Ridiculous Conception

So, there I was minding my own business, riding my bike to my mom's house on Mother's Day.  The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and all was right with the world.  That's when I spotted a fellow coming the other way on a bike loaded with front and back saddlebags (they're officially called panniers, as I later learned).  He was struggling up the slight incline that I was merrily coasting down.  I suspected he must have been on some sort of training ride, because I couldn't imagine a long-range tour would take anyone up Richardson Road.  What an awfully silly person, I decided, and leisurely pedaled on.

As I rode home after visiting my mom, I thought about that guy with the loaded bike again, and also about my friend Karl who had ridden cross-country years ago when we were in our twenties.  I'd always been impressed with his accomplishment, especially since he just up and did it with little to no preparation, experience, or (it seemed) much planning at all.  I began to wonder how long it might take a person to ride from coast to coast on a bike.

For years I've been intrigued with the idea of through-hiking one of the three trails that span the country from north-to-south (the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail), but time is the main limiting factor for me when it comes to tackling one of these big boys.  A trans-American bike tour, however, can conceivably be done in 2 to 3 months.  And all I would need is a good bicycle and a bit of willpower.  Or so I believed.

I noodled around with the idea of riding cross-country for a couple hours, checked a few details on the all-knowing web, and made up my mind to go for it before I found a sensible reason not to.  My trip to South Korea to teach English could stand to wait another few months.  The only other major issue was that I had a batch of Belgian Trappist Dubbel Ale fermenting at the time, so I wouldn't be able to leave until after it was safely bottled.  Yes, some reasonably minded people would have wanted to have more time to train, but I decided to do most of my training on the tour.  Not smart, I know.  But, as Nike the goddess of victory has been known to say, sometimes you have to Just Do It!

Now all I need to do is get that bike...