Southern Tier

My bike has been upgraded like Michael Knight's Trans Am: new wheels, tubes, tires and pedals. The thorn-proof tubes which are themselves protected by more durable, four-season tires should prevent any flats during this extended trek; and the new wheels are stronger and lighter than the stock Shimano RS10's that I'm finally free of. I wasn't able to add a talking AI - unless you count the turn-by-turn directions from the Garmin GPS. I don't think mine talks though.

This ~3,000 mile Southern Tier trek spans from St. Augustine, FL to San Diego. I haven't picked an exact starting point (Atlanta? Savannah?), but I'll definitely go through St. Augustine to officially touch the Atlantic before heading West. The ending point on the other hand will be this rock out-cropping here.

I'm pretty much decided on camping most nights. Camping adds a little weight (tent, mattress, sleeping bag, etc.), and a weekly hotel stop might not be a bad idea (if only to shower), but the daily travel is much more flexible if you don't have to take into account hotel availability.

So, that's that. I still have to decide on an exact start date (probably early February), and figure out how I'm going to carry everything (panniers, a pack, or some combination).