Pemequid Point

This is the lighthouse on the back on the Maine Quarter. Very beautiful!





I'm at the Bremen Public Library headed for Rockland.

Falmouth to Wiscasset

I'm in the Wiscasset Public Library heading down to South Bristol and Pemequid Point before heading up to Rockland. I'll probably land close to there for the night. ~B

A Cornflake Explained

Tego Video Removed

From the Top

I'm in the library in Brunswick. What a nice town. More on that later...

On the Road...

Where do I begin? OK, I'm sitting in the Public Library in Biddeford Maine. This is my sixth day on the road and I finally managed to find a library to get caught up on everything "internet". The trip up to now has been amazing. I actually haven't been much in the mood to write or read or photograph or anything except ride and manage the day to day requirements of life on the road. When I first set out last Thursday it was with, I thought, too much stuff and too little planning. I managed to pear down a lot of the extras before actually leaving town and soon discovered that the planning part could not have been any more detailed than I had done. I have everything that I seem to need with me, a few luxuries, but mostly I feel like I got that part of it right. As you can see from Tego's video, I've got quite a load, in fact I ended up having to replace my rear wheel yesterday after popping 9 of the spokes from the weight. I'm good to go wheel-wise now and I've managed to streamline and adjust my load nicely.

The first night I made camp just outside of Keene. It took me longer that expected to make my way out of town and to say goodbye for now to my friends in Keene. I found a great spot on top of a granite wall on Route 9 to settle for the night. After hauling my bike up the hill to the top and pulling my tent out to set up, it started to pour...go figure. Otherwise it ended up being a good night.I had a hard time getting up in the morning, but was ready for the days ride and felt really good about what I was doing. The second night I stayed in a well placed campground in Hopkinton NH where I greatly enjoyed a hot shower and got some laundry done in addition to having a nice campfire before turning in.My plan has always been to stick to the more rural routes and Old Concord Road which follows Rt 9 from Keene to Concord is just beautiful. I was so impressed with the stretch from Hillsboro thru Henniker to Hopkinton along the Contoocook River is remarkable. Quinticential New England. On day three I made it to Concord to the NH State Capital which was nice enough, I really like being outside of cities if I can help it, but the Capital was nice. Night three was one of my favorites. I camped at the edge of a beautiful beaver pond in a state park in Northwood NH. I brough my little Grundig AM/FM radio with me and my iPod ear buds so while the Red Sox were fading in and out of reception, I came across a perfectly clear station playing Modern English - I Melt With You. I LOVE that song! That started the dance party in my tent.

I'm out of time. More later. It gets better!!!!

Big Yellow Truck

The apartment is all but empty, except for a few of the big items. Doug is on the way home from work and will be helping me finish loading the big yellow truck. I got some help today from Jeff and Cheryl who live in the apartment on the other side of my living room wall. They were amazed by how huge my apartment was and I got a tour of their place and was equally amazed. Seeing their apartment put a slightly different spin on my own place. I have a feeling this experience will challenge a lot of my long held perceptions. Like shaking the snow globe, I think I'll need the snow to settle a bit before I'll can see things clearly again. I got a call to help with some internet issues at the dealership this morning. I feel bad telling the manager at my old job that they needed to call this or support line, something that I'd usually handle. Did I mention that they were stupid to get rid of me? But then again, If they hadn't you wouldn't be reading this, now would you?

Still a go for Thursday morning. Tego is seeing me off, she's coming over at 8:30 to film my thoughts on the Harmony and my experience living on top of it for so long. She wants a riding off into the sunset shot. I'll put up the youtube link when it's ready.

Packing up the Mac now. My next post will be from the road. Happy Trails! ~B

5x10 ain't as big as you'd think...

