Blog
First Retirement Training Ride
This was taken at the top of “the 4 sisters”—a series of 4 decent sized hills through Fairbanks Ranch on the way to my neighborhood. (There’s a road…I’m not one for trail riding.)
Two Jersey kids ready to go down the Shore. (4/20/22)
The starting line. (4/20/22)
1 mile down. 3,399 to go. (4/20/22)
Bonus! Bailey's office was along the route today. Today's also his birthday. (4/20/22)
So our stopping point today wasn't quite as nice as the starting point. (4/20/22)
Day 2 lunch courtesy of our friend Mary Taggart. Chocolate chip scones disguised as Easter eggs. Yum. (4/21/22)
My roadside view for lunch. Someone knows how to grow proteas. (4/21/22)
Yeah. I did this today. Freeway cycling wasn't horrible, but I'm glad I only 4 more interstate miles to worry about. (4/21/22)
The 8 looks innocent enough, but those cars were pretty fast. The 6% grade (uphill unfortunately) added even more charm to today's ride. (4/21/22)
East San Diego County is fabulous. I'd never seen it from a bike. What a treat. (4/21/22)
Had the roads mostly to myself today. (4/21/22)
Pot is legal in California. (4/21/22)
Laguna Pass. End of the day. Elevation = 4,055 feet. (4/2122)
If you cycle on the road, you should use this mirror. See my preach blog. (4/21/22)
Just after sunrise on the Sunrise Hwy in eastern SD County (4/23/22)
If I had a rock, I could have thrown it to Mexico (4/23/22)
Lunchtime in Imperial County--a turkey and roast beef wrap (4/23/22)
The beginning of the sand blast at Imperial Sand Dune National Recreation Area (4/24/22)
Very cool dunes, except when the sand's coming at you at 40 mph. (4/24/22)
One of the highlights from Day 5. Yep, not a lot highlights. (4/25/22)
What are the chances the Passmore family went into the gas business. Like I said...a slow day. (4/25/22)
Another cute motel on Day 5. 4/25/22)
As good as it got on Day 5 (4/25/22)
Beginning of Day 6 climb out of Congress. This went on for a while. (4/26/22)
The view at the top of the first climb does no justice to how beautiful this was. (4/26/22)
Ride into ponderosa pine forest coming into Prescott. (4/26/22)
Our hotel in Prescott. A really great sign in a great little town. (4/26/22)
Views just outside of Prescott in the Williamson Valley (4/27/22)
I saw this about 50 times on AZ Route 89. I'm not sure why the Arizona Department of Transportation wanted me to ride in the grass, but that's just a flat waiting to happen. (4/27/22)
Territorial Road outside of Winslow. This wend on for 20 miles. Surprise! (4/29/30)
A fallen tree that's turned to stone (4/30/22)
Lots of crazy formations like this throughout the park (4/30/22)
That's the dust storm. Doesn't look like much in this picture, but nasty. BTW...I love Family Dollar (5/1/22)
This was the picture on the wall in my motel room today. How did they know? (5/2/22)
Grants, NM sunrise. Picture doesn't do it justice. I'm trying to be cute and have my riding shadow in the picture. Fail. (5/3/22)
Cool rock formation on the way to ABQ (5/3/22)
Where I'm staying. Who knew. Wish I was a fan so it would matter. (5/12/22)
Bailey is a big bowler. Thought of him when I saw this (5/14/22)
Crossing the Arkansas River into Tulsa (those buildings are Tulsa) (5/14/22)
Kansas--12 miles of cycling heaven (5/16/22)
The ferry across the across the Ohio. (5/24/22)
Lunch break. Best I could do. (5/23/22)
View of the Ohio River from our cabin. (5/23/22)
Pedaling into Albuquerque. (5/3/22)
On the road from ABQ to Santa Fe. (5/4/22)
It was bound to happen. (5/4/22)
Another ABQ-Santa Fe shot. Nice to have a photographer on the ride. (5/4/22)
Both of us on the road to Santa Fe. (5/4/22)
So I got a little artsy with this building. (5/5/22)
A cyclists casita. Tish is not happy about the jerseys drying on the wall. (5/5/22)
San Miguel Chapel. The oldest church structure in the U.S.A. dating to 1610. (5/5/22)
Our accommodations for the next 2 nights (5/27/22)
A magnificent tree on Canyon Road in Santa Fe. (5/5/22)
I fill my days with this view. It's serene and magnificent at the same time. (5/7/22)
The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM. Crystal clear. (5/7/22)
Tish took the big Blue Hole plunge! (5/7/22)
Cadillac Ranch #1 (5/9/22)
Cadillac Ranch #2 (5/9/22)
Smoke amongst the wind turbines. Where's the oil?! (5/10/22)
If you hadn't noticed, my blog is very apolitical, but I didn't like this intimation of "American Owned", so I made an exception (5/11/22)
