Greetings!

My brother and I are riding our bicycles from Portland to San Francisco.  We will be taking the coastal route, fully loaded, camping out in state parks along the way.

The purpose of this blog is first and foremost as personal journal to document my experience, from planning and training, riding and camping, and reflecting on a (hopefully) successful tour.  It will also provide a way for our family and friends to keep up with our progress, share our experiences, and comment as we go.  I hope that it might also provide some inspiration and information to would be tourers, since we're both doing this for the first time.

I think people may find this blog interesting for a few reasons.  For starters, neither of us have any idea what we're doing.  Aside from owning a touring bike, some limited commuting, and a handful of long rides, I have never done anything like this.  My brother is probably more qualified, but for no other reason than he bikes more than I do.  Neither of us have ever been on a tour before nor ridden fully loaded.  My bike maintenance skills are limited to pumping up a tire and fixing a chain derailing.  I haven't been camping since High School.  This trip is likely to be a series of boondoggles which promise to be of entertainment to the readers.

While the trip itself will definitely be the highlight of the blog, I think people may find the planning and outfitting aspect of the endeavor of interest as well.  For someone that is obsessive compulsive about scheduling and has a penchant for collecting Gear, I feel blogging about this experience will be a great opportunity to share my neurosis with the world.  I've already sketched out a milage log, packing list, and am in the process of working out a training regimen for the next month.  Also, I'll do my best to post feedback on the equipment we take with us.  While we're clearly newbies at the touring game, it might be helpful for others to share a beginner's view of the process.

A goal is to make our trip as easy to follow as possible, and it just so happens that I am good at The Internet.  I promise to regularly update the blog with progress, especially once we're on the road.  You can follow us on twitter @portlandtosf and I'll forward blog posts to FB.  Once we're on the road I'll be checking in on foursquare (Adam G) and will activate my latitude for those that are friends with me there.  Please do let me know if there's something I've missed.

Stay tuned...