Jitters!

Map and Pics:  Click Here for Map and Pics.

What does it feel like?

Forty years ago this week I graduated from college and received a commission in the US Army Corps of Engineers. 56 of the 58 of us in that class went to Viet Nam. I was one of the two that was sent to West Germany to spend 240 nights a year nestled up in a sleeping bag against the Iron Curtain on the East German border. The feelings I have today are very similar to that first port call for duty overseas.

The picture that comes to mind is that of a 18 year old that just walked out of the US Marine Corps recruiting station toting a freshly used pen and a duffle bag. The recruiter has a smile from ear to ear; he met his quota today. The boy looks back, and life as he knew it has just changed forever, as he mumbles under his breath, "What did I just do to myself?"

This is the time to thank all those friends and family that have spoken words of encouragement to me. Wow! Folks I had not talked to in years are popping up and wishing me well. There was a get together of friends from our Sunday School class last light. Wow! I have never been so encouraged in my life. Thank you, everyone of you. Bless you, every one of you.

In 24 hours I will be on the airplane to San Francisco to meet 24 others with the same item on their bucket list. Until that port call I am a very busy person, and it is all good. Tonight is family night and then the reality will finally hit -- I will do the last of my packing. Yes, there will be those dreams tonight of that recruiter with the "I got another one" smile on his face.

Again, thank you for all the encouragement. Another thank you to those your are donating a penny or more per mile, or some donating dollars per day to their favorite charity unknown to me as a motivation for 'keeping on keeping on'. The knowledge there may be a new Gideon Bible being placed for every mile that I pedal puts a little zip in my cadence and more determination in my (shrinking) belly to 'go get that next mile!'  I am overwhelmed by some folks' generosity and humbled by the shining through of their better angels from within them. I am the richest man in the world having friends like you all.

The Bike

Map and Pics:  Click Here for Map and Pics.

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50 Pounds Ago...

 - Last November - My wife and I decided that yes - it is time to start working on the old 'Bucket List'. On the top of my list was to ride my bike from ocean to ocean, and Young encouraged me to take on that challenge!  We found an excellent used bike, a Scott CR1, and Young bought it for me for my birthday.

To the left is the 8x10" glossy the company markets. As is, the bike weighs a whopping 14 pounds. Earlier this month at the Ardmore, AL McDonald's (I do frequent quality control checks on their ice cream cones) a 3 year old was fascinated with the bike, along with an older brother and sister. I told the little boy to pick it up (it was taller than him) and he could! I wouldn't let his siblings try, and they reported back to their mother that there little brother was SuperBaby!

On a recent training ride from UA-Birmingham to UA-Huntsville (111 miles) I stopped by the Swann covered bridge near Cleveland, AL. Some obvious additions to the bike are:

1. Mud (it rained that morning)
2. Water bottles
3. Stem Post luggage carrier
4. My 'Life South' bag for rain gear and tools
5. Bungie Cord (my bike shops teases me about this)
6. New pedals. My weight asks a lot of pedals.

Some obvious things not on the bike:
1. A kickstand.  This is most annoying.
2. A lock. This puppy ain't leaving my sight. I bring it into McD's with me.
3. An Engine.

Route

Welcome to my xCountryRyder Blog.  This summer, I will be riding my bike from Pacific to Atlantic (San Francisco to Maine).  I will be updating this blog whenever I get the chance along my journey.  

Here is an overview of my route:

If you would like to follow my trip through pictures and through an interactive map, please visit Click Here for Map and Pics.

The daily climb (the last column) is my significant statistic. That is only up, not up less down. Day 4 is the consistent grind up and over Donner's Pass. Coming down the east side is a scream, literally - it is very steep and speeds of 50 mph+ on a bike is not unheard of. In practice I have only been in the 40's on the mountains here in Alabama. (My coach mentioned... hmmm... hate to break the news to you... what you have in Alabama are not exactly mountains.  Next week I will be introduced formally to mountains.) Days 50th and 51st are rough, but nobody ever gives up that late in the challenge.  The roads in the east are much steeper and the New Englanders are so proud of them that we seem to go over the same hills a dozen times.  The first day of the ride has the steepest climb on the entire route, a 17% climb.

Notes on Donner Pass (Wikipedia) Donner Pass (el. 7,056 ft (2,151 m))^[1] is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake about 9 miles (14 km) west of Truckee, California. It has a steep approach from the east and a gradual approach from the west