So Sweaty

Blog Change to G-RAD

Our blog is being hosted on G-RAD now, so check there for further updates!!!

http://www.g-rad.org/sosweaty

!!!

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO: the tool kit

Soma Multitool

Leatherman (geoff’s)

Leatherman (sarah’s, not pictured)

15 mm Wrench

Mini Park Patch Kit

Two Tire Levers

Spoke Wrench

Chainbreaker

Asst. Cable Ties

Roll of Electrical Tape

Extra Brake Pads

Extra Disc Brake Pads (for sarah, not pictured)

Extra Pins for the BOB Trailer

Small Ziplock Bag w/ Extra Chainring Bolts, a Half-Link, Presta Valve Adapters, etc.

Two Extra Tubes Each (not pictured)

One Extra 16” Tube for the BOB Trailer (not pictured)

Four Extra Spokes Each (not pictured)

all kept in a converted fanny pack from goodwill.

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO: the gear

Here’s the gear! These pictures from other tour blogs have been very helpful so hopefully this can be useful to others.  Taking this picture was exciting. This is everything we will have with us for the next 2 months. hoorah.

Mountain Hardwear Skyledge 3 Tent w/ fly and footprint

1 REI +20 Sleeping Bag (sarah’s bag)

1 Marmot +15 Trestles Sleeping Bag (geoff’s bag)

1 Thermarest W’s Prolite Sleeping Pad

1 Thermarest Trail Light Sleeping Pad

1 Large Tarp (footprint/cover for bikes on rainy days)

1 Jetboil Cooking System (1.5 L Pot I think)

1 Spare Fuel Canister

First Aid Kit

Various Cookware (Light My Fire sporks are a beautiful invention)

1 Cable plus U-Lock Combo

Nylon Rope ( A must have!)

Foldable Water Carrier

Duct Tape

2 Extra Tubes Per Bike

1 Tool Kit (detailed picture to come)

1 Gerber Hatchet/Knife Combo

1 IPod

1 IPhone

Water Bottles

2 Handpumps

And last but certinly not least, 

1 Tube Chamois Butter

also each of us is bringing a harmonica which although not pictured will be essential for those nights by the campfire. : )

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO: sarah's clothes

Okay, so everything I own aside from the items in this picture has been moved out of our grand rapids apartment and into the ann arbor basement of my mother. That feels great. We leave in 3 days and surprisingly i feel, if anything, overprepared. Im sure that I have more here than i will end up needing, but over the next couple weeks ill decide which things Im getting the most use out of and which can be tossed. My legs will thank me.

1 Pair Glove Liners

1 Pair Soloman GTX XA trail running shoes

Chaco Z/1 Sandals (can’t live without them)

1 Quick Dry Towel

3 Pair Smartwool Running Socks

1 Pair Hiking Socks

1 Pair Armwarmers

1 Pearl Izumi Windblocker

1 Cabella’s Rain Jacket

2 tanktops

1 Bathing Suit

1 Belt

1 Bandana

1 Pair Cycling Gloves

Patagonia Down Sweater (I get VERY cold)

2 Patagonia Cap 2 Baselayers

2 T-shirts (there are 3 in the picture, ones out)

3 pair Underwear (1 moisture wicking “17countries, 6 weeks, 1 par of underwear” hilarious advertising)

1 Sports Bra

1 Cycling Cap

2 Pair Pearl Izumi Cycling Shorts

1 Pair Thermal Running Tights

2 Pair Shorts

2 Pair Pants

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO: saturday

Saturday is the day we’re slated to leave.  As of now, the weather is forecasted for sixties and sunny, and if it indeed follows through in such manner, we’ll be on the road Saturday morning.  We would like to take off with the first day or first couple days not in the rain if we can help it (we’re on day 4 of straight rain here in Grand Rapids), to get acclimated to life on the road and the camping situation.  Yesterday we got all of the ‘gear’ photos shot, as well as Sarah’s clothes breakdown, so you can see all of what we’re bringing.  I always like those shots on touring/hiking blogs, and it always helps to see what you brought in retrospect, and what you might be able to weed out the next time around.  I definitely used others’ equipment lists to plan for my trip, so if I can do the same for someone down the road tis all the better.

Did I mention that we’re leaving Saturday?  That’s so soon.  Yesterday I started some drawings for issue 2 of my zine, So Sweaty.  All of our gear is in piles in the living room, just waiting to get loaded on the bikes.  Today i’m going to work on making a grocery list to buy on thursday or friday.  The whole trip we need to plan on eating every 1-2 hours.  It has been proven that you require 7,000-9,000 more calories per day on tour which is significantly more than the average 2,000 calories an average person needs per day.  Before we take off, we’re going to load up with a couple days’ worth of oatmeal, bagels, peanut butter, marie catrib’s granola bars, bananas, etc.  I’ve got a few more bike supplies to pick up today, like an extra tube for the trailer, some bar end plugs, some extra disc brake pads for Sarah’s sojourn.

Sarah will update soon with those gear pictures.  Until then, cheers.

