Today was an unforgettable day of beauty, difficulty and teamwork. Uncle Tom and Aunt Debby let us know the road conditions from Brawley to Blythe. So we were prepared for lack of shoulder and dips which made for no line of site.
They also shared more about the Algodones Dunes (45 miles long and 6 miles wide) near the old train stop of Glamis. Not only will the dunes mesmerize you with their ever changing beauty, they are a heap of off road fun!
What we weren’t prepared for is the relentless strong headwinds. All. Day. Long.
The blowing sand was everywhere and I felt like I was eating a sand sandwich. 😂
Later when the wind picked up and the line of sight diminished due to dips in the road and no shoulder, I wondered if we should just throw down off the road somewhere and put up the tent to get some relief but Tom thought we could get through it. And since he pulled all day, least I could do was follow if he was willing to lead.
If ever the road shifted and it wasn’t a direct wind, at times it was difficult to keep the bike upright with the side wind.
We stopped short of Blythe due to daylight and well… we were tired and hungry. After snagging a cozy site aside the Colorado River, we put up the tent, locked bikes, changed clothes and ate our breakfast burritos for dinner.
What a day to remember! And what an excellent training day! 💨🚴🏼♂️🚴🏼♀️
Thanks for the send off, Cali! Tomorrow we cross the Arizona state line!
To view more pics and vids click on the image below:
So today we rode just a little over 20 miles into Brawley as we are “laying up” in anticipation of longer mileage tomorrow. Supposedly there aren’t any places to camp or hotels for quite a distance.
Speaking of hotels… let’s just say we may be getting soft with three hotel stays in a row. 🤣 Unheard of on the Gardner bike tours.
We started the day off with a two mile walk to Our Lady of Guadalupe with an obstacle course to navigate and some interesting signage along the route.
The “We’re Number One for Number Two” in toilet rentals? How clever!
Once underway we began riding through the Imperial Valley which might be considered one big giant garden of sugar beets, alfalfa, lettuce and you guessed it… carrots. We kept seeing carrots all over the road and couldn’t figure out why. Had to snag a souvy for the road.
Something else to love about the Imperial Valley… during winter months the Valley averages more than eight hours of sunshine a day, which is the most sunlight of any place in the US. And that just makes me smile when I see this right outside my door.
The highlight of the day however was rendezvousing with my Uncle Tom and Aunt Debby (great names for a couple, eh?) on Highway 111. They were on their way from Arizona to California. Pics, hugs, and a brief chat will have to do until we celebrate the wedding of Tommy “Squirrel” and Bailey when we get back to Indy.
Wind advisory tomorrow for the Imperial Valley: NW winds 25-30 mph with gusts up to 50. Oh my what if it’s a tailwind? What if it’s a headwind? 😩 Whatever it is I’m sure there will be at least a few dust devils cycling through the dunes around Glamis.
To view more pics and vids click on the image below.
Our ride followed the border wall for most of the day and we got closest to touching it riding through the small town of Jacumba.
We knew we had a big descent this morning and oh how sweet it was to bomb down it. And it was on I-8 so big wide shoulders provided a “no holding back downhill ride.” At nine miles it was one of the most exhilarating rides I can remember.
We also knew it would be cold with the headwind so we layered up. I tried to get video on my iPhone of the spectacular scenery but I got going way too fast on my bike to steer one handed and I didn’t bring the GoPro this trip.
After the descent we began a 33 mile section of flats that in some places, were below sea level. Such a different ride from yesterday. 😅
As we road into Calexico we cycled through the immense solar farm known as the Imperial Valley Solar Project. It was IMPRESSIVE and one of the largest in the world.
We stopped in Jack In The Box in Calexico for lunch and were ready to head out 25 more miles after having put in 58 miles already but then thought twice about putting two 80 mile days in back to back. So we decided to pivot and get a room for showers, laundry, a proper meal and some football playoff games. ‘Cause you know, we’re on vacay.
Thanks so much for following along, for your encouraging words, prayers and thoughts.
More of the same today with regard to sun, bluebird skies and climb but dang it’s like we’re in Bicycle Bootcamp with the headwind. It was cold and relentless most of the day – so much so, we didn’t make it to our planned stop.
