It’s not about us. I am reminded of a picture hanging at our Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters Associates office: “Don’t count your blessings. Share them”. And that is what we have set out to do. There are so many people who would love to ride a bicycle across the United States but, for whatever reason, it’s …
Visit https://paulemaynard.com/blog/ to read additional stories about his cycling adventures and more.. El Tour de Zona 2023, Day 0: Getting My Feet on the Ground (or Pedals) March 23, 2023 / Cycling / By Paul E. Maynard It was a day of orientation. I blew into Sierra Vista and was the first tent to set up on the baseball …
One supposes that it will take a little time to get used to sleeping comfortably on the ground (for days on end!) I’m therefore figuring that I will have plenty of sleep-less nights – that’s nights when you sleep less than you wish you did – once we start our excellent adventure.
However, I did not expect to have a sleep-less night while comfortably ensconced in my great cushy marshmallow of a bed here at home! And yet, from about 3 in the morning until nearly 6, I lay awake for no good reason at all, randomly ticking through various things to do or to think about doing
All in all, we had a fantastic adventure. The sights, the sounds, the smells and especially the wonderful people we met made for a great adventure. I can honestly say I would gladly do this trip again. Yes, I’d do some things differently. Many things I’d do just the same. Mostly, I’d just do it despite the shortcomings.
A cross-country, self-supported bicycle trip is something I’ve long dreamed of from the time I was little. I can remember dreams of traveling across the country, pulling a camper along behind my bike. Of course, teenage years came along. Girls and cars completely got in the way of bicycling and any thoughts of a cross-country trip.
This blog page is dedicated to Jeff’s completion of his cross country bike ride.
A Little History. It all started back in the summer of 2012 when Jeff rode from Chicago, IL to just outside Fort Wayne, IN with his friend Ann and her husband, Rob. A little over 200 miles in three days. Until that point, Jeff had never ridden more than about 30 miles. Later that fall, Ann convinced Jeff to ride with her up the East Coast, from Key West, FL to Bar Harbor, ME. You can read about that adventure on Jeff’s MoxieRider blog here.
Not wanting to be left behind, Ellen wanted to do a long ride too, so Jeff and Ellen hatched a plan to ride Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, CA in 2014. We did the trip in two segments; the first in the Spring from Flagstaff, AZ to Chicago, finishing up in the Fall from Flagstaff to Santa Monica. In between, Jeff and Ann rode the West Coast from Seattle, WA to the Mexican border (Imperial Beach, CA). That just left a ride from Fort Wayne (where he left off after 3 days with Ann and Rob) to the East Coast and Jeff will have completed the U.S. trifecta – both coasts and a cross-country.