Great Rivers: All Set

We're leaving tomorrow and I'm done packing. Tour starts Sunday, here's the packed bike in the basement. You can't see much of the bike, but if you were worried about my visibility, rest assured this thing is reflective all around.

Trek 520 is packed and ready to go

From previous tour experience, I expected the bike to come in around 80 pounds, and that's right where it weighs in. There is some potential for weight savings, but that is probably not necessary. And if it is, I will be back in Minneapolis in four days, I can always repack. Here is some of what is along for the ride:

• Ortlieb Roller Panniers


• Axiom Handlebar Bag


• Full-size Thermarest


• Mountain Hardware Lightwedge 2 Tent (Thanks Nate!)


• Raingear: Jacket, Pants (both Craft), Booties (Pearl Izumi)

More from the road. Who needs the Tour de France anyway? That's not a tour. It's a race. Those guys don't even pack their own stuff. . .

Great Rivers: The Ride

Two days to go before we head up to Itasca, from where I will leave on Sunday. It looks like I am getting everything set to go just in time—everything besides my dissertation, that is, but that's life. At least I will have a task to return to...

The most important piece of equipment

Ah, my trusty Trek 520, built in 2001. I has just over 7000 miles on it right now, mostly from previous tours. For those of you who care about these things, here's a list of non-stock equipment that is on it:

• WTB Shadow V Saddle


• Tektro R200A Ergo Brake Levers


• Jandd Expedition Rear Rack


• Jandd Low Front Rack


• Speedplay X2 pedals


• Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x28C Tires


• Planet Bike 700c Hardcore Fender Set


• Tranz-X Kickstand


• Planet Bike Roadie Frame Pump


• Really old and simple Cateye Enduro cycling computer


• And yes, that's right, three (3) bottle cages

Total unloaded weight? 36 pounds.

I will write more about equipment that I'm carrying later. Apparently, the only thing I am missing is a nice handgun. It turns out that in Missouri I can now shoot people if they try to enter my tent. Sweet.

Have you seen the movie Deliverance? The same wonderful person who is kindly driving me up to Itasca suggested I watch it before I head South. Hence the handgun.

Great Rivers: The Route

It is not actually possible to stay right next to the Mississippi River all the way from Headwaters to the Gulf despite the valiant efforts of Mississippi River Trail, Inc. The Great River Road of course purports to hug the Mississippi all the way, but this is not entirely true, and many stretches are not appropriate or desirable territory for bicycles. The best effort to accommodate cyclists along the Mississippi, as far as I can tell, has been made by our friendly neighbors to the East: Wisconsin. They have published a great and free set of maps that includes waypoint and elevation information. Hats off to them for that.

When my brother and I went across the United States, we solely relied on maps by the Adventure Cycling Association and fared very well with a combination of Western Express and Transamerica. The also offer a route called Great Rivers, which I will combine with Sections 5, 6, and 7 of the Norther Tier Route to make my way South. They really do an excellent job with their maps and allow you to just get up and go without having to plan anything besides how many days you think the indicated distance is going to take you. Very nice.

This route will deviate somewhat from the Great River's path and is therefore called Great Rivers, acknowledging that both the Missouri and the Ohio rivers will be part of the equation. I will not follow the ACA maps religiously, especially in Minnesota, but that's basically the route I will follow.

Tonight

I rode up to the track tonight and on my way home, crossing the Mississippi on the Franklin Avenue bridge, caught this sunset, shown here in all its glory, in case you missed it:



My question to you: is there any city along the Mississippi more beautiful than ours, and if so, where?

Thank you for holding

I'm back. I spent the last ten weeks holed up trying to write and finish my dissertation. 18 June was last week's Monday and I successfully defended my thesis as planned, even if the dissertation is not quite finished. Normally, I would now have my Ph.D., but as it happens, I still need to write some more over the next two weeks.

After that, however, it's time to slow down. With gainful employment looming large for October, I plan to make the most of my last pre-two-weeks-of-vacation-per-year summer. Since I will remain in the Twin Cities for the foreseeable future, I thought it would be fun to follow the Great River that separates Minneapolis and St. Paul from Headwaters to Gulf.

As I have mentioned before, I have always enjoyed bicycle touring, even if I have not done it for almost five years now. My last tour was with my brother in the summer of 2002, from Sacramento, CA, to Yorktown, VA. Here are some pictures:

This reminds me of a great presentation by James Howard Kunstler, who argues that America is a nation of places not worth caring about. He is speaking of the rotten mess that is Suburbia, of course, but I would still mention that the opposite is true of the American countryside. I think the pictures above are sufficient proof, and I intend to gather more in July.

I will continue to update this blog as a travel report en route; the fun starts Sunday, 8 July. In the meantime, you can look forward to some posts about my preparations and equipment, as I get ready to leave.

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