(February 12 to 17)

The Trip Home

What Now?

During my short stay in San Diego, I rode my bike down to the harbor to enjoy the tourist sights. I've always loved the "wooden ships & iron men" era of naval history!

 The view of my coach seating car. As you can see, the train wasn't all that full for most of my trip East.

My "Sunset Limited" Amtrak train at its stop in Houston, TX. It was nice to be able to get out of the train occasionally to stretch my legs and get some sunshine.

 

I was amazed to be greeted at Union Station in New Orleans by a group of my cycling friends from home!!

 

From L to R:
Karen Haskins, Jan Clark, Kellye Carlisle, Leslie Robinson and Elizabeth Spooner.  

 

Monty Clark, a cyclist I hope I can grow up to be someday.

 

San Diego Interlude

It won't surprise you to know that on the first day...well, the first few days really...following the end of my journey I really struggled to adjust to not being on a bike tour any longer. No more was I able to answer the question of "what am I going to do today?" with "ride my bike West!"

Yes, I did have some errands to run to get ready to return in that I needed to ship some of my gear home that I didn't want to have to carry on the train, and I needed to get some new tires for my bike. Luckily, my good friend Lisa Girolamo no only let me stay on her couch for three days, but also let me borrow her car to get things done.

 

And, yes, I did do some tourist-y things like visit the harbor, get some donuts at the world famous Donut Barn, etc., But, I'd lived in San Diego for six years and worked downtown near where Lisa's place is so there wasn't much I hadn't already seen.

 

And, I did visit my favorite ex-wife Denise, her two boys Jordan and Owen and my good friend Punkee...which was an awesome time.

 

And, I did start applying to some bike tour companies for one of the things I thought I might do once I'd returned to "real life": bike tour leader.

 

But mostly I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I would do next. I mean, I was unemployed. And, while I had money to take care of my needs for a while, it wasn't going to last forever and I needed to get start earning money in some fashion. One thing I knew, however, is that I was committed to NOT going back to the old corporate world I'd come from. I was going to do my best to forge a new path.

 

Amtrak Train Journey East
I made the decision to get back home via Amtrak because they offered me the chance to have my bike travel on the train without needing to check it as baggage. No boxes, pedal removal, etc.. And it was a great decision. I loved how easy it was to get my bike to where it needed to go.

I so love train travel! Unlike traveling on a plane, there is no security to worry about and you can get up and walk throughout the train whenever you wish. You can eat in the dining car, go down and grab a snack from the snack bar, go sit in the viewing car or simply stay in your seat. So informal vs. an airplane trip! I really enjoyed meals in the dining car because you get to meet all sorts of new folks who end up sitting in your booth with you. Now, admittedly, it was hard for me to sleep comfortably in my coach seat (and when I do this again I might spring for the extra money and get a sleeping berth), but I managed. And, I think I'd bring some extra snacks with me just to cut down on the cost of food given its relatively expensive to buy it on the train. But as a way to get to and from a bike tour in the US, I'd highly recommend it.

 

Homecoming
I want to send a BIG shout-out to a group of my cycling friends who drove down to surprise me at the New Orleans train station! I was amazed and humbled. It was the perfect ending to the journey of a lifetime. Not only did they do me the honor of a surprise greeting when I stepped off the train and into the station, they'd planned an entire "day" of fun beginning with dinner that night and a ride on the beautiful Tammany Trace in Slidell, LA the next day. Every epic journey needs an epic homecoming and mine was fabulous!



 

(February 11)

Day 48 - Pine Valley to San Diego CA

It's Not Over 'til It's Over

 

The unappealing start to my riding day in Pine Valley.

 Changing my back tire in Lakeside California. I was glad that this tree was right there as it covered my gear and I completely from the rain while I made the repair.

 The final few miles of my entire journey: the Ocean Beach Bike Trail which runs along the San Diego River. In the distance to the far right of the pic, that tower you see is Sea World.

 Why do my sunglasses always go awry when I smile for selfies? Anyway, the culmination of the greatest journey of my life...so far! :)

 Dipping my front wheel in the ocean...a tradition as I understand it. There is no accompanying pic of my back wheel dipped because I didn't start on the Atlantic side of the route.

 

 Last night I was picturing today. A lazy, pleasant day spent coasting downhill for roughly 50 miles until the descent deposited me right at the ocean. Just as it had been for a couple of weeks, it would be sunny and warm. No more climbs to worry about, just letting gravity propel me to the beach.
Except not.

Overcast all day. A steady rain all morning. Chilly...down into the low 40s. A big climb I wasn't expecting as soon as I departed Pine Valley. And while there was a LOT of downhill riding, the problem became my soaked clothes, when combined with the 25mph+ speeds I was traveling at, made me freezing cold!

So, picture this: I'm soaked. Shivering. My hands and face are numb. And I'm thinking "but THIS IS SAN DIEGO!!!" This was supposed to happen in OTHER states. OTHER towns. San Diego is world famous...justifiably so...for its warm, pleasant, sunny weather.
And then I got a flat tire.

By this time I was laughing out loud at how my future always turns out quite a bit differently than I imagine. Wildly different most of the time. The universe LITERALLY rained on my parade.

