THE GOOD: One of the best aspects of these trips is the sense of community and family that develops among the diverse group of individuals that come together for three months.  Jim, Wade and Rod  knew each other from other rides but the rest of us were new to each other. By the end of the second week we felt like family!! Ally did a great job of bringing this about and was big on consensus building and making sure everyone’s voice was heard in making community decisions. It was a wonderful group and I learned something from every rider!!!

Of course the other highlight of the trip was seeing the grand northern part of the US of A at 11 miles an hour from a bicycle seat. Quite a variety of eco systems we pedaled through from the Pacific Northwest to the Rockies to the Plains of eastern Montana and North Dakota to the forested Midwest, Niagara Falls, the Erie Canal and finally the Appalachias.

And . . . the people we met along the way were wonderful. EVERYONE was interested in what we were doing and marveled at the scope of what a 3 month, self supported trip was all about. The fact we had no support vehicle was a major surprise for most. The only rude encounter I had on the whole trip was the painter in Boulder Junction WI . . . my state!!!! The best comment of the whole trip was near the end of our ride in Belfast, ME . The old gent we were talking to ended our conversation my exclaiming that what we were doing had re-instilled the greatness of the American will in his mind!!!!’  Who knew!!!!

And . . . a special thanks to Karen, Bob and Roxanne for hosting our stay in Battle Lake, our halfway point of the trip. It was just the kind of break we needed. We could have used one like that every couple of weeks to ‘recharge our batteries’!!!

A big plus through the Midwest was  . . . no mosquitoes!!!!  Only a few nights of the critters. I bought a can of DEEP Woods OFF in Havre, MT but never used it!!!

My faithful steed Connie ‘The Clydesdale’ Cannondale never missed a beat as she carried me across the US for the third, and final time! The TransAm, Southern Tier and now Northern Tier are the big, and FINAL for me, three crossings. There will be other loaded tours, but not like these. The bike is a fantastic machine, which if kept maintained, rarely breaks down other than the normal wear and tear on tires, tubes and cables. I have DEFINITELY got my moneys worth out of this thoroughbred since buying her 10 years ago!!!

Beside Connie, the other most beneficial piece of equipment on the trip for me,  was my GPS. For those traveling on a trip like this I would REALLY recommend one. Know how to use it, before venturing out. The ACA maps are good, but the fonts are small (remember the average age of our group was 62.  62= cheaters or glasses for most) there are LOTS of turns on the maps (especially through populated areas) and I think they are confusing. I had the whole route programmed into the Garmin 1000 (a HUGE thanks again to Mark for digitizing the route). It was very easy to look down at the screen, even when going through towns with only a population of 1,000 – 5,000, and follow the the red line. One could pay attention to the cars and pedestrians and what was going on  instead of constantly trying to read the small print on the map regarding the next turn. Easy biking and a major stress reliever!

THE BAD:  No part of biking is bad . . .  it’s just that some parts are better than others!!!  The continuous east, southeast headwinds we encountered from Glacier Park to about eastern Minnesota just about did us in. In the wide open stretches of the west there is nothing to stop the wind . . . nowhere to hide.  We didn’t have our first NOAA forecasted tailwinds until we entered Wisconsin at St Croix Falls. From Wisconsin east there was enough land cover that headwinds didn’t seem to be  an issue.

Also weather related  was the temperature. In the western US there were MANY days when the temperature exceeded 100 degree. Biking in 102-106 degrees was UNBELIVABLE. Once again on a bike. . . nowhere to get out of it. . . one needed to tough it out and keep rolling.

In a lot of the west there is literally – nothing. We had many days where our on our map starting point for the day there would be a note ‘No services for the next 70 miles’ . . . that means No stores, No bathrooms, NO WATER. Not a big deal when you are driving down the road in a car at 70 miles, with the windows up and the AC running on High  . . . but a BIG deal when you are on a bike, in 100+ degree temps and with a headwind. It would take all day to get across that 70 miles!!! But, with a little pre-planning it all worked out. On days like this I carried my usual three water bottles PLUS two quarts of Gatorade. They were usually all empty by the end of the day and I was looking for more!!!

