Gregg here: Bob had a very tough go of things on Wednesday. He called me around 5 p.m. NY time, which was about 3 p.m. New Mexico time. Apparently, there are these burrs in the road which have very sharp pin-like needles (or something to that extent) which are perfectly suited to puncturing bike tubes. He had only gotten a few miles down the road Wednesday morning before stopping for breakfast and upon dismounting his bike, found that his front tire was flat. He then realized that he had lost his two spare tubes and was basically stuck! The owners of the diner, which was closed but sported a "Open 24 hours" sign, appeared and offered to help Bob in his dilemma, and eventually, they found a bike store and Bob was ready to roll again.
When Bob called me with the story, I was driving and unable to write down everything, so my memory is a bit sketchy on what immediately followed, but I think that he was cycling up a very steep pass/hill/mountain and decided that it he'd just hitch a ride to the top. When he stopped and looked down, again he had a flat! He was able to change it, but still wanted a ride to the top of the mountain and waited a bit until a guy slowed down on the other side of the road, shouted that he'd come back around, and finally did so. He was driving an older Toyota (I think) that was stuffed to the gills with who-knows-what... but he had a bike rack on the back with his mountain bike and enough room for Bob's. After getting his bike on the rack, Bob stuffed his bags into the back, and himself into the front. The guy's dog, a long-haired Corgi, clearly loved Bob and kept licking his ear, his neck, etc. We mused that it must have been because of the salt on his skin produced from sweating. The guy was interesting by Bob's account; he's a college student and spent the last month in North Dakota studying burrowing owls (I think that's what Bob said; I'm sure he'll crucify me for any inaccuracies, thus my disclaimer!).
Again, I'm not sure when the following occured in the chronology of his day, but at one point, a man who saw Bob's cycling jersey ("NJ to LA") offered to give him money, just like that! Bob naturally refused but shared with the man the list of charities he's supporting. Bob eventually accepted the donation and took down his (and his wife's) name and address. I can only recall that his name is Joseph Edwards; his wife, I think, is Elaine. If you're reading this, please forgive me if that's incorrect.
In any event, his first 6 hours netted less than 10 miles, but he managed to get in another 50 or so that afternoon and wound up in the town of Springer, New Mexico. He's about 70 miles from the town of Las Vegas, New Mexico where there is a university location and a bike shop. Bob later realized that despite having replenished his stock of lost tubes, he lost yet another tube and tire during the day. He'll stock up again at the bike shop. There weren't many motel options available to him in Springer, but he did find one place with vacancies and got the last room they had.
It's not clear how far he thinks he'll go on Thursday; he called again very late on Wednesday night (I was already asleep) and am only able to convey the thoughts he left on my voicemail. By my estimation, he's about 135 miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico which itself is another 850 miles from his eventual destination in Los Angeles. He'll likely not make Santa Fe tonight, but then again, anything's possible.
Why a Bike Ride?
Summer of 2009:
More adventure. The plan: Ride from St. Louis, MO to Upper Saddle River, NJ, via Ann Arbor (to visit my brother), then across Ontario and thru Buffalo to Hobart College (Geneva, NY), then south to the Delaware River, which I'd follow into NJ and continue southeast to home. From Ann Arbor, it is the reverse of the route I took across America 2 years ago.
With a meeting to attend in St.L., it seemed a good idea to ride back.
St.L. departure date: 6/15. Estimated distance: about 1,150 miles, or one-third my Cross-America trip. Theoretically, the wind would be at my back. The hope: a 100-miles-a-day average and 12 days in the saddle. Total elapsed time: dependent upon weather and equipment outages.
My son says it will be dry every night and drenching during the day, the other side of the road will be smooth whereas I'll ride in under-construction rubble, the wind will be in my face, and all roads will be uphill. With my luck, could happen.
No official money-raising, but if you want to contribute, the trip ain't cheap.
I will make the blog entries at sporadic points, with fuller descriptions at trip's end.
Summer of 2007:
It was a personal challenge, short and simple. I needed to prove to myself that this 70-year old man wasn't over the hill yet.
So, while I was at it, I appealed to 4 different constituencies to pledge financial support for my ride. The consitituencies do not overlap in any way. I raised money for:
The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, of which I was the President (2006-8): (http://www.ethicalfocus.org/). ECS is a caring humanist community that believes in deed, not creed, as expressed in social action.
Upper Saddle River, my home town, in support of all the volunteer services: the Fire Department; the Ambulance Corps; the Rescue Squad.