I've decided to hold onto some stuff, actually enough to set up an apartment when I finally land. When I went up to the storage facility today and lifted the door on my 5x10 unit, I discovered that 5x10 is really really small. It didn't help that it was also eight inches shy of five feet. I went online and found a 10x15 unit in Bernardston for only six bucks more per month. I'll deal with it all tomorrow. It occurred to me today that I am clearly conflicted about my original plan to want to chuck everything and just hit the road. I'm inclined to think that it was a combination of sour grapes and the obvious anxiety from having to deal with an apartment full of stuff. Even in the best of circumstances, I struggle with this sort of thing. OK, so I can justify $75 a month for just the peace of mind that I took the sensible approach. The idea of giving it all away and taking a pay-it-forward approach is still tugging at me, but I'll keep that option in reserve for the time being. I finally moved all of my long accumulated recycling up to the recycling center by the high school. I had a ton! My friend Doug has always enjoyed reminding me that "It's not recycling until you take it somewhere". Well, it's finally done.

So the official departure date is Thursday, May 22nd at 10:00AM (Indiana Jones opens the night before). First stop: Keene NH to get a last hug for the road from a few friends, then up route 9 towards Concord. I got some really nice bicycling maps from the NH Department of Tourism that will come in handy in getting me off the main roads. I'm planning on using as many rural routes as possible. I'm not at all a fan of traffic noise, much less having to constantly keep one eye in the rearview mirror. I did some more work on the bike today and made another adjustment that will allow me some additional cargo capacity. Space is really tight but I have just enough as long as I stay organized. The food situation has been bothering me too. I picked up a dehydrated meal by Mountain House and had it the other day at my Sisters. My three nieces and I shared the meal, we had four spoons digging into the same foil pouch. Well it turns out that the meal was great, but the 2 portion package contained 2600 milligrams of sodium. Why??? OK, Mountain House is out! I am now experimenting with a nice salmon, rice, and vegetable meal that I can do for under $4 and only takes about 15 minutes to prepare. I'll post the recipe once I have it perfected.

Here's a photo with my Nieces taken on one of my test runs down to Massachusetts. We made hot chocolate with my new stove:

The Price of Admission

Riding down to Massachusetts yesterday afternoon it all seemed to fall into place. I was on one of my overnight test runs, loaded down with everything I'm taking on the trip, and it just seemed to be the best thing I could have been doing on the planet at that moment. The sound of the tires and the gears humming along, the knowledge that I was carrying everything I'd need to make my way out into the world, the beautiful New England scenery moving by, and the lightness and fluidity in my body all gave me the sense that I was onto something great. The fear and hesitation I've been experiencing is simply the price of admission for what is about to come. My test trips are proving invaluable in making me better at what I'll be doing full-time in a few short days. I know I'll continue tweaking on the road, but it'll be great to know that when I roll out of Brattleboro, I'll be ready, at least for the expected, and actually some of the unexpected. My Mom made me a really nice first aid kit that I picked up last night on my way up to Amy's where I was camping. My Mom's experience as a nurse, as well as being the mother of five, made her the perfect person to go to for help. We got a fair amount of rain last night so it was a good opportunity to work out the rainy day issues. The ride back up to Brattleboro wasn't actually rainy, but I was ready for it none the less. The only thing with rain gear is that when it's not actually raining, it's just uncomfortably hot and sticky.

OK, so here's what I'm taking...

BIKE:
- Raleigh Mojave 8.0 Mountain Bike
- WTB SLICKasaurus 26x1.5 tires
- Axion Champlain Journey Series Paniers with Axiom Rack
- Topeak QR Beam Rack MTX with MTX Trunk Bag
- Topeak TourGuide Handlebar Bag
- Novara Bar Top Handlebar Bag
- HydraPak Big Sur Hydration Backpack
- Cateye Velo 8 Cyclometer
- Topeak Redlight Series Blinking Tail Light
- Shimano Clipless Pedals
- Specialized Cycling Shoes with Shimano Cleats
- Specialized A1 Dirt Rodz Bar Ends - centrally mounted
- Mirrycle MTB Bar End Mirror
- Alcatraz Cable Bicycle Lock
- O2 RainWear Jacket
- Red Legde Rain Pants
- Crank Bros M17 Multi Tool
- Auto Mall Custom License Plate Front Fender
- Bell Solar Helmet
- Specialized Gel Bike Gloves
- Topeak Mini MasterBlaster Tire Pump
- Mace Muzzle Dog Repellant Spray

