Headed to meet with Mark

Day 51, 45 miles (3097), Yuba City to Chico, CA.  Why didn't I think of this sooner, short riding days are wonderful, plenty of time to stop along the way and snack or sip a cup of coffee without worrying about logging miles. Tonight Mark drives down from Ashland....hooray.  I made my late lunch stop at Sierra Nevada Brewery, had a pint of IPA and then took a tour of their extensive solar electric installation. Impressive.

Day 52, 69 miles (3166), Chico to Anderson, CA. Mark and I had a great breakfast and a nice ride through the countryside (all flat), ending the day nearRedding. We really wanted to camp but there are NO tent campsites anywhere near Redding, so we joined Tom Bodette at Motel 6 for the night. Had GREAT burritos for dinner.

Day 53, 58 miles (3224). Rode from Redding to Weaverville, leaving the flat land in our rearview mirrors , we had a good day of trails through the Redding area and then a sweet climb over the mountain to Weaverville. It was a bit cold during the day, so when we arrived in Weaverville and discovered that the only camping site was "several miles further down the road", we took the smart choice and stayed in a motel in town. We had a superb dinner and a beer to cap the day, shopped for a few groceries then hit the hay. More climbing tomorrow.

Day 54, 79 miles (3303). Leaving Weaverville heading north on CA Hwy 3 took us to a serious climb, maybe 5-6 K feet of 6 to 7% climbing for many miles, headed to Etna, where we looked forward to a microbrew and a burger at the famous Etna Brewery. It was a long day but we made it for a beer, a burger, and then a bowl of chili each for dessert. We camped in the City park and slept VERY well.

Day 55, 50 miles (3353), another day of climbing, this time the Hwy 3 segment between Ft Jones and Yreka. The sun was shining and the winds were light, so we had a glorious day. We camped in a secret little spot right along Interstate 5, knowing that tomorrow we would be HOME........

Day 56, 35 miles (3388). We had some more climbing to the Siskiyou Summit (in the four days Mark has been riding with me, we have ridden about 300 miles and climbed almost 21,000 ft), then a stop at Callahans for a delicious lunch and cold beer.  Our final miles took us to Neil Creek Road where we found Winnie and her welcoming crew (Jack and Shannon Deckwar) waiting to greet us. Home at Last.

Heading North

Day 48, 75 miles (2913). Rode from Chowchilla to Escalon. The citrus groves are mostly gone, replaced with more nuts and fruit trees.

Day 49, 77 miles (2990). Rode from Escalon to the south side of Sacramento, the forecast called for a strong front with rain and much cooler temps to hit about 2 pm. I rode in the rain and gusty winds for an hour or two, just to be a little wet and cold to feel that I deserved to spend the rainy night in a warm motel room.

Day 50, 62 miles (3052), left Sacramento headed for Yuba City when there was a brief let up in the rain showers, the let up didn't last long. Between the continued downpours and the puddle splash from passing cars (the first 20 miles was in heavy urban traffic, I used sidewalks were possible but the traffic spray was still heavy) I was quickly soaked. Once I cleared the city, and was riding the wonderful bike trails along the American River and the levee headed north, the rain was much less frequent and things dried off quite a bit. The birds along this part of the ride were magnificent, due to the close proximity of the Sacramento River Delta.

California

Day 44/45. Drove across the California Desert. The first day out I picked up a cyclist riding Interstate 10, he was trying valiantly to crank out miles riding into a 30 mph headwind. I pulled way off the shoulder of the roadway, hopped out of the car and watched him struggling against the demon wind, very glad that wasn't me. He gladly accepted a ride. It turns out that he sent all of his camping gear home and he was trying to jump from motel to motel, hoping the lack of gear would give him greater speed and thus range. I was glad to get him 100 miles further west.

Day 46, 110 miles (2740), I rode from Bakersfield to Reedley CA, through hundreds of citrus groves, the smell of orange blossoms adding a sweet smell to the long day of riding. Discovered that almost all of Hwy 99 is off limits to cyclists, which means more work plotting a ridable course homeward.

