Discovery - One Man's Struggle with Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness...: Data Dump on "Discovering America on 2 Wheels" - Grab an Extra Cup of Coffee... or a Beer.... You Might Need it!

First of all.... Welcome to Discovering America on 2 Wheels

And thank you to those folks who have become Followers and those who are reading my blog and viewing my videos on YouTube - Keyword Search for "WillsOnWheels" and....

And thanks to the new folks who are dropping in for the first time....

You know this effort, project, lifestyle, vocation, new job, fork in the road.... whatever you want to call it.... is going just about like every other major new thing I've ever done in my life.....

You start out discovering some new path... you get a little bit of information... do a little research... do a little bit of planning... and then take off down that path.

Everything is Fresh and Exciting and you find out there's a Whole New World out there... down this path that you've chosen... and you're like a Kid in a Candy Store... first off, you're in shock that this much candy could even exist in one place... and once you overcome that little bit of Sensory Overload, you find yourself darting from jar to jar and grabbing a sample and stuffing it in your mouth as fast as you can... you go through a Voracious Consumption of this Great and Wonderful New Thing....

and then you end up with a Belly Ache... Ok maybe not a belly ache... bad metaphor...

Let's go back to the "path" metaphor... you take this path and the birds are singing and the sun is shining and it's a great day to be alive and the path passes through a brushy area that obscures the path ahead and you pass through that and suddenly you're standing on the edge of a Huge Canyon.... it's Beautiful, it's lit up by the Sun in a Collage of Colors and Textures that could only be described as magical.... and it goes for as far as the eye can see... and there you are... just looking at it... right there on the edge... wanting to Explore and Experience this Beautiful Place... but with no way to access it.

Such is my experience so far with Discovering America on 2 Wheels - there's a Great Land out there to be explored and discovered....

It's like Christmas Morning with an endless pile of presents all wrapped in a ribbony road... and it's calling to me to just dive in and start ripping off the ribbon and wrapping paper to see what's inside of each one..... there's an opportunity to do this for a lifetime as a lifestyle and as a career...

But like everything else worth doing.... there are obstacles.... OOPS! I mean opportunities... and that's the way everything is... you start learning something new or doing something new... and there's this initial "rush" of progress and then you hit the first "plateau"... the sprint turns into a walk... the walk turns into a rest... and sometimes the rest turns into a retrace of a part of the path already walked....

So Whaddaya do?

Well, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life... and most of them were made because I made the same errors:

I got in a hurry.
I didn't get all the facts... I didn't do my homework.... I listened to someone else.... I didn't do due diligence...
I ignored my gut... my instincts... that little voice in my head.

They say as you get older, you get wisdom and experience.... I don't know if that applies to me.... I don't consider myself all that wise and my experience with experience is that it's usually involves learning what NOT to do... that's why they call it experience... if it was a good thing, they'd call it a "Happy Memory" or something.

So.... get to the point already OK?

First off, I need to define what it is I'm trying to do with Discovering America on 2 Wheels.... Why does this blog exist? Why am I doing this? What are my goals? What is my brand? ...... so here goes.

Sometimes it's best to describe something (especially if you're going into it blindfolded.... kinda like I feel right now) by describing what it is NOT! Discovering America on 2 Wheels IS NOT.....

a short-lived random rant by a guy in middle-age crisis mode who lost his mind and abandoned his family and took off across America poorly equipped in the Dead of Winter... although it may look that way!
just a bicycling blog.... it's not just for die-hard cyclists....
a traditional bicycling tour site, adventure and blog...
a collection of poorly organized images and thoughts about my life...

Ok.... enough of the Reverse Psychology.... Process of Elimination Stuff.... so what is

Discovering America on 2 Wheels

It is:

a Blog about bicycling.
a Discussion / Analysis / Technical Take / Philosophical View of Touring America on a Bicycle.
a Palette for display of images and video that bring once in a lifetime encounters and everyday activities into your home and into your consciousness.
a Virtual Tour of America.... it's roads, towns, cafes, businesses, terrain, parks, trails.... its Tragedies and Triumphs.
a Forum for display and discussion of anything and everything that encompasses, envelopes and consumes our Time, our Lives, our Hopes and Dreams.... whether that be Activities, Culture, Entertainment, Food, Drink, Religion, Media, Politics, Economics, Finance, Opinion, Philosophy....

Discovering anything is not about restricting the Discovery.... it's about Expanding your Horizons!

About now you might be thinking.... What's this guy been smoking? What Turnip Truck did he just fall off of? or Wait till he falls off that Cloud he's on....

That's fine....

think what you will....

but think....

Or Dream....

something....

there....

that's what it's all about....

If all Discovering America on 2 Wheels does is make you think, make you dream, make you imagine and make you want....

to do something.... to try something.... to experience something.... new and positive and fulfilling that you've never done before... or just take up on something you left off... left behind... abandoned... forgot about... ignored...

then I've met my goal....

