houston, McAllen, TX (border), and then to Guadalajara.  I was thinking I could just stay on for the ride and get to Mexico a whole lot faster.  But instead, I’ll be dropped off in Knoxville.

The reason I chose Knoxville was because it’s only $40 to get a Greyhound from there to Atlanta.  But then I contacted a couple people on CouchSurfing.  The first person got back to me really quick and said I could stay with him no problem.  Awesome guy.  Then later, the second guy said I could stay with him too, go to a sailing party, AND, here’s the best part, he’ll be hosting a guy FROM ATLANTA.  This guy will be returning to Atlanta on Sunday, and I could probably get a ride with him.  I’ve sent him an email but still awaiting confirmation.

The weather on Saturday is supposed to be awesome in Knoxville.  75 degrees.  And the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is nearby.  I’m thinking of doing a training ride from Knoxville to the Smokies and back.  It would be 90 miles though, and I’m guessing there’d be some steep climbs.  It’s a great opportunity though, and it would be a shame to pass it up: being in Knoxville, close to the Smokies, with my bike, on a beautiful day.

So initially I felt that my layover in Knoxville would be inconvenient.  It turns out to be teeming with opportunity.  I’m excited for Knoxville.

Ride Wanted: Philly to Atlanta

Here’s my post on craigslist rideshare.  I posted in Philly, Nashville, Knoxville, probably Atlanta, and maybe Washington DC.

Hi, I’m a 26-year-old white male. I am looking for a ride to Atlanta during the first week of March, like March 6 or 7.

I will be going on a bicycle tour from Atlanta through Mexico and into Central America. I am hoping my bike and gear can be accommodated. I have a universal bike rack that could attach to the trunk, and I would be carrying a few bags. Pretty minimal stuff besides the bike strapped on the back.

I am clean and respectful. I don’t smoke. I would be very happy to pay my share of gas, and I am a good driver, so I can help on the wheel.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you.

Then I included this shot of me in the 2006 24 hour race in Atlanta.  First and worst year of Carte Blanche.

Belmont Training Ride

I met Peter at the Art Museum and he took me on a ride around the Belmont area.  It was a 21-mile ride and there were a few climbs.  It wasn’t too bad, pretty manageable.  But my left knee and left side of my lower back started hurting.

We went back to Trophy Bikes and Peter put a kickstand on my bike and showed me how everything on the bike works.  I’ve been doing my own maintenance for a while, but learning about derailleur adjustment and how wheel bearings are put together was cool.  Thanks Peter!

Fairmount Park Training Ride

I packed up my panniers today, and weighed them all.  About 35 lbs.  That’s mostly packed, but not all the way.  I weighed my bike.  40 lbs.  Heavy as shit.  Once I have my panniers fully packed, add the tent and sleeping bag on the back rack, and pack food, the whole setup will be 100 lbs easily.

I went for a ride fully-loaded, 80 lbs worth.  It was a really smooth ride.  I could definitely feel the weight.  Like riding in a Cadillac.  The streets in Philadelphia are pretty narrow one-way’s with cars on both sides, so I felt in the way.  And I would make a conscious effort to shift down to a lower gear when I came to a stop because starting out was harder with the extra weight.

It was a 17-mile ride around Fairmount Park.  Pretty easy trail.  A good way to get acquainted with the fully-loaded feel.

Insurance

I didn’t have health insurance after I quit  my job back in June.  But I went to travel in Europe for the summer and got travel health insurance for three months for only $90 through InsureMyTrip.com (IMG Patriot International plan).  I think that was for up to $50,000 or $100,000.  Nothing happened so I wasn’t able to test it out.

After I got back in October, I got health insurance with Aetna in December.  $54 per month for $5000 deductible.  So this is to prevent bankruptcy if something extreme happens to me.  It also has pretty good co-pays for office visits and the emergency room.  I’m glad I had it for when I cut my wrist with tile and needed stitches.  Only $100.  Pretty decent.

Now with this trip, the Aetna insurance will only cover me in the US.  So I’ll need to get travel insurance again.  But I’m wondering if I should drop my Aetna for when I’m out of the country.  I might be away for months and I’d be throwing money away if I kept it.

So if something bad happens while I am in Mexico, the travel health insurance would cover me for up to $100,000.  But then if I need continued coverage, and I apply for Aetna again, and I have some weird new pre-existing condition, would they reject me?  Would my premium be much higher?  If I hang on to the Aetna insurance, would that $54 per month be locked in, or would it then change when I have some new condition?  I don’t know.  Maybe I need to call Aetna.  But can I trust what they say.  After watching Michael Moore’s Sicko, I’m skeptical.

I also just bought renter’s insurance last night.  It covers my personal property for up to $10,000 with a $250 deductible, and I pay just under $13 per month.  What’s great is that it covers the stuff I take with me on this trip.  So if my bike gets stolen, I file a police report, send in evidence of my ownership of the bike, pay the $250 deductible, and they replace the bike.  I think that’s great.  I just hope it’s that easy, and they don’t try to weasel out of it somehow.

Irish Passport

My Irish passport arrived this morning.

Since my mom was born in Ireland, I’m automatically an Irish citizen. So I sent in birth and marriage certificates, my photo, and some money, and I got a passport. I wish I had it this past summer when I was traveling in Europe. It would have been easier.
Although the US passport is probably the best, sometimes EU passport holders get into a country for free where US citizens would have to pay a fee. For instance, Bolivia charges $100 for the US, while it’s free for the EU.

Eoin’s Packing List

Here’s what I’m bringing with me.

