Asheville NC

Asheville is lovely with its 8 plus microbreweries - last night i had a flight of barleywines when was the last opportunity you had for that?! Asheville is an eclectic little city of life style transplants that do everything from outdoor pursuits to belly dancing - check out www.lisazahiya.com. Ian was a great host and i had a charming Thanksgiving at a cabin in mountains sandwiched between two good lookin' single women. I had a chance to rest up, refuel - including filling my stove tank from lisa's stash of white gas used for . . . fire breathing - and i replaced my shredded and thinning Sugoi knickers with another pair from Biowheels (www.biowheels.com) . Ian is joining me this morning to labor up Mt. Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway then i am catching route 215 to 64 heading south and west. I should be in Georgia/Alabama by tomorrow! Time for us to tighten things up and roll.

Happy Thanksgiving from Asheville

Left the lovely community of Boone NC November 23 in a light drizzle that gradually progressed to a cold rain as i climbed back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway regaining it in about 25 miles. As i started out the $29/night Boone trail Motel was looking mighty inviting for one more night but i knew the pattern was clearing . . . the next day. After about 50 miles i was done, hands frozen into handlebar claws, really damp, and i knew Asheville was within 60 miles so i stopped at Crab Tree Gardens to camp. When i pulled in a guy stood along a fence line with a rifle who obviously just walked out of the campground - granted there are a lot of deer in the campgrounds (saw a 10 pointer that i could have brained with a rock) but i was pretty damn sure it was not legal. However, he was just as casual as could be talking on his cell to his wife lamenting the 8 pointer he missed. I was pleased to see him off and went into the campground to find the rangers cabin because they have a deep porch to camp on. Twenty minutes later two ranger vehicles drive into the campground and i approach them because i figure they are going to see me anyhow and i wanted to mention the hunter . . . well someone had already called them about a guy with a rifle and a bike on the parkway. Suspicious law men with high powered weapons make me nervous especially if they think i am the guy with a gun! But we established i was just a guy on a bike, i helped out with a vehicle description, established that he was just hunting, and not a crazy shooter on the parkway on a cold damp late November day. Also, found out camping is illegal . . . oops figured but pled ignorance and they were nice enough to leave me be after running my license.
I chowed, read, and fell asleep in the moonlight to a cacophony of coyotes that sounded like they were on the porch with me - they are eerie. The next day dawned bright and beautiful. I got my climbing legs on for the final bit of parkway into Asheville that rolled along between 3500' and nearly 6000' - passing Mt. Mitchell (6684) highest point east of the Mississippi. The valley below was hidden in a dense sea of fog that made be glad to be high for a change. The only problem was i had only a half bottle of water, a bag of coconut caramel tips(3 tips/180 calories!), and two tangerines for the day but, luckily, i found a spring popping out the hill side to wash down all that sugary fatty coconut caramel goodness. Long story short i am in Asheville after a rockin' 15 mile descent off the Blue Ridge, staying with a good friend, Ian Baldwin, surrounded by a bunch of left and right coasters, and i gotta go get ready to eat turkey.

I think i am getting warmed up to this endeavor after 17 days out, and pedalling a little over 800 miles with 5 rest days.

The Bike and Gear(sssssss)

I know some people gotta be interested in the set up especially all you closeted and not so closeted tech weenies and gear-o-philes . . . so i will do my best but remember 'til recently my stable was filled with poorly maintained rigid single speeds. I bought a Salsa Fargo frame from Chenango Point Cycles (http://www.salsacycles.com/fargoComp09.html) last spring and it spent the summer hanging in the shop while i contemplated my set up and ordered parts. After agonizing contemplation this is what i ended up with:

