The Big Q’s

Here are some questions people have asked us over the last several weeks.  Maybe they’ll help someone decide whether they want to do something like this, and if they do, maybe have a better trip.

–What’s the plan when you guys finally get to NY?  Go straight to work to make some money, that goes for me and Heath.  Then it’s time to edit photos, video, and start doing some printing.  I’d like to see the story published, so we’ll see who’s interested.

–What songs on your ipod are you stoked on everytime they comes on ?  Heath has been listening to a lot of Magnolia Electric Co……a lot.  Me, I get going when the song from Andrew Reynold’s part in Stay Gold plays.  It’s  Om Nashi Me  by Edward Sharpe.  The new Arcade fire album is good too.

–Do you ever get annoyed with each other? No.

–Why did you camp in tunnels and bridges?  The first tunnel that started the craze was purely because there was nowhere to camp that wasn’t covered in brush and thorns.  The cow tunnels always have flat ground that’s usually plant free, so it makes for good tent camping.  Also, I sleep a lot better when I know someone’s not going to come across us, mess with us, or kick us out.  And of course to hide from the papparazzi.

–Whats your average daily budget on stuff: food, snacks, lodging, misc?  food= $30, camping=free, lodging= $50 a room

–Whats was your most dangerous moment? Heath was just hit by car in Allentown, PA.  It wasn’t bad, he just got clipped, but it knocked him over. For me it was the end of the 100 mile day where we bombed a long hill at night, shitty lights and no helmet.  Definitely throwing some dice on that one.

–Worst section of road so far? Any road with zero shoulder and semi’s., and Illinois does a pretty shitty job in general on their roads.  I remember thinking the same thing on a motorcycle too.

–Friendliest person or stop?  We met up with an old friend of mine from high school in Columbus. She and her girlfriend knew we were going to get some ice cream at this iconic dessert place, so they drove ahead and left 20 bucks with our name on it.  Classy, and very generous.

–Piece of gear you wish you had brought along?  Heath-exercise bike.  Jeff- firewire 800 cord.

–Biggest piece of gear you could have left behind? I brought heavy camera equipment that I sent back. But the biggest mistake was how much food we originally packed.  Its just too heavy and not worth the money savings.

–Closest call with serious injury?  I tried to put my handlebar bag cover on while riding in the rain, yanked my bike into oncoming traffic.

–Best decision so far?  Definitely mailing shit home.  We dumped a lot of non essential stuff.  Also bailing on central Nevada.  I think that would have been a nightmare during the weeks we were supposed to be in that region.  Finally, renting costumes, that was fun, really fun.

–Worst meal? Wendy’s dollar menu.

–Favorite memory thus far?  Lake Powell  and eating.

–How do you guys pick your roads? We literally pick a day before. Just not interstates.

–Biggest surprise?  Angel’s Crest was easily the biggest surprise because it was the second day and we just had no idea how to pack and plan yet.  Our packs were too heavy, we didn’t carry enough water, and we hadn’t looked at any topographical maps to know what we were dealing with.

–Biggest advice? If you’re going to ride through areas with little water, then chew gum.  It keeps your mouth from drying out so you don’t have to constantly drink water.  I would say that our issue with so many flats might be due to the fact that we packed all of our weight on the back rack.  I would get the best tires you can get and thorn resistant tubes, they’re heavier, but totally worth it.  If you have presta valves on your tubes, get an adapter so you can fill your tires at gas stations, the hand pumps put a lot of pressure on the tube stems and rip them.

Lastly, this trip is very expensive unless you already have the equipment.  When you add up the expenses and the income loss from two months of no work, you get a nice little surprise.  Two words…..Bora…..Bora.  Go.