Preparation for the Ride
There are many considerations to prepare for a ride like this. Not only must you build your muscles and get in shape, but you have to be prepared to be away from home for seven weeks, make arrangements for paying bills, mowing the lawn etc. You must be prepared to be away from your work for seven weeks. You must get you and your bike to Seattle to start the ride, and then from Washington D.C. after the ride is over. And, you must raise at least $6,000 in donations.
Winter Training in Alaska The weather does not permit normal bike riding until May. So, you train in the snow.
Last year, I took a week vacation, and rode my bike on the Kenai Peninsula. This gave me a chance to experience riding for several days straight, and to live in a tent as I will on the ride across country. It was a sort of dry run for this summer's ride. Since I will be writing and taking pictures on this summer's ride, I decided to do the same on the Kenai Camping Trip. Here's the results.
All pictures and text (c) 1998 by Bill Peterson, Anchorage, Alaska.