Chapter 3: Starting Soon (May 14, 2011)

Here I go again,

Out for another summer of pointless pedaling, as a friend once described my travels.

This summer’s mode of traveling will be a little different than the past two summers. This year I will be incorporating Amtrak and my pickup truck into some of the longer stretches of the road.

Come Tuesday, May 24, I will be heading to Seattle, from Tucson, on Amtrak … 44 hours of bliss, I am sure. Amtrak offers a very economical means of transporting a bike, as opposed to the airlines or UPS/FedEx. But still … 44 hours??!!! Sheeeesh.

I’m looking forward to spending three days bike touring west of Seattle with long-time friend (and ex-brother-in-law) Ned Scarey. We will be riding during the Memorial Day Weekend … poor Ned, you see, works and needs to be very careful how he uses his vacations days (again, sheeesh!). These three days of riding, assuming little or no rain, will be a great way to ease into the summer’s touring.

After parting ways with Ned, I will be heading north and west of the Olympic National Forest, then south along the Pacific Coast. While I had originally planned on riding all the way to San Diego, I may well terminate this segment of the summer’s travel in Los Angeles. I have ridden the L.A.-to-S.D. route a couple of times, and am not sure if I really want to see all of those vehicles (and I will probably have had my fill of ocean views at that point).

Upon completion of the Pacific Coast ride, in early to mid July, I will be returning to Tucson to get my truck and head east. While I hope to stop along the way for a few short rides, I will primarily be heading to the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan. My goal is to ride from Manitowoc, WI north along the shoreline, then around Lake Superior, and finally ride south along the Michigan side of Lake Michigan. There is a ferry that runs from Ludington, MI back to Manitowoc to return me to my truck.

Next stop, via the truck, will be the East Coast in early September . Not real sure of exactly where I will be riding other than the possibility of a 300 mile rails-to-trails path between Pittsburgh and Washington D.C., and/or experiencing the Atlantic Coastal areas. Ideas and suggestions will be appreciated.

The ultimate goal is to be up in New England in mid October,as I have yet to see the leaves change colors in New England.

So that is the plan … but as of this moment I have not started doing any of the things that need to be done prior to leaving, other than having created a partial list of things to do prior to leaving..

Much like during my school days, I will probably wait until the last minute. And, most likely, much like my school days, I will also receive a just barely passing grade of a “C” (but he gets along well with the other students).