Item list

Trans American trek
Items to buy before trek across nation
Map/route
Bike-done
Helmet-done
Rear mirror on helmet
Fluorescent shirt...long sleve.-done
Cycling Shoes
Gloves- I have
Extra tubes x?,
pump-done
Chain fix kit-done
Tent-done
Knife-done
lighter-done
Sleepung bag-done
Panniers-done
Electronics...
Phone
Charger
Ear buds
Solar panel charger... Wind/solar
Extra battery for phone-done
Light...cygolight expilion 400 usb bike light $105. Rei or Urban light $120.00 BGI fitness.
Clothing...
Wind breakerand or long sleeve jersey-bright color(yellow)
Padded shorts x2
Long wind/water pants
Sunglasses
First aid kit.
Toiletries...
Toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, sunscreen, bandaid, antibiotic, steroid,
Previous riders... Www.gulfsouthsolar.com
Susie wheeldon
Dr. Jerry House M.D. WWW.sites.Google.?
   

Pamphlets and bracelets

The box of goodies came in!  Thanks to the Oral Cancer Foundation, I can spread the good cheer.  They sent me a box with buttons, maroon bracelets, and pamphlets with information in regards to oral cancer.  I will try and get some pictures of the items on this blog post.

Fellowship is still going strong.  I have little time to train for the ride this week due to meetings, surgery and a family reunion coming up this weekend.  I'll be back at it again next week though.

BIG Saturday

What a busy day we had yesterday!   We did oral cancer screenings at St. Vincent Hospital on 86th Street in Indy from 9:00am till 1:00pm.  We had 125 people scheduled.  All of the CENTA head and neck surgeons and a couple of residents were there to screen.  I saw around 19 people with 4 of them needing follow up biopsies for suspicious lesions.  In comparison to our previous screening a few months ago, only 1 of 60 needing further investigation.  I would say today was a great success.

After the screenings, I headed over to another hospital to do a consult with my 4 year old son Chase.  The nurses were great, giving him graham crackers and milk.  The latter ended up all over the trunk of the van.  Spills...just part of life.  He was a trooper. We celebrated by going to Carl's Junior and then on to REI.

The biggest sale of the year for the retailer REI is going on now!  From the 18th till the 25th, I believe.  So, since I will be gone next weekend for a family reunion, I took full advantage of my Saturday off.  Thank you Dr. Chmieluska for taking call this weekend! So, like a woman, I spent just under 4 hours at the store.  My wife sacrificed a good couple of hours of her own time for this to happen.  I selfishly spent the time goggling over rows and rows of equipment and supplies.  I learned all I could about the R factors on sleeping mats and down fill power (with ranges from about 175 cm3/g for feather to around 900cm3/g for the highest quality) and comfort level (EN13537) in sleeping bags.  The staff was, as always, super helpful and easy to work with.  Who wouldn't spend hours there when possible?

So the purchases of yesterday...

1 sleeping bag

1 REI sleeping air mat

2 Novara bike bottle cages

1 saddle balm :)

1 set of panniers

1 pair of pants with zip away legs

Total spent = A LOT!!!  Sponsors anyone??  :)

Brooks Saddle

My bike saddle came today!  Hooray!  First of all, I have recently learned that they are not called bicycle seats, but rather "saddles".  From what all the experienced riders kept telling me, the hard leather saddle is the way to go.  The only problem is getting them broken in.  You can buy one that is "broken in" from the store for about $99.  I decided to go the ebay route for a used one hence, already broken in.  I won the bidding and it came in today.  Without delay, I attached it and went on a brief ride with the kids in tow.  Verdict to come...

Kyle also had a pleasant surprise today.  His bike finally came in (about time!).  It's a sleek looking stallion of a bike.  Made by Diamondback.  It was a fun chore to assemble from the box...he's still making minor adjustments as he test drives her.  Not a touring bike, so it will be interesting to figure placement of packs on it.

Thursday...surgery day

After a full day of surgery and rounding on patients, I couldn't wait to get out to enjoy the beautiful weather.

So, after coming home and chowing down some delicious  pepperoni pizza (dinner of champions) with a salad soaked with Olive Garden dressing, I went for a ride.  I only went 8.37 miles, but was toting 50+ lbs of dead weight in a kid's bike trailer.  Emma and Chase gladly obliged to give me the resistance training I needed.

Here is a pic of two tired kids I took on a spin over the weekend.  I can't think of a better place to take a nap. :)

And so we begin...

Welcome!  This is it. This is where the blogging will happen. We're set to begin our transcontinental bike trek on July 2.  We'll begin in D.C. and end up in California, as of now.  We're hopeful it'll take us 40 days (or less) to complete.  We're in the preparation phase at the moment.  Mapping our course, purchasing equipment and supplies, spreading the word and then there's training.  It has been minimal up to this point as I've been studying for oral boards but those are now over and it's time to pick up the pace.  My life still isn't conducive to rigorous training because of the hours demanded of me at work, but I do what I can and I'm confident we'll be ready for the challenge come the beginning of July.  I started out early last month on my mountain bike.  I rode for about 2 hours and it took a week to get over the pain in my buttocks.  Even with slicks on the tires, it was a rough go.  I fortunately placed slicks on my bike this past year.  Reason being, my knobby tires blew out on my last mountain biking expedition with Dr. Mike Shaw (ENT and avid mountain biker in Tulsa).  Yes, I have never owned a road bike, just grew up in the gorgeous mountains of Grand Junction, Colorado where knobby tires were all you needed...or so I felt. When I was a kid, there was a race that went over the Colorado National Monument called the "Tour of the Moon".  My friends and I had a hobby of collecting the bottles thrown off by cyclists and keeping them as trophies.  I still have a few of those bottles back at my parent's house.  I never saw the joy in road biking because there were no jumps in the road.  Not until recently, have I picked up the love and appreciation of sailing along the asphalt with the joy of going faster than 5mph. My new touring bike, isn't she sleek?