Big Texas Trip and Learning Experience

 

Hello again, my friends!

From a walk near Joni's church

Borrego Springs wildflowers

Hawk on a bike path

Right off the bat, I want to give a big shout-out to the triking community. Y'all have always been fantastic. I am very grateful for your continued support and want to thank everyone for your responses to my last post. My posts don't normally have as many views as that last one did. The post seems to have hit a nerve not only for industry people but also for the community. I was nervous making that post but, now, I am relieved to hear the responses, both positive and negative, and can honestly say I've learned a lot. Some of which I want to share today.

But first, I've had some amazing experiences recently and a lot has happened since my last blog post. I had a wonderful trip to Texas with 2 triking and RVing friends, Dave and Edna.  I left my friend Joni and her desert oasis near Palm Springs after a wonderful 5-month winter stay.  My first stop was Los Algodones, Mexico, which is right across the California border, near Yuma, and a 2-hour drive. I stopped in to have my teeth cleaned with x-rays. Los Algodones is nicknamed 'Molar City'. There are over 500 dentists within a few blocks. It is a town set up for Canadians and Americans to get high-quality dental work at much lower prices than what anyone would pay in the US. I've been coming here for many years. This time, they found an infection in the root of a rear lower tooth. I haven't felt any pain, but they said I should have a root canal. They encouraged me to take care of this sooner rather than later and explained there is no telling if or when the infection will spread. I have been feeling physically poor for many months and think this infection explains why. I decided to return to Mexico for the root canal procedure after the trip with my friends to Texas.

Traveling with Dave, Edna and puppy Ivy

Triking the Tucson Loop

Dave, Edna and I drove out of Tucson together and slowly made our way to San Antonio. We spent 3 nights at an RV park with direct access to the River Walk cycling path. The highlight of our trip was a terrific trike tour with San Antonio Bike Tours. Steve Wood has been doing these tours for many years, and riding with him has been on my bucket list for a long time. All of his tours are custom-designed. He has trikes to use but we brought our own. Steve can do tours anywhere from 2-6 hours long. We asked for the 4-hour tour following Steve in his WAW velomobile all over San Antonio. He gives each person a headset where you hear him describe details of all the landmarks with a wealth of entertaining historical information. The headset also has a microphone to ask questions. We loved the tour and learned so much. This was a very rich experience. I highly recommend San Antonio Bike Tours and would even say a visit to San Antonio is worth it just to do Steve's tour. I will make a video of our tour with Steve's San Antonio Bike Tour. I think you will be surprised by just how cycling-friendly San Antonio is. 

Steve and his WAW Velo

Mama with goslings on the River

Mission with Dave

River lock with Steve, Dave, and Edna

Mission Conception with a ranger

Trikers are ready to roll

Colorful sign

The point of our trip was to see the solar eclipse on April 8th. Dave, Edna, and I are all members of Boondockers Welcome. We made reservations at a fantastic ranch near Killeen, Texas, last November, anticipating there would be a lot of interest in staying on the path of totality. Boondockers Welcome is a part of Harvest Hosts, which is a web-based membership program through which people open their land/property to RVers. Unlike Harvest Hosts, there are no additional fees, and you can often stay many nights. We camped on a beautiful 10-acre ranch with 10 other RVers. I found a lovely level spot in the shade of some trees close to Dave and Edna. Their little dog, Ivy, loved running in the grass. Other people found hidden spots, and most people had privacy. We were far from any cities and the night sky was full of stars. The ranch owners were friendly and incredibly generous people. They offered a welcome BBQ dinner and a fun craft table. All the RVers pulled up chairs, sitting in a circle, enjoying each other's company. The owner's generosity was completely unexpected. Cycling friends Jeff and Diane from Vancouver, Washington, were staying close by for the eclipse and joined us for dinner, too. This was something else that was completely unexpected. The skies were cloudy in the morning but cleared for the eclipse, which was very special. We were on the path of totality, and it got dark and quiet. The birds and insects seemed to go to sleep during the darkest time. Dave, Edna, and I drove a long way to experience the eclipse, and I am so glad we did. This was a very cool experience that has stayed with me like a movie I keep thinking about. Not just the eclipse but all the wonderful people we met.

