I love it when a plan comes together.

Jim and Lauri was delayed last night getting in from Iowa. Their connecting flight in Minneapolis was canceled because of tornadoes until 9AM this morning. I got the rental car and met them at the airport. The we headed on to the Music Experience Project (EMP) close to the Space Needle in Seattle where we met up with Peter and Cindy Kahn and their daughters Becky and Sarah.

The EMP is a very interesting place that I could have spent more time at, but we needed to check in the hotel. We really scored on the hotel reservations! Via Priceline I put in a bid for two rooms at $70 each which was accepted, within walking distance to Pikes Market. I was expecting a Motel type place, but was pleasantly surprised to find an up scale hotel called the Renaissance Seattle Hotel complete with doorman. Thank you Priceline!!

I took off for the Boeing plant in Everest for a tour that I had made reservation for at 3PM, dropping off Jim and Lauri at the flagship REI store. The Boeing tour was over 90 minutes long and covered the assembly of the 747, 777 and 787. The hangers where the planes are made are huge!! The assembly plant is run 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Then it was zipping back to Seattle to have dinner with Jim and Lauri.

Enroute

The group meets up in Everett Washington Saturday. I arrived Thursday evening so that I could join some friends, also from LA, who happen to be in town, to visit the Music Experience. I also want to visit the Boeing assembly plant in Everett where Boeing builds most of the commercial airliners including the new 787 Dreamliner.I have tickets for the 3PM tour of the plant.

Jim and Lauri Young will be on the tour the same three week as I am. We're planning dinner Friday night in Seattle and off to Everett Saturday.

The tough part of getting ready for a trip like this is packing. You don't want to forget something necessary, but you don't what to carry too much. One of the nice things about this trip is that all the bags are carried every day by Cycle America, but everything must fit into two bags.

I spent quite a bit of time updating my packing list from a couple of different lists and sources. A link to the list that I used for this trip is at the following link:  http://www.coxintl.com/northwest-2010/2010-north-west-coast-tour-brian.pdf

Pound Miles

Whenever anyone gets a new bike, the first question invariability is; how much does it weigh? Every extra ounce is extra weight you need to push up the next hill or the next mile, so weight is a big deal.

A friend of mine once pointed out that people pay a lot of money for a lighter bike and instead of getting a lighter bike, you can lose a couple of pounds, saving money and become more healthy.

With that in mind, I've lost ten pounds for this trip. I think of it as Pound Miles. If you have to push one less pound over 100 miles, then that's 100 Pound Miles. Since this three week ride is 1543 miles and I've lost 10 pounds, then I'm saving 15,430 Pound Miles!!

Yea I know that it's kinda of goofy to think of the trip in these terms, but I'm motived to see if maybe I can lose one or two more before the start of the ride.

Lance Armstrong's first book was titled; "It's not about the bike". Many folks confuse bike features with the bike riders. A bike won't get up and ride down the road by itself. It needs a rider that has put in the training to prepare for the number of hours that it will take to reach the destination. The speed of the rider doesn't count, its the determination of the rider that makes the difference. When you stop to see the sights and have your lattes and ice cream floats, then those moments are huge bonus points. The goal is to collect as many bonus points as you can.

Happy Riding,

Brian

Gadgets

When you consider the bicycle, and especially bicycle trips, the thought of high technology doesn’t leap into your mind; however, the items we bring on each trip and indeed our very bicycles are reflections of current technology.

In 2002, I was fortunate enough to travel coast to coast. It took nine wonderful weeks. I purchased a MP3 player shortly before the ride. It must have weighed close to a pound, but it held my tunes. I found out after a couple of days on the road that I would prefer the sound of the road than the sound of music that I had listened to hundreds of times before.

My camera was film, and to access the internet, I relied on library internet connections to pick up my email and update my website. I remember two people that brought their laptops as well and a couple of cell phones.

Each subsequent trip I have seen a growth in the amount of new technology, GPS bike computers, cell phones, computers will cell phone links, mega pixel cameras. Now we have smart cell phones with all sorts of applications.

Even the bikes have changed. It used to be a big deal to have a carbon fiber bike, now it’s common. In 2005, I gave up my trusty steel bike for a carbon / titanium frame that is so much fun to ride.

I expect to see bunch of new high tech toys and a bunch of extension cords each night to charge ‘em up for the next day. I just hope that the toys do not interfere with the wonderful isolation that we have felt in the rides of the past.

Happy Biking,

Brian

Training at McDonald's

To prepare for a ride like this you need to put in a lot of miles!!

Going over the same routes can become boring. So sometimes you need to look for new places to go.  A couple of days ago discovered that the oldest McDonald's in the world was in Downey California. Well Downey is not too far away, so I made it a destination for my next training ride.

Twenty five miles there and twenty miles back for an original hamburger and a Coke. Well maybe it wasn't a trip to the pyramids, but at least I was there.