Hello Everyone!

[eXp_Chick]

Hi All-

Just signed up here and wanted to introduce myself. I am 38 years old and a RN in NYC. I am married and we have a beautiful 4 year old daughter.

My husband, me and our daughter will be embarking on a 7 year world tour on our bicycles starting in 2005. Right now we're in the process of having our touring bikes custom built as well as putting together lists of all the supplies we'll need for self-supported touring.

I am very excited to be entering this new phase in our lives as well as having found this forumboard-nice to know there is a place for just 'the girls' to hang out and share ideas!!

Thanks for reading! :)

[Adventure Girl]

WOW! That's fascinating! Sounds really exciting. Tell us more about your bikes and your route. How long have you been planning this tour? Is it going to be just the three of you or are you going with a group?

What an adventure!

[jobob]

That is fabulous! Yes, what Adventure Girl said, please tell us about your plans.

[eXp_Chick]

Just the three of us, unless if I can figure out how to take our cat along. At least for the American leg... We've been dreaming/planning for a year or so.

Well, we just started travel nursing, so we plan to accept assignments around the US/Alaska every three months or so, so I'm not sure where we will begin...Also we will use this throughout the tour whenever funds get low.

When we're ready to go, probably start in the UK and then wherever the wind takes us. There is no real agenda involved except to see absolutely EVERYTHING and stay a while whenever we really want to!!

Our bikes are being made by Thorn in Somerset England, the EXP model at http://www.sjscycles.com/. My husband will be FULLY loaded and pulling something like a BOB or Burley Nomad and I will be loaded and pulling the passenger trailer (Burley D'lite).

I can't wait!!

[Irulan]

I'm fairly drawing a blank, but there was a lot of press a few years ago about a family of **5* including some fairly small ones, who rode across the USA. Arrgh, I can't remember the details.
I'm pretty sure they had the little ones on tag alongs or stoker set ups.

someone will get their memory jogged?

Irulan

[jobob]

LOL, from your screen name I was going to ask if you were getting a Thorn Exp! I likes steel touring bikes :D

[snapdragen]

Don't suppose your or your hubby go by the name ZenJones on the RBR boards? There were pictures posted of the new Thorn touring bike - wow. Looks like they'll serve you well. ;)

[eXp_Chick]

Originally posted by snapdragen
Don't suppose your or your hubby go by the name ZenJones on the RBR boards? There were pictures posted of the new Thorn touring bike - wow. Looks like they'll serve you well. ;)

First Jobob knows him by one name, which I know he uses, and now someone else knows him by another, which I didn't know he uses, all I can say is he better be limiting his forumboard activities to cycling ONLY! :eek: ;)

Actually, he saw your post and said, 'That's me! Yeah, Road Bike Review, the only place you can show off a $3,500.00 bike and not get any Ohh's & Ahhh's because it's a touring bike and Lance Armstrong or Jan Ulrich don't ride one!', so at least he's being forthcoming with me!

Hopefully someone else here won't say, 'Oh, is your husband also known as 'Fill-In-The-Blank', I know him from the 'Single Guys Looking For Hot Older Ladies' Yahoo Group!! :mad: :p

Maybe I should start reading his email?? :o :D :cool:

[jobob]

That has got to be one of the funniest posts I've read here (and there have been some gems), thanks for the chuckles!

[kpc]

This trip sounds like an incredible experience. Tell us how you will manage your daughter. How long will she sit in the pull-along? How many hours a day are you planning on riding? She will have so many wonderful experiences, how amazing for her! It's great that she's not in school yet, no disruption there. I suppose she loves the whole camping thing, how big will your tent be?

[eXp_Chick]

Originally posted by kpc
This trip sounds like an incredible experience. Tell us how you will manage your daughter. How long will she sit in the pull-along? How many hours a day are you planning on riding? She will have so many wonderful experiences, how amazing for her! It's great that she's not in school yet, no disruption there. I suppose she loves the whole camping thing, how big will your tent be?

We have a trailer for her and her absolute essentials: things like a few stuffed animals, her favorite stuffed lamb, popup books, coloring books and crayons/markers.
Because of the extremely relaxed nature of our plans we are going to, with limits!! :D let her guide us about length of time in the trailer. We figure some days will be more, others less. However as of now she'll sit comfortably for up to 2 hours at a time as long as she has lots of conversation back there from my husband and me while we ride which isn't a problem because my husband is a "talker"!! ;)

Realistically we're shooting for an initial 10-15 mile per day pace at the beginning. Sounds like crawling but with the sheer amount of gear we will be carrying and the length of time we have we figure, slow is better. Eventually we will aim for the 20-25 mile per day area. We want to experience the places we are in, not just ride through them so we think a slower pace is best.
I'll have panniers loaded with the lightest gear and the trailer with our daughter while my husband will have the heavy stuff; around 100 pounds of gear in just his panniers alone and somewhere around 80 to 100 pounds more in his trailer. His bike will weigh in around 137 pounds minus him and mine will weigh around 60 pounds without me excluding trailers for both of us.

So far we're planning our riding days to be something like this:

7-8am, get up, breakfast, breaking down camp.

9-9:30am to 12-12:30pm, be on the road(unless we see something we want to explore)

Lunch(homeschooling, playtime out of the trailer, etc)until 2pm

2-4 or 5pm(depending on the time of year)Back on the road, arrive at next camping area, setup, playtime, dinner, bathing, lite schoolwork(as she gets older), normal 'home-life' activities. The keyword for each day will be, Flexibility! Also, there will be many days with no travel.

For homeschooling we will be using a combination of real-time activities(what we come across on each day will become a focal point for her. A method called Unschooling.)in connection with the Waldorf School methodology and materials. We're VERY excited by all of this for her growth and development!!

We haven't fully decided on a tent yet but we very much like 2 that are offered by REI. One has what could be described as almost like a 'mud room' just inside the flap area that we really like for the added room for gear and bikes. The other is a more traditional design and may offer less headaches.

:)

[kpc]

Wow, sounds great. For that type of learning- experiential rather than explaing with words - you might also consider Montessori too. I think it's sort of a cousin to Waldorf. But this will be so wonderful for your daughter. and i guess the good thing about nursing is that you two can switch off childcare and work opposite shifts.
How big will the floor of the tent be?

[Irulan]

hearing more on your philosophy, I think that if there's any way you can include the kid in the process of pedaling across the country, as compared to being a passenger the whole way... you really should. Think of what it would do for your daughter to help out!! Either a stoker/tandem set up, or a tag along. Think of what a learning experience it would be to be a particiapnt and contributor for her. Keep the trailer for gear, and for when she gets tuckered out. Also, being on the bike with a parent will be much less lonely than being in a trailer. think of the conversations you can have, the hands on learning about talking about what you see, as she is right there.
just 2¢ of course

Irulan

[eXp_Chick]

Funny you mentioned that, my husband(poor soul!)will be hauling her little Trek bike or a foldable tag-a-long in his trailer.
Our daughter is too easily distracted for the tag-a-long all the time as she has a real habit of pointing at things so she removes her hands, feet and even tries to turn sideways in the saddle!! Very scary first time she did this!!:eek: :eek:

So, yes, eventually she'll be riding more and more but at first she'll be riding along like the Queen of England in her trailer greeting her court! ;)

[gretchen]

I am sooooo envious of your adventure!!!!
You are doing what most people just dream of...way to go!
As for your daughter...she has no idea (at this point in her life) just how fortunate she is!
Best of luck to you...safe travels, soak it all up!
oh, and take along a lap top to share with the rest of us living vicariously through you!