I Have Got My Bike!!!

Hello All!

I realize that it has been a long time since my last post it's been a very busy past month! Lot's of people are getting into cycling, which is very exciting. I love being able to share my passion for bikes with you all out there, although it has made for some long hours of late!

With that said, I've finally taken delivery of the bike that I'll be riding on the trip! It's a Surly Long Haul Trucker, which is a steel frame touring bike. It's a machine that is a very good value for the money as it comes equipped with Shimano XT components, and hand built wheels from Surly. The bike is a dream to ride, and I've already spent many hours fine tuning it around New York. I can't wait to get it out of the city for a shakedown cruise! I'm only waiting for the final puzzle piece to arrive from Tubus Racks, a Logo rear rack system that will hold my Arkel Panniers safely and securely.

All in all, however, I can't stress enough to folks out there the importance of a bike that fits your body. So many people I meet ride bikes that are either too small, or too large. The result is that riding is often uncomfortable, or even painful, and you don't ever want to go riding. This bike fits like a glove, so it's a vast change from my old Cannondale V900 converted mountain bike. It's also a much faster machine than anything I've yet owned. I've shaved 5-10 minutes off of my morning commute!

Well, that's the big news for this post. The project is generally taking form in other aspects as well. I have ordered a set of road atlases for Northern Europe to assist me in route planning. The actual route of the trip will be the subject of my next post, but it is generally based on the locations of Grandpa's units as noted in the Morning and After Action reports made available to me by the 7th Armored Division Association. (http://www.7tharmddiv.org/). Special thanks are due these guys as they have been an invaluable resource in my research for this project.

Please, as always, feel free to browse the blog, check out Sid's Bikes (http://www.sidsbikes.com/) , and check out the attached photos of my new ride in various stages of assembly!

If you are at all interested in helping to make this dream a reality by donating a small amount of money to the cause, you can quickly and securely do so by clicking on the Paypal donate button below! Donations are very much appreciated, and I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of you who have already ready contributed.

Many thanks to everyone, and I'll see you all very soon!