Life On A B-I7

Section 7, Stillwater, MN to Muscatine, IA, 370 Miles

As you move south through this section of the route the Mississippi Valley widens. It now reaches points where the valley can span several miles in width. The main crop is no longer wheat. Now you will see fields of corn, oats and soybeans. Livestock, dairy, poultry and apple orchards are also important industries. The route passes Effigy Mound National Monument. Covering some three square miles, the monument protects over 200 ancient peoples burial sites dating back approximately 2,500 years. The monument also offers hiking trails that wander through beautiful hardwood forests. In the summer months wildflowers are abundant. One such, the Day Lilly, is actually an imported species that has gone wild.

Section 8, Muscatine, IA to Monroeville, IN, 415 Miles

Now you are entering the “Grand Prairie.” This may be the richest soil in the world all due to glacial activity. This originally brought settlers from the Appalachians and the South. To open the territory, railroads with many spur lines were built in the early 19th century. This brought tradespeople as well as farmers and the proverbial minister, now all hallmarks of this region. Still prevalent today is a strong Protestant tradition with several well known colleges training future generations of pastors. As you reach the end of this section the terrain gradually changes as you leave the Mississippi River plain. With this change comes smaller farms and more diversified farming.

Section 9, Monroeville, IN to Orchard Park, NY, 420 Miles

A large part of this section follows the southern shoreline of Lake Erie for the greater expanse of the lake’s length. Leaving Ohio you leave behind the first oil boom in America. Oil was easy to find in this region. It often bubbled from the ground in places. It even seeped naturally into the water supply. Edwin Drake built the first oil derrick and America’s oil rush was on. Today there are only a few remnants visible of this bygone era. An interesting side-trip here is to the memorial of Captain Perry’s defeat of the British fleet on Lake Erie in 1813. This became a dramatic turning point in the War of 1812. When initially losing the struggle, Commander Perry famously coined the phrase, “Don’t give up the ship.” This ultimately led to a decisive victory over the British. The memorial can be visited by ferry ride. More info is available at the National Park Service

Section 10, Orchard Park, NY to Ticonderoga, NY, 450 Miles

This section follows Lake Ontario although not as close to the shoreline as in the previous section. The first 200 miles of route is relatively flat. If you want to put the hammer down, this is a good place to do it. The route abruptly climbs 1,500 ft into the Adirondack Mountains. You reach the end of the section at the town of Ticonderoga. One of the highlights of this section is Niagra Falls. A short alternate will allow a visit to this natural landmark. Taking in a portion of the Erie Canal is also a worthwhile endeavor.

Section 11, Ticonderoga, NY to Bar Harbor, ME, 440 Miles

This section traverses four states, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The section begins at Fort Ticonderoga where there is an opportunity to take in some Revolutionary War history. There is always potential for wind and rain in the Mount Washington area. The White Mountains in New Hampshire present climbing challenges. Nearing the end of the tour now, the climbing should feel celebratory. Another Revolutionary War historical site worth visiting is Fort Knox. Fort Know is noted for its exceptional preservation. The Vermont Green Mountains were once some of the tallest mountains in North America. Today they reach heights of 5,000 feet, in their youth they reached 12,000 feet. Logging has a long and storied history in New England and is still important to this day.

Washington, Idaho, Montana

Note: This itinerary is subject to change once I get on the road. I built this primarily as a way to show other people what my intention is for this tour. There will be rest days here and there, those are not accounted for below. The “Day” column indicates a “Riding Day.” I may make changes to this plan in the weeks leading up to the tour as I’m able to gather more information.

Washington (WA)

1 - Alternate Route

Idaho (ID)

Montana (MT)

2 - Canadian Alternate (Leavitt, Cardston, Del Bonito)

North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa

Note: This itinerary is subject to change once I get on the road. I built this primarily as a way to show other people what my intention is for this tour. There will be rest days here and there, those are not accounted for below. The “Day” column indicates a “Riding Day.” I may make changes to this plan in the weeks leading up to the tour as I’m able to gather more information.

North Dakota (ND)

Minnesota (MN)

Wisconsin (WI)

Iowa (IA)

Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

Note: This itinerary is subject to change once I get on the road. I built this primarily as a way to show other people what my intention is for this tour. There will be rest days here and there, those are not accounted for below. The “Day” column indicates a “Riding Day.” I may make changes to this plan in the weeks leading up to the tour as I’m able to gather more information.

