Day -1: Fourteen Years

Written By Robert Ralph

Tomorrow is the start of my second tour. It has been fourteen years since the last time I trekked across the US. I genuinely have no rea idea as to what this trip is going to shape up to be. I have a pretty locked in route for the first half of my journey, but the second leg is far less definite. I had intended to start on May 29th, however due to a wheel still not being fully built, and waiting on a more comfortable seat for my bike that FedEx has yet to deliver, I had to postpone. So here we are.

The current plan is to trek up to Berea, KY which was to be my 6th or 7th day on the trail and begin there. Me and a friend, Matthew, will be driving up and staying the night in Berea before I depart on two wheels on Wednesday, June 4th.

I figure this will give me a bit of time to get used to the rigors of riding the trail and learning how to best charge up the e-bike mid day. From Berea I will be heading norward through KY into IL and towards my Sister-in-law’s house in Fishers, IL.

My eventual goal is to get to Park Rapids, Mn where I will attend the wedding of my friend Bob Daun. However, that only describes the first leg of the journey.

Equipment:

Most of you who don’t directly know me will likely be interested in my equipment. So here’s a basic breakdown:

  • Bike: Mokwheel Basalt e-bike with a 750watt hub motor, and a 96ah battery. I’ve modified the bike to suit my needs by having the original 4in fat tires replaced with 2in city tires both to save weight and allow me to use Amtrak’s bike service — which maxes out at a 2in tire width. I’ve also made some mods to the cockpit with new bars, and have gone through some iterations with different saddles. Otherwise the bike was already built for handling bags etc.

  • Panniers: My original 2011 ortlieb panniers are still in good condition other than being a bit faded and having some brittle rubber that’s decayed — the plastic and fabric are all in good repair.

  • Sealine Bag: My central 56L waterproof bag carries my sleeping gear.

  • Sleeping gear:

    • OneTigris Featherlight Mummy style Sleeping Quilt

    • Naturehike Cloud-up 1-man tent (I really don’t intend to use this, its a CYA)

    • Nemo Tensor Ultralight sleeping pad

    • Thermarest backup pad

  • Tools & Clothes

Robert Ralph
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Day 0 - The drive To Berea