But, in the end, it didn't stop me. I put up with it all and enjoyed my ride anyway. And if I've learned anything on this trip it is that you'd better be ready for things to turn out unexpectedly...and be happy they did. Because it wouldn't have been anywhere near the adventure of the lifetime that this journey turned out to be if everything had gone according to plan.

(February 10)

Day 47 - Ocotillo to Pine Valley CA

The Queen Stage

 

Departing for my big day well before dawn.

After a breakfast of yogurt and chocolate-covered donuts at the Chevron, I began my ride just as dawn broke in the Western sky.

The climb up In-ko-pah is so steep, cars in the summer who run their A/C frequently overheat. Thus these reservoirs of radiator water. There were 19 reservoirs on my first, worst climb.

 

In pro cycling, climbs are rated as "Categories" based on what gear a car would need to be in in order to climb it. I'm changing that to classify climbs by how many radiator water reservoirs are required. So, I completed a 19RR climb today.

Patrick, my fellow tribesman. I met him just outside Live Oak Springs as he was headed, vaguely, towards New England. Patrick was quite the outdoor chef in that he had a roast chicken from Wal Mart in one of his front panniers that he used as the fixins for dinner on three consecutive camping nights. Roast chicken!

Ron Staschak from Maine...another tribesman! I met Ron just outside of Pine Valley and our very first topic of conversation was what a horrific day of climbing we had each experienced. Ron has been bike touring over shorter distances for a long time, but this is the first time he's touring for this kind of distance. His plan is to ride the Southern Tier and THEN head north to Maine and home.

Ron's "noseless" saddle. It's the first one I've ever seen (had no idea there was even such a thing before today) and I was immediately interested in it. Ron says it is "like sitting on a park bench." I can state without hesitation that I really wish I'd been sitting on a park bench for the last 2300 miles.

 

 

In the big pro cycling stage races...like the Tour de France...the toughest, most demanding stage of the race (also the one which carries the greatest prestige) is called the “Queen Stage.”

 

Today was the Queen Stage of my journey. I’ve never had a more difficult day on a bike. Not that I’m all that experienced as a cyclist (I’ve been riding only about 18 months or so), but it was so tough, I was almost staggering with fatigue when I checked into the motel in Pine Valley. Only 47 miles, but there was 5500 feet of climbing. And the first 10 miles...from Ocotillo up to In-Ko-Pah Road...was ALL uphill at an almost-entirely 6% grade. If I hadn’t ditched the trailer I would have never made it. As it stood, I still had to stop twice to take a drink and walk around a bit before I could keep climbing. And that was just the first of THREE long, steep climbs of the day.

 

As you all read in my post yesterday, I feared today. It was my Goliath. Having lived in San Diego for six years, I had a pretty good memory of these mountains. I knew it would be a righteous endeavor even on my road bike...not to mention doing it with my touring rig.

 

I won’t lie...it took all I had physically AND mentally. There was a point...about 2/3rds of the way up the first, worst climb….when I was, literally, crying at how hard it was to keep going. I’m sure that for better riders it wouldn’t be that hard, but for me at my level of fitness it was a supreme challenge.

 

But I made it. I didn’t walk any of the hills...I rode my bike up and over everything the route put in front of me including some headwinds along the way that a local rider turned back from and warned me against as he went back by me the other way not long after having passed me going my direction.

 

I know that tomorrow is technically my last riding day, but in reality today was the culmination...the literal and figurative peak...of my odyssey. All of the ghosts that started with me were exorcised. All of the long days of pondering and thinking about the future coalesced into one crystal clear vision on that first, worst climb. All of the fears and doubts which had dogged me these last several weeks escaped my mind and soul as the tears streamed down my face on that first, worst climb. I achieved what I didn’t even realize I wanted or needed when I started: peace..

 

And, more, I gained a belief in myself that...despite some very tough challenges in the past which I’d successfully conquered...I’ve never previously had. I know for a fact I’ve never previously believed I had this kind of courage in me. I didn’t ride out of my driveway to find courage per se, but I now realize that somewhere, somehow I was seeking confirmation that I had some. Maybe more than anything I’ve wanted for a long time, I wanted to prove...to myself...that I had the “right stuff.” I know that will sound strange to many reading this who know something of the things I’ve already accomplished in life, but this was different. This wasn’t done as part of some structured program where I “graduated.” It wasn’t simply having lost a certain amount of weight. Etc..

 

No, this was being deeply fearful on Christmas Day about what lay ahead. Seriously afraid it was going to prove more than I could handle and failing somewhere along the way. Worse, having to go back home and tell everyone that I, well, didn’t actually make it to San Deigo. I dreaded the shame and humiliation that I’d feel if I couldn’t make it. And STILL leaving my driveway that first morning anyway.

 

• This was me knowing the wind was going to be terrible….but STILL going out anyway.

• This was me failing to keep rule after rule. Meeting many other tourists who were camping every night, cooking every meal, etc....in other words, being the kind of bike tourist I had pictured as my ideal...and being forced to admit I was exactly what I feared I really was: a candyass. Knowing I didn’t measure up and feeling terrible about myself because of that knowledge. But STILL continuing my journey anyway.

• This was me fearing today’s huge riding challenge for over two months...and STILL making my way to the base of that hill this morning and beginning the ride up anyway.

• I have no idea what the future will hold for me, and I have many doubts as to whether or not I can make it all happen the way I envision it...but I’m going to damn well try anyway.

