Gregg here: While en route to Las Vegas, New Mexico, Bob ran into some light rain which forced him to put on a rain jacket, but as it got heavier, he doubled back and went to a spot behind him and waited about 4 hours for the rains to pass. Though he was prepared to stay the night (not sure where), around 5 p.m., the skies cleared up so he decided to give it a shot to get the 40 miles to Las Vegas. About 30 miles into it, he got pummeled again by rain. It was cold, raining hard, and Bob was tired, so he decided to hitch the final 10 miles or so. Bob counted 40 or so pickup trucks with empty flatbeds that had gone by but no one stopped. Ironically, the first (and seemingly only) person to stop was a guy driving a huge Mayflower moving truck. The driver had his wife and daughter with him and his rig (it had a two-tiered compartment), and it was packed to the brim. Somehow though, Bob managed to get his bike and all his gear into the truck. The guy drove him to Las Vegas and offered to take him to Santa Fe and even as far as Albuquerque. Given how cold, wet, tired, and miserable Bob was, and despite his misgivings about what it meant to the overall mileage, he accepted even though it meant a little bit of cheating. Given that he had doubled back several times over the course of the trip, he finally decided that it wasn't that bad after all.
In Albuquerque, he wound up staying in a terrible motel with a broken air conditioner. Bob complained to the manager who fiddled with it, but never really fixed it resulting in a rough night of sleep. The next morning, Bob got his bike checked out and also purchased a few extra tubes made by Bontrager (called Slime Tubes) which should help with the spate of flats he's had. It took about an hour and a half for Bob to get out of Albuquerque thereafter, and he immediately had to face a tough climb called Nine Mile Hill, though it was probably only about one mile long; nonetheless, he had no choice but to walk it. He finally got onto Interstate 40 around 2:30 p.m. and got in 67 miles, just about 12 miles from an Indian casino before stopping on a break. He got a burger (he raved about how good it tasted) but later rued the decision to stop when he came outside and saw lightning in three spots on the horizon. He was very worried about if/how he'd make it to the casino (where he thought he'd get accommodations) both because of the weather and because it was dark outside. Yet another good Samaritan and his wife offered to drive behind him and lit up the shoulder/road for him as he rode. At the bottom of a hill where Bob would make the turn to go to the casino, they parted ways but not before sharing contact information. His wife gave Bob her phone number and address so that he'd call her when he arrived in L.A. and confirm that he arrived safely. Bob did make it to the casino/hotel and had a nice (but not cheap) room.
On Saturday, Bob expects to go to Gallup (sp?), New Mexico (81 miles) and maybe beyond. From the casino, he estimates that it's 810 miles to Los Angeles so he may actually get there before Azar. He may attempt the desert at night though to avoid the heat. He's going to research this a bit more before making any definite decisions.
Gregg
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
Sunday, August 5, 2007
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