Working Away

Over the past 4 days, Andrew and I (although mostly Andrew...about 97%) have been cutting, sawing, screwing, welding, sanding, and painting the wooden platform - soon to be called our bed - as well as the metal rack which will sit above the topper and hitch rack to hold our gear. Not only did we buy all of the materials, but Andrew labored in the extreme summer heat and humidity to construct the following items by hand! 

Pretty impressive stuff if I do say so myself. Here is some of the work which is still in progress. Final pictures will be posted at send off!

Mattress sits above platform, underneath will be used as storage.

Platform hinges towards the middle to allow ease of access to gear and supplies.

Fits perfectly!

Andrew beginning the process of constructing the rack.

Welding in progress...

Safe-fitting the rack to the truck bed.

More or less what it looks like without the bed liner paint.

Andrew has gnarly tan lines, a burnt face from welding and has enjoyed a good amount of beers during this process, although he claims "not enough." All the while, I have been sitting inside the A.C. helping my mom out with various tasks around the house. Andrew sits here watching me write this in disgust with my behavior!

Until next time...

Kate & Andrew

A Small Hickup

I came out of a jet lagged haze today only to realize that the road trip is only one month away! And the next thought after that was "holy crap, I am no where near the fitness level needed for the western mountains." Can I get in enough training between now and departure time? Looks like I have to! With only two weeks left in north Georgia before I head down to south and northwest Florida for another two weeks, I am going to force myself to do some sort of physical activity each day until we leave...or at least try.

While preparing for a bike ride a few days ago, Andrew and I noticed that the bike I intended to use was no where near the shape it needed to be in for me to use it. Now on a frantic search for another bike, we are wondering if we're both going to be able to ride. Eyes and ears are open!

Update on July 12th, 2011. As it turns out, Andrew's bike fits me quite well. Much better than the Cannondale I was using before. The only thing I seem to need to make the Ellsworth fit me better is a new stem for the handlebars. So what's Andrew going to ride? Well, he's been working this the local bike shop owner and good friend Mike Palmeri to get a deal on a single speed, which he's been drooling over for over a year. Mike was able to work out a deal with Norco and the Judan model is in route from Canada! Hopefully it should arrive before we head south for two weeks to take care of some business before we get on the road.


All is good!

Kate & Andrew

Packing List

With the road trip about a month away, Andrew and I have begun compiling a list of items we will need. Our motto is to try to prepare for the worst and we should be fine. However, with a limited amount of space for items this may prove to be more of a challenge than we think. 

Although we plan to sleep out of the back of the truck as much as possible, we are going to bring enough gear to set up camp, including a tent, in case we decide to go for an overnight biking/hiking trip.

Gear:

Water bottles and purifier

Backpacking stove with one burner (lighter & matches)

Pots, pans, eating utensils

Propane canister

Pocket knife - multiple uses

Headlamps (also good for biking)

Lighter/matches

Cell phone

Weapon - some sort of defense mechanism

Solar shower

Bike tools 

Cooler

Fold out table

Spare tire

Hiking backpacks

Camping:

      Tent

      Sleeping bags 

      Tarp (at least 6x8 ft)

Sleeping in truck:

       Mattress

       Sheets

       Pillows

Clothes:

Riding gear (shoes, jersey, gloves, helmet, etc.)

Baseball cap

2 pairs of pants

2 nice shirt

Several t-shirts (at least one weeks worth)

Several pairs of shorts (at least one weeks worth)

Jacket

Rain jacket

7 pairs of underwear

Boots, sneakers and flip flops

Toiletries:

Soap

Shampoo

Razor and shaving cream

Toothbrush and toothpaste

Deodorant

Eco friendly cleaning products

Towels

Misc:

Road atlas

Maps of places we’re hiking/biking

Books for reading

Camera

Journal

Proper ID
Emergency money

Food (two or three day’s worth):

Noodles

Breads

Nuts

Granola

Dried fruit

Canned goods

Protein bars