P.S.

I wanted to send a shout-out to Jim Ralph, my road angel today. Despite being former Navy, he was extremely kind to me, a former Army guy! He not only had offered to provide SAG support for me if needed (up to and including any kind of emergency, “I Can’T Do This” transportation in the back of his truck as far out at Gila Bend AZ!), but today he took a scenic drive out toward Jacumba just in case he could find me...and he did, in Live Oak Springs...and bring me some cold water and snacks for my ride. We had a wonderful conversation about bike touring in all its facets. Jim is planning to ride the Southern Tier later this year and had found my journal as part of his research for his trip. I’m pretty sure that I’ve made every mistake there is to make when it comes to bike touring, so I hope my misadventures help make his own tour as smooth as silk :)

 

 

(February 9)

Day 46 - Brawley to Ocotillo CA

And I Thought Two Wheels Were Tough

 

Everything in under these roofs and tarps...all the way into the far distant horizon... is hay. All hay. Enough hay, I think, to feed all the cattle in the state for a year.

For anyone traveling from San Diego to Phoenix, this gypsum plant in Plaster City is an iconic landmark off in the distance.

I had to travel over 2000 miles to find the WORST paved surface I'd ridden on during the entire trip. 12 miles of this, all over the road (and thus unavoidable) from Plaster City to Ocotillo.

The friendly environs of the Ocotillo Motel and Trailer Park.

 

So, today just a few hundred yards outside Ocotillo CA, my final destination for the day, I see a figure in the distance that isn’t a car. I usually have to wait a beat to determine just how fast the object is moving to know whether or not it is a motorcycle. So, moments after spotting the object headed my way I know it is a bicycle and start my “meet my tribe” protocol: slow down, turn off my audiobook and prepare to turn onto their side of the road for a quick chat.

 

Normally, the cyclist coming from the other direction is also slowing down. And/or waving. And, of course, I can detect these things happening so I know we’ll be meeting up on the side of the road in mere moments. But...quite strangely...I note that the other figure isn’t slowing. Undeterred, I go ahead stop on my side of the road and prepare to wave and hail my fellow bike tourist.

Except, in a flash, I realize this person isn’t a BIcycle tourist….he is a UNIcycle tourist.

 

Yep, the guy is riding a UNIcycle that was, hands down, one of the strangest wheeled contraptions I’ve seen. I honestly didn’t get any kind of good look at the guy (it was a man) because he just kept riding by me without slowing, but the single wheel was at least 4 ft. high.. He was, somehow, hunched over with his arms/elbows in what looked like aero bars. What in the world they were attached to who knows! There seemed to be no carrying bags attached to the unicycle of any kind (although, admittedly, I might have missed in my haste to figure out if what I was seeing was what I was really seeing).

 

And as he passed, he simply shouted out “where are you coming from?”...again, without slowing. I shouted back “Mississippi” but I’m not sure he heard me; and I definitely know he didn’t here my “what the hell are you riding?” question which immediately followed.

 

Other than that, it was a relatively relaxed riding day. Only 47 miles, but pretty flat all in all. Yes, the temperature did rise to 98...yes, in early February, 98!!!!...but the wind was not a factor today. And, yes, the final 12 miles from just outside Plaster City all the way into Ocotillo featured the WORST….and I’m not exaggerating….road surface I’ve experienced since I started this ride over six weeks ago. I had to take a picture of it just to even have a hope of anyone believing me. It’s a very good thing The Beast is bombproof, because any less-sturdy bike would have been destroyed by those 12 miles of pitted, cracked, holed, rocky, gravelly roadway.

 

I even had a moment of feeling really decadent when I woke up AT dawn rather than well BEFORE dawn, and then didn’t even get on the road until just before 10 am. I knew it was a relatively short riding day (only 46 miles), so I didn’t want to arrive in Ocotillo far too early to check into the lone hotel there. Not that I should have worried. Now that I’m here I realize they don’t really operate this place like corporate, chain-owned hotel and would hae let me check in whenever I arrived.

 

So, now I have all the hours until I head to sleep to worry and fret over my big climb tomorrow. I’ve dreaded this climb since before I left on the trip. But, I’m tired of dreading it and want to just get started and get it done. Time to slay the beast so that it won’t haunt my thoughts any longer!



 



(February 8)

Day 45 - Blythe to Brawley CA

Maybe I Wasn't So Dumb After All

 

 

Riding south out of Blythe at dawn. It was a beautiful morning and a wonderful time to be out riding.

My tribe is growing! I met Geoff and Barclay just outside of Palo Verde early in the morning. They began in San Diego just a few days ago and are planning to ride to Florida. This will be Barclay's THIRD Southern Tier trip: the first two trips were each with one of his sons. This is, however, Geoff's maiden tour. I enjoyed our chat and wish we'd had more time to visit!

Another tribesman today :) I met David as I was laboring through the hills going into Glamis. At first I thought he was a local cyclist just out riding since he had no panniers, etc. on his bike, but turns out he, too, is headed to Florida on the Southern Tier but is being fully supported by his daughter (first half of the trip) and his wife (second half of the trip) who drive the car, keep the gear and meet him whenever he's ridden what he wants to ride for the day. David's journal "Simply On a Bike" is also on Crazyguyonabike.com 

 

The sign isn't joking: Glamis really is the "Sand Toy Capital of the World." My stop included a Drumstick ice cream cone because it was darn hot in the desert today and that was just the thing to cool me off a bit.

