Friday May 11, 2018 - El Segundo, CA

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A bit more on how I got here

With retirement approaching, I started cycling seriously in 2011 and learned about cross country bike tours in 2014 from a friend who completed a tour from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida. I followed her blog with interest but never gave it much more thought. I just continued riding whenever I could simply because it felt good. As a side benefit I dropped 37 pounds and my blood sugar improved to the point that I stopped hearing any talk about medication from my doctor.

My wife Millie and I finally got sick of New Jersey winters (and taxes) and retired to Florida in 2016. Being new to the area I didn’t know anyone, let alone cyclists, so I used STRAVA, a cycling app, to find cyclists and safe(r) roads in the area. 

Through STRAVA I met Barry in early 2017.  The truth is I stalked him.  I noticed his rides were originating from the same development I was in and I started commenting on his rides.   Turns out he was new to the community as well and, after I cleared his background check (he is a retired NJ State Trooper), we had our first ride together (60+ miles) in early February 2017. We rode at least 10 more times over the next several weeks and in addition to learning all the usual things, I learned that he had done the Ride the Rockies twice, and in 2014, the Crossroads tour. 

 We've continued riding together logging close to 8,000 miles in our joint training rides.  I'm a stronger rider today than I was when I first met Barry and for that I'm grateful. While we are pretty similar riders, I'm also a realist. He will kick my ass on the climbs and probably have more left in the tank at the end of every ride. The man just motors along.  

Now it’s almost here. The riding begins Sunday.  What is in front of us?  In short, 3420 miles over 43 riding days (50 days total), an average of 80 miles a day. Fourteen of those rides are 90 miles or more and 23 are between 60 and 90 miles.  The only easy day is the last one, a 17-mile ride to the Atlantic Ocean to celebrate the end of the tour, hopefully Tour de France style with champagne. 

However, before Boston we will climb nearly 109,000 feet, the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest 3.7 times. We will also descend about the same amount since the elevation of Revere Beach outside of Boston is about 200 feet lower than that of Manhattan Beach.

 Nearly all of my riding experience is in southern New Jersey or Florida so I am a confirmed flat-lander.  I am not sure which is creating more anxiety, the amount of climbing or the descending. Our first week will likely tell the story of how this will go as we climb some 25,000 feet over 536 miles on our way to Flagstaff, AZ, 23% of the total elevation in the tour 😬

 Today I picked up my bike, made a few tweaks and took it for a spin in the parking lot. All systems are go. This is my ride for the next seven weeks.


Tomorrow is Day 1. We get to meet the other riders and learn the rules of the tour followed by dinner. Sunday is Day 2 and we head to Riverside.





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