withinbikingdistance

Next Adventure: floors upon floors of really cool stuff.

We recently got in contact with the fine folks over at Next Adventure in Portland about possible sponsorship for our tour. We were in need of a few bits of gear (mostly cold weather wear for cycling through mountain passes & freezing our collective tucuses off). They were more than happy to help us out by donating items from their lovely used bargain basement (and I do mean lovely, I love that place). So, we stopped by this Saturday and as always, the staff was very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about their stuff. If you’ve never been to Next Adventure, you should definitely check it out. I could (and do) spend hours rummaging through their huge collection of outdoor gear. This place is like the Powell’s of recreational equipment. I don’t think I can explain it any better than that.

Anyways, here’s the tour stuffs we got this weekend:

this is some quality stuff yo.

You may notice that large stack of Next Adventure bandanas. They were kind enough to offer these to us for giving out. So, we’ve got some contests planned in the works wherein you (yes, you!) will be able to have a chance win one of these bad boys. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on these giveaways.

Anyways, just wanted to give a big old shoutout to Next Adventure for being awesome. Stop by sometime & mention that we sent you and they’ll probably be like, “what are you talking about?” but that’s okay, they’re cool. 🙂

Flashback to 2012. Heather and Lizzy enjoying a break from a long and chilly afternoon on the Oregon coast

It is already 2015! I can’t believe it. When we started planning this tour a few years back it seemed like 2015 was merely a figment of future imagination, but now its here. A lot of people have wondered about the WBD planning process–myself included. All I can say is, when you have enough time you can plan anything. Whether that plan works is up to the field test, in our case that means we are going to throw a bunch of junk on our bikes and pedal off into the wilderness (more or less). If you want to take up bike touring I think you should do it. If you are the flexible type, and have the gumption, then you are a perfect candidate for a successful tour. This particular tour began back in 2012 when Lizzy, my sister Heather, and I were on biking down hwy 101 to Napa, CA. We decided that a one month tour was too short, also, we decided that we wanted to go coast to coast. From there, the 48 state idea was the logical next step, and though we initially thought we should be gone a year, I think 6-9 months is quite enough time for a solid adventure. From that summer on, I started tearing the weather maps out of the backs of USA Today newspapers and plotting potential routes on the United States map during my lunch. The tricky thing was to find a route that would efficiently hit all states and bring us home before the ice and snow. I suppose we’ll have to see how well we did. It was Lizzy that found Watsi, and we are both so glad she did. I can’t say enough how great Watsi is, and how wonderful it is to be working with them. If you haven’t visited the Watsi Website please, please, pretty please do it–right now!

In the spirit of the new year, I thought it might be fun to post a few pictures from past tours. I hope you don’t mind.

Flat repairs are no fun.

Lizzy maybe loosing her mind?

Haley and Heather, the Winkel-Twins, enjoying some beenie-wennies

A beautiful day on the Oregon coast

Missing from picture: the massive centipede infestation we woke up to the next morning

My first tour with my Dad (2008) Washed-out roads may stop a car, but not a bike!

Dad en route to NYC

Touring with dad in Canada

One of many confusing parts of Pennsylvania

this post was written by lizzy

the hunq loaded up with just some of the crap we’re gunna drag along with us.

This past Tuesday, Stink & I met up to lay out our gear and go for a short ride with loaded bikes. First, we exploded our respective biketour/camping gear stashes all over the floor.

gear… gear everywhere!

Stink and Beef then put on their thinking caps and we started organizing our crap into the six essential categories of gear: food/cooking, toiletries, sleepstuffs, tarps/keepdrystuffs, safety/fire, and most importantly, the fun stuffs!

thinkin hard bout gear stuffs

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the Official Within Biking Distance Mega-Tour Gear Stuffs!

First off, we have the Food/Cooking category:

Next, we have some toiletries:

note: if you are deeply concerned about the presence of only one toothbrush, deodorant, etc. , not to worry, I will be bringing mine on tour, much to everyone’s relief.

Next up, we have the sleepstuffs!

Furthermore, we have tarps/keeping dry stuffs:

that trashbag is seriously useful. stink wore it when we walked to the beach and looked like a large homeless turtle hunchback witch… but was so dry!

Now we have our fire/safety stuffs:

And finally we come to a collection of some of the fun crap we’re gunna drag around for 10,000 miles:

After we laid out all our crap, we packed up our cycles and took the world’s shortest bicycle tour and just derped around the surrounding farmland for a bit. It also happened to be below freezing out… and we froze our tucuses off.  But it was all good & fun & I’m getting more & more stoked to get this freakshow on the road!

stink fiddles with the radio before we head out into the cold for mini-tour

So, there’s your glimpse into our gear stashes. This is by no means a complete list of stuffs, as you may have noticed there were no tools, clothes, or food (beyond some soy sauce packets and airline peanuts… trust me, we are going to eat more than that).  As our departure date nears, we’ll have an update with that kind of stuff, as well as bike tech specs for all you bicycle junkies out there.

Happy new year & ride safe!

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Well, I learned a few things this Christmas. One thing: living in America is pretty great. I went down to California to visit my family. It was a much needed visit and I’m so glad I went, however, I contracted some sort of gut disease that made me vomit upwards of 30 times until my aunt drove me to a medical clinic where I was given some anti-nausea medication and an IV. Before that, I would throw up every  time I would try to stand up. It made me appreciate a few things—certainly my aunt and uncle who allowed me to take up semi-permanent residence on their living room sofa, but I also was reminded of how wonderful it is to have indoor plumbing, clean tap water, and urgent care clinics. I was wallowing about on the aforementioned sofa thinking about how differently such a sickness might play out were I living in the bush somewhere. I was also immensely grateful for the other 90% of my life that I have been so fortunate to live in health. And, perhaps more than anything especially given that it is Christmas time, I am grateful for the coming of Jesus who is the greatest physician. So, Christmas has come and gone, and a new year is on the way and I am glad to be starting it with this refreshed perspective.

Speaking on behalf of Lizzy, Beef, and myself– We wish you a merry late Christmas!