May 7, 2006 Today I visited with the Margaretville Central School (MCS) morning program, a group of students in grades K - 2. Mr. Cohen's and Mrs. Underwood's 5th graders were there also. I discussed some basic issues of bicycle safety and then discussed my trip. I outlined the basic route on a map of the US and emptied B.O.B., short for (Beast Of Burden, BOB) to show the stuff that would sustain my ride comfortably across the country. The 5th graders are going to plot my progress in an activity called, Where in the US is Mr. Porter. They are doing studies on the states as a part of their Social Studies. I am pleased that my trip may help them better understand the geography of the US.

I came to the realization that loading BOB with gear strapped to the top of it creates handling problems for the bike that I will not be happy with. As I tried to move my bike, Aurora, around the gym with BOB attached, I found it to be extremely cumbersome and top heavy. I have thought long and hard and have decided to pack clothes in a compression sack, at Jed's suggestion to reduce the bulk of clothing. I am also going to rely on clothing to add extra warmth at night in the event of cold instead of a blanket. I also took out my fairly heavy rain gear and am replacing it with lighter weight gear from Campmor. I was pleased with the comfort and efficiency of my Outhere gear, but the bulk and weight issues were too large to ignore. Those three moves alone have made it possible to get nearly everything in BOB. Even with those changes, I still have no place to carry food. Solution, I have decided to add storage to the front of Aurora with a low-boy rack and small front panniers. They will have immediate needs like rain gear and mechanical stuff at the ready. There will also be room for food. Gotta eat, you know. I feel much better today about my situation. I have not really reduced my load, but have distributed it better so that with the new gearing, I will travel much better.

May 9, 2006 Today is packing day. All the planning and readiness for the big ride are complete. My bike is packed in its box ready for shipping. All my gear is sitting in the dining room ready to be put in its appropriate place in the large shipping box. I did a final shake-down ride with BOB loaded today. Rode over Palmer Hill to Andes and down the Tremperskill and back home. The new gearing was fine, at least I could make the hill with a gear to spare. As time goes by I will get stronger and hills can get bigger. I had to modify the rear Raleigh fender that Phil O'Bierne gave me because it caught on BOB and made all sorts of noise. It was easy as the mechanics at MCS helped with the process. It is good to have access to the proper tools. It is amazing how nice the fenders match the paint scheme of Aurora. Thanks Phil. I got my new rain gear today and it will be a huge savings in space and weight. I did wear the Smartex rain pants I was going to take today and they were exceptionally comfortable and efficient at blocking the cold wind. I hope I am not sorry I didn't pack them also. I guess that is what the mail is for.

May 10, 2006 Well if there was ever a preliminary commitment date, this is it. My bike and stuff are on the way. The only way out is to have it shipped home or go there and drive it home. The ultimate commitment date is when we push off from Anacortes and head east. I grow more excited and edgy as the days go by. It is going to be riding single on the tandem whenever Becky cannot go with me. Wednesday will be my last ride day until I get to Issaquah and get my bike out and put together. I can resort to using the gym for come cardio but in nice weather that is not so great. It is going to be a great experience. Just planning and getting stuff together has been interesting and a learning process. Really, I have not had a big problem planning what to take because of past experience and Jed's help. He seems to think I have done a pretty good job prepping. Thanks for your help and advice Jed.____________************

May 12, 2006 I am still learning about wiki stuff. Bob T. just made this journal look like I want it to after I could not get it to get rid of the boxes around the day's entries. Today is rainy, we really need it. I have taken time to do stuff around the house and play with this site. With my bike gone, I have resorted to going to the gym or riding the tandem. If any one is interested, I will be getting mail drops in Cut Bank, MT 59427 anywhere from June6 - June 30 and in Stillwater, MN 55082 from June 30 - July 28. To get mail c/o general delivery any more you have to tell the post office in your selected town to expect mail and what dates you will want it held for. I guess it is an offshoot of terrorism stuff. It is a pain but I guess we can live with it. Both Jay and Charles are going to use my name and gen. del. address to get mail from home as well. There will be a third address for stuff but I will wait to make sure we use that route. No bear dream last night. Hopefully I am past that. 6 days until the flight to Seattle.

May 18, 2006 Arrived in Seattle after getting up at 3:30am in Albany and heading to the airport. Met Jay in Philly and flew to Seattle. The flight was good. I saw Mt. Rushmore as we flew by. The Rocky Mt. and Cascades were FULL of snow. We flew past the 3 sisters, Mt. Hood, Adams and St. Helens and also Mt. Rainier. To the right side of the plane was Mt. Baker. You could see the crater of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The weather is beautiful here, 80 and sunny. Jay and I tested our camp pads by taking a nap on Hewitt's lawn. We have our bikes back together. There was some distress on my bike from shipping and I hope it doesn't need to have shop attention before we leave. Even though the box looked unharmed the bike had been jostled quite a bit and the handlebar tape was torn up some. I may get that redone as soon as possible after once we are on the road. Can't wait to get started. Charles comes on Sunday and we will be pedaling off east on Monday. We will be travelling with the outlook that every pedal stroke gets us one stroke closer to home.

May 20, 2006 Today dawned damp and cool. It had rained most of yesterday and Jay and I had ridden 20+ hilly miles to shake down our bikes. It rained all night, not hard but steadily. We had talked about a ride today with Gump. As it was raining, we decided it was not raining so much that we could not get the ride in. We dressed for cool, damp conditions and headed to a local bike trail where we could ride as long and hard as we felt needed. The weather cleared and got really nice for riding. We took off the rain gear and headed out for a 20 - 30 mile ride. Lots of people were out enjoying the day. It was busy so we had to be careful much of the time, much the same as the Silver Comet Trail in Atlanta. At 10 miles we ate lunch at a Russian deli. All books and tapes were in Russian. Food was good and we left to do some more miles. 7 miles later we turned around to head back to the car. We had passed a couple 3 times who were roller blading, the last time was at about 24 miles for them. They were training for a roller marathon somewhere locally. I can't imagine rolling 26 miles on them but then again, I am going to roll almost 4000 on 3 wheels (don't forget BOB is behind me). I guess we have to put things in perspective. I have started packing my front panniers. One will be tools and rain gear. The other will be food. Most of the food is of the emergency kind It will keep a long time and not spoil so we can use it in the event that we cannot get fresh food. Tonight will be laundry night. It is surprising how long 3 days of clothes can last on the air-a-day wear-a-day plan. But even that has its limitations. We best take the opportunity to do wash while we can. Charles still has not called about his arrival time so we are waiting for that call. His box of gear came yesterday so we know he, like us, is committed. Will enter again tomorrow as preparation will be all done and the departure time is at hand.

May 21, 2006 Well departure day is about upon us. Charles arrived today after a traumatic day with his bike. He got to the airport and Delta had discontinued its supply of bike boxes to customers. He had to scramble around at Home Depot to find one, go home and dismantle it, pack it and get back to the airport for the next scheduled flight from Atlanta. He made it and is ready. The weather today was nice until this evening and we had some heavy rain with thunder, a rarity here. I may try to get a picture in thewiki tonight if I feel adventurous. Bob T. wants to see something more than words. To be honest, I have not taken many yet. The one to be added will be of our hosts, the Hewitts. Having a comfortable place to stay and get ready has been wonderful. They deserve a place in the journal. Mike, I put some picture editing instructions in the comments section and I made this picture smaller but saved the original full sized version. - Bob

To read more about the journey click on the link below to the next section of online journal.

Anacortes, WA to Sandpoint, ID