This ride sponsored by Sam's Club

Today we're riding with utility in mind, we brought our panniers and we're going to fill them up with filet mignon and baking potatoes to eat tonight! Our son Ryan and wife Mattie are joining us for dinner too.

It's a nice sunny day in the 50's with mild winds and we're having a very nice ride. 30 miles to Sam's Club should make it about a 60 mile ride, our longest this year.

Ride to eat!!

Posted from Scott's iPhone

Location:E Eisenhower Blvd,Loveland,United States

Great day for a bike ride.  Really, although it doesn't look like it.  About 50 degrees, some sun, mostly clouds but very little wind.  We rode to Boulder, 28 miles round trip, and went to REI to pick up spare chains for the bikes for the trip and return a couple of odds and ends that didn't work out.  Lunch at MadGreens, delicious salad with goat cheese and beets!  We heard Meadow Larks and I saw a fuzzy bear caterpillar (yes, I know that isn't the scientific name for it but it is the orange and brown/black ones).  Thought it was a little early for the caterpillar.  Looks like my daffodils weathered the storm.  Getting ready to hot tub and relax for the night. Another ride tomorrow, hopefully closer to 40 miles.  Must get in shape for that first 74 mile day.  Angela

Crazy Windy Days

We have not been able to get out much to ride as the wind is crazy around here lately.  Monday we took a motorcycle ride to check out the roads we will be taking on the first day of our ride.  Not too bad, a few areas with no shoulder but also little traffic.  Weather was 59 and windy when we left and 39 and windy on the way home.  BRRRRRR.  Luckily I bought a sweatshirt at a little convenience store in Strausberg and that helped a little bit.  

iPhone app test

Today I'm trying a new app from my phone to hopefully allow us to post, including photos, from our phones. We'll probably be bringing our kindles for reading during downtimes but we're definitely trying to keep our load down to a minimum which means no computers!!


Here is a photo of the bike I'll be riding to the Outer Banks with a recently added handlebar bag.

We'll be using bike maps especially made for cross country riding and I wanted a place to keep the map handy for reading without having to stop, find, unfold, fold, etc. The clear pouch on the top of the bag will hold a map that should show us 20 to 30 miles at a time.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Crestview Dr,Niwot,United States

The Beginning...

Our first blog to chronicle our cross country bike ride from Niwot, CO to Cape Hatteras, NC

Today is February 18, 2016 and we have just over two months until Angela and I begin our adventure.  We've never done anything like this before.  Yes, we've been on bike trips for up to 8 days on the Katy Trail last October, or Ride the Rockies back in the summer of 2014 but never have we spent over 50 days traveling over 2,500 miles by bike.  But, we've never been unemployed either so there's all kinds of new things going on!

This blog is primarily an attempt for us to keep our friends and family aware of our trip in a passive way.  That is, rather than blast out text messages that could become annoying, our hope is we can use blogging as a way to let them know we've made a post and then they can investigate at their leisure.  It's also an attempt for me, Scott, to put my baby toe in the social fabric of internet media.

As we're just learning to use Blogger, we'll practice posting over the next couple of months and hopefully hone our blogging and techology skills before we start our adventure.  Please forgive in advance our mistakes as I expect there will be many!

Scott & Angela Brand

2/18/2016