May 27 (Setting up and setting out)

Hello friends and the wider internet.  If you don't already know who I am, my name is Bill Scharpf and I have been "planning" a cross-country cycling trip for the past four years.  However, as any of you who know me would expect, I put off any real work in preparing for this trip until the last minute.  This led to my scurrying around the area of Calvert County frantically gathering equipment until the day before I left.

When all is said and done, my pack weighs 36 lbs not including the weight of the bike and trailer.  I think I'm more than prepared for what I'm going to face.  (This is probably overconfidence on my part.)

I left for Eugene, OR today. 

The trip was uneventful with two relaxed but boring layovers. I did manage to finish two books on it though, so that was fun. (Terry Pratchett's Snuff and Piers Anthony's Virtual Mode, if you're interested) Nine hours later, I arrived safely on the West Coast.  The driver who took me from the airport to the hostel was quite the character.  I asked him about the area and he gave me some useful information:  apparently, a number of cyclists have died on the road that I planned to ride on – never an auspicious beginning to a journey!  He also told me that the area where the hostel was located used to be the drug capitol of Eugene... I think he said "pot smoking kids on every poch".  He rambled about politics a bit and mentioned paradoxically that he liked both Reagan and Clinton ... and, if Clinton was going to cheat on someone in the White House, why couldn't he have picked a more attractive woman?

Later on, while grumbling about how small his tips had been that day (sum total was only $2), he proceeded to give said $2 to a homeless person and his dog.  (He said $1 for each.)  I really enjoyed the ride with him and offered him a decent tip when he dropped me off at the Eugene Whiteaker Hostel, which he then refused saying I would be needing it.

The hostel itself manages to look both homely and homey at the same time, balancing really warm and comfortable rooms with a somewhat run-down exterior. For instance, one of the men running the place had a home-made but extremely durable looking trailer hitched to his bike; I think he might have welded it together himself.  In any event, the atmosphere was great, and I'll be looking to stay at any other hostels I find on my trip.

I spent about two hours rebuilding my bike and trailer.  Thank merciful heaven that it got here in one piece!

Another hour and a half to sort out my pack and I was ready to turn in for the night.  It's been a long day and I'm finally ready to start this trip!

I'd like to thank the following people for their help:

• Carl Bevard for giving me a shipping box for my bike and showing me how to pack it
• Kenny from the Bike Doctor in Waldorf for his guidance in choosing equipment for this trip
• My Dad and Uncle Bernie Stenger for all their unsolicited advice – most of which has proven to be invaluable
• Becca and Daniel Stenger and Chris Bevard for their help in packing
• My Mom for offering to be my secretary for the summer for this blog whenever I can't get to a computer.
• And a HUGE THANK YOU to Greg Benjamin.  Greg lent me the Adventure Cycling maps that I am using on this trip.  And, more important, he was key to my being hired by Amazon.  If I hadn't seen Greg at the Tech Job Fair at University of Maryland last fall, I probably wouldn't have walked up to the Amazon recruiting booth.  Greg called me over and got me started on my first interview ... and so I have a deadline for completing this adventure ... as well as another adventure in Seattle that starts in late August!  So thank you, Greg!