 

I rode through Tatooine today. No, I really mean that. The Tatooine "dunes" scenes in Star Wars were filmed here, the Imperial Dunes Recreation Area, back in the day.

 

 

I have posted earlier about how wildly idealistic I was when I planned out my "40 days and 40 nights" journey to San Diego. How I quickly realized that those days in which I blithely put "80 miles" or "90 miles" as my planned ride distance was actually laughably implausible. How I thought I...like other bike tourists I'd read about...was going to average 12mph, or so, a day. Only to learn that that, too, was utterly naive.

 

Well, turns out I wasn't actually wrong. I just didn't account for my learning curve in terms of how to set up my touring rig. I didn't know how much towing my trailer with all that extra weight would affect my riding. Now, however, NOW I've proven just what a massive difference it makes when you carry only what you really need AND put it all in panniers.

 

In short...I went beast mode today. Not only did I ride 87 miles, I averaged 12.1 mph AND got up and over about 20 miles of short, steep rollers coming into Glamis. Not only that, the temperature soared today...95 degress from noon until just about when I made it into Brawley.

 

So, yeah, I've got some swagger now. Today, I proved to myself that I really did have what it takes to measure up to the other bike tourers I've met. I'd really felt like a failure because I was so much slower. So much less capable of riding the longer mileage days. Like an impostor; not a REAL bike tourist, just an actor playing one on TV. But today...honestly for the first time since I started this...I feel like I measure up. I know that many readers will say that stuff doesn't matter, but it did to me. I didn't want to be the weak cyclist. The slow cyclist. I knew I wasn't going to be able to reel off 100 mile day after 100 mile day, but I wanted to have at least a 90 miler in me if I needed it. I wanted to be able to go at least as fast as I knew some other bike tourists could go. And now I can.

 

As for the ride itself...it started off perfectly. The road was smooth and flat, the temperature cool, the wind nonexistant and the skies blue. I made it the first 20 miles or so in probably record time for a 20 mile segment. Sure, the road then turned to pitted, rutted, cracked chip seal that nearly jarred the teeth from my face, but that didn't stop me!

 

Sure, the flat route turned into something like 20 miles of short, but quite steep rolling hills that also included a steady climb up and over a small mountain range, but all that didn't stop me either.

Sure, it was 95 degrees throughout the middle of the day when I was, literally, riding through a barren wasteland of a desert, but that didn't stop me either.

 

Nope, I rolled through my planned camping stop at Glamis after 60 miles that it was just too early to stop and camp. So, why not ride? And ride I did: 27 more miles to Brawley. Not only will tomorrow's ride to Ocotillo be quite a bit shorter and more relaxed, I don't have to camp out on Tatooine!



(February 7)

Day 44 - Salome AZ to Blythe CA

The Sweet Smell of Barn

 

 

 The view of the cafe where I had breakfast from the door of my hotel room. I like convenient breakfasts.

For the first time EVER, I found a food establishment that featured both Subway AND Dairy Queen under the same roof. Food Paradise isn't lost, but found alive and well in Quartzsite Arizona.

The view down the descent on I-10 into Blythe. Not for the faint of heart.

If you zoom in you can see what is written on the sign to the right of the picture.

Before I saw this sign I was considering just riding in the right lane and taking my chances vs. the HUNDREDS of RVs and 18 wheelers that passed me as I rode along I-10. I'm so glad the government's warning to use ONLY the shoulder saved me from a certain...and grisly...death.

Seriously, who thinks this stuff up?

The mighty Colorado River. Not yet the trickle it will become by the time it hits the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the massive canals which water nearly the entirety of Southern California later on down the course of the river.

My final border crossing...yoohoo!

 

If you can zoom in, you can see a few RVs camped out in the desert. My stepfather Ray told me this practice is called "boondocking." The RVers park for free out in the desert and then go into town only when they need to replenish propane, flush their septic tanks, etc.. From what I could see, Quartzsite Arizona is the World Capital of boondocking.

 

These days, 60 miles seems like a merry little jaunt. With only 1000 feet of climbing and mostly downhill, even a brutal headwind that sprang up over the last 20 miles or so couldn't dent my speedy trip to Blythe.

 

Yeah, you heard me...California! I've made to the state which contains San Diego. And, as I informed T. Logan Russell on Facebook, I am now staring to smell the barn. Now, the fat lady isn't singing quite yet. I have a camping stop in the remote wilderness area of Glamis tomorrow night after another 60 mile day. And then another day riding down the heart of California's great Imperial Valley to El Centro before I can even think about tackling the massive climb to get up and over into San Diego County.

 

But let's face it....I rode my bike to California :)

 

And while it is just over a week until I actually board the train home, I'm beginning to start thinking about a very strange thought: not riding every day. Not being a bike tourer. Just as I'm really starting to get the hang of this bike touring business, I've got a week left. And, right now, as much as I want to get back home, I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing.



(February 6)

Day 43 - Surprise to Salome AZ

Very Different

 

 

Historic downtown Wickenburg, "Team Roping Capital of Arizona." I'm not sure why the sport of team roping needs a capital city, but thank goodness Wickenburg was available! Note the banner proclaiming Gold Rush Days. It is a major rodeo festival that will begin later this week. I kind of wish I could stay and see the rodeo!

