Velowander

Phoenix rising (Syracuse, NY)

I got my bike together. The seat braze on got a bit bent but i straightened it with pliers. The fender bolt was missing which shows the weakness of this design (i can't carry sleeping bag and tent if this fails) but I found a screw from my collection that would work. But it took several hours and i am hungry.

posted by David @ 4:19 PM 0 comments

This is me

This is me (travelling west on greyhound) when i found out that there is a bus leaving moline for niagara falls at 1645 so i don't have to spend the night in moline,

posted by David @ 12:35 PM 0 comments

Westbound?

I'm in downtown chicago. I will take the 1145 bus to Moline, Il so I may be stuck there tonight; I hope not. I checked my bags in a locker to explore the city faster and maybe see the waterfront before leaving.

posted by David @ 8:39 AM 0 comments

Missing bicycle recovered

Thankfully my bicycle arrived in Moline, intact according to the lady working at the Moline Greyhound office. Unfortunately, that office is too small to forward the bike to another location so I must go there to recover it. But at least there is something for me to recover.

posted by David @ 4:48 PM 0 comments

Scotty, give me a damage report

I'm certainly hoping the checked Greyhound baggage will turn up, but I thought it wise to inventory my remaining possessions nonetheless (from the safety of Magda's apartment in a suburb of Chicago. Ironically we met on Greyhound when I was returning from my Southern Tier 2004 ride).

Things that are inconveniently gone if the bike is really gone:

1) 1999 Rans V-rex SWB recumbent
2) REI quarterdome UL tent
3) 1 REI explorer pannier
4) Trangia alcohol stove w/ 0.8 liter pot, frypan
5) Thermarest ultralite 3/4 length pad
6) cycling vest
7) Sigma sport multitool, 2 20" tubes, 2 26" tubes, 1 20" tire, 1 26" tire, patch kit & miscellaneous parts
8) 1 Hydrapak hydration bladder
9) 1 pair leg warmers
10) assorted toiletries including 1 bottle REI SPF22 sunscreen

My current inventory:
1 Money belt w/2 debit cards, subway card, bit of cash, US passport (left UK one at Dad's)
1 REI explorer pannier
1 bottle mostly used Bartell Drugs SPF 15 sunscreen
1 Very thin cable lock
1 set of clothes on my body (shorts, shirt, underwear)
1 REI nooksack UL 35 sleeping bag w/ stuff sack
1 silk mummy sleep sheet w/ stuff sack
1 Eagle Creek pack it cube with most of my clothes (1 packtowl, 3 underwear, 4 socks, 3 shirts, wool underwear bottoms, wool shirt)
1 set of Shimano SD-60 cycling sandals with SPD cleats
2 Clif bars, unspecified flavors
1 Bag of toiletries (hand sanitizer, razor, lip balm, toothbrush & toothpaste, hand packtowl, titanium spork, folding MSR pasta strainer, salt & pepper shakers, hand cream, bio soap, no rinse shampoo, scrub cream)
1 Motorola v330 mobile with 2 batteries, case & travel charger

posted by David @ 9:29 PM 0 comments

Look ma, no rider!

My bike is having a very nice tour of the country without me. Unfortunately the bike didn't show in moline, IL and Greyhound can't say where it is. I'll be watching for any suspicious listings from e-bay seller "buscompanyemployee7051".

posted by David @ 12:28 PM 0 comments

Welcome to the windy city

A two day bus ride, especially packed like greyhound buses are in summer just isn't going to be paradise no matter how rich one's imagination. But it wasn't bad and i met some interesting characters. At least they talk about something other than google stock price and the latest treo smart phone. I swapped mobiles (for games), made new friends and the acquaintance of one too young for me lady.

posted by David @ 11:30 AM 0 comments

Bike tour with optional bike

Realizing that with the extra delay, I can't ride from Moline IL to NY, NY by July 7 to meet maggie and ride to San Francisco, I am considering an alternate start point. I don't know where my bike is except it is not on this bus. That bike better show or I'm opening a can of whoopass on somebody, I can tell you.

posted by David @ 4:51 PM 0 comments

My saviors

Thanks to my friends at Greyhound, I was searching for accomodation at the last minute in Spokane while two big festivals were in town (Hoopfest and a Triathlon). Fortunately, warm showers member Jeramiah (with whom I stayed in Davenport) connected me with merv and martha (bent riders) of spokane from his cycle club who let me stay with them. They even drove me to the Spokane bus depot so I could make my 6:30 AM departure.

posted by David @ 6:37 PM 0 comments

Sleepless in spokane

Jeramiah of Ez rider recumbent cycles in davenport wa (and his wife karen), in addition to hosting of for 2 days, drove me into spokane to get the greyhound bus, which allowed me to box my bike in relative ease. I found out this morning that my bus has been delayed from friday at 1515 to saturday at 0615. So while sightseeing i an researching lodging options.

posted by David @ 1:05 PM 0 comments

Getting ready for greyhound

Jeremiah was nice enough to take me to spokane so i could box my bike at his house. That was lucky because i had to saw off a metal tube so it would fit in the box.

posted by David @ 6:13 PM 0 comments

Hospitality in Davenport, WA

While eating the lunch special in a local Mexican restaurant Camino Real on its first day of business. While eating there, a couple approached me and said they had passed me several times on the road. They operate the local recumbent bike shop (EZ Rider Cycles www.easyridercycle.com) in town and offered me a place to stay. I got to test ride many interesting bikes including the Rans Cruz recumbent/upright hybrid, trikes and long wheelbase bikes.

posted by David @ 9:14 PM 0 comments

Catching up

Last night i stayed in real paid accommodation at an rv park. I even took a shower in the evening and again in the morning. I don't have much distance to cover before my bus so i am taking it slow.

posted by David @ 2:44 PM 0 comments

Dead zone...

