Hi everybody,

If you've gotten this far you've probably been informed of my grandiose plans for this summer. With the help of my trusty bike Mr. Homn (see the next post for more on the name), I will be biking solo from Anacortes, Wash., to Bar Harbor, Maine, and into Nova Scotia time permitting.

Why?

Well, I've always wanted to go on the proverbial trip across America, but I didn't want to drive because:

a. Interstates take all the fun out of travel;

b. Taking back roads, on the other hand, leads to the frustration of endless wrong turns and stop signs;

c. In the age of pricey gas, resource wars and global warming, an enormous car trip seems wasteful on several levels; and

d. Call me un-American, but I really don't like driving that much. Biking, on the other hand, I can do endlessly, and it gives me a real sense of accomplishment.

Or perhaps I just want to be different.

Not that different, though: I'll be taking the Northern Tier Route, which is a bike route thoroughly mapped out by the Adventure Cycling Association, the country's premier bike-touring outfit. I have a set of 11 maps that will basically guide me along the entire route, and have all the information I need about where to buy food, get the bike fixed, camp out for the night, etc. This is an entirely "self-contained" trip, meaning I'll be bringing everything I need on the bike, in four massive bike bags I've bought for that purpose.

I leave on June 11 and I expect to arrive in Bar Harbor in mid-to-late August, at which point I will decide whether to keep going for a while or just visit my family in Massachusetts for a while and go home. I hope to update this blog regularly around the way with words and photos, the regularity of which will depend on how often I can find libraries and cafes with net connections.

So you will all be hearing from me soon. Look forward to lots of waxing eloquent about scenery and even more complaining about dehydration, bad drivers and both literal and figurative pains in the butt.