8000 feet.
Magical bikes with the Pacific in the background.
Camping in the desert.
The Pacific.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Pete and I have successfully traveled across the United States from the Atlantic to Pacific under bike power alone. Late Friday December 18th we rolled into San Diego and booked a room in the local youth hostel. The last leg of the trip took its toll on our bodies and we were ready to be done and anticipating some excellent rest in Southern California.
Saturday morning we woke up and biked to Ocean Point Beach. It was ironic that the first beach we happened upon was filled with dogs. Dog beach is the local canine hang out. With our shaggy beards and wet camping smell we probably fit right in. Excitedly, we hauled our bikes over the sand dunes and touched the front wheel to the salt water. Under most circumstances I would never get my bike near salt or sand. This was a special occasion. Our bikes and bodies touched the Atlantic exactly 48 days prior. This included rest days. Without our stops in San Diego, San Antonio, Las Cruces, and Van Horn our biking days totaled 40 days. We had managed to travel a very respectable 80 miles a day to cover the total 3200 miles. Although the last week of our trip traveled through several mountains, we managed 90 plus miles a day for the duration.
Although our bodies and minds had acclimated to the long hours and strenuous miles, ever day was still a challenge. By the end, we were certainly ready to be done. On Friday night, we descended out of the hills and into the suburbs of San Diego. The map wasn’t clear, it was after dark, and we were tired. We made a wrong turn ended up in a wilderness park instead of on a paved bike path and spent 45 minutes mountain biking around trails and getting lost in river beds. It was amazing our inability to simply turn around. We were so exhausted and mildly amused that we kept up our search to find the elusive path. Finally we turned around and made our way back to the road. In a safe environment, we had found out how easy it is to make the wrong decision when utterly exhausted.
On our travels we encountered several cyclists on similar trips. Each individual was unique in their quest to bike across the country and what aspect of the trip was most important. Pete and I felt that first and foremost we wanted to be efficient and timely in our trip. We saw amazing landscapes, had great experiences, and rode across the country but we did it quickly. Our encounters with other cyclists were brief but the conversations and experiences seemed to reveal a glimpse into their trip. What we noticed most was how light we were traveling. All other riders have front panniers and much more gear. Riding into San Diego we met a cyclist named Dave Holmes who started in Argentina and had been traveling a year to reach San Diego. His trip seemed amazing and his travels much farther ranging. We shared stories for a while and we passed off our Adventure Cycling maps to be used on another trip.
Another factor of our trip was the inability to predict the landscape and factors that would affect our ride from day to day. Each night we would discuss the next day’s itinerary and look at expected mileage, weather and elevation change. Although we tried our best to judge the level of challenges that we would face, it seemed impossible. We had easy 100 mile days and incredibly hard 60 mile days. When the wind was blowing hard in our face we couldn’t break 10 miles an hour. When it was at our back we could cruise easily at 20 miles an hour. Another fascinating factor was the ability to go abruptly from extreme physical pain and cold to a comfortable environment. On our second to last night we ascended 4000 feet after a 50 mile day. Riding through a smile hill town called Jacumba, we noticed a sign for a hot spring spa and hotel. We treated ourselves to a night inside after a weeks worth of camping. We went from a brutally hard day to eating a hamburger and drinking beers in a warm hotel in a matter of minutes. Civilization sure makes life easy.
Finally, we met some of the most generous and kind people as we traveled across the country. Everyone can lose faith in humanity. I have certainly had experiences that made me question the morality and values that are at the core of our society. This trip has reaffirmed my faith in people, even strangers and their ability to be kind. We were welcomed into several homes in New Orleans. Pete’s sister and her family housed us for 3 days in San Antonio. They even fed us an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. My girlfriend’s uncle and wife welcomed us into their home in Las Cruces. They wined and dined us. They brought us to the White Sands State Park and told us amazing stories of their lives. A kind couple in Langtry, Texas allowed us to stay in their RV to escape a particularly cold and rainy night. We experienced amazing acts of kindness from strangers. A gentlemen in New Mexico insisted we take $20 from him to buy a warm meal for ourselves. A kind couple that owned an internet café sent us on our way with bottles of water and several hearty granola bars. We certainly would have had a much more challenging and lonely trip without the help of all these people and more. Of course, our families and loved ones have supported our silly desire to ride across the country. Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible. Who knows what’s next? Maybe a sailing trip around the world? Stay tuned for the next adventure and subsequent blog. Thanks for following…
Done.
