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Michael Read prepares to do the hard yakka a la Lewis & Clarke... albeit with BF Pocket Llama and Kevlar kayak...
UPDATE Aug 15, 2003: Mike has sent us a link to his Sacajawea adventure - follow him crank turn by crank turn!
www.mikeread.com - "still under construction but has the Bike Friday and Easy rider connections on board." - Mike
Click here for MOVIE 1 (1.5 Mb):Mike Read displays his Kayak trailer and chats about his forthcoming trip.
Click here for MOVIE 2 (2.3 Mb):A loiter around Mike's kayak and BF, with Walter Lapchynski demonstrating his custom kayak brake ingenuity.
You'll need something like Quicktime (free download)
What Does Michael Read Do On A Friday? Retrace the Lewis & Clark Trail. "The code name of my trek is Spirit of Sacajawea in celebration of our native American sister who's not been credited enough for her contributions to this historic trek. The Montana, Idaho, Washington portion was the second and most difficult half for Lewis & Clark, because the Missouri river peters out to nothing, then there are mountains to cross with no rivers. There's white water on the other side down to Lewiston and Clarkston where the Clearwater river is navigable again, connecting to the Snake and Columbia. It's where Sacajawea and her Soshone brothers were so helpful to L&C by supplying horses for the trek over the Lolo pass".
Michael worked with Captain of the Customer Service Ship Walter Lapchynski to devise an ingenious drum brake system for the kayak trailer. "I need it for the 77 miles of downhill, fording streams with the my Pocket Llama folded in the kayak, 6 weeks,1200 miles..."
Update received July 22, 2003:
I plan to head east on August 15th with my friend Sam from Portland (U of O School of Architecture, circa 1970). He will drop me off at Ft. Buford near the Montana/N.Dakota border. I will start up the Missouri river towards Ft. Peck Lake with the BF on board ready to haul me up over the dam to lake level. Then back in kayak west along the 134 mile Ft. Peck Lake, which has no road access. That all should take about a week. Then more road work to Great Falls and beyond with the real challenge being the tow over the Bitteroots and up to the Lolo pass. From then it is all down hill to the Pacific Coast.
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Now an update from Michael:
I am getting ready to move out on about August 15th, 2003. I have been advised by Montana Fish & Wildlife to take a large caliber weapon with me because of bear trouble in Montana and Idaho, so will get a 44 magnum lite to fit across my chest outside the life preserver. Won't need to wear it on the bike, just in the kayak and in the campgrounds."
[I say, sic 'im with your pump! - Ed]
Follow Michael's adventure here, and catch him before he paddles away on ragtime12@yahoo.com.
Brakes expert Walter Lapchynski and Mike Read work on making the Kayak That Didn't Get Away.