Day 47, 98 miles (2838). I rode from Reedley to Chowchilla, around Fresno the citrus groves gave way to vineyards, pistachio trees, and peach/nectarine orchards. Most of the irrigation canals are empty but plenty of water spewing from wells in all the orchards. Riding in the rural orchards is rewarding, all the workers wave, some even try friendly conversations in broken English.

I saw a heartwarming scene early in the day, out in the middle of a citrus grove a dad was carefully unloading five or six youngsters from a pickup truck, the girls were in dresses, the boys had ties, ages probably 4-8. There was a large blanket spread out, with high backed chairs for the kids to sit, I couldn't tell if it was a party or a baptism or similar, maybe it was a celebration of Lent? Whatever, they didn't require anything more than the orange grove to celebrate (they were definitely a Hispanic family). It would be hard to find a sweeter smelling place to have a celebration.

The inability to ride Hwy 99 dealt me a setback today. I needed to cross the San Joaquin River NW of Fresno, I tried to access the bridge west of Fresno but Hwy 41 did not allow cyclists, so I continued on to the Hwy 99 bridge hoping it would allow ciycists access. No luck. I only needed about two miles to cross the river, so I decided to stick out my thumb and solicit a ride. I gave it an hour, not a single car or pickup even slowed to indicate they were even thinking about giving me a ride (I was right after a traffic signal, where traffic was moving slowly, with a huge open shoulder where a vehicle could easily stop and talk to me). When my hour elapsed I decided it would be faster and much more rewarding to simply ride slightly south and another 20 miles west to utliize the closest bridge that would let me cross. It was more pleasant riding in the friendly confines of more vineyards and orchards.

Tempe and Decision Time

Day 43, 86 miles (2630). The ride from Globe, through Superior, and on to Tempe is mostly a descent, but possibly on the worst section of road on the Southern Tier. The road is twisted and narrow with little shoulder, where the road climbs the minimal shoulder is sacrificed to make a passing lane, so cyclists are forced into the drive lane where they compete for space with large trucks (many mines nearby), RVs, pickup trucks and cars. I have no gripe with the Southern Tier mapmakers, they have chosen the best route available from the limited options. But this highlights a major drawback in attempting travel by bicycle.

In a perfect world there would be roads for the autos and dedicated bike trails for cyclists, parallel networks taking motorists and cyclists alike to where ever they would like to go. The reality is that it is difficult to build and maintain our network of roads using motor fuel taxes, little revenue remains for cycling infrastructure.  The construction of an  independent network of bike trails is happening in certain areas where cycling is popular but these trails rarely provide the cyclist a reliable route to real destinations, they generally serve the cyclists who can load their bicycle on a bike rack and drive to the trail, where they can take a ride. Using these trails to cycle as an alternative to driving is limited, very limited. What this means is that if you want to travel somewhere solely by bicycle you are, sooner or later, going to be in conflict with motorists. Regardless of the route you take, even if it is a roadway with a generous shoulder, or even better, a roadway with a marked bike lane on the shoulder, at some point you will reach the spot where a sign announces "bike lane ends". At this point you are truly on your own. Your safety will depend greatly on the willingness of the passing motorist to acknowledge your existence (and legal right ) on the roadway and to behave in a courteous and generous manner. It is my experience that this is placing tremendous faith in motorists that may feel differently about cycling.

The Share the Road philosophy is an attempt to give the cyclist a chance to use roads in co-operation with motorists where complete separation between the two modes of travel is not possible. But for it to succeed, there needs to be an understanding between motorists and cyclists that addresses the disparity between a multi-ton vehicle traveling at 70 mph and a 200 pound vehicle traveling at 15 mph.

Someone asked me if I have any idea how much the presence of a cyclist on a busy highway frightens and annoys a motorist. I have been driving for 40 plus years, I have encountered my share of surprises on the roadway: cyclists, debris, live animals, stalled vehicles, etc. Sometimes these encounters were frightening and annoying, the more so when they arrive completely unexpected. The only way to eliminate cyclists from this list is to ban them entirely from our system of roads, anything less will continue to annoy the majority of motorists. That still leaves plenty of road hazards for fright and annoyance.