Headset	Cane Creek S8 because its steel baby!
Handlebar	Nitto Randoneur Bar 46 shallow drop with flair
Stem	Ritchey WCS because i had it
Grips	ask Matt - he wrapped 'em and they feel good
Front Brake	Avid BB7 Mountain, 160mm Rotor, 6-Bolt
Rear Brake	Avid BB7 Mountain, 160mm Rotor, 6-Bolt
Brake Levers	Cane Creek Direct V - the only choice really unless you really like the looks of Tektro . . . yeah right
Crankset	Sugino xd600 46-36-22 five arm 110 bolt diameter - the most common in the world
Bottom Bracket	Square taper UN54
Chain	SRAM 8 speed because it is sturdy and common
Front Hub	Shimano XT, 36H, 6-Bolt, Black
Rear Hub	Shimano XT, 36H, 6-Bolt, Black
Quick Release	Salsa Rasta ti
Cassette	Shimano XT, 8-Speed, 11-34T
Spokes	DT Swiss Competition
Nipples	ooh nipples! i just twisted 'em ask Matt
Rims	Mavic A719 - what else is there?!
Tires	Specialized Armadillo Elite somethings in 32 - won't be my only set of treads!
Front Derailleur	Shimano XT
Rear Derailleur	Shimano XT
Shifters	had bar ends - not so much. . . Dave Harrison brazed on some downtube bosses for me!
Seatpost	Thompson Elite of course
Seatpost Clamp	Salsa Flip-Lock
Saddle	Brooks B17 because that is what everyone uses and a WTB would never last 10,000 miles

So that is the bike i flogged the crap out of to see if i could break it - i didn't! . . . yet but it is 4130 steel and can be welded with a car battery if need be . . . that would suck. Then i started really piling on the gear Jandd racks front and rear - front rack was tricky but after Jim was done pounding on it with a hammer while Elliott supervised (i did not watch) it all works,

Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders, five water bottle mounts, Jim's old frame pump, my compass bell so i don't get lost, and strada computer . . . i believe that is all 34lbs of the beast.

So far so good - the bike is very comfortable and the aches and pains are what one would expect when riding 400 miles/week.

ok, enough geek - to be continued. . .

Rest Day in Boone NC

After four days of going up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway i feel a little blown besides it was 30 degrees this morning and i just did not feel like climbing back onto the ridge for a few more thousand feet of climbing in the damp to camp in the rain . . . wow i am really making this sound like fun . . . The parkway has been beautiful (50's sunny) and totally empty (no bespectled grannies) however all the facilities are shut down including water which means every time i need anything i have to drop off the ridge. However, if you are on the parkway in summer it is a madhouse of campers and families determined to have fun, damn it!

Boone is a hip college mountain town with lots of hairy dudes, muffin tops, beer, healthy food, and outdoorsy goodness . . . you know the sort of thing that make you want to buy a cheap fifth, get a pack of smokes, sit on the corner and heckle. . . well maybe not but i think i am over hip. Boone a good place to hang and strap on the feed bag.

I'll be in Asheville NC by Tuesday to hang with Ian Baldwin for a couple days then start truckin' towards the flat south and big bass country.

Got Hit!

Damn! I knew it was likely to happen in some form and more than anything i feel lucky. Route 221 has very little shoulder and i am generally looking to ride back roads but even those have no shoulder. Anyhow an old woman side swiped me going 50+mph . . . it happened so fast that it did not register 'til after the fact. I was toiling along fiddling with my apple when she just brushed past and barely moved me but she felt it and pulled over - which is to her credit - i just rolled up, still eating my apple, said i was alright but if she was over one more foot i would be dead as a doornail - we wouldn't be talking - and she should think about that in the future. The mousey little woman looked shocked behind her tiny rould glasses then i peddled off. I have had a few close calls in my life and my reaction is always the same - calm - a calmness in the event being over and being alive to go on - a simple thankfulness that displaces any possibility of anger. As dusk came though i had visions of bespectacled grannies behind the wheel - it is like a whole new horror genre! I walked the last hill into Hillsdale(a name way to apt) because i was just a little freaked out by thoughts of grannies and fixating drunks (different close call) then i saw street lights and the elementary school.

