All of the previous letters can be found at:http://www.downtheroad.org/LETTERS.htm
Since my last letter we have been enjoying good weather in New Zealand’s mountainous Alps and the southern tip of the South Island. We have seen the days shorten and the leaves turn bright red and yellow as Summer is replaced by a crisp dry Autumn. We rarely get to see the seasons change because we tend to be in the tropics in the fall/winter, and experiencing this change has been comforting to our internal clocks.After an extended time in the bush and off the grid/internet we pulled into the big university city of Dunedin to soak up the urban conveniences and file our taxes over the internet. During this annual headache Cindie takes over the computer with her accounting and tax software which leaves me in the university library with maps, guide books, and time to dream and piece together or trip through the USA and Canada. (more below) When we finally connected to the internet we were surprised to receive dozens of emails from readers congratulating us on completing six years of traveling on bicycles. The funny thing is that we had completely forgotten about our trip’s anniversary. March 30 marks the day we let go of everything and started living this out of the box lifestyle and now six years later on this anniversary our thoughts and feelings were consumed by paying off Uncle Sam so we do not get deported and sent to jail - OK, probably just fined but the jail part is much more motivating for me. When reporters ask about the day we left home we often describe it like we jumped into the complete darkness not knowing where we would land. It was a big gamble not knowing what life would be like past the point of no return and how we would be holding up after years on the road. Now, after six years, we know that we landed on our feet, held up reasonably well, survived even the worst situations, and even created a whole new (for us) way of making a living in this strange new nomadic environment. Six years later we are forging ahead with no plans to stop!
What Has Changed?
Many of the emails we received asked us what has specifically changed during the last year on the road where we crossed the unpopulated outback Top End of Australia and beautiful New Zealand. Since my last anniversary letter, besides replacing another set of worn out tires and drivetrain components, we have spent a good portion of our non riding time finishing up our second book. We are so close now but have hit a major road block. The sluggish internet speeds and restrictive up/download public access allowances in this part of the world has frustrated us to no end. I could have easily moved large cover and layout files around the internet in Asia but have repeatedly failed here. We are being charged US$8/hour for slowish internet with a 120MB up + download restriction including web pages, email, and posting pictures to our web site. We have decided to postpone the completion of the book a few weeks until we get to Alaska where the deer, antelope, and internet run free.
On a more positive and unexpected note over this past year we have been regularly recognized by the other touring cyclists we meet. Humans much less cyclists were few and far between in northern Australia but once we started riding in New Zealand, where cycling is extremely popular, we found ourselves in the wonderfully awkward situation of people we have never met recognizing us and knowing all the details of our trip and lives from our book and web site. For example, we have been approached in places like campgrounds and rest areas with “hey aren’t you the DownTheRoad.org couple from America”? or “I know you. You are Tim and Cindie from the internet”.
I would be lying if we said that we did not like the attention. We have spent years in distant countries with only each other to talk to and now interesting people are coming up and wanting to talk to us. The only drawback is that we want to know about their lives and travels instead of answering questions about ourselves. I never feel like we deserve to be seen as more than we are. I always stress there is nothing special about us and anyone can do what we do if they wanted.
Another bit of big news this year revealed itself as a result of Cindie combing through our finances for taxes. Cindie announced that we are now (almost) breaking even with our income equaling our travel expenses. She predicts that with the upcoming second book release and busy season on our web site we should be in the black in a few months. Apparently we could say we were breaking even now but the record low US dollar has made Australia and New Zealand more expensive. The USA should be cheaper which will also help the bottom line. Cindie, who is always looking ahead financially, has already informed me that any surplus will be used to replenish our savings instead of increasing our shoestring budget. So, while I dream of getting a cheap hotel room every couple weeks while traveling through North America Cindie tells me that she dreams of camping and paying off the remainder of our house.
In Our Immediate Future
On May 2nd we fly from Christchurch to Alaska where we plan to spend a month with Cindie’s sister and family in Valdez. Around June 1st we start riding south through Canada and the west coast of the USA. In November we plan to be in Tucson, Arizona for several bicycle events and to ride with old friends. If we can find a cheap place to stay in Tucson we will spend the winter there but if not we will head south to Mexico, find a quiet village, rent a room, and rest for the winter.
