Anniston, Alabama to Cedartown, Georgia to Atlanta

Once we arrived in Anniston we found our hotel (an excellent Hampton Inn in Jacksonville, Alabama) which was literaly 300 yards from the turn-in point for our U-Haul and 1 mile from the Chief Ladiga Trail that we would ride on to Atlanta. In addition to all of the above, our hotel had a manager's reception of complimentary h-orderves, beer and wine--a dry county it was not! Additionally, we were told that a local sports pub catered to cyclists, had great steaks and would pick you up and drop you off back at the hotel after dinner. Oh my gosh, we were in heaven!!! Dinner was great and the ride the next day was even better. No cars or trucks allowed. Betsy and I talked all day and totally decompressed to include a picnic on the trail. We arrived in Cedartown, GA at the Holiday Inn Express. When the desk clerk found out we were biking she immediatly called a long term resident of the hotel named Kenny Herriot. Kinney just happens to be the number one rated hand cyclist in the world. He lost the use of his legs in 2000 in a freak motorcycle accident. At the time he owned a gym and was a physical fitness trainer. He is now a professional athlete and motivational speaker. Kenny spends part of his time training and working in his native Scotland and the other portion of his time training with a good friend here in Georgia. What a wonderful man to meet and talk with. We had dinner with him last night and breakfast with him this morning before we took off for Atlanta. We would love for him to come visit us and tour Oregon/Idaho. Once again we were reminded as to what this adventure is all about-meeting new people in new and unlikely places. Kenny's web site is(www.kennyherriot.co.uk). Do check it out. This morning we cycled into Atlanta where Stacey (our daughter) met us at the trailhead. It is great to see her once again and we are reminded of how very important family is to us. We are going to spend a few days visiting and then will push on to Savannah. The adventure continues. We will blog once again as we head to Savannah. I will have time for a few runs while staying here i(something I have not been able to do for over 4 weeks). We miss everyone at home and yet we still look forward to what is around the next bend in the road. Life is good. <

Pontotoc MS - Horror-, Anniston AL - Sanity

We have fast forwarded once again. For the first time in 1600+ miles Betsy and I felt at risk. We started out on Monday the 25th with cloudless blue skies and the usual hot and humid temperatures. We headed out on the only route available according to our Garmin and Google Maps to continue in an Easterly direction. We toured the campus of "OL MISS", the University Of Mississippi at Oxford, and it was great-a very bike friendly community. We then continued East, but as soon as we headed into Pontotoc County, MS we encountered trouble; first we were literally run off the road and crashed, then within the hour a very large Ford 350 pickup moved from the left lane to the right lane to pressure us to the edge of the road (no shoulder and a drop off), and the last straw was when a Semi stayed in the right lane (the left lane was empty) and blared his horn as he pulled even with us. All were clearly asggressive and dangerous acts. All within 2 hours of leaving "Ol Miss". Both of us were shaken and unfortunately we had no choice but to continue down the same route for another 2 hours. We were very defensive and did not stop until we reached our hotel (a 60 mile/100 degree day) without the usual breaks. After some discussion we decided that we would rather complete our trip alive and unharmed then push the envelope. We looked at the map for alternative routes that might have a shoulder. We had been told by a women at the Mississsppi welcome center that their roadways do not have shoulders - and she did not lie. No shoulders to be found. We decided to rent a car and put Mississippi behind us - CURSES - foiled again -no rental cars to be had. And to add insult to injury this was a "dry county" so I could not even have a G & T. Enough was enough, we looked up U-Haul on the internet, found a truck, loaded up our Tandem and fast forwarded to Anniston, Alabama. Tomorrow morning we will take off to ride the Chief Ladiga Trail and the Silver Comet Trail to Atlanta-100 miles of non-motorized bike trail. I would advise anyone and everyone to avoid Mississippi if at all possible. Enough said.

