Route 20, Boston MA to Newport OR- 3,365 miles of awesome

Well team, on wednesday I am hitting the road and taking off on a trip I have been anticipating for quite some time now. I have pretty much all my gear in order. All I can hope for is decent weather, no huge mechanical issues with my bike, and that I won't get run off the road by some aggressive trucker as I muscle through the corn fields of Ohio. I would like to take this time to give a huge thanks to everyone who has supported me and helped me out with all of the tiny meticulous details that I required in gearing up for this trip. And a special thanks to one Geoffrey Carlson, who's dedication to detail and incredibly generous disposition to help a complete stranger essentially made this trip safe and possible for me. Geoffrey, if I ever write a book on this, you will get half of the profits.
The route:
Ever since I got back from hiking the appalachian trail in 2005, the idea of biking cross country consumed me. I loved the idea of seeing the country east to west, moving quickly and not having to carry all my necessary supplies on my back. I also fell in love with the physical challenge of it all. I considered a bunch of different routes until a friend suggested route 20, I learned that it is the oldest east-west highway, it starts within one mile of the pacific and ends within one mile of the atlantic, the idea of taking one road the whole way was very appealing. And the fact that it conveniently happens to start in boston a few miles from where I live pretty much sealed the deal for me.

I will be riding a Novara Safari ( or the safairy) , which is a little heavy and maybe the equivalent of trekking in a toyota 4 runner as opposed to a fast and efficient honda civic, however, it's rugged, comfortable and I know that I can load it up and give it a good beating and it will still ride smoothly. It is one of my most favorite toys.
I went with a bob yak trailor which is called little boo, I decided I liked the idea of having everything behind me instead of right on me with panniers. My tent is a big agnes seedhouse sl1, sometimes referred to as aggie.

As for training, whenever preparing myself for something of this magnitude, I spend a whole lot of time on endurance and recovery, and getting my body to a point where i can push hard till near exhaustion a few times a day and then be able to wake up the next day to do it all over again. You don't really have to be a great athlete to do anything like this, its really all about you tolerate/trandscend pain and discomfort and what you can push yourself through. However, I am a complete sucker for endurance athleticism, testing human potential and pushing my physical limits. That being said I will leave you with a quote from Dean Karnazes, I was reading articles about him in runners world before he made it big and signed with north face and all that good stuff. But his drive and words speak volumes to me and capture quite well the passion I feel about life:

The human body has limitations, the human spirit is boundless. Your mind is your most important muscle, Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow!! What a ride!

It is approximately 3,365 miles from boston to newport, oregon, if I want to get there in 35 days I need to average 96.4 miles a day. We'll see what goes down.

I am incredibly lucky and fortunate to be at point in my when i have the means, health and support to be able to attempt this endeavor. To my friends and family, thank you again.