JESS'S BIKE TOURING ESSENTIALS
We use almost everything we have with us, every day,
but there are a few things that I'm extra obsessed with....
CARGO NET
I PUT THIS OVER MY BACK RACK PACK. I CAN JUST REACH BEHIND ME AND TUCK THINGS INTO IT, LIKE MY SWEATY GLOVES, OR MY JACKET OR MY BANDANA. I ALWAYS HANG BANANAS FROM IT. AND SPROUTS. ITS JUST ALL STRETCHY AND HANDY AND I LOVE IT. DON'T TRAVEL WITHOUT ONE OF THESE!
BANDANA
My bandana is gray from my days carving coal for Zivic. Its all worn in. I use it to sit on when the ground is prickly. I drench it in water and put it on my neck when I get hot. I use it to dry the dishes. I blow my nose in it. Use it to make cheese. I wear it on my head. Its my favorite bit of cloth. Like an adult blankie.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE
Well now, what would my Swiss Half say if I didn't have one of these babies? Someone in Louisiana gave me one and I promptly gave away my pretty wood-handled (French) Opinel's... Here we've got tweezers, stabbers, cutters, pokers, diggers all in one little efficient Swiss package.
BLACK EYE-LINER...
I think I would be lost without it. It makes me feel like a lady on even the worst of days. And, NO, I would not be on this tour without it.
NANO PUFF!
Well--this thing is worth it's (very light) weight in Gold. It's as minimal looking as you can get in sporty gear (which I like) and it is AMAZING. You can wear it from 30 degrees to 75 and its always the right thing, how is that? Is it magic? I've had to sleep in this thing MANY nights, I love it. If I have to wear a puffy thing, this is it. Now, where's the coverall version?
COCOON SILK TRAVEL SHEET
Basically, singlehandedly responsible for any sleep I get in the tent. This silk sheet keeps all the synthetic camping/sleeping stuff from being in direct contact with my skin which seems to make all the difference in the world.
THE MISSION:
WHO: Zach Whitney + Jessamee Sanders
WHAT: A year-long (?) bicycle tour...
WHEN: Beginning March 2013
WHERE: Around the USA, route undetermined, 5-10K miles
WHY: Because life is too short to be settling down just yet...
HOW: By pedaling our butts off and selling lovely jewelry along the way
Zach builds things and loves to ride his bike. Jessamee designs things and loves to travel (jessamee.com, tamlinandthefall.com)
PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE! YOU ROCK OUR WORLD!
|||| THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE WE'RE MEETING AS WE GO ||||
Hosts in Bellingham WA. Alex teaches elementary school, it was his last day of classes the morning we left. Megan studies the environment and education. They had a very well stocked workshop full of bicycles and tools. A nice little basement room with a very comfy pull-out and a couple of enthusiastic, escape-artist cats. We shared a dinner on their deck. It was a cool and cloudy day, perfect for riding.
Out of order! We rode next to Emmet for a couple of miles as we headed out of Durango on the frontage road that paralelled 550. Emmett splits his time between Durango and Florida. He rides this recumbent and can cruise like hell. Last year he married a woman he met something like 55 years ago when he was 16. We really liked this guy.
We stopped in Seattle for a day (with Stephen, in the camper) where fellow Swiss Man Matteo and his bride-to-be Makenzie (future Naturopath) put us up in their back-yard club house for a night. Matteo and Stephen are buddies from way back when. Matteo lead us on a 45 mile ride all around Seattle the next day. It was an awesome route punctuated by a stop at a little Cuban lunch spot and a well-stocked beer store. Little me chugging along behind the boys in all their cycle-y gear, somehow managing to hold my own with them and all their lean-mean muscle. Matteo and Makenzie are to be wed this summer....
We spent a couple of days riding up to Vancouver with Stephen and his pop-up camper. Stephen is an ICU nurse, headed to Alaska to work in a hospital for a year . Stephen does all things athletic and outdoors. Running an ultra-marathon? Sure! Rock-climbing? Lots! Skiing? Crossfit? Cycling? Running? YES! He had prodigious energy and strength and a wonderful, kind personality to top it all off. We rolled through Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington together, putting about 1200miles under our belts in two days. We shared drinks, meals, gas, music, pee-stops, the camper... We couldn't have found a better partner to travel with. Thanks for the ride and the company Stephen! Whatever awaits you in your new life, I'm sure it will be the right thing--keep doing what you're doing and its all going to work out.
We bumped into Deborah twice. Once in front of the laundromat in Durango and once on the Milion Dollar Highway, just outside of Ouray where she stopped and gave us this beautiful magenta jar of pickled beets (delicious btw, thanks!) that her mom made. She was a gem. One of those people whose excitement is contageous... She made the insane drive that we took two days to do in two hours.
Friends since high-school. Biking misc through Colorado, super fit guys. You inspire us!! Stopped and helped get some photos of us riding Red Mountain Pass. While we were riding down with them to find a good location Zach's chain popped off and tangled all crazy around his crank-arms. Fixed in a jiffy, but scary. Thanks for the photos guys!
Pagosa Springs CO. These guys got us fixed up in no time. Thanks!