We woke up very cold despite sleeping in our puffy coats and other cold weather clothing but the rain the night before made everything wet and damp (and colder).🥶
Remember Dahlia mentioning the aggressive male turkey when we checked in?
Well guess who showed up for breakfast and then chased us out of the campsite because we had no turkey kibble for him and his lady friend.
Because of the rain last night Tom had to pack up the tent soaking wet which made for very cold hands and a heavier load. We dried it out for a while but were anxious to get back down to reasonable elevation so it would be warmer to camp tonight. Remember that we are on an “Escape the Cold” bike tour.
Early in the day the route took us on the Interstate, or Freeway as they call it out here.
Once off I-8 we began a series of ups and downs and the headwind amped up. We road even less distance today but with more elevation. Tom was doing great waiting for me when I dropped back but my stamina was diminishing. We were running out of light again, and determined we wouldn’t make the next 18 miles down hill to camp in warmer temps before the sun dropped behind the mountains. So we splurged on a small local motel.
Lots of reasons to smile today though! Mid day Tom found the perfect place to make lunch, water down and take a bio break.
And we did make it up and over the Tecate Divide.
Tomorrow we WILL get off this bump!
And we will get a more substantial dinner. 😂
To view more pics and vids click on the image below.
We are on our way and what a day it was! After riding four miles to the official start line we tapped our tires in the Pacific Ocean, ready to ride east.
Since this could also be called the “Escape the cold weather and gray skies in Indy” tour, you could say today we got what we came for. Blue skies and bike shorts.
It was most all uphill today and we have little training so we’re taking it super easy. The way my legs felt after riding just over 40 miles with some respectable elevation helped me appreciate all the training rides we did to prepare for other bike tours. Training matters! We figure in 1-2 weeks of riding everyday we should be good to go.
The bike ride out out of San Diego went smoothly and at the beginning it was mostly bike paths along the San Diego River. There was quite a bit of traffic in some areas but the bike lanes are well developed and cars appear to be used to sharing the road with cyclists.
One of our fave parts of the route today (besides pizza at Mike Hess Brewery and getting to the campsite) was riding through Mission Trails Regional Park on the Brother Junipero Serra Trail. It. Was. Spectacular.
We found a brewery/restaurant just five miles from our campground with amazing food and tasty bevvies. Even scored some carry out pizza.
And oh… we were told we wouldn’t encounter any bears on the ride yet here we are. I’m thinking this would work in our yard by our garden as a chipmunk deterrent.
It gets dark here super early and when the sun goes down it’s cold. We were in our tents by 5:45pm.
We knew there was rain in the forecast tonight and lows in the mid 30’s but when Dahlia checked us in she said to be careful. There’s an aggressive male turkey roaming about. That’s certainly a first for us. 🦃😂
Given we start our ride with a 13 mile climb, we’re really looking forward to that sweet descent toward the Imperial Valley.
We are camping on the beautiful lands owned by the Sovereign Nation of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. This proverb spoke to us.
Click on the image below for more pics and videos from today’s ride.
Yesterday and today our goal was to get to San Diego with bods and bikes in tact. Done and Done. ✅ ✅
Two on-time and comfortable flights on Southwest brought us to San Diego and we were even greeted by a rainbow.
As luck would have it, we scored one of Uber’s top 10 drivers in the nation. #NotEvenJoking
We met our first friend of the trip not on bikes but in an Uber. Since Porfirio has picked up well over 23,000 fares I considered asking him for his business card in case we need a lift up and over the Tecate Divide in a couple days. Instead he asked for our blog address card which we happily gave him.
Bikes came through travel without a hitch and in no time Tom had them reassembled and lubed up. We put bike bags on and decided we deserved a burrito for all of our efforts.
After Mass on Wednesday morning which happens to be Tom’s birthday 🥳 we took a stroll through Historic Old Town which took up most the morning until we did a little shake out bike ride to the start line where we will begin tomorrow at the Pacific Ocean, dip our rear tires in the water and then begin riding east.
There’s a bit of planning, a little luck and a lot of working together to get to the start of a 3,400 mile bike ride. And even more to reach the end. We’re ready to launch!
