Armin, Ross and I have been “planning” this bike trip since last fall. By planning, I mean that Armin mentioned to me, right as we entered a movie theater to see Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby, that he and Ross were going to bike across the country in the summer, at which point I invited myself along. It may have been the contents of his water bottle, the expectation of the hilarity to ensue from Ricky Bobby, or perhaps some heartache or other inflicted by a girl, but there was no strong resistance from Armin. So I kept thinking about the plan, spent countless painful hours mulling over the decision of which bike to buy, and signed up for a bike maintenance class in Boston, so that I would at least be familiar with the proper language with which one talks about bikes-cassettes, derailleurs, drive trains, v-brakes, etc. I also learned a smidge about maintenance too. As you can see, I am an experienced cyclist (read sarcasm here, in case you missed it).
For the past month I have been crashing with my sister in Vermont, remotely finishing up a final bit of work for my bosses in Boston, getting my gear together for the trip, and actually treating my body kindly, with the proper amounts of sleep, nutrients, and exercise (including one 85 mile bike ride from Williston, VT to Malone, NY). The last few months in Boston really had been tiring (for those of you familiar with my Farewell to Gin letter, you can understand where I’m coming from).
Other trip details? Tips for those thinking of planning their own cross country biking adventure? Well, hmm. I know this won’t calm my mother, but we have taken a fairly laissez-faire attitude with this trip. We will be leaving New Jersey on the morning of July 10th, early. Since the fall, the three of us have spent no more than 4 or 5 hours together, until yesterday when Ross arrived at Armin’s house in Lincoln Park New Jersey. Before that a few emails were exchanged discussing gear to be packed, potential roots, and a little bit about one another’s expectations for the trip. (I would be remiss if I didn’t point out here that there was one other friend who was on these email exchanges, alas graduate student responsibilities called, and he, very sadly, will not be joining us. That was a bit of a low moment.)
What is definite about the trip is our starting point-Armin’s Mom’s place in Lincoln Park, New Jersey; our ending point-Portland, Oregon; one of our stopping points-Chicago, Illinois; and the fact that I have to backtrack to Chicago on August 12th to make it to a wedding. We plan to bike approximately 60 miles per day, roughly getting us to Chicago in two weeks. We expect to be in Portland in two to two and a half months, most likely taking a northern route through Minnesota, the Dakota’s, Montana, and parts of Idaho and Washington. At night we will be camping out at undetermined locations, but if someone is along the way and willing to host three smelly, and hungry bikers, we would more than appreciate the hospitality.
Leaving Home
After a tearful goodbye to my dog Oliver,
which left my parents baffled and nervous as I struggled to squeak out between gasps for air, “Dad, you’ll take good care of him, won’t you?” two of my oldest friends (oldest meaning I’ve known them forever, not that they are my oldest friends age wise) dropped me off in Jersey on Friday (Jen and Missy-thank you, thank you, thank you). I have had a great month in Vermont and New York with my family, but it was a relief to leave in the sense that I couldn’t stop running errands, doing work, and thinking about just the right clothing, and other gear, to bring along on the trip (given limited space and weight concerns of carrying my gear, this really had me up in arms, throwing items into my bag at the last minute, some of which still need to be shed before we leave tomorrow morning). This is a lot to think about for me. For example, when not in bike clothing, what one outfit will make me the happiest to be in EVERY night? Will I get sick of one solid color? Will I get sick of something that’s too bright? What if it’s cold? What if it’s just kind of cold? What if it rains? Oh my! As you can tell, it’s a relief that those decisions are sort of behind me.Of course, I didn't leave everything behind. I had to bring my computer with me to Armin’s to finish up some last minute work that I couldn’t get finished at my parents’ house on Thursday and Friday, despite staying up until well past midnight, and getting up at six in the morning (perhaps making cookies at 10:30 Thursday night contributed to my lack of productivity). But my work is all finished now, after one last conference call with my boss this morning, and my computer is being safely transported by the US post office back to Malone, for just a small fortune. Thanks guys!
Aside from a little work, Jersey has been amazingly enjoyable.
Yes, all you Jersey haters out there, you did read that correctly-Jersey has been enjoyable. On Friday night Armin’s sister and her husband had us over for dinner, where Armin and I got to play with his adorable niece 
and nephew, ages two and one. This made withdrawal from my adorable nephew and niece, ages two and one, who I have gotten to see on a regular basis for the last month, almost bearable. We also played some volleyball, badminton, sat around a fire outside, and ate like royalty (more on that below).On Saturday, Armin and I jumped in the car for a quick 3-hour trip to Long Beach Island, where we met a friend from Boston at her family’s beach house. After several summer vacations in my youth traveling to the Jersey shore, this was like a little slice of heaven. I got to sit on the sand, read the sixth Harry Potter (in prep for number seven. And yes, I will be carrying that once it is released, I don’t care how heavy it is), and go into some incredibly freezing water with great surf. It was awesome. The only regret-LBI did not have any Johnson’s popcorn, and none of that really amazing custard, whose name eludes me, like they have in Ocean City, Jersey.
From the shore, we headed inland to a party of one of Armin’s college friends. That is where we met Tom, someone rivaling Armin in friendliness, and learned of his plan to host a huge birthday party for himself on September 8, 2007. This came up due to the subtle t-shirt he was wearing, with the date September 8, 2007 emblazoned across the front. Well, of course we had to ask, and were told that he was advertising for the big party he and his brother throw every year for his birthday, where not only close friends are invited, but acquaintances and people in passing. So, if you’re in Jersey on September 8, you should stop by. On my suggestion, Tom is now looking into getting the sight september8,2007.com for advertising purposes, so you might try checking there for more info.
