Can't Sleep

So it's 1:30 AM, everyone's been asleep for at least two hours and I just can't. Too many things going on in my head. Practicing Spanish, thinking of last minute errands, thinking of family and friends, all on top of hearing Mike snore in the room next to ours. So I get up and try reading to fall asleep, I pick up The Odyssey, not working. So I figure I'll blog a little about what's going on.

The last couple of days Leah and I have been working on our bikes getting them completely ready to go. We finally got them %90 done today and took our inaugural test ride. We have done several things to both our bikes to make them as foolproof and failsafe as possible. Let me tell you a little about our trusty steeds we are taking with us on our journey.

First of all here is some of the criteria we were looking for in our bikes. We had done a lot of research reading people's opinions on different types of bikes, and different set ups for different types of bicycle tours. Ultimately we decided that we wanted old, steel mountain bikes with the simplest, least expensive and most reliable parts we could find. We decided this for several reasons: one, we anticipate that old steel mountain bikes to be the norm in the areas that we will most likely be travelling, therefore making replacement parts easier to find, and making them less likely to get stolen. We also decided that we most likely we will not always be on smoothly paved roads. We have done quite a bit to prepare for the bicycle maintenance part of our journey.

Our first step was taking a bike repair class put on by bike works, a non-profit bike shop here in Seattle. Next we took a wheel building class where we built our own custom wheels (no, they're not spinners.)

So Leah's bike we found on Craigslist.com for $30 It was an old steel framed Schwinn Moab mountain bike. So far we have done the following to prepare it for the trip, not all of this was necessary, we could have take our bike as they were, but for those of you who don't know me all that well, I suffer from the tinker bug. I enjoy constantly tinkering with things to make them just right (or until I break them, then I enjoy trying to fix them.)

• Replaced the crappy gear shift system for some sweet old bomb proof friction shifters
• Built our own custom wheels with some sweet oldschool hubs
  
• new rear cassete and chain
• replaced the brake blocks
• installed front and back racks (back rack was a sweet Christmas present from Chuck & Lynne)
• installed fenders
• toe cages
• new brake cables
  
• two water bottle cages
• kick stand
  
• bike computer (distance, speed, etc. - vital for navigation)

My bike has quite a story to it. I was looking for a bike for a long time, scouring craigslist for the perfect ride. Nothing was coming up, I was going to Salvation army, people's garage sales and even a guys backyard that was so full of bicycles that you could hardly walk around (I only bought 3 bikes from that guy (for parts only - total cost $15 - total store credit at Recycled Cycles - $30 and I still got to keep the parts I wanted - sweet!). I finally resorted to putting a wanted ad up on craigslist, this provided some promising leads. Finally I got a call from a guy that had a bike that sounded perfect. But that weekend I was headed visit my grandparents in Michigan so we decided I'd come check it out the next week, I was stoked. While in Michigan i wandered into Grandpa's garage and hanging there, in a beam of light from the heavens, was THE BIKE. Grandpa just so happened to have one of the original Specialized Stumpjumpers, the epitome of the bikes that i was looking for. This bike was even a "Special Touring Edition" frame, not to mention in immaculate condition. As i am ogling the bike Grandpa sees me and asks what I'm doing and I tell him about my quest and he tells me, "Well, why don't you take this one with you." I couldn't believe it, I still hardly can believe that I am going to be riding my grandpa's bike that he has been riding for over 20 years and ridden on tours around Michigan and Wisconsin. I asked him if I could name it after him and he agreed, so I will now be referring to my bike as "Pete".

As I said Pete was in excellent condition when I got him but he had all original parts on him, some of which are now very obscure and even rare. I thought it best to replace a few of these to save myself from hassles down the road if anything should go wrong. So we have done the folllwing to Pete:

• Replaced the front brakes
• put on a front rack (the original back rack stays, it rocks)
• replaced the wheels and hubs
• upgraded from a rear 5 speed cassette in back to a 7 speed (sweet - now i can go slower up the hills!) this involved getting some help from Dave McLean, the bike guru that taught our bike maintenance class, and all around awesome guy
  
• Installed a new crank set, the old one is awesome, french made TA Cyclo Touriste, but totally obscure, they don't even make some of the replacement parts anymore (I'm keeping it, don't worry)
• 3 bottle cages

Thats enough about our bikes, I just want to put a couple of shout outs to to our friends who helped with all of our manhy bike maintenance issues, Dave, Roger and Steveo, muchas gracias para ayuda. Oh yeah, Leah needs a name for her bike, If you have any suggestions, respond to this blog. A couple of options were, Rudd and Repete.

So we went on our inaugural ride this afternoon, check flickr later for pics. We put some weight on our panniers and pedaled off. It was the first time we had been back on bikes for 2 months. It felt GREAT! Everything on the bikes worked as it should and it just felt good to be back in the saddle again. I feel so free when I'm on a bike, I am so exited to get going on our trip.

We rode our bikes to meet Fedrico, who is from Guatemala, we went to coffee with him and talked about our trip, Guatemala, Central America, politics, history, safety, and had a really nice time. On the way home we both were feeling some of the excitement starting to set in. We were finally on our bikes, four days away, talking to someone from the area, it was all starting to hit home. Then I got to speak with Billie, my little sister who also leaving on a grand journey. She and her boyfriend, Cole, are leaving for South America on January 15. They fly into into Rio De Janero, Brazil and plan to travel for...as long as possible, they are thinking Octoberish. She was making her last round of calls today and tomorrow before turning off her phone. We too will be doing that in a couple of days. All of these things have made it hit home just a little more that we are finally about to do this, I am sure it still won't hold a candle to the feeling we will have when we arrive in Merida, Mexico at 8PM with all of our bikes and have to catch a cab to a hotel (trying to communicate in Spanish.)

Well now it's 3AM (yes I'm a slow writer...and reader)

Buenas Noches,
David


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