06/26/10- Everything is all packed up and ready to go! A little nervous, but ready
to hit the road, or airport that is. We will be flying up to Prudhoe Bay, the starting
point for our trip on the 28th/29th. Packing Pictures.
06/16/10- We are 2 weeks away from flying to Alaska! In the next couple of days we
will be working hard to improve the website and get ready for our journey. Check
out the Book Club, a new addition to our Community page. Along the way we will probably
flip through as many pages as miles of road we cover. The Book Club gives you the
opportunity to see what we are reading and what we think about it. So don’t hesitate
to strike up a discussion.
05/27/10- Training for such an epic adventure is hard work. We’ve managed to sneak
in a few non-cycling related endeavors. I’m always raging about the cupcakes at Quack’s
on 43rd ST in Austin. Somehow I ended up in a cupcake challenge to eat 5 cupcakes
in 45 minutes. Two bites into cupcake #3 and I was ready to burst. Luckily Devon
captured all of the fun. We also took a few pictures while doing some less than routine
yard work in Houston. Check out us chopping down a cactus with a machete. Pictures.
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5/20/10 - We solved a bit of an issue with Devon’s Kona today before we took off
for his brother’s graduation in Austin over the weekend. The racks mount at the
hub of the wheel, but whatdya’ know, so do the disc brakes. In order to mount the
rear rack Bicycle World of West U threw five spacers on each side, but we knew this
was only a temporary solution. This setup put the stress of the load on the bolt
which would have eventually failed. To solve the issue, Justin from Bike World had
a single spacer machined out of solid steel which connects at two points. This added
a few ounces to the bike, but a ton of stability and piece of mind.
05/11/10 - This morning we finally got down to business and had Jessica’s bike fit
properly. We had been putting off the chore so that Jess had enough time to get to
know the bike and also so that we could find the right shop. Well, we really liked
the guys down at Bicycle World of West U and decided they were the ones for the job.
Besides minor modifications to the cleat angle and handlebars we discovered that
Jessica’s bike seat was waaay too low. Photos
05/06/10 - Our ride to Austin was sourly laced with one major discovery: I needed
new tires. In total I’ve had 5 flats while Devon has yet to pop a tube. When you
are riding 70+ miles a day the last thing you want is to pause to do a little manual
labor. A good night of sleep in Austin, a morning run, and a cup of Austin Java fuelled
us as we set out to replace my “Flatasaurus Rex” tires. Putting on my new Continental
“Travel Contact” tires really energized me. On our ride back to Houston we used our
extra time and energy to capture more of the Texas beauty that rolled past us. The
ride into Houston marked our first Century, clocking in at 103 miles in 9 hours.
Photos.
04/29/10 - Yesterday we arrived in from a little mini tour from Houston to Austin.
This was a great chance to give a lot of our gear a test run. Needless to say 170
miles in two days semi-loaded was also a big accomplishment. Photos
04/26/10 - Our Tubus Racks arrived just in time to get installed for our training
tour to Austin. Cody from Bicycle World of West U stayed late helping us get them
installed for the ride tomorrow. Photos
04/15/10 - Saddled Up! After much anticipation we finally put our Brooks saddles
on our bikes.
Breaking in a Brooks saddle is a painful task laced with the sweet
reward of a saddle that perfectly molds to your sit bone position. To help facilitate
the process we soaked each of our seats in a bath of baseball glove oil for 45 minutes.
This helps moisten the leather which allows it to be more elastic, taking our individualized
shapes. In about 500 miles the seat should start to feel comfortable. Photos
04/11/10 - High five! The hand is healing nicely. Devon is looking forward to years
of making up stories for the scar. He should be back to biking in a day or two.
04/07/10 - Getting Geared Up - Today we experienced a minor setback, when Devon
decided to test the durability of his palm against the Kona’s largest chainring.
A pool of blood, two pilsners, and four stitches later he finally conceded that
it was not a good idea. Photos.
03/24/10 - Time to Stretch - We have arrived in Texas after a 36 hour marathon tour
of the southwest! FYI ‘New Mexican’ food = Tex-Mex with green chili sauce. Review
Houston will be our home base for the next three months as we train, prepare our
equipment, and visit with family and friends. See some pics of the move. Photos
03/22/10 - South Bound 45... Well mostly westbound I-10. All of our possessions
made it into about 50 wine boxes donated by our corner market and the Sentra is packed
to the brim. Wish us luck!
03/18/10 - Clip-less Pedaling: Today we installed our clip-less cleats into our
shoes and took our bikes out for a spin. We had been casually avoiding this task
despite knowing that it would improve our overall efficiency when biking. The reason
for avoiding adopting clip-less pedaling: possible crashing. Once the shoe is locked
into the pedal it takes a flick of the heel to unbind the two. To teach ourselves
how to use our new pedals we went down the street to the Bicycle Learning Area in
Golden Gate Park. Neither of us fell or even came close to falling in our practice
session so we felt confident enough to bike home. We made it all the way to our front
porch safely. Then I crashed. Luckily Devon was able to pull out the camera to capture
the moment. Photos
02/17/10 - Jess's Turn~ Finally, the search is over. Last night Jess and Devon
headed over to check out a mildly used Surly Long Haul Trucker. The seller, Ben,
was unloading this pristine relic of an ex-girlfriend who just happened to be the
same size as Jess. The thing was in great shape so we couldn't pass up the chance
to save some cash and put a solid machine back into service. I think Ben was so
excited the bike was going on such a sweet trip, he decided to throw in a pannier
(can we just call it a saddlebag?) for good measure. Thanks Ben!
02/13/10 - Fitting Day: We've returned to NorCal to get Devon’s ride fitted by the
experts at the shop. First, we dropped by Blissful Bites on the way out of town,
check out what Jess had to say. The fitting took around an hour and a half. It
was split into seat adjustment, to ensure my legs were in good position relative
to the pedals and stem adjustment to put the handlebars in just the right place.
See pictures of the action!
02/6/10 - Santa Rosa Sunday! The Scrimshaw Project took a field trip this Superbowl
Sunday to scour Santa Rosa for suitable tour bikes. On the way out of SF we dropped
by the heralded That Takes the Cake to pick up a baked treat for the day. Jess is
always eager to taste the competition when it comes to baked goods and pick up fresh
ideas. With a nutella cupcake in our bellies we made stops at several spots before
discovering a gem at NorCal Bike Sport. A Kona Sutra in Devon's size marked-down
about 30%
01/20/10 - Responses have slowly been coming in! They have been mostly encouraging
but haven’t materialized into a sponsorship. The most exciting response has been
from Pedals for Progress. This is a not for profit organization that focuses on distributing
bicycles to impoverished areas and educating the recipients on how to care for their
new mode of transportation.
12/11/09 - We sent out our first round of proposals today. Our targets for this round
were large and small companies that we thought we could align with to promote their
product or service. Check back to see the responses we are getting.
11/17/09 - Check out our poll!
11/09/09 - After doing some research we decided to start our adventure in Prudhoe
Bay, AK. This adds about 500 miles to the journey but starts us at the Arctic Ocean!
We will be travelling on the famous Dalton Highway. Learn more about the Dalton Highway
in the National Park Services Guide.
10/15/09 - The Scrimshaw Project is now officially tweeting. Follow Jess “TScirmshawP”
and Devon “ScrimshawPrjct” as we prepare for our journey.
10/3/09 - The Scrimshaw Project was founded by Devon Ponds and Jessica Wilson. Read
more about our goals and future plans and, and see how you can contribute.