Saturday morning we woke up and biked to Ocean Point Beach. It was ironic that the first beach we happened upon was filled with dogs. Dog beach is the local canine hang out. With our shaggy beards and wet camping smell we probably fit right in. Excitedly, we hauled our bikes over the sand dunes and touched the front wheel to the salt water. Under most circumstances I would never get my bike near salt or sand. This was a special occasion. Our bikes and bodies touched the Atlantic exactly 48 days prior. This included rest days. Without our stops in San Diego, San Antonio, Las Cruces, and Van Horn our biking days totaled 40 days. We had managed to travel a very respectable 80 miles a day to cover the total 3200 miles. Although the last week of our trip traveled through several mountains, we managed 90 plus miles a day for the duration.
Although our bodies and minds had acclimated to the long hours and strenuous miles, ever day was still a challenge. By the end, we were certainly ready to be done. On Friday night, we descended out of the hills and into the suburbs of San Diego. The map wasn’t clear, it was after dark, and we were tired. We made a wrong turn ended up in a wilderness park instead of on a paved bike path and spent 45 minutes mountain biking around trails and getting lost in river beds. It was amazing our inability to simply turn around. We were so exhausted and mildly amused that we kept up our search to find the elusive path. Finally we turned around and made our way back to the road. In a safe environment, we had found out how easy it is to make the wrong decision when utterly exhausted.
On our travels we encountered several cyclists on similar trips. Each individual was unique in their quest to bike across the country and what aspect of the trip was most important. Pete and I felt that first and foremost we wanted to be efficient and timely in our trip. We saw amazing landscapes, had great experiences, and rode across the country but we did it quickly. Our encounters with other cyclists were brief but the conversations and experiences seemed to reveal a glimpse into their trip. What we noticed most was how light we were traveling. All other riders have front panniers and much more gear. Riding into San Diego we met a cyclist named Dave Holmes who started in Argentina and had been traveling a year to reach San Diego. His trip seemed amazing and his travels much farther ranging. We shared stories for a while and we passed off our Adventure Cycling maps to be used on another trip.
Another factor of our trip was the inability to predict the landscape and factors that would affect our ride from day to day. Each night we would discuss the next day’s itinerary and look at expected mileage, weather and elevation change. Although we tried our best to judge the level of challenges that we would face, it seemed impossible. We had easy 100 mile days and incredibly hard 60 mile days. When the wind was blowing hard in our face we couldn’t break 10 miles an hour. When it was at our back we could cruise easily at 20 miles an hour. Another fascinating factor was the ability to go abruptly from extreme physical pain and cold to a comfortable environment. On our second to last night we ascended 4000 feet after a 50 mile day. Riding through a smile hill town called Jacumba, we noticed a sign for a hot spring spa and hotel. We treated ourselves to a night inside after a weeks worth of camping. We went from a brutally hard day to eating a hamburger and drinking beers in a warm hotel in a matter of minutes. Civilization sure makes life easy.
Finally, we met some of the most generous and kind people as we traveled across the country. Everyone can lose faith in humanity. I have certainly had experiences that made me question the morality and values that are at the core of our society. This trip has reaffirmed my faith in people, even strangers and their ability to be kind. We were welcomed into several homes in New Orleans. Pete’s sister and her family housed us for 3 days in San Antonio. They even fed us an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. My girlfriend’s uncle and wife welcomed us into their home in Las Cruces. They wined and dined us. They brought us to the White Sands State Park and told us amazing stories of their lives. A kind couple in Langtry, Texas allowed us to stay in their RV to escape a particularly cold and rainy night. We experienced amazing acts of kindness from strangers. A gentlemen in New Mexico insisted we take $20 from him to buy a warm meal for ourselves. A kind couple that owned an internet café sent us on our way with bottles of water and several hearty granola bars. We certainly would have had a much more challenging and lonely trip without the help of all these people and more. Of course, our families and loved ones have supported our silly desire to ride across the country. Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible. Who knows what’s next? Maybe a sailing trip around the world? Stay tuned for the next adventure and subsequent blog. Thanks for following…
Done.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Pete and I have made it the approximate 3000 miles across the country. After devouring an excellent all you can eat chinese buffet we are ready to make the final 130 miles to San Diego. Tonight we will be in Live Oak Springs and then descend out of the mountains to San Diego early tomorrow. There will be much rejoicing followed by a cold beverage or two. Then we may take a dip in the Pacific!
