The Front Door to My Apartment


Every day I go out this door.

I have been looking at writings about preparing for a bike tour. One part of these articles that has absolutely nothing to do with me is the part about how to ship your bike before a tour. I have never started a tour that did not begin where I lived. Both of my solo tours started in my home state of Ohio. The first was riding West to the Pacific Ocean and the second was to the East and then South along the Atlantic Coast. A few years later I was selected from applicants all over the world to ride a promotional tour that was to start in NYC, and it just so happened I lived in Brooklyn at the time. So in all my experience I’ve never had to ship my bike and gear to my start point.

What I have done is arrange transportation for my bike and self after the tour ended. Once by bus, once by car, and once by plane. In that order. I can say that shipping a bike that has already done its duty is not stressful or needs any articles written. Put it in a box, send it, deal with it later.

I want to do another tour through an area in North America that I’ve never been. The East coast north of Boston. Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. Right now I still live in Brooklyn so I am already on the East coast and it happens to be that my lease is up on August first. I think August and September would be a fine time to travel north.

The thing about this trip idea is that I’ll be doing a big loop. All of my transportation will be by bike. I’ll depart by bike and return by bike. I wonder why I never did it this way before? It’s got me thinking, who are these people who ship their bikes and fly to some start point? Why not just ride there?

I can guess who, I can guess why.

For me, if all goes as best as I can imagine it then very soon I’ll walk out this door for the last time. With my bike all loaded and ready to go and will see the first day and first miles of a long tour. It will also be the last day I lived in this building.

On the other hand, if this trip gets put on hold, for some reason, I’ll still be moving out. The rent went up and my roommate and I are not that attached to this area. Either way, so long 1400.