West Helena, Arkansas and Batesville, Mississippi

Two days and 120 miles (No post last night. We were both too tired to think). There are hills in Mississippi and I think we found them all. We keep leaving earlier and earlier in the morning. 100 degrees and 80% humidity and we are cooked by noon. We arrived at our hotel at 2PM today (The temperature from about 2:00 PM to around 7:00PM is just about unbearable). We took a swim in the pool as soon as we got to the hotel and are now formulating our dinner plan. We should be in Atlanta in a week and Stacey is making recreation plans (Think massage for both and pedicure for Betsy) for us. We will spend a few days in Atlanta visiting and then push on to Savannah. We met some nice people today. Two ladies at a gas station, right after we crossed the Mississippi border, made us sandwiches for lunch as there were no services until we arrived at our hotel. We miss everyone and our fun group rides but are enjoying each others company. This is the longest nonstop period of time that Betsy and I have ever spent together in our 36 years of marriage. Alone together really is our favorite place to be. Posted pictures include preparing to cross the Mississippi, crossing the Mississippi, arriving in the State of Mississippi, and some of the many drying sheds for tobacco that we passed all day.

Brinkley, Arkansas

Woke up to another flat on the trailer in Beebe this morning. Apparently I did not check the tire well enough with the first flat yesterday. When I broke down the tire again, I found a staple size piece of metal in the tire casing. I removed it with a pair of needle nose pliers - patched the tube - remounted the tire - and we were off once again on our adventure. 70 miles today. We averaged over 15 miles per hour thanks to very little climbing and not too significant of a head wind. We stopped often due to the heat and humidity and had a nice lunch at the "The Hornet's Nest Cafe" in Hazen, Arkansas. It reminded us of the Starlight back in Vale (Many of the local farmers were in there for lunch) except that The Hornet's Nest had locally caught catfish fillets on the salad bar. Betsy had 2 of them because "They were good." Today was probably the hottest day yet so far, but I think we are both handeling it just fine. We are staying in Brinkley, AR tonight and heading south to West Helena, AR (along the Mississippi River) in the morning.

Beebe, Arkansas

60 miles today. We actually had a tail wind for 40 or so miles which was nice for a change. No flats on the bike today and it worked beautifully. On the flip side we got our first flat on the trailer today. We had 2 groups of people stop and offer to assist us while changing the flat. One women who stopped was intrigued with the idea of riding across country. She was sitting in her office and saw us ride by and came outside of her business to watch us pass when she saw us pull over and get off the bike. She thought that perhaps someone was ill or hurt as it was already 90 plus degrees and she jumped in her car and drove out to assist. Another couple stopped with their pickup and identified themselves as bikers and offered their work shop and/or tools/parts if we needed anything. The first women who stopped offered her home to stay in if we needed a place. The generosity of people we have met never ceases to amaze me. Once again a great day on the bike with my best friend.

Morrilton, Arkansas

We woke up this morning to another flat tire. I duct-taped the inside of the casing of the front tire (formally the rear tire) but the tire still loses pressure slowly despite changing tubes. I repump it every time we stop for a break and it is working well enough. My last "new tube" was miss marked and when I opened the box to fix the tire I discovered it was a schrader valve and not a presta. It is now in the garbage can of the hotel. There was a stiff wind out of the south today that at times was a headwind, but we where thankful for it as it helped to keep us cooler. Where ever we stop people remind us to stay hydrated as " it is very hot out there". Many people are very interested in the tandem. We are not on an established bike route so people are not used to seeing bikers. Most smile and ask lots of questions and I suspect most of them think we are nuts. They are probably correct. Hooray!!! We arrived at Russellville at 1030 AM. There was not one but two bike shops in Russellville and Highlander Cycles not only had tires (Specalized Roubaix Kevlar) that fit our bike, but they also had a rear derailer (Durace of course) that works as well. The set up in the shop reminded me of our own Eastern Oregon Cycles. They had a surprising inventory of parts despite their size. The owner is a young women who does triathlons and she just hired a new mechanic this year "Josh". They worked on our bike over their lunch hour and had us on our way by 1PM. We rode over rollers much of the day and along a river that became a large lake as we enter Russellville. We rode across a mile long bridge across the lake. Betsy and I both commented how surprised we were at the beauty of this state. So far it is one of our favorites including the Rockies. Kansas - not so much.