I believe most people are kind hearted and will lend a hand to someone in need. Encountering a elderly shopper in the aisle of your supermarket, may draw some annoyance if you are late and in a hurry, but generally you will give the shopper some extra consideration if they slow your shopping progress. Encounter that same shopper a few minutes later, when both of you are maneuvering in traffic and you may not be so generous. When we settle into our automobiles, embraced by our climate control, piped in music, linked to the outside world via our hands-free phone, we often feel like the world should move at our game speed, anything less, regardless of the source, is an annoyance.

How often do we curse the car ahead of us, who seems unable to decide on which driveway is the correct one, without noticing the out-of-state plates?

Cycling on roads where I cannot stay entirely separate from motorized traffic has taught me what it must be like to have a physical or mental handicap in our high speed society. When the shoulder narrows, or a bridge pinches me onto the roadway, or a construction zone sends me directly onto the drive lane, I become that handicapped person. With no way to plead my predicament to the passing motorist, "I am so sorry to slow your progress, I hope you can lend me some of your road space for the 15 seconds it takes for you to pass me", all I can hope for is their understanding and co-operation. Perhaps that is amazingly naive, but it is not that much different than the guy on crutches ahead of you in the airport security line (who is really making the same entreaty....I am going slowly today, please cut me some slack.....), except in the security line you aren't in your car.....

More on this theme later.

Because I have been dreading the need to cross several hundred miles of the Calofornia Desert by bicycle, on roads ill-suited for cyclists, I have been wrestling with myself. Ride the desert or rent a car?

I am currently traveling on four wheels, whizzing from Tempe to Bakersfield in comfort, in a rented car. Last night I  camped in the Desert, this morning I will tour the General George Patton museum, then cruise through Joshua Tree NP on my way to Bakersfield. There I return the car and continue north on my own two wheels.

More New Mexico, then Arizona

Day 40 , 0 miles (2347). Explored Silver City, visited the bike shop and purchased a very nice Osprey hydration backpack. On really dry days (mid-day in these arid desert-like areas often has relative humidity levels below 10 percent) it is hard to drink enough to stay properly hydrated, so a backpack should help.

Day 41, 84 miles (2431), left Silver City NM at sunup, climbed a few miles and crossed the Continental Divide and soon left New Mexico. Had a great camp in Three Way AZ where I met two Canadians (from Nainimo BC).

Day 42, 114 miles (2544). Left 3 Way at sunup and immediately had a 10 mile, 2K foot climb, followed by a nice downhill. After only 32 miles I was faced with a dilemma, stop for the night or press on knowing that the next legitimate camping site was 74 miles away! The majority of the 74 miles would be through the Apache Indian Reservation, where camping was by permit only, and permits could only be obtained very near the end of the 74 mile jaunt. No help there.

If I stayed with the short riding day, there was a camping spot nearby with 102 degree clothing optional hot springs.......but I made the fatal mistake of looking at the weather. The next days forecast called for blustery SW winds, not what I wanted for riding the narrow, debris choked shoulders of the only highway through the reservation. So I wistfully bid goodbye to the hot springs and saddled up.

In the end it was a very long day, nearly 11 hours of riding, but I am damned glad I did it. The road shoulder was crappy, frequently overgrown with bushes, and traffic was heavy and fast. It would have been much more difficult with gusty winds. Tonight I am camped at a cute RV park in downtown Globe AZ.

Emory Pass

Day 39, 58 miles (2347). I left Hillsboro NM way before sunrise hoping to get a jump on the west wind that was forecast to blow strong by afternoon. The 3K of climbing was easier in my opinion than what followed it, pedaling into a stiffening headwind. It felt like I was cycling in slow motion for 40 miles of rolling hills. The wind was so strong on some of the hills that I was forced to walk my bike on the steeper grades. I arrived in Silver City NM totally dead. Since the forecast calls for strong west winds the next two days, tomorrow will be a day to rest and stock up on food for the barren miles between Silver City and Tempe, AZ.

A note on tires. When I started the trip I was riding on a Maxxis tire 700c x 38mm that uses a Kevlar belt in the main tread for puncture resistance. I had a total of 9 flats in the first 1,000 miles, mostly from fine tire wire. I installed Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires (35mm) about 1350 miles ago and I have had only one puncture- a toothpick! The new tires have more rolling resistance but the trade-off is well worth it. If you ever want specialty bike tires that your local shop does not stock, try Bike Tires Direct in Portland OR, they worked a miracle supplying me with the tires I wanted but could not find anywhere in Houston or San Antonio.

