String of Friends

I am leaving May 16! Less than three weeks from the time I am writing this. I am ready to go but still making unnecessary trips to REI and almost buying stuff online. Consumerism is how I deal with trip excitement and anxiety. Some folks have asked what I’m taking. I’ll enumerate the camping gear below, but first I want to post pictures and video from the Beverly Bridge Ride. I had to ask Gavin if it was OK to share. He's going on another bike trip around Coeur d'Alene this weekend. Please journeys! The video is unedited and kinda long. The bike stuff will be another post. This post is too long already. https://photos.app.goo.gl/7tKWnWJN3fjibHZR7 This week’s training ride was riding literally around Seattle. Although a lot of it was familiar territory, linking it together this way gave me a whole new view of my hometown. When I needed to push myself physically along the road I could feel the connections between places in my bones. I could understand how

The Big Ride’s start is just four weeks away now! The anticipation is building. I am excited and nervous. It’s occupying a lot of my mental shelf space. Reminding myself that there are much bigger events happening is important. To that end, I’d like to suggest two organizations that you can contribute to if you feel so inclined: 1) Build Change, https://buildchange.org/ , a group that helps folks in poorer countries build more disaster resistant housing; and 2) the Kyiv School of Economics, https://kse.ua/ , which is acting as a Ukrainian based portal for support. Both of these organizations are doing great work. I hope you’ll support them.  If anyone wants to do a per mile thing, the approximate distance I plan to travel is 4000 miles. Of course, it might be more fun to follow along. I plan to post regular updates with mileage and maps. As an example, I have posted links one of my training rides.  On Easter, my friend Gavin and I rode across the Yakima Training

Welcome to the blog I’d never thought I’d write. This is my first entry as I prepare for my big cross country trip.   Spring has come to Seattle. The fruit trees are blooming, the weather changes every five minutes, and the northern flickers are drumming on our metal chimney pipe. This is also the season I am preparing for by big cross country bike trip. I have been surprised by how many people have asked me if I will be documenting my travels. I hadn’t been, but the more I thought about it, the more I warmed to the idea. It is both a way to make this trip a little less about myself and a way to take friends and family along on the trip.  Welcome to my blog String of Friends! I chose the name because some people ask me what route I am taking, meaning which of the official Adventure Cycling Association routes. I answer that I am not doing an official route. I am putting together a String of Friends. I plan to connect with friends along the way as much as I can an