Virginia and the Blue Ridge

Finally made it to David Rosher's house in Lexington VA for a much needed 3 days off chilling with Roshermatic and checking out the Lexington area. It is very nice with two colleges - Virginia Military Inst. and Washington and Lee but hardly any outward college scene other than youngsters walkin' about. Dave met me 12 miles outside of town and brought me in on a combination of dirt roads and a bit of trail to finish it off and the first thing he shows me in town . . . is a memorial to General Tiger John McCausland and he mentioned that i could just drop my name and be well received. Funny, I couldn't find him mentioned in Chambersburg PA but then he did burn it to the ground. The weather was more than fine in the 70's and sunny.

Dave and I rolled out of town on Wednesday on some back roads towards the Blue Ridge Parkway. The day was over cast and when we topped out on the Blue Ridge Parkway mid afternoon it was starting to rain and we parted ways - Dave headed north and I continued south for 30+ miles in the pissing down rain. It was great to see Dave in his home and ride with him again - his departure from Binghamton was a difficult adjustment.
I arrived at the Roanoke Mtn campground in the pitch dark which was closed (free!) but no facilities or running water but i found a great handicap shelter out of the rain to cook my ramen, read and have a beer (gotta work on my gourmet). Luckily, I have been over the Parkway several times because i wasn't going to see much over the next two days in the rain . . .
When i woke in the morning it was pouring so i relaxed and enjoyed my cold instant coffee before setting off into the fog and rain for a 2000+ foot climb on the parkway. Eventually, i dropped down to route 221 for food and water.

Questions are never indiscreet. Answers sometimes are.

Upon announcing that i was quitting my job, renting my house and riding my bike to Ushauia at the tip of Tierra del Fuego people had a bundle of common questions.

1. Why are you doing this trip?
Too many National Geographic specials as a child, dad's endless story telling, phenomenally supportive parents that allowed me to do what i want. . . not sure but I have always been drawn to exploration and South America. And as Erin, in a heated moment, once said, "why don't you just go do it". If i don't do this i will regret it and i prefer to regret things i have done instead of things i didn't.



2. How far is it and how long will it take?
Well, in a straight line it is only about 7000 miles from New York but I won’t be moving in a straight line so I figure 9 to 10,000 miles but this will include at least 1500 miles of boat travel in the Amazon Basin from Manaus, Brazil to the base of the Peruvian Andes and some generalized wandering. If all goes according to calculations and what plans that exist I will be at the tip of South America within a year and six months but I wouldn’t put money on that . . . but i wouldn't have put money on me completing my house.

3. Are you going with anyone?
No . . . Unless you know someone with 2 years off that wants to peddle the length of two continents? I generally find myself good company and enjoy doing what I want when I want at the speed I want. I won’t be alone but surrounded by people living their lives in a different place from here. Traveling alone can be a more social experience because it forces you to reach out and your increased vulnerability makes people reach out to you . . . in good ways, usually, which raises the topic of safety.

4. Are you bringing a gun?
No. First of all because people with guns get shot and the vast majority of peoplein Latin America do not own guns. If anyone points a gun at me chances are it will be an automatic rifle and they will be wearing a uniform meaning you are fucked and fucked - just nod and smile. The rest of the hemisphere does not share the American obsession with fire power unless they are military or drug traffickers. Not that I don’t own guns or enjoy hunting, I am just saying that carrying firearms over international borders is a great way to get arrested and contrary to popular belief your government will not spring you from foreign jails for your own stupidity.

5. Are you going to bring a phone?
No, or at least not once I leave the United States, it is too expensive (99cents/minute Verizon in Mexico) . If I do get into trouble, which is the concern, who am I going to call? Uh . . . hello? . . . Dad . . . Mom . ? . I am in middle of the Amazon and there are no roads but . . . I do not anticipate great cell coverage in the Amazon, across the Andes Mountains, in the Gran Chaco, the Atacama Desert or Patagonia. . . . part of the point is to not have a phone. To stay in touch international phone calls are practically free over the internet.

