Ready to Travel

Today is Friday. I packed today in a few hours. Flying all night. My plan was to put the bike back together tomorrow and start riding on Sunday. Hope I have it all. Last I checked my bike was in Maryland and won't arrive in Virginia until late Monday. That is a little setback. I planned on starting the ride on Sunday. Blog you later from the East side.

In the Beginning

Biking 1972

Grade School Days, taking the long way home.

Big Bike Little Box

Bike out of the Box

Bike in the Box

I managed to fit this big new bike in that box. Ready to ship.

Ready to Ship

The Bike is packed.

Seeing Green

Follow the sign

I can follow this sign through Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas.

Reliving History

40th Anniversary

Bikecentennial was launched in 1976 to celebrate the bicycle and America’s Bicentennial. During that summer, 2,000 cyclist rode the 82-day, 4,250-mile TransAmerica Bicycle Trail from Astoria, Oregon to Yorktown, Virginia, the biggest bicycle-touring event in U. S. history. I will attempt this route opposite direction in 71-days.

Sleeping Giant

Lahar Alley

Standing tall at 14,411 ft Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. If it blows, a massive lahar (mudflow) would fill the valley. This is where I ride.

Mt Rainier

Seeing Yellow

Wild Flowers

Spring is here.

Record Rain

Puddle or a Lake?

Riding in the rain. Thanks to months of endless soggy weather, Seattle had the wettest winter on record  with 24.63” of rain.  Secret-Sealskinz Brand waterproof socks.

Getting Heavy

Customized Jeremiah

Still training on Jeremiah. I added sand bags durong April to to build leg strength. There is a small tan bag of sand on the front, and two larger bags in the rear basket. The heavier the better. You ask "where is the new bike?" Soon...

Delorme GPS

Delorme inReach SE

I will be carrying this GPS tracking device. Many times I will be out of cell phone signal area.  This tracker will "ping" the GPS satellites every 10 minutes represented by a blue dot on the map. I can also send messages. Click "Track Me" under Links to find me.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah at the Ironman

After completing two Ironman competitions, I wanted to show people that you don't need to spend a fortune to succeed. I bought this 1996 steel mountain bike from Craiagslist for $50 dollars. I rode it in the third Ironman. Later I rode to San Francisco, across the mountains to Yakima and thousands of miles training and commuting to work. I call the bike Jeremiah. Unfortunately Jeremiah is wearing out. New bike post later.

This is Me

San Francisco

My first long bike ride was the Bridge to Bridge. Washington across the Astoria Bridge, South following the coast through the Redwoods to the Golden Gate bridge, California. This time I will go cross country.

Coast to Coast

TransAmerica Trail

This is it. 4300 miles. The adventure starts May15, 2016 in Yorktown, VA.  71 days homeward bound to the Oregon Coast.