Trip Midmortem. My apologies for not posting for a while. I was catching up with family and getting some sleep, getting back into my yoga practice. It’s interesting to transition from being on the road to being here, “resting” (even though I’ve been active), and at some point I will write about the philosophical implications of that. But right now what I want to do is a recap of my trip. When I was in the games industry we used to call that a “postmortem”, but I hate that term because it implies that the patient died. I’d prefer to think that my trip is not yet over - in fact, may never be over. So, “midmortem”.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that the trip was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. I loved it, and I plan on doing more things like it. But here’s some more information about what went well and didn’t, particularly for those of you who might be thinking of doing something like this in the future:
Favorite Piece of Equipment: eTrex 10. That’s my GPS unit. Built like a tank, worked 100% of the time. At one point it even fell off my bike and sat on the road while I - not realizing it was gone - ate breakfast. When I went looking for it - easier because it’s bright yellow - it was still ticking along. It got rained on heavily, thrown into bags, and it worked flawlessly. And having it use AA batteries was huge. So, the larger lesson is: when you take a trip like this, choose equipment for reliability, not for performance. Who cares if the screen is huge and colorful if the battery is dead?
Runner Up: Lululemon Cruiser 2.0 Backpack. The more I learn about Lululemon, the deeper my respect for them grows. This backpack - which was designed to take you and your yoga mat to class - was my primary workhorse all the way across the country. I hung straps off of it to carry my tent, sleeping bag, radio, etc., etc. - about 40 pounds of equipment. At the very end of the trip, it started to rip along the weight bearing parts near the top. So Lululemon *gave me a free bag*. *And* let me keep the old one. *And* took notes and pictures to send to their product department, so they could improve the next iteration of the bag. Also, this bag is really well designed. The compartments make a ton of sense and are easy to access. The larger lesson here is: pick a bag that you like. Arguably the bag you use - or panniers, or whatever - is the most important choice you’ll make for the whole trip.
Least Favorite Piece of Equipment: Rear Tire (manufacturer unknown). In the middle of the trip, I ended up having some trouble with my rear tire. Because I was carrying a backpack, the load on the two tires was uneven, and I ended up wearing out my rear tire. It happened in a really inopportune place, so I had to go out of my way to a bike shop in a tourist town. They talked me into buying more of a “touring tire”. That thing was a piece of crap, and it lasted less than 400 miles before I had to replace it (and it was a huge hassle the whole time). I went with the original brand I had - Randonneur - and have had no problems since. To be fair, I think the issue was that the tire they sold me just wasn’t the right tire for my bike, since I had a carbon racing frame. So the larger lesson here is: stick with what you know, and don’t make changes midstream. And also: equipment has to work together. If you have a racing bike, use racing tires. If you have a touring bike, use touring tires.
Favorite Part of the Country: Western Oregon, hands down. In fact the whole Pacific Northwest was the best, from the coast of Oregon through Missoula. Partly I think that has to do with being on the Transamerica trail: everyone was prepared for me (us, really) and happy to see me. Also I just think people are super friendly up there - but friendly in a genuine way. I had no problem finding places to stay, and everything was inexpensive. There were fun stops to make along the way, as well, and the weather was great.
Least Favorite Part of the Country: The north shore of Lake Erie, in Canada. On the surface, this seems like a great part of the world to bike through: flat, straight, easy bike paths, along a lake. But the people are just not ready for cyclists. There’s nowhere to camp, and no motels. Food is expensive and scarce, and water even more so. It’s a very touristy area, but high-end bed-and-breakfast tourists, and they have nothing in common with cyclists. And the Canadian mentality was very British - polite, and friendly enough, but not terribly interested in being helpful. Several times I encountered situations that people in Oregon would have bent the rules for, but in Canada it was just “this is the way it is”. With a smile on their face, but still. For example, I would totally “stealth camp” in Idaho or Montana (that means just pitching your tent any old place), but I would never do that in Canada.
Roads Most In Need of Maintenance: Northern Ohio, on the south shore of Lake Erie, west of Cleveland, has the worst roads I’ve ever seen. There was one road - Quarry Road - that looked like maybe the quarry was actually mining *the road*. There was more hole than road, no exaggeration. At one point I almost thought that, for the first time in 2400 miles, I might have to get off my bike. It was super terrible!
The One Time I Actually Thought I Might Die: 101 North, in California, right at the beginning of my trip. I learned a lesson that day: stick to the ACA maps if you can, and do not think you can ever ride on interstates, or major highways. Because you can’t. I had a semi come within 18 inches of my ear, and that is not a fun experience.
Best Memory: It’s a tie, between the Oregon Country Fair and dipping my toes in a river in Swisshome, OR.
Memory With The Most Potential For Growth: Changing my tire on the road outside Whitebird.
Thing I Wish I’d Known Before I Left: I wish I had put a bit more time into planning my stops, where I would stay overnight. Through Oregon/Idaho/Montana, being spontaneous worked out fine, but in California, and around Lake Erie, it was less suitable. I think if you stick to the Transamerica during the high season, you’re probably OK just winging it because there are so many services. But if you’re off route or off season, planning ahead would be better. A lot of times I missed out on Warmshowers/Couchsurfing/etc. because I didn’t give people enough warning, and a few days got kind of stressful when I didn’t know where I was staying that night.
Thing That Everyone Told Me Would Suck But Honestly It Didn’t: Riding with a backpack. I’m not saying I recommend it; I don’t. But in a pinch, it worked fine. The dire consequences everyone said I would experience just didn’t materialize. Honestly the biggest problem was the uneven weight distribution, which tended to wear down my rear tire. But tires wear out anyway; that’s always going to be an issue.
Favorite Takeaway: It’s a tie, really, between the people I met, and the way I felt at the end of a long day of riding. It was great to restore my faith in other people, and it was arguable even better to restore some faith in myself.
