Anyway, one of the things I quickly took note of is that there apparently exist among us a subculture of riders interested in what bikes/gear others used for their trip. This is laudable, I suppose, in the sense that one wouldn't want to be forced to figure out on one's own that schlepping a 20 pound tent across the country is inversely proportional to one's chances of successfully completing the trip. Seems self evident to me, but hey - its a big world out there filled of all sorts of interesting people.
Some of the authors whose blogs I've reviewed devolve their presentations into discussions of such exciting subjects as gear ratios, or (even worse) gear inches. Have I failed to mention the relative merits of Ortliebs vs - well, any other sort of pannier? And don't even get me started on the whole pannier/trailer issue. Yowza! I had no idea - at least not until I'd read the blogs.
If you're looking for that sort of analysis here, I hate to disappoint. And a picture being worth a thousand words, I present - the reason I won't detail camping/cooking/clothing options...
This would be the previously mentioned RV that Susan shall be driving - maybe thru the mountains - that part still unnerves her. We can haul plenty.
I also feel it necessary to mention that some of the blogs I read revealed that their respective authors were unable to shower for days and (further horror) were forced to wear the same clothing until they could manage to find a place to wash it. There exists in these blogs an undercurrent of pride in hardships suffered in pursuit of the elusive Trans-Am Valhalla. It must be a Zen sorta thing. I bear no such lofty, if in my estimation misguided, ambitions. A shower and an (almost) real bed will be fine with me. I'm too old and grouchy to sleep on the ground anyway... Just ask around. I'm pretty sure word has gotten out.
As to bikes, I can save a couple thousand more words with, what else, a couple more pictures. Below is a picture of the Tarmac I mentioned in a previous post. The only thing original to the bike is the frame. I love this bike. Its the most comfortable bike I own. I'm particularly pleased with the paint job - which was done by Jack Kane Bikes in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I gave them nothing more than a color scheme and a request that they do something that would make me happy. After I got it back I liked it so much I told em I'd mention them whenever I got the chance. Great people to work with.
Jack Kane Custom Racing Bicycles
They even put a PowerCat sticker on the seat post for me. Manhattan, KS? Kansas State University? Go CATS!
This (below) is the Sequoia. As is the case with the Tarmac, most of the original components have been swapped out. Original remnants include the frame and handlebars. I might add that, other than the obviously more relaxed geometry of the Sequioa, the distinction between the two is that the Sequoia has a compact chain ring while the Tarmac runs a standard 53/39. Oh - the last upgrade planned for the Sequoia is a new set of wheels. The ones on it now are a mix. One originally came from the Tarmac and the other - well, I can't recall. The "I can't recall" wheel probably has in excess of 15k miles on it now. Time for a change. I'll take em both along as spares - refer to the previous pic of the RV.
OMG - I just did it! NOOOOOOO!! #bikebabble Plus, I sound like an 80s (90s? Who knows?) teenager with the whole OMG thing. That's it, I'm done being hip. No more for me.
Did I mention that I live in Kansas? Yes Dorothy, I believe I did - standard chain ring. Did I mention that I've ridden in Colorado? Yes Dorothy, I believe I did - compact chain ring. While I can use either bike (and have) in either location, two bikes also gives me a back-up should one of the pair suffer the vagaries of the road and succumb to something like, oh... being run over by an RV. Which, to be perfectly clear, would be my fault as I tend to lean them up against the RV when we're on camping trips. Disclaimer - it won't be my fault if I'm riding it when the RV runs over it. So, if you're the cop investigating my untimely demise by RV I'm not gonna point fingers, but well...check the insurance policies.
This...
...is Susan's bike. We'll be taking it along as well. Unlike my bikes, this model comes with a governor which serves to limit its top speed to 18 mph. Seriously. When she and I go out for rides and encounter a hill it portends two things. The ritual begins with the following statement, "I hate hills." While I can certainly sympathize, having been put upon by my fair share of hills over the years, hills and I have since come to an understanding. Susan and hills are still working on their relationship. I'm pretty sure she's actually a Flat Earther...