finished craft works

Ready to watch

Settling in for the show

The start of the eclipse show

In the path of totality

Darkness has fallen

We had made reservations for 2 nights, but the weather on the 3rd day (thank goodness after the eclipse) was hazardous, and the ranch owners didn't hesitate to let us stay another night. There were tornado and flash-flood warnings. The local weather service asked that everyone stay off the roads. The forecast was for 2 inches of rain. We had 7 inches of rain! The owners had never seen so much rain in all the years of living on the ranch. Most of the RVs were sitting in a lake of water. A big tractor was used to get the trucks and RVs out of the mud. The lightning show was very impressive. My goodness, what an experience and something I won't ever forget.

Lake of water

Dave getting a tow out of the mud

Tractor tow

Stuck in the mud

After the eclipse, I parted ways with Dave and Edna. On my way back to Mexico for the root canal procedure, I stopped and visited some dear friends, Laura, Brian, and their sweet dog Midnight, who recently moved to San Antonio. I parked my RV in front of their house, and we had a great time together.

San Antonio Japanese Garden

With Laura at the garden

Dear friends, Laura and Brian

Garden pond

From there I made my way west to Mexico. I always go to Simply Dental in Los Algodones and can highly recommend them. They are very professional, speak clear English, and respect your time. I typically arrive early for my appointments, and they always call me quickly. Unfortunately, this procedure became more complicated than originally diagnosed. While they were drilling for the root canal, they discovered the tooth was fractured on the inside. This fracture was the cause of the root infection. The dentist explained that the tooth fracture would eventually become a crack. He recommended pulling the tooth and doing an implant. He said there is no telling when the crack would happen, but the infection would also never heal. I followed his recommendation and had the tooth pulled, and the implant post installed the next day. Everything went smoothly. Implants take 5 months to adhere to the bone, so I will return in September to have a tooth molded and attached to the implant post.  

I have been staying back at Joni's desert church oasis while I recover. It is fun to hang out with my triker friend Dave again as well. I am also very grateful to have a comfortable and convenient parking place. After finishing my medication for antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, I returned to Mexico for what I called a 'piece of mind' visit. They didn't require me to return, but I wanted to make sure the infection was clear and the implant looked good. I saw the dentist who did the procedure. He took an x-ray and photos and verified everything looked perfect.  Now, I can travel north for the summer to visit my sister in Crescent City and friends in Portland and attend Tater Tot and the Recumbent Retreat without worrying about my tooth. Phew!!!

So now that I'm caught up on my travels, I want to circle back to talking about what I learned sinced my last post about Cycle Con. This event remains deeply humiliating for me. It is an experience I will likely never forget. I went to Cycle Con last September after I had 4 phone conversations with industry people asking me to go. The conversations led me to believe that it was important for me to be at the event. I'm happy to help out wherever I can, and I thought I had a small but significant enough role to play to make traveling 2500 miles worth the effort. 

I have been a very positive voice for everything recumbent and should have a lot of goodwill with the manufacturers, dealers, and vendors. Over the last 15 years, I have talked up all aspects of the industry on my Facebook Page, blog and YouTube Channel. I talk up trike groups, bike shops, all trike brands and accessories, as well as other people's YouTube channels and Facebook pages. I have also shown places to ride worldwide, including a cross-USA trike tour last summer. There has never been any money from doing this. It's fun for me, and I really enjoy the camaraderie with the ever-enthusiastic and supportive trike community. When I think about it, I don't know of anyone else who does what I do. I enjoy traveling with my trike and meeting bike shop owners, mechanics, and people from the community. My favorite thing is to meet trikers where they live and ride together.