Headed to the NM mountains

Day 38, 106 miles (2289). Rode from Anthony to Hillsboro NM, the first 90 miles  along the Rio Grande River. Although the river is dry now, the river supports a great deal of agriculture on it's banks- cotton, grain, and a lot of pecan orchards. With the river dry, water to sustain the crops comes from wells, big diesel pumps are running everywhere, pumping well water into the irrigation canals the run everywhere.

The last twenty miles my route turned away from the Rio Grande and started climbing into the treeless NM foohills. Although the climbing was modest, maybe 1000 ft of climb, the headwind made those miles excruciating. It felt like I was pulling a stalled car with my bike. I was relieved to make it to the nearly deserted town of Hillsboro, where the only open business was the wine bar, a glass of red wine helped with the leg pain.

Geoff escapes from Texas

Day 37, 124 miles (2183). The day started with the sky filled with a whitish haze, a result of the strong NE winds whipping up dust from the White Sands area and distributing everywhere. Visibility never really improved better than 3 or 4 mikes until late in the day, and the taste of dirt was available throughout the day's ride. It feels good to have Texas behind me, I know the weather, and the winds and the arid landscape won't change now that I am in New Mexico, but Texas is a big state and it feels good to cross the state line.

Texas, Texas

Day 35, 76 miles (2025). I was heartened to awake early this morning to CALM conditions, the wind had stopped during the night. But is cold, maybe 25 degrees so packing up gear before sunrise is frosty on the hands. The last road sign as I leave the town of Marfa is "no services for the next 75 miles". So it is a long, straight, windswept road to Van Horn TX.

Now that I have some miles behind me, I can share my observations on the differences between travelling with a trailer or panniers. On the plus side for the panniers, since I have four sturdy, waterproof panniers, it is much easier to organize my gear and find individual items while on the road, the trailer is just one big dry bag and finding a single item during a ride was a chore. The bike tracks a little better in calm winds with panniers.

On the negative side, fully loaded panniers have much more wind resistance than the loaded trailer. This has become very apparent here in Texas, where I have had plenty of riding days with head winds and cross winds. The bike is noticeably more difficult to pedal into a headwind with the panniers compared to the trailer, and in crosswinds the panniers catch more of the wind than the trailer, so riding is more uncomfortable- the bike takes more effort to keep it on a straight path.

Day 36, 34 miles (2059). March 18th. I hit the road right at sunup hoping to get in some miles before the winds built up strength, the forecast called for direct headwinds 10-20 mph starting the day with gusts to 30 by afternoon. They were exactly right. By late morning I was barely making 7 mph pedaling into that wind, so I made the heartbreaking choice to stop before I was stranded out in the desert, unable to make the next town before dark because of the slow going. Ended the riding day in Sierra Blanca TX.

Windy, Windy Texas

Day 32 , 64 miles (1949). Rode away from Marathon after a cold night camping, a fellow camper noted that when we awoke an hour before sunrise the temperature was 28 degrees. The morning's ride was pleasant with light headwinds and a lunch stop in Alpine to meet Kent Chandler and his bride Elise. The afternoon's ride into Marfa was somewhat of a struggle, battling a rising headwind as the sun did it's work. Found a campsite at an eclectic place called El Cosmico....sort of a hipster bohemian enclave in the West Texas Plains. Evidently Marfa is known for an artsy crowd that hangs out here, escaping from the cities for quiet time in the desert. Their shower is totally outdoors, plenty of hot, solar heated water but one does feel a bit exposed using the unit, as the enclosure has gaps sufficient to let a horse amble through. I make plans for a protracted stay, the forecast calls for winds 25-35 mph from the very direction in which I must ride for the next two days.

Day 33, winds erupt from the NW during the night, with gusts driving the Texas dust all around the campsite, fine dust filters through my tent like smoke, clinging to everything, seeping into all of my bags, threatening to foul anything left open to the shifting grit. Luckily my tent bends in the wind but stays firm against the swirling gusts, I spend most of the days tasting dirt and lounging inside the campgrounds communal area, reading books from the library room.