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO: geoff's clothes

1 Marmot Precip Rain Jacket

1 Patagonia R1 Baselayer

1 Pearl Izumi Sleeveless Cycling Top

4 T-Shirts

1 Flannel Shirt

3 Pairs of Cycling Socks

1 Pair of Hiking (Warmer) Socks

1 (maybe 2) Pairs of Pants 

2 Pairs of Shorts

1 Bathing Suit

1 Pair of Pearl Izumi Armwarmers

1 Belt

1 Bandana

1 Cycling Cap

1 Pair of Sunglasses

1 Pair of Crocheted Cycling Gloves

3 Pairs of Underwear (boxer briefs)

2 Pairs of Pearl Izumi Cycling Shorts

1 Pair of Pearl Izumi Running Tights

Solomon XA Gore-tex Trail Running Shoes 

Chaco Sandals

This all fits into one 18” stuffsack (minus the shoes/sandals), with a mesh stuffsack for dirty clothes.

This will probably be updated over the next week.

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO: twelve more days

We leave for our trip in twelve days, which is crazy.  In this time, Sarah and I have to move all of the stuff out of our apartment and back to our parents’ basements.  I am surprised and excited at how few things I have to move.  We also have to get all of our supplies for the trip finalized and packed.  Our lease runs through the month of May, so it’s kind of a bummer that we have to pay May’s rent the day we’re leaving, but the tradeoff is one I’ll gladly accept.  This past week we got our route from Grand Rapids to the Transam (Southern Illinois) pretty much totally figured out via google maps (walking directions aka. no highways/interstates).  We got directions from Grand Rapids, Michigan to the main library in Murphysboro, Illinois, where we will then pick up the Transamerica Trail westward.  This, we’ve estimated will take about 7-8 days, averaging 60-65 miles per day.  The first week will take us down the coast of Lake Michigan, jog across the northern border of Indiana and then a nearly straight shot down the length of Illinois, north to south.  During this first week we will likely be camping on the side of the road, which will be a true test of our accomodation plans for the remainder of the trip.

I am already preparing to weed some unneccesary weight out of my trailer.  The trailer’s maximum weight capacity is 70 lbs, in which I have to carry all of my supplies.  On top of that, the touring bike that I built and am riding across the country is a single speed.  I acquired the old Giant mountain frame (actually a complete “bike”) from freewheeler (the bike shop I worked at) for free, and really wanted to build a commuter out of the frame.  When Sarah and I had decided to actually commit to this trip, I immediately started building up the Giant, with the original plan being to build it up geared, likening it to a 26” surly long haul trucker.  Being low on cash, I started building the bike from the ground up, and after reading numerous blog’s online about people riding the Transam single-speed, finally submitted myself to build the bike and ride the trip likewise.  The bike is geared with a 44t ring in the front, with a 19t freewheel.  This makes climbing hills (mountains? I don’t know) managable, and the flats smooth, comfortable, and slow, especially when fully loaded.  A single-speed will also be easier to mechanically maintain on the trip.  I’m sure as the trip progresses you will hear me curse the decision to go single speed and I’ll probably be swapping out rings at the foothills of the rockies, but it’s all part of the adventure I suppose.

Sarah and I should have our “gear” pictures up within the next couple days, of EVERYTHING we’re bringing with us on our trip.

Cheers.

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO: the bikes

Sarah’s Bike: 

2008 Raleigh Sojourn
Stock, with Brooks B17 Aged Saddle
Brooks Bartape
WTB Dirt Drop Handlebars
Tubus Front & Rear Racks
Lone Peak Front & Rear Panniers
Topeak Tour Guide Handlebar Bag
Cateye Wireless Computer
MKS GR9 Pedals with MKS Alloy/Leather Toe Clips

Geoff’s Bike:

Early Nineties Giant AT750 Mountain Bike Frame
26” Velocity Aeroheat Rims laced to 36 hole Surly New Hubs (single speed, bolt on)
WTB Dirt Drop Handlebars
Tektro Road Brake Levers
Selle AnAtomica Leather Bartape
Sugino Messenger Crankset and Chainring (170mm, 44t)
MKS GR9 Pedals
Brooks B17 Honey Brown Classic Saddle
Kalloy Seatpost
Cateye Wireless Computer
Topeak Tour Guide DX Handlebar Bag
B.O.B. Yak Trailer (Black) with Dry Sak
Two Smaller Water Bottles (on bike)
Two 48-ounce Nalgene Bottles (refills, on trailer)

FURTHER THAN CHICAGO

After about six months of planning, Sarah and myself are leaving in about one month for an epic adventure. We are riding our bikes from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Astoria, Oregon via the ACA Transamerica Trail. In order to get to the established route that spans from Virginia’s atlantic coast to Oregon’s pacific coast, we will travel south on routes of our own invention, to Murphysboro, Illinois. This is where we will then pick up the trail west.

We have left the entire trip purposely completely open-ended. The start date is May 1. There is no set end date. From Astoria we have talked of heading down the coast to San Francisco, or taking the ACA’s Northern Tier Route back to Grand Rapids, with the last leg taking us through the entire Upper Peninsula (which i’ve always wanted to ride). This tour is completely “self-supported”. There are no team vans, no group to ride with. Everything we eat, sleep on, sleep in, cook with, wear, need, etc. is carried on the bikes. We are shooting for around 60 miles a day. With that being said, we plan on spending plenty of days off the bike, hiking, swimming, eating, talking. If we ride 3 miles one day, then we ride 3 miles. No schedules.

I have titled this trip “Further than Chicago” because I have indeed, never been any further west. This entire trip, from almost Day 1, will be uncharted territory to me. Throughout the trip, we will make drawings, as well as collect photos and stories to make manifest in a gallery show (at the DAAC?) when we arrive home in Michigan, in the late summer/early fall, as a means to cohesively document our trip. Many of the drawings/writings will be used to put together a zine, So Sweaty: issue 2

Less than a month away…