day -01

arrived safely in portland. getting a bike boxed to be taken on an airplane is no joke. they took off my seat, handlebars, pedals, and front fender. I was going to try to lug this huge box on portland's public transit system, but that just seemed like trouble waiting to happen. i opted instead to take out my trusty tools and begin reassembling my bike, right there in the airport. it became quite an ordeal as people stared at this person assembling a bike in a baggage claim area. to top it off, i wore my helmet the entire time i was working. it was quite a scene. wanted to get a picture of it to post, but i was trying to finish before i lost all my daylight, and my hands got extremely greasy in the process. oh well. i'll try and get one as I make my final adjustments tomorrow before i start heading east on saturday.

on the plane ride here, i began feeling nervous about my trip for the first time. being so caught up in finishing my school year and packing, i don't think i had completely grasped the magnitude of this trip. 2700 miles traveled in 6 weeks! what was i thinking? alone. camping some nights. i even started thinking about just turning back and aborting this mission.

then the man next to me on the plane pointed out the columbia river through the window and i saw the amazing northwest mountain tops and landscape. and he asked if i had a blog.

then my wife's aunt listened in amazement as i described my route and showed her my solar panel.

and that's all the encouragement i needed.