Day zero 6/19/05 - preface

I'm biking downhill (south) from Seattle to LA. It's really a roundabout journey to graduate school for me. I'm starting a grad program in psychology at University of West Georgia in August. I'll be hopping on Amtrak from LA to Georgia.

What possessed me to do this? I can distill my motivations to two words: fear and fear. I fear staying in one place too long and I fear taking the pedals off my bike to ship it via plane. What if I could never re-attach them? What good is a bike without pedals?

Special thanks for inspiring me this trip to: Loco i bici, who I met in Nicaragua last November on his way from Quebec to frickin Argentina. He's in Peru at the moment. I bought him a 2 dollar lunch and he gave me the scoop on bike touring. His website is http://www.thebikechick.com/loco

Also big thanks to Performance bike shop in Redmond, WA, my unofficial sponsor and official second home. I bought my bike (Jamis Coda Comp) and most accessories there, all at reasonable prices and with price-less advice and good cheer along the way. We even had some spirited debate about religion and the meaning of existence! How many bike shops can claim this distinction??

Ok, enough babble for now. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. There's lots of packing yet to do. First stop: Tacoma, WA to visit my sister and her family.