howdy, my name is matt and im about 40 miles south of atlanta, ga. been lurking this site for a couple weeks and have gained alot of insight and knowledge. its been quite a while since ive ridden seriously. did quite a few triathlons back in the late eighties and early ninties.

what has brought me here to this site is the advice and camaraderie of others in this sport. about a month ago i began researching a coast to coast ride of the usa. with the economy the way it is right now, my earnings have been slashed...not to mention a divorce. ive suddenly found myself completely downsized and pretty free of responsibilities....i wont be missing much work. so i plan on putting all my stuff in storage and departing east to west sometime in september. given the time of year ill probably stay south, but that could change as i learn from your experiences.

what i need right now is a capable bike. there are so many opinions out there...im leaning towards a jamis aurora. a guy at the lbs says he just built one and has got a few recipes to turn it into what i need. hes gonna get back to me with specifics. im going self-contained with no trailer. im 175 lbs..prob get down to 165...ave build...5'10" tall. right now im gonna be solo...i would love to hook up with others but kind of leaving it all up to the universe...i wont be breaking any mileage, or time records...camping 95% of the way.

there is so much great information here. ill probably be hangin out mostly in the touring section, but look forward to meeting you all.