Clarksville, Arkansas Tuesday June 21, 2012

66 miles and 2 flats today. The tires are starting to show the wear and tear of the trip. Time to start looking for new ones.I moved the back tire to the front to see if that helps. We changed one flat while at a fruit stand along the road. Great peaches and grapes. The owners son (Anthony) "helped". We met a local man there who was buying fruit who was also a road biker. He had ridden across Arkansas and Georgia last year. He gave us some tips and advise on route. The derailer that was bent in Colorado is giving us more and more trouble, The bike is jumping gears in the mid-ranges despite our best efforts on many of the climbs and the barrel adjuster was stripped the same time the derailer was bent. Looking ahead there may be a bike shop in Russellville. Hopefully they will have some parts. Either way the bike is working well enough to make it. The weather is hot and humid but Betsy,s Camel- Back loaded with ice water gives us plenty of cold water to drink. She refills it at the local convenience stores we come across. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Most motorists are very courteous. We average one idiot on the road a day. Not bad considering.

ARKANSAS !!!

We arrived at Van Buren, Arkansas at 4PM today. We took the route less travelled and lots of hills. The good news - what goes up usually comes down, the bad news - what comes down usually goes up - and that my friends sums up our day. We did 65 miles of heat and hills but Betsy and I both commented this was one of the better days on the bike. The difference seems to be that we got an early start. We had 50 miles under our saddles before noon. We stopped at the Sunshine Cafe in Natural Dam, Arkansas and met a number of friendly and notable people. The ones that come to mind are "Christy" originally from Eugene, Oregon who waited on us for the meal and the "Hobson's" a couple who talked with us at length and offered advice on our route through Arkansas and kindly gave us a state road map (which we had been unable to find), and the guys sitting on the front porch of the cafe who jokingly told us we only had one big hill to climb during the last 15 miles to our hotel (they lied). This is the 5th state since we started our adventure. On to Clarksville, AR in the morning.

Tahlequah, OK

50 miles today. Still hot and humid as you would expect, but we actually had a tailwind (sort of) for the last 6 miles. Lots of hills as usual but also lots of trees. This is not Kansas anymore. Thank Goodness!!! Pizza tonight and sleep early. a little less than 70 miles is on the schedule for tomorrow and we will be leaving Oklahoma behind and starting our travel through Arkansas.

Pryor, Oklahoma 16 June 2012

4th flat today. Not bad for 1300 miles. 90 degree's and 90% humidity. We arrived at our scheduled stop of a Holiday Inn Express at 4PM. The first room, the locks did not work and we had to call the front desk to let us out. This resulted in room change number 1. Then the next room would not lock. This resulted in room change number 2 and resulted in an upgrade to a suite. Head winds as usual but all in all a good day. On to Tahlequah, Ok on Fathers Day.

OWASO, OKLAHOMA

40 miles today due sout,h and of course the wind was out of the west today. Nice ride though. Betsy and I had 2 of the best cheese burgers we have had for awhile at a litlle road side cafe halfway here. Our legs are still tired but improving. It is on to Pryor, Oklahoma in the am. Rolling hills. We are learning to go where the cars go as much as possible unless we want to ride an extra 20 miles and have a lot more climbs. Today was a good day. We got in early enough to walk around the area and window shop and have a nice dinner instead of pizza in the room.

Bartlesville, Oklahoma

95 miles, 90% humidity and 100 degree temperatures. I have to say this was one of the toughest days on a bike ever, (including France last year and the Rockies this year). Oklahoma has plenty of hills and we did more than our share of climbing. We started at 0845 Am and pulled into our hotel at 745PM last night. Pizza - gin and tonic - milk duds for desert and sleep. We slept in this morning and now are preparing to ride to a suburb of Tulsa (50 miles). It rained 1 and 1/2 inches last night so should be cooler but still humid. The native american culture throughout the state has been very interesting.