At times it was VERY tough riding and physically exhaustive but also mentally exhausting. Although I would never do a ride like this without a GPS, the downside was on the days with strong headwinds it was disheartening to periodically look down at it and see by the mileage readout how slow your progress was!!! But you always get through it . . . day by day, week by week you move ahead and eventually . . . things always get better.

Limited lodging and grocery  availability was an issue but not a deal breaker. When you are on a trip like this, especially in the northern areas of the country resources can be, and are, scarce. Many towns with a  population of  1,000 – 1,500 seem to by dying. Most of the Main Street were boarded up and abandoned. Many of these towns no longer had a school or even a grocery store. This forced us to shop and eat out of C- stores more than one night along the way. It really makes you wonder what the future of rural America is. No school, no retail, no jobs and the young have graduated from school and moved away . . .

THE UGLY: The worst parts of the ride for me came to be the logging truck drivers in rural Washington and motorcycles. The loggers seem to think they own the road. Even the locals agreed with this. We had many close calls along the way from Good Mike being knocked down in a mountain tunnel by the wind vortex created by a logging truck passing too close to him, to Doc Mike watching a logging truck pass me so close he thought he was going to have to pick up the pieces. There is no reason for this type of driving. In most other areas, the professional truck driving profession was just that,  Professional.  When possible, approaching or passing trucks would give you a wide berth. If that was not possible, many times following trucks would stop or slow to a crawl until it was safe to pass. Very few tried to ‘squeeze by’. We heard and read things about logging truck drivers in Maine being cut from the same cloth; however we didn’t seem to have a problem there. May have been because they were off the roads when we passed through much of Maine over Labor Day weekend.

But . . . the most annoying thing on the whole trip for me was the world of motorcycles, the Harley types. I don’t think there is one out there that runs stock exhaust pipes on their bike. The louder  the better. On city streets to rural highways they were everywhere, and really caused an interruption to the peacefulness one experiences when biking along. The only thing worse was when they had an onboard radio!!!!! You could hear them coming from a mile away and still hear them for a mile or more when they passed you.  Having  a conversation with a fellow bicyclist was impossible.  At night it was even worse. Lying in your tent they sounded like a massive swarm of bees coming down on you. I’m not sure where their right to live ‘free and easy’ and make so much noise intersects with my right to have a ‘peaceful experience’ on the same road. On this trip, I thought it was a problem.

 

Oh, It didn’t take long for me to get back into the world of ‘creature comforts’ after this trip. One of my greatest pleasures is still to use a REAL cotton towel after a shower rather than one of  those goofy micro-soft camp towels!!!

And . . .  I am most happy to be home again with emJay. She has been very understanding and supportive in my quest to complete these three rides. Without her homefront support, I could never have ridden .  Since she is still working, I have assumed the ‘on site’ source of all details the remodeler’s need to know about the changes to our kitchen . . . big problem though, I am in the dark as far as the plans!!!

Time is an interesting concept. The day after we all finished the ride, and left Bar Harbor, Doc Mike was at a Whole Foods in NYC and sent out a text saying something to the effect of . . . ‘ did that really happen or was it a dream?’

I know what he means.

It’s only been five days since the three month trip ended but it already seems like a thing of the past. Remodeling issues, dentist appointments, grocery shopping (using a car!!!) and all the day to day activities’ seem to have already started to push the biking memories to the back of my mind. We are already packing for our bike trip to Provence!!!!

But it was real and it was FANASTIC!!!!

Although keeping an online daily journal is REALLY a pain, I now have a reference to use for looking back when  the old brain  needs a refresher!!!

UPDATE: Six days after the ride Connie made it home, although in pieces. She has been reassembled and ready for the next adventure!!!

Stay Safe and thanks for riding along. It meant a lot to know folks back home were interested in what we were doing and following along.

Ranger Rick