Bicycle Across North Carolina v.2

UPDATEx2! I did it! Rode across the USA on a bicycle! Check out my journal of the adventure here at: Three Spokes and a Mirror

UPDATE: We finished! See the full journal report here:
The 2007 Murphy to Manteo and More Bicycle Tour


That's right, it's time to do a little warm up ride in preparation for the TransAmerica ride next year. On October 14, 2007, a friend and I will ride a semi-loop course around North Carolina. We'll start in Murphy, NC and travel Bicycle Route 2- the "Mountains to Sea" course; a 700+ mile ride ending in Manteo, NC on the Outer Banks.

Once we reach the coast our plan is to head South along Bicycle Route 3- "Ports of Call" to Wilmington, NC and then bear West on Bicycle Route 5- the "Cape Fear Run". The final leg of the trip will be on the "Sandhills Sector" ending in Oakboro, NC. This adventure should take about 3 weeks to complete. Ahhhh, retirement is nice.......

Learn more about the routes we'll take at this link: NC Bicycle Routes

I'll be using my Trek 520 touring bike pulling a Bob trailer this trip. I was going to try panniers but didn't get them ordered in time due to the Africa vacation. Of course we'll be camping mostly but won't turn down a couple of motel stays to catch a warm shower, comfortable bed, and to wash out smelly bike clothes. I can't wait!

Flashback to my first bicycle tour on a recumbent here:
My 2004 Bicycle Tour

Later,
Marc

South Africa was a Blast!

Hello everyone,

I'm speechless over the South Africa trip. What an adventure! Our hosts, Peter and Gavin, rolled out the red carpet and treated us to a trip of a lifetime. Of course Kim's brother John deserves a lot of credit too for helping coordinate a fantastic journey. The sights, sounds, and culture left an indelible mark on me and I will always remember the good time our group had.

The main focus of the two week vacation was exploring Kruger National Park. We spent 12 hours a day cruising the park in search of the "The Big Five" (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo). We managed to see everything but leopard- not too shabby!

Our group took just over 4500 pictures. I'm sifting through them now. The Canon Rebel XTI digital camera performed very well. The lenses I took along were the 70-300mm zoom and the 17-55mm 2.8 lens. Both were great choices even though I must admit I wanted a 400mm lens at times.

Check out a sampling of the pictures at: South Africa 2007

Here's a short video clip taken by our Brazilian friend Marilia. It gives you an idea of our daily experience. Enjoy!



Later,
Marc