In the spring of 2009 we want to ride north through the western states to the Pacific Northwest in time to pick up the Adventure Cycling Association’s Trans America Trail and cross the USA before summer ends. In the fall of 2009 we will visit my family in Indiana and most likely go to the huge bike event I first attended with my father in 1977 when I was eleven called the Hilly Hundred.
After that we plan on visiting (maybe in order) The Middle East, Africa, India, Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and whatever else we can think of.
Please join us to see how it unfolds.
Tim Travis
All of the previous letters can be found at:
http://www.downtheroad.org/LETTERS.htm
Read all of Cindie’s South Island #2 Journal Here
See index of all (several years) Cindie’s Journals here
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8 responses so far ↓
1 Andrew Hughes // Apr 16, 2008 at 3:00 am
Hello Tim and Cindie,
I rode for a day or so with you guys in South Australia- I was on that crappy second hand bike I found on the side of the road in Adelaide! Wonderful to see you still going strong and loving life (the two don’t always go together, but you seem to have it worked out). Heading off to kayak around PNG in two weeks so check out the website every now and then for updates. Should be fascinating.
Kind Regards,
Andrew (www.expeditionclass.com)
2 Tim and Cindie // Apr 17, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Hi Andrew,
We were wondering what happen to you. We often talk about the crazy guy from Tazmania who paddled from Hobart to Cape York, and then found a bike in the trash and rode from Adelaide to Melbourne. Glad to hear you are on another adventure, but it doesn’t surprise us. We know a child of the road when we see one. We will look for your updates and enjoy watching your adventures.
3 Anthony // Apr 22, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Hi Tim and Cindie,
I have come across your website several times and it is very inspiring. I did my first real bicycle trip in Europe last fall for 2 months. My girlfriend and I would like to do some traveling in south America. At the moment we are both students and on a budget so we have old touring bikes which can only accommodate up to a 32mm tire (700c wheels). I have searched around on the site to see what you have to say about equipment but I don’t think you have addressed some specifics. Either that or I am missing them. It seems your bicycles have changed over the years and you are now on Koga-Miyata World Travellers. Very nice, but out of my budget. In any case I would like to know what kind of tires you recommend for traveling somewhere like south America where you spend a lot of time off the pavement. Even in Europe I found myself off pavement quite a bit and wishing I had more clearance for larger tires. I will likely be setting up two new rigs for south America. So what kind, brand, tread types, size tires did you find optimal for the conditions in South America. Thanks. And of course, keep keepin’ the dream alive. You are an inspiration to many.
4 Fred Bouwmabn // Apr 28, 2008 at 6:44 am
Hi Tim/Cindie,
I have written a few times about my plans for a tour and am diligently saving my money. I am now ready to purchase a touring bike and would like to buy one through your website but cannot find the link. I am interested in the Koga-Miyata.
I am also anxiously awaiting your second book and having read through all of Cindie’s journals and your letters, will start from the beginning again. I am learning Spanish so will re-read your entire sections on Central/South America as I will be heading in that region first.
Keep up the writing.
Fred
5 Tim and Cindie // May 1, 2008 at 1:11 am
Anthony:
I wish I had more time to write but we are about to catch our plane to Alaska. All of the information about the tires we like can be found at the link below
http://www.downtheroad.org/Equipment/Bike_Parts/Touring_Tires.htm
Tim Travis
6 Tim and Cindie // May 1, 2008 at 1:18 am
Anthony and Fred:
We are still riding our Kogas but are looking for new bikes. We have dropped our promoting the bikes and trying to distance ourselves from them.
Why did we drop Koga: It is a long story. At one time I posted it on Adventure Cycling’s forum so I copied it and pasted it below. It should answer your questions.
good travels everywhere you go
Tim and Cindie Travis
http://downtheroad.org
Traveling since 2002
============================
I can see there is a lot of confusion with DownTheRoad.orgs relationship with Koga. Please allow me to start at the beginning.
In Nov. 2004 we purchased 2 world travelers at a discount with the agreement that we could sell the bikes on a commission basis. The carrot dangled in front of us by the first Koga USA distributorship owner was that this relationship could lead to full sponsorship of two new bikes. A few days later we flew to Bangkok to begin our Asian leg of our trip. As expected, with bikes in this price range, they performed well and we had no moral conflict in endorsing and selling these bikes.
