Crater Lake National Park Tour

Oregon Coastline – California Redwoods – Crater Lake
August 4-14, 2004

What an amazing bicycle tour! Joined by the rest of the” Mad Dogs” touring team I rode down part of the Oregon coastline, thru one of California’s redwood parks and spent a couple of days and nights at Crater Lake National Park. Except for one drizzly, windy day the weather was great, and the scenery was spectacular. This was the first time I’d flown to a ride and shipped my bike, but everything worked out well, although it sure made it a lot more expensive. It was also my first trip to the west coast and to see the Pacific Ocean. And I just had to go swimming in the Pacific at least once. It was cold…and this was August!

One highlight of the trip happened while we were at Crater Lake. A park ranger was having a special stargazing program one night. He had a couple of large telescopes set up for viewing the stars and mentioned we may see some meteors flashing across the sky. It was a dark, clear night and the sky was beautiful from atop the mountain. We laid on our backs looking upward in anticipation of seeing a couple of meteors or shooting stars race across the sky. But for half an hour we saw only the beauty of the bright shining stars. No meteors. Then all of a sudden, the show began. At first it was one or two every minute or so. The excitement grew as more and more meteors shot across the sky. Many were only seconds apart. An hour quickly passed by and we had to board the bus taking us back to our campsite located a short distance down the mountain. Once there we grabbed a blanket and headed over to the amphitheater where once again we laid on our backs and watched the spectacular meteor shower taking place overhead. It was a night to remember.

The next day was a layover day and some rode their bikes around the lake and some of us decided to do a little hiking on nearby trails at the top. We were astonished to find snow still on the ground in the month of August. Nothing like a snowball fight in the middle of summer!

Another highlight was the day we rode into Crescent City, California. Just east of the city was Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. We rode our bikes among the gigantic redwoods and were amazed at their size! To me, seeing these trees was a dream come true.

This was a great week with a bunch of fun people. It was a long, hard ride with three days near 100 miles a day. I rode a total of 631 miles over 9 days with one of them being a layover day. The ride was organized by Cycle America and they did a fantastic job in making it a most enjoyable experience. Now, the anticipation and excitement begins as we consider another Mad Dog tour for next year. Any ideas?

My August Mileage

Cycling Along Lake Michigan

Michigan’s Shoreline West Tour
July 26 – August 3, 2003

It had been six years since I first rode Shoreline West, but I still had fond memories from the ride. And I was anticipating this year would be even better with cycling friends from Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan agreeing to join me there. Experience has taught that bike tours are more fun when ridden with friends. Julie and I met Friday afternoon at Indiana Dunes SP and Myrle joined up with us on Saturday morning. The three of us had a nice 25-mile ride and picnic lunch at the beach before driving on to Michigan and meeting the rest of the gang.

The tour began in Spring Lake, near Grand Rapids, and proceeded north along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Each day’s route would take us through beautiful small towns with colorful flowers and along the waterfront and harbors with their pretty sailboats. Each town provided us with ample opportunities for snacks, lunch or an afternoon ice cream. Several days, as the route would follow along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, we would face the temptation to stop peddling, park our bikes and go for a cool swim or take a stroll along the beach in the soft white sand.

Nightly campsites were usually located within walking distance to town where we could hangout with old friends and meet new ones. We saw spectacular sunsets over the lake and ate some of the best ice cream available anywhere. Breakfasts and dinners on this tour, included as part of the registration fee, were very good and a couple of times outstanding, like the night we had large steaks cooked on outdoor grills. The layover day in Traverse City was great and provided us with several options.

Some of the highlights of the tour were Cherry Point Market, Mac Woods Dune Rides, Sleeping Bear Dunes NP, the Pie Factory, Charlevoix, the Tunnel of Trees and Mackinac Island. In summary, this is a great tour with lots to see and do and should be a “must do” on anyone’s list.

Mountains to the Sea

Cycle South Carolina
June 22-29, 2003

Having previously planned on riding Bike Virginia during this week I hadn’t considered the Cycle South Carolina ride until sometime in May. I wanted to take my wife along and Virginia didn’t offer indoor camping and South Carolina did. And that was one of her requirements. Also, non-riders were free on CSC, another nice incentive, since she is a non-rider.