I met this young couple...Kevin & Michelle... just a few miles outside of Salome. They are walking across the country from California to North Carolina. I found them to be such pleasant company I was sad that we were traveling in opposite directions. They began their journey in Newport Beach CA a month ago and are doing very well!

Me and my new rig just after I'd finished a wonderful breakfast with my mom and stepfather Ray, and just before dawn. Note the absence of a trailer (replaced by two rear panniers) and my trial run of a "Da Brim" biking helmet sunshade.

 

I've now determined, sadly, that the Da Brim bike helmet shade I installed is just not working out. It turned out to be quite a large sail; which caught the backblast gusts from every passing 18 wheeler and threatened to rip my helmet off my head. So, after today's ride, no more sunshade :)

 

Also know that I got new biking shoes because my old ones were too narrow and my feet were going numb constantly.

 

 

Today was the day I'd been dreading. The "90 miler" which I couldn't plan around or avoid. The day I'd COMPLETELY changed my rig around for in an attempt to make sure I could make it. A day, frankly, I wasn't sure I could do.

 

But I passed with flying colors (though the ride actually turned out to be only 84 miles...but still my longest so far!).

 

Up even earlier than usual, I had a wonderful "final breakfast" with my mom and stepfather. Then, just as dawn broke in the East I was on my way. I wanted to ensure that I had as much daylight as I could because I knew it would be a long day.

 

Well, let me tell you: shedding all the weight was a GREAT idea! I was markedly faster overall AND could climb hills much faster and easier than ever before on this trip. I averaged over 11.5 mph (my highest so far on this trip) AND that includes almost 30 miles of steady climbing to get up and past Wickenburg. Without that long, slow climb, I think I might have even gotten to 12 mph!

 

I found, with great interest, that my original, rookie distance and speed calculations weren't actually all that bad. My problem was that my rig just wasn't set up to improve my speed and, thus, overall distances I could achieve in a day.

 

Ok, yes, I'm physically tired, but I made it to town with daylight to spare! I was even able to spend a goodly amount of time chatting with Kevin and Michelle on the side of the road.

 

Sure, I just didn't have the willpower to camp tonight, but I'll look to maybe camp tomorrow in Blythe. I think that if I can manage to camp at least a few days in a row, I will...finally...consider myself a bonafide bike tourer :)

 

 

(February 4 & 5)

Day 41 & 42 - Phoenix Visit Days

And Then A Party Broke Out...

 

My mom and my stepfather Ray during our celebration of Ray's 87th birthday.

 

One of my major tasks on my Saturday in Phoenix: source and install a new saddle. Just couldn't take the numbness any longer.

 In my mom's neighborhood (a retirement community in Surprise AZ called Sun Village), many of the homes have a small "casita" in the front of the home where guests...like me!...can stay. This pic is of my mom's home (the small building in the front yard is her casita). Great invention!

Early Sunday morning I took a short ride..just under 30 miles...up into the White Tanks Regional Park to see how I'd done in fitting my saddle. This is the view of the Valley of the Sun as I was leaving the park. One of the most beautiful rides I've ever enjoyed.

 

 

I ended up shipping 47 pounds home. That did include the weight of my trailer itself, but it all counts when it comes to climbing hills! I felt like I'd successfully completed a weight loss program :)

 

I also ended up replacing my saddle. Bottom line: parts of me that aren't supposed to go numb had been numb constantly for two weeks. I finally couldn't take that anymore, did a bunch of research and came up with a Selle SMP Lite 209 as my option to try. I'm not sure it is perfectly dialed in with regard to fit, but it was as close as I could get it. And it did fine on my trial ride Sunday morning.

 

But, mostly, I spent my time visiting family and friends...which was, after all, my top goal for my stay in Phoenix. All that visiting crescendo'd at Ray's 87th birthday party where I learned some really cool things about the RVing lifestyle from my mom and Ray's circle of friends in attendance. You can, for instance, have a TV satellite dish installed that, after you push a button inside your RV, finds the signal and tunes in regardless of where you are.





(February 3)

Day 40 - Rebooting My Gear during my layover in Phoenix

Training Camp is Over

 

The items being sorted that will be shipped back home.

 

 

I won't bore all of you with the usual kinds of things one does while visiting family like reminiscing about the old days or what Cousin This or That might be up to these days, but will focus here on the changes I've planned to make to my rig and gear for the final part of my journey.

 

What changes might those be? EVERYTHING.

 

I'm going to refer back to my meeting of Eritia the Canadian on the last night of my stay in Duncan. My discussion with her was eye-opening. I learned, for instance, that on the day she made it to Silver City she did so in a SINGLE, 90+ mile riding day that INCLUDED the massive climb up and over Emory Pass (you know, the one I decided I couldn't ride over due to the need to camp two nights in sub-freezing weather to reach?) from Truth-or-Consequences NM. I was stunned. What I immediately realized was the reason I...though not her...I would have to camp those two nights was how SLOW I figured I'd progress up and over that massive climb. If I'd been able to climb faster and ride longer in a single day, I could have made it to Silver City (well, if the wind hadn't been strongly opposing me...it was helping her in contrast) without any need at all for sub-freezing camping.

