Decisions, decisions...

As you can probably tell by the title, this blog will be wholly dedicated to the bicycle trip I'm taking with my sister from San Francisco back down to Miami. For someone who hasn't ridden a bike in 10 years, this is a massive undertaking:) You can read more about the reasoning behind this decision at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/crosscountryforacure, where you can also make a donation to the American Cancer Society.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm prone to making insane decisions without giving them the appropriate amount of time and consideration. Some examples might be 1) regular skydiving, 2) holding the head of a 12' wild alligator in the Everglades, 3) animal adoption (trust me)....and the list goes on. I think I can safely put "cross country bike trip" in this category. While a lovely way to honor my late grandfather, the planning, equipment, planning, time, and planning are enough to make one's head spin. Here are just a few random things that have to be considered:

1) What kind of bike do I get? Nevermind that I haven't been on a bicycle since before I got my driver's license. We'll just assume that I remember how to ride. The old saying isn't "It's just like riding a bicycle" for no reason, right? Yikes. And bikes these days are intimidating. There are twelve thousand different styles of handlebars, gear shifters, fork styles, and pedals. And there are other questions. Road bike or mountain bike? Cannondale or Trek? Schwinn or Fuji? Panniers or trailer? Training wheels or not? The number of hours I spent on research alone should get me an associate's degree at some online college. In the end, I decided not to spend $2,000 on a high-tech name-brand speed machine, but settled on a reliable, solid touring bike called the Novara Safari. Too bad it isn't stocked in a single bike shop in Florida. I had to have it shipped from Oregon. *Sigh*. If this is a sign of things to come, I might be in for some trouble.

2) What path do I take? I'm not sure you know this, but there are a lot of different ways to get from the west coast to the east coast. A LOT. And all of them seem fairly reasonable. Kinda. There are even special maps for bikers. Special maps that show the location of every bike shop, campground, gas station (just kidding, you're doing it wrong if you need a gas station), hostel, and scary motel on your chosen route. Just don't get stuck in Death Valley. Even my high-tech map has "Yeah, right. Good luck" written across that portion. Sooooo, no Death Valley on our trip. In the end I chose San Francisco to start, mostly because I've been there and I can find my way around. And I like the airport. But that didn't factor into my decision, I swear. That would just be silly. After 4,300-ish miles, we'll end up in Miami, because it is where I live, and I was in charge of the planning. I'm pretty sure that when I get back, the only thing I'll want to do is sleep for four days. I feel bad for my sister, because after the trip she'll have to fly back home to Pennsylvania. I speak from painful experience when I say that dealing with Miami International Airport is no treat.

In the next exciting post, we'll explore such topics as: camping equipment, why fundraising is extremely difficult, and why I chose the hottest months of the year to bike 60 miles a day.

Thanks for taking an interest!

...Without Really Trying

Rule #1: Don't listen to anything I say until after we get back alive.

After that, none of the other rules really matter yet:)