Brandon on a Bike

This is a list of all my gear and everything I'm taking with me.  Hopefully it's useful for anyone planning a trip of their own. Bike Stuff Bike Components: Novara Safari Touring Bike (2016) A530 SPD Sport Road Pedals CatEye HL-EL135 Front Bike Light CatEye Omni 3 Rear Bike Light CatEye Urban Bike Computer - Wireless Bike Tools/Accessories: Pearl Izumi X-Alp Seek VI Shoes Giro Savant Helmet Ortleib Back Roller Classic Panniers Novara Patch Kit Pedro's Tire Levers Topeka Peakini 2 Master Blaster Mini-Pump Lezyne Power Water Bottle Cage x 2 CamelBak Podium Big Chill Water Bottle x 2 Kryptonite KryptoLok 2 U-Lock Nova Seat Bag Topeka Mini 9 Multi-Tool Bike Peddler Take a Look Mirror (did not use) Spare Tubes Straps (for bike rack) Chamois Cream WD-40 Chain Lube Bike Clothes: Pearl Izumi Quest Bike Jersey Pearl Izumi Long Sleeve Jersey Novara Strada Road Bike Shorts x2 Giro Bravo Bike Gloves Pearl Izumi Elite Soft-shell Bike Gloves Nike D...

Only a handful of people know this as I write this first entry, but I've decided to ride a bicycle from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Coast!  ...And I leave tomorrow for Vancouver, BC!  What?!  Yep.  I'll be doing this alone and will be Bikepacking along the way; basically riding from campsite to campsite, southbound along the coast, with all my gear loaded on my bike. Why you ask?  Well, that's where it gets complicated when explaining to friends and family.  In my mind it makes sense.  There are a lot of reasons why I decided to do this now.  How i've tried to explain it to others is that a little over a year ago I had back surgery and ever since, I feel like i've just been in a "funk".  It's difficult to explain what that means exactly, but the bottomline is that I just haven't felt like myself since.  I've picked up bad habits along the way and I don't imagine things getting any better without a major detour or shock to my l...