The williamsburg bridge

Thursday February 12, 2009

I’ve been spending my days walking across the Williamsburg bridge in Brooklyn over to Union Square to read about camping, backpacking, and bicycle touring. Thanks to Barns and Noble I’m getting as much information I need to feel confident and well informed about the task at hand. The plan is to leave around the beginning of May when the weather is more favorable for camping and head east to west across the country from N.Y.C. to California. Most experienced touring cyclist’s would tell you to box up your bike and fly to the west coast and start there, so you can have the tail winds at your back. It seems silly to me to fly somewhere to ride your bike. I would prefer to start at home in Brooklyn and return home the same way. I would like to free camp as much as possible, pitching my tent in out of the way places at the end of a long days ride. I’ll bring a light weight tent and sleeping bag as well as a compact stove to cook most of my meals, and carry these items and the proper clothing, and toiletries along with a netbook and digital camera to document my travels. Keeping it light is the name of the game, but at the same time I want to bring everything that I’ll need.
It’s still a little too cold here to start training seriously on my bike. Don’t get me wrong I see people riding everyday out here, but I’m not one of them. Walking 8 or 10 miles a day right now is giving me a solid base to start with, and as soon as the temperature starts heading into the 50’s, I’ll begin putting 30 miles a day or so in on my bike. I’ve cycled a couple of days this winter just to wet my whistle. I know what it’s like to put in 75 mile days, just not forty in a row. My main concern is getting my butt in shape so I can sit on that little seat for a few months. Racing across the country is not the plan either. I really want to experience the freedom such a trip can evoke. The spontaneity, adventure, and peace of mind you must feel just rolling along the blue roads crossing this country. Not to mention the interesting people you meet, and discovering one’s own self.
Growing up in western New York I had my share of camping outings, just not all by myself in the middle of some woods in unfamiliar surroundings. This too will prove to be quite challenging. Every once in a while I entertain the idea of being in some dark woods huddled in my tent all by myself, but until I am actually doing it I can’t really know how terrifying it could possible be. I’m looking forward to setting up my little cooking stove and making coffee in the morning as the sun comes up, or cooking oatmeal or some lentil dish with veggies at the end of a long day in the saddle.
It’s just the little critters outside my tent making noises or the possible run in with a bear or mountain lion I fear. I guess if I have to make an exit this would be a noble way to go. Then again I could be run off the rode by a logging truck or flat out hit by a car. Either way it couldn’t be worse than dieing the slow death of working for a living. I need a change, an adventure, maybe I just need to rough it for a while so that I can appreciate the creature comforts I’m so accustomed too. So, it is in this state of mind that I find myself these days, planning for the trip of a lifetime, turning my daydreams into reality.