countdown : 6

another big day at ghost runners HQ - e-man was coming back up from pleasanton, tx so i once again had the house to myself. me and the cat spent the morning sleeping and packing.  while ricochet the cat lived up to species' particular brand of napping, i made buckwheat pancakes, boxed up some more of my life,  and headed over to the storage facility.

it's my life ... in a box

goodbye money - i never loved you anyway. ugh ... so much stress and joy in these final days, all piled on top of each other like some kind of anxious caprese. man, i'm hungry. regardless, storage facility is a go and, like the phone and (soon) my water and power bills everything is being auto-debited. you know, i may hate money, but paradoxically i wish i had more of it. then i could do this trip in truly, truly, truly outrageous style instead of poor-dumb-schloob-style. man, even my sentences make less sense these days. 

bought some bells and string to make a late-night bike thief deterrent / low-tech snake / tiger / bear repellent. the idea is to have a string of bells we put over or around the bikes at night so if someone tried to gank 'em, the bells would ring and the dude will be all "Oh No! Bells!" and jet. also tigers and snakes hate humans (i assume) and everything we stand for, especially joy, ergo christmas. hence, silver bells = evil animal repellent. to a grouch, christmas is a bummer.  LOGIC'D!

all in all, me and eliot have reach a high level of excitement. there is still some stress - a few little gaps in the plan that need filling in before we take off. and i'm going to miss the people here TONS. last night me and the gents went to the bar and had a jolly old time. if i die in india, it'll be okay. but i think i'd miss being able to hang out with those guys. unless after you die you get to go to some tavern-in-the-sky with a bunch of famous old dudes and kathy ireland from 1984. Hands off of the jukebox, Mark Twain -  Rythym is a Daaaaaancer! wooooOOOOOOOoooooo KEEP IT GOING, former president William Howard Taft! Man that 'stache can groove. 

countdown: 7

[[ soundtrack: cloudkicker ]]

god willing and the creeks don't rise, i'll be in the international terminal of the Houston airport this time next week. until then, this has become my life:

LISTS, LISTS, LISTS

boxed up books and records for lauren today. she's being amazing with me leaving. i'm sure it's not easy or fun for her to watch me box up my life and leave the country for 3 months. but she's being super encouraging and in an act of what seems to be only slightly-less-than-pure-generosity, is taking a selection of books, my DVDs and my records to her house for safe storage. go-go gadget girlfriend.

called a storage place that'll keep my stuff for the next three months for much less than i thought i'd have to pay. gotta keep boxing stuff up.  coming from a family of pack-rats and bibliophiles, i have boxes and boxes filled to the brim with books. besides that, everything i own seems to be 4 lamps, a 48-star flag and a painting of edgar allen poe.

new pictures of the bike coming today or tomorrow. the new bag configuration is highly efficient and awesome. plus now my pepper spray is actually where i can get to it. as i said, pictures forthcoming. the lesson learned? pay for quality when you can, but a little thought and a little elbow grease go a looooooong way.

countdown : 8

with eight days to go - and no more job to have to go to - i'm in full preperation mode. eliot took off to pleasanton so there are no distractions.  i woke up and spent the (incredibly cold) morning boxing up all my stuff to haul off to storage.  as i box up my life, the perrenial lament: why oh why do i have os many books? i had a coffee and cleaned up the kitchen a bit. my backpack had some cat wee on it so i through it in the wash, saying a not-so-silent prayer that it wouldn't tear to shreds like the last pack i tried to do that with ...

then i spent some time at the bank figuring out how money withdrawals will work over there and depositing some back checks. heading over to the at&t store to discuss the workflow for the iPhone (it's complicated but it looks like we'll still be taking it), skipped over to the outfitters and picked up a better watch band and some small luggage straps for the handlebar bag i picked up at best buy - i'm converting a camera bag that cost $21 instead of paying bontrager $100. makes sense to you, too, huh?

