Bicycle Trip

It begins!

Journey to Bithika.
I'm on a bike. I can't complain.


Monday, May 16th.
Portland, OR.

Picked up a new bicycle from Dick's (Schwinn Transit 3. Same model's one got stolen). Installed kickstand, bottle cage, handlebar bag.

Put away my car for six months in the storage lot.

Loaded up my saddle bags, a hiking backpack, and rolled to Costco for dinner.

Mmmm hotdog with condommints.

Spooning leads to forking
So always use condiments

Spent the night at Powell Butte Nature Park. Lots of Douglas-fir trees.

I slept in what else, a hammock. :^)

I used ENO Atlas hanging straps ($30). They make setting up and taking down fast and a total no-brainer.

Put a tarp over my hammock in case it rained (but it didn't). The tarp did block out wind and keep me warm though, so I think I'll use it rain or shine every night.

Nonchalantly camping in the park.

With Ulix, the Polar Bar.

It got a bit nippy through the night, but I slept through it with a Mainstays Lawn Blanket for padding and a Microfiber Sherpa Throw Blanket around my body.

The Sherpa blanket is soooooo warm, yet thin and light; it is amazing stuff. Doesn't quite wrap completely around me when I'm sleeping. Next time, I'll toss an outer jacket over it.

Microfiber Sherpa Throw Blanket

After I pack my bedding, I use it as a doormat. :^)

Lawn Blanket

Tuesday, May 17th.
Portland, OR.

OK, I had my ass handed to me by a gentle uphill while biking. The pack weight felt negligible on flat terrain, but as soon as my bike tilted upwards, every ten pounds of pack dragged a year off my life.

I must have been pulling over 60lbs on the rear rack of my bike and 30lbs in my backpack. So in the morning, I returned to my vehicle to reduce my pack.

Re-pack

Backpack

I had waaaay too much stuff on my back. This thing was breaking my spine.

My hiking backpack forced me down into the seat and man, did my butt hurt today. I was sitting on my pelvic bone most of the time, due to my buttock size being a mere XXS, Slim Fit.

Spinebuster 7000

So, I re-instated my trusty ol' Wenger backpack (Wenger Maxxum). It's compact and has pockets to hold everything. I love, love, love it. Now I feel reduced to about 15 lbs on my back.

Tablet, laptop, mouse pad.

Bluetooth headphones, laptop charger, Ethernet cable + USB adapter. (left)
Outside the bag there's a space for headphones, water bottle, and often times Ulix. (right)

Clothes

I also threw 60% of my clothes pack back into my car. Even though I was packing the thinnest and lightest athletic apparel, that stuff added up real heavy.

I realized I would rarely change into any duplicate items unless the one I had on me was wet. So I took out about five pairs of running shorts and bunch of other stuff. All I have in multiples now are three synthetic tee-shirts, seven pairs of socks, and five thin briefs.

I kept long sleeve tops and bottoms in my pack, not just because it gets cold at night. I want to cover most of my skin during the day, so I don't get cancer from the sun. Going through chemo-therapy while biking would be difficult.

Who dat?

Gear

The spare bicycle tire, out. The foot operated bicycle pump, out. (I'll get one of those thin profile hand pumps to replace it.) 20L wet bag, gone.

Camping stakes, a dozen USB drives, petroleum jelly, and all the other stuff that was ideal for brainstorming but I've never actually used... bye bye. Sure, all of those things could save me in a survival situation. But with all that pack, I'd never get far enough to need saving in the first place.

Packing list.

The essentials aren't very much at all.

Transport
Bicycle (Schwinn Transit 3. $350 Dick's Sporting Goods).
Panniers, a.k.a saddle bags (Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic. $180 REI).

Living
Travel Hammock (2-person with mosquito netting). $40 Walmart.
Hammock hanging straps. $30 ENO Atlas.

Camp shower. $10 Dick's Sporting Goods.

Beautiful lady
was not included.

Bedding
Tarp (6x8). $3 Walmart
Mainstays Lawn Blanket. $15 Walmart.
Microfiber Sherpa Throw Blanket. $20 Costco. (slightly different than this version)
Fleece throw blanket. (Free. Richmond, VA Marathon).

Survival heat-reflective blanket. $15 Walmart.

Electronics
Tablet (Samsung Tab SM-T520. $150).
Laptop (Acer Aspire S3 391-S448. $215).
Metal mouse pad (Rocketfish. $20).
Cordless mouse (Logitech M515. $15).
Bluetooth headphones (Generic 2ACP4BT200. $20).

Bike mounted action camera. (Pilot Dualcam. $80 Walmart).

Power bank. (Targus. 4,800 mAh.)

Music
Flute (Emerson silver-plated with open keys, trills, full range end piece. Custom silver headjoint.  ~ $1,500 when it was new, year 2000)

Tools
Wrench. (Husky, $7.)
Phillips screwdriver. (Husky, $10)
Hex screwdriver and tire patches. (Bell, $17)
700c replacement inner tube (x2). ($4 ea)
Rope, cord.

VIP
Ulix, the Polar Bar. ($5 Kohl's Cares).

• Character background: Friendship at first sight. 
• What's in a name?  Ulix gets his name and Full name of Ulix.

The Plan

Cruise down to San Diego, California. Then endure the heat along U.S. southern border to Florida. And finally climb up to Fairfax, Virginia where I started my cross-country road trip (by car) last November.

From there on, expand my mind with quantum physics to roam the entire Universe. OK, maybe not that last part.

How the heck am I going to get there??

Health/Fitness
• Hit a buffet every day. Grow quads and a buttock. Maybe the other buttock as well. 
• Find a park to sling my hammock whenever possible.
  
  Logistics
• Use public libraries for charging devices, uploading pictures, and posting to blog.
  
• Stay near suburbs. Travel on bike paths whenever possible. Avoid highways and inner cities.
• Don't bicycle at night.

Security

• Lock my bicycle with a U-lock front wheel when leaving my bicycle unattended during the day. Add a rear wheel chain if gone more than thirty minutes. Bring my saddle bags with me for extended stays (e.g. three hours at the library).
• Don't leave my bicycle unattended at night.

Spiritual
• Pray to God.
• Beg to work-a-day citizens.
• Bribe police.