Handlebar Bag:

• Camping pocket knife (fork, spoon, can opener)
• Cell phone with charger
• Passport
• Cable lock
• Fox gel-filled gloves
• Sunglasses
• Chapstick
• Nail clippers
• 4 GB Sandisk flash drive
• Panasonic PV-GS35 camcorder
• Notebook and Pen

Seat Bag:

• Small crescent wrench (with duct tape around handle)
• 3 tire levers
• Presta-to-Schraeder valve converter
• Repair kit
• Multi-tool with hex keys
• Tail light

Right Front Bag:

• 4 tubes (700 x 28-35c)
• 2 foldable tires (Panaracer T-Serv.  Thanks Peter)
• Pump (Quicker Pro with gauge)
• Bottom Bracket tool (BBT-2)
• Chain Tool (CT-6)
• Crank extractor
• Needlenose pliers
• Repair Kit
• 6 spokes
• 8 chain links
• Small bag of extra hardware, nuts, bolts

Left Front Bag:

• Asus Eee PC Netbook (with charger)
• 10 MiniDV tapes
• Small bag of gifts
• 7 Apocalypse Briggs DVDs
• Camcorder charger
• iPod headphones
• Passport photocopy

Right Rear Bag:

• 2 cotton t-shirts
• 1 synthetic t-shirt
• 2 shorts (1 with mesh for swimming)
• 2 cycling shorts
• 1 pair of jeans
• 3 pairs of cycling socks
• 1 pair of arm warmers (and tattoos)
• 3 pairs of underwear
• 1 Cambodian headwrap
• Camp soap (16 oz)
• MSR Blacklite cookset (2 pots, potholder)
• Foldable mug
• Headlamp
• Spork
• Wax ear plugs
• 2 pack towels
• Reading light
• Park Tool’s Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair
• Sierra Designs Sirius 2 Tent Footprint

Left Rear Bag:

• Jansport backpack
• Columbia rain jacket
• Rough Guide Mexico
• People’s Guide to Mexico
• Asics running shoes
• Toiletry Bag

Toiletry Bag:

• Small toilet roll
• Glasses
• 2 razors
• Contact lenses
• Contact solution
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Small bottle of soap
• Tooth scraper
• Ibuprofen
• Tweezers

Postponing by One Week

Although I had arranged a craigslist rideshare for February 27, and the plan was to depart about a week later on March 9, I think it’ll still be cold.  Packing cold weather gear to prepare us for the first couple of weeks would be annoying since I expect it to be hot for most of the trip.  Plus I could use some extra time up here in Philly to get packed and prepared and to move my stuff into Eleanor’s new place.

So now it looks like we’ll be leaving in mid-March.  Beware the Ides of March.  I hope it’ll get warm.

Training Ride to Valley Forge

I went on a training ride today out to Valley Forge.  The 52-mile-trip took me about four hours.  It was in the 30s today, and although I was wearing my wool socks over another pair of socks, my toes were frozen numb.  As I approached Valley Forge, I flew down a steep hill.  I had to climb it on the way back.  Although I was in my granny gear, I had to stop about every 50 feet to rest and get water.  I imagine it’s going to be a whole lot harder when the bike’s fully loaded.

I picked up my Ortlieb panniers on the way back, along with some tubes and spokes.  So now I’ve got most of my gear.

On the way back home from the bike shop, I was stopped at a red light when a black guy who was walking by yelled at me, “Is yo’ wark hirin’?”  I looked at him, startled, and he yelled it again.  Then I understood he was asking if my company was hiring.  I just shook my head, still kind of stunned.

I guess he’s a proactive guy, asking everywhere, letting everyone know that he’s looking for a job.  I’ve read that when you’re trying to find a new job, let your friends and family know.  Networking.  This guy wasn’t as discriminating.  He was asking everyone he saw.  A new spin in a desperate time.

Largo to Philly to Atlanta

Today I’m flying from Tampa to Philadelphia.  Then one month later I’ll be trying to get down to Atlanta to leave on the bike trip to Mexico.

I’ve spent a little over two months at home with my mom in Largo, FL.  I went for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I stayed a while longer because it was nice being at home, sort of away from reality.  Trying to keep productive, I got a lot of materials out of the library.  I got books out on Spanish, Ruby on Rails, Buddhism (yeah, I know), bicycle touring, Wall St., and travel guides on Mexico and Central America.  I gave these all a good shot, but I wish I had learned more Spanish.  I also had bursts of trying to get fit.  Running, abs, and triceps.  That didn’t last long.  Then I painted the house and did a lot of work on the garage.

I had lots of time with mom.  It was really nice and I’m going to miss it.  Happy Hour at Steak n’ Shake (half-priced milkshakes from 2-4!), evening walks around the block, and home-cooked meals; nothing beats mom’s cooking!  Mmmm yum!

In Philadelphia, I’ll be helping Eleanor move into her new house.  I’ll also be getting my bike and gear with Peter’s help at Trophy bikes.  It’s going to be cold.  Then I’m hoping to find a rideshare on Craigslist to Atlanta at the end of February.

Eoin’s Gear

Here’s a list of some gear I’ll be taking for the trip.

Bike: Surly Long Haul Trucker

Racks: Surly Nice Racks (Front and Rear)

Panniers: Ortlieb Front and Back Roller Classics (Waterproof)

Saddle: Brooks B-17 (Honey)                :           Pedals: Time ATAC Alium

Tent: Sierra Designs Sirius 2 Tent   :  Sleeping Mat: Thermarest Z-Lite (Short)

Cookware: MSR Blacklite  Cookset    :   Cateye CC-MC100W Cyclocomputer

TransIt Pro DX Handlebar Bag    :    Shimano M086L MTB Shoe

Panasonic PV-GS35 Camcorder          :         ASUS Eee PC Netbook