VERSUS

picked up my 30-days-at-time contact lenses (which i am dreading using [they aren't comfortable] but what can i do?).  finally had something to eat about 2 and instantly fell asleep for 2 hours. i think my body was telling me to slow down. refreshed (sort of?) i head off to the 'bux for some coffee and internet. gotta blog, close up my e-mail account at work, and do a little more research. then it's a phone conversation with the storage facility, the landlord, the housemate and a quick repack of the bike.

then, god willing, lauren will come over with some wine and i can relax but i hope she brings something italian (montepulciano d'abruzzo? ripasso?) because i already have a cabernet decanted and it would really be a shame if- OH MY GOD WHY AM I SO WOUND UP?!?

Thanks, Push-Up Preston

oh yeah, i'm leaving the country for three months to survive on my wits and health alone for 3 months, that's why. thankfully i'm the good kind of wound up - excited, more-like. fear and elation have given way to determination. gotta move, gotta make steps forward.  beaming down to the planet surface and praying my shirt ain't red - unless i'm scotty. i don't think i'm scotty.  i'm more of a chekov, let's be honest.

knocked-up, part 2

Dear Mom,

Today at the Passport Health Clinic I thought of you when, against my better judgement, I gave the nice Rhodesian lady more money to give me a tetanus shot. Yes, it was costly, and yes, I thought it was totally superfluous. but now your baby will be protected from dirt-born bacteria that causes (in the words of my physician) "a really awful disease."  I also got the last of my hepatitis B shots so I'm all up to speed.

Your Son,
Drew

Making Lists, Checking Them Twice, Going Crazy

Now with 9 days to go (!!!!), Drew and I are fervently checking boxes on checklists and making more checklists to check in the interest of being as prepared as possible, and having a checklist to check constantly, check-it-y check check check. The other morning, whilst waiting for our breakfast at the Startz Cafe in Canyon Lake (test ride pictures to be uploaded soon!), I asked Drew, "wanna make a list?" Like, wanna play cards, or, wanna build a fort? Amazing.

This has become almost a pastime, making lists and coming up with stuff to take care of, and the closer to the deadline, the more lists there are and the more stuff to make lists about. I'm feeling more or less prepared, both mentally and check-list-ally, but most nights for the last week I have been waking up in the wee hours and writing down something crucial I forgot to do. Lists have come to be the overlapping memory I am trying to keep straight. I wish my mind could keep all this junk in order, and maybe after a few generations of evolution, it will. But for now, I gotta keep writing stuff down in my little to-do book, and on the back of bar napkins and HEB receipts and my hand and the cat.

As I lay awake in bed at night, I think of the lack of lists I'll have to keep on my mind when I'm floating free down the little Indian byways, waving at farmers and high-fiving holy cows. Then I lift off the ground and fly high above the country-side, zigging around the Taj and bouncing off the tops of trains and rickshaws. Then I fall off the bike into a giant inland sea made entirely of curry, eating and swimming at the same time. I climb out and wash my sins off in the Ganges, floating down in an innertube, Comal-style, until I fly off a waterfall and land on top of a big temple. Grabbing a zipline, I whizz above the crowds of pilgrims and holymen, dopping down onto my bike, which has magically scooted under me. I toss some rupees to a guy who chucks me a cup of Chai. Man, ain't life great.

Then I woke up and realized I was writing a blog entry. Snorrr-wha?

All in all, the list-making organizational process gives me peace, and the closer we get to the jet-day motivates me more and more to prepare. If today I'm this crazy on the crazy scale, in 4 or 5 days I'm gonna be THIS crazy. Like Gary Busey crazy.

OK, off to Pleasanton to see my Grandparents - they will be performing the admirable task of looking after my superb cat friend, Merlin - whom without, I would just be a man.

