Someone asked me how we decide where to go and which bike to ride. Usually the trip starts with me saying, "Hap I have an idea". He answers with "Uh oh". And then off we go! As far as what bike we ride. Sometimes it depends on terrain. If riding dirt, gravel roads, we will ride mt bikes. For this trip, we are riding the tandem because it is easier on my back. Speaking of my back, I don't like to talk about it but I will this one time. In 1995 I was hit by a car while riding my bike near our house. It was a pretty serious accident with a lot of broken bones that healed in time. The residual was a pain in my back, that has gotten worse with age (but I'm not as old as Hap!-just saying....). Recently the neurosurgeon told me it was time for a spinal fusion. Once I explained what I am able to do (along with pictures of us riding the loaded tandem), he said keep doing what your doing as long as you can then come back. So here we are. Someone recently said to me, why start on a trip if you can't finish it? My response? Every single day that I can ride is a blessing, I don't take any of them for granted. We will ride as far as God has planned for us to ride. Not sure where that will be, but he has always guided us through. Everyday is an Adventure and God is always there. That's our motto for all of our trips. Sometimes we have ended up in places and situations that we had no idea we would be in. But it's all good.
The plan for 2017 is to follow Route 66 until we get to Marshfield MO. Since Route 66 goes to Chicago, we will leave Route 66 and follow Adventure Cycling's TransAmerica Route. We followed this route a couple of years ago when we rode from Ohio to Boise ID. www.adventurecycling.org
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Adventure Cycling Maps |
Here is our first section of the ride. Imperial Beach CA to Las Angela's (Irvine).
