Looks like it'll take us about 2 months to reach the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Starting date is July 7th. Most likely, we'll need a week or so as buffer for poor weather or whatever.
Here is our planned route of more than 3300 miles!
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Getting ready!! Cleaning, adjusting, and before you know it, we'll be riding!
Update: July 23, 2009: Well, we made it to Flagstaff, AZ, the first segment of our trans-America bike ride. It took us 13 days - a day's delay due to severe heat through the Mojave Desert (from Palm Springs, CA through to Kingman, AZ). We completed about 630 miles -- about 2700 miles to go.
Day 1: Hungtington Beach, CA -- getting ready for the journey.
Making sure the American flag is visible -- cars tend to give you some space when you have a flag. Who'd want to run over an American flag, right? Not in these times... hehehe...
Odometer set at 0.0 mile ...some 3300 to go.
Proof: Huntington Beach! The Captain and the Stoker.
It's true ...we started at the beach! Not a photo backdrop!
Mile 2.0 or so ...leaving the beach on the Santa Ana River Trail, a bike and pedestrian trail that follows the Santa Ana River.
Bridge crossing with Tauru's head in the way.
More of the trail -- taken from Stoker's point of view. This is what Christi sees for hours upon hours as she is the Stoker on the tandem. "Christi, get used to this," Tauru says over and over and over.
Some 35 miles out near Corona, CA, with the bike fully loaded, Tauru walks it up the hill.
Day 2: Near Palm Springs, CA, we had to take a dirt road for a mile or so. Christi walks the bike because it was too difficult to ride on this road ...which runs along the train tracks to the right.
The windmills near Palm Springs, CA.
Day 3: Having breakfast before starting the day. It turned out to be a super-hot day! SUPER-HOT! Like 121 F! Yikes!
The bike -- fully loaded with gear and equipment for two people to cross America.
Taking a break outside of Palm Springs. The temperature is reaching the 120's.
Tauru drinks. "Drink, Tauru, drink! You'll need it!"
On Day 3, under a scorching 121 F sun, we reached Mecca, CA.
Turned out that this WASN'T the Mecca that the Muslims do their pilgrimage to. Oooops. Oh well... we move on.
Days 4 and 5, we survived (barely) and made it to Joshua Tree National Park and over it. Christi and a JTree at the pass' highest point. From here, it's a some 10-mile downhill! Woohoooooo.
We made it to Twentynine Palms, CA, on the northside of Joshua Tree National Park. Tauru is poooooooped!
Christi in front of the sign.
From Twentynine Palms, we had to cross a 92-mile corridor where there were NO SERVICES whatsoever! NO WATER! NO FOOD! Here, Tauru takes shelter in the deserted town of Rice, CA.
Almost there, Tauru. Almost there. Almost to Parker, AZ, where we could finally get water and food. We found out later that it was up to 126 F that day!!!! Pork cooks around 150 F! Tauru was definitely rare that day!
Water? Water? Parker?
Phewwwwwww!
Yeah! Free Wi-Fi! We cross into Arizona via Parker.
Two days later, we continue to Kingman, AZ, which meant having to get on the Interstate (I-40). NOTE: It's legal in AZ to do this when there are no other alternative.
Yeah, just nothing. Nothing.
Christi's view ...every day ...allllllll day long!
After making it to Kingman, we get on Route 66 where there's still ...nothing.
Tauru a day or so from Flagstaff, AZ. "Can you spare a quarter?"
To Flagstaff! To Flagstaff!!!!
13 days, 630 miles, from sea-level to Arizona's Divide at 7335 ft, and max temperature of 127 near Lake Havasu (if only we could see at night, we would have ridden when it was cooler).
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