Ride FAQ -- Probably a Work in Progress

Carol & Sara on their first ride

Here are some questions that people usually ask about the ride, with the best answers I have at the moment.  If your question isn't here, ask away.  Don't be shy.  Some of these answers need a longer explanation, and you can expect these to get their own blog entries.

And don't forget to donate to Water Life Hope.

The Fundraiser

Does the money we give fund the trip?

No.  0%.  Definitely not.  We don't touch the money.  You give it directly to Water Life Hope, and 100% goes to water projects.  No part of it goes to administration or fund raising.

How did the fundraiser happen?

I was at an Outreach meeting at Holy Trinity Parish (HTP), telling folks I was going to be gone for a while.  We started talking about using the trip as a fundraiser.  The parish has given to Water Life Hope over the years and its founder, Ed Buckley, goes to HTP and lives just a few blocks away from Steve and me.  It was stunningly obvious that this was what we should do.

Personnel

Who's going on this ride?

Steve in Stone Mountain

There are three of us most of the time.  My friend Carol, husband Steve and me (Sara).  Son Matthew is planning to join us for some portion of the trip.

That's Carol and me in the first picture, with the bicycles we were initially planning to ride.  We've all bought new bicycles for the trip, and they'll get their own post.  Steve is next, then Matt and me with the bicycle I unboxed in the first post.

Is this an organized ride?  Do you have support?

Matt and Sara with Sara's new bike

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: No company or organization is helping us, but we'll have more support than originally planned.  Carol and I initially planned this as the ultimate girl trip, riding the whole way by ourselves.  Steve decided to come along, then got injured shortly before the initial departure date.  During his recovery he decided he wasn't confident about riding the whole way.  Eventually we decided to convert a school bus to a bare-bones camper.   The bus is named Ed, and will get his own blog entry.

The plan is for Steve to drive to the end of each day's route, then ride back as far as he wants.  So we'll have a big metal tent to sleep in, won't have to carry all our stuff as long as Steve hangs in, etc.  

Carol and I are both packing as though we're riding loaded in case Steve has to leave for any reason.  He'll have to leave if we dawdle too long.  It's our son's bus, and he needs it to go to Bonnaroo.

Schedule and Progress

When are you leaving?

We are currently scheduled to leave for California March 5.  The bus isn't the fastest vehicle ever, and we can only handle the bouncing for so long each day.  So we're planning to get to Los Angeles by March 12, then start the ride from there.

How long will it take?

The current estimate is about 10 weeks.  That assumes roughly 300 miles per week, 60 miles per day with two days off bike per week, home by May 19.

On the other hand, this is a bicycle trip.  All kinds of things happen.  And we'll be heading across the Midwest in the spring.  I have been assured that all kinds of places have tornado shelters.  In any case, we have about 10 days that we can add to the schedule if we want.

There's also something of a movement to make this a true coast-to-coast ride by joining the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) in Ellijay on June 1.  That would get us home after BRAG ends in Darien on June 8.  We'll see.

Why now?

We decided to ride through the desert when it was relatively cool and, we hope, blooming.  That means starting in March.

Route

How do you know how which roads to take?

The Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) publishes maps with routes that they research and maintain.  We'll be using two routes, and winging it a bit, as the ACA doesn't have a suitable route for the last bit.  The background image for the blog shows our approximate route.  Here's the image again, unobscured.

• Bicycle Route 66 from Los Angeles to Sullivan, MO
• Great Rivers South from Sullivan, MO to Collinwood, TN
• We'll leave the map south of Collinwood and head to Florence, AL to tour the studios at Muscle Shoals, then head to Georgia.  We really don't have a fixed idea about how to get across Alabama, but we'll manage.  If you have information about current riding conditions or a route suggestion for crossing Alabama, please leave information in the comments below.
• We should join the Chief Ladiga Trail at some point, probably in Piedmont, AL.  From there it's easy to get home via the Silver Comet Trail.

Practical Arrangements

Who's taking care of your houses?

Carol's very understanding husband, Patrick, will be at her house.  Steve and my friend Michael has been living at our house for a good while, and will stay throughout our trip.

How can you take all this time off?

We're all retired.  I wasn't when the planning for the trip started, and am very lucky that the folks that I hoped would take over at the company where I've been a partner are doing well.  Carol and Steve had normal jobs, and retired like regular people.  I haven't had much time off over the 20 years that I've been doing the company, so the prospect of this trip is knee-buckling astonishing.