Newkirk, Oklahoma 12June 2012

We got a bit of a late start this morning. Enterprise didn't open until 7:30, but we had turned in our rental car and were riding away from Derby, KS (a subburb of Witchita) by 7:45. Thankfully the temperature around noon was "only" in the upper 80's-much cooler than the triple digits we've endured the past few days. Bob and I did note the humidity though. But it's nothing compared to what we're getting ready to suffer the more S.E. we get. The wind, although still a pain in our ass (literally), was also a lot less intense today. Tonight it's really blowing out of the E/SE. Hope it changes direction by morning and blows us right down the road. We both noticed the humidity today. Nothing compared to what we're getting ready to experience the more E/SE we get. Tonight we're staying at a the First Council Hotel/Casino in Newkirk. Interesting history. It's only been open for a couple if years.

Witchita, Ks 11June 2012

Much more than a rest day by far. I awoke at 1AM with the sudden realization that the plastic bag of clothing that I had used for a pillow (all my bike clothing except what I wore that day) had been left at the previous nights hotel (Syracruse) 55 miles downwind and west of Garden City where we spent the night. Neither Betsy or I were up to riding that 50 miles back, spending the night and then re-riding that same 55 miles up wind once again. Additionally the weather report was for 20 to 30 mile hour winds out of (surprise) the southeast, the exact direction we needed to head after we recovered my bike clothing. We elected to fast forward by renting a small suv that we could carry the bike with, drove back to Syracuse and recovered the clothing, turned around and then fast forwarded to Witchita on a one way rental to put part of Kansas behind us. Good decision. It was difficult to even hold the car on the road, biking would and was not an option. So here we are in Witchita and heading to Oklahoma in the morning. Once again the weather calls for 15 to 25mph sse winds. I can't say that we will miss Kansas. Betsy has reminded me that it is all part of the adventure. It was nice to rest today.

GARDEN CITY KS

50 miles of head winds and our 3rd flat of the trip 10 miles out of our destination, Garden City, KS. A nice gentleman (Kevin Stapleton) stopped while we were changing our tire and helped hold the back of the bike up. Unfortuately we are getting used to riding in the wind. We stopped for lunch at a Subway in Lakin, KS after 25 miles this afternoon and met a very nice couple from Tennessee (Charlie and Teresa Barnard) who were on their own cycle adventure (motorcycle). We had a nice visit. Charlie is a bicyclist also. He owns a Giant bicycle. We are off to Dodge City, Kansas tomorrow and hopefully with no wind or at least a tail wind.

Kansas !!!

Colorado is behind us and we are spending the night in Syracuse, Kansas at the only motel in town. We started the day with a flat tire and then delt with 25 to 35 mile per hour cross winds from the north for the entire 50 miles here. The good news was the temperature was in the 80's today. We even needed arm warmers in the morning. We have decided to strike out entirely on our own route in the interest of time. We are heading to Anniston, Alabama by the most direct route which means via Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama. From Anniston we will head to Atlanta via a rails to trail route that runs over a hundred miles and visit Stacey and Jeff enroute to Savannah. Tomorrow the weather calls for 10 to 15 mile per hour head winds for our 50 mile trip to Garden City, Kansas for the night. Kansas is just as senic as you would expect.

Lamar, Colorado---HOT!!! HOT!!! HOT!!!

Thank goodness we planned for the weather. Lamar was the hot spot for the state of Colorado with a high temperature of 105F at 330PM. We arrived at our scheduled hotel at noon and it was already 100f. We left La Junta at 7AM and averaged right at 18mph with a slight tail wind. We stopped for coffee in a little town (think Vale) called Las Animas. Talk about small town Americana. The locals were in the process of practicing their roping skills with calves at the county fairgrounds that we rode by on the way into town. We were about to settle for gas station coffee when we spied "Jackie's Java" coffee shop. What an unexpected oasis at 9AM and 20 miles into a 60 mile ride. We spent 45 minutes drinking coffee and visiting. I told the owner that we had decided to strike out on our own route and he assured me that we had made the correct decision as he described the desolation of the route that highway 96 went through. He said we were by far not the first cyclists to make the same option. The next stop was a country store inHasty, Colorado. We sat in the shade and visited with the owner (the store is for sale) and other customers while Betsy cooled down with ice and I drank a Mountain Dew. We met a couple from Missouri who had driven to Eastern Colorado to shoot "praire dogs"(of which there are plenty). We then rolled into a truck stop at 1130 just in time to partake of their salad bar (pretty good). We then pushed on the last few miles to our hotel and arrived shortly after noon and the tempurature was already 100f. HOT!! HOT!! HOT!!. All in all still a great day to be on the bike. Beats working. I could get used to this. Anyone want to give me a few hundred thousand dollars so I can continue to do this?? Just a thought. Probably not a good retirement plan.

