T-minus 1 week and I'm lookin' real good.

Konichiwa internet pals,

We are just a WEEK AWAY from launching this here thang.  In preparation I have been doing a lot of sleeping in and indulging in food I find in my parents pantry.  Yes, I'm living at home now, in this last week before the trip.  Two weeks with no job or apartment leaves one a bit limited in the options department.  My friend, Pete, who also cut my hair, was gracious enough to hook me up with an air mattress last week in his guest room.  I'm trying to spread the Marge love around and have now decided to spend the remainder with the folks.  I think mom's real happy about that, love you too mom.

It's coming down to the wire and I know my heart is a flutter with anticipation and anxiety.  We've had some last minute changes, additions, subtractions and substitutions to the gear roster.  Most notably, the sleeping bag I was borrowing from my dad was discovered to have a bum zipper, so out it went and I'm awaiting a new Slumberjack Tourlite, it's rated for 40 degrees, but I tend to run a bit hot when it comes to sleeping bags so less is more in my book, plus I'll have lots of layers should it get a bit frosty out, which we are realizing it probably will be.  The sudden drop in temp in the last week from the mid 80's to the low 60's, really had me racing around looking for all the long johns and fleece jackets I could muster up.  If there is one thing worse than being over heated, it's being under heated with no recourse.  Suddenly the spandex shorts and cut off t-shirts aren't looking so appealing and instead I'm contemplating strapping a radiator to my bike, but...where would I plug it in?

Comfy

Lani ended up getting a different sleeping pad since they were on sale at REI and she felt like the extra support would be nice.  She went from a stingy half inch pad to a plush 1.5 inch pad.  Well done my friend.

Since Lani decided against the bivy tent she initially bought for herself, that left us with 2 bivy tents and a rather tough decision for me...which bivy do I take?   The coleman bivy I had been rocking worked great and handled itself well on our overnight trips, but with one flaw.  It built up a lot of condensation INSIDE the tent toward my feet and that's never fun to wake up to, a cold layer of dew on your feet.  Blah.  So I'm opting to take her Eureka Bivy tent that is ALL mesh on top and then has a rainfly that covers the whole tent, leaving a BIT more airflow.  

Something like this

What else?  Alright, full disclosure time again.  Initially starting out Lani and I had all these convictions about retaining our own identities and no succumbing to the lycra and spandex and flourecent gear that most people take on an endevour such as this. So...we would wear our own clothes, rock some janky bikes, ditch the dayglow, and the hell with helmet mirrors.  Slowly, as more research was done and fears of unpreparedness crept in we abandoned our youthful ideals and bought some goddamn Teva sandals. 

Everyone is doing it apparently

Sure it was fine when we both bought cycling shorts, with padded crotches, and yeah, so what, I bought a flashy colored REFLECTIVE rain jacket, and OF COURSE we need helmet mirrors, it's just the SAFE thing to do.  We did all this and still maintained that we were being true to our original mission statement.  Gritty, hardened, stylish, urban biker types....and then...well....we sacrificed a huge slice of street cred when we bought these little GEMS.

Lani's version...oy.

I mean, if there was one threshold I was NOT willing to cross it was the Keen/Teva sandal threshold, but then I tried on a pair and....well....they are just so functional.  Lani bought hers before I got mine.  I was at my last day of work when I received a text from her throwing herself on the mercy of the Maggie court and divulging her (then) treasonous act.

We went on that ride to Baker and the onslaught of insults and snickers directed at her footwear were as abundant as the mosquitoes.  Then I got to thinking about how functional these shoes could be...I mean they could serve so many purposes, they could act as a flip flop, like for showering in questionable rest stops, or like a hiking shoe when we venture off the bikes to explore a bit.  We're about to be in Oregon and if my childhood taught me anything, at some point I'm gonna need to ford a river or fight off bandits or retrieve some of my lost oxen...and I'm ashamed to admit it, but these are the shoes I need with me during such an event. 

I guess the only consolation I can make to you, my dearest readers, is that you won't EVER see a picture with me wearing these abominations with socks.  I will try my damnedest to keep this promise, but...times are rough out there and you never know what can happen when faced with the cold, hard facts of life.

5...

4....

3...

2...

1....

FAILURE...

AND VALOUR PANTS???

 Until the next embarrassing thing I do,

Maggie

P.S. New videos from the Baker trip and my life without a job are up on our YouTube channel (linked on the right side there, and also more Flickr pics added to the photostream)