Click on the image below for more pics and videos.
Happy New Year all! In a little over a week we’re heading west to San Diego to begin our trip to Key West. Just the two of us. On our bikes.
It’s not our first cross country rodeo yet each one brings its doubts and questions. On our first ride in 2018, Northern Tier, we wondered, “Can we really even DO this?” Each day we pedaled further and our confidence grew to thinking in terms of WHEN we finish instead of IF we finish.
When we took on the Great Divide in 2021, border to border, we wondered if the elevation and the remote route itself would do us in. Taking it a day at a time we learned this old grandpa and grandma could still do some hard things.
So even though we’ve criss-crossed the continental US on bikes, we know Southern Tier won’t be a slam dunk. We haven’t had an opportunity to properly train outside (like, at all, no rides), loose dogs on the run are a “thing” in Louisiana and Mississippi (my biggest fret) and every day FOX and CNN report troublesome stories from our southern border in areas we will be riding through. And we’re riding our Salsa Cutthroat bikes which are better suited for gravel riding instead of road riding. None of those are show stoppers though so let’s go!
Why ride the Southern Tier route and why now? That’s what most of our pickleball buddies want to know. Check that out here.
Then, they want to know what we are going to take? Here’s Tom’s list and a photo of what he’s taking.
Here’s my list and a photo of what I’m taking. Oh and of course I’m taking my bike but it’s already boxed up and ready to go.
It’s overkill on the warm clothes but we think it’s going to be a little chilly when we start and hope to send a box of clothes home from New Orleans, along with the beads we score from Mardi Gras.
This is all we’ll need for about two months. Really gonna miss those pickleball paddles though!
Another FAQ. How are you and your bikes getting to San Diego? In the past we’ve taken our bikes with us on the Amtrak to the starting point. On our first cross country ride we took them to REI. They boxed up the bikes and sent them to Bellingham, WA where they reassembled them and we picked them up.
This time Tom did it all! He got used oversized e-bike boxes from a local bike shop. Then he took the bikes apart, secured them with leftover packing material and they are being shipped via BikeFlights to our hotel in San Diego where he will unbox and reassemble them. We’ve never done this before but lots of people have so let’s see how it goes. See the pics below for what they look like disassembled and what they look like loaded and ready to ride.
EVERYONE wants to know, what are we going to eat? We don’t take a stove and usually eat one meal a day in a restaurant so we just load up on snacks for a day (or two) until we find a convenience store. Below are the food items that should get us through the first few days. The route isn’t near as remote as others we’ve been on. And just so ya know, there’s four big ole Paydays in there (thanks Finn) and sorry kids, the Sno-Caps are already eaten. I really tried to wait. #NoWillPower
There is something about a long distance self-contained bike trip that recalibrates our gratitude meter. Right now we are especially grateful for our furnace, coffee that is ready when we roll out of bed at 4:30am every morning, the ability to go to the fridge for a cold bevvie, and an inside potty in the middle of the night. And let’s not forget about clean bed sheets. All soon gone but in exchange, we’ll find some new friends we’ve yet to meet, spend time outside on bikes every single day and maybe even see some stellar scenery. I’m sure we’ll get a couple of good stories out of the ride, too.
But beyond the conveniences of home, we know we are going to miss our family, friends and neighbors the most. There is nothing like the absence of loved ones that endear them to us even more.
We’d love to have you join us virtually from your hometown, your own winter escape or even as you begin to plan YOUR 2023 bike adventures. More to come from #TomNDeb
PS: You can subscribe to this blog by keying in your email. We’ll also post on Facebook and Instagram when we have updates.
As part of our Middle West Meander we headed south to the Flint Hills in Kansas. Although we mapped out a solid bikepacking route that would begin in Emporia and dip into parts of the Flint Hills Nature Trail and Prairie Spirit Trail and return to Emporia at the end of the day we opted out of bikepacking. Why?
Kansas was exceptionally hot the week before (highs in the low 100’s) and we thought it might be fun to do some loop riding instead of out and back rides since that’s what we just did on the Mickelson and Cowboy Trails.
