Damn, there's a lot to do

Well, there's still lots to do before this trip takes off and the days are really just flying by now. There are final trips to the bike shop to be made, packing and repacking of panniers to be done, and loose ends to tie up before this trip begins (bills to pay, phone calls to friends and family to make, fabulous Bon Voyage parties to attend). Luckily, a lot of the hard work has already been done: Diana and I have been studying Japanese at Soko Gakuen in Japantown for months (see sidebar), Diana's been busy finding some great places to stay in Sapporo and in Tokyo and sketching out our adventure, and we've both been working hard trying to figure out as much as we can about packing up the bikes and being our own mechanics for this trip. I had no idea that it would take so much planning. However, I think that it's all about to pay off: we're set to take off on June 11th, and by June 13th we'll have the bikes together and be heading off into the hills of Hokkaido, Japan.

We both have a lot of people to thank before we go, especially in the area of bike preparation: First and foremost, a huge Thank You goes out to Jon and to Cameron for their mechanical assistance and technical guidance. Without these two, we would be touring Japan by train and not by bike. Last weekend's trip to Salt Point State Park (I know, you never did get your full report. Did I mention I'm a procrastinator?) was the first true test of our touring bikes and both passed with flying colors. Thanks guys. We've also received a lot of help on the touring-detail end of things. We've gotten tons of advice about camping equipment, clothing, panniers, racks, e-mailing gadgets, places to visit, and food to eat. Thank you to everyone who took the time to help us make the most out of planning this trip. We won't forget you when we're famous.

So, now that the Thank Yous are out of the way, I'll be movin' on with my evil plan (insert evil laugh here) to make you all as envious as possible. Tomorrow, I'm buying the gadget that'll transport our adventure, glorious moment by moment, to all of you via the wonder that is the Internet. Really, this is just my way of trying to get all of you to join in on an adventure with us in the future!

Preview: It was FANTASTIC!

For those of you in the know, let me just start off by setting the scene: Cool, sunny, northern CA weather (with just a hint of early morning fog) greeted us at our point of departure in Occidental; miles and hours of scenic rolling hills to ourselves on Kings Ridge and Tin Barn Roads; evening campfire and tasty eats with an ocean view at sunset; early am coffee, fireside, at a coastal lodge on Highway 1; and, an amazing tailwind that pushed us south along the coast and up and over Coleman Valley Road to a birthday celebration for Kathleen back in Occidental. It was a FANTASTIC first bike tour!

A full report to follow, but for now, these tired legs are off to bed. Stay tuned!

Lugging stuff around

Well, we're off this weekend and it's gonna' be a blast. I have, however, learned some valuable lessons in preparing for this pre-Japan touring adventure: hauling fully loaded panniers and a tent on BART (sans touring bike) during the am commute isn't very fun and, now, my arms feel like Jell-o from the effort. Much better to haul those things around ON a bike. And, 2 years' worth of old New Yorkers do come in handy: use them to test out how much stuff you can fit into your new panniers! Just don't lug 25lbs. of them up a 4 mile hill for your test ride!

Back with a full report and photos (hopefully) after the weekend's adventure.

Anticipation

Diana and I are embarking on our maiden touring ride this weekend (with the assistance of HardAsNailsHannon, touring expert extraordinaire). The bikes are ready to go, the panniers are in, and the weather's gonna' be fine. We're headed up to Salt Point on the CA coast by way of Kings Ridge with fully loaded bikes and crossed fingers. Wish us luck!

Diana asked me to create a blog . . .

so here it is!

A note of caution: those of you who read this blog may come under the spell of evil, super-jealous feelings of envy. You've been warned.