Trip Notes and Map
This isn't a vacation, this is an adventure.
I ship home the cold weather clothing just after the half point. OK until we got to Mississippi and Florida. We had several very cold mornings and were riding in 40 degree temperatures. Several mornings I was wearing all my T-shirts and pull the long sleeve shirtsleeves down over the hands for wind protection.
Hotels were great for being by yourself and for watching TV, but shoot, you can do that at home!
Free beer in Mexico - In California we cross the border to Tecate, Mexico. Tecate is a nice clean little town with a beer brewery.
We have two or three days in Texas that after we left town in the morning, we pedal all day and didn't see any homes or buildings (we camp at state parks).
I am a wash and wear type of cyclist. Almost every time I went to the shower, I would wash the clothing that I was wearing.
We rode every mile except for fourteen miles lift we got from a Louisiana diary farmer during a heavy downpour. Thanks again.
After seeing my partners pulling a B.O.B. trailer, I glad I decide not to get one. The trailers were very troublesome especially for first couple of days. Many problems, mainly from hitch them to the bikes (hard to do by yourself), unhitch them (same problem again), the cotter pin hole would get fill with dirt or sand, the hitch bolts on the bike would come loosed, the hitch itself got bent (the bike turn when the trailer was being unhitch), broken spokes from to much weight on rear bike wheel, handling problems (can whip the bike around when going to fast downhill), and so on.
I planned a mail drop package with soap, one fuel cartridge, blanket, food eta, I didn't have the sent mail because the fuel cartridge last longer than I figure for. The two one-LB cartridges I start with was enough fuel for the trip
We got lucky and have no snow in the mountains of New Mexico. It snow six inches couple days before we got there. A cyclist after us did Emory Pass in a snow storm.
I made a lightweight fleece sleeping bag for warm weather. Have it in my mail drops box that was not mail to me. I was going to sent the cold weather sleeping bag back home when the night temperature stay warm and use the blanket from the mail drop. We have 30's and 40's degree temperature in Mississippi and Florida in mid April. Glad I keep the cold weather bag for the whole trip.
In Tucson we took a day off to site see. We rent a pickup truck for one day and made good use of it. Worthwhile.
Dogs didn't pay much attention to me. They were rather bothersome for my partner. The dogs would come out and run at his bike and the trailer he was pulling. I guess they never saw a bike pulling a trailer before.
Our start date of March 3 was to early to see the desert bloom in Arizona and most of west Texas. A big disappointment.
We saw lots of Border Patrol vehicle daily from San Diego to Del Rio (except for the New Mexico mountains).
Thought about bring along pepper spray for self defense and to spray bothersome dogs. I didn't because to be any good you must carry it all time and it must be in a ready to use position. Beside it's no good against aggressive drivers.
Next time I will better packed the bike. My idea of using the sleeping bag for packing didn't work to good. The bag shift around to easily when equipment is stuff in it. Next time I will use cardboard.
From winters snow and ice to summer's sun and sand. It's always nice to go from a cold climate to warm, but the sun was too much at first.
Shipped bike by UPS to San Diego five shipping days ahead my arrived date. It was there at our hotel waiting on me.
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