I was quite surprised that there was no interest in me when I got to Cycle Con. Not even from the people who asked me to go. It's not like anyone did anything bad to me. There wasn't anything vindictive or menacing that happened. There just was no interest. It was like I was invisible. This particular Cycle Con was unusually awkward because the space was much too small. There wasn't enough room for everyone walking and trying to get trikes and bikes out to the test track and then back to the booths. I think the situation was stressful for everyone involved. I couldn't walk around the booths and stop to chat because I was always in the way. This was true for everyone. You had to keep moving or you were in the way. I've been to previous Cycle Cons where I enjoyed sitting in Gary Solomon's Laidback Bike Report booth as well as with the HP Velotechnik guys. This year, the booths were much smaller, and there wasn't any extra room. I spent most of my time outside watching people on the test track. Maybe because I didn't feel comfortable in the convention space, no one thought to ask me to go out for drinks or dinner or do anything social. This is a very long drive to be on my own.

I've learned 2 important points. Both of these were explained to me after I had written my last blog post. One of the people who called and asked me to go explained that I wasn't invited and the organizers had no idea I was coming. This never occurred to me. I assumed the people who called and asked me to go would have cleared my attendance with the organizers. Essentially, I traveled 2500 miles to an event I wasn't invited to. You can imagine learning this detail just added yet another layer of humiliation. It was explained that I should have called the organizers, but that also simply never occurred to me. Why did these guys call me in the first place? I still have no idea and feel like those who asked me to go stepped out of their lane. I don't think they had any business asking me to attend an event I wasn't invited to. This was a very unfortunate misunderstanding.

The 2nd point I learned is that no one from the industry, except HP Velotechnik, can recognize or even acknowledge me because I ride an HP Velotechnik trike.  This is true for anyone riding any trike brand. If you ride a Catrike, only Catrike will acknowledge you and whatever contributions you make to the community. This explanation seems very short-sighted, but it also explains a lot. I have always wondered why HP Velotechnik is the only company in the industry talking up what I do. From where I sit, the easiest, cheapest, and most effective advertising is showing people who are riding trikes and telling their stories. The brand of trike has little relevance in the story. I also know no one in the industry will be listening to my opinion. It is their loss.

There are many very inspiring stories of how trikes have made a positive and meaningful impact on people's lives. Many are worth telling, and, in my opinion, it is an untapped resource. I'm reminded of David Goldman, who had a YouTube Channel called David Rides A Trike. He was very ill and died over a year ago from his terminal cancer. He did short videos riding his trike around his neighborhood near Chicago. Even though he was suffering and in pain, riding his trike gave him joy. He had an amazingly positive outlook, and his message resonated with many people in the community. His YouTube Channel grew quickly, and he gave people hope. No one from the industry ever acknowledged him. I don't remember the brand of trike he rode, perhaps an ICE trike. He loved his trike but the brand was not an important part of his message. Just like David, I don't think anyone follows me because of the trike brand I ride. I love my trike, and I think HP Velotechnik is a terrific company, but the brand of trike I ride is the least interesting thing about me. 

There is no trike that is perfect for everyone. The choice people make for the trike they buy is personal. I think the trike manufacturers, dealers, and vendors would do much better if they collaborated. I have talked to a number of bike shops about this, but I can't get through to them. I think telling customer's stories makes trikes more relatable. No matter what product I'm buying, whether a car, camera or a trike, I want to read what people have to say. I want to see how people are using the product. If there is no content, I'll assume that no one is buying the product and I will have 2nd thoughts of buying it myself.

Why won't the industry show pride, support and enthusiasm for the community and the people who are actually buying and using the products? I have asked many times, and the most common response is to tell me that I never intended to make money from my YouTube Channel. This is a strange answer. What they aren't getting is that my suggestion is for them, not for me. I don't make any money from my posts, blog or YouTube Channel. This industry is far too small. There just aren't enough video or post views. It would have to grow 10-fold, at least, before making money could even be a possibility. A simple thing like sharing an occasional post about what customers are doing on a Facebook page is so easy. This is what I do to help support however I can. I post about gear, accessories, bike shops, trails, and events. I share posts about trike tours and donate to their causes. 

For my last trike tour across the USA, I set up a Patreon membership as a simple way to give a tip. Many, many people from the community joined. These donations of $5 to $100 made a huge difference for me, and it was fun receiving the enthusiasm and support from the community. My bike club in Portland (Pacific Northwest Recumbent Cycling) gave me a very generous donation. The community jumped to action to support my tour. The only person from the industry who joined my Patreon was Ashley Guy at Utah Trikes. There are so few people doing big rides on a trike that it doesn't take a lot of effort to support people in small ways. But it does take being interested. I will continue to talk up everyone because it is fun for me.