When in doubt or under pressure, just meditate, Om-style. Or try laughter.

shameless promotion

a few more last minute adjustments to the bikes before we take off in (deep breath) nine days. eliot and i took apart his bike to mock-pack it up.  we didn't get his handlebars adjusted quite right so we took them back to the shop to let them adjust everything. what's that i smell? could it be ... another shameless plug for the good folks at Ride Away Bikes? it is! GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY!! we learned about handlebars and stuff. 

a couple days later i dropped off my bike to have them try and adjust the aero bars for me. i was having trouble getting them to stick.  I thought they'd have to put a straight bar on but they got them working just fine without somehow. they also did a full adjustment and tune-up at no charge. did i already tell you to give them your money? well, here it is again: ride away bikes. huebner oaks. those guys are champs. 

poor little guy, he had a big day

what a day.

as you may know, we have like 30 cats that live with us.  well, to be honest 4 inside and (counting ...) 4 or 5 that live outside. 89% of those cats have been spayed or neutered (thanks, bob barker. love 'ya buddy). but 11% of those cats (read: one) has not. and whether or not it's actually him, we blame any spraying on him.  and yesterday, he apparently sprayed all over my panniers.  you remember my discount panniers, right? the ones my mom sowed into a sweet backpack?  micky the cat went number one all over them.

so i stuck them in the wash last night and someone (thanks eliot) put them in the dryer for me last night. this morning i pulled them out. now, granted i don't think that those bags were supposed to be washed but i sort of expect all-terrain bike bags full of camping gear that - in many ways - i'm staking my life on for three months. i say this because this is what my discount bags looked like this morning when i woke up:

basically every piece of stitching holding the zippers to the bags came apart. to be honest, the zippers sucked anyway. seriously the top bag would either not zip, or, once zipped, would just come apart. let me highly HIGHLY recommend you not buy discount panniers. seriously, just spend the money on something decent. i ran up to bike world and picked up some smaller (BUT RELIABLE!) trek bags. sadly, i cannot afford the amazing Bontager recycled tire-material bags (drooooool) or Ortlieb waterproof bags. but someday ... next trip maybe. 

after that i came home and spent a long time repacking and reworking the bags. i actually took a lot of stuff out of my bags. me and eliot set up the tent and lay our sleeping rolls out. i got inside, turned on the realistic ® radio and put on the jazz station. i lay there for quite a while just letting it all sink in. 

we headed out to Whole Earth Provision and picked up some small nalgene bottles for iodine and stuff, we each bought some pepper spray (read: cobra repellent), permethrin and some expensive technical socks. i bought a clif bar, too. purchased a small journal at borders and headed back home. i sprayed all my clothing down with the repellent, then i was pretty beat so i crawled into bed. 

i woke up in kind of a panic about india. i follow this sine-wave of terror and elation. this manic day-to-day ride is taking its toll on the mind and the body. i spend alot of time thinking about why i'm leaving behind a job, a good income, friends, a comfortable bed and my cat. i'm starting to get run-down. i even began to get a cole-sore today on my upper lip, which i used to only get around finals time or before i went to london for five months. eliot is slightly more flatulent than usually so i think he's got it, too. 

i got up and re-packed, tossed out even more stuff (there's so much dead weight we're carrying) and loaded up the bike again. it's heavy. i haven't been biking as much as i should, haven't trained enough.  i don't speak the language. i still haven't figured out what to do with all my stuff when i leave. i don't know what i'm going to do when i get back, even what city i'm going to be in.  the guard on my gears broke. the little screws fell all over the floor with little bits of plastic. 

i don't even know how to change a spoke on my bike.

Mini-Ride down Salado Creek, plus history lesson

Eliot here, reporting on a neato-bandito solo ride I did yesterday through San Antonio's beautiful Salado Creek. This section of East SAT features a creek walk that snakes along a nice part of the creek, which I'm sure would be mighty pretty in the summer. However, when I rolled through, It was like a tsunami had mashed it's way down the corridor, as trash in the trees and plowed up undergrowth led me to believe a gullywasher blew through here not too long ago.

No matter, the birds were chirping and everybody waved on the way by. I had to stop and pump some air into my tires, but nothing much else to report. San Antonio is a very "liveable" city, and I'm going to miss my time here for just such reasons as this.

