Well I have safely made it up to Houghton... The UP is BEAUTIFUL!! I am really excited for the picturesque sights on the way home.
I'm also pretty darn nervous/anxious. This is a BIG trip, especially to be doing alone. Fortunately, I have lots of supportive friends and family, so I know I'll pull through.
Anyhow, tomorrow's the big day! I'm about to make a quick run to the local bike shop and pick up some last minute things. I'll eat well today, sleep well tonight, and tomorrow I ride!!!! Wish me luck!
I won't be posting during my trip, because my internet will be unpredictably sparse. But I will be updating my Twitter - Zachnificent - because it has a cool mobile feature in that I can send Twitter a text message and it will update, or "tweet", my status. That means I can send a text/tweet even if I don't have service, but as soon as I do it will go through and update. So if you have Twitter, check it out. If not, I'll post here when I get back :)
Here we go! Have a great couple of weeks!
-Zach
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Adventure on the Horizon
Sooooo in a week and two days I'll be departing on an almost 650-mile bike trip.
My brother lives in the northern U.P. and leaves his small two-door car down here during the winter where we don't get twice the height of his car in snow. Since I don't own a car, I "take care" of it during the winter (meaning, I mostly let it sit in the driveway and collect snow).
Anyway, like usual, he wants it back for the summer. However, UNlike usual, he's not coming down to retrieve it. So I'm taking it up to him. No problem. But once I get up there, I need to get back home. There aren't any trains up there, busses are stupid expensive, and all of his friends are already down here by the time I get up there... Problem?
Nope! I have a bike! :)
So I'll drive up there a week from tomorrow, spend a day with him, and leave the next day. Here's what my itinerary looks like right now:
My brother lives in the northern U.P. and leaves his small two-door car down here during the winter where we don't get twice the height of his car in snow. Since I don't own a car, I "take care" of it during the winter (meaning, I mostly let it sit in the driveway and collect snow).
Anyway, like usual, he wants it back for the summer. However, UNlike usual, he's not coming down to retrieve it. So I'm taking it up to him. No problem. But once I get up there, I need to get back home. There aren't any trains up there, busses are stupid expensive, and all of his friends are already down here by the time I get up there... Problem?
Nope! I have a bike! :)
So I'll drive up there a week from tomorrow, spend a day with him, and leave the next day. Here's what my itinerary looks like right now:
Day 1 (5/5)
Houghton to L'anse - 31 miles
Day 2 (5/6)
L'anse to Marquette - 74.2 Miles (105.2)
Day 3 (5/7)
Marquette to Munising - 42 Miles (147.2)
Day 4 (5/8)
*Camping in Pictured Rocks for a couple nights :)
Day 5 (5/9)
Munising to Manistique - 48.3 miles (195.5)
Day 6 (5/10)
Manistique to St. Ignace - 70.3 miles (265.8)
Day 7 (5/11)
St. Ignace to Charlevoix - 77.4 miles (343.2)
Day 8 (5/12)
Charlevoix to TC - 52.3 miles (395.5)
Day 9 (5/13)
TC to Onekama - 48.8 miles (444.3)
Day 10 (5/14)
Onekama to Muskegon - 92.4 miles (536.7)
Day 11 (5/15)
Muskegon to South Haven - 76 miles (612.7)
Day 12 (5/16)
South Haven to Kalamazoo - 40.2 miles (653.9)
Average daily distance = 59.4 miles
I'm working on the gathering everything I need (luckily I have a some really cool friends who are lending me most of the things I need!). Planning this at the same time as finals week for school is sort of a pain in the butt! Oh well, it's gonna happen and things will go off smoothly, I'm sure!
Wish me luck!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Spring!
The weather outside is awesome. I am so happy for warmer weather. (despite the increased wetness due to rain. Oh well)
Anyway, in the spirit of everyone fixing up bikes for the summer season, here is probably the best youtube video of all time:
"Don't Know Much About Bikes"
Enjoy.
Anyway, in the spirit of everyone fixing up bikes for the summer season, here is probably the best youtube video of all time:
"Don't Know Much About Bikes"
Enjoy.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Jake and the Zach (The Fable Aesop forgot).
Question to ponder: What do you get when you cross two metal bikes with road pavement?
So I learned a lesson about biking last night. A pretty important one. It involves riding with others/in groups.
