Planning for a Cross-Country Bike Trip: Analysis Paralysis!



Riding across the U.S. has been something that I have always wanted to do. Up there with hiking the Appalachian trail. With the sabbatical year, it seemed like a perfect time to give it a try. The traditional route is the TransAmerica Trail and goes from Virginia to Oregon. But as I wanted to do this ride while Julie was teaching in the spring, the Southern Tier seemed like a better (warmer!) option.

Once I settled on the route, it then became a matter of figuring out the logistics. With time on my hands I had to fight the analysis paralysis syndrome. There were two big items I really struggled with that I want to address with this post.

THE BIKE

There are plenty of touring bikes out there that range in price from $800-$1500 that are ready to ride. You can, of course, go crazy and spend much more. I saw a custom titanium bike on Craigslist that claimed it cost $6000 to put together. It was being sold unused as the guy had blown a disc in his lower back and his riding days were over. A cautionary tale, and one that hovered on the back of my mind as I mulled over my options. Luckily, that bike was too small for me, so I wasn't tempted by that 'good deal'. Last I saw, it was reduced to $3500.

The idea of a touring bike is that the longer geometry makes them more stable with a heavy load and easier riding as the bumps in the road are dampened out. But, it is a fairly niche market and most bike shops don't keep them in stock. I was loath to order a bike unseen without giving it a test ride. I also couldn't find anything used for sale in my size, in the Chicagoland area.

I ultimately decided to repurpose my (20 year old) mountain bike for the above reasons. Also, I had replaced much of my mountain bike's components over the years with much higher grades than the basic touring bikes - so it seemed like something that would hold up and perform better. Plus, did I really need a third bike to clutter up our condo?

I had a number of concerns: the smaller wheel size would not be as quick, and the upright handlebar would not be as aerodynamic or offer multiple positions to help alleviate strain from the long and continous days of riding. I was also concerned that the rear chainstays would be too short and my heels would hit the rear panniers. Luckily, the panniers fit fine and there was no issue. I decided that the slower speed was not an issue. Whether I come to regret the upright handlebar remains to be seen.

POWER FOR MY PHONE

In retrospect, the amount of time I spent on the power options was silly. The engineer in me really liked the idea of a dynamo, a device that generates power as the wheel turns. Given that I'm planning on riding 6 hours per day, it was a guaranteed way to generate power to keep my phone charged. But, it would have been fairly expensive to incorporate... The dynamo itself was about $130. You then need to rebuild your wheels to incorporate this new hub. It is not recommended that you reuse an old wheel, so add another $100-200. Labor to build the wheel: $50-100 if I didn't want to do it myself. Then you need a converter to change the power output from AC to DC and store the charge. Another $100-200. Whew!

I ultimately decided to use a solar charger that I had picked up at an REI garage sale and a set of rechargeable batteries and kit from Costco. This should give me 3 days of power if the sun doesn't shine or if I can't find an outlet at the campground. I may up ditching the solar charger if I find I'm not using it.

Once I got past the above decisions, the remaining decisions came easier. (Maybe because I was running out of time?)  I will write a separate post about my final packing list.  It has not been an inexpensive endeavor, and I'm hoping that most items will continue to be used and not slated for this trip only!

A logistical note...  Once I am on my journey--soon!--I will be sending blog entries to Julie who will be posting them here.  You can also follow my daily picture updates with Instagram:

(Post is by Will.  The painting is the 1893 "The Scream" by Edvard Munch.)

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