Thursday, November 05, 2009
Bike Across the USA – The 'L' Word
Borrowing from an NFL sportswriter I offer up the following observations from the cross-country bicycle trek
I loved the excitement of setting out for a pre-dawn departure. The chill in the air was ever present, especially in the desert. The anticipation of the cold air inversion just after dawn always added a little uncertainty as to whether I was overdressed or underdressed for the start of the ride.
I loathed waiting for the weather conditions to clear up to start a ride after psyching up for an early morning start. The weather forecasts were abysmal, especially with respect to the timing of the rain storms and direction/speed of the wind.
I loved cresting a mountain pass and surveying the serpentine road before me. The panorama of distant ranges in all directions was breathtaking.
I loathed grasping my hands tightly on my hand brakes on a steep descent over slick wet pavement or rugged road surface conditions. After the paying the price for the ascent, the 3-4 mph descent was one of the injustices in life that you just have to accept for safety's sake.
I loved the random encounter with wildlife animals as they darted here and there along the roadside or crossing in front of me. Deer, aardvark, opossum, raccoon, beaver, skunk were frequent visitors depending on the locale.
I loathed the putrid smell of roadkill and the splayed out internal organs of the animals after the scavenger birds had their first passes at them.
I loved the unexpected sights along the way that would easily go unnoticed in a car. Some noteworthy ones that I previously commenting on were the caterpillars scampering along the shoulder, the locusts pelting me on my shins, and the cotton ball drifts along the roadside in the aftermath of a recent harvest.
I loathed the expected crap on the shoulders. The shredded truck tires, the thick fallen tree branches forcing a sudden veering, the rocks, cables, bolts, chains, and broken glass that made venturing along the shoulder a far too hazardous undertaking.
I loved the vehicles that put on their turn signals to change lanes when approaching from behind and then actually getting fully into the other lane.
I loved seeing a state trooper pulling over a car that did not provide sufficient margin for passing me.
I loathed the truckers with very small brains and even smaller personal body parts, but with big rigs and loud horns to compensate for their inadequacies, who got away with terrorizing cyclists who have every bit as much right to the road as they did.
I loved a steady push from a tailwind on a long century ride. Climbing mountains is hard enough work.
I loathed 60 mph crosswinds that pushed me into traffic and literally forced me to inch along with one foot on the ground at times. This was probably the scariest part of the entire trip.
I loved the quiet times to relax with Karen, such as the wonderful dinner overlooking the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City.
I loved the smooth pavement throughout almost all of the back roads of Georgia.
I loathed macademized pavement, especially in New Mexico which was the worst.
I loved watching the fog lift as the early morning sun burned it off in New Mexico and Alabama.
I loathed the incessant southerly cross winds through Oklahoma that provided a constant reminder as to how plain and monotonous these stages of the trip were.
I loved the final moments of the trek, dipping my wheel into the Atlantic Ocean and triumphantly raising the bicycle over my head. It felt like the physical equivalent of achieving my Ph.D. with the years of training being the coursework, the hundreds of hours of planning being the thesis research, and the actual trek being the thesis and defense.
I loathed forgetting to mention all the others that corresponded through Karen and offered support - Jen, Becky, Chandra, Pam, Tom, Katherine, Clark, Mary, Sara, and especially Jason for his desert advice.
Thanks to all of the others that followed my blog and wished me well that Karen or I may have overlooked.
I loved the excitement of setting out for a pre-dawn departure. The chill in the air was ever present, especially in the desert. The anticipation of the cold air inversion just after dawn always added a little uncertainty as to whether I was overdressed or underdressed for the start of the ride.
I loathed waiting for the weather conditions to clear up to start a ride after psyching up for an early morning start. The weather forecasts were abysmal, especially with respect to the timing of the rain storms and direction/speed of the wind.
I loved cresting a mountain pass and surveying the serpentine road before me. The panorama of distant ranges in all directions was breathtaking.
I loathed grasping my hands tightly on my hand brakes on a steep descent over slick wet pavement or rugged road surface conditions. After the paying the price for the ascent, the 3-4 mph descent was one of the injustices in life that you just have to accept for safety's sake.
I loved the random encounter with wildlife animals as they darted here and there along the roadside or crossing in front of me. Deer, aardvark, opossum, raccoon, beaver, skunk were frequent visitors depending on the locale.
I loathed the putrid smell of roadkill and the splayed out internal organs of the animals after the scavenger birds had their first passes at them.
I loved the unexpected sights along the way that would easily go unnoticed in a car. Some noteworthy ones that I previously commenting on were the caterpillars scampering along the shoulder, the locusts pelting me on my shins, and the cotton ball drifts along the roadside in the aftermath of a recent harvest.
