Day 1, 2 and most of 3 in revolutionary (and civil war) Virginia

I had arrived back into New York after ending 2 weeks in Australia. The flights took a total of 20hours but I had no trouble at LA immigration or in NY. Only a couple of nights in NY to help with jet lag symptoms and then it was time for me to meet up with Norah my riding partner. A final blast down the west side highway towards Penn station and then the LIRR to Babylon. Meeting there we quickly secured the bikes and started driving to Yorktown to stay the night at a cyclist only lodging, hosted by the Grace Episcopalian church. An anticipated 7 hour drive ended up being 11 hours after breaks, rush hours and road works. John, one of the parish members stayed up to just before midnight to let us in though. What a star. Also the logging was a actual house that's used for parish events and guests. Pure luxury after a full day in the car and it was just for us.

Actual cycling The Trans Am started at 9am. Norah, her fiancé Andy and I went down to the beach to ceremonially dip the wheels in the ocean. We then started cycling a slow pace to help us get used to riding with the weight on the bikes. Yorktown is a historic revolutionary town and looks beautifully preserved. We went onto Jamestown and Williamsburg before finishing for the day.

Williamsburg was the highlight with a fully reconstructed colonial centre where it appears that if you own one of the properties you are then obliged to wear clothes from that same era. A pain when tourists gawp at you whilst you try to mow the lawn or go to the shops I'm sure.

Then onwards to the Chickahominy river campsite to stay the night on day 2 after a leisurely 30 miles to kick off the journey. A great spot that has a great riverside view and allowed for some relaxation. A very early night at 9pm listening to the wind rustling the trees before day 3.

The day started enthusiastically and early with us leaving camp at 7am. Unfortunately this meant that no shops were open for breakfast. We spurned a homely looking gas station after a few miles then didn't see anything for another 25 till we got to Glendale. A healthy lunch of chicken burger and orange juice. Luckily we have now stopped just outside Mechanicsville to get some (hopefully better) food at a Panerra bread in the middle of an outlet centre. We have another 10 miles to get to our campsite - I am a little concerned that today's 60 miles might have been a little too much too soon. Lets see tomorrow when we try to hit the town of Mineral.

The Trans America kit list

So every blog for cycle touring I have read has a kit list. This has been extremely useful for me. As I am heading to Australia first I need to have my panniers packed and ready to go this week. So, as the Knicks take on the Celtics on TV, here's what I packed so far:


On the Bike:
Fuel Belt cross bar bag
Sunlight handlebar bag
2 Ortleib rear panniers
2 white led front lights
1 red rear light (although I might get another)
Specialized helmet (with another light on top!)
2 insulated 24oz water bottles
A two man tent (a bit old and a bit heavy unfortunately)
Sleeping bag
Roll mat

Tools:
Small bottle of bike lube
chain cable lock
4 spare inner tubes
Tyre levers
Swiss army knife
Hand pump
Head torch
Small roll of duct tape
Bike spanner
A few Allen keys
Pack of self adhesive tube patches

Clothing:
Pair of flip flops
Rain pants
Rainproof shoe covers
Rain jacket (shell)
Swimming trunks
3 pairs of socks
Underwear
3 tshirts (made of sweat wicking material)
1 pair of tracksuit pants
2 pairs of shorts with padding
1 pair of basketball shorts
1 longsleeve cycling jersey
1 fleece sweater
1 casual shirt
1 pair of jeans (although I might jettison these on the journey)
1 reflective vest for poor visibility days/nights
1 pair of thin gloves
1 pair of fingerless riding gloves
1 skull cap
1 cycling cap

Electronics:
SLR with 35mm lens
Cheap point and shoot
Gorilla pod tripod
ipad for internet access
ipod for on bike music
earphones
Old school clam shell phone (7 days of battery!)
Chargers for all the above!