Illinois (IL)

Indiana (IN)

Ohio (OH)

1 - There might be an opportunity to take in a Guardians game.

Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine

Note: This itinerary is subject to change once I get on the road. I built this primarily as a way to show other people what my intention is for this tour. There will be rest days here and there, those are not accounted for below. The “Day” column indicates a “Riding Day.” I may make changes to this plan in the weeks leading up to the tour as I’m able to gather more information.

New York (NY)

Vermont (VT), New Hampshire (NH)

Maine (ME)

SUMMARY

This is a summary taken from the itinerary listed above. To compile this summary I used the cities from the ACA route and mapped distances and elevations between the cities using Apple Maps. This should be considered close, but not completely accurate.

After importing the ACA digital routes from Ride With GPS into Komoot (which I will be using for the ride) Komoot made several corrections to the routes. In some cases the ACA routes were as much as 8 years old. A good reason to use Komoot. Here is a summary taken from the Komoot import. Using the same number of ride days with the Komoot routes, the calculated averages are a little bit different (less).

Training Plan

The reason I have a training plan is because I’m not 25 years old any longer. I’m pushing three times that age. One can’t be too careful when taking on an endeavor like this at my age so being prepared physically is critical. I don’t have a lot of experience putting together training plans, in fact, this is the first one I have ever built. My two previous trans con tours I just got on the bike and went for it. That said, this plan is a bit off the top of my head. If it works great, if I find it’s not working, I’ll adjust as I go. The jury won’t return its verdict until sometime after June 1st… probably when I reach the first mountain passes on the route, Rainy Pass and Washington Pass in the North Cascade Mountain Range.

Week 1 is bike tune-up week and first ride. I return from camping on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on Tuesday and take the bike in to my bike shop the next day.

Week 2 the training begins in earnest. Mondays will be the week’s warm-up ride. Wednesdays will consist of endurance work. I’ll find a hill and climb 2 miles for the indicated number of reps. Friday will be distance work. I’ll be riding my fully kitted bike starting with empty panniers and gradually adding weight to the kit until they are fully loaded.

This schedule will allow for other activities on Tuesday, Thursday and the Weekends. Hopefully that will include skiing on Mt. Bachelor in March and early April. It has been a bad snow winter so that prospect remains an open question. I would also like to do some weekend camping. Which would include some short mountain bike rides. My local bike shop also hosts weekend and Wednesday evening rides so those are an option, and always fun too.

I will record each week’s training adventure on pages here, just for fun.

Training - Week 1 - March 2 to March 8

The preparations are beginning. The bike is in my local bike shop for a tune-up. I’m doing my first training ride on Friday. It will be very short but I can already feel it’s going to be good to get back on the bike. The Davidson is a real thoroughbred, even without panniers.

Yesterday I downloaded the Northern Tier digital map set from the ACA. I’ll be loading that into Komoot so I can sync it into my COROS app and watch. I’ll be laying out the tour route and schedule in separate entries here on this site. I’m planning to begin the ride in Anacortes Washington on June 1st and end in Bar Harbor Maine. Some 4,300 miles and approximately 80-90 days of adventure touring.

I’ll most likely be riding solo unless the right riding companion(s) sign on. I plan to camp and cook for myself most of the way with occasional stays in motels and a meal in roadside diners here and there. This will be my third trans con tour so I’m no stranger to this sort of travel. I actually enjoy it. That’s a must, so no surprise really.

Training - Week 2 - March 9 to March 15

Plan

Notes

Week 2 got off to a rocky start. I had surgery scheduled for Wednesday. All is well and my recovery is not an issue, however, that pretty much consumed three days out of my week.

Thursday night I went for a ride with my local bike shop crew. The ride got off to a rough start for me when I had an asthma attack two miles in and had to drop. I do have asthma but it is normally well controlled and not a factor on tour. That said, in the early stages of training it can make things more complicated.

I don’t expect this to be a problem. Next week will be better! Cheers!

Training - Week 3 - March 16 to March 22

Plan

Notes

Week 3 is in the books and the training has yet to get underway. I’m not terribly happy about that but on the other hand, I still have two months to make this come together and I’m pretty sure that is enough time.

