We Have a PLAN.

Ladies and gentlemen, the route you've all been waiting for with bated breath:

Chicago: Lansing, MI: Sault Ste Marie: Toronto: Montreal: Quebec City.

~1200 miles of awesomeness, excellent iPod mixes, plus 1 actual, factual military-issued Meal Ready to Eat, vegetarian burger with bbq flavor (megan is more excited about the MRE than melissa is).

If you know excellent roadside attractions or campsites or people along this path who are sweet and might like to feed us or let us borrow their showers, please toss us a note in the comments section.

Cannot. Wait.

Don't Go Alone (Go With a Friend)

Yes, I'm on the Jay Ryan site http://www.thebirdmachine.com/ this morning (see addition below). This one says all.

Bike the Drive 2008!!!

Who's doing Bike the Drive this year? I'm working the Membership Tent, so stop by and say hi!

http://www.bikethedrive.org/

Toronto to Montreal

Doug from Boulevard Bikes gave me this website that explains a nice Toronto to Montreal route that he did and liked: http://www.hedney.com. It's all in silly metric though. Who uses kilometers these days? The route is 615km, or 382.143283203 miles.

It even gives rest stops, nearby campsites and cycling clubs!

This is my favorite part of the site:
"Mosquitoes and black flies are their worse in May and June. However, you are not traveling through the bush on this trip so they will only be of concern if you should elect to camp during these months. You will not be in bear country, and there really are no animals that will bother you. We have no poisonous snakes in this part of Canada." YES!

317 lbs

If Megan and I were carbon dioxide emissions, our combined weight would equal one flight from Chicago O'Hare ORD airport to Montreal International Dorval YUL. Wait a second, okay, we don't even weigh that much. The point is, we're each saving 317 lbs of carbon emissions by biking to Canada. Apparently, the flight would generate 855.9 lbs of all total global warming emissions, due to the fact that emissions have a larger impact at higher altitudes. http://www.cheap-parking.net/flight-carbon-emissions.php

What if we TRIED to equal the emissions of a one-way flight during our bike trip? Do you think we can do it?

Food is responsible for 1/3 of greenhouse gases, so maybe we can eat our way to a dirty planet. Unfortunately, Megan is vegan-positive and I only eat up to fish on the food chain, plus we like to eat locally grown organic in-season foods with minimal packaging. I went on www.eatlowcarbon.org and figured out that I only eat 133 lbs of carbon emissions in a month. Suzanne says that I can only count 66 lbs as extra calories that I would not have eaten if I weren't biking. Dang!

Even though we are camping most nights, we are likely to have one or two hotel stays (hopefully free with hilton honors points!!). I entered 2 nights in one room each night into the Double Tree calculator: http://www.doubletreeportlandgreen.com/calc-guests.htm. Only .02 tons (40 lbs) of CO2.

Since we bought our bikes used, we can't count the carbon emissions for them. That belongs to the first owner, so it wouldn't be fair to take credit for them. Maybe if I make a list of all the brand new items I buy for the trip it would make up for my carbon deficit.

new things bought:
Chain
Bottom bracket
handlebar tape
new battery for my camera
new battery charger for my camera
(attempt to recycle old charger and battery TBA)

new things to buy:
biking shorts, one pair
gloves that glo in the dark, one pair
water bottle holder
helmet
women's style handlebars so my shoulders and neck don't hurt!
case of fruit leathers!
case of emergen-c's!


I just don't think we can reach that level. Oh well, when we're done, we'll just have to throw our bikes in the ocean to make up for all of that pollution we saved. (Or recycle it into gifts: http://www.resourcerevival.com!)

I have a huge crush...

...on my bicycle. I know that things are not love. I'm familiar with critiques of consumerism and fetishism and so on. But, I tell you- but.



The object of my affection is a refurbished 1984 Trek 420, courtesy of Working Bikes (1125 S Western Ave): lugged steel frame, pewter with burgundy decals. This is the best thing I've ever bought. Ever.



See above: the saddle that will carry me 1200 miles in 29 days, and the bar tape that matches it. So chic, no?


When I picked up my newly rebuilt bike today from Uptown Bikes (Broadway and Lawrence, one of the all-time great LBSs, big love to Aaron and Nora), I was giddy. Grinned the whole ride home, may have actually giggled out loud a time or two, and had real difficulty focusing on the rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln the way I was supposed to for the rest of the day.