CAMP:
- The North Face Talus 2-Person Tent - Lot's of room for the packs
- EMS Down Sleeping Bag - 20 degree rating
- ThermaRest Trail Inflatable Mattress
- Byer Amazonas Parachute Traveller Hammock
- Jetboil PCS Stove with additional fuel canisters
- PUR Hiker Water Purifier
- KleanKanteen 40oz Stainless Water Bottle
- Gerber Suspension Multi Tool
- Pro Rainer PVC Rain Poncho
- Corona Razor Tooth Saw
- Princeton Tec Solo Headlamp
- Quisinart 2qt. Stainless Bowl for laundry and bathing
- Stainless Camping Utensil Set
- Custom Clothes Line
- Ace Hardware 2" (Latrine) Shovel
- Eagle Creek Tent Locks (2)

PHOTO:
- Sony DCS R-1 10MP Digial Camera
- Rollei 35SE 35mm Camera with Ilford HP5 Black and White Film

PHONE:
- US Cellular LG VX4400 Cell Phone (2) with Six Batteries

MISC:
- Grundig Mini300 AM/FM/SW Radio
- One Huge Cornflake! (more on this later)...

~B

All Things in Moderation

The bike's ready to go. Just a few more tweaks at the bike shop on the gears and a couple of fresh slime tubes to be installed, oh yeah and a nice bright orange reflective triangle like the Amish have on the back of their wagons. I've been making slow, but steady, progress on cleaning out my apartment. It's been at times painfully hard to accept the fact that I'll be leaving this place. Eleven years is a long time to establish patterns and habits and to grow fond of a place. What I'm working on now is the decision of whether or not to procure a storage unit for the stuff I decide to keep. If I had a crystal ball, I could see myself in the not to distant future standing in a different apartment wishing I still had my bed or my utensils or my something to sit on. As I mention this it occurs to me that the nicest piece of furniture that I own is a handmade bureau whose primary function is to hold the clothes that I'm pretty OK about giving away. I'm just thinking about what happens when I decide to set up a home again. I've never just gone off like this so I have no way of knowing what it might be like to actually stay away for a while. I can feel myself desperately holding onto what is safe and familiar. Yesterday I started segregating my stuff, one pile for definitely getting rid of, and one that I "might" keep. I have a feeling that once I have the actual contents of my hypothetical 5x10 storage unit all laid out, I'll have a better shot at making the decision. It's the fear of the unknown in combination with my easy distractibility that's slowing my progress. Like the ride to Nova Scotia, it's one step (or mile) at a time. OK, that's enough whining. I'm heading downstairs for coffee with my neighbor Deanna. Photo's and bike and camping inventory and maybe some words on cornfake to follow...

Genesis

OK, where do I begin?

I didn't get the Director's position at In-Sight. They went with an adjunct professor from Rochester. Sounds like a great choice, but I'm still bummed.

I lost my day job at Auto Mall. They downsized 5 positions. Shitty economy. Last day is Friday, May 8th.

I'm leaving for Nova Scotia as soon as I can clean out my apartment, probably next weekend. I'm giving it up and selling or giving away anything that won't fit on my bike (except my Mac, some photos, and a road bike that I'll store at my folks house. I know it sounds a little crazy, but I'm using the proceeds from the sale of my car and my stuff to settle my obligations and give me a fresh start. I need to have all my loose ends tied up and don't want to be worrying about anything behind me.

I was talking with friends about the likelihood of going out on the road and experiencing what will truly be amazing and life changing, and then coming back to resume my life in my apartment and getting a job at another dealership. It just ain't gonna happen. When I get back to my apartment I'll be a couple grand in debt and then what? If I give up the apartment, I have options, a lot more options. I could stay on the road for the whole summer. Maybe I'll end up landing somewhere that needs a me more than Brattleboro. Maybe I'm looking for my next home. I won't know 'til I do it.

I watched "Into the Wild" a few nights ago. Soooo fitting for me with what lies ahead (except for the dying in the wilderness part). One thing that I got from it was that money and possessions make you cautious, it's true. I need to be free of that kind of caution right now if I'm going to find what I'm seeking.

How this will effect life in Brattleboro is yet to be determined. I won't really know until I'm well on my way.