Currently I am in an internet cafe in El Centro paying for my computer minutes so this post will be short. However, we plan on traveling towards Ontario, CA and will spend a week with Pete's friends. This will give me more time to include finals details of our most excellent adventure across country. We also plan on doing some rock climbing, eating, sleeping, and bike trips with no weight. The trip from Las Cruces through the mountains was challenging and we certainly learned a great deal about hill climbing. The cookies sent along by Carol and Roger certainly helped with the first several days of cold and headwinds. More posts and photos to come!
Currently I am in an internet cafe in El Centro paying for my computer minutes so this post will be short. However, we plan on traveling towards Ontario, CA and will spend a week with Pete's friends. This will give me more time to include finals details of our most excellent adventure across country. We also plan on doing some rock climbing, eating, sleeping, and bike trips with no weight. The trip from Las Cruces through the mountains was challenging and we certainly learned a great deal about hill climbing. The cookies sent along by Carol and Roger certainly helped with the first several days of cold and headwinds. More posts and photos to come!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Las Cruces, New Mexico is about to be history in our trip as we depart the warm and welcoming home of Roger and Carol. Julie's uncle and wife graciously took us in for two days and fed us the best mexican cuisine and home cooked baked goods. This post will be short because I have run out of time. I believe that I have been distracted by the hospitality of Roger and Carol and the entertainment of Las Cruces. San Diego, CA is a short 8-10 days away and we have booked our flight for the 26th of December. More to come when I get to another computer. This trip is rapidly approaching its conclusion.
Friday, December 4, 2009
It is official. After several days of battling the cold, enduring grueling miles, and dealing with mountains and the effects of higher elevations-we are snowed out. Well, I guess snowed in would be more apt of a phrase. A week ago we left the worldly comforts of San Antonio behind and got back on the road with the belief that we were cresting the learning curve of bike touring. I mean, how hard it is to just ride your bike day after day? You wake up. You get on your bike. You pedal until it hurts. You stop. Pete and I believed we had perfected these simple steps. Then Mother Nature threw us for a loop.
Some cross-country riders refer to their trip as “chasing the sun”. The sun rises early morning in the east tracing a path across the sky towards the west as you ride along with it over your left shoulder. Then, at the end of the days you see it dip behind the horizon shining its last rays on your ultimate Californian destination. The weather occurrences on our trip have created a new reference for cross-country riders, “battling the storms”. The predominant weather systems in the United States travel west to east and we have met them head on. Tropical Storm Ida graced our presence in Pensacola and several cold fronts and low pressure systems have descended on the hilly region of eastern Texas dropping snow and temperatures. Yesterday it was in the low 20’s in Alpine, TX and in the high 60’s in Portland, ME- and to think that Pete and I came south for the warmer climate.
Despite these challenging conditions, the last week has been quite amazing. The first several days from San Antonio allowed us to re-acclimate to the bicycle touring environment and our second day out we traveled an exciting 120 miles from Hondo, TX to Del Rio, TX in less than 10 hours. The surrounding environment has turned into the powerful desert landscapes you see in old Western movies. I have never seen such spectacular views or experienced land so expansive it reminds me of the ocean. Pete and I spent a night at the Seminole Canyon State Park and hiked 6 miles to observe the spectacular Rio Grande and Mexico on the other side.
The next day we woke up and got on the road and instantly encountered torrential freezing rain. We struggled the 20 miles to Langtry and pulled into their visitor center soaking wet and freezing cold. Langtry has a population of approximately 25 and I believe we met most of them as we toured the town and ate and ate and ate. As we began to set up our tents behind the community center a gracious women we had met in one of the local stores sped up in her car. She invited us out of the cold and rain. Marcia and Keith had an RV at their house that wasn’t being used! The night was spectacular. After a dinner of warm tacos, Pete and Keith treated us to an excellent guitar and singing performance. The couple had several friendly pets including the cutest little dog named Scooby. I fell in love. We left late the next morning as the last drops of the rainstorm blew through.
We pushed the 60 miles uphill to Sanderson in extremely cold temperatures. After spending the night, we pedaled on the next morning getting slightly more accustomed to the cold associated with the higher elevation. After another hard 86 mile day we arrived in Alpine, TX and camped in below 20 degree weather. The next morning our tents were frosted in and we knew we needed warmer clothing if we had hopes of making it the 100 miles to Van Horn. We cruised through town looking for a store that might carry warmer clothing. Tru Value saved the day. We both purchased warm wool socks and large blue gloves. The gloves are covered in a rubberized PVC compound. They are simply amazing. Armed with our new gear we pulled out of Alpine at 10 am for a 100 mile trek to Van Horn. A snowstorm was approaching and once we passed through Marfa, TX 25 miles out of town there was nothing else. After lunch in Marfa we trudged on. The tailwind saved the day and we were able to put in several hours of speeds in excess of 20 miles an hour. The miles flew by at this speed and exhausted and cold we arrived safely in Van Horn just as the sun set. Now there is 3 inches of snow and ice on the ground and we are stuck!
