Coast to Coast Ride on Two Wheels (2022)

The winds only increased in severity. The Wolfpack, the crew that sets up and tears down the tents, struggled to set up the tents. Finally, they gave up and we stopped in a motel in Marfa. The staff is great. Think of what they had to do to find housing for 50-55 people. They did an amazing job. We all had a warm bed. We are now in a motel & RV park in Marathon. Rick and I are sharing a room with another couple and everyone else tents. How nice.  Today was Laundry Day. This ride is unique in that they do our laundry about every four to five days. That is such a luxury. This is the only cross country ride that does laundry that I am aware of. It means on rest days that we can relax and be tourists. We don’t have to do laundry. We sort the laundry into bins or into laundry bags. Those bins leave at 7:00 a.m. and at the end of the day everything magically returns clean. Some folk have various methods for keeping it organized. I just remember how biking kits (outfits) I wore and le...

This was an interesting ride. We had mostly a tailwind or crossing tailwind. We were on Interstate 10 for a time early in the ride. After we got off we hit a rough patch onto what I was told is “Texas chip and seal”. The chips are large making for a rough ride and for me a headache that got worse over time. I have to learn to deal with this surface for Texas is 1/3 of the ride. The winds had extreme gusts and started to push the riders around including myself. Thus, I sagged in from mile 60. I was told the wind gusts got even worse, as high as 50 mph. It was wind gusts that helped push me into the ditch last week. I don’t need a repeat. The winds were so bad that tents couldn’t be set-up forcing us to a motel. The crew did a great job accommodating the change. Dinner was even brought to us. Sorry, no photos today. Today Ride Total Miles Rode: 60.04 812.29 Elevation Gain (feet): 1703 23483 Pedaling Time: 3:29 Average Speed (mph):  17.2

There were two sags today - one as we almost finished El Paso (mile 19) and the second at a pizza cafe at about mile 38. When I arrived at mile 19 I felt awful. I had an bad headache and generally felt queasy. My ill feelings convinced me to sag at mile 19 to at least mile 38. At mile 38 I met up with Rick who agreed to ride with me to the end and I did. That short break did a lot of good for my riding performance. The ride through El Paso had the hills and a lot of traffic, It was good to leave. The countryside continues to be dry and desolate. While it is interesting, I sure would not want to live here.  It is amazing how much farming we are cycling through. There is a lot of alfalfa and pecans groves. Both require a lot of irrigation. Here is a sample pecan grove. The trees are still dormant and you can see part of the irrigation system in the front. Today Ride Total Miles Rode: 61.34 752.25 Elevation Gain (feet): 653 21780 Pedaling Time: 3:48 Average Speed (mph):  16.1 ...

This was a fairly straight forward ride. Few hills, a slight cross wind, and good cheers all around. I was definitely slower than before my accident, but did well enough.  The scenery was fairly desolate. No trees or shade, low growing shrubs and lots of Border Patrol  personnel. It turns out we were only a few miles from the Mexico/US border most of the day. Thus, we were able to see the border wall for a significant part of the day. We even saw Border Patrol trucks pulling tires behind them in the sand. A few hours later they would return and look for footprints. If they found any they would look for persons who had crossed illegally. Here is what the countryside looks like. You can see the wall in the distance.  Here are the tires that the Border Patrol pull behind their trucks. The Goat-heads were numerous and lots of folk had flats including me. Mine occurred with 4.5 miles left on a heavily trafficked road in El Paso. Instead of fixing it on the side of that road, I...

This was supposed to be a 50 mile day and I did 10. I was coming out from between two hillsides and a truck passed me. There was a gust of wind (to be expected from between the hillsides). That gust combined with the gust from the passing truck pushed me off the side of the road and I couldn’t hold it.  I ended up in the hospital. Nothing broken, just bad bruises. My helmet worked it’s magic. Two days off and a new helmet and I will be riding again! I’ll be back when I’m on the bike. Today Ride Total Miles Rode: 10 623.56 Elevation Gain (feet): 20487 Pedaling Time: Average Speed (mph):  Maximum Speed (mph)

There were a number of long uphill climbs, some miles in length. None were more than a 5% grade and the temps were cool. The first was a very long climb. I’ve learned that if I just get in my zone and just keep going that eventually I get to the top of the climb.  My Garmin (bike computer) has a function called Climb Pro. Here is the legend for the colors. Here is a screen capture from my Garmin at the top of a climb. An upcoming hill. A few local sculptures. Welcome to Tombstone. I turned a corner today. Bottom Line: I know now that I can do this! With the exception of tomorrow’s longer and steeper climb, the worst is over. Today Ride Total Miles Rode: 76.9 613.56 Elevation Gain (feet): 4029 20487 Pedaling Time: 6:06 Average Speed (mph):  12.6 Maximum Speed (mph) 36.4

Today was along some of the excellent bike paths that Tucson has. I had heard good things about bicycling in and now I know that they are true! I felt good the entire day. We took our time and enjoyed the views of the mountains and desert plants . Today Ride Total Miles Rode: 45.33 536.66 Elevation Gain (feet): 1161 16458 Pedaling Time: 3:51 Average Speed (mph):  11.7 Maximum Speed (mph) 21.3

We made a run to REI for s few items and then spent the afternoon trying to catch up on my blog. This was hard to do without Wi-Fi or decent cell connections. We had a large pavilion and so were in great shape for the rain that arrived that afternoon. We even had a double rainbow. Not much else to report. Tomorrow we are back on the bikes again.