Day 34, Sunday, March 16th. During the night the wind continues unabated, the North wind starts to do its work on the temperature and by 3 am, when the rain starts, it is down to 36 degrees. The good news is the the rain is sufficient to wet the earth and suppress the dust, at least for awhile. I get up early to catch the solar showers before the hot water is gone and enjoy the chance to clean away the grittiness of the past 36 hours of wind and dust. Then I retreat to the communal area's library room, where there is free coffee and heat, two items that work together to make the day bearable. I cannot imagine riding in these ferocious winds, pushing my heavy, wide load against these headwinds.

Big Day Today

Day 31,  115 miles (1885). Tailwinds today allowed me to put a big chunk of West Texas behind me. The route also had some climbing. I started at Langtry before the sun was up (it was cold, packing gear before sunup) at an elevation of 1500 ft and ended the day at 4000 ft at Marathon TX. I met one cyclist today, a rather sturdy individual who, if I got his story straight, left southern Montana in January and is headed to Key West. Then on to Venezula by freighter. I gave him a map for the Southern Tier and left him struggling into a headwind as I departed into my glorious tailwind.

West Texas

Day 28, 75 rather damp miles (1674). Rode from Leakey to Bracketville TX, descending out of Texas Hill Country onto the vast west Texas plains, about 450 miles of this desolate plains separate me from El Paso and the hills of New Mexico. I spent the night at Ft Clark Springs, a wonderfully well preserved army fort that now serves as a destination for Texans who need a vacation in a quiet and beautiful spot. Met two cycling couples. Saw one of the couples again the next morning, there I found out that they live in Canada, near Owens Sound on Georgian Bay; it was fun to tell them Patty and I had just been in Georgian Bay just this past summer.

Day 29, 96 miles (1770). The first half of the day was cool and cloudy, about lunchtime I stopped for a quick sandwich, no more than twenty minutes later I emerged from that BBQ shack into bright sunlight, not a single cloud in the sky. For the rest of the day clothing was slowly shed, arriving in Langtry late in the day, a local said their thermometer read 94 degrees. I vividly recall the first time I visited Langtry it was at the end of a long hot ride, and at the local community center, where cyclists are allowed to camp on the lawn, I found a garden hose that spewed a wonderful stream of clear, cold water. That day I had the most refreshing 5 minutes running that water on my overheated head. So when I arrived in Langtry for the second time, that same hose was still there, and that 5 minutes of cold clear water flowing on my head worked the same miraculous recovery. Plus the local store, which had already closed, reopened to let me buy a cold drink. I chose an ice cold Coors.........nothing could have tasted better.

Day 30........Winds 25-35 mph, gusty, straight out of the NW. Headwinds. Since the nearest decent stopping point on my route is 65 miles away, I decided to wait out the  day in Langtry, where I can spend the day touring the Judge Roy Bean Museum and drinking lots of cold water. Maybe tomorrow the winds will be more favorable.

The best day so far.........

Day 27, 62 wonderful miles (1599), rode from Ingram to Leakey TX on a raw overcast day and had a fabulous ride. Since the weather was cool and blustery, and I had a lot of climbing and descending to do in the heart of Hill Country, I followed Ben's suggestion about temperature regulation in cold weather. The key is to exert yourself sufficiently to stay warm but not so much that sweat starts to build up and wet your clothing. This is always a challenge for me in hilly country, by drenching myself in sweat on the climb I guarantee an unpleasant and chilly descent. So I climbed all the big hills in my granny gear and enjoyed wonderful full speed descents tucked up tight in my nice and dry riding gear. Thanks Ben.

The day's ride was exceptional for two reasons, first the scenery is just like home, almost. If I was dropped here without a map, I would guess I was somewhere along the Shasta River between Mt Lassen and Mt Shasta.........the trees, rock formations, smell, and general look are the same. The second reason that the ride was so memorable was the locals. My waving quotient shot up to almost one (if no one waves back, the quotient is zero, if half  the passing motorists wave its .5, if everyone waves it is 1.0........I give extra credit for motorists who wave before I wave to them). I gave a lot of extra credit for waving on this segment of the ride. Too many of the days leading up to today the wave quotient hovered right at zero.

