After a lot of thought and conversations, I have decided to change my route. I follow a guy on youtube that tours the country in his rv. About a week ago he started his most recent journey taking Route 66 just as I was planning. Not even out of California yet he has already come across several road closures causing him to backtrack to the interstate to get around the closures. This coupled with the extreme temperatures in June and July when I would be going through, I am changing my route to the TransAm route (see image). This is a much longer route but will be cooler and should have less issues regarding road closures. Another benefit of this route is that it goes through my brother's home state of Colorado where perhaps his kids and my other brother can join me for that portion of the ride :)
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WOW! Only 40 days till I begin my ride! As the day approaches I have so much going through my mind...how will the weather be? Will I have all the correct gear? Where will I sleep? and on and on!
I'm sure once I'm on the road things will work out fine and I'll have a lot of time to think about and reflect on so many other things including:
One of my big concerns was what to do with my dog Ace while I'm gone and a co-worker offered to take him in his home while I'm gone! Thank you so much Thomas!!! The date is getting closer and I'm excited, anxious, nervous...just about every emotion imaginable!
Route 66I'll be starting in Santa Monica, Ca. taking Route 66 to Missouri then on to the Trans Am Route to Virginia! Special thanks to the folks in the Bicycle Touring & Bikepacking group on Facebook for all the tips and suggestions! Plan to get started the first week in June and take 3 months to complete
This morning a huge rain storm came through and then the sun came out so I headed out to the Boise Greenbelt to get some miles in before the next round of storms came through. I came across the bridge in the photo (there was a sign behind me that the path was closed) and chatted with a couple of other cyclists for a few minutes. When I looked at the photo on my computer I wondered "what in the world is that square box looking thing? Turns out it's the reflection of the wall on the water...pretty cool! I took a detour to got back on the path and the further I rode the more I couldn't help thinking how this casual bike ride felt exactly like it did when I rode my bike as a child. Stopping to look at the river, watching the wildlife and the conversation with the couple standing on a bridge admiring the power and beauty of the river below. Looking to the west, seeing the dark clouds forming and the pending storm approaching...I thought I'd better get home. Then again I remembered riding my bike as a kid, wishing for a big storm to ride through. So, I continued my ride in no hurry to get home just as I did as a kid on my bike!
Riding my bike across the country has been a dream of mine since I was a child. Last summer, Nick and I went to Colorado on vacation and met up with Rick, my childhood friend. Rick and I hadn't seen each other in probably 40 years or more. It was great seeing him after so many years. Revisiting the events of our youth including the numerous bike rides we took. We'd head out at 7:00 AM and wouldn't get back home until 9:00 at night! While we were at lunch, Rick looked at Nick and said "can you believe your dad and I used to think we were going to ride our bikes across the country". WOW! Was that powerful! Then a few months ago Nick and I were at lunch and I asked him if he was disappointed that we couldn't do the ride years ago and he told me that he was. I told him that I was too and asked him if he wanted to do the ride this summer after he graduates and he said that he did...since that time, Nick has made the decision to serve his country and has enlisted in the United States Military and begins his service this summer...I am so very proud of him!
These events (and others) really got me thinking...when is the perfect time to do this ride and the answer became very apparent to me...there will never be the "perfect" time. There will always be a reason that it's not the right time...it was at that moment that I committed to completing the ride the summer of 2017. We never know what tomorrow holds, how much time we have left on this earth and it was more clear to me than ever before that now was the time. I will be completing the ride not only for myself but for my brother Bob and my son, Nick. (See Why I'm Riding). I spoke with my employer about my plans and asked if I could take a leave of absence to complete the ride and they said yes!!! So, the journey has begun...I will start my ride after Nick leaves to begin basic training. I am so excited and so thankful for all the support and encouragement I've been shown! |