Other:
Factor 50 suncream for body and a suncream stick for lips
Compass
Sunglasses
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Nail clippers
Deodorant
Shower gel/soap
Razor
First aid kit (plasters, assorted tablets)
Antibiotic cream
Ibuprofen tablets
Some electrolyte tablets to mix with water
XL travel towel
Combination padlock
Pack of matches
Some safety pins
Spare batteries
Little unbreakable (apparently) travel mirror
A knife, fork and spoon (taken from my cutlery set)
American Cycling Association maps

Have I forgotten anything? I think I may need:
a simple sewing kit
possibly some pepper spray for angry, snappy dogs
chamois cream
couple of bungie cords to hold the tent/bag/roll mat down to the rack
spare brake pads
body wipes

Pic from sbnation.com

E is for Electronics

Its just over 5 weeks to go now and final preparation is underway. Now this is going to be one long long trip and I will have a lot of time to myself. I like photography and am interesting in making some videos of the trip to preserve a feeling of how it felt cycling across a continent. I am traveling relatively light so have been thinking how I can combine everything together. So far here is my thinking...

I already have a Nikon D3100 which is relatively small for an SLR. I have the kit lens and a 35mm that I will probably take with me for photography. I was really mulling over buying a Go Pro or a Contour Plus but have instead decided on another path (mainly due to not wanting to spend $400 on the new gear).

I need a good mini tripod that I can use for this trip and for any subsequent backpacking or hiking that I will do later this year. After some research the best option was the Gorilla Pod Zoom SLR. Sturdy and able to hold the SLR steady.

I already had an old Samsung TL350 point and shoot that can take HD movies so will use this on the bike somehow to take action scenes. Because I didnt get a Go Pro I also wanted a way to try out using the Gorilla Pod either as a monopod substitute or even hold the camera to the bike (although I anticipate a lot of shake). Using the ball head on top of the Gorilla Pod will make this easier to achieve.

Thankfully I went to B&H in Manhattan and received excellent advice. The Gorilla Pod was $49.95 on its own. The same brand ball head is $39.95 but I have two cameras. I need two quick release plates or else I will constantly be switching the plate between cameras which will be annoying. Joby (makers of Gorilla pods do not sell plates by themselves).

The answer was to get a Benro ball head that fitted on the Gorilla pod which uses standard fitting plates, I was able to get the ball head for $38.99 and an Oben quick release plate for $12.99. Perfect solution and real props to the B&H salesman who helped me out.

In terms of editing of pictures or creating videos I had to lay out some bucks. Initially I was looking at one of the chrome books but have instead plumped for the ipad mini with 64gb. An indulgence but something that will allow me to access my Barnes&Nobel books from my Nook, will allow skype video calls with girlfriend/family/friends back home and hold my music collection all in the tiniest and most exquisite package. (Have to be careful not to lose it, break it or get it nicked). iMovie and iPhoto are a total combined $10. Great value for relatively good editing software.

The only thing now is to test it out by getting some interesting footage and trying to edit it on the ipad. Hopefully the weather is good this weekend and I can organise a quick jaunt around Brooklyn.

10 weeks to go

Last Thursday the American Cycling Association maps arrived and I eagerly ripped open the envelope to have a first look at them (I'd had a few drinks beforehand for a work function so was in a good mood!).

Pulling them out I have 12 mini maps that are jam packed with info, something that was overwhelming at first. After a quick glance this has driven home the enormity of the challenge ahead and made me feel my first real pangs of anxiety.

These have passed and changed again back to excitement. I watched the video below on how to read the maps and have also cross referenced the first map with some of the blogs to gauge how far others rode in the first weeks. Its helping to give me some sense of what it will be like when I set off from Yorktown.

Now its time to really step up the training.

Maps in transit

After an early night I woke up early to start getting my shit together. First on the list is buying the maps for this trip. I have had my eye on them for the past 9 months but this morning was when I pulled the trigger. Total cost for the entire Transamerican route was $138 including priority mail. Should have them delivered by this time next week.

Also whilst being on the adventure cycling association they have a pretty nice video created by one of their partners. Some very good tips in here and delivered in a quirky way.

As soon as the maps arrive I will start making an inventory of the remaining gear that I need to get (pocket knife, handlebar bag, compass etc) and to make sure all flights are booked in and out of the US.

Provisional start date is now May 13. Just over 2 months to go!

For some extra inspiration on these cold winter nights I have found that someone uploaded the whole BBC series of "the man who cycled the world" on YouTube following Mark Beaumont as he cycled from Paris around the world back to Paris in 194 days 17 hours. (He is only a year younger than me but did this when he was 25)

The end game (ship or sell?)

