The Countdown begins…

Hello Everyone!

With only 16 days left until I fly to Anchorage, I’m gathering the little necessities I may or may not need. Items such as a spare chain, spare brake pads and spare tire tubes for my bike and trailer. One of my concerns when I’m traveling any distance, is a flat tire. A flat will create a delay at the absolute worst time. To avoid a flat as much as possible, I ordered new road tires with a tread pattern that will offer traction and be long lasting. Having 29″ tires, the selection isn’t very large these days, but I did come upon a promising set of Surly Extraterrestrials. We’ll see how they do as the miles roll by.

Another product I will be adding to both my bike and my trailer (to hopefully prevent flats) will be tire liners. These are thin plastic pieces that go between the tires and the tubes. I’ll take pics while installing the tires.

Other items were delivered recently, such as lights for the front and back of my bike, a mirror that attaches to my helmet and the rear sprocket set that I made reference to in my last entry.

Today was a great day for other trip details to fall into place. I made a few calls and found something of little value, but critical for the trip to occur… an empty bike box! Ryan at Bicycle Warehouse in Temecula had one available and put it aside for me. Great customer service there!

Few people ever read the complete luggage section on airline websites, but airlines do allow bicycles to be transported as sporting goods as long as they are boxed.  I will have to remove my tires and handlebars, as well as lower the seat post and partially deflate the tires. Then, I’m going to duct tape that box so nothing gets out!

Another correspondence today was a phone call from my favorite daughter’s boyfriend’s dad’s sister! Did you get that? lol. Maureen called me from Anchorage after talking with her brother Mark who told her of my adventure. She offered a room in her home for me to get a good night’s sleep, put my bike together and begin my journey. Having lived in Alaska for 27 years, I’m sure she’ll have much knowledge to share with me. How wonderful is that? Thank you Trina, Garrit, Mark and Maureen!

Another thank you goes out to my brother Greg who will be driving me to the Long Beach airport. Of course we’ll have to stop at Jim’s Burgers in Pico Rivera for a world famous pastrami sandwich!

This journey is going to be Amazing!