Even though my experience with the industry at Cycle Con was deeply humiliating, I had a very good time going on rides with local trikers from the community. I did a number of rides with the Impromptu Trike Riders of Ohio and other trikers that have become great friends. 

That's a lot of rambling to say I have learned some tough and brutal lessons. Now I'm trying to figure out what it all means. For sure, I've learned there is no role for me in the industry. It's like everyone in the industry is living on their own desert island. I can't expect anyone to talk up something they simply aren't interested in. I want to help grow trike riding, but I must accept that there will never be any interest in what I do from the industry, beyond HP Velotechnik.

Like I said, much of the humiliation I experienced is my own fault and no one person did anything to me. It is clear that my role is strictly within the community. This is an amazing community, and I am very fortunate to have found it. Through the triking community, I have made great friends and met incredibly generous, warm, inviting, and inspiring people. I definitely got bucked off the horse at Cycle Con and, hopefully, I can get back on to start doing videos again. 

Thanks everyone for listening and see you on the road!!

Winter In the Desert

Hello again, my friends!

Arizona Sunset

I have not done an update for a few months while I've been parked in my RV trailer in the desert of So. California. This has been a busy and unusual time for me.

My last post was the end of my 'Sufferfest' Moto-Myrtle USA Trike Tour. The tour ended in June but getting the blog and YouTube videos finished took many months more. I really enjoy documenting my travels. I find the process rewarding and going back over the trip is a good exercise. My biggest takeaway is I'm not sure how I got as far as I did on that tour. The tour was, for sure, the most difficult I have ever done. Without the support of friends and followers, I probably would have given up somewhere along Route 66. Y'all helped me keep my sense of humor! 

After the tour, I got in my RV and drove around the west coast. I went to the Recumbent Retreat in September which is my favorite event of the year. This was the 25th Annual and my 20th year attending. From there, I drove to Ohio for Cycle Con. Many bike dealers called to ask me to attend. I didn't want to go because Cycle Con was scheduled for the weekend after the retreat - in Ohio. Then, one dealer had me on the phone for an hour asking me to go. He wore me down. I ended up leaving the retreat 2 days early to drive 2500 miles in 5 days. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was capable of driving so far for so many days in a row. I was exhausted when I arrived but I made it.

The very 1st morning, I slipped down the stairs of my RV trailer and landed hard on my butt. My right butt muscles were in spasm for almost a week. Luckily, I didn't break anything but the muscles were so painful that I couldn't get into my truck and I ended up staying at the fairgrounds camped for many days after the show.  This was an ominous start to my experience at Cycle Con.

Test Track

Crowded Cycle Con

Fat trikes

I really enjoy meeting cycling/triking people. Regular people who ride are much more interesting than industry folk. I had lots of enthusiastic interactions with followers of my Facebook page and YouTube channel. The recumbent community has always been very warm, welcoming, and supportive. This is a very special and generous group of people. I have learned there is a big difference between the community and the industry. The industry people don't show interest in the people who ride and actually use the products. 

The Cycle Con show only had 28 booths and, over the years, I have met most of the dealers, vendors, and manufacturers that presented products. It's not a lot of people. The space for the show was much too small and trying to talk to anyone was awkward. No matter where I went, I felt like I was in the way. 

The manufacturers of trikes and bikes all had products to test. Getting everyone set up and then through the overly crowded aisles to the test track outside was difficult.  Personally, I don't have anything to sell or an agenda to promote and just floated around taking pictures. I'm invited as a value-added person and only because I have a following. No one from the industry included me in anything or invited me to have drinks or go to dinner or do anything social.  And then, an industry person told me about the Cycle Con film festival. This person was excited that Geoff Adams had submitted his very clever YouTube video. (It's well worth watching and here is a link if you haven't seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJZ0VrfDKqo.) The thing is, I didn't know anything about the 'film festival' and learned people primarily entered their YouTube videos. How could I not know about this? How could I not be included? For heaven's sake, I have a YouTube channel dedicated to trike riding. My videos are only about trikes, touring with occasional tutorials and gear reviews. I don't talk about my personal life, or current events or give my opinion about politics. Why didn't anyone think of me? Even though I'm one of the most recognizable people in the world of recumbents, recumbent industry people simply don't think of me.

