And so it begins (mile 0)

Before I leave on my journey. Notice that I am still clean, that won't last long.

I am now packing up all of my stuff and getting it onto the bike. I guess I have a lot more stuff than I originally thought... I have weighed most of the stuff that I am taking with me and it all adds up to about 115-120 pounds (depending on how much food and stuff I have with me). So adding on my body weight, all together, I will be dragging about 280 pounds. I am going to try to do a few rides before I head out but I haven't had a whole lot of luck with the weather. And you may be saying, you'll have to bike in bad weather on the trip. That’s very true, but I also don't think that I want to start out the journey sick. The first ride I tried with all of the weight felt very strange. When I got back, I realized that one of the wheels on my trailer wasn't even in the housing; I think the weight of the stuff was the only thing that kept the wheel on the trailer. That would have really hurt if it came off.

So I am leaving on a train on Monday night, leaving from St. Paul, Minnesota and arriving 36 hours later in Everett Washington. I will arrive around 8:30 in the morning, and after I set up my bike, I will be driven to my starting point in Anacortes WA. I will bike about 25 miles to Mount Vernon where I will be spending the night at one of my mom's old friend's houses. The first real day is going to be about 70 miles to the base of the cascades before I climb the first major incline the next day.

This is crazy, I knew I wanted to do this but I didn't think that it was actually going to happen. Its very exciting but scary at the same time just because of the unknown aspects. I am usually the kind of person who likes to plan everything out. So doing something like this that I don't know how my body is going to react, or how long it is going to take, or who I will meet is pretty nerve racking. But, then I think how it will feel when I reach one of the peaks in mountains, or how it will feel to be going through the planes with no around for miles, and I smile.

I will try to keep everyone updated whenever possible. Again, be sure to send me your addresses if you want a postcard from somewhere along the way.

Introduction

Hey everyone,

So I decided to start a blog so that I have a place to post updates about my cycling adventure across this great country. If you haven't heard, I am planning a solo bicycle trip from Anacortes Washington to St. Paul, Minnesota. Its kinda funny how this all started. I was pretty much sitting in a coffee shop, doing some work, and I thought to myself that I needed to take an adventure. So I decided that I was going to do this trip. And so I am! All I have to do now, is finish and pass an English literature class to fulfill my last prerequisite for school in the fall.

My train leaves from Minneapolis on June 9th. I will be traveling for 35 hours till I reach Everett WA where I am going to try to meet up with my rout. I got my maps recently in the mail from AdventureCycling.com and they look pretty tough. The rout is about 2,300 miles and I am expecting it to take me about a month and a half. My rout is taking me through the cascades, through Glacier National Park, into Canada, through North Dakota, and into Minnesota.While traveling, I am going to be aiming for an average of 60 miles per day. I will be camping along the way, and making my meals on a small propane strove. I need to be back by the very beginning of August because orientation for the University of Minnesota Med School starts on the 6th and I have to move in to my new apartment before that.

I am expecting that I won't have a whole lot of access to a computer but i will have a fair bit of time to write people at night. Therefore, I will try to update this blog when I can, but if you want a more personalized greeting, I need to get people's addresses. Send them to DanielEStein@gmail.com. Wish me luck!