The Interact Club, at the Bergen Academies (a county high school with competitive admissions, where I am a substitute teacher). The club helps the hungry and homeless, and also pays the fare for children from the 3rd world to come to the US for medical treatment.
And last but not least (they are all equal in my mind), I hoped to kindle the giving for my alma mater, Hobart College, so we could present them with a sizable class gift in June, 2008, at our 50th reunion.
So you now have both the real reason ... and the good reasons.
And while I was at it, I wanted to try to show up those who said I wouldn't make it on the (ambitious) schedule I set for myself. I didn't, making an average of only 81 miles per day, when riding. I was done in by the steeps, the weight I carried, some bike problems, headwinds and afternoon thunderstorms. Color me humbled.
And now that the ride is over, I slake my need to write by adding occasional longer-view essays based upon the experience.
To summarize the trip, I covered 3,467 miles, solo. My route ran from home, in Upper Saddle River, in northeastern NJ, to Buffalo, across Ontario, then through Michigan to Wisconsin, across Minnesota, Nebraska, and into Colorado at the northeastern corner. I went southwest from there to Denver, then south to Albuquerque, and due west to L.A., across the Mojave Desert.
I lost approximately 4 days to weather, 3 days to visits en route with my brother in Michigan and my oldest son in Denver, and about 3 days to various bike issues. That leaves 39 days for being in the saddle. Never had a leg issue. Ate like a pig and lost weight.
A great experience. Read on.
Bob
More adventure. The plan: Ride from St. Louis, MO to Upper Saddle River, NJ, via Ann Arbor (to visit my brother), then across Ontario and thru Buffalo to Hobart College (Geneva, NY), then south to the Delaware River, which I'd follow into NJ and continue southeast to home. From Ann Arbor, it is the reverse of the route I took across America 2 years ago.
With a meeting to attend in St.L., it seemed a good idea to ride back.
St.L. departure date: 6/15. Estimated distance: about 1,150 miles, or one-third my Cross-America trip. Theoretically, the wind would be at my back. The hope: a 100-miles-a-day average and 12 days in the saddle. Total elapsed time: dependent upon weather and equipment outages.
My son says it will be dry every night and drenching during the day, the other side of the road will be smooth whereas I'll ride in under-construction rubble, the wind will be in my face, and all roads will be uphill. With my luck, could happen.
No official money-raising, but if you want to contribute, the trip ain't cheap.
I will make the blog entries at sporadic points, with fuller descriptions at trip's end.
Summer of 2007:
It was a personal challenge, short and simple. I needed to prove to myself that this 70-year old man wasn't over the hill yet.
So, while I was at it, I appealed to 4 different constituencies to pledge financial support for my ride. The consitituencies do not overlap in any way. I raised money for:
The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, of which I was the President (2006-8): (http://www.ethicalfocus.org/). ECS is a caring humanist community that believes in deed, not creed, as expressed in social action.
Upper Saddle River, my home town, in support of all the volunteer services: the Fire Department; the Ambulance Corps; the Rescue Squad.
The Interact Club, at the Bergen Academies (a county high school with competitive admissions, where I am a substitute teacher). The club helps the hungry and homeless, and also pays the fare for children from the 3rd world to come to the US for medical treatment.
And last but not least (they are all equal in my mind), I hoped to kindle the giving for my alma mater, Hobart College, so we could present them with a sizable class gift in June, 2008, at our 50th reunion.
So you now have both the real reason ... and the good reasons.
And while I was at it, I wanted to try to show up those who said I wouldn't make it on the (ambitious) schedule I set for myself. I didn't, making an average of only 81 miles per day, when riding. I was done in by the steeps, the weight I carried, some bike problems, headwinds and afternoon thunderstorms. Color me humbled.
And now that the ride is over, I slake my need to write by adding occasional longer-view essays based upon the experience.
To summarize the trip, I covered 3,467 miles, solo. My route ran from home, in Upper Saddle River, in northeastern NJ, to Buffalo, across Ontario, then through Michigan to Wisconsin, across Minnesota, Nebraska, and into Colorado at the northeastern corner. I went southwest from there to Denver, then south to Albuquerque, and due west to L.A., across the Mojave Desert.
I lost approximately 4 days to weather, 3 days to visits en route with my brother in Michigan and my oldest son in Denver, and about 3 days to various bike issues. That leaves 39 days for being in the saddle. Never had a leg issue. Ate like a pig and lost weight.
A great experience. Read on.
Bob
Thursday, August 2, 2007
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1 comment:
Your on a "America's Golden Hghway" -- http://www.route40.net
David Bland
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