I loathed the expected crap on the shoulders. The shredded truck tires, the thick fallen tree branches forcing a sudden veering, the rocks, cables, bolts, chains, and broken glass that made venturing along the shoulder a far too hazardous undertaking.
I loved the vehicles that put on their turn signals to change lanes when approaching from behind and then actually getting fully into the other lane.
I loathed the vehicles that honked their horns when approaching, not to give me a heads up that they were approaching, but out of annoyance which they expressed by veering into me as close as they could get.
I loved seeing a state trooper pulling over a car that did not provide sufficient margin for passing me.
I loathed the truckers with very small brains and even smaller personal body parts, but with big rigs and loud horns to compensate for their inadequacies, who got away with terrorizing cyclists who have every bit as much right to the road as they did.
I loved a steady push from a tailwind on a long century ride. Climbing mountains is hard enough work.
I loathed 60 mph crosswinds that pushed me into traffic and literally forced me to inch along with one foot on the ground at times. This was probably the scariest part of the entire trip.
I loved the quiet times to relax with Karen, such as the wonderful dinner overlooking the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City.
I loathed the restlessness of breaking my mental rhythm on our last rest day in Columbus GA.
I loved the interesting people I met along the way, such as Ken the single speed cyclist, David the fellow cross country adventurer, and the forestry professor who rode part of the old Route 66 with me.
I loathed the annoying hotel manager who would not take responsibility for the incompetence of the front desk staff that gave strangers access to out motel room. This could very well have ended our trek.
I loved the little pleasant surprises such as the quaint clanging bridge near Winslow, the llamas and sheep loitering along the roadside, and the creative adjustments to the route when roads that were supposed to go through were closed, but other shortcuts not available on maps made themselves apparent.
I loathed the expected but all too frequent flat tires which seemed to be never ending during my stretch through Arizona and New Mexico.
I loved visiting with family. The time with Tom and Danette in Santa Fe was memorable. Visiting with Diane and Tom in Fort Smith was a real treat.
I loathed the isolation of 8 hours of non-stop rain in gutting out the 80 miles from Fort Smith to Russelville. What a way to start back off after a rest day. Perhaps this is why I dreaded the last rest day so much.
I loved the interesting people I met along the way, such as Ken the single speed cyclist, David the fellow cross country adventurer, and the forestry professor who rode part of the old Route 66 with me.
I loathed the annoying hotel manager who would not take responsibility for the incompetence of the front desk staff that gave strangers access to out motel room. This could very well have ended our trek.
I loved the little pleasant surprises such as the quaint clanging bridge near Winslow, the llamas and sheep loitering along the roadside, and the creative adjustments to the route when roads that were supposed to go through were closed, but other shortcuts not available on maps made themselves apparent.
I loathed the expected but all too frequent flat tires which seemed to be never ending during my stretch through Arizona and New Mexico.
I loved visiting with family. The time with Tom and Danette in Santa Fe was memorable. Visiting with Diane and Tom in Fort Smith was a real treat.
I loathed the isolation of 8 hours of non-stop rain in gutting out the 80 miles from Fort Smith to Russelville. What a way to start back off after a rest day. Perhaps this is why I dreaded the last rest day so much.
I loved the smooth pavement throughout almost all of the back roads of Georgia.
I loathed macademized pavement, especially in New Mexico which was the worst.
I loved watching the fog lift as the early morning sun burned it off in New Mexico and Alabama.
I loathed the incessant southerly cross winds through Oklahoma that provided a constant reminder as to how plain and monotonous these stages of the trip were.
I loved the final moments of the trek, dipping my wheel into the Atlantic Ocean and triumphantly raising the bicycle over my head. It felt like the physical equivalent of achieving my Ph.D. with the years of training being the coursework, the hundreds of hours of planning being the thesis research, and the actual trek being the thesis and defense.
I loathed forgetting to mention all the others that corresponded through Karen and offered support - Jen, Becky, Chandra, Pam, Tom, Katherine, Clark, Mary, Sara, and especially Jason for his desert advice.
Thanks to all of the others that followed my blog and wished me well that Karen or I may have overlooked.
# posted by xltd @ 11/05/2009 06:47:00 AM 
Comments:
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Russ and Karen
What an accomplishment! We're glad that you made it safely. Drive carefully.
Love,
Tom and Diane
What an accomplishment! We're glad that you made it safely. Drive carefully.
Love,
Tom and Diane
# posted by 
: November 05, 2009 8:20 PM
: November 05, 2009 8:20 PM << Home
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