The thanks and high-5 list
Posted by cyclenullabor on April 16, 2009
Before I post the final entry for this blog, I wanted to do some shout outs.
Firstly, thanks to our employers, Yahoo!7 and Bike Addiction, for letting us have the time off to achieve this crazy dream and for being so encouraging during the lead up.
And to our friends and family, and those we met along the way (John and Shirley – thanks again, again!), who kept our spirits up as we went and helped us out where we needed it.
And while we didn’t have any sponsors, I wanted to mention some products that we just couldn’t have done without because they deserve a high-5 for coming through for us.
Cannondale. As you have already read, they went above and beyond to keep the black beast that is our tandem unstoppable. Thanks to Jordan, Cam and Simon for getting the wheel sorted in what must have been record time.
Mick Gaffey. This awesome guy lent us the Bob trailer, which we could not have done without. Thanks dude!
Plus thanks for Stan at Bike Addiction for making some custom fittings to get the racks on the bike.
Skins. These compression garments actually work. Even after the horror hill climbing days we awoke with fresh legs ready to set out again. Plus the long sleeves prevented us from getting terrible ‘roadie’ tans on our arms!
Sugoi. Japanese for awesome and if you’re ever buying knicks these are the best ones out there. Yes our butts hurt, but not as much as they could have. And my earwarmers are going strong over three years after I received them – best gift ever!
Ortlieb panniers. Rain. Proof. Unfortunately not fox proof, and we did lose a strap to a thief in the night, but these totally held up otherwise and are ready for many trips to come
Shimano. We both had a pairs of shoes that firstly fit comfortably and secondly held up the whole way across and the gears on the bike just kept on truckin’
Oakley. Prevented us from going blind from the sun. The racoon tans aren’t so bad
Exelite Lumi-sash. Bright, blinking sashes that made us look so much like glowing aliens that the trucks slowed down simply out of curiosity on those early morning starts.
Exped down mattresses. Easy to make big and comfortable or small and transportable, our only complaint was that sometimes they were too warm to sleep on!
Chamois cream. Does what it says! And also keeps Garrett’s bum from bleeding.
Dettol – for keeping the knicks as fresh as possible when we’re nowhere near a washing machine.
Bellaroma – the coffee we took across the country
Powerade – yes, we drank our own body weight many times over. I may now bleed ‘Mountain Rush’ blue.
Kelly’s Camping, Dee Why (and Sandman) for help and advice on high quality stove, mats, tent, sleeping bags etc. And all that Bushman’s spray!
Surly Bike Racks. No complaints, these held strong the whole way.
Nurofen Plus. How we love thee!
Thanks to tinned tuna, although we regret to announce that Garrett will never be eating it again, having consumed a lifetime’s worth in one month.