 

Say what you will about the fact she is 20 years younger, undoubtedly in better physical condition and had a tailwind that would have been my headwind (she was coming to the path from the North, not the South as I was)...all that would be true. But I was so far from being able to pull my rig up and over all those climbs AND ride over 90 miles in a single ride day it wasn't even funny..even WITH a tailwind. And that made me embarrassed. Angry with myself for not planning better. Yes, that isn't really being fair to myself in any way given I'm such a novice at this and started my journey only a little over a week after deciding to go...but those were my immediate feelings.

 

And those feelings set my mind racing. My very first thoughts centered on a key fact I'd noticed among others of my tribe: none of them were pulling trailers but me. And, almost none of them had, I believed, anywhere the amount of total weight of gear that I had in my rig (more about that exception below). I don't mean the weight of their bikes, etc. (I think the relative weight of my bike is in line with many of what my tribe has been riding), but rather the weight of the gear. All of my tribe...with the possible exception of the 3 youngsters who I'd passed outside Lordsburg who were, by their own admission traveling rather "posh" with folding chairs, etc. (and who, I should note, were also former collegiate bike racers)...had been travelling much lighter than I was.

 

And one of the big reasons, I came to believe, was the sheer weight of my trailer itself.

 

So, as of the morning I left Duncan, I had a TOTAL revamp planned for my "touring system" already planned out in my mind, and it is a plan I started working on yesterday (Friday). It goes like this:

 

1) For the trip from Phoenix to San Diego I'm not using my trailer, but rather will limit myself to two rear panniers. I've already sourced those from REI here in Phoenix. I'll strap my tent to the top of my back rack and the two panniers to each side of the rack and use it as it was intended to be used. To this point it was a vestigial limb. I've already broken down and boxed up my trailer for shipment home (i.e., taken the tongue off, removed the wheels, etc.).

 

2) I'm making my final equipment cuts. These are the cuts, in NFL terms, to get my roster down to 53 players (i.e., the players who actually make the team coming out of training camp). And I think that is an appropriate analogy because I'd classify my first 5 weeks of bike touring as my training camp. In fairness to myself, with only one exception (Jerry & Ruth) all of the other riders I've met have been touring before. There current tour wasn't their first rodeo. I'm sure they learned many "gear" lessons along the way just as I have. Here are some of the equipment cuts I'm making:

 

- Clothing. There were clothing items I thought I might need that I've not really worn at all. I've arrived...through a great deal of trial and error...at my preferred cold weather and rain clothing sets of layers, and anything I've not used for cold or rain I'm shipping back. Like the final set of insulated long bib pants I had left. Or the serious rain gear I had been hauling around that I eventually stopped wearing because it was just too hot inside while I was pedaling that it got me more soaked with sweat than if I'd just let the rain get to me. I had too many pairs of socks that I never wore (I'll be down to just two sets now that are more multi-purpose). I'm getting rid of my pair of "camp" sneakers and am now just using the same shoes I ride in AS my camp shoes. Etc.

 

- Cooking gear AND my dehydrated meals. Mostly I eat out three meals a day. And, even when I have cooked, I didn't REALLY need to boil water to make a backpacking dehydrated meal in a pouch. I COULD have simply had what I had for lunch on my trip days to Deming and Lordsburg: crackers/tortillas with spray cheese and either Spam/tuna from a foil pouch or summer sausage in a kind of sandwich/burrito concoction. Sure, if I was camping out EVERY night, it would be different, but I'm not (too cold on this winter trip, though I'd definitely consider camping more on future bike tours). So I don't need my stove, my stove fuel or my 2L pot to boil water. Or the two backpacking dinners and two backpacking breakfasts I'd been carting around "just in case." Instead I have a ziploc gallon bag with some tortillas, spray cheese and foil pouches of tuna and Spam. Along with a stock of some CLIF bars (my energy bar of choice) and my usual "fuel" foods of Fig Newtons and trail mix on board, I'll be good food-wise for any overnight camping I may need to do (like Glamis).

 

- My thick, luxurious "winter-rated" sleeping pad. While it is the bomb when it comes to insulating me from the cold, heat-draining ground below my sleeping bag, it is also BULKY and HEAVY. Camping for me on this trip has been kind of an emergency affair, so I don't need "posh" accommodations: I can simply endure a colder sleep for one night if I find myself needing to "emergency camp." That said, I'm still considering the idea of sourcing a lighter, less bulky sleeping pad at REI because I think I'd kind of like to evaluate my hill-climbing performance with gear aboard I'd almost certainly have if I didn't only have about a week of riding remaining.

 

- Spare items related to my trailer like the innertubes ad spokes I had to carry around. This also includes an interesting side effect I immediately noted of not using a trailer any longer: my panniers...being waterproof in and of themselves...negate the need to put all of my other gear inside waterproof stuffsacks. So, I have three, kinda-heavy waterproof stuffsacks I'm sending back as well.

 

- Miscellaneous items I'd kept in my trailer, I think, simply because I had a bunch of cool little mesh pockets in which to hold them such as a tent-stake puller (haven't used) or a small, battery-powered light to hang inside my tent. Nice little luxuries...but ultimately not used and not good enough to make the team.