This was the eight day of riding and my legs finally pronounced themselves tired. I knew it would be a short day of 56 miles and I was excited to finish it and have a rest day. Starting out, my legs felt like lead and there was a horrible (not really, it just seemed that way) head wind. Once again there was a lengthy 2-3% grade. I think I would rather have a steeper shorter climb than these interminable 2-3% grades.  Rick was fantastic and let me draft for a significant portion of the day. I was very grateful for that. Now for a rest day!  We are staying in Catalina State Park. It is amazing. It has beautiful mountains Saguaro cactus and numerous other desert plants. The part is the shower house with individual showers and hot water! We have had to many cold showers on this trip for my taste. The food on this trip is amazing. Here is the menu for tonight. Ann, the chef, accompanies the trip and cooks like this every night! She also provides an oatmeal and continental breakfast...

There were some headwinds, but not bad. It simply took forever to climb the 2-3% grades. I just got in a rhythm and kept it for as long as it took. I was in my comfort zone, but working. No pictures today.  A lot of time on Interstate 8. It’s not very interesting and I don’t like to stop on the Interstate. I think we are about done with riding on the Interstate. We are staying at an RV park that has horrible cell coverage and they charge for wi-fi?!?!? It also has a small penned area or “dog park” next to our camping spot. Some folks made the mistake of leaning their bikes against its fence. Numerous dogs found these new “sculptures” interesting. We know what dogs do to interesting objects. Today Ride Total Miles Rode: 73.3 435.28 Elevation Gain (feet): 1709 13693 Pedaling Time: 5:49 Average Speed (mph):  12.6 Maximum Speed (mph) 20

This was a short day (50 miles), but hard. Yesterday’s tailwind shifted to the north and then to the northeast. We were headed east. Yuck. We spent about 20 miles on Interstate 8 and so there was no drafting during the toughest part of the day.  Today Ride Total Miles Rode: 49.67 361.98 Elevation Gain (feet): 636 11984 Pedaling Time: 4:08 3:14 Average Speed (mph):  12 Maximum Speed (mph) 17.9

The only downside of today’s ride was a Goathead (thorn) at about mile 5. Sigh! My first flat of the ride. The mechanic arrived in only a few minutes, changed the tube and I was off. I’m glad I didn’t have to change it myself - I couldn’t do it myself.  We had a tailwind for most of the day. It was terrific! I have never ridden that far (70 miles) that fast (15.5 mph) before. A personal best for me! We rode through the lettuce fields that went on and on. It turns out that about 85% of the country’s winter salad fixings come from this area.  We are camping in Dateland tonight and so finished the ride with a date shake. They are yummy!  We are mostly camping in rural areas. That means my access to wifi and cellular signals range from poor to aweful. I can go days without being able to do an update. Also, I'll be honest, with so many continuous days of riding I am now pretty tired at the end of a long (60 miles or more) ride. At least I have an excuse for not doing a timely ...

In 2019 this is the stretch that Rick broke his wrist. We safely passed that point and celebrated with a toast from our water bottles. We started the day with a head wind and thanks to Rick and Pat Man, I made great time. Later, we rode on some of the worst roads I have ever been on. We spent about 8 miles on Interstate 8 again with the shoulders having what I would call frost heaves if we were in Michigan. Some of the heaves were even 3 inches high. “Bottom” line - whining all around. We got off the Interstate to go the “Center of the World” (really) and the road got even worst.  After lunch at the Center the ride into Yuma was uneventful except it got into the upper-80s.  Tomorrow is another hot, and longer ride to Dateland, AZ. The beauty of this event is of course the bike riding, and also, the people and the varied and unique experiences. Last evening we stayed at a clothing optional resort. This evening we are staying in the gym of a  Seventh Day Adventist Church....

 We started the day with a very long downhill on Interstate 8. It was the most fun I have ever had on a bike. We started the descent at over 3,000 feet and ended at about sea level. We were then in the desert where we saw the world’s largest solar array (over 800 hectares and growing). We rode parallel to the border fence and saw miles and miles of it as well as watch towers, border patrol personnel, etc. Once out of the mountains we had a fairly flat and straight ride into Calexico. At one time the elevation was -13 feet. Amazing elevation changes for one day! We started the day with cold and wind gear on and ended with summer riding clothes. The end temperature was 84 degrees. We stayed in a clothing optional “resort” that evening. Here is the refrigerator magnet we found in our room. This trip is all about the experience! Today Miles Rode: 52.35 Elevation Gain (feet): 968 Pedaling Time: 3:43 Average Speed (mph):  14.1 Maximum Speed (mph) 36.8

We were told that this was the biggest climbing day of the trip. And climb we did, over 4,500 feet. That’s a new climbing record for me! While it wasn’t easy, it was 11% in a few spots, overall it was easier than the previous day. There were long uphills and long glorious downhills. The downhills were very thrilling!!! At one point I hit 36.8 mph. It’s a good thing I wasn’t looking at my computer, else I would have put on the breaks. Yesterday was one long interminable uphill. The variety of today’s geography broke up the work and made it quite doable.  Today was the most climbing we will do. The only remaining tough climbing day is when we cross the Continental Divide. You always wonder if you are going to be strong enough to do these climbs. I am feeling good about my abilities after today. Here we are smiling after a big climb. If you see a sign like this, it must means you accomplished something. The day was full of unique experiences. We did three to four miles on the shoulder...