To get ready for our trip, I took a fully loaded training ride up steep, winding Perkins Memorial Drive in Bear Mountain State Park. I packed my panniers with all 7 hardcover books in the Harry Potter series and a bunch of other heavy stuff, maybe 75 pounds in total. I wanted to test my fitness and make sure the bike and attachments are in good working order. The equipment is fine. I'm in marginally acceptable shape, but need to get stronger by the time we hit the Rockies.
My good friends Bobby and Alison Berna joined the outing. I thought they would give me moral support, but turns out they just wanted me to give them a romantic couples ride up the mountain.
Okay, that's a joke. They actually rode their own bikes, pacing me, taking pics & video, and chuckling politely when I made nerdy jokes. They are good people.
Two other tidbits from the week:
- Bike Snob NYC featured my family adventures on his blog. He's sarcastic, definitely out of line and inappropriate around polite company. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at his post -- we're mentioned in the bottom half. Check it out here. Don't click if you're offended by profanity or cynicism.
- I received the following not so polite note from a concerned individual who saw my Kickstarter campaign
Here's my response:
There will always be naysayers who discourage you from following an unconventional path. Respond politely, but do not let them change your course. An old saying goes, "The person who says it cannot be done should get out of the way of the person doing it." Yep.
Great response! While we haven't logged the adventurous miles that you have, we too have bike with our now 8-year old all over the city of Chicago as well as routes in other states. We choose our routes carefully like you do, but don't let it stop us from getting out and seeing the world.
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