I havent started yet, Im still 3 monts away but I did tell my boss that I am quitting and will be moving to Australia. Its really time to start putting my money where my mouth is. So, whilst avoiding strenuous training (note the lack of posts about riding lately) my mind has turned to the myriad other parts of the trip. Today I have mostly been thinking: what am I going to do when I hit my destination?

Once I finish out on the west coast I will choose either to jettison my gear, chiefly the Trek, or decide to ship it over to Melbourne. Whilst shipping will be expensive, I think its going to be more cost efficient than selling the bike in a fire sale and then buying a new one in Oz. The question is, how to send it...

Seems to be a toss up between FedEx/UPS and dedicated bicycle shipping services. A root around the internets has found a few good starting points that I will investigate further on the road:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/features/shippingbikecases.cfm
http://www.bikeflights.com/bicycle_shipping.aspx
http://www.shipbikes.com/International.html

Shipbikes also can sell decent bike boxes. I have to weigh up how much packaging (and insurance) will be needed to send the bike without incurring risk of damage. Dont want any dents in the frame (or worse).

In fact these articles have helped provide some good background on previous peoples attempts at shipping
http://www.bicycle-touring-guide.com/bicycle-shipping/
http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2012/06/shipping-bicycles-delicate-matter.html
http://www.thecityedition.com/Pages/Archive/2010/Yosemite_Trekker/Post_060310.html (pic from this page below)

I think for now this is about as much as I will look into it. As long as the cost is something around $500 this will be the way that I will go. Selling the bike on craigslist at the end of the journey for next to nothing would not be the nicest way to end the trip!

Enter at Lennox and Central Park North please

First ride in ages, and its shocking to learn how quick it is to fall out of shape!

I've been in my new apartment for just over 24 hours and the weather was very mild for January (11 degrees). Needed to do some kind of exercise to kick start the year so I went and met Nick M for a few laps of my new local park (the wonderful Central Park).

I've never been around the park completely so it was fantastic to enter in at the very top, up the incline north of the reservoir, then snake downhill to the bottom where all the horse and carriages are, and head back up and around a couple more times. Its quite different to prospect park in lots of ways which is refreshing. Its more varied in its route (more twists and hills), longer (its 6 miles according to this site), and tonnes of interesting landmarks dotted around (obelisks, the MET, various statues, etc). You also cant ignore the excellent architecture that surrounds the park - high rise buildings that dont exist in Brooklyn. It was an added bonus that today was not that busy so not too many tourists to dodge!

Took a quick couple of snaps with my Blackberry around 4.30pm and it was already getting dark. I had to edit these pics heavily as the camera sensor is so poor!

Sold you for a pretty penny

And a slightly sad end to 2012 by downsizing my bike collection. blub blub, bye bye Mr Boardman and Mr Hardrock. (But hello much needed cash for the trip).

Hope your new owners enjoy the rides (slightly overweight American Chinese man for Trek, and Nick M for the single speed rocket).

Welcome 2013, goodbye Prospect Park!

So here we go, 5 months to go and a lot to do. I've had another hiatus whilst work takes over but I have been quietly building up some more gear (some cheap Tenn Waterproof winter gloves) and finally got the fenders fitted to the bike.

The last bike ride of the year was back on Thanksgiving. A great day off and I took the opportunity to take what might be my last ride in Prospect Park. I have spent a good chunk of time over the last two years circling that beautiful green space. Have a look at the pics below!

Oh - and why might it be my last - because this weekend I will be moving up to a new sublet in Harlem for the remaining time in NYC. This will give me an opportunity to ride Central Park and the Riverside Park more often, so watch this space for some different pics.

Rebuild Staten Island

The Tri state area was hit hard by Sandy. I didnt see much evidence in downtown Brooklyn, but half of Manhattan lost power for a week. Even worse, areas near coast in south Brooklyn (sheepshead bay, the rockaways), Long Island and Staten Island were devastated.

Yesterday, me and two of my friends wanted to go down to the south beach area of Staten Island to see if we can help in any way. Its a quick trip on our bikes, over the Brooklyn bridge, down to the southern tip of Manhattan to catch the 9am ferry, and then a 6 mile ride to the affected area.