Tomorrow we will push on to Las Cruces and Julie’s uncle’s house. We hope to make it their mid day Sunday. After a rest day we should make San Diego quite soon. The last week has been amazing and we have truly experienced the deserts of Texas in all their extremes. The wildlife is amazing and the views just as good. We even met 2 other cross-country riders, the first of our trip. This post is getting long, so I will tell you about Robin and Hassan later! Now, we need this snow to melt. This welcome day of rest should put our legs and minds in good shape for the miles ahead!
Some cross-country riders refer to their trip as “chasing the sun”. The sun rises early morning in the east tracing a path across the sky towards the west as you ride along with it over your left shoulder. Then, at the end of the days you see it dip behind the horizon shining its last rays on your ultimate Californian destination. The weather occurrences on our trip have created a new reference for cross-country riders, “battling the storms”. The predominant weather systems in the United States travel west to east and we have met them head on. Tropical Storm Ida graced our presence in Pensacola and several cold fronts and low pressure systems have descended on the hilly region of eastern Texas dropping snow and temperatures. Yesterday it was in the low 20’s in Alpine, TX and in the high 60’s in Portland, ME- and to think that Pete and I came south for the warmer climate.
Despite these challenging conditions, the last week has been quite amazing. The first several days from San Antonio allowed us to re-acclimate to the bicycle touring environment and our second day out we traveled an exciting 120 miles from Hondo, TX to Del Rio, TX in less than 10 hours. The surrounding environment has turned into the powerful desert landscapes you see in old Western movies. I have never seen such spectacular views or experienced land so expansive it reminds me of the ocean. Pete and I spent a night at the Seminole Canyon State Park and hiked 6 miles to observe the spectacular Rio Grande and Mexico on the other side.
The next day we woke up and got on the road and instantly encountered torrential freezing rain. We struggled the 20 miles to Langtry and pulled into their visitor center soaking wet and freezing cold. Langtry has a population of approximately 25 and I believe we met most of them as we toured the town and ate and ate and ate. As we began to set up our tents behind the community center a gracious women we had met in one of the local stores sped up in her car. She invited us out of the cold and rain. Marcia and Keith had an RV at their house that wasn’t being used! The night was spectacular. After a dinner of warm tacos, Pete and Keith treated us to an excellent guitar and singing performance. The couple had several friendly pets including the cutest little dog named Scooby. I fell in love. We left late the next morning as the last drops of the rainstorm blew through.
We pushed the 60 miles uphill to Sanderson in extremely cold temperatures. After spending the night, we pedaled on the next morning getting slightly more accustomed to the cold associated with the higher elevation. After another hard 86 mile day we arrived in Alpine, TX and camped in below 20 degree weather. The next morning our tents were frosted in and we knew we needed warmer clothing if we had hopes of making it the 100 miles to Van Horn. We cruised through town looking for a store that might carry warmer clothing. Tru Value saved the day. We both purchased warm wool socks and large blue gloves. The gloves are covered in a rubberized PVC compound. They are simply amazing. Armed with our new gear we pulled out of Alpine at 10 am for a 100 mile trek to Van Horn. A snowstorm was approaching and once we passed through Marfa, TX 25 miles out of town there was nothing else. After lunch in Marfa we trudged on. The tailwind saved the day and we were able to put in several hours of speeds in excess of 20 miles an hour. The miles flew by at this speed and exhausted and cold we arrived safely in Van Horn just as the sun set. Now there is 3 inches of snow and ice on the ground and we are stuck!
Tomorrow we will push on to Las Cruces and Julie’s uncle’s house. We hope to make it their mid day Sunday. After a rest day we should make San Diego quite soon. The last week has been amazing and we have truly experienced the deserts of Texas in all their extremes. The wildlife is amazing and the views just as good. We even met 2 other cross-country riders, the first of our trip. This post is getting long, so I will tell you about Robin and Hassan later! Now, we need this snow to melt. This welcome day of rest should put our legs and minds in good shape for the miles ahead!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)