Save 22 A Day Trans-America Cycling

The link to today's route and statistics is found  here . Today cyclist Jim from Tennessee had the opportunity to meet a Train A Dog-Save A Warrior (TADSAW) trainer and a veteran/service dog team in training.  Renee Joseph trains for TADSAW in the Phoenix area.  She has been working with veteran Frank and his dog Capone for a number of months.  Training is going well, and it was easy to see that a strong bond has developed between Frank and Capone.  As is the case for the TADSAW program, Frank takes his dog home between training sessions with the TADSAW trainer, Renee, and “does his homework” by conducting further training himself.  Capone is attentive to Frank’s positive reinforcement.  Frank says that he now goes out in public with Capone, which is a significant change from prior behavior in which Frank says he actively avoided public places.  The TADSAW program has already improved Frank’s quality of life for the better.  Frank dri...

T he link to today's route and statistics is found here. A highlight of the day was meeting Steve, the vagabond cyclist at a SAG stop.  Steve had left his home in Michigan several months earlier and was cycling with no particular route in mind. Steve shows us his bike at a SAG stop Steve's bike is heavily loaded, so that he can camp alongside the road Steve carries a tent for roadside camping, but he prefers to sleep indoors wherever  possible.   Steve has a tactic that he employs that sometimes finds him free lodging.  He says that he smiles and waves at persons sitting on a porch in front of their house.  If the homeowners wave back, he cycles nearby to strike up a conversation.  Steve is a very amicable fellow.  He says that often he is invited in to spend the night.  That suits Steve, as he gets lonely cycling alone all day and welcomes the company . . . and a home cooked meal. When we met Steve, there were dust ...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Today we crossed the Colorado River from California into Arizona.   The water in this section of the Colorado River had previously passed through the Grand Canyon further northeast in Arizona. Colorado River crossing Once in Arizona we c ycled on I-10 for about 6 or 7 miles.   Chuck, one of our illustrious tour leaders, led the group ride today on his bike to the SAG stop at 10 miles.   There was a wide shoulder on the interstate, so the pucker factor was low for this cycling. Oklahoma flatlanders made it PA grocery store mogul Ray is pleased to be in Arizona We saw our first saguaro cacti today.  Feast on these saguaro tidbits.  S aguaros only grow in the Sonoran desert in Arizona, state of Sonora in Mexico and Imperial Valley in California.    The saguaro flower is the Arizona state flower, and it is prevalent from April to June.  Young saguaros are called spe...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . As we cycled out of Brawley we saw up close evidence of world-class agricultural operations.  To satisfy America's appetite for sweets, we passed fields of sugar beets. Imperial Valley sugar beets satisfy the sweet tooth To help satisfy American's need for hamburgers, California's Imperial Valley has about 400,000 cattle on feed, and in terms of revenue production they are the region's predominant agricultural product. We cycled past Mesquite Cattle Feeders Inc., which feeds about 35,000 head.  Randy from Oklahoma and others were misted by yellow water blown by the wind from a cattle truck.  After clean-up at Motel 8, he was allowed to join the group for dinner at The Sizzler, where he ordered steak for revenge. Cycling past Mesquite Cattle Feeders with 35,000 head The Imperial Valley is the largest alfalfa growing region in the world.  Many of the hay bales that we passed on the route are b...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . In the American west bicyclists are allowed to ride the interstate shoulders in an area where the interstate is the only way to ride from point A to point B.  It sounds scary to ride the interstate because of the speed of vehicles there.  However, since the interstate shoulder is very wide and usually divided from traffic by a rumble trip, riding on the shoulder of the interstate often feels safer than riding on a highway with a narrow shoulder.  Trucks get much closer to the rider on a smaller highway, and they are still driving at a lethal speed indeed.  With that as a background, today's ride began with a high pucker factor ride down Interstate-8.   Even early in the morning the wind was above a 20 mph steady value with gusts estimated as high as 50 mph by Randy from Oklahoma, who is used to riding in 30 mph wind across the prairie.  To make matters worse, the wind was primarily a crosswin...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . As we climb 3,000 ft heading to Pine Valley, life can be viewed from a different perspective. Very seldom we look from the top on down as is depicted in this photo.  Ground up A wonderful shade was awaiting for us at the Community Park thanks to the beautiful Live Oak Tree.  These trees grow at higher elevation and were plentiful along the route today.  These live oaks are very different from live oaks that we will see later in the southeast. Enjoying shade under Live Oak Tree Live Oak acorns Our Trans America Tour journey was taken to the next level—climbing 5,000 ft. However, for some of us, we surpassed the end of the day climbing total, as it happened to Jim and Goofy/Roberto, they past our overnight hotel by 5.4 miles. I guess the excitement of enjoying a downhill ride, we lost notion the size of the town—a convenience store, gift/restaurant shops, the hotel, a community park, and an a...

Trans America Cycling Day 1 - San Diego, CA to Alpine, CA The link to todays route and statistics is found here . As usual with the start of a cross country trip, we started at the ocean with the traditional wheel dips. The next step for the group was to assemble for a group photo.  As you can see, this was duly accomplished. At the completion of these formalities, we headed out for the day''s ride.  For the first almost 10 miles, we rode as a group, led by TAC lead Larry Love.  This was a welcome lead, because the route was certainly not intuitive.  It followed various bike paths, with interesting interconnects.  Larry did a masterful job leading us through the maze.  We ended this section at the first of many SAG stops over the course of this journey.. Everyone enjoyed the break, before heading out on the trek to Alpine's Ayers Lodge.  The group traveled in smaller groups the rest of the way.  It was still very muc...