Big Hills and Heavy Rocks

Well, we finally pedaled up some real hills yesterday!

We were bicycling with Hannah and Spartan, and we were heading west on Route 66 toward Westhampton. We visited an old lead mine in search of cool rocks/minerals/metals/crystals on our way to Spartan's parents' house for dinner. The hills on Rt. 66 are not to be trifled with, however, and it took us a good long while to climb them, significantly longer than our friends on single bikes. It wasn't hard for us to pedal up the hills because of the gearing on the Screamer, but we weren't able to go fast. As we keep reminding ourselves, though, we didn't buy this bike for speed, but for comfort so that we can keep going all the way across the continent.

Our bikes waited by the trailhead as we hiked down to the river to collect rocks.

Hannah enjoyed some serene reading time while we searched for treasures on the other side of the stream.

We don't have a picture of it, but Jenny found a very large specimen of pyromorphite that she didn't want to part with. It was heavy.

On the way home, not just because it was a lot of downhill, we enjoyed the ride more. Brett seemed to have figured out the gearing and we were using our momentum more effectively at the bottom of hills (coming off one and getting ready to climb the next). Jenny especially enjoyed ringing the bell as we zoomed past our friends on the downhills. We sure do rocket down the hills! It seems that every time we get out on the bike we learn a little more about riding it efficiently. By the end of our trip we will be pros!

Earlier in the day, Brett and his mom went belated Christmas shopping and gathered a few more supplies for our trip! Now we have sleeping pads and a nifty little compass/thermometer. Brett also decided on some Keen sandals that might become his new favorite footwear and will probably come along on the trip. Thanks, Mom!

Our gear list.

Here is our semi-complete packing list for the trip! The items in green are the things we already have, and the things in black we still need to get before we go. Soon everything on this list will be green! Things are coming together.

Our Bike
Rans Screamer
4 Ortlieb panniers in blue (back roller classic)
mirror for jenny
bike computer
mirror for brett

Tools & Spare parts
extra tubes
bike lube
extra spokes
chain tool
small pliers

Clothes
For Brett:
shorts
shirts
underwear
socks
shoes
long pants
rain jacket
fuzzy/fleece
gloves

For Jenny:
shorts
shirts
underwear
sports bras
socks
shoes
long pants
rain jacket
fuzzy/fleece
gloves

Food
lara bars
nuts, fruit and chocolate

Cooking
stove (pocket rocket)
cooking fuel
lighter/matches
cook pot
bowls/plates
2 forks/spoons
pocket knife
small bottles for oil and spices

Sleeping
tent
tarp
sleeping bag
sheets
pillow
sleeping pads (Big Agnes)

Toiletries
nail clippers
q-tips
tooth brushes
tooth paste
floss
ibuprofen
vitamins
hair brush
toilet paper
soap
towels
band-aids
antibiotic cream

Miscellaneous
journals
headlamps
playing cards
camera & charger
phones & charger
laptop, charger & case
solar powered charger
maps
bike lock
duct tape
zip lock bags
bungees
safety pins
paperclips
sewing kit
water bottles
dry sack for tent
dry bag for map

More Prep Progress!

Today, on our 1-year anniversary, we took a beautiful ride on a beautiful day. We explored our local trail network, and even the paths beyond the current trail that hopefully will someday be trail, too. Then we retraced our tire tracks back from the path and took an existing trail to downtown Northampton where we enjoyed a delicious lunch at our favorite restaurant (Paul & Elizabeth's).

In the morning, we ate wedding cake for breakfast. Om nom nom! Thanks so much to Brett's Mom for saving it in the freezer for us. And thanks to Guy for bringing it down from Leyden yesterday. It was such a treat.

After a quick peek into Deals & Steals, we pedaled over to Northampton Bicycle where we started to gather stuff for the trip! We purchased a fancy odometer. We're not exactly sure why we splurged on the wireless one, but at least we know that the system won't break down in the middle of the continent when we accidentally break the wire. But, it looks cool, and it'll look even better when it's on the bike.

A quick photo break on the bike path heading out to Haydenville.

Our last stop of the day was at our friends' place for maintenance advice and tutorials. Alex lent us maps, Ruthy taught us how to break and fix a chain, we talked about brakes, they offered suggestions for tools to carry, and then they took a quick spin around the block. Thanks, you two!

