Preparations- - where2pedalto.com

16 May07 to 03 June 07

We used the time between Murray & Joyce leaving for Alaska and our arriving there to tour some of Canada by car, mainly a on a trip through the Okanagan. Click here to continue with the cycle trip journals.

16 May 2007

With our trikes and equipment packed into the back of their truck, and with caravan in tow, Murray and Joyce set off North to Alaska. The next time we see them and our trikes will be June 3 when we fly into Deadhorse, Alaska.

15 May 2007

Packing the trikes into Murray and Joyce's truck took us most of the day. We loaded them packed and ready to ride and surrounded them with protective padding, food parcels, the Bob trailer, tent and associated equipment before securing them in and covering them with a couple of tarps.

14-15 May 2007

Equipment Testing took place out in the bush in company with Murray & Joyce. We are happy to report that all went well and that all the equipment (and us) passed the test. The view was spectacular, the company fabulous and the silence - thunderous. On the way to our camp we saw white tailed deer, a coyote and some birdlife, but no bears.

Our evening meal was one of "smokies" in a bun (sausages) followed by a Costa Rican desert, and this morning's breakfast was bagels and Costa Rican coffee.

Here are a few pictures of our campsite.

Full size viewing of the phots can be enjoyed on the may 07 page, but be warned, they are large and may take some time to load.

Our tent is the one on the right

Upon our return to Calgary we loaded the trikes and equipment onto Murray's truck ready for him to connect his caravan and depart for Alaska.

14 May 2007

Since returning from Costa Rica and Panama (30 April 07) the last couple of weeks have passed in a blur of research, discussion, trial, error, testing and obtaining of equipment. Most of the larger items of equipment is now listed on our equipment page and barring a few small items, we are ready for the trikes to be taken North to Alaska.

where-2-fit-it-all??

7 April 2007

All preparations and arrangements have been made so it is now just a matter of going to the airport and getting on the plane - we hope!

Other people who had transported their trikes told us how they just turned up at the airport and the airlines took their trikes as they were, so just in case, and in an effort to ward off any last minute stressful situations, we decided to contact the airline and see what they said. The airline said to box them, and so we did, achieving the task by taking all of the breakable bits off, placing them in a plastic box and strapping it to the seat as shown below.

trike packing

Then it we covered the frames with a carboard shroud and wheel covers, as shown below. They look a little like a tank but hopefully the cardboard will not only satisfy the airlines, but protect the frames and box of bits as well.

trike packed 2

trike pack 3

Packing them this way meant moving them would be hard until we cut a hole in the cardboard on the top at the rear this providing a hand access to the rear rack of the frame with which to pull the trike backwards with after locking the steering in place with cord.

We also weeded out our equipment so as to comply with the baggage allowance of 2 bags per person at 23 kg's per bag. Narrowing our stuff down to fill one bag each has meant that we can take the trike in place of our second bag, plus hand luggage. So as we pull into the airport we will each have 1 x trike, 1 x case (with panniers etc inside) and 1 x hand luggage. We'll let you know how we go with these arrangements, and if it works we will do the same for our return trip- whenever that will be.

27 March 2007

We are now less than 2 weeks away from flying to Calgary to start the next part of our adventure.

11 March 2007

We have had our vaccinations, clarified things with the airlines and are sorting and preparing our equipment and lists.

28 February 2007

We have added some of our video's on our Links page. We hope you like them.

Great news! Schwalbe Tires have agreed to provide us with tyres at wholesale cost while we are in North America. More information on our equipment page.

March 2007

Arriving in Melbourne we have:

had our vaccinations (the bill hurt more than the needle);
been sorting through the myriad of travel insurance policies;
preparing and sorting equipment ready for the flights;
visited the airlines to clarify baggage entitlements;
caught up with friends and family;
researched and prepared our "to do" list, and
commenced application of that list.

November 2006.

T-0 We have slipped the bounds of home and are on the road travelling.

T-1 day saw a final Clean of the house and taking of the last of the stuff to the storage unit. Final packing of the trikes.

T-2 days saw us take the trikes for a spin loaded with all of our gear with the exception of each of our 2 x 6 litre water bags.

The trikes felt okay to ride and on return we decided to weigh them. Each trike and equipment weigh around 60 kg. Add us to the equation and we are pedalling around 140 kg each, more with water onboard.

October 2006

storage_unit The removal is done and we are now camping in the house while we clean it up prior to our departure. As you can see from the picture, Dezzy has taken up his place at the front of the storage unit like last time.

We have bought our airline tickets, have arranged for a garage sale to sell off things we don't want to store and have commenced acting on the items in our planning spreadsheet.

We have finished work and are now free agents.

September 2006

Both of us gave notice (resigned) to our employers this month, and we are now just 49 days away from riding off on our next adventure. Joanne will cease work in a week and I will follow some 26 days later.

We have a few items left to before we go, we have decided upon a storage unit for our belongings and we are now focussing on finishing up here in Perth and when we want to be in North America.

August 2006

A visit to the US Consulate has resulted in our both being granted 5 year - multiple entry visa's, so now the planning really starts.

The savings goal has been reached!!!!!!

July 2006

Both trikes are now re-furbished and ready to roll. Both are now fitted with disc brakes and the other mods are also complete.

And...after changing our appointment with the US Consulate to next month, we are still no further in that regard, but it is getting closer. Once we know the state of play there we will be able to finalise plans and even book flights.

