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| Leili, Carrie and Byron |
Now that I’m forced to stay off the trike for the next 4 or maybe 5 weeks waiting to recover from hip surgery I can use the time to take advantage of the ole brain to plan future rides and set goals. So while I’m still on the younger side of being old I want to get out and tour. Even though I would be leaving Carrie and the kids behind for awhile it’s easy to stay connected and it'll make coming home all that much sweeter.
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| Ready to ride up the coast at the age of 19. I had hair then and cool socks. |
Okay yeah so…since I’ve turned 50 which was seven years ago I’ve had knee, shoulder, back (2x), left hip and now right hip surgery. Nothing else can go wrong…right? Right. All the breathing and circulatory apparatus is in great working condition. I have minimal to no arthritis and drinking good beer and margaritas haven’t done any damage.
There are two rides that I want to accomplish, first I want to tour the Pacific coast in May of 2012 from Oregon Ventura , California Ventura December 20th 2013 .
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| Home away from home...yeah right it use to be until the ground started getting hard. |
I have no intention of having support on either ride. Personally the trill of accomplish is diminished by not having to carry my own “life support” with me. Furthermore the option to bail out and hop in a carbon burning vehicle when the going gets tough is too easy. Being unsupported on a cycling tour means camping, cheap motels and an occasional splurge on lodging. As I get older the ground seems to be getting harder so I will try to avoid camping as much as possible.
I'll probably ride alone for the one very simple reason…I find that I always win any argument that I have with myself. If I want to stay an extra day in some cool place and “smell the roses” then that’s the way it'll be. If I want to make a stop at a micro-brewery that adds an extra day to the tour then that’s the way it'll be and so on. That being said anybody want to take a ride?
In between tours I plan on doing event rides such as the Lighthouse Century along the central coast, a century in the wine country and other rides where I can discover more of California Oregon
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| When batteries die there is always good ole reliable foldout maps. |
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Ready to go!! Well soon.
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As for right now I have a few weeks to do nothing but sit, think and plan. I already have the Adventure Cycling maps and I’m starting to map the Pacific coast ride for my gps. The pain of recovering from hip surgery may stop me from riding my trike but it won't stop me from thinking about riding it.
