Harvers Bike

It's here!  Our bike arrived in the mail the other week and I was super excited.  I patiently waited at the FedEx counter while the man at the counter shuffled some small boxes around until he finally realized I was picking up the enormous box looming over him.  He called a co-worker over to ask what he was supposed to do in such a situation.  The older employee helped him bring it over and they comically passed it over the counter. Strange Passenger. Just fits! They helped me carry it outside and asked me where my car was.  I said it was a mile down Hillsborough St. and headed off leading the employee through the parking lot.  When I looked back at his face, he looked equal parts confused and concerned.  I told him I was joking as we got to my car 10 feet away and he looked very relieved. VP doing a concern. I had to put all the seats down to cram it in the Golf, but I got it in there.  When I got home, I had to do quite a lot o...

I already know pretty much what you're going to say Sam, but hear me out.  I reject chamois.  It is squishy and wet and full of bacteria.  I will attempt to live without it. For those of you who don't know what a chamois is, its that large butt pad spandex clad riders wear.  The conventional wisdom says the chamois provides cushioning to your perineal area that a saddle cannot while preventing chafing and wicking away sweat. Ooooooo yay! Why do I hate them?  Well, in short, they've robbed the joy of cycling from me!  In long:  I started cycling in high school.  I went to a boarding high school (it was public!) and had no car.  The only way for me to get around was on two wheels.  When I bought my first bike, I was free.  I could go where I wanted when I wanted. Over time, I wanted to ride longer, faster.  This led me to get more into the sport of cycling; buying special shoes, eating weird gels, using special tires....

After reading my last post, Emma asked:  "What does this have to do with our trip?"  Admittedly, not much....... I guess?  Either way, I suppose it's time for a post with a bit more about the trail.  Ready for some stats!? Total distance:  2,696 miles Starting Point:  Banff, Canada Ending Point:  Mexico Border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico Total Climbing:  149,664 feet Highest Point:  Indiana Pass, Colorado;  11,910 feet States:  Alberta, British Columbia, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico Not me.  Thanks BikePacking.com Billed as 'the longest off-pavement route in the world,' the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route travels almost 2,700 miles from Canada to Mexico on rail trails, gravel roads, singletrack, ATV trails, and some pavement crossing the Continental Divide 32 times.  The route climbs the equivalent of Mt. Everest's peak from sea level five times with the highest point almost twice the heigh...

Imagine you're driving.  Or walking.  Or traveling by giraffe.  Whatever it is, you come to a turn and you're not sure which way to go.  You go left thinking it will get you to where you want to go.  After a while it doesn't seem right so you make another turn.  You keep making turns that try to get you to where you want to go and end up in a place you really don't want to be. Actually, don't do this. This was very transparently a metaphor for life.  Or my life.  I had made so many small decisions that lead me to unhappiness.  It becomes easy when you have this long distance goal; there's so many turns! I switched from veterinary technician role to student role pretty easily enough.  I'd been in schools for a long time and knew the rules.  I went to class every day to soak up lectures.  I tried to engage professors.  I did the required and recommended reading.  I bought the textbooks and course notes.  ...

Ready to talk about gear?  Honestly, I'll be ready to stop talking about gear after this post.  Since deciding to take on the Great Divide, Emma and I have been having lots of conversations about equipment, probably much to her dismay. We'll show you our gear once it's finalized. When I was racing in undergrad, I had four bikes.  One for road racing (think Tour de France style though I was much slower), one for mountain bike racing (think riding on hiking trails), one for cyclocross (think knobby tires on a road bike racing on both on and off road), and one for getting to class.  Who doesn't love talking about the gear that lets them do what they love?  What tires are best, what pressure in those tires, what brakes are the stoppiest, gear ratios, frame stiffness, aerodynamics! UNC > NCSU That said, planning for a month long ride is difficult.  The decisions you make now can have wonderful or disastrous consequences later on.  Our bigg...