Sunday morning we headed back to Armin’s place, where there was some general lazing around, last minute phone catch up time with friends, and wedding prep. Ross got to Armin’s around noon, and then Armin, with his +1, +1, set off for his friend’s wedding. As far as weddings go, it was quite nice-a short, but heartfelt service, in which the minister kept laughing, for some unknown reason, and lots of really good food (more on that below).
After the wedding Armin, Ross, and I looked at some maps, and chose a general route for getting through Jersey, and Pennsylvania. We started watching a bad movie (Le Divorce), stopped
watching a bad movie, and lazily took care of some last minute tasks, like downloading some favorite song lyrics, and tabs to carry along on the trip (Armin plans on bringing his ukulele), and starting my blog. Then we all set up our respective tents and slept outside under the Jersey sky, as god intended.Today has been full of last minute errands, including the post office and grocery store, and general lazing about.
Food
As many of you who blog know, sometimes it can be challenging to find just the right angle for your blog. What is the structure for such an endeavor? For those of you who know me, and I’m assuming if you’ve read this far you know me, I can get a bit long winded, I can get lost in stories within stories, and I LOVE details. Or maybe it’s not even that I love them, it’s more that I just can’t decide which ones to omit, so I include them all (see above ramblings for a prime example, I promise I will make stronger attempts at brevity in the future). But after my time here in Jersey, I realize what is really most important to me about this trip is FOOD. We are biking cross-country, so we are going to be hot, tired, sweaty, cranky, exhilarated, challenged, etc. etc. etc. But we are also going to be hungry. And let’s face it. That is really why I’m embarking on this trip. I love food, and my friends and family love food, and most likely I’m going to be eating a lot of it over the next few months. So I’m going to keep a short running log of what we have and will be eating, in case you’re curious. I’ll try just to limit myself to the highlights, as it’s surely going to get repetitive. I told Armin and Ross that I am going to try to be as healthy as possible as we’re biking-lots of dried nuts and fruit, fresh fruit when we can get it, and foods that have been minimally modified, but well, we’ll just see how that goes. Here’s a short recap though of how things have started. And for all of you that have provided me with this delicious food, many thanks. And a special thanks to Armin's mom, who has fed us and housed us. Your hospitality has been phenomenal, and is much appreciated.
Wednesday
Last supper in Burlington-my sister and her boyfriend had a bbq full of my favorite new hummus, Sabre (mmm, it’s like whipped butter, but in chickpea form), guacamole, corn, and chicken sausage. Schmeck, Schmeck, Schmeck.
Thursday
Last supper in Malone-my parents made scallop kabobs, grilled potatoes and onions, and salad with fresh greens, blue cheese, and glazed almonds. Yum.
Friday
First supper in Jersey-after too many cookies in the car ride down to Jersey, Armin’s sister and her husband made Italian sausage and peppers, shrimp kabobs, couscous, corn, and fresh squash from their garden, followed by watermelon and cheesecake around the fire outside. A+
Saturday
First breakfast in Jersey-breakfast sandwich ala Armin-scrambled eggs and ham on an English muffin. Mmm.
First lunch in Jersey-really good turkey sandwich on the beach. Delicious.
Second supper in Jersey-cheeseburger and pasta salad at our friend’s beach house (Armin loves pasta salad). Yea!
Sunday
Breakfast-breakfast sandwich again, but this time we melted mozzarella on top. Mmm, mmm.
Lunch and Dinner (The Wedding!)-Well, I’m not sure I can even do the food justice that we had at this wedding. The food at the cocktail hour was, I know I say it a lot, but I really mean it here, AMAZING. There were four different areas with hot food, one cheese table, and trays coming around with more delicious treats. I will do my best to list them all. Oh, and yes, we sampled just about all of it
The Polish Table:
-Fried Perogies and Onions
-Stuffed Cabbage
-Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
The Italian Table:
-Eggplant Rotini
-Fried Calamari
-Assorted antipasto
The Dip Table:
-Artichoke Dip
-Maryland Crab Dip
-Deep Dish Pizza Dip
The Pasta Bar:
-Tortellini and Penne with red sauce, cream sauce, or vodka sauce.
The Cheese Bar:
-Lots of cheeses and baked brie, do I have to say more? Oh, yes, there was also good wine here and the bar tender was really nice. She complimented my shoes.
Circulating Trays:
-Clams Casino
-Crab Cakes
-Sesame Chicken Skewers
-Coconut Shrimp
-Stuffed Mushrooms
-Scallops wrapped in Bacon (still kicking myself for not trying this one. What’s
the harm in eating a little bacon here and there?)
After the cocktail hour, we were all pretty sure we couldn’t eat much more, but we managed a bit of fruit and salad before our entrees arrived. I had a chicken cordon bleu which was really good, and garnished with fancy whipped potatoes. Armin and Ross had roast beef, which they said was good, but not quite as exciting as the appetizers.
And of course, after dinner there was dessert. Along with the wedding cake (white cake with white frosting, and a layer of strawberry in the middle), there was a whole dessert bar, with Italian cookies, mini lemon bars, cheesecakes, cannolies, and chocolate dipped strawberries. And there was bananas foster. Like I said, AMAZING.
Monday
Breakfast-more breakfast sandwiches
Grocery shopping for supplies: trail mix, energy bars, granola bars, peanut butter, whole wheat tortillas, graham crackers, apples, oatmeal, mac and cheese, couscous, cheese crackers, green peppers, gatorade, and tuna!
1 comment:
yum. now i'm hungry. that book i'm reading, "eat pray love" talks all about her food adventures. maybe you can write one called "eat bike starve" or something like that. miss you!
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