I learned that the only interest the industry has in me is for my followers. No one in the industry follows my tours or watches my videos. I made a nice video with fun music of the Cycle Con event (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdBbRb8vv34) and no one from the industry commented or even acknowledged it. Undoubtedly, because no one from the industry watched it. Are there so many people making videos for recumbent events? This dismissiveness is something that I have felt before but it was never made so clear as it was at this Cycle Con. What surprises me is I know my videos are bringing customers into the shops. I know because the customers tell me. People write to me to say thanks for the videos. They write with excitement that they went to a shop and bought a trike. Often, they are turning to trikes because they can't ride an upright bike anymore.  Maybe it's a bad back or a balance issue but buying a trike gave them back something they thought they had lost forever. These stories are heartfelt and I love reading them. 

Speaking of stories, why wasn't the industry interested in the tour I did across the US? A 64-year-old woman riding a trike with e-assist solo over 3,000 miles across the US. How could this not be interesting to them? And, I wasn't the only person who rode a trike across the US or on a big tour. One woman, Marianne Phillips, did her 7th tour across the US last summer. She is in her 70's and doesn't use e-assist on her trike. What about Brenda and Michael Castle? They rode Catrikes with e-assist from North Carolina to Montana raising money for veterans. (They documented their tour on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/333756505365791) Is this so many people to keep track of? Why aren't these stories interesting? The only person who got very minimal recumbent industry attention was Englishman John Hodkin. His posts were hilarious. Jon rode an unassisted ICE trike up the Mississippi River trail pulling a trailer carrying his tuba. He did concerts all along the way. The music community was a big help to Jon and very active throughout his journey. Gary Solomon, of the LaidBack Bike Report did a short segment on his show. Pat Franz, who retired from T-Cycle, also designed and built the trailer Jon used delivering it to him in Louisiana.  (Here is a link to his website: https://innertuba.org.uk/) As far as I know, these were the only people who did long-distance, multi-month tours. Why isn't the industry excited about these achievements? Why doesn't the industry promote these rides? Why don't they want to highlight what trikes and people in an older demographic are capable of? Does the industry have any interest in the people who actually use their products? I don't think so and that is truly a shame and a missed opportunity to connect with a wider audience.

At Cycle Con, I also had a couple of bike dealers who wanted to talk to me about sponsorship. I blew them off. At the time, I didn't understand why these guys annoyed me. At the very least, they would offer me a bit of money, parts, and probably repairs to my trike. We can all use extra money, right? The thing is, none of them are interested in me and they are not interested in what I do. Not even a little bit. They are only interested in getting their manufacturer/dealer/vendor name in front of my followers. It's understandable but, I put a lot of work into keeping my blog and YouTube videos updated. I've been documenting my trike life since 2007. I know these videos and blog posts are helping to sell trikes and accessories and I love that they are impactful. My idea when I started was to offer a place for people to come for reliable information and show what is possible as an older woman. I just wish the industry people would acknowledge it and promote those riders who are showing how the products are used. 

I did have a sponsor for my ride across the US. HP Velotechnik generously gave me a new frame and Bent Up Cycles, especially Raina, did a great job transferring everything from the 12-year-old frame to the new one. It was a big job. I put their name on 80 YouTube videos. They, just like everyone else, showed no interest in the tour or my channel. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future but, as of now, I've decided I won't do sponsorship anymore. The payoff just isn't worth it. 

You may have noticed that I haven't been doing YouTube videos recently. My experience at Cycle Con was so deeply humiliating that I've needed a long break to assess what it all means and think about what I want going forward. It's been painful to learn how little my work is worth to the people who are benefitting the most.

New Mexico Trikers

Jo and BJ in Colorado

After Cycle Con, I did a few very fun rides with the Impromptu Riders of Ohio. I also did some lovely rides with local riders in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. There was also a trike festival near Palm Springs put on by Tri-A-Bike which was a much bigger event than expected. I'll be doing videos of those rides soon enough. 1st, I really wanted to vent and get this all off my chest before I start traveling again. 