Rain caught me at the sweet little town of Leakey (locally it is pronounced Lakey, just to throw visitors off,  I imagine) so I decided to spend the night. The camping promised by my map was unavailable so I snagged one of the last rooms available in the only motel in town (spring break started this weekend, this is a weekend get away for city folks, so I was lucky to get a room). I was pleasantly surprised to find it run by a youngish American couple who clearly are in the middle of renovating the aging facility, most of the older motels I stop at are run by East Indian families, often multi-generational, who have always provided a decent room at a rate far below the newer motels. But whenever I check in I wonder why always Indian families? I know it must be hard work, very long hours, with small margins, but is there some secret organization taking over our cheaper motels in this country? So I was heartened to see a local couple making a go of it.

I wish I could spend more time here in Texas Hill Country; the friendly, rural nature of the area is a nice balm after the hectic miles getting through the more populated areas. This just reminds me that I am personally more comfortable in a setting where open space and a friendly wave mean more than big houses, plentiful shopping opportunities and a hectic pace. To each his own......

On to Texas Hill Country

Day 23, March 5.........The weather finally moderated, so riding conditions were good, but I spent the day in Bastrop. Since I was having a difficult time selecting roads that provided a comfortable riding experience, I had decided to purchase Adventure Cycling maps for the portion of the Southern Tier through the rest of Texas. The State of Texas does not publish a statewide cycling map (kudos to any state that has a cycling map, this is an excellent way to show local and visiting cyclists roads that lend themselves to safe cycling and roads to be avoided. Surprisingly, Louisiana has an excellent cycling map and it made a huge difference for me in that state. If you plan to go on a cycling journey where you select your own route, I suggest it is worth the time to investigate state cycling maps well ahead of your trip). The maps I purchased arrived late Wednesday.

Day 24, March 6, 85 miles (1439). Left Bastrop, rode through Austin, west of Austin started into the amazing hills known as Texas Hill Country. Riding through the city was hectic, but once clear to the west, it became very rural and for the most part it was just me and the hills. Camped at Pedernales Falls State Park.

Day 25, March 7, 58 miles (1497). A day of headwinds and hills. I saw two other cyclists headed, loaded with gear. They warned me to lower my mileage expectations in Hill Country, the hills demand a lot of energy to climb. I soon discovered how right they were. Camped in a nice little City park amongst monster RVs in Fredericksburg TX.

Day 26, March 8, 40 miles (1537).  Awoke to a steady rain, so I decided to be lazy and stay in my sleeping bag until the rain let up. So I had a later then normal start time, plus I knew there was a Warm Showers host in Ingram (Kerrville area), so I made it a leisurely day meandering through ranch country on a wonderful rural road where I saw maybe 10 vehicles the entire ride. I am so glad I took the time to wait for the maps, it is good to be away from the stress of vehicular traffic. Had pizza with my WS hosts and talked about Texas.

Winter in Texas

Day 17. 92 miles (1200).  Lumberton to Kingwood TX, rode the first 60 miles on great rural roads with very little traffic. Once I crossed the causeway on Lake Houston I was in bad urban traffic and it was tough going.

Day 18. 94 miles (1294). Leaving Houston in rush hour traffic was a chore, the first 50 miles for the day was riding on the white line (no shoulder) with a steady drizzle to make things interesting. I was reminded that many highways in Texas sport 70 mph speed limits and most motorists show little regard for a cyclist, plus it is a common occurrence to have a comfortable riding shoulder disappear entirely, leaving the hapless cyclist on the white line with high speed traffic flashing by constantly. Welcome to Texas, sucker. Rode from Kingwood to Carmine TX and stayed at WS with all the dinner I could eat.......wonderful.

