Cross Country on the Southerm Tier Route

This is where I will be describing my self supported solo trip in the Quest velomobile from San Diego to Jacksonville. I will be following the southern tier route as published by the Adventure Cycling organization and my anticipated start date is March 24,2013. This is all the gear I will be taking.

You will be able to see where I am by accessing this link to my ‘spot’ web page. As this only shows the last 7 days, don’t expect to see anything until the 24th. Since my ride is over, this link now shows an image of the last days track This is interesting technology I have used before, every 10 minutes the unit sends my GPS location to an orbiting space platform where it is relayed to a web site.

I realize this is mainly a one way conversation – if you do have some questions use this form.

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Day 35 – Atlantic Ocean

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Yes, the adventure is over, about 2800 miles. Thanks for all your prayers and supportive texts and phone calls. Thanks be to God for allowing my body to heal and granting me strength to ride.

Thanks to my hosts Mike and Peggy for putting me up at the ‘Quest hostel’ – Luc knows what I’m talking about – and for a wonderful meal.

Today’s ride was overcast and barely got into the low 70s. Winds ( headwinds of course ) picked up in the afternoon but didn’t seem too bad. The winds at the beach were the strongest I felt since Texas.

This was a tough ride from a mental aspect, the miles seemed to add up ever so slowly. Maybe it was the conflict between wanting to finish and get back home and recalling all the ride segments leading up to this which would be the last segment.

US 90 showed its gentler side and provided no challenge other than trying to figure out what town I was currently in ( no map today ). I did see 3 correctional institutions along the road today – perhaps 1 in each county. City traffic was challenging as it is in any big city during high traffic periods.

Navigating through the city was aided by a phone call to Mike last night, the map app on my phone,  and Mike’s phone call near the end of the ride and personally leading me to the beach in his velomobile.

I’m not one who is superstitious, but I intentionally have not talked about flat tires in my posts. I think the more you talk about them, the more they occur. The final tally of flat tires on this trip was: 0.  The Schwalbe marathon plus may be a heavy tire, but it performed well in conjunction with doing my best to avoid debris.

  1. Day 34 – Fog and the big City Comments Off on Day 34 – Fog and the big City
  2. Day 33 – Why is my right leg getting wet? Comments Off on Day 33 – Why is my right leg getting wet?
  3. Day 32 – Humid ride Comments Off on Day 32 – Humid ride
  4. Day 31 – The Velomobile can Float! Comments Off on Day 31 – The Velomobile can Float!
  5. Day 30 – 5 states down, 3 to go Comments Off on Day 30 – 5 states down, 3 to go
  6. Day 29 – Pleasant Pedaling Comments Off on Day 29 – Pleasant Pedaling
  7. Day 28 – Mississippi Crossing Comments Off on Day 28 – Mississippi Crossing
  8. Day 27 – Crowds & Questions Comments Off on Day 27 – Crowds & Questions
  9. Day 26 – Adios Lone Star Comments Off on Day 26 – Adios Lone Star
  10. Day 25 – Who let the dogs out? Comments Off on Day 25 – Who let the dogs out?
  11. Day 24 – Texas Chili Comments Off on Day 24 – Texas Chili
  12. Day 23 – Wet & Wild Comments Off on Day 23 – Wet & Wild
  13. Day 22 – This could be WI Comments Off on Day 22 – This could be WI
  14. Day 21 – spot takes a break Comments Off on Day 21 – spot takes a break
  15. Day 20 – Granny gets a workout Comments Off on Day 20 – Granny gets a workout
  16. Day 19 – Greenery, Trees, River Comments Off on Day 19 – Greenery, Trees, River
  17. Day 18 – Hills and Headwinds Comments Off on Day 18 – Hills and Headwinds
  18. Day 17 – 55 miles of nothing Comments Off on Day 17 – 55 miles of nothing
  19. Day 16 – I’ll never be this high again! Comments Off on Day 16 – I’ll never be this high again!
  20. Day 15 – Racing the Wind Comments Off on Day 15 – Racing the Wind
  21. Day 14 – Oh No Connectivity! Comments Off on Day 14 – Oh No Connectivity!
  22. Day 13 – ‘Down in the west Texas town of El Paso’ Comments Off on Day 13 – ‘Down in the west Texas town of El Paso’
  23. Day 12 – Detour to Deming Comments Off on Day 12 – Detour to Deming
  24. Day 11 – The Divide Comments Off on Day 11 – The Divide
  25. Day 10 – Pushing is harder than Pedaling Comments Off on Day 10 – Pushing is harder than Pedaling
  26. Day 9 – Gila river valley Comments Off on Day 9 – Gila river valley
  27. Day 8 – Lost 18 speeds Comments Off on Day 8 – Lost 18 speeds
  28. Day 7 – Stop n Go Comments Off on Day 7 – Stop n Go
  29. Day 6 – Downhill to Phoenix Comments Off on Day 6 – Downhill to Phoenix
  30. Day 5 – Sacrifice Comments Off on Day 5 – Sacrifice
  31. Day 4 – Hay – Sand – Hay Comments Off on Day 4 – Hay – Sand – Hay
  32. Day 3 – brake and shake Comments Off on Day 3 – brake and shake
  33. Day 2 – climbing ,climbing,climbing Comments Off on Day 2 – climbing ,climbing,climbing
  34. My Route Links Comments Off on My Route Links
  35. Day 1 – Reality sets in Comments Off on Day 1 – Reality sets in