Charlie in Colorado

Iowa Trestle

I ate well in Dayton

Impromptu Trikers

Over the winter, I have been parked in the desert of SoCal behind the church of my friend, Joni. I've been taking care of all kinds of surprisingly time-consuming projects. I switched my residency to South Dakota. As you know, I live full-time in my RV. South Dakota only requires one night every 5 years to be in the state for valid residency. There also isn't any income tax. I set up a mailbox and worked with a very nice woman who, unfortunately, was completely incompetent. This process took months. The very last thing I needed was the tags and plates for my truck and trailer. Finally, they arrived to where I'm staying - with my name misspelled on the titles. Ugh!

I also turned 65 and got onto Medicare. I went through a broker who helped me pick out a supplemental plan I can use while traveling in my RV. This all went smoothly. What hasn't been so easy is to find a primary care physician who takes Medicare and has appointment openings while I'm in the area. I mostly got all the appointments done. This is the 1st time in 15 years that I have health insurance. Now I have the scans, tests, and labwork to give me peace of mind that I am, indeed, very healthy. 

My time in Southern California is coming to an end. From here, I'll be heading to Tucson to meet up with my friends Dave and Edna. We are going to caravan together to Texas to watch the eclipse on April 8th. I've got a ton of video to go through. I'll be getting to those sooner than later with lots more updates to come.

Thanks for following along and letting me vent! I'd love to know what you think. Please, if you can, leave a comment. 

Last 5 rides of the Moto-Myrtle USA Trike Tour

 

Garmin Stats and Maps

Lexington, VA

Troutville, VA

Christiansburg, VA

Max Meadows, VA

Rural Retreat, VA

Getting packed at Love Ridge campground

Last bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway

There were several reasons I was excited to be on the Trans America Bike Route. I had actually been looking forward to being on this route from the time I decided to do the Moto-Myrtle USA trike tour. Doing the Trans Am was a big bucket list item for me. Since this would be the turnaround point, getting on this route meant I would be heading west, heading home. The Trans America is probably the oldest and most popular cycling route across the US. I expected to see many more cyclists than I had seen up to this point, especially since I was getting to the trail at the start of the summer riding season. Using the Adventure Cycling maps meant that anything I needed would be available and listed in an easy-to-find format. Since this route is so well-used, I expected the Trans Am to be safe offering plenty of room for cars and bikes/trikes to pass without worry.

After 6 rides on the Trans Am, my 2 biggest worries were the narrow, unsafe roads and the smoky air from the fires burning in Alberta, Canada. It is hard to imagine how so much smoke could travel so far. The smoke has gotten thicker the last few days even after windy days. I was hoping the wind would blow the air clear. Instead, I think more smoke was blown in. I can feel the smoke in my throat and my eyes are burning. At the end of every ride, I feel like I've been crying all day from my eyes tearing up. The scenery is stunningly beautiful in Virginia but the roads are very narrow with no shoulder - at all. The roads twist and turn up and down with lots of climbing. Many of the turns are on blind corners that drivers don't slow down for. The stress of being extra vigilant watching the traffic is very tiring. I've done a lot of touring and have never been on an actual bike route that feels so dangerous. The roads were probably much quieter when the Trans Am was designed in 1976. What were quiet country roads in 1976 have become too busy for biking. I have read many journals for this route and this is an aspect that no one really talks about.  Perhaps, like me, everyone is trusting the Adventure Cycling Association to offer the safest routes. Every day, I keep thinking the roads I've been on are anomalies and today will be safer, and then, every day, I am seeing the route only become busier with auto traffic. I am losing my sense of humor and running out of excuses for continuing this ride.

Lovely scenery

Bucolic setting

The ride from the Love Ridge campground continued to follow the Blue Ridge Parkway. Coming off the Parkway is one of the steepest hills on the Trans Am Bike Route. Everyone remembers riding the Vesuvius hill. Going east to west, this is a crazy scary descent of 4,000 ft with lots of hairpin turns. I could smell the brakes of passing cars which gave me the idea to pull over to let my brake disc rotors cool. This is something that takes some thought. You need to pull over in a flat area. The brake rotors are so hot they need to cool without the brake pads engaged. The rotors will bend if the brakes are engaged. I actually pulled over twice on this descent. 

