seventy seven

FEELING THE TRILL

Early biking adventures were in the shadow of big brother. I still ride but my big brother laughs.

seventy six

TIME TO HEAD BACK HOME

I moved from Ohio over twenty years ago, I miss the fall and weather but not the winter snow. This is Cadillac mountain in Bar Harbor Maine. The fall colors of New England were bright and the nights were frosty cold. I had traveled from the Florida humid south to the freezing north of Maine. 

A couple of days before the end I met a young guy from Seattle who had traveled the northern route from Seattle, it was nice to have some company. 

We camped in a small park in a little fishing town then hit the coffee shops for the last day to our common goal, Bar Harbor. I chose to travel south to north just because of the fall colors, it worked well. My hope is that Seattle will offer the same beauty.

seventy five

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

I am about to load my bike into a U-Haul truck and drive to San Diego. The truck was cheap because they need to get trucks back to California so more people can move to Arizona. 

This was my first big trip so I was stoked. I had been talking about touring and building up my bike for a very long time. I had talked a lot of trash, people were getting tired of hearing it. The time had come to walk the talk. This is a picture of a picture so the quality is poor, but I think you can still tell I'm really happy.

I can still see the smile on my camera man's face, a mix of joy and worry.

seventy four

• 

ALL CLEAN AND UNTESTED

The dream, the plan, the bike, the gear, the maps, the training, the money, the time, I love it when a plan comes together. Savoring the beach before I ride east over the mountains.

seventy three

FINALLY

This is San Diego after a morning ride up the Silver Strand form Otay on the border. I had slept in a bad neighborhood in the back of the truck. Dropping the keys off was a thrill. I knew I could do this, but didn't know what to expect. I was about to find out that's for sure. After the first twenty miles I knew this was a dream come true.

seventy two

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES

I handed my camera to a very nice woman who took this great picture. The history of this place still gives me goose bumps. Most of the tourists were not speaking English, which caused me to wonder if Americans still visited this place. 

If you don’t think we are at war go to Washington DC. When I was a kid we could drive in front of the White House, take tours of the White House and the Capitol Building, I actually see President Nixon. Now there are as many police as tourists and I think much of the tourists are undercover police. 

The White House is being surrounded by walls, and the Capitol is a series of check points and searches. My odd looking bike probably made people nervous so I kept my distance. I spent an hour people watching in a Starbucks on K-street. A homeless guy and I shared some freeze dried meals by the Vietnam Memorial. Marine One landed behind the White House, and the Secret Service escorted someone through the busy street in black SUV's. 

The trip from Maryland brought me though the worst parts of the district. This ten square miles is run by Congress, and just think they also try to run the country.

seventy one

INVISIBLE IN PLAIN SIGHT

Not every place I traveled was quiet and safe; I traveled through some large cities with some rough neighborhoods. I live in the Phoenix area and ride through some crazy places. 

The beauty of a bike is that it goes slow enough to see, but fast enough to not really be there. Riding silently through the roughest neighborhoods is a skill. 

I have learned to be invisible, in front of everyone. This sounds crazy but with body language and the short time it takes to pass through an area. The worst that happens is an occasional look of, “what the heck is that nut doing on that bicycle”. Then by the time they noticed, I’m gone. 

When I make eye contact I nod and smile. I still think the vast majority of people are friendly and kind, some places just have a higher percentage of jerks. There is always the chance of just being "it". If you want to avoid this possibility altogether, stay in bed.

seventy

FLASH FROM THE PAST

This was called Young’s Inn, we stayed here several weeks while on vacation in the seventies. We drove our Fiat 124 Sports Coupe, another great way to see New England. 

It was strange to find this place so many years later. There also was seafood carryout in the place to the right. I ate ten pounds of fried clams from there, and drank a lot of Canadian beer. 

We were young and in love, those were special days. To be 3000 miles from home on a bike and now looking back through time was a strange feeling.

sixty nine

$12 CABINS

These are the small cottages In Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, we stayed in in 1975 and 1976 for $12. They were like miniature houses with kitchens and everything, I think they were built in the twenties. They were closed but will be reopened under new management soon. What would they cost today?

sixty eight

A FAMILIAR BOARD WALK

This was Ocean City Maryland, a place I have visited many times thirty years ago. The thing I noticed about beaches was that they all have their own unique personality. I saw so many beaches in 2004, San Francisco to San Diego and Florida to Maine. 

Some beaches are beach front private homes and stony shorelines that are great for finding sea shells at low tide. The long white sand beaches with white surf and surfers. Just a warning, never ever use those portable toilets. Still others are strangely empty, perhaps the 50 degree water was a factor. 

I watched young Canadians surf in Maine, with light wet suits, no boots, gloves or hoods. But these are the same people who play ice hockey, perhaps my desert rat wimp factor is showing. 

There are flat hard packed sand beaches suitable for truck and car traffic. Some are places to take your family. Some you you get drunk, get a tattoo and get lucky. 

I enjoyed them all, as I slowly drifted through.