Loved having Tampa
with me on this ride!

The ride was much smaller than I expected, with only 140 riders, but that had some positive points. There were no shower lines, at least by the time I got in, short food lines and the opportunity to get to know more people. The ride began in Walhalla and ended at Edisto Beach, hence, the mountains to the sea. We had overnight stops in Anderson, Greenwood, Edgefield, Aiken, Blackville and Waltersboro. Food for the week, always a high priority on my list, was very good. We ate at Miller’s Bread-Basket in Blackville and was served some excellent food by the Mennonite family that owned it. The little town of Springfield served us a variety of pimento cheese sandwiches for lunch one day which was a nice treat. Our end of ride party was on Saturday night and was a barbeque supper consisting of three different styles of barbeque. We then had fried chicken with all the trimmings at an end of ride picnic upon arriving at Edisto Beach.

The little town of Edgefield was one of our favorite places. We had an excellent lunch downtown at an old house which had been converted into a very nice restaurant. This small town has produced ten of South Carolina’s governors. We visited with the town potter and the woodcarver and found them very interesting. We also saw the statue of Senator Strom Thurmond located in the town square. That night, the Senator, who was in the Edgefield hospital, died at the age of 100.

my new friend, April

 It was fun to ride with Linda again, a friend from Gainesville, Georgia who joined us for the week, and to meet April who is originally from South Carolina but now lives and works on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona. April, who had very little road biking experience, did her first century on the second day of the ride. And she did it on a mountain bike with knobby tires! Way to go April!

 Overall it was a nice ride of about 385 miles and another fun week on tour with my wife and friends.

More Than Just A Bike Ride

One of the things that continue to fascinate me about cross-state bike rides is the variety of people that do them. There are 7 year olds and 70 year olds. There are very small people and very large people.  Some are very fast and some are very slow. There are singles, couples, families and teams or groups.  And they bring all kinds of bikes. There are road bikes, mountain bikes with knobbies, hybrids, recumbents, tandems and three seaters pulling a tag-a-long. But they all have one thing in common. They have a lot of fun!

One might say indoor camping
is a little crowded!

In June, 1999, I was privileged to ride in my third BRAG (Bicycle Ride Across Georgia). We began in LaGrange, which is about 20 miles from Alabama, and rode across the state to Savannah, a total of 435 miles. We began on Sunday morning and finished on Saturday afternoon.  The weather was unbelievable for this time of year with overcast skies keeping the temps mostly in the 70’s while we were riding. We had overnight stops in Columbus, Thomaston, Perry, Dublin, Metter, and Statesboro. BRAG is a family oriented tour, not a race. It is recreational, social and in some ways, educational. We traveled at our own pace along a set route and at the end of each day, tent camped at a local college or high school. There was even some indoor camping in the gym if you wanted to sleep with about two hundred other people! Everyone was responsible for his or her own meals but most choose to eat breakfast and supper in the school cafeteria. And I found the food to be really good. Sometimes the lines are very long but this gives people time to talk to each other and make new friends. During the afternoon and evening there were various activities and entertainment. And some of the towns we visited went all out to see that we had a good time. In Thomaston they closed the streets around the Courthouse Square for a party and dance featuring The Platters. At Fort Valley State University there was a large tent set up with numerous food vendors, entertainment and an invitation to swim at the pool. West Laurens HS in Dublin was a great stop and the football coach there was from Lenoir City, TN, my home town! In Metter, there was another street dance with CC and Company. The ride ended by going around Savannah’s historic Madison and Monterey Squares and through historic neighborhoods with large trees full of Spanish moss draping across the streets.  Our final destination was Daffin Park where we ate a great BBQ lunch and had all the free beer we wanted (and were willing  to stand in a long line for).

One of the things I’ve noticed about these kinds of rides is that by mid-week you have lost track of time and don’t even know what day it is…and really don’t care. You just ride your bike, meet lots of people, eat lots of food and have lots of fun. Lord willing, I hope to do these kind of tours for years to come!