Just about ready to roll…

Months of preparation have flown by and it’s almost time to roll. The Mighty Jax is ready, my trusty bike is ready, I’m ready and we have all the equipment we need to make the self-supported ride from Canby, Oregon to K9s for Warriors’ headquarters in Ponte Vedra, Florida. The current iteration of our route (Version 4.0) measures 3,549 miles, excluding side trips to find food, bike shops or camp sites. We’re going to wait a month or so for at least some of the snow to melt in the mountains and then if all goes well we will hit the road. Until then I’ll keep on studying maps, training, researching camp sites and pet-friendly motels along our route, and reading blogs by the many people who’ve done something like this before us. I’ll listen to any advice I can get. 

Some stay in hotels, some use a SAG Wagon (support and gear vehicle) and some just camp wherever they stop along the way. Jax and I plan to mostly camp in our luxurious 3-man tent, but if possible I would like to stop at a motel, hostel or friend’s house once or twice a week to clean up and recharge batteries for cameras, taillights, phone and tablet. 

There’s even another Oregonian cycling across the U.S. with his dog, maybe riding as we speak! I’m going to try to read about his journey with his dog, Onyx, while Jax and I are traveling. I donated to his cause, Canine Partners for Life, another worthy dog+human organization. Even though we are going to different places, it’s nice to know there’s another guy and his dog out there on the road somewhere. Maybe I’m not crazy.