On Mileage and Bike Lanes

Very often when we tell people we're going to bike 1800 miles this summer, their first reaction is some version of either "Are you nuts?!" or "That rocks!" Their second reaction, after hearing that we hope to average around 55 miles/day during the tour, is to ask how we're going to find the time to bike 55 miles/day while we train, especially since I'm studying about 6 hours/day for the bar exam. The good news is, the distance you ride in a week is how far you can expect to ride comfortably in a day. So we need to average at least 55 miles of riding per week. This week, our first week of multiple rides, we rode a total of 64.2 miles, and we only rode twice. Next week we'd like to ride at least 4 times, so we should be more than a-ok.

Gotta Start Somewhere

After the somewhat harrowing ride described in yesterday's post, I did some googling and discovered Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, an organization devoted to helping make those kinds of rides the exception rather than the rule. One of their big goals is to get bike lanes in Dallas- hooray! Hopefully we'll have a chance to tag along on some of their group rides.


Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

40 Days to D-town

We've been pluggin' along with our cold weather workout regimen, but I'm starting to get stir crazy with the stationary biking and can't wait to get back to Dallas. It snowed here last night, so my hopes that Spring might finally be settling in were dashed. Fortunately we don't have long to go- I (Mia) graduate on May 9, a mere 40 days away! Then it's finally back to hot sunny Dallas for good for the first time in 3 years. We'll both return with a new appreciation for our hometown. Arik's been rockin' the Hyperfit workouts- he goes 5 days a week and does 2 classes in a row twice a week. The other 3 days, he comes home from class and bikes for an hour. He's a trooper!

Furry Arik on the Rowing Machine

Arik Post-Haircut & the Hyperfit Crew (on the right in yellow)

Last week I figured it was time we learned some camping basics. We considered getting "Camping for Dummies" on Amazon, but decided to raid the info on the internetz first. We found quite a treasure trove of tips, including:

- How to Dig a Cat Hole (or, where to stick your poop when there aren't any toilets around- vital info to be sure!)

-How to Survive a Bear Attack: I know it's an irrational fear, but the idea of being prodded awake by a furry bear paw has been one of my recurring nightmares about the trip. Fortunately, knowledge is power! Amongst the helpful hints I learned:

• Never run or scream. Grizzly bears can run 30-35 mph. (whoa!)
• Talk softly to a non-aggressive bear, but give an aggressive bear some sass! (yell, throw stuff etc.)
• Use bear spray but only as a last resort

Armed with Knowledge (and a can of bear spray), We Will Survive Your Ferocious Attacks!

- What to eat. Though most of the recommendations are for standard no spoil camp fare (GORP, peanut butter, etc.), we also discovered freeze dried meals! Just add boiling water to the bag, let it sit, and enjoy a gourmet (or at least more gourmet than GORP) meal! We'll probably bring a few along for a special treat.

That's all we have for now- let us know what we're missing!

We've also been gearing up via big online sales. We got the bike shorts I'll wear on the trip for 50% off (they're only 40% off now- muahaha!). We also got Arik's bike shoes for 25% off, and a long sleeved shirt for me for 20% off. Yippee! Alas we paid full price for our tent, but it should be worth it. I should note that even on sale, this stuff is all pretty pricey. We hope this tour will mark the beginning of a lifetime of outdoor adventures, so we're buying gear that'll stick around for a while.

As always, thanks to everyone who's offered support, encouragement, and donations!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Riding with Lance

Though Cash Cab is usually my (Mia's) chosen biking distraction, I changed things up yesterday when I realized the Tour of California was on. The race marked Lance Armstrong's return to competitive cycling, and I was lucky enough to catch most of his ride in a heated time trial. Just for fun, I tried to match my cadence to Lance's and whoa do I know how he got such beastly legs- it was intense! At least now I have a barometer by which to measure my progress:

Doh! I've got a ways to go! I was huffing and puffing 10 minutes in, and was a sweaty, breathless wreck by the time the hour was up.

In other news, we are less than 10 bucks away from being halfway to raising $3711! We have been blown away by everyone's generosity, so a HUGE thank you to all of you!

As for prepping for the logistics of the trip, Arik and I have about three days of camping experience between us, and the longest we've ever ridden in one go is 12 miles. So when it comes to preparing for a 3711 mile bike tour, during which we plan to camp 6 out of every 7 days, we're big newbies. Plus we're having to equip ourselves from scratch, since we don't have years of accumulated camping/biking supplies to draw from, and those few haphazard supplies we do have are too bulky to carry on a bike. So we have a pretty extensive list of stuff we need to buy/borrow before the tour, and the order in which we've been getting it has been kinda funny.

So far we have:

2 bikes (these were pretty important)
2 insect repelling bandanas (obviously!)
2 sets of silverware
2 Camelbaks
1 waterproof jacket
Mini toilet paper rolls (courtesy of Arik's parents)
2 thermarests and stuff sacks (also courtesy of Arik's parents- they rock!)

Good thing we've covered the essentials- what more could we possibly need? :)

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike