Need some help-new to cycling :) and about to bike 4000 miles..

[choltz]

So my bike arrived, its assembled and I've had it checked out by my local bike shop After they heard what i was doing, they checked everything out for free and donated a few little saftey gadgets (like a flashing light for the seat). ***Shout out to North Texas Bikes in Aubrey*** So far, the training has been going well. The weather here in Texas has been a bit crazy-- SNOW in March! I did go for a 30 mile ride on Saturday. It was freezing and super windy, but I made it . Today is nice so I'm hoping to get out for a good ride. yay! Thanks for all the tips and advice! Super helpful!

[sfa]

You are going to have the time of your life on this trip! Yes, it'll be physically and often psychologically hard, but you'll always look back on this trip as one of the highlights of your life. Having done a similar sort of adventure at a similar time in my life, I can tell you that the first week or two is pretty hard, and then it's just kind of your life and what you do. Bodies adapt to these things amazingly well.

Here's someone else to inspire you: http://www.pedallingalltheway.com/

He decided, almost on a whim, to raise money for Farm Africa first by rowing solo across the Atlantic, and then by cycling 6,000 miles over about three months days from his home in England to the farm he helped fund in Kenya. He got his bike February 15 (after not riding for about 10 years), left on March 29. And he did just fine.

Best of luck to you!

Sarah

[BeeLady]

Lucky you! Wish I were going too!

Best cycling advice I ever got as from a TE member: Just keep pedaling!

One good cross-country book I read was Pedaling Across America by Don & Lolly Skillman. They were older when they did their trip but they gave a good account of what to expect on a day-by-day basis. More detail than some of the on-line blogs I have read. It's a quick, interesting read and maybe you can share the book with some of your other travelers.