This is a new blog for CANTBIRD: California-Arizona-Newmexico-Texas Bike Ride. This will be a 1000-mile solo self-contained bicycle trip on the west half of the Southern Tier Bike Route, from San Diego to El Paso. (Last year I did the eastern half, 1521 miles from Austin to Jacksonville.)
I think I finally have this new site working. I had to scramble to learn WordPress, since I am leaving in four days! I will probably continue to post a few dozen pictures and video clips on Facebook each day like I did last year on GUMBIRD, but this time I decided to also post to an old-fashioned blog, for those who don’t use Facebook. My blog posts will probably be lighter, with only a few paragraphs and a small number of pictures, but it will be ad-free and social-media-free. And it’s easier to look back through old posts on blogs. My main thesis of my new “Old Scouter” blog is that older guys can still have cool adventures, as long as you dial back expectations for distances and speeds.
I was originally hoping to ride the entire western half, from San Diego to Austin, but I now have a commitment with my new barbershop quartet in late March and I don’t think I’d make it in time…and El Paso has the last airport before San Antonio. I know, I know…it’s hardly worth getting sweaty for only a thousand miles, but sometimes you have to balance those priorities. Anyway, here is the map of the first section, from San Diego to Phoenix:
This is from the Adventure Cycling Association, which is a great source for bicycle maps all over the USA. Note that the original route went north through Palo Verde, Hope, and Wickenberg, but ACA now says that route is no longer safe due to traffic. So I will be taking their recommended alternative southern route through Yuma, Wellton, and Gila Bend. There are fewer towns on the I-8 detour, but I’m hoping that the occasional lone gas station that I see on Google maps is still open for food and water.
Here’s how the route looks from Phoenix to El Paso:
Being self-contained means I am bringing everything with me on the bike — camping gear, clothes, tools, and always some food and water. This can get very heavy — over 90 pounds for bike and gear. (I’ll do another post on that when I finish packing.)
Due to the weight I’ll be hauling, not to mention the hills, headwinds, my age, and maybe most important, the fact that I haven’t done much biking since October, I am planning VERY conservatively for miles. Hauling 90 pounds, you are lucky to average 10 mph if you have any winds or hills. My biggest fear is saddle sores, so I need to minimize time in the saddle, at least for the first week or two. So here is my VERY tentative schedule overview, not including a possible day or two layover in the event of snow in the mountain passes:
That’s all for now! I’ll post more tomorrow about my packing list.