Whole lot of sittin' ... (July 29, 2011)

Lot of miles ... not much else to speak of.

I am now in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Since leaving Tucson last Sunday, I have traveled through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and now South Dakota. Campgrounds, hotels, grocery stores, convenience stores, visitor centers, and (of course) gas stations. I stop along the roadside whenever there is a "point of interest", which typically points out when some military group or rancher did something of importance back in 1840, or 1860, or whenever. I usually take the opportunity of taking a leak at these stops as well.

At this point I am not greatly enamored of this style of traveling ... very few opportunities to stop and talk with locals. I am just another driver instead of a long-distance cyclist. Buy your stuff and move on ... there are many more like you coming down the road.

I am planning to do a short ride here in Southwestern South Dakota ... heading up toward Mount Rushmore tomorrow on a "rails-to-trails" path. Hope this brings some enthusiasm into my psyche ... as of this moment, not so much. Weather is beautiful and the terrain is pleasing (similar to Williams, AZ).

High-point of the trip so far was at Three Rivers Petroglyphs campground, just north of Almagordo, NM. My nephew Rich, and his girlfriend, came up for a very enjoyable chat. Later that evening, feeling a wee bit stuffy in the back of my camper shell, I opened up the tail gate and fell asleep enjoying a wonderful breeze and (seemingly) no bugs.

I now have a large number of small scabs attesting to the fact that there were bugs ... and the intense scratching of the bite-sights hurts so good.

New Means of Travel (July 23, 2011)

So much for my solitary, slow pedal through the U.S. Time to speed things up a little and see more of the country than possible via my bike.

After a very enjoyable stay in Venice, CA, and an even more enjoyable couple of weeks seeing friends and family in Arizona, I am heading out for a new style (to me) adventure. I purchased a camper shell for my pick-up that will allow me to haul my touring bike in relative security and also provide me with a (hopefully) weather tight sleeping enclosure ... kind of a mini-R.V.

I am feeling a little strange embarking on travel in this mode as I feel I am abandoning my much loved bike touring. While the intent is to drive to various locations, then go bike touring, I feel as though I am not staying true to my bike. Oh well, the bike is an inanimate object, so I guess it will mean little to the bike.

I plan on heading out of Tucson tomorrow, and head to Silver City, NM. After a day or two of local Silver City riding, I will then head over to eastern New Mexico and then north through Colorado and Wyoming. When I was four or five years old, our family took a vacation trip to Mount Rushmore (of which I remember little), so I think I will make a stop in South Dakota ... possibly do a multi-day bike tour around the Mount Rushmore/Badlands area. After this, I will then head to Lake Michigan for a multi-week bike tour around the upper Great Lakes area.

Lots of thinking and map reading of late ... action starts tomorrow.

Hope the price of gas takes a serious dive.

At Rest (July 9, 2011)

No more Pacific Coast ride for me ... just too much traffic and too much urban noise and congestion. I have decided to halt this ride in Los Angeles, and forgo the last 130 miles to San Diego.

For the most part, the 500+ miles between San Francisco and L.A. were aesthetically pleasing, and the adjacent vehicular traffic bearable. There were many, many scenic views to be had, as well as some spectacular up-hills and down-hills. The route took me through such wonderful areas as Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, the Monterey/Carmel Peninsula, Big Sur and Morro Bay. There are some very nice campgrounds and some not-so-nice campgrounds.

One very vivid memory is the ride between Santa Cruz and Monterey. The route took me through miles and miles of agriculture ... primarily strawberry fields. The aroma of fresh strawberries is very sweet and enjoyable; the visual of artichoke plants/fields astounding and amusing. One memory that will stay with me for a long time is the sight of the workers picking strawberries ... how a person can work all day, bent over or squatting, is beyond me. Looking at the fresh strawberries in Trader Joe's now has a new meaning for me (that's not to say I won't still buy strawberries).

As happened in my riding prior to San Francisco, I met some great fellow touring cyclist. There was a couple (my age) from The Netherlands who had been riding for the past five months, having started their trek in Florida; a couple (younger than I) on a five-day trek from San Francisco to Morro Bay. Also, much to my surprise and great pleasure, I reconnected with a couple of riders I had camped with prior to San Francisco. Great joy in reconnecting.

I am very thankful for my short stay with Rod Paragas in Santa Barbara. Rod's parents and my parents were best friends when I was a kid in Creston, Iowa (back in the 1950s), prior to my family moving to Arizona. Rod and my older brother, Bob, were best friends. Other than a quick re-union in Havasupai Canyon back in the mid 1970s, I had not spent any time with Rod since childhood. The stay on his boat, in the Santa Barbara Marina, and the low-key conversations, were a true joy.

I arrived in Venice Beach two days ago, and have been enjoying a very relaxed rest ... my brother and my nephew (Bob and Sky) have been vacationing in Bob's friend's house (about a half a block from the beach). Reading, napping and watching the Tour de France have been the primary activities. Wonderful way to finish a 1500+ mile 40 day ride.

My thought on riding the coast is that it is an incredibly beautiful ride, but quite hard ... lots of climbing and (sometimes) very little in the way of bike lanes. I think if I were to do the ride again, I would start in Astoria, Oregon, and finish up the ride in San Luis Obispo, California. While Santa Barbara is beautiful, the ride from S.L.O. to Santa Barbara is difficult and, for the most part, unattractive.

So tomorrow I head back to Arizona and prepare for the second phase of this summer's travels. I am glad I rode the Pacific Coast ... the memories will stay with me for a long time (my mind willing).

Not sure I am ready for the Arizona heat.

Bike Friendly (June 26, 2011)

After taking the Larkspur Ferry across the Bay, I rode through downtown San Francisco to Lindsey and Chris's house ... this on Friday afternoon. I was surprised at how easy the riding is in SF. Fortunately, the route I took did not include any of the famous hills. Very nice bike lanes, and lots of bikes traveling about.

The adjacent photo is of a giant mural painted on the backside of a Safeway.

I had a great time with Lindsey and Chris ... they were gracious enough to give me a tour of the City, and we had some great meals. The architecture, both residential and commercial is captivating. I had a great time.

I do believe there are more single speed bikes in SF than anywhere else ... but I'll stick with my 27 gears.