On the way, I passed a tiny Texas point of Historic Interest monolith on the side of the road - The Battle of the Salado. A rather significant moment in Texan history, this is the spot where the Mexican army, on their way out but still occupying San Antonio, was knocked back by Col. Matthew Caldwell and Capt. John C. Hays, preventing them from taking Austin, the capital of the then Republic of Texas. And today, it is peaceful and quiet. Amazing. Long live Texas.

Checklist: √

Tickets to India - √

Visas - √

Travel Insurance - √ (mostly)

Bikes and Gear - √

Fear - √√√√√√√√√√!!!

Yep, a little shaky and nervous, but readyreadyready to rummmmmmmmbleeeee!

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

IT BEGAN IN INDIA_A_A_A_A_A_A_A

HUGE news today, kids! visas were approved by travisa outsourcing meaning we are all-lights green for entry into the glorious country of India! beautiful landscape, friendly people and world's most amazing culture, here we come!

RWWAAARRGHHH! 

in celebration i invite you to visit this little site i put together. mute the video on the right, please.

emirates air jordan

BEST. AIRLINE. EVER.

just sampling the various vegetarian options on my way around the world. check out the meal plans:

Meal Preferences for MURRAY/ELIOTMR

Flight number	Route	Meal
EK212	United States, US (IAH) to United Arab Emirates, AE (DXB)	Standard Asian Vegetarian Meal Bland Meal Diabetic Meal Fruit Platter Gluten-Free meal Hindu Meal Low Calorie Meal Low Cholesterol/Low Fat Meal Low Sodium Meal Muslim Meal Non-Lactose Meal Raw Vegetable Meal Seafood Meal Vegetarian Meal Vegetarian Jain Meal Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Meal Vegetarian Oriental Meal
EK502	United Arab Emirates, AE (DXB) to India, IN (BOM)	Standard Asian Vegetarian Meal Bland Meal Diabetic Meal Fruit Platter Gluten-Free meal Hindu Meal Low Calorie Meal Low Cholesterol/Low Fat Meal Low Sodium Meal Muslim Meal Non-Lactose Meal Raw Vegetable Meal Seafood Meal Vegetarian Meal Vegetarian Jain Meal Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Meal Vegetarian Oriental Meal
EK509	India, IN (BOM) to United Arab Emirates, AE (DXB)	Standard Asian Vegetarian Meal Bland Meal Diabetic Meal Fruit Platter Gluten-Free meal Hindu Meal Low Calorie Meal Low Cholesterol/Low Fat Meal Low Sodium Meal Muslim Meal Non-Lactose Meal Raw Vegetable Meal Seafood Meal Vegetarian Meal Vegetarian Jain Meal Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Meal Vegetarian Oriental Meal
EK211	United Arab Emirates, AE (DXB) to United States, US (IAH)	Standard Asian Vegetarian Meal Bland Meal Diabetic Meal Fruit Platter Gluten-Free meal Hindu Meal Low Calorie Meal Low Cholesterol/Low Fat Meal Low Sodium Meal Muslim Meal Non-Lactose Meal Raw Vegetable Meal Seafood Meal Vegetarian Meal Vegetarian Jain Meal Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Meal Vegetarian Oriental Meal

hallucinate or cook in the sun, your choice.

eliot and i both decided to go with doxycycline for our malaria medication. the decision basically came down to cost and side effects. Chloroquine used to be the thing to do, but it has some pretty serious side effects that can happen.  while uncommon, many malaria-carrying mosquitoes are resistant to chloroquine now.  oh, and only the females carry malaria (of course, the harlots). some quick notes on malaria meds, taken from http://www.travelindependent.info which, as i've said before, is the real deal. i highly recommend it to anyone traveling anywhere, as it's filled with no-nonsense, rational advice that really cuts through the chaff. anyway: 

"Since compliance is always an issue, Mefloquine is easier because it is only taken once a week and has a long half life. They should be taken with a full glass of water and with food. Additionally, Doxycycline is irritating so after taking it, one should maintain an upright position (don't go to sleep) for an hour to decrease the chance that it will reflux back up. Just to mention, Doxycycline is one of the drugs used to treat traveller's diarrhoea, so using it daily to protect against malaria will also help to prevent traveller's diarrhoea or so the theory goes. This is because it is an anti-biotic ...