So pivot we did to a car camping and cycling tour of the Flint Hills. Car camping opens up a LOT of options like finding drop-in pickleball games when it rains (we brought our paddles), seeing a movie, attending Mass, visiting local museums, and choosing restaurants and breweries based on preference instead of proximity.
We felt right at home in the town of Emporia. Did you know it is the founding city for Veterans Day? 🇺🇸 And it’s known for its robust glassblowing and engraving communities. Emporia is also considered the disc golf capital of the world and the main attraction for us? Her gravel roads. There is a cycling event held each year called Unbound Gravel and although we don’t race gravel bikes, we sure love to ride them. So we figured we’d download a couple of the routes from the Unbound event website.
Our plan worked well! There are SO many world class gravel roads to ride around Emporia it’s worth a return trip for us. Not to mention Radius Brewing. Their beer and scotch eggs are👌🏻
After a couple days in Emporia we moved on to towns along the Flint Hills Nature Trail including Osage City and Ottawa. I mean, we had a car so easy peasy.
As it turned out, it wasn’t the heat that was oppressive in Kansas. Instead we brought the farmers some much needed RAIN! And rain it did. Although it puts a crimp in riding at times, we were happy to oblige. ‘Cause like I said, when ya have your car, ya have lots of options.
By the end of our fling with the Flint Hills we’d ridden loops out of Emporia and Ottawa and long segments of the Flint Hills Nature Trail and Prairie Spirit Trail.
The last stop on our Middle West Meander was Stillwater, OK where the Mid South Gravel race is held each year. Again we snagged a 55 mile route from the event website to get our ride in for Oklahoma. The ride was a good mix of gravel, some red mud and even some swampy muck.
Our three week Middle West Meander couldn’t have gone any better. Plus on the way home we get to rendezvous with pickleball friends we met last March in Costa Rica and take in a Cardinals game in St. Louis.
Not gonna lie though… it’s not all rainbows and unicorns all the time. I have more skeeter bites on my body than I can count. Yesterday I drilled Tom in the face with my PB paddle because we both went for the same ball #ouch
And my sleeping pad popped a hole somewhere in New Mexico last summer and I forgot to replace/repair it before our ride so I had to blow it up again in the middle of the night every night 😂 And finally, the flies in cattle country. Dayum. I’ve never seen so many flies… they land on everything! Like my food- after they sit on 🐄 💩 All this and more comes with the territory and makes the easy days that much easier.
We’ve met some fellow bike travelers the past few weeks, most of them cycling across the country. It’s going to be a lot of fun keeping up with them when we get home. Pedal on friends, Mike and Steve aka the Ready Riders, Steve and Sissel from the UK, and Mike and Sue who are finishing up their last leg of pedaling the perimeter of the lower 48 states.
As for us, we have a couple of big bike tours in the hopper and we might try to squeeze in a five state bike tour of the North East before it’s time to start raking leaves in Indy.
Thanks so much for the follow everyone! 😊
Click on the image below for more pics and videos of our visit to the Flint Hills.
Oh Nebraska, how you surprised us with your bountiful landscapes and beautiful people. You can keep your headwinds but we’ll forever remember your kindness.
After finishing the Mickelson Trail in South Dakota we drove three hours to Valentine, did laundry, cleaned up a little and then set out the next day to ride 190 miles eastbound on The Cowboy Trail to Norfolk, Nebraska.
Day 1: Valentine to Bassett, NE | 67 miles, 440 feet of elevation climb
We first encountered Steve and Mike from Santa Barbara riding the Great Rail Trail. They actually diverted their westbound bike adventure and travelled through Indianapolis, our hometown!
Flatter than griddle cakes, this trail just about bucked us right off of it the first day. Yes it’s hot. Yes, it’s monotonously, yet beautifully flat. And yes we did get a late start but dang those goat heads! Right around Ainsworth we discovered narly little burrs in our tires, between 10-15 in each tire. These caused tiny punctures in our tires and when pulled out, air leaked before the hole sealed and repaired itself.
We figured if the entire trail was like that we’d have over 100 punctures on each tire by the time we got back to our car.