Speaking of Goals.... Objectives.... here's a few Goals - Short and Long Term - that I have for Discovering America on 2 Wheels:

Goal #1 - Do Leg 3: Santa Fe NM to Los Angeles / Hollywood / Malibu / Pacific Coast CA - 1168 miles with a 3-day camp/hike at Grand Canyon National Park. Goal Date for Beginning is 03/22/10 and Completion is 04/16/10. I've already done the logistics / mapped out a route / done the mileage / figured out where I'm gonna stay, done a budget, etc. Here's a piece of the plan for the 1st 5 days of the trip:

Goal #2 - Increase Public Exposure / Viewing / Readership of Discovering America on 2 Wheels to greater than 1000 views per day on the blog and 100 views per day total of videos on YouTube by the end of April 2010. Here are specific things I am doing to reach that goal:

Sent Letters of Introduction to Discovering America on 2 Wheels to several large papers throughout the US - NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Phoenix Sun, etc. as well as papers in Texas - Houston Chronicle, Austin Statesman, Dallas News. Here's a link to the story John Loman of the Brazosport Facts (my local paper) did on my adventure so far: http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ba85d842ad452953

Researched advertising costs for Discovering America on 2 Wheels in the large national papers above and worked out an advertising plan / budget. First ad will be next Thursday through Sunday in the LA Times. It will run for 4 days in print and 11 days on-line. I will follow with an ad in each major paper each week between now and when I begin Leg 3.
Set up the Discovering America on 2 Wheels blog for Google Analytics so I could get more details on the Views and Where they're coming from so I can track the affects of advertising in the bigger papers and the number of views over time. This will help me determine if there is a base of interest for what I'm trying to do.
Registered a domain name at GoDaddy.com for Discovering America on 2 Wheels - This is so that if I do want to host my own website in the future, I have a place to do it.

Goal #3: Improve the quality of videos / images I bring to Discovering America on 2 Wheels and have high quality equipment that can be used to do video for advertising for Sponsors. With that goal in mind, I've spent some time researching Video Cameras looking for the following criteria:

HiDef 1920x1080
MPEG-4 format
Would prefer 5.1 Surround Sound built in and capability of external / wireless mic
Image Stabilization
At least 16GB of internal memory
Ease of downloading and editing with Windows Moviemaker or software provided by Camera mfgr.
Good Optical Zoom - minimum 15X.... 20X would be better
Minimum 4MB resolution still camera
Flash
Light weight and compact
Rugged and Reliable
Long Battery Life
Less than $700
would prefer it to be "self standing" so I could set it on a flat surface and take a picture.... this restricts many of the "pocket" video cams with the vertical "palm" configuration

If anyone has a recommendation on a video cam, please leave a blog comment or send me an e-mail at arhth1@yahoo.com

Goal #4: Evaluate Options for New / Different / Modification of Existing / Already Owned Bicycle Equipment to Improve Efficiency of Riding by 20%.... the logistics of Leg 3 require me to average about 65 miles per day which is about 15 miles per day more than I averaged on Leg 1 and Leg 2 and I want to do those 65 miles in the same or less time.... which means I have to do something different... Here's what I've evaluated so far:

Option 1: Modification of my existing Trek 3700 Mountain Bike (that's currently in storage in Santa Fe NM). Here are the modifications I've evaluated for making my Mountain Bike more "roadworthy".

Go to a narrower, puncture resistant tire - from a 26x2 Moutain Bike Tire to a 26x1.5 tire made by Specialized known as the "Armadillo" - these tires are as close as you're gonna get to bulletproof - Here's the link to the Specialized Armadillo Tire site:

http://www.specialized.com/zz/en/bc/SBCEqSuperSection.jsp?ssid=ArmadilloTires&eid=355

Cost of a pair = $80

Change the rear gear cassette from an 11-28 to an 11-34.... in layman's turns it's lower gears.... easier to go up hills.... the original cassette on the 2007 Trek 3700 was an 11-34 (what they call a MegaGear) but when I cracked the rear rim in Hamilton Tx on 12/14/09, I had to go with what was in stock at the closest bike shop to get back on the road ASAP.... and that was an 11-28.... going to an 11-34 is like giving me 2 extra gears on the low end when I'm lugging up the 7% grades where it will really make a difference. Cost = $33
Add Clipless pedals - I'm looking at the type that have clips on one side and pedals on the other so I can ride with a Mountian Bike Clip shoe or a regular shoe but I do plan on riding with bicycling shoes this time - specific pedals I'm looking at are the Shimano PD-A530 Clipless Pedals - cost = $75
Add a Bike Computer with Cadence, Speed, Mileage for Day and Trip - This will help me determine how fast I'm riding, maintain constant cadence (pedal revolutions) and set goals for speed, distance and time and track them throughout the day... looking at the Cateye Strata Double Wireless - Cost = $50
Lower the handlebars and add handlebar ends that together would allow a lower ride profile on the bike and decrease wind resistance and improve aerodynamics - Cost = $40
So for about $280 + tax.... I can turn my Mountain Bike into something more of a Touring Bike.

