Well last night before I officially start the ride. I’m feeling the anxiety! It’s been quite the flurry in the past weekend. Krista came home for the weekend and we put in a good loaded test rides, cancelled a bank account, car insurance, and packed the bike. Packing the bike definitely turned out to be a bigger chore than I thought it would be. I took one more serious sweep through the gear to cut out weight where I could, but this bike when loaded is by no means light.
Turns out the box I picked up from the bike shop was a bit on the small side so we had to get creative when packing. I ended up needing a second bag for checking my panniers. I scored a sweet deal on an old military duffel bag ($2) at the Salvation Army. I’ll probably give it away in baggage claim but it’s pretty awesome and would like to keep it! Lots of last minute errands today. We took Krista to the airport and swung by REI to grab an extra dry bag and some high visibility reflectors to snap onto the panniers. Should be all set!
Some photos… and a vid at the bottom.
Heavy! But a solid ride.
Fun cool weather test ride with Krista.
Post ride fuel. Jimmy’s pizza didn’t stand a chance.
Boxin’ it up!
I’m finding I can’t lean this thing like my mountain bike or my front panniers drag. I’m learning.
Cards against humanity. This game is hilarious and wildly inappropriate most of the time.
I threw together some footage I had. I had some intentions of doing something else with it but never actually did the shooting for it so I just squeezed it into this one. There’s a good packing time lapse in the clip using the newly modified egg timer.
Thanks everyone for helping me out along the way! Crossing my fingers that I remember how to put my bike back together tomorrow! 🙂
22 Responses
Brads Sister
Nice post brad! Good luck tomorrow! Safe travels! Great to see you!
Bill Knutson
Have a great trip Brad!
Kara Brandt (DeCook)
Good luck, Brad! What an amazing adventure this will be. Safe travels!
Bradley
Thanks Kara! Good to hear from you!
Vic
Best of luck!
Michael Feller
Very cool Brad!
Sweet gear.
Have fun.
Paul
Safe travels, man! We’ll be following you.
Brad Martin
Awesome video brad! Now I know what the egg timer is for 🙂 can’t wait to follow your progress across the country! Have a blast!!!!!
Bradley
Thanks Brad! Make sure Paul keeps on top of his therapy so we can ride!
Jeff Makulec
Great video! It’s 6:30pm CDT on the 29th here in Rockford, so by now you’ve either gotten the bike back together and given the extras away or you’ve surreptitiously walked away from the whole kit’n’caboodle and booked a flight to some other paradise. I’m betting on the former and looking forward to watching your progress. May the road the road out of the airport be downhill.
Bradley
Despite some minor complications I’ve decided to forge on! So far so good. Thanks for checking in Jeff. Hopefully I’ll find some tailwind along this trip, but I’m not crossing my fingers!
Keith Short
Have a good ride and don’t draft off the semi’s!
Bradley
Ha! You mean don’t let the semi’s draft off me? Not! I’m a slow mover on this ride.
Kathleen Miller
GOOD LUCK!! Can’t wait to hear all about your travels!
Parker cross
Met you at Va. Beach yesterday..
Your concern about weight reminded me of my experience with 3 flats the day I left Suffolk for Fla. 1948 on my 40 lb. Coventry Eagle with 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub gears. Found that my inner tube was pressing on a sharp edge on the rim. Putting tape over that edge solved the problem.
Bradley
Hey Parker! Thanks for stopping to share your story! So far no flats so we will see how it goes. Very cool that you guys rode all the way to Florida when you were only 15. Good talking with you.
Brad
Jon
Hope your 1st two days on the road have gone well! I’m sure my gift will come in handy soon! :p
Bradley
Haha thanks Jon. So far the saddle has been pretty comfy but there are still plenty of miles to ride!
Sherry Thompson
I am looking forward to following you on your WICKED awesome adventure!! This journey is yours – enjoy every pedal!
Bradley
Thanks Sherry! Been a blast so far!
Ricardo Hernandez
Dude. How did you end up looking just like your dad?! That’s scary. First time I see a photo in two hundred years of you! Congrats on doing this! You will get an amazing perspective and you got the obsessing on gear so right! Happens in photography way way too much.
Bradley
Haha it’s like we have the same genes or something 😉 Thanks Ricardo! Long time no see. And yes! Gear obsession is an easy thing to have! Hope all is well!