OK is really green! (5/11/22)
Lunch stop #1. (5/12/22)
Cool vintage bank sign on Rt 66 in KS (5/16/22)
"World Famous" (or so the sign said rainbow bridge on Rt 66 in Baxter Springs, KS (5/16/22)
3rd state of the day (5/16/22)
Does it count if you're not pedaling? (5/16/22)
Tish's ride in Joplin. Her smile says everything (5/16/22)
Fancy building in Carthage, MO. There was a minor early Civil War battle in Carthage. (5/17/22)
More of today's bucolic ride...before the dogs. (5/17/22)
Other than "Welcome to Manasquan Beach", this is my favorite road sign. (5/18)
A view of State Route 38. Beautiful. (5/18/22)
More of State Route 38. Still beautiful. (5/18/22)
My David button. It's also accompanied me on all my marathons and my Iron Man. (5/19/22)
Cool old sign in Eminence, MO (5/19/22)
Where Smoke and I took refuge during the downpour this morning (5/19/22)
The old bridge crossing the big river. (5/22/22)
You're not in Chester 100 yards and you're informed it's the home of Popeye. (5/22/22)
One of the canopy portions of today's ride (5/23/22)
Cave-In-Rock selfie. (5/23/22)
View from inside Cave-In-Rock. (5/23/22)
Someone's happy about passing 2,000 miles . (5/24/22)
Big cave. (5/28/22)
Bill of the Bill/Wesley father/son tandem. (5/29/22)
Came across about 20 of these buildings in Loreto, KY. They're part of the Marker's Mark Bourbon Distillery. They looked like abandoned residential buildings. (5/29/22)
Climbed alongside this stream for about 3 miles (5/30/22)
Thought we left the Ozarks last week (5/30/22)
Beautiful (hilly) riding today (5/30/22)
My home for the night Test is around back. (5/30/22)
My new friend Tim from the Netherlands. Another westbounder. Says he can't remember any eastbounders. (5/31/22)
Rest stop on first of 8 ascents today (6/1/22)
The cyclists hostel at Hindman Baptist Church (6/1/22 & 6/2/22)
Great dinner with my new friend and JDRF riding coach Paula (6/1/22)
Tough to get tired of looking at these mountains (6/3/22)
Mural in Haysi where their Trail Days festival was taking place (6/3/22)
My campsite in Haysi. Not bad. (6/3/22)
Climbing in a forest (6/4/22)
A shot that doesn't do the Appalachians justice (6/4/22)
Dining area in the B&B where I'm staying. I don't belong here in all my grime. (6/4/22)
Real baked goods! Real baked goods I tell you. I love Radford, VA (6/6/22)
WE ARE...picking up garbage? (6/6/22)
The power bar industry is getting a big boost this quarter from this trip (6/7/22)
Each panel is 20-30 miles of the route and includes detailed directions. I've found relying on the GPS app to tell me I've missed a turn (you know it when you hear it) is so much easier than referring to the directions every 10 minutes. (6/7/22)
A dreamy view of the Blue Ridge from the Parkway (6/8/22)
It looks innocent enough, but that's the start of a 2,000 foot, 3-mile climb (6/8/22)
Me decked out in my rain gear. It kept me completely dry. Wish I liked the Steelers. (6/8/22)
Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, VA. I was more crowded than this. (6/10/22)
In the middle of The Battle of the Wilderness site. I can't imagine how horrifying this must have been. (6/12/2)
The U.S. Bike Path 1 signs do exist. There just aren't that many of them. (6/13/22)
One of the few pretty parts of today's ride. Looked like a big lily pond. (6/13/22)
Cycled with Larry Soler for the first part of the ride. Always great to have companionship. (6/17/22)
Because really! Who doesn't like good bike art along the way (6/18/22)
The Susquehanna river from a blustery, kind of ugly bridge. (6/18/22)
Yes. (6/18/22)
PA gets the award to best signage (6/24/22)
Not everyone will get this, but I was tempted to make a left here instead of going straight. (6/24/22)
I find the image of my bike on the Schuylkill more interesting than the one of me, but I keep getting asked for pictures of me. (6/25/22)
The last of the ACA maps. I've had these for a long time. So glad I got to put them to use. (6/25/22)
Farmland, rolling hills, and...cooling towers? (6/25/22)
Pennsylvania gets an A+ for their bike path system. Here's a sampling of what I enjoyed today. (6/26/22)
Smoke enters New Jersey. (6/26/22)
That's my bike. That's my brother's house. I rode my bike to my brother's house! (6/26/22)
The back of the van. 2 bikes go on the outside as well. There is organization here. (6/26/22)
Tish's Chicken Parmigiana. Tonight's dinner. Yay! (6/26/22)
Sprung from cages... (6/28/22)
The last expanse. I'll miss this. (6/28/22)