Tandem!!!!!

Our bike arrived in the last week of March. I bought all the parts from several different sources. Ive been building it over the past couple of weeks. heres several snap shots of the progress...

More bike parts have arrived.

Jane and I bought a lot of parts from Nomad Cyclery in March. They just arrive. These are for the tandem. Our trip is coming just around the corner!!!!!!

March is flying by!!

So I just spoke with co-motion in Oregon and our tandem is completed. The frame is ready to ship and all we need to Do is pay it off. Which we did. Yikes!!

During our recent trip to California I went by nomad Cyclery and picked up all the parts that I had ordered.

I'm going to play a game with Jane later today of what the part is and where on the bike it goes!! That will be entertaining.

I will show you all the parts as well.

I'm still missing a front crank, James bar, rear rack, front panniers and some other odds am ends. But for theist part we are almost there.

I can't wait!!!

Bay Area wedding in March!

well the month of march is passing very quickly. Jane and I just got back from our friends wedding in the bay area. It was really great to have a week off and to spend it together away from Brooklyn. Spring is definitely springing here. It was so great to see one of my oldest and dearest pals tie the knot. 

Jane goes off to grad School

Right about the time when Jane and I started really making it known to each other how much we likes each other and were getting very close she announced her idea to move back to her home town of San Antonio Texas to teach in the public school system. She wanted my opinion and while this was killing me inside I pretended to think it was a great idea. I didn't feel like it was my place to try and put my foot down and say " I live you. You can't go!!"!we just weren't there yet. So I supported her. She realized pretty quickly that she indeed was not going to Texas and at that point a grad school in Cambridge Massachusetts presented itself. The MFA was specialized in voice as speech and she would be working with actors and getting all the same training that they would get. She would also spend a semester in Moscow. Many pieces fell into place and after her interview she was accepted. It was a 2 year MFA and she moves almost immediately. Her father and a friend came from Texas to help with the love and I met him at that point for the first time.
The moment she told me age got in I was excited and also a bit upset because I figured she and I would splinter apart. I have my own issues when it comes to long distance relationships. I just wasn't sure how it would all pan out. I was optimistic but uneasy. To my surprise she and I never went more than a couple weeks apart for the two years. She and I lived on the fung wah china town bus from manhattan to Boston. 4 hour rides each way. I'm glad it wasn't a 3 year program. That may have killed me.

Headlamp for Jane

It is a necessity to have a headlamp on a campsite. The question for my wife is how much power does her headlamp need? I have a heavier duty higher lumen rated lamp for myself because I have and most likely will use mine more than she would use hers. This Black Diamond  lamp has 17 lumens and is super light. runs on 2 AA batteries and burns for around 120 hours. Certainly sufficient for this trip.

Black Mountain Orbit Lantern

This lantern is fairly light and super compact. Having a lantern at a dinner site be it on a table or on the ground is a game changer. I have camped at plenty of sites with only head lamps to eat by and it can be a real drag. Having a constant stationary light is ao helpful. When lights are moving in the dark it becomes disorientating. This also has a hook to hang from your tent roof during the night. Very handy. Can also act as a walking lantern as opposed to carrying a flashlight. And for 25$ it's a bargain.