Setting Out

Here goes. We pulled out this morning around 10 to make the trip to Newport. My parents graciously agreed to take a memorial day vacation in their camper to coincide with my chosen departure town. I chose Newport because it gets me fairly close to the TransAmerica route (I’ll join that route in two or three days) and it’s a nice familiar coastal town with the route inland being totally unfamiliar. I wanted to avoid covering ground I’ve seen a dozen times in a car. It’s all pretty much the same sort of terrain but it’s new roads. There was a slim chance I was going to start riding today. With a really early start and a fast drive I might have gotten 30 or 40 miles in but it wasn’t terribly realistic so I’ll be setting out in the morning.

Due to the wait for the bike it wasn’t until 9 this morning that I was able to take it out fully loaded. Who says I’m asking for trouble by starting an 1,100 mile bike trip with a bike I’ve ridden a total of 800 feet? Seems totally reasonable to me. Aside from that though, just about everything seems great. The load is reasonable, the bike (For some reason I’m constantly tempted to call it “the old dog” despite it being assembled barely 24 hours ago. That and it’s not a dog. I think it has something to do with the color and the way it’s built.) handles it superbly. I went with only rear panniers, thinking I’d just take more than I needed if I had fronts as well. The panniers I got are pretty slick. Everything I think I could want, just have to see about durability. 65 Litres and about 3/4 full, they weigh maybe 40-45 pounds. The bike itself is a little over 28 (4 pounds shy of double the Madone). This won’t be a fast ride.

We’re off I-5 and headed to the coast, unfortunately on the same road I’ll be biking back on so I’m trying not to look around. It’s not a great thought that, if I’m lucky, I’ll be back here crossing I-5 tomorrow night. There are patches of ominous black clouds up there but it’s mostly sunny and that’s enough for me.