The second is that on the down slope, the brakes on Susan's bike inexplicably activate at 18 mph. Now understand that Susan has no bike computer. However, at 18 mph those brake pads hit the rim with the zeal of the recently religiously converted. This is amazing to me - I've no idea how the bike knows its going that fast and can regulate Susan's speed so precisely. This likely warrants a retirement trip to the Specialized brake factory to inquire further as time permits. Oh - the plan is that on days when she wants, Susan can park the RV and ride out to meet me inbound and we can doodle the remaining miles to home base. Sounds fun, so long as we don't go over 18 mph.
(Disclaimer - In all fairness to Susan she has on two occasions been on the tandem with me when we've reached some pretty impressive speeds. Tho interestingly, she was nowhere near a brake lever... Our top speed is 59.9. I won't go into the details, but it involved a big tailwind and a big downhill. She claims she was praying - which is apparently her default mode when encountering something unbelievably fun. All I could hear over our tandem talk was, "Please God, Please God..." I thought she was soliciting The Maker's assistance to go faster. Hey - he walked on water. I suppose he could have eked out a mile or two per hour more had he seen it fitting to do so. I mean - he gave us the hill and the tailwind, after all. Alas it was only when we had slowed to Warp 4, that I learned I had misunderstood her entreaties.)
And now for the final "bike" going along on this trip. This is a 2003 Suzuki Burgman 650. No - its not a motorcycle. Yes - its a scooter. It was actually Susan's idea. What can I say, she thinks big. OK, I exaggerate. While the idea was originally hers, it grew a bit. She wanted something she could run errands on and generally get about with whilst I was still merrily peddling on my daily jaunt across the country. We even test drove a 125cc scooter in the parking lot of a local stadium. Then I watched Youtube videos of people riding thru Yellowstone...
Did you know that Yellowstone is on the Trans-Am route? Did you know there are bison in Yellowstone?
There are Bison in Yellowstone. Big ones. Ornery ones. I watched a video of a guy (in this case the term "guy" being synonymous with "idiot") in a car who honked at an ornery one. This ornery bison had the temerity to rip the bumper off the guy's car. Now, I myself am originally a farm boy - I grew up around animals. I've never been near a bison, but I can assure you that honking at one would be last on my list of things to do on any given day. Particularly if he were standing there minding his own business - even if it did happen that he occasioned to do so in the middle of the road.
How does this factor into a scooter purchase, you might ask? When I broached the bison subject with Susan (who wanted a small scooter) I assured her that I wasn't particularly concerned with whether the bison (which can run at speeds of up to 35 mph - God bless the Internet) might be able to catch up to us on a 125cc scooter. I'm pretty sure the motors in those scooters are the same ones used in sewing machines. Completely reliable and they zing right along. I've every confidence that when used in a scooter, this sewing machine motor would be more than capable of delaying the bison's eventual overtaking of any scooter thusly powered. I assured my lovely bride that I was perfectly comfortable with this eventuality. And despite the bison issue, Susan wasn't worried - until I reminded her that the bison would likely overtake us from the rear - and that she would be sitting on the back. Did I mention that I showed her the video of the bison ripping the bumper off a car? The demise of the "small" scooter as an option was thus assured.
OK - there was also the fact that we eventually figured out that if she were going to run errands while I was still on the road, she'd have to unload it down a ramp from the trailer by herself. Her view of unloading the scooter from a trailer is markedly similar to that of driving an RV thru the mountains. The opportunity for disaster apparently being endless, she demurred. Mountains being taller than our trailer, the issue is clearly NOT one of height. Curious. But - Strike two. And then there was the fact that we plan to tour some national parks on the scooter as we wend our way across the country. Kinda hard to do that on a 125cc scooter unless we want to recreate that scene from Dumb and Dumber. Strike three. This baby can cruise at 80 on the Interstate. Don't ask me how I know this - at least not with Susan standing beside me. She was on the back.
In the relatively near future I'll do a brief post on the trailer and the loadout scheme. The trailer alone will be worth the reading. I'd never seen anything like it before buying one for The Thin Blue Ride. "What's the deal with the trailer?", you ask? Just have to read the "Trailer" post to find out...
