Nathan and I have been up to our necks in trip preparation. It seems like we only stop to sleep anymore! But when you compare the time the average person spends planning a trip like this (6 months to a year or more) and cram it into 6 weeks like we are...well, what can you expect? However, we wanted to make time to write a quick update and let you know what we've been busy doing. We even made our first two Wild Blue Yonder Tour videos!
We'd like to use this web site to post our adventures and also to help others prepare to take their own tour someday. That said, we plan on posting lots of crazy/silly/scary/adventurous stories on here; lots of how-to videos, detailed packing lists, expenses throughout our trip; and also plenty of tips and tricks for how to save money and do things yourself with some good, old elbow grease. We'd love to answer any questions you have or provide more details about things you're interested in, so please use our Contact page as often as you'd like.
Here is our list of pre-trip to-do's:
Buy fabric and hardware, then make our panniers (See our video below!)
Buy iron rods and pieces, then make the frame we will use to mount the panniers to our bikes (See our video below!)
Buy/Find about 100 things to take on our trip (You can see a typical packing list here. We'll post our list with pictures soon.)
Upgrade the hardware on both of our bikes (Including: brake levers & shifters, cassettes, chains, bike stem, headlights & tail lights, etc..)
Create TheRoadTo.org (We're still putting the finishing touches on, but I think it's coming along quite nicely.)
Create and send out sponsor letters (Yes, we're looking for corporate sponsors! Using our Contactpage, please let us know if you'd like any information.)
Below are two videos from our trip prep and a link to some photos of our work so far. The first video is of Nathan making the frames we will use to attach our panniers to our bikes. The second video is of Nathan making our panniers. Yes, my husband is fabulous! Enjoy :)
Making The Frame Used to Attach Panniers To Our Bikes (aka: Front Pannier Racks)
Making Panniers
(A note about this video: I say that Nathan's panniers are made out Cordura, but they're actually made out of Pack Cloth.)
