Look what I've been missing out on!
As you might expect with a 4,000 mile self-supported journey, there are a few things that you need to bring with you. I, unfortunately for my bank account, didn't have many of them...
Of course, the most important item for a bike tour is, wait for it... a bike. I did have this base covered. The next most important thing is an idea of where you're going. For that, I moseyed on over to the Adventure Cycling Association site and bought their TransAmerica route map set. Since I was going off route at more than one spot, I figured some kind of supplemental map system would be nice. I originally had planed on bringing our giant Rand McNally atlas for all those back-country detours but as fate would have it, my dear mother stepped in in a HUGE way and got me a new phone as an early birthday present.
Now you need to keep in mind two things: 1) It's an awesome new iPhone 5 and 2) I've never had a smartphone before. *MIND BLOWN* This thing is freakin' incredible. I've only had it for a week now and I already don't know how I got along without one. I'm officially part of the 21st century, playaz! Now instead of not knowing where to go, I have the problem of choosing between Apple Maps or Google Maps. Dang.
Now you need to keep in mind two things: 1) It's an awesome new iPhone 5 and 2) I've never had a smartphone before. *MIND BLOWN* This thing is freakin' incredible. I've only had it for a week now and I already don't know how I got along without one. I'm officially part of the 21st century, playaz! Now instead of not knowing where to go, I have the problem of choosing between Apple Maps or Google Maps. Dang.
#sometimesitsthesmallthings =) Beyond a bike and a route, the third most important thing to have for a trip of this magnitude is motivation. Some wonderful people by the name of the Lewis fam. took care of this for me.
Meilssa and her son Simon stopped by the shop during one of my final days at MOAB and presented me with this and gift card. For some reason, I think this was one of the more meaningful gifts I've received in a long time. Thank you guys so much!
I haven't finished it yet, but it is an excellent book thus far and I highly recommend it. I thought I'd finish it before I set out but I may just take it with me and reread it a few times. The extra weight and bulk doesn't matter.
Meilssa and her son Simon stopped by the shop during one of my final days at MOAB and presented me with this and gift card. For some reason, I think this was one of the more meaningful gifts I've received in a long time. Thank you guys so much!
I haven't finished it yet, but it is an excellent book thus far and I highly recommend it. I thought I'd finish it before I set out but I may just take it with me and reread it a few times. The extra weight and bulk doesn't matter.
The next few items are critically important too, but perhaps more important for others than they are for me — cameras. I know I'll be experiencing this trip with my own senses and create some wonderful memories for myself, but every. single. person. that I've told about this journey has wanted to know more and I feel it's my duty to document my experience as best as I can.
So much awesomeness! I mentioned here that becoming friends with Thad had, in part, spurred me on to collect some new camera equipment. I now have the nicest DSLR of my life, a few lenses and an external mic for it, a "life-proof" Contour AND a GoPro... all things that I don't deserve in the least.
The official run-down:
I also picked up a rugged 1TB LaCie external hard drive from Ryan at Mac Authority. I knew I'd be taking a gazillion pics and hours of video but had nowhere to put 'em. My MacBook Air can only hold so much!
It's been a blast playing around with all this stuff and making films with Thad and others. I've learned a lot too which is always good. I still have a lot of un-processed footage though that I can hopefully do something with while on the road. And for the record, a 32GB SD card can hold A LOT. Shooting raw files on this camera yields ~24MB files (each!) and the card just eats 'em up. You can do the math on that. I have yet to max it out.
Stay tuned for more pics and videos! And as always, ask yer questions in the comments section.
The official run-down:
- Nikon D600
- 50mm f/1.4
- 16-35mm f/4
- Røde VideoMic Pro
- Contour Roam 2
- GoPro Hero 3 (Black Edition)
- Magnus fluid head tripod (not pictured)
I also picked up a rugged 1TB LaCie external hard drive from Ryan at Mac Authority. I knew I'd be taking a gazillion pics and hours of video but had nowhere to put 'em. My MacBook Air can only hold so much!
It's been a blast playing around with all this stuff and making films with Thad and others. I've learned a lot too which is always good. I still have a lot of un-processed footage though that I can hopefully do something with while on the road. And for the record, a 32GB SD card can hold A LOT. Shooting raw files on this camera yields ~24MB files (each!) and the card just eats 'em up. You can do the math on that. I have yet to max it out.
Stay tuned for more pics and videos! And as always, ask yer questions in the comments section.
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