 

It amazes me how light I'm traveling now compared to when I left home. I've stripped away...over the course of four different "purge" sessions...all of the dead weight. I feel lean and ready to tackle big climbs and long riding days in a way I haven't been since I was planning my ride in the days before I'd actually done any riding. And while that early optimism was born purely out of ignorance and naivete, THIS new optimism comes from a lot of hard-earned lessons over the course of all these weeks of actually doing this.

 

In-ko-pah Gorge...and my first-ever 90 mile bike tour ride day...I'm coming for you!




(February 2)

Day 39 - Duncan to Surprise AZ

Cars are Fast

After my journal post on Wednesday afternoon, I was coming back into the quaint little B&B I'd found in Duncan and met Eritia. She is a young Canadian woman (Ontario) about my kids' age Who had just been on the road a couple of days having begun this particular journey of hers in Albuquerque. She flew from her home in Ontario to Albuquerque and is also riding to San Diego. This is not her first tour. In other winters she has flown to Phoenix and ridden up to the Grand Canyon and back as well as having flown to Houston and ridden to Florida.

Mt. Graham in the distance. Not the highest point in Arizona, but still over 10,000 feet. Mt. Graham overlooks the beautiful valley in which the farming communities of Safford and Thatcher Arizona are located.

 

 

The contents of the Package were in my possession before 8am since I was standing at the door of the Duncan Post Office when they opened at 7:45am. Happy that I could keep moving on down the road, I hussled to get moving.

 

Not that the ride to Safford was in any way going to be taxing....it was only a 38 mile ride after all. But my Mom and my stepdad Ray wee already on the road to Safford to meet me and if I didn't get my motor running at top speed, they'd be meeting me 10 miles out of Duncan rather than in Safford.

 

And...I surprised myself here...I really wanted to ride. I know that sounds strange coming from a person on a 2,300 mile bike ride, but the two reasons I ride my bike at home are fitness and community/friendship rather than the actual pleasure in the process of riding my bike. At home, I don't think I've ridden solo more than a couple of times since I took up cycling about 18 months ago. Mostly because, with only one or two exceptions, riding my bike has always...and I mean always...involved saddle pain. Ranging from soreness to numbness to outright "wow that hurts!" pain after anything more than about 15 miles has been my cycling life. And, yes, I've had my bike professionally fit twice. I'm now up to trying 6 saddles (and counting I'm sure), each professed to be the folks trying to help me as the saddle they've found to be "the final solution for riders who can never find a comfortable saddle."

 

In short, while I love the community and fitness aspects of cycling, it has always...with extremely few exceptions (like 2 rides maybe)...been a literal pain in the ass for me.

 

And the reasons I'm now on this solo bike journey did not include a desire to ride my bike every day simply to enjoy the process of pedaling my bike forward along a roadway OR to see any sights. In fact, I knew it would be...like almost my rides...a stern test of pain endurance. But I've grown so used to hating being on whatever saddle is on my bike, I no longer worry about that and just "git 'r dun." Instead, I undertook this journey for, primarily, the chance at self-discovery and to separate my old life in time and distance from what might be my new life. My relationship with sitting on my bike was simply an obstacle to overcome just like the wind or rain.

 

But, on THIS day, I really wanted to ride my bike. I still anticipated constantly shifting in my saddle to relieve pain points in my sit bones starting at about 20 minutes into my ride. I still anticipated my "boy parts" being literally TOTALLY NUMB as they've been for these last several weeks. So, you can imagine how surprised I was to MISS riding my bike. After the "Knee Days" in Deming and then the "Package Days" in Duncan, I'd had as many days off in a short span as I'd taken during the entire rest of the ride combined, and it felt like too long. So, with my ride already driving toward Safford, you can see that I needed to HUSTLE if I was to maximize my time to ride.

 

And hustle I did! Over about the first 10 miles or so, I powered up and out of the Gila River valley that Duncan sits in. Then on the flat-to-slightly downhill run into Safford I was flying. Well, flying compared to my usual rate of movement! It felt so good! Even the pain was barely noticeable in the joy of just riding. And darned if I didn't almost outrace my ride! I was only about 5 miles out from Safford when my mom arrived at a gas station to wait for me to arrive. Truly a glorious riding day!

 

But, then, after loading up my bike and trailer in her "Stow & Go" minivan (how appropriately named!), I was back in a car for the first time since Van Horn Texas, and only the third time in almost 6 weeks. And this time what I noticed was how strange it was to go so fast! I'd been planning on riding from Safford to Globe at one point and knew, roughly, that it would probably be an 8 or 9 hour ride day for me...and maybe more. In contrast, the car trip to Globe felt instantaneous. And hills that might have take me 30 minutes to power up in my lowest gear took only seconds to traverse in a car.

 

And so began my visit to my family and my hometown. I was born, and grew up, in Phoenix but have rarely been back over my adult lifetime. While I'm here I've got lots of visiting to do and some errands to run to get myself ready for the final segment of my journey, and I know I'll thoroughly enjoy my all-too-rare time with my Phoenix family.

 

But one thing I also look forward to is riding my bike again on Monday :)

(February 1)

Day 38 - Duncan AZ

Walkabout

 

I spent the morning sitting by the fire reading a small book about "The Old West Highway" which I'd been riding since Lordsburg and will continue riding tomorrow.

The view from Veteran's Park, high on the ridge above the valley which Duncan nestles in.

The sign made me think of Whit McKinley, a good friend back in Jackson who loves birds. Turns out that the area is known for the bald eagles that nest along the Gila River Valley near Duncan.

