2012 TDR LOI's

[the tortoise]

JpariZ,

You sound like me a few months ago! ha ha

I first thought that taking a bicycle on a 30 day trip would be real affordable, boy was I wrong! Flight, gear, massive quantities of food along the way from high priced stores, gear, more gear, lighter gear, selling the "old" new gear, plus it is a black hole for time spent planning, stressing, re planning. I can't wait to just hit the trail and have all this behind me.
I don't see how you can do it for $1,000 but if you can, please write a book on it and I will buy it!
But if you have the time and desire, I would say go for it and try to make it happen any way you can. I was your age once, and I put off a ton of things because of this and that, and I now am playing catch up.
Tire tracks are hard to see on pavement! I think you at least need cue sheets and a gps track. I have reformatted the cue sheets in word and they are set up to print back to back. I could send you the files if you want (but at least pay ACA for the cue sheets, only $9)
Just do it, the worst that could happen is that you will get eaten by a bear.

[krefs]

I figure $40 to $50 per day for food, and you'll need at least a few hundred bucks or more for replacement bike parts along the way, so using those numbers, doing it on $1000 is possible if you avoid motels and do it in <20 days. The longer you take, the more it costs, unfortunately.

Following tire tracks is not a viable strategy for this one. There are enough short paved road and bike path stretches sans tracks and rain storms that quickly erase tracks that you're sure to get off course repeatedly. For a first-time rider, I'd strongly recommend having the maps (these show where services are and are not available) and GPS. Missing a section of the course is sufficient for you to be relegated, so it's well worth a bit of money to assure that you have what it need to make sure that doesn't happen.

But if you're thinking of doing it in 30 days and not being competitive, why not just tour it on your own? Then you wouldn't have to worry about route infractions or anything like that, and that alone could save you a few hundred bucks it sounds like since you wouldn't need to buy a GPS.

[DocTrike]

@JpariZ I am from a budget stand point in the same boat as you a budget of around $2000.00 including new gear I need to purchase. Which is why I initially wanted to do the ride on my tandem trike. I can share resources with a tandem partner, and use less gear. I can't get my passport renewed in time for TDR but am considering doing GDR (is anyone even doing the GDR Scott?).

I have a car and driver to get me to the start, and camping gear if you were interested in doing the GDR on a tandem trike. Warning recumbents use different muscles and unless you are an inline skater, cross country skier, or long distance runner you would be riding yourself into shape for first 2 weeks. But no wrist, back, butt, ore forearm pain.

[DenisVTT]

1st of all, would a 1,000 dollar budget, ready to go, be doable?

Unlikely.

TD is the most expensive free race you'll ever race.   

[JpariZ]

Looking like an early july start is my best option.  Anybody considering a SOBO start around the 1st week in july?