Sea to (Almost) Sea For Water

This is my first post about why I'm riding.  Here's where to donate to Water Life Hope . The couch at Charlie & Joe's place in Flagstaf It's been another few days without wifi.  There was something like wifi in Flagstaff, but it dropped enough packets to keep me from posting.  The campground in Winslow was hopeless and my phone was unhappy.  By the time we'd reached the Petrified forest my phone was happier but the wind was so strong any wireless transmissions were hopeless. So here's a dump of the last few days.  We've been feasting on tailwinds.  It can't last, but it's great right now.  And my eyes have ceased to be a problem.  Steve gave me his big sunglasses that wrap around my regular glasses.  With side pieces that protect me from the wind, it's sort of like having goggles.  Perfect. Ed the bus continues to be an invaluable asset, lent by our son Matt.  Many, many thanks. March 26: 19 miles, Ash Fork to Wil...

This is my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will flatten the hills in your path.  If you're a biker, and even if you're not, this is major.  Read on.   Flowering cactus in Needles Where on earth have we been? Arizona, a whole lot of which is off the grid.  No cell, no internet, nada.  And those are the places we have been.   So here's a summary, followed by the trip diary.   This part of the ride is a climb from the Colorado River in Needles, roughly 600 feet above sea level, to Flagstaff at 7900 feet above sea level.   There's just no graceful way to do it, but we're still having fun.   The main thing is to  keep eating and pedalling, pedalling and eating. Tomorrow will be the big climb, from about 5200 feet to 7900 feet.  Most of it will happen in the morning when we head to Williams (6765 feet).  One way or another though, we'll be in Flagstaff tomorrow night -...

Here's my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will resurrect the Great Library at Alexandria . March 21: Rest Day The rest day gave us a chance to do laundry, rearrange the bus and just stop pedalling for a while.  We got artificial tears for me, gave the bikes some love and got and provisions for making it through the Arizona desert to Flagstaff.   I found out that I hadn't done anything useful all week with my front camera.  My  rear camera  only works a day at a time.  So here's a piece of the ride coming into Needles, from the back of the bike.  I'll try to do better. Since I don't have a trip to report on today, here's a laundry list of trip stuff that needs a place in the blog. Some of the stuff you see on the road is concerning.   On the Cajon Pass I went past or over the remains of someone's rear-view mirror and an enormous cotter pin that looked like it came from a BOB trailer . ...

Here's my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will cheer up Eeyore . March 19: 68 miles, Ludlow to Fenner The ride was easier than we thought it would be.  We did get off earlier, and the ride was shorter and best of all we went downhill a really long way, 30 MPH sort of downhill.  Enormous trains curved through the valley as we moved through the thin desert air. The sign is still up at Roy's in Amboy, but you can't check in. Photo courtesy of Carol Maher We made it to Amboy , right by an enormous crater  after a couple of hours of riding.  It was early enough that a young European couple on bikes, he a Belgian and she a Spaniard, were just making breakfast.   He was a photographer, traveling with a tripod that appeared to be roughly the weight of a boat anchor.  Once they discovered that we had a support vehicle coming, and a bus at that, they asked for water.  It's the currency of the desert, five p...

This is my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will triple your fan base. A fellow traveler on Route 66 March 17: 45 miles, Apple Valley to Barstow We started at Anita Holmes' house in Apple Valley.  Anita is the last Warm Showers Host when you're about to cross the Mojave Desert, and the first when you emerge from it.   Both Anita and her faithful canine pal, Archie, serve this gateway mission faithfully.  We were simply the latest in a series of grateful bikers. I got going earlier than everyone else and made my way to the closest Episcopal church, St. Timothy's .  My expectation of a routine 8 AM service changed when the priest greeted me from the pulpit in mid-sermon.  By the time I was headed out a parishioner pressed a cash donation in my hand and a group of them were waving goodbye as we made our way back to Bicycle Route 66 . By this time we were really in the desert.  Traffic died down, and in Oro...

