It's all happening...

To quote from a pretty awesome movie...
"It's all happening" (almost famous.)

It feels as if everything is falling into place, so much to report! My new bike arrived, and I must say it is a beauty! I road it for the first time today and all I can say is it's times like these I am thankful I work with a bunch of stinky, starving and thirsty bike mechanics. For a cold six pack and a warm home cooked dinner I can convince anyone at the bike shop to put my bike together or repair anything! My new Raleigh Sojourn is a smooth ride and sturdy touring bike, that should be able to carry gear much better than my Cannondale road bike ever could (although much heavier too). Toby was also forced to sell his prized bike and is now sporting a used one transformed into a touring machine. It is complete with panniers created by a fellow mechanic out of reused tarps... yay for sustainable biking!

The process of food assembling has also begun. Ziplock bags of couscous, pasta, energy bars and instant coffee are spilling across the living room floor. The bags are marked with cooking instructions and sit in piles meant to be sent out to us along the way. It is not an easy task to determine what we will be hungry for on the third Tuesday of our trip, but my guess is after 50 plus miles of pedaling over mountain passes I would pretty much be willing to eat the bags the food are stored in if I need to. Not all of the food will be pre-packaged grub, some will be purchased along the way. Hopefully we will be able to stop at local produce stands and add to the base of meals I have begun to put together. (  I think Toby would agree if bikes are his specialty during this trip, mine is going to be the food!)

Tomorrow is gear day. Time to go get the little things we need : stove, pot, sleeping pad, mom don't read this part- bear spray and hopefully order some panniers to actually store my stuff in. There are so many little things and between us both I am sure we have 15 packing lists. Narrowing them down is difficult and determining what is most important and how to save weight is also key.I have heard the tales of chopping of f the ends of a toothbrush to save weight, but I think maybe I just won't brush my teeth at all.A lot of this is new to me, and I am sure we will mostly be learning our lessons along the way.

I do know, however that paying for camping, food and gear just got a lot easier! A few months back I had applied for a travel grant through the rafting company I work for. The Ernie Fund is a grant given by Brad Modesitt, owner of Mountain Whitewater Descents for seven hundred dollars. The idea behind the fund is to travel cheaply and with the environment, and as it turns out, our bike trip does just that! I may have fallen into a bush after opening the envelope and jumping up and down, but a little rash on my leg is worth it. I am so grateful, Thank you Brad!!  (Awesome Rafting in Colorado- MWD!!!) Along the way we plan on keeping with this theme and keeping this trip as sustainable as possible and to keep in mind supporting the local towns we stop through as much as possible.

My parents have also helped to support me on this trip. And though an article my mother sent me suggests she thinks that I am a part of the 20-something generation trying to find my way by refusing to grow up, knowing they support me in spite of that is almost enough to carry me through! I am sure that I will have more to say about this article at some point along the journey, but for now it can be found here What is it about 20-Somethings?

And now here we find ourselves just shy of two weeks before we leave and it is all happening. Somehow it has found its way from an idea floating in my head, to being jotted into a journal, then shared with friends over a few beers and now into a reality. I don't know what more I could ask for other than the things I already possess... a nice new bike, some money for the journey, and the support of friends and family... But if I had to I would ask for the following;
warm-dry weather, zero flat tires, dream camp spots, delicious meals at every meal, warm showers, flat riding at least 95% of the time and low traffic volume along some of the busy roads... however, I know none of that is possible nor can it be guaranteed... I do hold out hope though that this year bears will at least consider the idea of early hibernation. That's possible right?