Prepping gear & training in Abiquiu
Hi all, Erin here! Tomorrow morning we begin our journey in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Our bicycles are packed, our hearts and bellies are full, and our minds are buzzing with excitement. We're ready!
We've been busy training around our home in Abiquiu, New Mexico over the last few weeks. I've never done long distance bicycle touring before (nothing a 10K cycling trip won't fix ;)), so this is all pretty new to me. The first time we completed a fully loaded training ride a few weeks ago, I couldn't believe how well the bike handled the extra weight. Cycling up hills was much easier than I thought it would be, and the extra weight made the ride much smoother than usual.
Over the last week, we've spent a lot of time at our favorite bike shop, The Broken Spoke in Santa Fe. They graciously hooked us up with a bunch of gear and tune ups to get our bikes ready for the trek. Many thanks to Mike, Owen and Jett at Broken Spoke! You guys are awesome.
I am feeling a lot of pre-travel jitters right now. Going into this trip, I do not speak Spanish, I've never cycled more than 75 miles in a week, I've never camped more than a week at a time, and I've only traveled out of the country 4 times in my life. This is going to be a life-changing, transformative trip. I am ready to surrender to this experience fully... so, let's do this!
A stunning 17 mile mountain bike ride along the Chama River
My bike mascot, a Peruvian mountain goat
Huge thanks to The Broken Spoke in Santa Fe for all the gear, advice & support!
Loaded ride to Abiquiu Lake
Off we go!
The next time we write, we'll already be on the road in Mexico. ¡Hasta pronto!