Getting Ready

Rise and shine, DiGioia bike trip blog! After almost three years of gathering cyber dust, we are starting up our blog again to document our next big bike trip. In case you don't know, here is more about what we're doing and what's going on with us...

Since last year Jonathan and I have been preparing to ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR). Over the past few months and weeks we have been especially busy getting ready.

Jonathan installs a new set of brakes on his bike. Part of our preparation has included fixing/changing/replacing components on our bicycles over the last several weeks.

Getting ready for this trip has been mixed with a lot of transitions and some surprises. We moved out of our apartment on Linden Avenue where we had lived for almost three years. (Unlike our strategy three years ago, we did not choose to move out of our apartment and leave on a cross-country bike trip on the same day. This time, we are spending two weeks in Lilburn with our parents before leaving for our trip.) When we moved out, we had to say good-bye (for now) to our crazy-wonderful neighbors. Several more of our dear friends have recently moved out of the state or will move away while we're gone. And when we return I'll be starting in a new position at work (same employer, different office). One of my favorite memories of getting ready will be Jonathan and me testing a new alcohol burning stove in the DiGioia's garage with the siblings-in-law Phillip and Laura. While we sat at the opening to the garage, timing how long it would take to boil a pot of water, a giant storm lit up the sky in purple, navy, and streaks of lightning.

Several friends and family members came over to help us move out of our apartment.

Here is all of our stuff in a 10x10 storage unit! Our tandem bike (shown in the background looking sad with its flat tire) will not be coming on our trip with us, as we will be taking our two individual bikes instead.



Where will we be, you ask? We will be following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) using maps produced by the Adventure Cycling Association. For a route overview, see the route network map on their website. Ours is the purple line through Alberta, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. After much deliberation we decided to start our ride in Banff, Canada and ride south. We hope to make it into Colorado in the time we have. This is uncharted territory for me as I've never been "Out West."

When is this trip? Our flight to Calgary leaves Sunday July 16. Lord willing, we'll be riding south from Banff beginning on July 18th and won't return to Atlanta until mid-September.

Why are we doing this? We are doing this trip for the adventure. We are doing it for quality time together. We are doing it for recreation, by which I mean the refreshment and renewal that comes with using (and strengthening) the physical bodies God gave us, taking a break from some of our daily and weekly responsibilities at home, seeing the world around us afresh, living simply for a time with only enough belongings to fit in two bike trailers, taking extra time for thought and for looking inward, and reveling in the beauty God's creation, as we experience new and diverse landscapes at about 8 miles per hour and give all due praise to God. Here's a good article from the Gospel Coalition, 5 Reasons Not to Waste Your Leisure Time, that's helped me think about the trip.

How did you get that much time off? Our employers are awesome. We have each saved up 6+ weeks of paid time off over the last three years of employment, and both of our employers are letting us take the remaining time off unpaid for a total of 8 weeks.

We will continue to update our blog as we are able with photos and blurbs about what's going on with us during our trip.