Day 19. 60 miles (1354). The day started nicely with some quiet rural riding but quickly degenerated into a deadly dance along a busy highway. I ended up pushing my bike for several hours, until an intersecting road gave me a safer riding option. During my march, I was privileged to meet a cycling couple who  stopped to ask if I wanted a ride, they had been riding the same route I was on until the traffic became too much for them to take so they stopped cycling and rented a car. There was no room in their car for my bike, but luckily they had a map that helped me choose a safer route. They are Canadians, started their tour from home in Toronto, rode to Clearwater, then set out for Austin TX. They almost made it. Figures that no Texan stopped to ask me if I needed a ride, it took a couple Canadians to do that. This days ride went from Carmine to Bastrop TX. Camped at Bastrop State Park.

Day 20. March 2nd........weather turned very COLD, so a rest day. My friend from San Antonio brought me new tires, Schwalbe Marathon Plus puncture resistant tires that I hope will reduce my flat tire problems. Most flats are a result of fine wires released from exploding truck tires that lay in wait along the road's shoulder, ready to be picked up by my bike tires. The worst day was three flats, it takes about 30 minutes to fix a flat so these flats take away from the miles for the day. The low for the night was 25 degrees.

Day 21. March 3rd. More cold, more rest.

Day 22. March 4th.  Awoke to an ice coated world, during the night a "thundersleet" storm hammered the area and left all the cars, trees and roads covered with a thick layer of ice. Car crashes and spinouts happening from San Antonio to Austin. Another chillout day.

Hola, Tejas

Day 15, 83 miles (1108). Crossed the Sabine River in steady rain, treated to three quick flats, in the rain, compliments of staples in the roadway. Fixing flats in the rain can be a challenge, so I just pulled out the staple and put in a new tube, used all three of my backup tubes, which I fixed when in a warm, dry place later in the day. Rode from Deridder La to Lumberton TX. The last three days have been good riding days, the roads have either been quiet, rural roads with very little traffic or roads with very generous, and for the most part, clean, smooth shoulders. Saw one cyclist, from Bavaria (Steffan), headed west.

Day 16. A cold front brought more rain, high winds (north 20-25 mph) and much colder temps, the days high was 43. Decided that after two weeks of riding every day, a rest day had been earned, so I took a day off from the road.

Over Big Muddy

Day 11.  96 miles (813)  Long day with two flats, lots of traffic and dogs everywhere. Made my WS stop before sunset, had a long hot shower and a great home cooked dinner. My hosts gave me a wonderful Louisiana State Bike map, which will go a long way towards keeping me off the busy roads on future days.

Day 12. 55 miles (868), Crossed the Mississippi today. Short day, I thought I had a WS stayover but it didn't work out so I had crash in a sleazy motel. Todays run was from Jackson LA to Simmesport LA.

Day 13. 65 miles (933), Simmesport to Opelousas LA. Nice rural run on quiet roads, still plenty of dogs but very little traffic. Rained about half the day, but had a WS stop, so a hot shower and a warm place to sleep.

Day 14. 92 miles (1025), Opelousas to Deridder LA. Again, another nice country ride with relatively light and cordial traffic. Dogs continue to be a nuisance. Rode through rice growing area. Tomorrow I should be in Texas.

Three days, four states

Day 8.  62 miles (564) , left my WS stopover at the Methodist Church in Pensacola, FL and  rode along the Gulf of Mexico to the Mobile Bay Ferry landing at Ft Morgan, Alabama. My plan was to catch the 330 pm ferry but the pace for the day was a little fast and I rolled up to the ferry just as the 100 pm ferry was loading. I almost decided to rest and catch the next ferry, but went ahead and boarded. Lucky I did. The fog was so thick in the bay the captain decided to suspend operations until the fog lifted, so that was the last ferry for the day (rumor was that no ferries ran the following day as well) . Lucky me. Camped at a WS host on Dauphin Island. Met Dylan, a grad student from Tulane on his first cycling tour- he is headed to meet his family in Melbourne FL.

Day 9.  74 miles (638), Feb 19,  Left Dauphin Island AL and continued along the coast in fog, at times heavy, to Biloxi MS, where I stayed with Patty's cousin, Courtney Myers and her family. Managed a load of wash, which was a good thing, riding gear was getting a bit stinky.

