Background Info on the TEAM JEAN Travelogue

For those of you new to this site – here is some background to fill you in (family and friends who are already a part of TEAM JEAN, bear with me on this posting).

My name is Jean and I will be biking across the country starting June 17th. My sister Sarah contacted family and friends and created TEAM JEAN – a support group of sorts - to provide encouragement and support to help me fulfill one of my dreams. There are so many people wishing me well, I decided to share my adventure with everyone by writing about my trip on this blog - the TEAM JEAN Travelogue.

The Bean you see on this site is my mascot (one of my nicknames is Jean Bean) – it was created by a friend of Sarah’s (Tia – thank you again!) as part of the official TEAM JEAN t-shirt Sarah had made up for me and TEAM JEAN. I love the Bean and wear my shirt proudly!

First, why the heck am I doing this? Well, biking across the country has always been a dream of mine – ever since grade school. A while ago I came across one of my writing assignments from 6th grade – I had written about my dream to be able to take off on my bike and explore the country. So, it’s been on my life list for a long time. Since my divorce, I have been getting reacquainted with myself and decided now was the time to follow one of my dreams. I am very fortunate to have the means and the vacation time and supportive administrators to be able to take this time off to actually fulfill this dream. Also, I am not getting any younger, and I think my bio-suit (body) can still survive this craziness.

Next, what have I been doing to get ready for this adventure? Last fall I purchased a new road bike (a Lemond Versailles) and it is a sweet ride! I biked on and off last autumn and got an indoor trainer (a stand to put my bike on, so I could pedal inside) for the winter months. I used it some and also did some cross country skiing. This spring, as the weather has gotten nicer I’ve been riding outside – so far my longest ride has been 64 miles. I’ve been getting in some hill climbs and it’s windy quite often, so I’ve been getting used to riding with headwinds too. Since last August, I’ve biked over 1,800 miles and hope to bike at least another 200 miles before the trip starts.

So, what’s the scoop on the trip? This is a cross country bike tour through America by Bicycle (www.abbike.com). It is the “Across America North” tour and it is 50 days long. We start in Astoria, OR on June 17, 2007 and end in Portsmouth, NH on August 6, 2007. Our route: OR, ID, WY, SD, MN, WI, ferry across Lake Michigan, MI, Ontario, Canada, NY, VT, NH. Total mileage: 3,629 miles. We will average 80 miles per day. This is a fully supported ride – we stay in hotels, breakfast and dinner are included, they carry our gear, there are mechanics to fix flats and do bike repairs and there are regular check-in stops along the route each day where we will sign in and can get food and beverages. They will even pick us up and give us a ride in the van if we crash and burn (literally or figuratively). However, I plan to ride EFI – Every Fabulous Inch! There are 65 people signed up to for the entire trip and another 10-12 will join us for segments along the way.

Other details: I have really, really, really short hair (I mean really – it’s almost as short as my dad’s….) for easy care – I hate helmet hair! I can tell I am building muscle, but so far I don’t look any different (ie, leaner). My biggest concern is how my bio-suit will respond to this challenge. I hope to have most of the “kinks” worked out before this trip starts. Right now my knees are fine, I haven’t cramped up, but my my feet get sore after about 3 hours on the bike and my low back does tighten up by the end of a long ride when I am fatigued. I do lots of stretching!

I have been biking (but not enough), getting gear, getting used to new biking shoes and making arrangements to be gone for 52 days (mail, lawn care, bills, etc.). I’ve also outfitted my laptop with a wireless card for easier access to the internet on the trip. I got a digital camera and now just have to figure out how to use it and get photos posted….

I’ve completed a metric century (100 kilometers, 64 miles) - though I came in dead last. However, it was only because of mechanical problems – my chain jammed up with less than 10 miles to go and I had to wait for the mechanic for over ½ hour (he was already at the finish line party having a burger). Since I was last, I had my very own pace car to follow and I was cheered in at the finish line. I didn’t get a burger though – they were cleaning up by then.

As I’ve been training, I’ve discovered that I average between 12.3 and 12.6 miles per hour – no matter the length, terrain or wind conditions of the ride. That means it will take me about 8-10 hours to ride 100 miles. I have signed up to do a century ride tomorrow – wish me luck! It will be a good indicator as to how physically prepared I am. I’ll let you know how long it takes me and how good (or bad) I feel when I finish….