Thoughts on riding across the USA (or touring anywhere!)

[DeniseGoldberg]

A friend just sent me a link to an article on cnn.com. It's worth a read if you're dreaming of riding cross-country, or thinking of touring on your own. It's not a long article, but the author does a really nice job of communicating how it feels - including the reactions (and kindness) of strangers.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTI....ap/index.html

Join me in dreaming about touring!

--- Denise

[Trekhawk]

A friend just sent me a link to an article on cnn.com. It's worth a read if you're dreaming of riding cross-country, or thinking of touring on your own. It's not a long article, but the author does a really nice job of communicating how it feels - including the reactions (and kindness) of strangers.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTI....ap/index.html

Join me in dreaming about touring!

--- Denise

Thanks for posting the link Denise. What a great story.

[Barb]

Thanks, like I need one more thing to day dream about at work!!!! Sounds like fun to me!

[annie]

Join me in dreaming about touring!

--- Denise

I'm dreaming, Denise, I am most definitely dreaming!!
Now I merely need to find a way to make the dream come true......... sigh.....

annie

[DeniseGoldberg]

I'm dreaming, Denise, I am most definitely dreaming!!
Now I merely need to find a way to make the dream come true......... sigh.....

annie

Annie -

Remember, the dream doesn't have to be something as big as a cross-country trip. I wanted to ride cross country when I did my first solo tour back in 1998, but I couldn't get enough time away from work without quitting my job, which I just wasn't ready to do. So my first solo trip was 4 weeks in the Rockies. It was awesome, and a perfect way to start. Oh, and if you want to bounce some ideas around - I'm always available to talk touring!

--- Denise

[MomOnBike]

Your dream doesn't even have to be as big as a four-week tour in a distant place. A week on a bike close to home is perfectly fine, too.

Or an overnighter or several to local attractions.

Some people have even done the TransAm in shortish sections over multiple years.

Allow yourself to think small (too) and a world (literally) of possibilities opens up.

Having said that, I'm still planning my Vancouver to Key West trip sometime in this lifetime....(details to be announced later)

[jobob]

Lee & I will be touring the Pacific Coast late in September or early October, starting a bit south of San Francisco and heading down to Santa Barbara. This should take us about 10 days at a leisurely pace. We'll be camping out most nights. Details to follow.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Lee & I will be touring the Pacific Coast late in September or early October, starting a bit south of San Francisco and heading down to Santa Barbara. This should take us about 10 days at a leisurely pace. We'll be camping out most nights. Details to follow.

That sounds great! I've ridden most of the coast north of San Francisco, but I've never ridden south of there. I'll be very interested to hear about your tour. (Of course I'd be interested even if I had ridden there... I love to hear touring stories!)

I haven't decided where I'll be touring this year (yet). I usually use our bad riding winters to dream about where I want to ride. Right now I'm thinking about either the Canadian Rockies or Ireland or somewhere in Atlantic Canada - but it's entirely possible that I'll dream up somewhere completely different!

--- Denise

[Deborajen]

Thanks for posting the link. I enjoyed reading the article. It did get me thinking - and dreaming --

On the ultimate end, there's a path across the southern part of Germany that sounds awesome. Trips in Italy or Spain sound beautiful, too.

More realistically, having never really travelled by bike, starting with a few short, one-day trails right here close to home sounds nice. Seeing some historical sights at a nice, easy, enjoyable pace sounds really inviting.

Build up from there.--

Deb

[cindysue]

Lee & I will be touring the Pacific Coast late in September or early October, starting a bit south of San Francisco and heading down to Santa Barbara. This should take us about 10 days at a leisurely pace. We'll be camping out most nights. Details to follow.

Andrew and I did that tour June 2005. If you plan to camp on any of those nights, I highly recommend Big Sur campground. We were pleasantly surprised to find a very nice restaurant on the campground. Salmon and steak for dinner, yummy dessert, omletes and waffles for breakfast, a guest/sundry shop. The other campground that was really nice was Refugio - the hiker/biker campsite is practically on the beach. Just a few hundred feet away - amazing!

you're also welcome to borrow my book: "Bicycling The Pacific Coast" by Tom Kirkendall and Vicky Spring

and my Adventure Cycling maps

[jobob]

Thanks Cindy !

We've been to Pfeiffer Big Sur campground a couple of times now, just car camping. A really great place to camp! And the fact that you don't have to cook if you don't want to is a real plus. We went in October both times so it wasn't very crowded, but I imagine it could be really packed in summer. Good thing they have the hiker/biker sites. And plumbing.

Yep, we have the Adventure Cycling maps, and the most recent edition of Spring & Kirkendall. But I really appreciate the offer - I'll be sure to pick your brains next time I see you.

At Lompoc we might go inland over to Solvang and head straight from there to Santa Barbara, rather than follow the coast, so we would probably miss out on Refugio beach. Unless it's too hot, then we would probably take the coastal route. But we have about 9 months to work it all out - we'll change our minds a half dozen times, at least.

So are you any closer to deciding on your destination this summer?

[cindysue]

I'll be sure to pick your brains next time I see you.

anytime!

At Lompoc ......

if you only do one thing I say: stop to eat at "Cajun Kitchen" on H street in Lompoc. OH MY GOD! Not only was the food OUTSTANDING (I ate my cornbread and my boyfriends cornbread and had to stop myself from ordering more), but the service was FANTASTIC. Our waitress was the sweetest thing! Funny, when we stopped there, I was so pissed off because I didn't think I would find anything on the menu that suited me. It probably took me 1/2 hour to find something, but when the food came, I practically swallowed the bowl!

And the LOOKS we got from the customers as we came in off our bikes w/ trailer and panniers, all dressed in spandex - oh I wish I could have taken a picture - it was priceless!

So are you any closer to deciding on your destination this summer?

gosh NO! And after reading that wonderful article that Denise posted, I am soooo torn. It will probably come down to a money/time thing and will depend on when I need to (or can find) work after I graduate......

[cindysue]

thanks for this wonderful article. I absolutley LOVED it!!!!!!


It made me laugh....

"A passing biker discloses his strategy for showering after camping in town parks; he ducks into self-serve car washes and hoses himself down at high pressure. No word on whether he springs for the wax finish."

It made me sigh....

"He cooks steaks for us. He dotes on his wife, Christy, a truckstop waitress, and stays up past his usual 8 p.m. bedtime for several hours until she gets home. She walks in to soft music and candles.
In the morning, he takes me to breakfast at Christy's restaurant. I tell him he should run for mayor. He points out there is no town to be mayor of."

"When a motel was full in Kentucky, the proprietors opened a spare room in their house.
When the only store at an Illinois crossroads was closed that night, the owner reopened and piled on free food and drink."

It made me want to ride across the US and meet all the kind folks with the big hearts and the big dreams.....

[DeniseGoldberg]

It made me want to ride across the US and meet all the kind folks with the big hearts and the big dreams.....

Hey Cindi -
Go for it! I wouldn't trade my cross-country jaunt for any other trip. It was an unbelieveable experience, a good way to see parts of the country where there wasn't something (like an interesting national park) drawing me in, and a great way to meet people in the towns I was passing through.

--- Denise