This is my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will give you more shopping days before Christmas. Carol and friend at the Wigwam Motel March 15: 28 miles or so, Ontario to someplace in San Bernardino, then Devore Carol, Steve and I rode out together along the Pacific Electric Inland Empire Trail  in the morning, enjoying riding together until Carol got a call from the hotel.  A truck driver said he couldn't leave due to the position of our bus.  So Steve dutifully headed back.  The problem was somehow solved before he arrived but no matter -- he was gone -- Carol and I continued.  Somewhere around Fontana a Santa Ana wind rose up, bending trees and blasting us.  We struggled against it, then made a turn and got a tailwind.  When I wasn't pedalling I was going 15 MPH, when I was pedalling I was going 23 MPH.  We persisted, finding the wigwam motel, a Route 66 landmark.  We thought we had the ride in ...

Here is my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will make Godot arrive promptly. Steve in the old neighborhood March 13: 25 miles We started a bit late on Wednesday, I'll allow.  Steve and I went down to Venice and hunted down a couple of places I used to live.  They were there, but the Marathon Meatless Mess Hall has vanished along with it's famous signs painted by my buddy Arnie, once the only fruitarian in the Texas penal system.   The whole place is more prosperous, or more precisely now demands prosperity.  The Arnies of the world have been banished. The bikes were all prepared the night before.   Cameras went on courtesy of friends  Paula  (donated a front light) and Charles (made a custom mount for the rear light).    We stocked food, and got more spare tubes Near the start of the ride .  So Carol and I headed to the Santa Monica Pier with some confidence....

This is my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will save Bambi's mother. Carol and me at the startpoint for the ride. It was difficult to get a shower and breakfast at the KOA this morning because the campground was carpeted with minor lakes.  Hard to drain something with the relief of a table top.  Cheerful folks at the campground clubhouse helped us get pancakes and coffee, and asked about our trip.  A couple of hours down the highway I believe one of them sent a donation to the fundraiser.  Thanks! We pulled out full, rested and happy and headed to I-10 through the continuing downpour.  The interstate was pretty low-key as we rolled through Arizona, just us and a couple of trucks.  The saguaro cactus ceased at the California line and we started to head towards blue sky.  Windmills around Palm Springs turned slowly in the spring winds.  As we came towards the Ontario airport it really started to be...

Here's my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will give you Jedi powers with expired coupons. There really is a Cosmic Campground The Cosmic Campground was so cosmic we got a rainbow on the way there.  Perhaps the rainbow was in celebration of leaving Texas for New Mexico.  In any case the campground was lovely, with the exception of the persistent downpour.  Occasionally the clouds would break a bit and you could see stars carpeting the heavens above.  There wasn't enough of a break to see the Milky Way but Carol assured me that we'd have more chances as we cross the Mojave Desert.  Still, the place was in a jaw-droppingly beautiful area, and pulled us off the interstates. This was our first foray into wild camping, and everything worked great.  We have an area that we curtain off in the front of the bus in the evening for changing clothes and using the porta potty.  The only thing we didn't test was th...

This is my first post about why I'm riding , and why donating to Water Life Hope will guarantee your spot on the holodeck. I'll start at what should be the end of the post, just because the picture's so cool.   We spent some time putting one of the signs on the bus before heading out of El Paso.   We have four signs, none of which we'd been able to attach before we left.  It has to be warm enough for the glue to stick.   Carol and I got one on the starboard side of the bus before heading towards the  Cosmic Campground .   Ed looks spiffy with signage on the starboard side. Carol and me at the Alamo. We stopped at the Alamo for pictures on the way out of town.  A nice Chinese man took pictures of Carol and me while Steve stayed with the very illegally parked bus.  Then we set off across Texas.  And boy is there a lot of it.  As we drove the land dried out and the trees thinned out to just plain scrub....

Here's my first post about why I'm riding and why donating to Water Life Hope will make alley cats sing in 4-part harmony. Carol, me and Steve about to take off. It was a seriously cold morning in Cartersville.  We had winter biking gear to wear, but that works when you're moving.  We stood next to Ed the bus while Carol's good-natured husband Patrick took pictures.  Once we got underway we found that Matt's testimonials about heat were on target. Matt had driven the bus from California to Colorado, then home to Georgia when he bought it.  The purchase was made in lieu of paying as much or somewhat more for moving services after working a couple of years in Boulder.  And it wasn't his first bus.   Matt is deeply sympatico with the bus as well, having swapped out the steering column to allow the steering wheel to tilt, and added cruise control to Ed's comforts.  While not quite the bus equivalent of giving birth, the procedure does prov...