Eugene to Crater Lake & Return - July 2020.

It's the day before my trip starts.  I'm excited, have an extensive packing list and am hopeful that my calculations on battery use, solar capacity and the capability of my solar generator - are close to correct. It was certainly some dull pencil, back of the envelope calculating and I think I even wet my thumb and held it up in the air for good measure.

My goal is to ride 35-50 miles each morning, riding after breakfast, take a break before lunch time, maybe a short siesta, then the last 10-15 miles in the early afternoon, before making camp.  If I hit my destination each day before 2:00, I should have enough solar charging and heat gain for my Nemo Helios shower, to have a fully charged bike and be clean, before making dinner and settling in each day. 

My ride is a 2019 Riess & Muller Supercharger with dual 500Wh Bosch Batteries.  I'm towing a Burley Nomad with the cargo rack, with a 100W Sunpower flexible module, plugged into a 440Wh Expert Power Solar Generator (inverter, solar charger & battery pack in one).  The generator is a tad heavy at 8.8 lbs, in terms of overall loading of the bike and trailer.  But when you consider the bike at 62 lbs, me at 220 lbs and the trailer at another 19lbs - plus gear and food, there's nothing light about the entire setup.

I purchased aluminum box tubing and high-impact plastic connectors from Esto.  There's one cross section offset from the middle, intended to line up with the rails on the Burley cargo rack.  The panel will jut out a good 20" from the back of the trailer.  With the tilt function of the rack, I should have better generation while traveling south, also creating a bit of a low pressure area behind the trailer.  So important when you're hitting 14 mph (such a comedian). 

But actually, there's over 7,400 feet of elevation change on the route there, which will be southern in direction, so I'll need ever watt I can get to keep things charged and running smoothly.  I'm augmenting the trailer setup with a Goal Zero charger on the front rack, to charge my iPhone, which will be running CoPilot GPS navigation, as I ride.  I'll be posting updates on my Facebook and Instagram accounts, when I have access to do so.  Both can be found searching for HowellHaus.

Riese & Muller & Things...

I've sort of arrived at a new place, unexpectedly in terms of planning, but underneath, expecting this all along.  As I was cruising on a 15-minute ride today, at lunch, it occurred to me that I now have an electric steed that exceeds so many of the ideas and ideals.  And, it's now mine to play with !

Cruising along almost effortlessly at close to 20 mph, but still elevating my heart rate, getting the blood coursing through my veins, sucking up Vitamin D and opening my visual horizons to something far better than a cubicle wall and two LED screens - it was an epic taste of summer.  I loved it...

Riding my Urban Silver Metallic Supercharger GT Touring home tonight (sounds a bit long and amped-up) I was so content with how solid and easy rolling this aluminum beast beneath me was.  The big, fat 650b wheels and Schwalbe Supermoto-X tires seemed to spin without resistance.  The Bosch Performance CX drive system and dual 500Wh lithium batteries seemed to be sipping the same air as me.  I was feeling elation and celebrating the joy of a new bike...

I intend to put my Riese & Muller bike through some tests, towing my Burley Nomad trailer, hauling my dog Jesse 'and things' in regions close to home, at the beginning - then expanding life encounters in new places in concert with the VanLife thing.  Also, seeking out places that others post as must-ride destinations.  All I know for now and for certain is, there is nothing like a bike.

On top of that, nothing like an electrically-assisted.  I am truly convinced, it uses less energy than me, every mile I ride... and I'm almost to 50 miles in just two days of riding this week.  Lovin' it...

Opus 1.01 - Beginnings...

Beginnings...

...because this is the start of what I hope will be a fact-finding, soul-searching endeavor to comprehend and put to use, a plan to build an intentional home that is no more than I need, as close as possible to net-zero, befitting the phrase 'useful and beautiful', and add to that durable.  Design with legacy in mind...

Having spent 15% of my life in a 1,400 s.f. home, it became evident and seemingly unavoidable to collect a lot of 'stuff'.  I know I'm not alone when I ponder such things.  

My current home is both useful and beautiful.  It has already lasted 64 years. The previous owner added a 50-year roof and a limited amount of remodeling with plenty more to do.

And the answer is, more to have less.  More space and storage efficiency, with less stuff.  More white space and overall systems integration, with less to maintain.  More garden area with more sun, less pests, with less shade for food, but more shade for home.  

More workshop area, including divided work areas for steel and wood, less cleanup through a well-thought design, i.e., more systems with less stuff on the floor and movable features.

"As a man born in the 60's, I realize that my home and all it entails, takes more time to maintain than I really enjoy.  
---                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Why not rethink, resize, reset my life... enabling me to have more time with things I love most, and work less ?"

I no longer have tons of trees.  They're great for shade, and very beautiful, but then leaves fall, pests drop, birds crap, branches fall, trees die, etc.  So, I'm inclined to embrace an intentional wooded area, away from the house in a future home.  Currently, working on getting solar, which I strongly desire. 

So, I will begin collecting features from various sources on the Interwebs, that depict a feature or condition that I observe, embrace and wish to imbue in my next nest.  Simple is good.  Affordable is important, so long as quality is not removed.  Maximized Living will be all about having the important things in life - in a world that needs all of us to have less, use less and contribute more...  onto the discovery process !