We were drinking really strong, tasty coffee at a little shop called Bread in Durango. Chrissy was there reading and eating a sandwich, she approached us when she saw our bikes and we talked shop for a while. She's a dancer and an acrobat and, it turns out INCREDIBLY STRONG. She invited us to her Silk's class that night (where you climb around on fabric and do insane things while dangling in the air) and it was so much fun. We could barely do any of the introductory moves, and we watched in awe as Chrissy and a couple of her more experienced students floated, dangled and fell through the air. The little kids were amazing too. We now have some inspiration for getting ripped, and we walked away with a couple of aero-yoga moves that we can do together....Unexpected fun is our favorite thing.
Cafe owners outdoor enthusiasts, lots of fun stuff going on. Jarrod is training for a 50 mile race (a running race that is...), Tracy is on her way to becoming a Sommelier, and they're headed to Colombia for some volunteering and adventuring this summer. Alpe, their very sweet boxer/sharpe made us miss Acer so much. They made us Naan pizza's on the grill and we frosted cupcakes and had a nice little pre-30 b-day candle-blowing for ME! Thanks for hosting us in Durango guys!
JR and MaGee picked us up on the side of the road. Let us climb in the back of their beat-up red pickup. Drove like hell through the mountains. Took us all around town until we found a bike shop. Hung out and waited while we figured the situation out. Let us buy them a couple of beers at the local watering hole while the wheel got fixed. Then drove us BACK to the bike shop. These guys were a good combo of mischief and warmth. Dear old friends that go back 60 years....
Boistrous. Cigarillo Puffing. Sweet As Can Be.
Sara gave us a ride out of the mountains into Chama, NM.
If you think we're hardcore--check out Brian! He's riding the Continental Divide Trail, OFFROAD. He's almost completely in the wilderness, and completely on dirt roads and trails. Check out the crazy Surly Pugsley he's riding. He rode into our campsite the night of the broken hub. He's from Rochester NY, turns out he knows the guy (Harvey Botzmann) that sold Zach his touring bike. Small world. We were going to be in a town that day so we were happy when Brian accepted our sardines, hard-boiled eggs and a can of beans...
Rosie is my little sister Sita's dear old friend. Rosie lives in Taos NM with her red-headed Asha (who is off fighting a wild-fire), and her big fluffy bear of a dog Abbey (named after the late, great, naturalist Edward Abbey). Rosie reminds me a lot of my sister, and I remind her of my sister too, so we're sisters of a kind--and though we've only met once before--its like we go way back. Today (Sat June 1) Zach, Rosie, Abbey and I are going to go for a drive/hike to check out some of the good things that Taos has to offer--mountain vistas, hot springs and beer. A good way to spend a Saturday.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.--E.A.
We met JR at the hotsprings after a windy 50 mile ride from Santa Fe. He beckoned us over to his van and loaded us up with sporty energy treats that he had left over from a supported-tour that he had just lead through the Santa Fe and Taos area for 6 days. Energy gels, bars and the like come in really handy for snacks on the road when we're sick of trailmix. Honey Stinger energy chews were especially awesome!
Bruce stopped to say hello at our campsite in Ojo Caliente, NM. Ojo is a tiny town with some wonderful mineral hot-springs right at the half way point between Santa Fe and Taos. Bruce hails from Prescott AZ, and has about 10,000 miles of touring under his belt. The last ride he took was last fall, down the west coast. He's starting up a business where he will be working on front forks....super sweet guy.
We stayed with Matt for 5 nights in his very cute little studio apartment in downtown Santa Fe, I felt like we could've stayed forever if we weren't careful....Programmer. Creative. Reader. Runner. Fellow North-Easterner. Helped fix my ugly weekly email! You know how some people are just familiar? Like you've known them forever but its just been a few days? Matt, you are an instant Old Friend, anytime you need anything, we're here!
Steven interruped his ride to greet us on the street in Santa Fe. He's been an avid cyclist for 60+ years. Wonderful, easy attitude--even invited us to stay at his place, what a nice guy! Tip: to keep your knees happy as you get older, gear down! Had lots of good tips about cycling in the area, maybe we'll have to take the high road to Taos after all...
Planning a week long tour in September, and sounds like some bigger trips are in the works! Checked out our gear and picked our brains for a little in REI when we stopped in for some supplies...
Victor stopped and picked us up just north of Las Cruces NM. We rode with him for two and a half hours to Soccoro, a funky little town in central New Mexico. New Mexico is giving us a distinctly good vibe! Victor studied physics and does programming (or something techy like that) at a science-y company. A lover of the great outdoors, a climber, a future cycle-tourist. Thanks for the ride and the good company!
Joe's been driving trucks for 30+years. He can tell you all the highways to take to get anywhere in the country. He picked us up at Love's Truck Stop in Van Horn TX, and dropped us in Las Cruces, NM. Doesn't usually pick up hitchikers, he said. His rig had a bed in it. Bouncy seats. Bug splattered windshield. Mini-electric cooler for keeping bottles of water cold. We had lunch at a really yummy mexican place just outside of El Paso--I had Huevos Rancheros. Zach had chicken tacos. Instant Nescafe. Water.
Post a Comment