6. Are you going to bring a GPS?
No. My global position is where ever I am at. I can read maps, roads are on maps, I am taking roads, and have a compass besides all I really need to do is head south. If I cannot find the end of two continents without a GPS then I really have no business going on this trip. I won't be lost just someplace different - as long as i am headed in the right direction.

7. Are you doing this for a cause?
Yes. My own pleasure which I do not feel a need to justify. The world might be a better place if people dropped some causes, figured out what makes them truly happy, and allowed others to do the same. My parents always said, "do what makes you happy because you only go round once". Also, I do not feel like answering to anyone. Besides what is my cause going to be? World Peace?, a more modest Middle East Peace?, Israel's withdrawal to the 1967 boundaries and cessation of its genocidal campaign against the Palestinians?, Global warming?. . . which I should perhaps thank for my unseasonably warm start. . .. cancer?, terrible disease but I am not likely to cure it on my bike. Perhaps my cause can be to raise general awareness.


8. Are you looking for sponsors?
Not really, but if someone wants to give me money we can talk. My biggest sponsors are all my friends at Chenango Point Cycles and in the local bike community who have been enabling me for going on two decades and are hands down the best bike shop I have ever had the privilege of serving. This trip would have been far more difficult without the help of Jim, Matt, and Josh at Chenango Point Cycles. Jim's 50th Roast.

Family has been especially supportive along with friends like Elliot, Dave Y, Dave H at FBM, Todd, Kyle K., Jinsu, the Stanleys, the Moyers and many others that i fail to recall right now but will feel shitty about forgetting later.
I will miss the fridge of wonder and grillin' at the shop but i'll be back.

9. Where are you going to sleep and shower?
Most people have a hard time imagining that much camping and crashing in the bushes. . . so do I but here we go, I liked it for one or two months in the past and I am really efficient at it, vamos a ver . . . I envision a well provisioned homelessness.

10. Are you going to start in Alaska?
Hell No! You start in Alaska. I did think briefly of starting at Hudson Bay but I think I will just roll out my front door. Sorry to disappoint but enough is enough.

11. Will you cut your hair or shave?
Yes and Yes. Unless I feel otherwise - I understand that I change hair fashion more often than most but it is a ride not a hair contest.

U.S. Route 11 South

U.S. route 11 south ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_11 ) is interesting because it is an old highway that was originally called the Wyoming Path by Native Americans and follows the Susquehanna River until Harrisburg, PA. Because U.S. Route 11 is an old road it passes straight through the heart of every historic district along the way but it is busy. . .
however the buggy lane provides a great shoulder and i got fenders for the horse shit. Besides being a trucking corridor my entire route though PA is obviously an energy corridor that begins with coal in the 1700's right up to "steam generation" in the 21st century and natural gas (if you want to see the future of our riding trails go see Dimmock, PA)

Additionally, the route is dense with porn with stiff competition for billboard eyeballs and the seasonally witty advertising creates a nice contrast to all the wholesome bonnet religions. . .

I am off . . . finally

Saturday November 7th and i am off at around 9:30am when i woke in the morning it was a brisk 19 degrees in downtown Binghamton so about time to get going. I had planned to leave a day earlier but upon locking up Matt's house i headed next door to my tenants to discover a backed up kitchen sink . . . so instead of riding i replaced my kitchen drain pipes in full bike regalia, time well spent but damn i hate plumbing. I had a little send off party, the second actually, of Matt, Jim, and pace car Josh. I had the brilliant idea to start my 9000 mile plus journey on a 100 lb bike by riding four miles up Penn Ave and out a rolling route 167 to route 29 in PA by the end of 58 miles over big rolling hills and a southerly head wind i was beat and ready to camp behind an elementary in Evans Falls, middle of nowhere rural PA.
Over the next week or so the idea was to cover ground and get south to David Rosher's house in Lexington, VA where the odds of snow and hypothermia are far less. I stayed on route 11 because it is the most direct route south west and out of the impending frigid northeast. I will be posting my route on google maps linked to this site as soon as i get the kinks worked out . . . or not.