"The most common side effect of Mefloquine is vivid dreams. These tend to occur the night the tablet is taken, and are not necessarily nightmares, just vivid dreams. For Doxycycline it is photosensitivity (increased sensitivity of skin to sunlight) and an upset stomach. Make sure you are taking the right medication for the region you are travelling in. Again... you may not need either Mefloquine or Doxycycline - it is quite possible to visit a country with a malarial risk and never get anywhere near an that risk area (Cambodia, Bolivia, Thailand, South Africa, Iran, Namibia, China, Burma, Nepal - there are loads of them!).


"As a footnote, many feel the focus on Malaria is misdirected, Dengue fever is common in regions such as SE Asia (its geographic spread is similar to that of malaria). The carrying mosquitoes of Dengue live indoors and bite during the day, when most are least vigilant. Dengue can be every bit as dangerous as malaria. However there's no need for paranoia - a quick squirt of repellent on the ankles or covering up is a simple, easy and effective measure. In contrast to malaria, which is more common in rural areas, it is larger cities that present the greater risk from Dengue fever."

my life, on my back

here's that gear list i promised:

1. leather medical bag (first aid kit), contains #2-15 below
2. toothbrush
3. eye glasses & case
4. multi-vitamins (90 ct.)
5. bandage wraps
6. back-up contact case
7. liquid tears
8. lighter, 2 boxes of matches
9. neosporin packs
10. 2 clif bars (emergency rations)
11. alcohol prep pads
12. carmex lip balm
13. hand sanitizer spray bottle
14. band-aids
15. debridement kit (contains a razor blade, tweezers, scissors, prep pads, etc.)
16. 1 ft. bungies (3)
17. 3 ft. bungie
18. cotton t-shirt
19. pearl-izumi bike shorts (with secret wallet!)
20. light-weight wool long-sleeve shirt
21. 100 wt. wool fleece
22. pack sacks (medium sized, sea-to-summit)
23. north face conversion pants
24. hat
25. rain jacket
26. tent
27. rain-fly for bags
28. bed roll
29. waterproof bag containing video and still camera
30. additional bag for bike handlebars (overflow bag)
31. compass (thanks, mom)
32. playing cards
33. weather-proof travel journal (thanks, eliot's mom)
34. 2 trusty ball-point pens
35. big journal
36. map of india (thanks, dad)
37. hindi picture / language book
38. packing strap
39. exofficio travel underwear (sooooo cool)
40. luggage tag (thanks, passport travel clinic)
41. travel towel (also soooo cool)
42. katadyn filter bottle
43. 16oz. nalgene bottles
44. the one and only Realistic Radio
45. bike multi-tool
46. rope
47. ear plugs
48. super glue
the other 48 (whoops). sealable baggie
49. 30% DEET bugspray
50. permethrin bandana (thanks again, eliot's mom)
51. water absorbing, cool-keeping bandana (triple thanks, eliot's mom)
52. lucky red bandana
53. tom's slip on shoes
54. new balance trail running shoes w/ dr. schol's


this is the list of gear i'm carrying as it stands. there will be a few more things added (some clothing adjustments, sunscreen, a cellphone) but for the most part this is life for the next 100 days.

back-pack conversion

as eliot mentioned, we put our bags through conversions so that we could take them off the bike and carry them on us.  when we're moving through crowded (and pick-pocket laden) bus and train stations, or moving through a market, it's going to be handy to be able to pick up our bikes and not worry about the stuff on the back getting ripped off. 

the conversion was done by my dear-old mom, becky hicks, on her singer sowing machine that she won in a contest sometime in the way-back-when. the basic premise was to take the main bag and attached straps for a backpack, then add a loop at the top of that bag with a carbiner.  then take the two side bags and clip them into that carabiner, and put a bungy around the whole thing. for added security i may be putting the rain-fly over this so would-be muggers and fiends can't even see the bags. who knows. i'm very happy with the way this turned out and while it's not the most comfortable thing in the world, it is a very effective way to move quickly on foot with all my gear in tow. 

