New Gear and New Perspectives

Oh boy! I was shocked to realize that we haven't posted in nearly a month. But trust me, I have kept this bike tour firmly in mind despite my lack of blog presence. So. Where to begin?...

I've been doing some research on the places we will be biking through, trying to select the cities in which we will be volunteering. To my surprise, there isn't a single place on our route that has a population higher than Tallahassee (~180,000). In fact, most of our supply/stop points have no more than 3,000 people--almost half have fewer than 1,000! For comparison, Crawfordville and Quincy have about 4,000 and 8,000 residents, respectively.

Comparison of Cities w/ Population Greater Than 10,000 Residents - Source: Google

The fact that we will be biking through less densely populated parts of the country is equally exciting and unsettling.

On one hand, I'm very eager to explore these smaller communities for what they have to offer culturally and structurally. I think it would be interesting to see the differences between rural, urban, and metropolitan areas as we travel. Additionally, I infer that car traffic and other road hazards would be far less severe than if we were travelling within more populated areas.

On the other, I feel anxious about possible scenarios in which we will need a particular service or resource we cannot find/acquire due to our surroundings. Of course, this doesn't deter me from wanting to do this tour whatsoever. I feel confident that my team and I will be ready for any challenge along the way, anticipated or not. Woo!

Moving on... Over the past month I also did quite a bit of research on camping gear and took a giant step towards bike tour preparations by buying my tent, bag, and pad. Here are my selections to keep me comfy on the tour:

Stock Photo of My Tent! 

• Eureka Spitfire One-Person Tent (3 Season)
• The North Face Wasatch Sleeping Bag (30 Degree)
• Thermarest Scout Sleeping Pad (Medium)

Obviously I still have a good amount of gear to purchase (check out our Packing List), but these three items certainly make up the bulk of my expenses. Dylan and I also started making/testing our DIY "Bike Bucket" pannier system. My next post will likely provide more information about this endeavor. I just need to test them more in order to provide a thorough synopsis! 

That'll do it for now. If you haven't already, get out there and ride your bike! 

Peace,

- Chris