Day 10  79 miles (717) Feb 20, Left Biloxi in more fog, too heavy to trust motorists by riding on the shoulder, luckily most of the route was along the beach, which has a sidewalk that also serves as a bike path. So I had a buffer from the auto traffic that seemed to be moving rather fast in the heavy fog. Arrived in Mandeville LA before a cold front with heavy thunderstorms, I was just about to pick a motel for the night when a cyclist pulled up and asked where I was headed. He invited me to spend the night with his family, and it was fantastic. He and his wife have a 15 yr old son, we all sat around having great conversation and eating a grilled steak dinner that was superb. It was nice to see a functional family that really gets along well, and who felt comfortable inviting a perfect stranger into their midst. The mom works for the New Orleans Saints and she has her own Super Bowl ring, which she brought out. I had no idea a ring could be so massive.

First Week

Day 1    47 miles(47), Our boat broker and friend, Don Martin, gave me a ride across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge so that I could enjoy the Pinellas Bike Trail , a dedicated bike trail that leads from Gulfport to Tarpon Springs. Riding on dedicated trails is wonderful, no traffic worries, no traffic noise, and other bikers to talk with along the way. The day ended at a great Warm Showers stop with my own bedroom. My host even took me out to dinner.

Day 2.    70 miles (117), more dedicated trails and another windless, sunny day......up until about 3 pm, when the cold front hit my location. The rain started light but built up quickly, I had hoped to camp in a state park, but the rain and reduced visibility (almost all the cars had headlights on by 4 pm) made riding further risky, so that I opted for a Days Inn.

Day 3.    76 miles (193), the cold front passage left a strong NW wind in its wake, so the day was a headwind day, I decided to ride as far as I could and camp along the side of the road. The plan worked well, I found a great place to camp at a stream crossing, where the bridge crossed over the stream there was a natural depression, with green grass, where I could pitch my tent and not be seen by the passing motorists. I liked the stealth factor, you never know who might spot you and decide to have some fun at your expense.

Day 4.    90 miles (283),  awoke to a thick frost on my tent, so packup was a bit cold and wet. Headwinds persisted so it took a lot of saddle hours to achieve my miles. I ran out of daylight before making my campsite so I stayed at another motel. Besides the obvious comforts that motels provide, there is also the advantage that starting early the next day is easy because packup is quick and can be accomplished before sunup, so you can be on the road at sunrise.

Day 5.   109 miles (392), today was a killer, first because I wanted to end the day at a Warm Showers stop so I had over 100 miles to ride, secondly because I made a routing decision that cost me several hours. About 2/3 of the way through my mileage for the day, Google Maps showed my route down a gravel road (everything up to this point was paved), so I stopped and pondered the risks, decided that staying on the pavement was the prudent choice, and was just repacking my phone when a pickup pulled alongside. This good old boy proceeds to tell me that the gravel road is a good way to go, a short cut to Panama City, which is where I am headed. I do my best to follow his directions ( he has lived there all of his life, yet he did not know the actual names of ANY of the roads he was sending me down) but I end up in a labyrinth of packed sand roads. I road, walked, pushed, and carried my bike for over 4 hours along these awful paths. I finally found a house, and then a paved road about dark. Using all available lights and flashers, I road the drainage ditch along a busy highway into Panama City, finding my WS host house about 8 pm. My host was so nice, she made me a giant dinner, a most welcome treat after riding for nearly 13 hours. Moral of the story....don't trust Google Maps out in the boonies and don't trust local advice unless it comes from a cyclist, and even then be careful.

Day 6.  73 miles (460).  More headwinds but still a decent day of riding. Ended the day at  cheap motel.

Day 7.    46 miles (506).  I wanted to stop in Pensacola, the local Methodist Church hosts WS , so it was a short mileage day, and it felt good to take it easy and have some time during the day to explore a town on foot. The church was a great place to spend the night, especially since it is right downtown.

OSPREY has a new owner........

Patty and I signed the sales contract today, February 4th, for the sale of our faithful trawler to new owners from Massachusetts.Since today is also the 2nd anniversary of the day I started my cross-country bike ride in 2012, I thought it only fitting that I now ride my bike back home to Oregon  from Florida. So I start my second cross-country ride next week.
 
My bike is on it's way, via FedEx and I should see it next Monday. So if all goes well I will be on the road first light on Tuesday, February 11th.