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| In 2001, digital cameras weren't nearly as common as they are now. I had a very basic Intel model which
seemed to work well for this trip. It was only 640 x 480 resolution, but it was lightweight and portable, and it fit well in a
jersey pocket. Each night I would transfer the photos (with a USB cable) to my notebook computer and I would attach them to the
journals that I emailed to 100 of my closest friends. I sent the journals in groups of three (eg. Day 0-2, 3-5, etc) whenever I
could find an Internet connection at the campground. |
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| The main office at each campground often has a second phone line designated for debit card
transactions. The owner would usually let me borrow it for a few minutes, as long as I dialed with my calling card. This is
the code you'll need to dial with your modem if you want to call long distance to your local Internet Service Provider (omit hyphens): |
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0-XXX-XXX-XXXX-$T-XXX-XXX-XXXX-XXXX-#
0 + long distance number + $T + home number + calling card PIN + # |
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| I had my journal entries typed and ready before I even bothered looking for a connection. Sometimes
there was a library closeby, so I'd save the journals and pictures on a disk (remember those?) and leave my laptop in the truck,
which has a power outlet. I did all my typing in WordPad because every Windows-based computer can open that type of file. |
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| My Canada.com email account didn't allow me to send the message to more than 20 addresses at a time.
The feature was designed, of course, to prevent spamming, so I sent the same message five times, to five different groups of people.
Most of them forwarded the messages to their friends, so I would often get email replies from people I had never met - cheering me
on like I was family. |
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| Keeping the journal going (and keeping it moderately interesting) was difficult, since most days I
would have preferred to get a good sleep rather than write about everything that happened that day. The other riders always seemed
to enjoy the digital pictures and videos I had, but writing the journal so consistently felt like homework a lot of the time. Now
that I have it, it's a great way to relive the trip, and I'm glad I kept writing - even on the days when I had nothing good to say. |
