SLO Tweed Ride 2012

The SLO Tweed Ride was just as fabulous as the last.

Less than 30 days!

As you all may have noticed, our little countdown has thinned from months to days. And with that, Brant and I had to put in our 30 days notice last Friday. Leaving this big beautiful green house and the intimate connections we have created with our 19 person family is probably going to be the hardest thing to leave behind. Within these old walls is the most sense of home we have ever felt since leaving our families many years ago. And so, like getting dropped off by our parents and set free at the dorms, our family here is sending us out into the big colorful world. Only 27 more days of house dinners, floor parties, early morning cribbage games, sunset clubs, movies in Bo's room, late night chats, and all the other silliness that abounds...

SteriPEN: Montezuma Has Had His Last Revenge

So much of our upcoming adventure is going to revolve around water. We are going to write about how communities attain their water; however, the beauty of our mobile education is that we are going to have to source water alongside these very communities.  As you all know, riding a bike sometimes makes you thirsty.  Because of this, I think that our work is going to be a very intimate experience--searching for clean water as we move throughout the different curvatures and cultures of the earth.

Most everyone, after hearing about what we are doing, is excited, but also a little scared for us. And most say, "You know, you're going to get sick," period. And yes, we will, despite all of the preventative vaccines, there will come a point where we will feel deep down under the weather.

So how shall we prepare for purifying water in the boonies of South East Asia?

This all brings me to our next point, our personal water purification system. We have been the lucky receivers of a Steripen sponsorship. Steripen is a a battery operated hand held UV sterilizer.  The pen uses the same UV that gives you cancer to disable those pesky bacterium that might result in rapid and frequent liquid expulsion.

Some people have made comment that once the batteries are dead, you're dead.  This point has been considered and we will be able to charge additional batteries on the road through the use of a dynamo front hub.  There will be more details on this power system in a later post.

Operation of the Steripen is simple: first unsheathe, then press the button twice to treat half a liter or once for a full liter.  When the ready light flashes green the unit is submerged in water and the light comes on.

A visible blue light indicates that treatment is taking place.  Simply swirl in the contaminated water until the light terminates.

Once treated, drink and enjoy, knowing that the water will stay down, ensuring proper hydration.

For our type of travel the real benefit of the Steripen over a traditional water filtration setup is the ability to quickly and discretely disinfect any suspect water no matter where we are.  We will no longer live by the montra of "Don't drink the water."  Thanks, Steripen.

Twins

"The Twins" are what Sara and Katie, long time friends and cycling buddies, call their bicycles with matching yellow Ortlieb panniers.

Brant received a phone call late yesterday afternoon from Katie and Sara looking for a place to camp or crash. The Warm Showers website directs a cyclist or two to our house every few months or so. We usually end up meeting wonderful people that have much to teach us and tell us of our future life on the road.

Katie and Sara are an unlikely cycling duo: in their forties, female, and from two distant continents. These women are an inspiration. They both have ridden the Trans America cycling route; and their current adventure began in Portland, OR, and will "end" in Baja California.

Katie is a retired military woman who grew up in Applegate, OR and Hawaii. Sara grew up in Thailand. After a horrific accident as an adolescent, Sara has pursued life with a fervor, and gushes a contagious positive attitude. She works in order to travel on her bike and wishes to live every moment of her life to the fullest. Sara invited Brant and I to stay with her and her relatives in Thailand; and we will most definitely take her up on it. (Although she can't guarantee she'll be back in Thailand by next year,  depending on the adventures she rigs up for herself; and in that case, she said she'll just tell us where the keys are!).

Katie and Sara only got to stay one night with us. This morning we made eggs together. And Brant escorted them out of town on his way to school.

What wonderful cycling goddesses these women are. I will never forget them.

Bikes to good homes

As the departure date nears our respective stables must be cleared.  Most of the bikes have found new owners close to home.

Kate, our tallest female housemate at 6'-1",  has obtained my Surly Pacer as her new everything bike.  Kate congratulations on the upgrade.

Ryan and Melissa are smitten with their new 1978 Santana that Lauren and I toured on last summer.  Set them up with a number of speciality tools to ensure that it will ride for many years to come.

Hannah, my brother's girlfriend, has absconded with Lauren's trusty touring stead and will be joining us for part of our US leg.

Kyle will be flying down mountain roads on his new Karate Monkey.  Don't worry Kyle you will get that wheelie soon.

I still have my Surly Steamroller up for adoption if any tall people are interested.

Our postings have slowed while we try to wrangle the remainder of our gear, I finish my last quarter of school and we tie up all of the loose ends in our SLO lives.  More exciting news to come about the new bikes and other projects.  Stay Tuned!

Easter fun

Happy Easter

Delinquent Bicycle

Brant's rebelious Surly Steamroller got into a bit of trouble with the law last night. The bad bad bike parked itself on a rack in an old vending machine area under a stairwell on the Cal Poly campus. University police apparently found this offensive. The impounded bicycle was in no ones way, on no handycap rails. Instead of paying the twenty dollar fine, Brant tried to free his bike and stand up to uptight bureaucracy. Twenty four hours later, after four noble tries to free the innocent victim, Brant still had to catch a ride to his one class at Cuesta, hitchhike home, and take the bus to school the next day.

Brant- 0,  UPD-4 (and twenty dollars). Sad day for Brant.

We are happy to say that the bike is back home safe, and far away from our protective services.