I left Waterville this morning and cell coverage has been dead most of the way until Wilbur. The terrain is mostly rolling. I hope to camp in Wilbur tonight.

posted by David @ 7:15 PM 0 comments

Waterville

Tonight i sleep indoors in waterville, wa in a converted airplane hangar, a mere 8 miles past the separation of hwy 97 on hwy 2. Unfortunately an unexpected 2500' climb stood in the way.

posted by David @ 8:53 PM 0 comments

Willkommen zum leavenworth

After my exhausting ordeal climbing stevens pass yesterday i had an easy descent into leavenworth, arriving about 10 am.

posted by David @ 1:08 PM 0 comments

Scenic deception falls on hwy 2

I was overconfident planning my ascent on hwy 2 over Steven's pass. I was a bit undernourished and bought little food figuring that it was only 4000 feet and I had climbed higher.

My strength started giving out near the Deception Falls visitor center. I should have recognized my need to eat and cooked some pasta with my alcohol stove but I decided to press on. The visitor center has some trails through the forest and nice views of the waterfall. It is worth stopping.

Overall, highway 20, the North Cascades Highway is slightly more scenic however I thought hwy 2 was a better choice as a self supported tourist because there were more resupply opportunities though still limited and Stevens Pass is about 4000' in elevation rather than approximately 5000'/5500' for Rainy and Washington pass, respectively, on hwy 20.

posted by David @ 1:45 PM 0 comments

Packing my bike - why doesn't it fit?

Unlike my 2004 southern tier expedition I decided to use just 2 panniers, relying on the space between my recumbent seat and rack to carry the tent and sleeping bag. The 2 person REI quarterdome UL is luxurious overkill for just me, but Maggie and I will fully utilize it later on Maggietour 2006.

After changing my chain, packing, and all the other errands, it was getting rather late. I had difficulty getting everything on my bike though I had done a dry run some weeks before. I realized I budgeted for just a 1 person tent (my REI roadster) and a new, smaller, sleeping bag I thought I might buy to replace my REI Nooksack UL 35 (but didn't). I managed to get everything on with some creative management and dumping a bulky fleece vest.

posted by David @ 4:09 PM 0 comments

Planning trip Seattle to New York

After returning from my Seattle-Vancouver-Seattle trip and several days of ineffective deliberation, I decided to book a Greyhound bus leaving Spokane, WA on June 23 at 5 PM, arriving in Moline, IL June 25 1PM local time (fare $108.00).

While I was very tempted to just start riding east it was not a good plan because I was to set out with Maggie westbound from New York to San Francisco on July 8. Three weeks was not enough time to cover much distance, given the huge distances in the U.S.. So, by booking from Spokane to Moline I will ride some on both sides of the country and I got a 7 day advance purchase fare from Greyhound. I hope that I will be able to get from Moline to New York (via Adventure Cycling northern tier and NY state bike route 17) before July 8th, but that is a story for another day.

posted by David @ 10:30 PM 0 comments

Relaxing at Stanley Park in Vancouver

posted by David @ 1:15 PM 0 comments

Larrabee State Park

Here I am in the beautiful Larrabee State Park south of Bellingham. It is the most scenic part of the ride in my opinion.

posted by David @ 5:00 PM 0 comments

Sandrine struggling with flats

Despite having replaced the rim tape on her rear wheel, Sandrine was still struggling with flats caused by the rim tape failure. Here she puts several layers of automobile hose repair tape on the rim - this should hold it.

posted by David @ 4:30 PM 0 comments

Refueling in Stanwood

Here we are on day 2 of our ride in Stanwood, after spending the night at Ryan's house in Warm Beach, WA (not aptly named when we were there; it was rainy and cold). Ryan was our host from the couchsurfing.com website.

Sandrine is enjoying a Mexican lunch special.

posted by David @ 1:45 PM 0 comments

Get your kicks on route... 9

Sandrine's road bike was having a technical problems. She got a flat, caused perhaps by high pressure tires with inadequate rim tape; the spoke nipples pierced the tube. Sandrine's tire bead is very tight and with my levers I couldn't mount the tube without shredding it.

We were in trouble, but fortunately Ryan our accomodation host from couchsurfing.com called his friend Jason who bought a replacement tube and stronger Pedro's tire levers and drove them out to us on highway 9 past Woodinville. We got lucky!

posted by David @ 5:00 PM 0 comments

Meeting downtown, setting off to Vancouver

I cycled from my Dad's house in Madison Park to meet Sandrine at the Fairmont Hotel downtown. We left at around noon, RSVP map in hand.

posted by David @ 12:00 PM 0 comments