On our way home, we stopped by the side of the road for some free tomato plants! We also got to meet Tom, the grower of the plants (he started too many!) and talked to him about our bike and our trip. It's always fun to meet friendly people in our neighborhood. Thanks for the plants, Tom!

Back home happy, at the end of our anniversary day ride!

That's more like it!

We finally got in another long ride! What started out as a quick trip to to town to go to the bank and do a few other little errands, ended with us taking "the long way" back home.

We ended up biking 21 wonderfully carefree miles, exploring roads we'd never been down, picking up free stuff and making a big loop North, West, South and East of our house before coming home for a late lunch. We saw another tandem out riding, too, and we passed them heading uphill on the bike path home.

We got a great coat hook/shelf from a pile of free tag sale leftovers! It is exactly what I've been looking for to replace the one that we had that broke. AND it fit in the pannier with no problem. I was so delighted. Free stuff is so great. We also stopped at Deals and Steals on our way through Northampton and filled up the other pannier with food. The only thing missing from the ride was a swim after.

Spring Training (or lack thereof)

We have been so busy. It has felt like we haven't had nearly enough time for all of the things going on in our life in the past few weeks. We did manage to ride the tandem once this past week, to see the Wailing Jenny's at the Calvin Theater in Northampton. We also got groceries after the show and used our new panniers to carry them all home on the bike!

Though we haven't had the time to take another long ride since our trek to Greenfield and back, it feels good every time we DO get on the tandem, even if we only go the few miles to town and back. We're not too worried about training for the trip. We may end up going much slower in the beginning than we are anticipating, but that will be okay. On the other hand, we'll be full of fresh excitement and that will give us a boost at the start.

The lilacs are in full bloom these days and everything is green and growing. On a walk through the neighborhood, it's easy to pick a beautiful bouquet. It's hard to imagine that in a little over a month (!!) we will be starting our cross country ride.

Here are a few things to do before we leave:

Tune up the bike (hopefully we'll do this tomorrow at the Pedal People bike workshop!)
Take the bike for a "fully loaded" ride up and down some big hills
Buy new sleeping pads, 2 more panniers and extra tubes for the bike
Buy bike maps from the Adventure Cycling Association
Buy a netbook computer to take on the trip (and set it up with Ubuntu before we go)
...Not to mention getting our house cleaned and ready for renters and tying up all the loose ends so that things go smoothly here while we are away!

We really do have a lot going on, but when a few more big pieces get taken care of, we think we'll really start to feel the excitement (as opposed to feeling overwhelmed).

Friends try out the bike!

So far, Spartan, Chris, Selena, J, Cara and Jim have all tried out the tandem. The general consensus: It's a lot of fun, but it does take a little getting used to.

Cara goes for her first ride.

Jim gets a ride, too.

He was a little nervous.

Chris tries the captain's seat.

Whoa!

For a more relaxing ride, he tries out the stoker's position.

J and Selena take a turn. Are they ready?

Not quite.

And they're off!

Busy week; short ride

Well, it was a busy week (we bought a house in Springfield, worked on fixing it up, and started trying to rent it), but we managed to get in a short ride tonight to our friends' house. It feels good to get on the tandem at least once a week, though we hope to do more as things at the Springfield house get settled.

Total for the week: 4 miles.
Fun factor: High.

Our first long ride.

We went on our first really long ride on the tandem yesterday. It was a beautiful way to spend our Easter Sunday. The weather was in the mid seventies with blue skies and a little breeze, perfect for biking!

One of the many clumps of beautiful blooming forsythia we passed on our ride.

Our pedaling took us out of Northampton, through Hatfield along the Connecticut River, up River Road and into Greenfield. Brett's Mom works at the Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield and we stopped in for a quick visit and hugs.

Brett takes a rest and tests out the back seat.

After our visit with Kathy, we got some lunch in town and then biked home along rt. 5. The ride back took us about two and a half hours. Our legs were tired by the end and we were ready to be done.

Taking another break by the side of the road.

We rode almost exactly 50 miles total! This ride was a good chance to work out a lot of little things. We made a lot of adjustments to our seats, both tilt and placement, to find the most comfortable riding positions. We also got a lot better at communication, telling each other when we need to take a break from pedaling, and figuring out which gears work best for both of us. Sure we got tired, but it was a lot of fun!