protective lenses

I've been using Smith eyewear for a number of years and rarely ever thought about it. I guess that means the equipment is doing its job if you don't even notice or think about it. For 4200+ miles the Smith Theory slider style glasses were comfortably on my face. Rarely did I ride without them and rarely did I notice them. From burning sunlight to hazy overcast skies, the glasses and the three interchangeable lenses just performed, not fogging, not sliding, not getting in the way.

Comfy comfy

I thought the soft Fizik Gobi mtb saddle that I had chosen would be comfortable for my tour. Somewhere around mile 600 I stopped being comfortable and started moving around non stop. When I made it to my in-laws in Hamilton, MT I was fortunate enough to find a Brooks Professional at Red Barn Bicycles. I was apprehensive given the rumored break in period of hundreds of miles but I knew the Gobi wasn't going to work.

I managed to get in 100 miles while with the in-laws and I could already sense a marked improvement. With lots of proofide and love the saddle molded to my ass over the next 300 miles and I soon forgot about the hunk of leather I was sitting on. Like a good offensive lineman, your saddle should go unnoticed and the Brooks did that for me.

Lots of Stuff

When I took off for my cross country trip I had lots of stuff. I managed to pack it all into two cardboard boxes for the flight out to Vancouver. Here's a look at what I packed.


Once I got to Vancouver I had to assemble the bike and trailer so I found a quiet corner in the airport and got to work. Manaaged to assemble the whole thing with nothing more than a Pedro's pocket tool.