Hello! & First Ride

Well folks, I suppose I should introduce myself:

My name is Todd. I'm 24 years old and I hail from a small town in northern New Jersey (though I currently live in Ithaca, NY). About three weeks ago, there happened an "event" that caused a drastic change in my life - I'm not going to talk about it, but just know that it was drastic. As I saw the "event" unfold, I knew exactly what I was going to do: I was going to leave everything behind, sell all my possessions and move out west. Oregon to be precise. Why Oregon? Because everybody in that state apparently likes to play outside as much as I do. After a brief phone call to my friend Brian, I decided that I was going to bike there. Not bike as in motorcycle, but bike as in bicycle. It had been a dream of mine to do some extended bicycle touring and now is my opportunity. I've decided on a route that would take me from the beaches of New Jersey, south to Florida, west to California, and finally north to Oregon. Apparently the Great Divide gets pretty cold in the fall, so I'm going to have to avoid that. the Southern Tier route mapped by the Adventure Cycling Association seemed to be the best option for the time of year that I will be going. Leaving in mid-August will place me at my destination dangerously close to Christmas. Other than my family, there is nothing keeping me here on the East coast so I might as well leave at the first chance I get, which will be then.

I knew what route I wanted to take, and I knew what bike I wanted to take with me - but I had to buy it first. That's how Glenn came into the picture. Glenn has been in the cycling scene for a long, long time. He operates a small business out of his house called Swan Cycles. He's only open for a few hours each night so sometimes it can be a little tricky to find time to go see him, especially when you have a schedule like mine. Because of his minimal overhead, he can sell things really cheap. And I mean really cheap. So I had him order me my steed: a 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, and boy is it a beaut! I also asked for him to order me a pair of Surly Nice Racks and some stainless steel fenders by Velo Orange. Why stainless? As Brian says: "More weight, more fun!" When I came to pick up the bike, it was apparent that Glenn had a pretty rough time putting it all together. I heard the fenders were tricky to install, but I didn't realize exactly how difficult they were going to be. He told me that he rediscovered words he hadn't used in years while piecing the bike together. He then proceeded to tell another person that he strives to keep his customers coming back, then pointed at me and said something to the effect of "Unfortunately, sometimes I can't get rid of them." I love this guy. Anyway, here's the bike:

And so Mr. Ed was born. Mr. Ed seemed like a fitting name. It was to be my steed that would help me find a new life out west. Also, it weighs about as much as a horse. Credit for the name goes to my dearest friend, Kate.

Without Glenn, I most certainly would not be able to do this trip. He provides such an incredible service for the community. I'll have to send him postcards during my trip - I think pictures of my adventure will say "thank you" much better than what little words I can string together.

A week after picking up the steed, I set out for my first ride: around Cayuga Lake. I met up with my friend Hannah who is thinking about joining me for a portion of my trip. She has been test riding bikes to find out which one would be the most comfortable for her. In the end, we rolled through 91 miles of hills. Hannah, who doesn't even own her own bicycle, did a great job. Mr. Ed did too. If I could only use one word to describe this bike, it would be smooth. Everything was smooth: the ride, the handling, the shifting, the breaking. Everything. The only thing I have to complain about is the saddle, but I knew before even buying it that I would soon replace that. The bike was also surprisingly fast, especially for being so heavy. It was a hill climbing machine. I couldn't ask for anything more in a bike that I'll be travelling some 7,500 miles with. We finished the ride in around 6 hours of saddle time, which isn't too bad for a leisurely ride through the finger lakes region.