While we were in Vietnam and China during the spring and summer of 2005 our web site moved to a faster dedicated server and we saw another wave of explosive growth in our traffic. This was good for our Koga pages and we sold many bikes and earned a 5% commission.
I am not certain what happened to the first Koga USA distributorship owner but it changed hands late in 2005 and we had to start our relationship over with the second owner except this time we received a box of replacement parts (chains, cassettes, chainrings, etc) and a 3% commission.
During the spring and summer of 2006 while we were in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore our web site continued to grow and our Koga sales doubled with us earning a 3% commission. Besides normal moving parts wearing out we continued to enjoy our bikes and could honestly recommend them to people. Also, during this time we began receiving email from several Europeans, Japanese, and others who said that they liked the information they found on our web site about touring bicycles and bought Kogas in their respected countries. We did not have agreements with shops outside the USA so we earned no commissions on these sales but were happy to have helped and thought Koga would notice this (we forwarded some of the emails) and these sales would increase our chances of landing a real sponsorship with them.
While we were in Australia in early 2007 our head sets started showing signs of wearing out. I considered this normal because we had toured on them for more than 3 continuous years and, as we all know, nothing lasts forever. In email I brought the head sets up with the new Koga distributor who offered to send me new ones and then went into complicated instructions on how replace the head sets. He said something about filing a notch in the side and more but I did not pay attention because I had been around bikes for decades and had years of experience working in bike shops with removing and installing the older threaded and newer threadless systems.
This is when my problems with Koga started. When I took the bikes to a highly recommended specialty bicycle touring shop in Melbourne to have new head sets installed they reported they had never seen a head set system like the one on our Kogas and did not want to attempt replacement for fear of damaging the bikes.
Several months later in another high end Australian bike shop I tried again. They refused as well because it was a head set system they were unfamiliar with and again feared damage to the bike. This time I inspected it closer in a campground. It seems that Koga uses a 1inch threaded fork in a 1 1/4 inch head tube. This very special headset must need the extra room or something. I am not sure about this because I am afraid to take it apart.
When I contacted Koga USA again they sent more detailed instructions, two new head sets, and a large (for a bike tour) flat head screw driver with part of the tip filed off. Needless to say I am confused by all this. I keep asking myself why dont they use a standard threadless headset that can be found and installed in most bike shops around the world; this bike is called the World Traveler isnt it? Koga Europe refused to return any of my numerous emails and only through the USA distributor they somewhat admitted the head set was tricky to install and, as a solution, offered to sell me (at a discount) 2 new frames and forks, with the head sets factory installed. These are expensive bikes so, even with the discount; the price is way out of bounds for two international travelers living hand to mouth on the web.
Knowing that this bike, in my opinion has this huge design flaw meant that I could no longer endorse or sell these bikes. I would have never bought any bike knowing beforehand it had this kind of head set so I consider it unethical to continue recommending them to others. I dropped them from our website even though we were earning thousands of US$ a year from the commission sales. Losing this income really hurt our finances, but this sacrifice is far better than selling out to gear I dislike. We have not found replacement bikes yet.
Now that we are in Auckland, New Zealand finishing our second book I have found many excellent bike shops in town that are knowledgeable of custom equipment and stock a wide variety of touring bicycles. Our head sets are now so worn I believe them to be dangerous and will try again at a bike shop or give it a go myself. If this is unsuccessful I may be forced to buy 2 new threadless forks with normal head sets but this is also expensive.
7 jo // May 17, 2008 at 3:27 pm
“…I did not pay attention because I had been around bikes for decades and had years of experience working in bike shops with removing and installing the older threaded and newer threadless systems.”
“I would have never bought any bike knowing beforehand it had this kind of head set so I consider it unethical to continue recommending them to others.”
Years of experience with bikes didn’t teach you to inspect as questions before buying? It seems you are just as responsible as the bike manufacturer, having selected gear that wasn’t field servicable and using it until it wore out.
8 jo // May 17, 2008 at 10:27 pm
respect for your honesty tho
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