Once at the bottom, in the town of Vesuvius, a man stopped me to tell a story about a guy driving a Ford Explorer who let his brakes overheat. The car caught fire igniting the hillside. The fire burned so hot that his car melted. Impressive!

From here I traveled roads along a creek into the town of Lexington. I found a hotel where I checked in for 3 nights to wait out a big rainstorm passing through. Hopefully, the rains will help improve the air quality.

Day 62 Ride Video

Myrtle resting at a hotel

On the 4th day, the weather forecast wasn't great but there also wasn't supposed to be any more rain. Leaving Lexington, I made a terrible mistake misreading the map. I turned the wrong way on a busy one-way road. Luckily, the car coming towards me saw what was happening and stopped. I ended up flipping the trike just as I came onto the car. My feet came out of my shoes and all the contents of my side seat mount bag were strewn all over the road. Remarkably, the only damage to the trike was a broken flag pole. When I flipped the trike, the left handlebars went into my ribs which was quite painful. My left ribs were bruised but not broken. Many of the car drivers stopped to help me. The police were called and they couldn't have been nicer. Their only concern was for my safety and well-being. They helped me get the trike and trailer onto the sidewalk. One officer also figured out how to attach the broken flag pole back on the rear rack with duct tape and a couple of zip ties. There was no damage to the trike or trailer and I was able to ride on.

Very nice officers

Scuffed Rohloff gear shifter

Frayed flag pole

The ride to Troutville was very hilly and I could feel my ribs as I huffed and puffed up every climb. A few miles before getting to the community park, the rains started. Troutville is a town that is on the Trans Am and the Appalachian Trail. They allow camping to both groups. I was the only person camping tonight. Just as I got under a park shelter, a big powerful cell really let loose. Oh my goodness, did it pour and pour and pour. I was grateful to be under a shelter for the night. There was water, electricity and a shower trailer. This was something new for me. The shower trailer had anything anyone could need. Soap, razors, shampoo, foot care bandages, toothbrushes, towels, and a really hot water shower. They even had a box of free clothes. This was very generous and unusual.

Day 63 Ride Video

There were also train tracks 50 ft from the shelter. Luckily, the last train went by at 8 pm and I had a quiet night's sleep. In the morning, I was relieved that my ribs weren't more sore than they were yesterday. I could tell this event was having an effect on me psychologically and I tried to laugh it off. I just couldn't believe I had made such a careless error and this had me second-guessing my judgment.

Great sense of humor

welcoming sign

The ride to Christiansburg had a good deal of climbing which tested my rib soreness. Even though there had been lots of rain the day before, the air quality was still poor with smoky haze. Coughing with sore ribs is no fun. Using my ACA maps, I followed the route to a recommended motel. This motel was scary-looking. It was old and run down with sketchy people sitting outside their rooms. The doors to the rooms were not wide enough to get my trike through. I asked a man if he could help me and he couldn't. Maybe he was too high. The thing about getting help carrying the trike into a hotel room is I would also need help in the morning getting it back out. This place didn't feel safe and I pushed on riding back into downtown Christiansburg. This added another 6 miles to my ride for the day but I found a normal Econolodge hotel where I checked in for 2 nights.

20 Anniversary sign for bike route 76

Abandoned auto repair

Day 64 Ride Video

I really could have stayed another night. I didn't feel super rested even though I didn't do anything for 2 days. Sometimes, I try to stay too positive and push myself when I really should have stayed put to rest more. It's hard not to ride when the weather is good. I had a few miles to get out of Christiansburg and back on the Trans Am bike route. Again today, there were lots of hills. The scenery was beautiful and even though I was enjoying the ride, I could also feel that I was still spooked by my close call when I flipped the trike. My ribs were still quite sore but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I got lost a couple of times when I couldn't get Google Maps to agree with the ACA digital map I had on my phone. After all these years of touring, I still have a terrible sense of direction. Today I ended up climbing two very steep mountain roads expecting to find a shortcut. There wasn't one. Just a lot of extra riding - oh my! I found my way to Max Meadows to camp at a private RV park. The tent sites were $15 and separate from the RV campers along a beautiful creek. The sites didn't have water or electricity but there was a covered gazebo that had outlets. I decided to set up my tent there to make charging my batteries and gadgets more convenient.  At one point, I needed to find the bathroom. I was walking around and around and couldn't find it. I knew I was in trouble emotionally when I started to cry about it. This was a clear sign that I was exhausted. 