Inventory, or "Wow, this is gonna be my life for 3 months"

So, now that I (Eliot) have returned to San Antone, Drew and I decided to do a big visual inventory of all of our gear. I will compile a comprehensive list later once everything is put together, but this is all my gear, at about 75% capacity.

Also, we customed out our pannier bags so that we can detach them and carry them at will through train stations and airports and the like, or if we want to remove our junk from the bikes for whatever reason, we can do it with relative ease. Check this shot of my fully functional pannier-backpack-messenger bag. Good idea, Drew - much praise to Drew's Mom Becky for utilizing her supreme sewing skills for Drew's custom pannier-pack (images to come).

Now, to buy some super-duper undies that will survive the intense heat of India, and will hopefully keep me less-stinky than I would be otherwise. Technology!

quicklinks

without getting too much into it (because there is a TON of useful info) here are some links to some amazingly useful sites:

check out the forums at http://www.indiamike.com/

the real skinny. seriously cannot say enough about http://www.travelindependent.info/

another no-nonsense resource: http://artoftravel.com/

short, but helpful: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/09-10/india-tips-to-survive-your-first-trip.html

it's really easy to get spooked while reading these articles. petty theft, begging, sanitation, a 100% guarantee of getting diarrhea ... but you gotta be proactive right? getting scared and running is not the way to solve a problem. be prepared, adapt and get moving. on a psychological level, that whole fight-or-flight thing is kicking in: it's not too late to back out.

then again, that's dumb. more than any other lesson so far, planning for this trip has taught me that the best way to solve a problem is head on.  look at a challenge as a way to get stronger. scared of getting mugged? learn some self-defense. scarred of getting sick? learn to be healthy. gotta be a commando about this.

NEVER GIVE UP. 

on a much lighter (and heartening) note, regarding food in india, one sight reads:

Food: Fantastic and loads of variety, but getting ill or fear of, makes you a little wary.

Vegetarians: Heaven on earth

mmmmmmm, saag paneer ...

advice

some good advice from Neema Avashia, who has made 8 (or more?) trips to India:

Stay Healthy

Equip yourself with preventive medicines and basic first aid equipment before you leave home. Having these supplies will save you the trouble of going in search of a doctor or drugstore if you get sick. Always carry a water bottle with you. Either boil your own water, or make sure to buy bottled water from a reliable distributor (Bisleri, Yes!, etc.). Indian drinking water contains many forms of bacteria that cannot be filtered out by using a simple filter. If you have to drink soda, avoid bottled sodas since they may be watered down with the same contaminated water that you are trying to avoid. If you eat on the street, consume only fresh fruit or food that is boiled or fried.Food that hasn’t been cooked at high temperatures could make you sick. The one time that I decided to eat out and didn’t take care to make sure that my food was fresh and properly prepared, I ended up in bed for four days with a bad case of diarrhea—you don’t want this.

Be Safe

Always keep your passport and any other important papers close to you. Don’t leave important documents in your luggage. Also, keep two photographs and your passport information in a safe, separate place in case your passport is lost or stolen. Contact the state ITDC (Indian Tourism Development Corporation) or the state tourism office (usually located in the capital city) for travel information. Travel brochures and advice can be acquired at these centers. The ITDC location information can be found in a local phone book. Use STS (Station-to-Station) phone booths to make intra-country and foreign calls. The cost of calling from these booths is less expensive than calling from a house or hotel, and they can be found virtually anywhere. Look for movie theatres to stop at when you’re on the road and need a bathroom break. Theatre bathrooms are usually the cleanest you will find while on the road. You may also want to carry toilet paper with you. Don’t give money to beggars; offer to buy them a meal instead. Pulling out money leaves you open to being robbed or mobbed by beggars. Also, be prepared to see many, many people begging for money—especially in train stations and outside temples.