We should also mention that we are happy that the red stuff to the left is still climbing, though it will slow down a tad now because we are spending some of it on paying for the trike mods and then there are flights and insurance etc.

June 2006

June finds us about to launch to the summit in the assault on the savings goal climb, but somewhat behind in the trike modification race. In cleaning up Joanne's trike James, some of the paint began to peel along the frame, so the decision was taken to get the frame dipped to remove all the old paint, and for a new paint job to be commissioned. Unfortunately for us, the electroplaters where the frame was taken to, have taken their time and we still don't have the frame back yet.

Once we get it back we will be flushing the frame internally before welding up the additional drain holes, sandblasting it and sending it off to the powder coaters for a fresh Brunswick Green coating. Once it is back it will be a case of re-building it and finishing the makeover before Pip gets some new bits.

This month also has us taking a trip to the US Consulate for our extended visa interview - fingers crossed for a favourable outcome.

As part of our trip across the Melbourne we have planned on taking the 300 km's of dirt road from Hyden (Wave Rock country) across to Norseman.
Figuring that we would not be able to carry enough water for that stretch I decided to see if we could obtain some through other means, namely the Emily Ann mine which is owned and operated by Lion Ore. So after emailing the Company, I am happy to report that John Croall, the resident manager at the mine has responded positively to my email request for permission to stop there and replenish our water supplies. Now that will make life easier. Thanks John.

On the equipment front, we have replaced one of our self inflating mattresses (the other will be soon) with smaller versions, and have obtained a multi-fuel burner for the Trangia stove.

April 2006

April sees us with new passports, and Joanne's trike (James) in getting some modifications done to it. New front wheels with disc brakes to replace the old drums, a new seat and some other bits and pieces.

Once James is modified, we will put my trike (Pip) in for new front wheels, disc brakes etc and then as we get closer to departure we intend to replace the bottom bracket, chain, cranks, chain-rings, rear cluster, front and rear de-railier's, cables and anything else that might need replacing. The current sets of running gear have done over 20,000 km so we think the trikes have earn't some new parts. It's not cheap but much better than the alternative of breaking down in the middle of nowhere. The end of the month should also see us hit a significant mark in the savings department as well.

February 2006

With Christmas over and done with, the savings have begun to recover and is looking slightly healthier, but then unexpected purchase in January kept the savings at a snails pace as opposed to the Mach 2 pace I had planned. Still, the red stuff is still moving higher and higher and that is the main thing. We are still on track and the plans continue.

Once the passport renewals are done it will be onto the all important part of obtaining Visa's! We are hoping to get a 2-5 year multiple entry visa for the US so that we can ride Alaska (6 weeks), then Canada (4 months), then back into the US(12 months). The reason for this is that the Visa only allows you to travel to the entry point of the country, it is then up to the immigration official to determine how long they are going to allow you in the country for. A long term visa, and multiple entry one at that, means that if need be we can leave the country and then come back in (as long as the visa is valid) and ask for another visit that will allow us to ride more of the country. Sort of a snakes and ladders routine with the visa allowing you to start again. From what I can see on their website you can be in the country with an expired visa as long as the entry form the official gives you when you entered is still valid, but once you leave you cannot get back in again, thus the need for an extended visa. It's a pain in the backside but them's the rules, so we have to obey or miss out.

We have also commenced work on making some modifications to the trikes, and very soon they will be sporting shiny new disc brakes as opposed to the drum brakes they came with. Martin (www.logotrikes.com) is making the new kingpins and attachments and has been generous enough to let me give him a hand. The old drum brakes are okay, but we have found that under a loaded trike they had us guessing if they would stop us or not - disc brakes from my testing of other peoples, leave no doubt in your mind at all. So so far, so good...

November 2005

With most plans still etched in mud, not a great deal of movement has been seen in the planning department of late, but as expected, the savings thermometer is gradually moving up and up.

We have added and made some more plans on the planning spreadsheet and are getting excited as the plans unfold, and all of that makes our feet are get itchier and itchier (scratch, scratch).

One of our latest considerations however was to include in the plans a "get fit" ride (from Perth to Melbourne) before we fly out to North America, and that is because we have gained a few kilo's of "bodily conditioning" since our last trip.

Crossing the Nullarbor again would sure help us rid ourselves of the extra weight (we lost 10 kilo's crossing last time) but and it should also get us a tad fitter before we tackle North America and some real mountains.

In the finance department we are working on topping up the "living" money and before embarking on the cash for for airfares and replacing and or updating some of our equipment. When the red stuff opposite gets to the 100% mark, you'll know we have made it and stopped adding to the list of things to spend it all on, but what with trike mods and equipment for "cold" weather, does the list ever end?

October 2005

So, the latest news is that we are halfway to our savings goal. God willing and the creek doesn't rise, we will achieve it and be on our way. We are still busily planning the trip and can't wait to execute the escape!

Working on the $60 per day it cost us for our circumnavigation of Australia, we have launched into a saving plan that should see us reach our goal with maybe a little left over.

June 2005

From the picture below you can see that we have found a map to assist us Us and a map with our planning. We have spent many a time looking, searching, memorising, wondering and wishing, since it has been hanging over the top of the bookcase.

In addition to the map and Internet research, we have been assisted with some excellent reading material and maps from wonderful friends in Canada (Hello Murray & Joyce) and the USA (Hello John & Marie).

May 2005

The savings goal and a rough departure date are set!