What I have Missed
I am looking forward to joining Trek's 2023 Cross Country bicycle trip in Madison WI. At that point, everyone else will have bicycled almost 2500 miles. I will be joining for "just" the last 1300 miles. I have signed up to do the entire trip in 2024, so if things go according to plan, I will bicycle those 2500 miles next year.
In the meantime, I thought I would put up some photos taken by my friends Jesse and Ruth showing brief snippets of what I have missed so far.
Here are Jesse and Ruth at the Pacific Ocean west of Portland OR for the start of the ride.
From there, they rode up the Columbia River.
I believe that this photo is from the Cascade mountains.
They then worked their way into western Washington with its dry and arid conditions.
Pictured to the right of Ruth is Paula who rode with me on my 2019 cross country trip from Santa Barbara CA to Myrtle Beach SC. Paula, Jesse and Ruth have ridden together most every day. I am looking forward to seeing Paula who I have not seen since we went our separate ways in Myrtle Beach although we have kept in touch.
I believe this photo is from Idaho. I love the deep blue of the skies so often seen in the rural west.
Each new state is a big milestone. Certainly one our 2019 trip, we always stopped to take photos of the signs welcoming us to a new state.
Last time Jesse rode into Montana, he was racing me to the state line. That led to an inadvertent touching of our bikes and a bad crash where Jesse suffered a concussion and I snapped the tibia and fibula of my left ankle. Fortunately, this was a much better experience for Jesse and Ruth.
One of the highlights of western South Dakota is biking through the Badlands.
The Badlands are sufficiently amazing that they certainly deserve another photo.
Eastern South Dakota has Mitchel with its famous Corn Palace. This is where the group stopped two nights ago.
I have started my packing, and will be heading out to Madison first thing Monday morning. Tuesday is a rest day for the cyclists, but I will likely do a 30-40 mile ride to ensure my bike is working well and to spin my legs.
Hopefully, I will be posting daily during the trip to Portland ME. Subscribe if you would like to get my posts delivered to your inbox.