Option 2: Use my Trek 1500 Road Bike (currently at my house) instead of my Trek 3700 Mountain Bike (currently in storage in Santa Fe NM).

Typically road bikes are not built for cross country touring but Leg 3 will be different in many ways.

First off, I will be camping out at only 2 places -

1) in the middle of the trip on days 11 - 14 of a 27 day trip at Grand Canyon National Park. I plan to mail my Camping gear (currently in storage in Santa Fe NM) from the Santa Fe Post Office to the Grand Canyon Village Post Office and picking it up there when I ride in, so I won't be carrying it for the 550 miles from Santa Fe to Grand Canyon NP.

2) the 2nd place I'll be camping out is the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. That's at the end of my trip - days 24 - 26.... so when I'm done camping at Grand Canyon NP, I'll mail my camping gear from the Post Office in Grand Canyon Village to the Malibu CA Post Office and pick it up there....

Why am I telling you all this?

Because that's part of the process of doing something like this... you try something... you want to get better... you evaluate new ways of doing things...

This opens up the possibility of me using my Trek 1500 Road Bike for the 1168 miles of Leg 3...

It really doesn't require many modifications.... I would upgrade the tires to the largest 700 series tire which will fit the forks.... I've talked with Bike Barn in Clear Lake and they tell me a 700x28 will fit and Specialized makes an Armadillo tire in that size for $45 each. Here's the link to the 700x28 Armadillo tire:

http://www.specialized.com/zz/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=42102&eid=355&menuItemId=0

Most road bikes don't have the typical attachment points for racks but there are racks made that clamp to the rear fork.... such as Old Man Mountain...

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/RackPages/RearRacks.html

and finally I'm looking at panniers (basically they're saddlebags for your bike that mount to the aforementioned rack) Here'a a store that specializes in bicycle touring racks and panniers.

http://www.thetouringstore.com/

Goal #5: Secure Sponsorship - Advertising Revenue - Donations to cover expenses for Leg 3.

This one may actually be the most difficult.... these are tough times.... companies have cut back.... sponsorship and advertising budgets are smaller and are being scrutinized more closely to obtain the most bang for the buck... and the public is cutting back on its budget for "discretionary spending".

But you know what....I'm still gonna try.... I'm coming up on my 1000th post to this blog.... I've got nearly 50 videos on YouTube.... some instructional.... some documentary.... and some just plain fun and entertaining....

http://www.youtube.com/

Just enter "WillsOnWheels" in the Search window at the top and you'll pull up a listing of all my videos.

Here are links to videos on YouTube that document my adventure so far:

Leg 1 Lake Jackson Tx to Fort Worth Tx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OreLXBGv9n8

Leg 2 Part 1 Ft Worth Tx to Lake Mineral Wells State Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfXgqyMb5-k

Leg 2 Part 2 Lake Mineral Wells State Park to Clovis NM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08MbQuJuqlM

Leg 2 Part 3 Clovis NM to SW of Anton Chico NM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfjJf_dvMzE

Leg 2 Part 4 SW of Anton Chico NM to Santa Fe NM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfLsfawzFdU

I'm gonna do Leg 3.... with or without outside funding....

But if you feel like you've been entertained in any way or learned something or just laughed at some of the stuff I do or write about, please consider making a donation by clicking on the "Donate" button at the top of the blog. It's done through PayPal and is quick and easy to do.

Here's a link to a post where I detailed out all the expenses for Leg 1 and Leg 2 to give you some idea of what it cost.

http://willsonwheels.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-it-costs-to-discover-america-on-2.html

Just scroll down once the window comes out and you can read the post.

I've also added a section at the top of the blog with links to:

an "Introduction to Discovering America on 2 Wheels" - this is a letter I send out via e-mail to familiarize folks with the origin, background and content of this blog and the journey it chronicles.
a "Welcome to New Readers" - a follow up discussion of the ride, the blog and how to more effectively navigate and enjoy it.
the aforementioned post on "What it Costs to Discover America on 2 Wheels".

And if you don't wanna donate or just don't have the extra money... that's fine too... just sit back and enjoy the ride...

Discovering America on 2 Wheels is a Snapshot and Summary of Who I am and What I do and What I Like and What I Don't Like and How I Think and How I live My Life and a Whole Lot More!

It's not for everybody.... but I think if you spend some time reading this blog and watching the videos, you'll come away with something of value...

Maybe you'll even find yourself on your own journey of ....

Discovering America on 2 Wheels