Find Transportation

Realize that personal space doesn’t exist in India. On any Indian city bus people sit three to a seat, and there are usually three orderly rows of people standing in the aisle. With this many people in one bus, you’re bound to get pushed around, which, although unintentional, is disconcerting for people who aren’t used to so much body contact. However, women should be very careful—for them, sometimes the jostling and pushing by men is intentional. Nevertheless, a city bus ride is definitely an experience worth having at least once—just so you know what I’m talking about.

Avoid putting your luggage on the top of the bus when travelling. If you do so, it may not be there when you get to your destination. Even if it is a little uncomfortable, try to keep your luggage with you on the bus.

Only carry as much luggage as you can handle without looking weak or helpless. As a girl travelling alone in India, I was often accosted by eager porters wanting to carry my luggage. Carrying only one small bag helped me to demonstrate that I didn’t need help. Also, on the one occasion when I was followed by a strange man who seemed to have bad intentions, being able to handle my luggage alone helped me to move quickly and stave off any problems that might have arisen.

If using a taxi or rikshaw, make sure the meter is at the lowest rate when you begin the trip. Drivers may rip you off if they think you don’t know any better. Negotiating prices beforehand can also help you avoid being cheated.

Confirm your return flight at least two days in advance in order to avoid getting bumped. Indian airport computers aren’t always reliable; confirming your flight ahead of time could save you grief at the airport.

solo ride

i took a solo ride last night since eliot is still out of town.  i've got my bags more-or-less 80% packed, with everything where it will be while we're in india. the bike was very heavy and the weight was poorly distributed so there's some work to do.  as it stands, i'm carrying the cameras, first aid kit, tent and books so i may have to distribute some of that over to eliot's bike.  on the other hand, he's got to carry the cooking gear, food and his own stuff to boot so maybe i just power through it. the big thing to do is weigh the gear and distribute it evenly.

i also took the opportunity to test out my helmet, pants, shirt and shoes like i'll be wearing them in india. it actually worked well - i'd prefer not to be wearing a cotton shirt but as eliot says, we're going to look enough like aliens as it is without wearing shiny bike shirts. and as i say, bike gear is expensive. time to t-shirt it up, india!

overall, i'm really happy with the gear. the bags seem to be working well - the pants, while silly, are totally comfortable and airy.  also, after yesterday's crash-course on mosquito-related death, i'll be happy to have legs on my pants and not, you know, hot pants. the EXstream water bottle works well although the amount of water you get at a go leaves alot to be desired. still, it is filtering on the go and when i need the water so i suppose it's a worthwhile trade.  given enough time, i could fill my other bottles with the EXstream.  it'll be a good time-killing camp-activity to filter water, i guess.

after a little sewing, i'll be able to disassemble my bags from the racks and reassemble them into a backpack which will be HUGE when we're trying to move through train stations, on and off busses and in cities. i'll take some pictures when i get them up and going.

well, that's just great

man, i'm so glad catnip oil is ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET.  i also love the fact that kitties are attracted to you when you where it, it smells great and it's totally inexpensive.

wait, one of those statements was a bold-faced lie. LITERALLY.  meanwhile, for the same price, you can get whole catnip ... 5 pounds of it.

so, who wants to have a catnip oil-pressing party?

dagger-faced little buggers

went and got my arm shot up with chemicals today at the travel clinic. picked up Hep B (unlike e-man) in additional to typhoid, H1N1 and my malaria pills. unfortunately i don't have enough time (or, cough, money) to get japanese  encephalitis which killed (cough) 578 people in Uttar Pradesh province. so, it's time to look into ways to prevent mosquito bites! 

apparently, catnip oil works up to 10 times better than DEET: 

http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=634&i=…
http://www.essentialoil.com/catalog/defa…
http://www.essentialoil.com/catalog/adva…

Also, 80% of bites happen on the ankles so we gotta wear socks. And apparently 80% of bites happen the hour before dusk and the hour after dawn. So turn in early and sleep late. but if even ONE of those little buggers gets you, you can get all kinds of degenerative, horrible diseases that leave you bleeding and shooting fluids from every orifice before you keel over and die in gooey shame. 


I don't want to die from japanese encephalitis.