Cast of Characters

This is the third long distance adventure for the three of us together.  In the Fall of 2017, we all rode the Atlantic Coast together.  We cycled with an Adventure Cycling tour from Bar Harbor, Maine to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, dodging hurricanes along the way.  As gluttons for punishment, we got together again in the Spring of 2019 and rode from Wisconsin to Bar Harbor, Maine.

Rob, Derald and I honoring the long time tradition of dipping the front tire in the
Atlantic Ocean at the compeltion of the bike ride on May 26, 2019.

Enjoying a celebratory Lobster dinner at the end of the ride

For Derald and I, the arrival in Bar Harbor commemorated the completion of our goal to cycle around the perimeter of the United States.  In truth, this was Derald's goal that I embraced and pursued for 5 years (thanks a lot Derald).  We meet in the Fall of 2014 on a tour from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida.  We continued work on that goal in Fall of 2017 with the Atlantic Coast ride. In 2018 and 2019, we completed the "Northern Tier" from Anacortes, Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine in three different trips (3 months was too long to be away from home in one stretch).  Both of us completed the Pacific Coast in various trips, but not together.  I estimate that we have ridden over 11,000 miles together.

Derald is a retired educator from Flagstaff, Arizona.  He retired as an Assistant High School Vice Principal.  This training gives him good experience dealing with Rob and me.  His is an avid cyclist, hiker, traveler and man of many talents and interests.  He is best known for eating desert first (preferable pie, not heated and never ice cream) and being able to cycle 35 miles in the morning with an empty stomach and promise of a pastry at the first stop.

Rob Knoelke is a partner of many adventures, including traveling, skiing, and cycling.  We have known each other many years.  We became acquainted and got to know each other well cycling together on the Leukemia Lymphoma Scenic Shore 150 bike tour over the past 10 years.  We cycled the Atlantic coast together in 2017, the Southern California Coast in 2018 and from the the boarder of Canada (far northeast Washington state to the California board in the Fall of 2020)

Rob has owned his own auto repair business for many years and is uses bike trips to sample retirement.  I suspect that this year’s trip will be the big break into nearly full-time retirement.  Rob's cycling claim to fame is the vigor in which he attacks the hills and inability of his bike to handle his strength.  He has been known to break more than a few spokes and even a bike frame.  Let us hope the new frame and back wheel survive the trip.

I retired from a 30-year career at FedEx in 2014.  Since then, I have cycled the perimeter of the United States.  I have been fortunate to cycle much of the Elbe River in Germany, the Rhine in Switzerland, Germany, France, and Netherlands and Danube in Germany, Austria and Hungary.  Julie and I have done cycling tours in Vietnam, Tasmania, Germany and France.

 I am blessed to be supported (and accompanied often) in my adventures by Julie, my wonderful and beautiful wife of over 40 years.  I am very excited to be spending time with Derald, who was my "retirement mentor" and Rob, who I admire for his positive outlook and outgoing personality.

The Plan and Route

 

On May 3, 2021, Rob Knoelke, Derald Cox and myself will begin a journey from Derald's home in Flagstaff, Arizona to his friends’ cabin in Curtis, Michigan.  The route will include the northern deserts of Arizona, mountains of southern Colorado and great plains of Kansas and Missouri.  We plan on riding a bit along the Mississippi river before cutting across northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin.  After a stop at home, we will continue north to the eastern UP.

 Our route and plan are very flexible.  We plan to average about 60 miles per day.  Our hope is that the weather will be warm days and cool nights on the high plains and into the mountains of Colorado.  With luck, we will hit the great plains while it is still relatively cool avoid bad storms and tornadoes that tend to frequent that area in Spring.  As always, we will be hoping for strong tailwinds.

Feel free to follow along and add your comments.  Also, please forward this link to anyone you know who might enjoy a travel story.  My usual caveat for blogging on my phone still stands. I apologize in advance for spelling, grammar, and formatting.  There is only so much that I can do in a tent on a 5” phone screen.  The intent is for family and friends (and friends of friends) to follow along our adventure across this great country.

I have named this blog "Cactus to Conifers".  Those of you familiar with Flagstaff, will know that this is not quite true since at 7000', there are plenty of conifers in Flagstaff.  I am taking a little "poetic license" since it is time to start the tour and I like the name.