I had the toenail removed on my right big toe because is has been bothering me. That was done on Tuesday and the blood thing is terribly slow to heal. By the end of the week it had gotten infected so now I am on antibiotics for ten days. It is feeling better and I think I will be able to put on cycling shoes in just a couple of days.

I started Accupuncture therapy to help relieve pain in my back so I can train more effectively. I’ll be taking treatments once a week until the tour begins. I’m also meeting with a personal strength trainer early next week, so that will be a real aid to preparation I’m sure. More to follow.

Training - Week 4 - March 23 to March 29

Plan

Notes

The month of March has slipped past me. Fortunately I still have two months to pull the training together. I’m going for a ride tomorrow (Monday 3/30). Next week I begin weekly workouts with a personal strength coach. My toe is still healing and feels pretty awful but I’m going to have to ignore that since it could be several weeks more before the dang thing is fully healed.

My asthma has been giving me fits for the last two weeks. Spring has erupted early here in Central Oregon — with a vengeance. I’m going to make an appointment tomorrow to see an Asthma/Allergy specialist — hopefully I won’t need to wait long to get in. All of this sounds a bit grim but I am optimistic as hell, and excited. To boost my moral, I designed a logo for the tour (see below) and my daughters want their own t-shirts with the logo on them. Who would have thought.

I’ve been looking at the COROS watch/app combo. I’m planning to use both on the tour. I have a lot of work to do to get familiar with them. (They are new acquisitions for this tour.) I’ve discovered three features I definitely want to use.

1. Pause Navigation / Resume Later
   This will allow stats and route info for the day to be saved without extended food/rest breaks mucking up the works.
2. Extender
   This will display the watch screen onto my cell phone (which I have mounded on the handle bars).
3. Safety Alerts
   This will notify my special someones when I begin each day’s travel and also allow me to send an emergency alert to them — should that become necessary.

Training - Week 5 - March 30 to April 5

Plan

Notes

Another slow week in training. That’s in terms of cycling miles anyway, otherwise eventful. My toe is not yet healed and sometimes it even keeps me awake at night. I’m glad I didn’t put that treatment off any longer. Getting that done as early as I did was a good idea. The toe is getting better, ever so slowly.

My weekly Accupuncture treatment continues on Tuesdays and will until the start of the tour. I’m getting good relief from the treatments and they are helping to keep me in the game. Wednesday I attended my first strength training session. It kicked my butt. It’s going to be great. My trainer marveled at the fact that I did a long distance tour just two years ago. She was judging that based on my current level of strength. She said I was living on good genetics and I needed strength training now more than ever. I don’t disagree with her. She promised that our sessions would get me ready for the long hours in the saddle demanded by the tour. She’s right, it does require strength in the back and glutes to handle the prolonged pressure.

A winter storm blew in Wednesday night, possibly the last storm of this season. We took advantage of it by going skiing on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursday was tough because I was soar from training on Wednesday, but I survived and we had a blast getting in three days in a row of good turns, possibly the last days of good snow we will see this winter. We played pickleball Saturday and Sunday (and tomorrow as well).

The upcoming week will see me sorting through my touring kit and making sure that everything there is in order, and of course, I plan to get some miles in this upcoming week!

Training - Week 6 - April 6 to April 12

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 6.

Training - Week 7 - April 13 to April 19

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 7.

Training - Week 8 - April 20 to April 26

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 8.

Training - Week 9 - April 27 to May 3

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 9.

Training - Week 10 - May 4 to May 10

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 10.

Training - Week 11 - May 11 to May 17

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 11.

Training - Week 12 - May 18 to May 24

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 12.

Training - Week 13 - May 25 to May 31

Plan

Notes

I’ll update this page with training notes and progress at the end of week 13.

There You Go

Jeffrey Epstein wrote in 2017 to former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, “I have met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.”

I did a bit of research on the internet and this is what I came up with:

Regarding this quote, it originated from: “The emails released by the House Oversight Committee in November 2025 as part of a massive, newly disclosed trove of documents (over 33,000 pages) from Epstein’s estate and the Department of Justice.”

If Jeffrey Epstein said Trump is a bad person, that shouldn’t leave any doubt in anyone’s mind about what sort of person Trump is.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 139

When things look dim, stop and take another look. The simple act of stopping and allowing our thoughts to seek a new perspective can often be enough to turn things around. We simply need to give our brains enough space to come up with a solution. Stop, breathe, allow the mind to work through whatever it is that has us stymied.