Kudos to Brian Heal who is organising one of the many grass roots efforts in Staten Island. His facebook page is helping to coalesce locals in the area. When we got there at 10am we could already see up to 30 people organising clothes, food and cleaning supplies.

We were initially sent off on our bikes to see if an area a mile away required any help. For the most part they had been affected but a local church group and the red cross were already present and nothing seemed critical. We went back to Brian to be re-deployed.

He sent us to Liberty Street were a lot of demo (demolition) work was going on. We helped out with a family whose house had been lifted off its foundations and their work garage needed emptying/salvaging.

The garage was stacked full of tools, building materials and two motorcycles. All of which is likely to be damaged beyond repair by the corroding salt waters. The water level here was almost at the ceiling - at least 8 foot high. These buildings were at least 400 foot from the sea shore.

The houses in this area remain without power and hot water due to the extent of the damage. There is likely to be a lot of demolition and rebuilding, but we saw that a lot of residents wanted to sell up and move away.

Piles of garbage removed from the shed and house.

A bike parking area on the beach buried by the storm surge

No cycling today please

Hurricane Sandy is currently bashing the Tri State area (and beyond) so it was a work from home day today, whoop.

No cycling - just lots of eating and watching Elemental on CBS (which shows a surprisingly high number of NRA anti Obama adverts).

Here is a quick picture from out of the window... very light traffic and some rain. I have seen a couple of brave cyclists out there (delivery guys!) but not for me.

Maybe back to biking towards the end of the week. (Before I put on 10 lbs)

Gear Whore

So what else have I been doing in the last 4 or 5 weeks. Going nuts on amazon, bananas in REI and spazzy in bicycle habitat thats what... so far I have purchased the following:

From Amazon:

1 x Pace twill riding cap (seems a little small for my big head but good under the helmet)

1 x Skull cap (for when its chilly)

1 x Ten way spanner hand tool (to fit my mud guards - see below)

1 x 'Adventure cycle touring handbook' for light reading on the subway when it snows

1 x pair of Tenn lightweight waterproof trousers ($30! what a bargain)

1 x pair of Gore Mens overshoes (part two of my lower half waterproof outfit)

(approx $142 for this lot, gulp)

From REI:

1 x 24 oz Polar insulated water bottle

1 x set of front and rear 'planet bike' hardcore fenders (to keep my butt clean and dry in the rain)

(approx $50)

From Bicycle Habitat:

1 x set of two blue Ortlieb panniers 

1 x Bontrager pannier cargo netting

(approx $165 for panniers, $15 for netting, $40 to Port Jervis on the metro north)

I actually got the panniers back in July and they have been awesome every time I've used them. Totally waterproof and so easy to hook onto the rack. I bought these when I went on a cycle/camping trip with the boys to Port Jervis in NJ. 

The Bontrager rack netting thing works like a set of bungies and was very useful for holding down my tent and sleeping bag... heres some quick pics from that trip as I didnt write a post for that (I was in lazy mode):

Alleycats in NYC

So... I've only just become aware of alleycat races. POW - its eye opening - these guys are bonkers! Check out these vids on vimeo and youtube...

http://vimeo.com/17197113 (picture below taken as a still from this race vid!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNgJrfgXijg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VcgURiQH9c

Takes real skill and nerve to be able to ride around a city like NYC, especially on a fixie and at that speed.

Apparently there is going to be a short race next Wednesday in the LES, if I get time I will try to go over and take some photos (no racing for me).

For more updates on when NYC messenger races happen keep a look out on this blog: http://www.bikeblognyc.com/category/alleycat-race/

Homework

The ride is more than 6 months away but increasingly I am putting in some hours scanning other peoples past blogs on the trans am. The great thing is that so many people have done it over the past 20 years or so and detailed their trips. Makes my homework task pretty easy!

