April 15, 2012

A weld on my rear rack broke, and we have returned to Gig Harbor to lighten up the bikes. Some electrical tape and a few hose clamps and the rack is ready to go again. 

I'll replace the rack as soon as I can find a good one.

I had about 67 pounds of gear on my bike, so I had to make some choices.  I fought for every gram of loss I could arrange.  I even bought a cheap camera that takes AA batteries so I could ditch the camera charger.  I saved almost 200 grams from that one item alone. My water bottles weigh 1,500 grams and that's not even enough water for a whole day.  Water is one of the heaviest things we carry.

So we will start out again today, for a second time. We'll shoot for another 7 or 8 miles and hopefully get stronger from day to day. The weight kills on the hills.

Scott

I realized one of my pedals was broken and so had to replace them. I put the pedals that were on Evan's old Specialized on my bike.  I had taken the pedals off  before we  sold it.  So now I am peddling on pedals that all 3 of my boys used from 2002 on. I miss my boys but feel a connection to all of them, riding on their old pedals.

Heidi & Her Bike

Heidi ready to go...

A more sensible load...

 

My home town... .

Update:

We are at 15.6 miles at Lider Road and Deep Lake Road making for our goal for day one.  There will be no cell service for quite some time after it goes away, not until we reach Poulsbo in a few days.  I expect we could be out of touch for 3 to 5 days.

Five miles to go  today yet. 


I'm turning off my phone to save battery.

Scott