We cooked up a little din din and talked about bagging the rest of the ride. It was going to be stifling hot and the goat heads were waiting, not to mention a forecast calling for 20-30 mph headwinds.
We decided to wait until morning to literally see which way the winds were blowing. If it was a stiff headwind, we’d bag it and save ourselves some goat head grief.
Day 2: Bassett to Ewing, NE | 76 miles, 226 of elevation climb
We got up and rode to a nearby gas station for coffee then rode to the trail head in Bassett. Tom licked his finger, stuck it up into the already prevailing wind and… a side wind. Now what to do. Go forward or go back?
It was going to be 20-30 mile an hour wind day, temps of at least 100 degrees and would there be any more tire punctures?
Onward we went since we figured a side wind would feel the same whether we travelled east toward Norfolk or west back to our car. And we hadn’t picked up any more goat heads since Ainsworth.
We finished the day adding 12 more miles than we’d planned just to get to the town of Ewing that offered more services.
We found a city park adjacent to the baseball fields and pitched our tent near two other cross country cyclists. Anna and her son Tom are traveling eastbound and will finish their coast to coast ride in New York
Day 3: Ewing to Norfolk| 55 miles, 223 of elevation climb
We awoke to the sprinklers in the city park coming on at 5:11am. Since the forecast called for a warm, dry night we were sleeping with the tent fly off. Before the powerful water stream drenched the inside of our tent we scrambled out of it to get the fly on. Apparently we bed down near three sprinkler jets. Our UK neighbors got a morning surprise too.
Despite the day’s damp beginning, the rest of it was hot and dry and we reached the east end of the Cowboy Trail in Norfolk.
Day 4: Norfolk to Ewing, NE | 55 miles, 495 feet of elevation climb
The best part of the ride? No doubt it was the people! Whether it was chatting with early risers getting a coffee at the local gas station, or swapping stories at the local pub at the end of the day, we learned so much from everyone we met. Geri and Tim the kayakers, Don who had more stories to share than we had time to listen to, the octogenarians in Tilden and many more. Who knew about aquifers and that Nebraska sits on one of the largest in the world. Little wonder the corn looks gigantic. And why did cattlemen switch to raising Angus? And how do Nebraskans live so long, so well and so happy?
Day 5: Ewing to Bassett, NE | 70 miles, 535 feet of elevation climb
Finally a nice tail wind today! Other than that we enjoyed visiting the small towns we stopped in on the way out. Still flat. Still hot. Still riding in the right direction. And still finding humor in the way the cows looked at us when we rode by.
Day 6: Bassett to Valentine, NE | 64 miles, 869 feet of elevation climb
It was our last day of riding and we could smell the barn so to speak. I hadn’t climbed a top a hay roll since our cross country ride in 2018 soooo…
We were hot, hungry, thirsty, dusty and dirty but we were done. Once back to the car, we took the bags off the bikes, loaded the bikes on the car and took off for Emporia, Kansas via Kearney, Nebraska.
Note to cyclists: We’d heard the Cowboy Trail was a tough ride in the summer due to the open areas and exposure to sun, heat and wind. We’d also heard about the goat heads and the sandy surfaces that make riding a bike more difficult. There’s a little bit of the above but not enough to keep you from riding the trail.
The only part we encountered goat heads (sand spurs) was between Ainsworth and Johnstown. On our return ride to our car, we jumped on the road to avoid them. On another note, most all Nebraskans were uber courteous to cyclists and gave us plenty of room while passing. If you’re not cycling with tubeless tires, count on taking the highway between these two towns else you’ll undoubtedly get a flat tire (or two ore three).
Cycling with wider tires (we run Maxxis Ikons with a tubeless setup) will help you navigate the sandy parts of the trail which make up less than 5% of it. There are several stretches of exposed trail that when hot and windy make for challenging riding however there are towns almost every ten miles or so with water sources or c-stores. Not much you can do with a head wind except keep calm and pedal on.
Click on the image below to view more pics and videos of the Cowboy Trail.
We haven’t had our bikepacking bags on the Cuttys since we took them off in Antelope Wells last August. Needless to say, we were a bit rusty!
