Hey, hello?

…is this on…?

…testing, testing…

Oh, there you are. So let’s get going.

The 103 day Side2Side transcontinental U.S. bicycle ride that I will start off on a week from tomorrow is just under 5,000 miles/8,000 kilometers long.

I will ride an average of just over 56 miles/90 km each day I am on the road, six days out of seven each week. The ride is unsupported and will have me camping 75-80% of the overnights. I’m 66 years old- will turn 67 during the ride- and, at 260 pounds/118 kg, am a Clydesdale rider. My bike, a 2016 Surly Disc Trucker with a Rohloff Speedhub, will weigh in fully loaded at just over 100 pounds/45 kg.

I will be joined somewhere in the Dakotas by a friend, Deano Thiele, who will ride with me from that point most of the rest of the way to the end. He and I will part ways in Albany, New York, as he has plans there. At other points in the ride I hope to be joined by other friends for shorter distances, and if you are reading this and find yourself along the route with time on your hands on the day in question, consider yourself invited to do just that.

In posts over the next several I’ll give you some background information about me, my bike and the gear I’m carrying and will describe the route in detail. Thanks for following along.