First, the background story...
Last night, some friends of mine and I were treating ourselves to the glorious night spots in this glorious city. We finished dinner and whatnot at the first place and decided to venture out to a second location for dessert (but instead, we just ended up eating more delicious food!). My housemate, Jake, and I rode our bikes, and the others walked/drove. So Jake and I bundled up and headed out. So far so good.
This city isn't too huge, and there aren't too many ways to get from point A to point B. I was taking the route I thought was shortest, and without objecting, Jake simply followed my lead. We were talking, laughing, etc. as we rode and it didn't even occur to either of us to check with the other which route we were taking.
Fast forward to almost the end of the short trip. We're practically just out front of our next destination. Jake and I are riding through an intersection. I assume that he knows that the entrance of this place is on the crossroad, so without asking, I turn left. Jake wasn't turning left. But Jake was on my left. See a problem? As I turned, I collided with Jake. We both have drop handlebars, which suddenly were very intimately cuddling with each other. I can't unhook. Jake can't unhook. Jake starts falling to his left. I am pulled very closely behind aaaaand <insert the sound of metal-clashing-with-metal and metal-scraping-pavement = the answer to your question> kachow! Within a short second, Jake and I went from being upright and next to each other to being on our side and next to each other, sliding along the pavement.
Save for an insignificant elbow scrape and some cosmetic paint/metal gouges on our bikes (mostly mine), we're perfectly fine. Luckily.
The moral of the story, folks, is this:
(as Aesop might say it) Communicate not, ride not.
English: Communication among riders is essential to a safe group ride!
Our "falling out", if you will, originated with my assumption that Jake knew where we were going --> mistake #1. Then I proceeded both not to ask him if he knew, or to tell him where to go/my intentions --> mistake #2. Then we collided.
But we were okay, and enjoyed a great time at the Beer Exchange (a beautiful, fun and cool new place that just opened downtown - go check it out if you haven't yet!) followed by a beautiful, snowy ride home. We made it home without any collisions.
In the end,
"This time we got lucky. Next time we'll communicate!" :)
Safe riding to you all! Thanks for reading!
So I learned a lesson about biking last night. A pretty important one. It involves riding with others/in groups.
First, the background story...
Last night, some friends of mine and I were treating ourselves to the glorious night spots in this glorious city. We finished dinner and whatnot at the first place and decided to venture out to a second location for dessert (but instead, we just ended up eating more delicious food!). My housemate, Jake, and I rode our bikes, and the others walked/drove. So Jake and I bundled up and headed out. So far so good.
This city isn't too huge, and there aren't too many ways to get from point A to point B. I was taking the route I thought was shortest, and without objecting, Jake simply followed my lead. We were talking, laughing, etc. as we rode and it didn't even occur to either of us to check with the other which route we were taking.
Fast forward to almost the end of the short trip. We're practically just out front of our next destination. Jake and I are riding through an intersection. I assume that he knows that the entrance of this place is on the crossroad, so without asking, I turn left. Jake wasn't turning left. But Jake was on my left. See a problem? As I turned, I collided with Jake. We both have drop handlebars, which suddenly were very intimately cuddling with each other. I can't unhook. Jake can't unhook. Jake starts falling to his left. I am pulled very closely behind aaaaand <insert the sound of metal-clashing-with-metal and metal-scraping-pavement = the answer to your question> kachow! Within a short second, Jake and I went from being upright and next to each other to being on our side and next to each other, sliding along the pavement.
Save for an insignificant elbow scrape and some cosmetic paint/metal gouges on our bikes (mostly mine), we're perfectly fine. Luckily.
The moral of the story, folks, is this:
(as Aesop might say it) Communicate not, ride not.
English: Communication among riders is essential to a safe group ride!
Our "falling out", if you will, originated with my assumption that Jake knew where we were going --> mistake #1. Then I proceeded both not to ask him if he knew, or to tell him where to go/my intentions --> mistake #2. Then we collided.
But we were okay, and enjoyed a great time at the Beer Exchange (a beautiful, fun and cool new place that just opened downtown - go check it out if you haven't yet!) followed by a beautiful, snowy ride home. We made it home without any collisions.
In the end,
"This time we got lucky. Next time we'll communicate!" :)
Safe riding to you all! Thanks for reading!
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