Undaunted and maybe even a little underprepared we set out to ride the George S. Mickelson trail from Edgemont, SD north, a little over 100 miles to Deadwood and then turn around and ride back to our car. Done and done!
On the drive out we stopped in Sioux City to check on a local brewery and so we’d also have time the next day to cruise around the Badlands and visit Custer State Park.
The scenery (even from the car) was spectacular. We chose some lesser travelled gravel roads once we got to Custer State Park and got to watch a lone bison for a while just doing what he does best, graze and grunt.
When we rejoined the Wildlife Loop, we found ourselves as others often do, surrounded by a huge herd of bison. They are magnificent! The herd was so close to our car if I rolled my window down I could have pet the critter.
Day 1: Edgemont to Hill City, 64 miles, 2677 feet of elevation climb
Super nice ride with a bit of a headwind at times. We did NOT expect that a nearly 40 mile climb at an average of 2% grade would have any effect at all on our legs. Whoops… like a headwind, it wears on ya. And since we were now hauling bags that made a difference.
There were three breweries close to our campsite in Hill City which happened to be a little off route but worth it. We camped at Firehouse Campground and had showers, wifi and electricity – all the necessities.
Day 2: Hill City to Deadwood, 51 miles, 2220 feet of elevation climb
We were looking forward to this part of the Mickelson as we’d run a marathon on it in 2015. It was even better than we remembered and we were shaking our heads in wonder about running uphill for the first 13 miles of the marathon. Cycling again on this day was stellar with bluebird skies and clear air.
At one of the trail heads we met Steve and Sissel who have come to the US from London to ride bikes from DC to Portland. Steve is FundRiding for Multiple Sclerosis. We exchanged notes on routes and gear as bike travelers often do and we were on our way.
Patrick and Janice, from Fort Collins, have been retired just one week and didn’t waste any time at all getting out in their RV and on their bikes.
Deadwood came early and we quickly found a campground at Whistler’s Gulch. Our camp host sent us to the “back 40” and straight up what seemed like Mt. Everest to tent site #10. Again it was gorgeous even if we did have to work for it. We unpacked bags, set up the tent, and took a dip in the pool (back down the hill) even though we had to improvise a little on bathing suits. 😬 Then into town we went, smelling more like chlorine than dust and sweat from the trail.
Day 3: Deadwood to Custer, 65 miles, 3050 feet of elevation climb
The days begin to melt into one another on bike tours. I’m always amazed that these old grandma and grandpa bodies of ours rise to the occasion without too much protest. The hardest part for me is getting up off the ground and out of the tent in the morning. 😂
We jumpstarted our 4 minute plank and 100 push ups a day routine. I mean I had to. Our grandson Archie squeezes my arms and tells me they’re “fluffy.” 😂
The coolest thing about the whole day was meeting Jerry Baldwin as he was out riding the Mickelson with his family. As a side note, Mr. Baldwin was a college roommate of former South Dakota governor George S. Mickelson for whom the trail is named. Gov. Mickelson’s life tragically ended early while he was still in office in a plane crash. Back to Jerry, now in his early eighties, he helped champion the creation and development of the Mickelson Trail. He explained that it wasn’t easy in the beginning. There was a lot of push back but he persevered. Not surprised and grateful for his vision, intelligence and persistence. #trailboss
Day 4: Custer to Edgemont, 45 miles, 515 feet of elevation climb.
Recall that first day coming out of Edgemont when we punched those pedals on a gradual uphill for about 40 miles? Well today we sailed down that grade for an easy cruise back to our car. And now it’s on to Nebraska for a spin on The Cowboy Trail.
Note to cyclists: The George S. Mickelson trail is the real deal! It’s a hallmark rail trail. It’s so well maintained with nary a rut or washboard to be found. There’s no litter and the edges of trail are well groomed. There are clean vault privies along the trail as well as shelters. Historical markers also highlight the trail’s past.
If you’re going to start in Edgemont as we did, the Edgemont campground will let you park there while you ride the trail. Their camping fee is just $15 and they provide bathrooms and showers. It’s a bit noisy however with the trains passing throughout the night hauling coal back and forth but that’s all part of the experience.
Click on the image below to view more pics and videos from our ride.
Keep Calm and Pedal On 