Notes From Dr. Sam

Good Day,

I hope this note finds you well.

Many of you know that Annette and I have done a good deal of bike touring in the last few years. Two summers ago we rode across Oklahoma in the middle of the summer with a group called Oklahoma Freewheel. On that trip, we made friends with several couples who shared our passion for biking.

On the morning of February 28th, Annette and I began a grand adventure. We left our home with four friends and headed for San Diego California. The purpose of this trip is to ride our bicycles across the United States. Our intent is to ride from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean; specifically, we will be riding from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida through the southern tier of states.

We are joining with two other couples; all three of the men are in their seventies, and the women are in their mid-sixties. One of the men, a dear friend from Stillwater, Oklahoma, has ridden cross country twice before. His other two trips he crossed first the northern tier of states and the second trip he crossed the mid-section of the nation. On each of his trips before he made the trip unsupported, meaning he only had what he could carry on his bike. We, on the other hand, won’t be doing that.

We will be driving Annette’s Honda Pilot and pulling a small trailer that will carry our bikes and luggage. The plan is we will be riding about fifty to seventy miles a day. Since we are going from west to east, we should have tail wind most of the time. The only real mountains we will have to climb will be in Southern California and Western Arizona.

Every sixth day each of us will take a turn driving the support van. The person driving the van will be responsible for keeping everyone in food and water. Their charge will also include setting up camp for the next night. About half of the time we will be camping and about half the time we will be staying in motels.

To be sure we are not plowing new ground here, we are using maps that have been created by a group called Adventure Cycling; they have been doing this for forty years. There are at least two other large groups of people who will be starting at about the same time we are and following the same general route.

In the biking community there are facilities across the country called Warm Showers; these are people, usually cyclists themselves, who will allow you to come into their homes, take a shower, prepare a meal and provide a bed or camping place in their yard.

Overall we will ride about 3000 miles over a two month period. The plan is that we will post photos and videos on Facebook on a regular basis. Feel free to log on, befriend us and watch Annette and Sam’s excellent adventure.

Have a nice journey.

Sam