Sue Sponte (Of our own accord)

We are in La Junta (the junction) Colorado. We biked for total of 72 miles today. The last 3 hours were 95 to 100 degrees with a stiff head wind. So much for the myth that the winds are primarily from the west. Betsy survived with her cooling collar and an ice bag in her jersy pocket. We got a late start out of Pueblo to allow time to mail home the last package of stuff we no longer needed with the cold temperatures of the Rockies behind us. We were initially directed to a UPS center only to find that it was a distribution center and they were unable to directly accept any packages, so we then navigated through Pueblos morning rush hour traffic to a post office to mail the package. After all that we had 15 miles on the bike before we even made our way back to the bike route. Speaking of the bike route. Route 96 and route 50 shared the same road for the first 15 miles after you leave Pueblo. When route 96 split off from route 50 the surface turned to crap to ride on and we were unable to secure any motel rooms for the next 2 nights. Neither Betsy or I were enamored with the idea of sleeping in the desert in a tent once again so we elected to stay on route 50 with a great surface and shoulder (and many more services)and rejoin the Trans America route when the 2 routes cross paths once again in 3 or 4 days. Hence the title of this post which is part of the Ranger Creed. We are taking route 50 for a 55 mile ride to Lamar, Colorado in the morning and on to Kansas on Sunday. The bike is working great by the way thanks to Vance of Vances Bicycle World.

"Descent" to Pueblo

We have reaffirmed that there is no such thing as all down hill, regardless of the elevation profile on the map. We climbed and descended all day long. We met a nice gentleman from Switzerland, (Joe), heading west and we had a nice visit. He left from Washington, DC 6 weeks ago and is heading to Seattle. He quit his job at Addias to tour America for 3 months. We offered him a bed if he goes through Ontario. Part of the pannier caught in the rear derailer as we were coming into Pueblo after 52 miles and resulted in a broken chain and bent rear derailer. We were able to reair the chain and push the derailer fairly straight and limp to a bicycle shop where we met another guardian angel named "Vance" who happened to own Vance's Bicycle world. He not only replaced the chain - he totally retuned the bike and tightened the left side drive chain, straightened the rear derailer, and gave me a beer to drink as he instructed me on some of the finer points of bicycle repair. He did tell me that I did better than most as he did not have to go pick me up on the highway. The rockies are behind us and we are heading out into the plains and weird and unpredictable weather. Another great day to be together and to be on a bike.

Canon City, Colorado

75 miles today and we descended from over 10000 ft to 5800 ft. We climbed over 3 passes enroute here including crossing the Continental Divide for the 6th and last time. A relatively short ride to eastern Pueblo tomorrow primarily to set us up to be able to ride 60 to 80 miles per day after that through Kansas and still be near to a town large enough to have a motel each night. Severe thunderstroms tonight and tornado watch. We got in just in time. We will probably send home most of our cold weather gear from Pueblo, The temperature this afternoon was just shy of 90.

Hoosier Pass Colorado

We were really questioning whether we could pull that 75lb trailer up and over 11000 feet, (the altitude has been kicking our butts), but with Betsy's encouragement and legs we did it. We climbed over Hoosier Pass the highest point on the Trans-America Bicycle Route. We met 2 really nice guys (Dave and Devin)from the midwest who happened to summit at the same time as us, only they were heading west. After hugs and pictures we gave them contact information for Ontario Road Bikers and our home address to eat, shower, and sleep when they come through Ontario/Vale in a month or so. We told them to check out Jolts and Juice. We know they will feel welcome. We are staying in Fairplay, Co tonight and on to Canon City, Co tomorrow,(76 miles). "Rocky Mountain High-Colorado" by John Denver--For you Jason and Stacey!! Happy Anniversary Stacey and Jeff.