Can't find my camera, sorry for the crummy webcam photos--when you see it in person, you'll see that it's enveloped in a glittery aura of awesomeness and it emits an ethereal hum evoking pure happiness.

xo,
meg

The listmaking, it soothes me...

So I've been generating a googledoc based on the list posted here: http://www.adventurecycling.org/features/packing.cfm

We've got some of this stuff already, and we can share a fair bit of it to lighten our collective load- it should be manageable weight (especially since we'll forgo the sewing kit). Here's the thing, though- sometimes I am susceptible to getting caught up in covetous planning. To wit: "oh, right, we'll need coffee!" [spend 10 minutes browsing ebay for a battery-powered coffee grinder, wondering if a hand-cranked grinder is something you can buy in post-pioneer days because it would be kind of awesomely diy] "ohhhhh, right- if one does not take whole bean coffee, one has no need of a damn grinder." [shamefully click ebay window closed].

Not to worry- we already have a french press.

-m

(megan, I added this jay ryan poster to your post cuz it made me think of you -melissa)

April 17th DePaul + bikes

Whenever I say "I teach a class at DePaul and I make the students ride bikes" everyone says "do you know that guy who writes about bikes and politics?" No, I don't, but here's a chance to meet him...

Book Talk and signing by author and DePaul Professor Harry Wray about
his book

Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life

DePaul Center Loop Campus
Barnes & Noble Bookstore
Jackson and State
Thursday, April 17
5:30PM

Cycling Sisters recommendations for bike shorts

These are the Cycling Sisters recommendations so far for bike shorts:

My all time favorite bike shorts are made by Aero Tech.
http://www.aerotech designs.com/ classicfemale. htm#triathlon

I prefer the triathlon shorts because the pad is not thick and
you don't feel it between your legs. -Kathy (seconded by Kristina)

And...

My favorite biking shorts are the Terry Bella short:
http://www.terrybic ycles.com/ detail.html? item_no=1835&c=Apparel
The chamois is comfortable and the fabric is soft and feels very nice against your skin. It costs more than others, but you get what you pay for. -Sharon

(She ain't kidding. The Terrys are $90!!!)

Melissa's Bike and Accessories

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of my new bike. I was going to take it from the craigslist posting I got it from, but the guy already took it down. Too quick on the draw! Another strategy would be for me to take my expensive Japanese gadget and snap a picture of it myself. True to Melissa-form, however, the battery is dead and the Japanese battery charger is not working. Ha! Anyone going to Toyko soon? :)

Anyway, the new-to-me 2001 Bianchi Volpe is a sparkling violet with red specks. Envision this 2006 Gang Green Bianchi Volpe as purple, and that's close. It has not yet taken the place in my heart of my red 330 Trek, which I can't bring myself to sell. If you want a coppertone 60s Schwinn cruiser, though, the friend price is $100. Acquiring bikes = fun, selling bikes = sad. The sparkling violet, unphotographed, 2001 Bianchi Volpe is sitting in the basement now with a very untrued wheel. I will have to buy/borrow touring wheels anyway. The seat, an 80s sea-green, will be switched out for a boring yet more comfortable ride. It also squeaks. Other than that, ready to ride!

I am currently negotiating a purchase of 2 yellow Ortlieb Back Roller Classic panniers for $120 (craigslist, of course). My bike came with racks, so now I just need the bags for carrying our camping gear.



Between Megan and I, we have 2 bikes, 2 sleeping bags and 1 tent.

I also have an iPod filled with French lessons.

Feel free to post comments with advice, suggestions and ideas about other things we need!

We begin.

Why are we riding our bikes from Chicago to Montreal?

• Because we each offer unbounded enthusiasm for every scheme that the other one proposes.
  
• Because it will be a hard and satisfying and unspeakably pretty ride.
• Because biking is a sustainable and supercool form of transportation.
• Because Melissa is attending a conference there and it's one of Megan's all-time favorite cities.
• Because it gives us an excuse to play with our bikes and make them better.
  
• Because Melissa will be moving away to start a PhD at MIT while Megan continues her PhD at Northwestern, and we want a big circus of awesomeness and fun before that happens.

But mostly? Because we may.

Before we go, we will be posting about our training, gear, route(s), fundraising efforts, lodging plans, and more. We plan to leave Chicago on July 10, 2008, and arrive in Montreal on August 10, 2008, and we will document the whole ride with posts and photos here. During our months of preparation and training, we welcome your wisdom, warnings, suggestions, and support with regard to any aspect of the trip.

As ever and always, you are invited to join us for any portion of the ride!