So far here are some of my top sites that I've been browsing this week and that I will be referencing in the coming months...

http://travellingtwo.com/
A fantastic site about a Canadian couple that travelled the world. Really solid tips on packing and equipment.

http://www.transamericatrailcycle.com/
Another great blog - same trip as me but by a guy called Andy a couple of years ago. Good read and decent tips (can't read too much as I dont want to spoil any surprises!)

http://bikeacrossamerica.org/
A decent site with some good testimonials. Some of the videos are a little on the long side but the advice is earnest and the tips helpful.

http://cycleacrossamerica.co.uk/
Another good blog by an Englishman on the TransAm.

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/index.htm
A treasure trove of information. Very heavy to read in one go (think text book) but amazing that this guy Ken has put in over 40 years of experience into this site.

Definitely gets the mind going. I think the next thing is to start looking into putting some decent training  runs in.

p.s. Cool graphic total lifted from this site :)

Filming along the Palisades Interstate Parkway

For Independence day me and my mate Spencer went on a quick 40 miler, up from Fort Greene, over BKYN bridge and up the West Side Highway, across the GWB and up the Palisades. A beautiful ride that is a lot of fun with a great tree filled environment once you're on the other side of the Hudson. 

No pics for this post but check out my funky video here of the day here!

A little shaky as I was using my pocket samsung camera in my hand whilst riding, maybe I will invest in a gopro cam before the cross country trip next year to get some more professional footage. For now its worth gambling on their 'everything we make' daily competition! Check in here to try your luck: http://gopro.com/daily-giveaway/

Still catching up...

And so even more happened over the summer...

Vancouver was a quick vacation destination in early June. One of the highlights was a quick weekend spent in Whistler whilst we were there. This is a fantastic mountain side resort which in the summer has a really vibrant downhill mountain biking community. Lots of equipment shops will rent out a range of bikes and kit for reasonable amounts for the day and lift passes are likewise affordable.

Extreme downhill and full face helmets aren't for everyone though (including Sonia) and so there are miles and miles of green routes too. These are great trails that take in a couple of large lakes and paths through the pinewood forest. Great for a few hours. We didn't see any bears on our ride though!

 

So theres been a bit of a gap, but now I am back!

Quite a gap since May 29th on my blogging. I chalk it down to exuberance and excitement at first putting the blog together and then an immediate crash once the realisation sank in that it is seriously hard work creating good copy! Even so, lets have a quick catch up and see where I am 4 months down the line from my first blog post...


Previously I was just about to attend the Tour de Brooklyn with a few friends. It was a perfect day with blue skies and warm temperatures. There were over 2000 people participating and the route took us down some main routes through Brooklyn.

I must say that for someone who lives in Brooklyn the route was not the prettiest. Most likely due to the numbers of cyclists that we couldnt take in the really beautiful cycle lanes along the Hudson. However we were allowed to go through Hamilton military base which is usually off limits.





Overall though I would say that the ride had too many stops (due to having to stop traffic) and was heavily congested. If you are from another borough and want to cycle around Brooklyn this could be a good ride for you (as long as you dont expect a fast ride or a deep workout). Still, the people make a good ride and I loved spending the day with my friends.

Brooklyn Bridge to Coney Island Memorial ride

The best thing about memorial day is that its a public holiday in the US and it marks the start of the summer. For 2012 me and some mates took a quick jaunt down to Coney Island to take in the cycle lanes that go past the Verrazano Bridge (read Staten Island bridge) in the blazing summer sun.

Its an easy route, through Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook before we get onto the cycle lanes which takes us down into Coney. Check the google route here: http://goo.gl/maps/xcNP

Only a few hours but the sun was strong so I now sport some touchy sunburn on my nose, arms and knees! Need to watch for that when I am on the TransAm.

Tour de Brooklyn in 10 days

This will be my first time on the Tour de Brooklyn. This looks like a calm and relaxing way to see the borough of Kings. I can't imagine that it will be strenuous but it will be an interesting 21.5 miles. Bring it on! And at on $10 for non Transport Alternative members - a bargain.

Sign up now, it starts at 9.30am on Sunday June 3rd.

Trek 520 in my hands baby!

Whoop, just picked up my Trek 520 touring bike. A swift lap of Prospect Park for a test ride and then back to pay on plastic. Done and done. (With a quick picture opportunity in Gowanus)

So far it wasn't much of a ride, but in the 5 miles so far it feels responsive, solid and fast. Extremely happy and a concrete step towards the transam next year.