Breckenridge

A short day once again today, but we have not taken a rest day. We climbed 1500 feet and 20 miles from Silverthorne to Breckenridge. Hoosier Pass is in the morning and we will climb up to over 11700 ft. Thunderstorms every day starting at noon, which means an early start is not an option, but required. We met a nice guy from Portland, Oregon who has relocated to Dillon. A nice chat and he took our picture for us. Nice day. Nice ski resort, I will return.

Bike Repair and climb to Silverthorne

Hooray!! The front derailer works. The bike shop in Kremmling was essentially a part time Mountain Bike shop, but between John's tools and bike stand (the owner of the shop) and our combined trial and error we were able to replace the front derailer cable and index the front derailer to work reasonably well. After 2 1/2 hours working on the bike, Betsy and I pulled out of Kremmling at noon for the 40 mile and 1200 foot climb up to Silverthorne. Today was scheduled to be a rest day but we elected to stage a slow climb to Breckenridge and our final climb from Breckenridge over Hoosier Pass with an elevation of 11542 feet. The highest point on the TransAmerica Bike Route. We will be climbing for 11 miles from Breckenridge (9600 ft) to the Pass at 11542 ft. Whew!! Makes us nervous.

Kremmling, Colorado

Arrived in Kremmling, Colorado after going over Willow Creek Pass (9767 ft). We saw numerous antelope, prairie dogs, and believe it or not a cow moose and a yearling bull moose. Total mileage today was 80 miles. As it turns out we could have gone a different route and gone only 62 miles with a lot less climbing, but we went with the Bicycle Touring Map route which avoided the major highway 40 but added on 20 miles and over 2000 feet of climbing. We literally arrived at our hotel in a spring storm of 40 to 50 mile hour winds, rain, and lightning. We threw a chain 5 miles out of town and had to unload the trailer and free up the chain that was jammed between the front derailer and the bike frame. I have touched base with a local bike shop and John Manning (the bike shop owner) who

has graciously agreed to work on our bike at 830am in the morning (a Sunday). It is on to Silverthorne tomorrow for a 30 to 40 mile day of climbing and rest if the bike is ready in time. All in all today was a good day to be on a bike.

Arrived

Walden, Colorado

A little over 50 miles of climbing and we have arrived in Walden, Colorado for the night. We are now up to 8300 feet elevation with a climb thru Willow Creek Pass at an elevation of 9621 ft scheduled for tomorrow. We stopped at a post office today and sent home 25 lbs of stuff that we had yet to use and decided to shed the pounds for the climbs. If we have not used it by now we do not need it. We are headed to Kremmling, Colorado and I have already touched base with a bike shop and mechanic

there to replace the front derailer cable and fix what I probably screwed up when I tried to "fix it". Thank goodness Co-Motion makes a great bike that stands up to all kinds of abuse including inept repairs. The climbing keeps getting tougher every day and 20 to 40 mile winds are the usual, sometimes a help and sometimes not so much. Betsy continues to amaze me with her strength as a stoker and her patience with my moods. Guess that is why we have been married for 36 years. I think this is bringing us even closer.

We're in Riverside, Wy

Flat number 2 today. The good news is that it happend at the hotel before we even left this morning. However, the bad news is that the front derailer cable is fraying and trying to break. The bad news; we only have 2 front gears. The good news; we have 2 front gears and 1 of them is our granny gear. We're climbing for the next 3 or 4 days and will not be using the big ring that much anyway. Worse case we climb with nothing but the granny gear up front and coast to Pueblo. There used to be a bike shop in Rawlings, unfortunately he passed away. Next possibility for a bike shop is Breckenridge at least 2 days away and at 9500 feet. Brings back visions of looking for a bike shop in France. We met a guy from the Netherlands heading to Portland on his own, on the way here today. We had a nice visit for a few minutes on the side of the rode. We recommended that he have a brew at Jolts on his way thru. We are staying at Lazy Acres campground tonight. Very nice cabin. On to Walden tomorrow.