Dream a little dream...

Mimi here:

A few years ago, Fred and I decided to sell our 2nd car and buy custom made bikes from the local but famous company called Co-Motion. http://co-motion.com/index.php/singles/norwester.

We got measured at the very helpful bike shop in Eugene, Oregon  http://hutchsbicycleseugene.wordpress.com/locations-and-contact-info/ and voila, a few weeks later, our gorgeous bikes were ready for us!

Some people questioned  us for spending so much money on custom made bikes, but our response? We live in a bike-friendly town with lots of cool bike paths, we commute to work via our bikes, and we do errands via our bikes...and now there's one less car on the road!

We had our bikes built with the idea that one day, we would use them to bike across the USA. And now that day is coming....

Tough choices...old folks' style

Fred:  "We have a choice here: we can go one way and go up the hills, or we can go another way and ride on flat ground."
Mimi:  "I suppose we should ride the hills...."
Fred:    "I was afraid you were gonna say that...."

Our planned route

http://www.adventurecycling.org/ has all kinds of routes mapped out for cycling across the USA on secondary roads. Since we are starting in Florence, Oregon, we will be following the TransAm route until we arrive in Montana. We then plan to hook into the Lewis and Clark route to go northeast onto the Northern Tier route, which we will follow until we get to the Great Lakes. There's some alternate routes around the Lakes, which we may take (going up into Canada for a bit). Then back on the Northern Tier thru New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and ending up in Bar Harbor, Maine by the end of August.

That's the plan, anyway!

last but not least...Fred....

Jim and I have been friends for umpteen years..both working as respiratory therapists at the same hospital on the Oregon coast many years ago. Now we are both polysomnographers at hospitals 3,000 miles away from each other.  Mimi and I met at that same hospital; she was working as a nurse there. Nine years ago, we got married and had the time of our life backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail. I've wanted to bike across the USA for as long as I can remember. In fact, was going to do it on my 50th birthday....but was too madly in love with Mimi to leave her for that long...
Jim and I tricked her into touring with us by saying we would carry all her gear...

Just kidding, Mimi!

Mimi here...

Hey folks,
I'm Mimi, at age 54,  the youngster of our group of three (I must keep rubbing that in to the guys...)

I can't say that riding across the USA on my bike was on my bucket list, but between Fred and Jim's long-standing enthusiasm for the adventure, I am psyched, too. I have the feeling that I'll be the least prepared physically, as I am working a lot in order to save money to make up for not working for 3 months.. So far, I've only ridden 15 fairly flat miles fully loaded! And less than 5 weeks till the big day...June 16th, which is also Fred's 63rd birthday.

Fully Loaded!

Here I am with my bicycle fully loaded. Went for a 40 mile training ride yesterday.

May 13, 2011

Hi my name is Jim and I am riding my bicycle from Oregon to Maine this summer. this blog is for anyone who would like to follow us on this adventure!