 

After an extensive patrol of the area, I can report that Duncan is now safe. It took five weeks of bicycling and an epic foul-up by the US Government in order for fate to bring me to this sleepy little border town, but I wasted no time doing my small part for civic tranquility by walking around aimlessly.

 

Well, once I learned this morning that "the package" would arrive tomorrow morning and NOT today. Which, naturally, meant I would spend an extra day waiting.

 

So, I've toured this tiny town on foot. Enjoyed lunch at the only other restaurant in town I'd not yet visited. Dozed in the sun at one of the two local parks. Gazed down at the way-more-water-in-it-than-I-expected Gila River and said to myself "yep, that is a river" before drifting onward roughly 15 seconds later. I've attempted to look inconspicuous while on patrol so that possible perpetrators don't realize I'm on patrol. And I've spent a lot time working on the major decision of which restaurant to have dinner at.

 

The life of the Walking Tourist is hectic!



 



(January 31)

Day 37 - Lordsburg NM to Duncan AZ

Deliverance Part II

 

 New Mexico behind, California ahead!

I had a particular interest in Duncan because there was supposed to be a package here waiting for me to pick up at this post office. You all know THAT didn't happen.

I wasn't planning to stay overnight in Duncan, but when I learned my package was still on its way here, my first stop was Hilda's Restaurant & Meat Market for lunch. In the spirit of Meat, I ordered curly fries with Green Chile Meat. I'd never heard of, nor had a clue about, Green Chile Meat, so I took the plunge.

 

Following lunch, I checked in to this cute little bed & breakfast across from the post office. I figured my looming presence across the street would get my package delivered to tomorrow without fail.

 My server at lunch told me this place, "Humble Pie" served the tastiest pizza she's ever had in her life. With that kind of reco, I look forward to walking across the street later this evening for dinner!

The main thoroughfare of bustling Duncan AZ

The bridge you can see if you zoom in crosses the Gila River, a major tributary of the Colorado and source of water for the state. In the distance is pretty much trackless wilderness.

 

 

I was so ready. I set my alarm for 5:30am to ensure I had plenty of time to be out of my hotel room and over to McDonald's for breakfast well before dawn. I rushed breakfast (I usually like a bit of leisure to enjoy the always-decent WiFi) and was on my bike headed toward a rendezvous with my home state in another 36 miles just as dawn hit Lordsburg.

 

With a relatively flat-to-slightly downhill route this morning, I made it to Duncan by 10:30am. My plan was to make a quick package-grab at the post office and then get back on the road immediately toward Safford, 41 miles further down the road. I'd conserved a bit of energy, kept myself topped up with water and electrolytes and was ready for what was planned to be a 77-mile day...a distance that is a real challenge for me with my rig.

 

So, if you were gamblers, what would you put the odds at for this terrifically planned and executed strategy working as intended? How much would you bet that my carefully crafted plan would come off exactly as I'd envisioned it?

 

If you've read any of this journal you know that pretty much NONE of my plans turn out as I envision them no matter how great or careful or meticulous either my planning or my execution is.

Why? Well, this time I'm blaming Obama.

 

I mean, why not? The package was, I believe, actually shipped when he was President. It was HIS policies that led the U.S. Postal Service to send the package not to Duncan AZ for delivery yesterday, Monday, Jan. 30, but rather to FLORIDA yesterday and then, at some point...who knows...eventually to Duncan AZ for Deliverance to me.

 

So, here I am again. The Oberlin Shipping Saga playing out AGAIN in all its sad inevitability. Like watching a car that has hit a patch of ice seem alright at first, but then start spinning wildly out of control, I am once again at the mercy of unseen forces that completely control my life, don't realize that I exist and could less.  Again, I find myself waiting in a tiny little town for a package that might arrive tomorrow. Or the next day. Or...well, who knows really. Certainly not the Post Office. They opined that if it could JUST MAKE IT TO PHOENIX it would definitely get here to Duncan.

 

But when would it get to Phoenix? Blank stare. A hint of hunched shoulders as if to say "If I knew that, I would probably be President right now instead of Trump."

 

Now, you all don't realize this, but I know EXACTLY WHY this happened. No, it wasn't because I'm not living right...I mean, how much trouble could I really get up to while icing down my knee for two days? No, this latest shipping debacle is because I BOUGHT A TRAIN TICKET HOME from San Diego yesterday. I spent quite a bit of time planning out when I thought I could get to San Diego along with the various options for getting to New Orleans from San Diego and decided that I had to, without fail, depart San Diego on Feb. 15. If I miss that train to NOLA, I'd have to wait many more days before another direct train was available. Sure, I could get to NOLA by way of St. Louis, Chicago, Charlotte Virginia and THEN back to NOLA, but I don't like train travel that much.

 

The universe watched me all afternoon yesterday. Gleefully. Rubbing-its-hands-together-in-delight style watching. Knowing that it now had a perfect opportunity to teach me, once again, that plans are for suckers. Fools who didn't learn the first several times.

 

Because, yes, my plan to make it to SD in time to catch my train definitely did not...indeed CAN NOT...include spending a night anywhere I didn't plan to. I'm already now going to be pressed to the limit for time.

 

Which means, FOR SURE, that damn package won't arrive until Thursday.