Bikes are Ready to Go!

The RANS tandem (left) and the Burley San Marino (with BOB trailer) are all ready to go. We leave in just one week to ride across Oregon. The real adventure is about to begin!

Kid Quote of the Day

I like riding in the country 'cause I can just pee whenever I want.

Keep Moving Forward

This is a note from Alison. It has always been my dream to bicycle cross-country. I thought that I would be doing this trip in retirement. But I have Multiple Sclerosis now, and I don't know how much longer my legs will be able to pedal 4000 miles. This ride is my ascent of Mt. Everest. My goal is to push the limit of what is possible while living with MS. For others, Mt. Everest might be a flight of stairs or finding the courage to tell their boss they have MS.

My message of hope to all who are confronted with this illness is
1. Don't be afraid--nothing is going to happen that you can't handle.
2. Do it now.
3. Keep moving forward*.

Rans Tandem Arrives!

The bike has arrived! We went to Portland to pick it up last week. It is a beautiful piece of machinery. Interestingly, RANS (the company that makes the tandem) also makes small personal aircraft.

On the same trip we also purchased a Rocky Mount R4 tandem roof rack to accommodate the extra long length of the tandem.

The bike was in beautiful shape. Sherman and his staff did a great job getting it ready for us. The trip is seeming very real now!

Kid Quote of the Day

"Mom, I farted but the bubble is stuck in my bike shorts."

Different Riders -- Different Perspectives

The weather here has really been cooperative...but we may have a rude awakening when we ride across Oregon in a couple of weeks. We all went on another 25 mile ride last weekend. Gus and Sonia split their time between the tandem and Sonia's Trek, while Dan captained the tandem and Alison rode her Rans V-Rex. Other than some wind, we had a great ride.

You really get a different perspective on the personalities of your kids when they are just a few inches behind you mile after mile. Gus likes to crank hard in explosive bursts. Sonia is a steady peddler. Both certainly add to the speed and power of the bike. And both have very different perspectives of the ride. Sonia notices a lot of what is around us as we ride. Gus likes to talk about totally ride-unrelated stories. Both don't seem to mind telling the captain to ride faster or pass the other bike! I need to get a shirt with the phrase "shut up and pedal" on the back so I can just say "read the shirt"!

Fortune Cookie Adventures

On a recent visit to a local Chinese restaurant, Sonia received a very interesting fortune inside her post-meal cookie. It read:

"Next summer you will dance to a different beat."

Dan's read:

"Your life becomes more and more of an adventure."

When I was in college, we would always append "in bed" to the end of every fortune cookie saying. Now, we are going to add "on the bike" to all of our fortunes!

Organization

The more we get ready for the trip, the more we realize that organization might be almost as important as training...almost! The key is to have good lists -- and to not lose them! We have a bike list, a bike rack list, a gear list (one for each of us), a packing list, and a list list (to make sure we haven't forgotten any lists!). Hopefully our planning will pay off when we are in the middle of North Dakota and need that one specialized tool for that one specific mechanical event.

Alison's Bike

We pick up Alison's bike, the Rans Screamer, from Coventry Cycle Works in Portland on Sunday, March 9th. Luckily it came in early so Alison and the kids can get some test rides in before our trip across Oregon. We leave on Saturday, March 29th and return to Walla Walla on Sunday, April 6th. That next day of work and school is going to be interesting!