Acquiring the Visas was much easier than I thought it would be. I used a third party Visa and passport company to relieve me of the hassle of traveling to San Fransisco and driving everything around myself. Living in Bishop the thought of multiple 7+ hour trips (one way, on a good day, with light traffic) wasn't very appealing. That being said it is pricey, $500ish all told with consulate fees and third party handling and shipping. Travisa, the company I used, however worked quickly and was very responsive. I had my passport back within 2 weeks Visas in hand and ready to go. The rest of the Visas we will be acquiring overland on arrival.
Now on to the biggest missing piece of the puzzle. The bike!
I did mention that I have never done anything like this before right? I am coming at this from a down-hill mountain biking history and a short one at that. I only started, sort of seriously, riding bikes about 4 years ago. A pretty serious hand injury forced me to take time away from my usual diversion, that being rock climbing, and focus on something new. After a rather tumultuous start mountain biking was just the thing. Especially the fast paced high impact down-hill variety. In many was it feels just like snowboarding/skiing in the summertime. Moving fast, down hill, instant responsiveness, and flow like concentration required, plus you have the added bonus of peddles and brakes making greater speed and response possible. It's pretty great. I enjoy activities that force you into the "zone", you know that place that forces instant decisions and instinct, you can't think there isn't enough time for that. Thinking equals hesitation, hesitation equals falling, and falling equals pain. Anyone who knows me knows that I can get into some pretty timid and apprehensive head spaces, particularly when it comes to risk, but once I push through that it's on like Donkey Kong. Once you commit to a dangerous or even potentially dangerous line you are either in, getting lucky, or getting hurt. I think that is why I have such a love/hate relationship with climbing, too much time to think, but pushing through is an amazing feeling.
Anyway, I digress.
All that being said, I have grown to love the bicycle, and I have the scars, the concussion history, and the close calls to prove it. But this is a different animal all together. An endurance challenge in a totally new culture and place. English will be rare, there won't be a burger and a beer for thousands of miles, and who the fuck knows what else. But I think I'm up for it. After all I had never backpacked for more than a week, or in actual mountains, and I did the PCT! If I can walk 2,650+ miles off the couch I sure as hell can bike 2,500+ right?! Sure why the hell not!
And this is my trusty steed!
For comparison this is what I am used to riding.
So I bet you are still wondering about the "ass-hatchet"? You know you are so don't even pretend otherwise!
Well that was a term I stumbled upon while trying to find tricks to expedite the break-in time for my new Brooks saddle. The leather thing with springs where the seat should be in the Troll picture. Although I didn't find it to be as painful as I had anticipated, after my first 45 miles on it, MY FUCKING ASS IS SORE!!!!!! I best get used to that I suppose but damn. So I am trying all sorts of tips and tricks but basically I will need to get 200+ miles on this thing in the next week and a half. I'll keep you posted about how all that goes! Trick one today is soaking in warm water, a long ride, and some leather conditioner at the end.
I hope you all keep following as I figure this blog thing out. Stay tuned!