Day 65 - Ride Video

I have toured all over the world and done a lot of tent camping. All my gear is excellent and as comfortable as it can be. Somehow, I have never been comfortable tent camping no matter what I do. The tent is so thin and I always feel vulnerable. I rarely sleep well even though I was probably in my sleeping bag by 7 pm in the evening. I always think that I'll get used to tent camping and I never have. Maybe if I had other people to tour with I would feel safer. I'm always staying at campgrounds but, still, I don't feel safe.

Hay drying in the field

Scenic country road

There was a huge 14% grade hill to get back on the road leaving the Pioneer Family campground. The route was beautiful but the road was busier than I was hoping and I didn't feel safe. This made me quite emotional. It's been a lonely ride on the Trans Am where the road has become a monster. I felt like something terrible could happen at any moment. I had completely lost my sense of humor. The sore ribs, sore throat and burning eyes from smoke-filled skies also wasn't helping how I felt. At about the halfway point for the day, I was feeling like giving up on the ride but decided to continue. Maybe something would happen to change how I was feeling. 

Fur trappin

Cows going home

All through my ride across the country I have had friends keep in close contact. My friend Joni at the church near Palm Springs has been a constant companion as well as Ron and Cindra in Dayton, Ohio. Ron and Cindra had been very concerned about me over the last week. They were not happy about how narrow the roads are and, every day, they called to ask if I needed them to come pick me up. If they hadn't been so insistent, I probably would have blown off their offer but, instead, today I called them to say 'yes', I needed them to come pick me up.  The narrowness of the roads had taken its toll on me and it was time to be honest about the situation. I could hardly believe it when they said they would come the next day, from Dayton, Ohio. I was very near the Appalachian trail town of Rural Retreat and found a hiker's motel. This motel was next to a highway which would make finding me easier for Ron and Cindra.

Rural Retreat, end of the tour

Appalachian trail blaze

Ron and Cindra arrive with a trailer

Being rescued is fun!

Day 66 - End of the Tour Video

I called my friend Joni to explain the situation and, incredibly, she said, no problem, I'll come get you. She started driving my truck from Palm Springs the next day. Ron and Cindra found me in Rural Retreat, VA arriving before noon the next day. Once we knew when Joni could make it to Illinois, Ron and Cindra decided to drive me, Myrtle, and the trailer to meet her from Dayton, Ohio. This was a huge help and would save Joni 2 days of driving. I couldn't believe how fast everything happened. When I thought about stopping my ride, I expected to rent a truck to get back to Southern California. Being rescued is a lot more fun.

With Joni, on Route 66

Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma

Even though I didn't finish the 7,000-mile tour I had planned I felt good having done the riding I did. This has been an amazing experience. Touring by trike is a wonderful way to travel. Much of the tour was in really terrible weather conditions and I think the ride will always be affectionately known as the 'Sufferfest Tour'.

The thing that has made the tour worth all the suffering was the wonderful people I met along the way. The triking community has been fantastic. Trikers all over the country have been warm, inviting, and generous. So many trikers opened their home to me. I loved meeting everyone. Andy O'Neil, a triker in Missouri, design a website for me with a map to show my YouTube videos, contact form, miles and climbing accomplished. He also put together a donation page where many of you donated to the tour. With the terrible weather, these donations made the tour affordable. The most common donation was $100 which was, for me, a huge amount of money. I want to thank everyone who offered support, encouragement, information, hosted me, rode with me as well as all those who followed along. I will always remember your kindness.

I ended up doing just over 3,000 miles with 100,000 ft of climbing. 

Until the next tour, keep on trikin!