So it's day three out from S. Florida. I'm on Rt 90 in SW Texas on a cold crisp morning, not a cloud in the sky. I haven't seen another vehicle for the last half hour. I'm thinking, "hey I'm really getting it done out here" as I head for the Big Bend National Park. Then I spot something on the shoulder of the highway many miles up ahead.
When I finally make it out I can see it was a guy and a gal on bicycles with small packs. Seems like almost every trip I take I see one or a pair of these bikers out in the middle of some lonely stretch of road. It is always a humbling experience for me. I can't imagine doing it. Next time I see one of these guys or gals I will stop and see if they want to chat a minute and get a pic.
I didn't get a pic that day, wish I had. Here's a pic I pulled off the net as an example of a biker and his rig.
Has it been cold in the mornings? I find it is pretty cold here first thing in the morning ...then it warms up. You would think it would stay warm in the dessert.....
Interesting how their route bypasses Eastern Australia and North America, the two of which represent a significant percentage of the longitudinal land mass of the globe. They write that their route fits the Guinness criteria for circumnavigation, which surprised me a little when looking at the map, and given these criteria listed on their site:
- The route must pass through two approximate antipodal points.
- Cross all longitudes.
- Cross the equator a minimum of two times.
I suppose the diagonal trip across South America satisfies the first one, but flying from there to Asia seems to skip over quite a bit of the globe. Also, they biked across the equator only once, but flew across it for the second.
This is not being critical; I was just surprised. Maybe I still have my head in Jupiter's Travels, as his route seemed to include more north-south legs. Of course, he rode a 500 Triumph, which was child's play.
You are right dwr. Everytime I tour on my motorbike I see people doing the same on push bikes. Stopping and setting up camp and everything. I think how after some long days riding it's hard to summon the energy to set up camp and cook a meal. Then I see the push bikers. Very impressive.
My brother and his wife cycled around the South Island of New Zealand for kicks just after they were married .I remember thinking to myself at the time ,they must be stark raving mad .Nothings changed .
I met one of these souls a couple years ago when he came down my road and stopped to talk to me. He was kind of lost, and didn't bring enough water for his trip. So I gave him a couple of bottles of water.
I met one of these souls a couple years ago when he came down my road and stopped to talk to me. He was kind of lost, and didn't bring enough water for his trip. So I gave him a couple of bottles of water.
Being a Jerzey boy....that was something I learned very fast. I always bring water with me just in case..eapecially when it is a long ride in all directioins with out anything around... This past summer coming back from the east it was a 110 degrees and I could not drink enough water or gatorade in that heat...:veryhot
Yeah, he came from Toledo so he had a good 30-40 mile return trip yet. I know how much water and Gatorade I go through when it's hot! He's lucky he ran across a teacher as most people aren't home during the day in the summer.
I have a 2nd cousin that rides his bike more in a month than I drive my VW and Bonneville combined....and not by a few miles either. At least a hundred or so.
We see a constant stream of international riders in the Australian Outback attempting to ride around or across the continent, many have no concept of the road conditions, distances involved or extremes of weather they will encounter.
Sadly we encounter regular reports of these cyclists getting tangled up with semi trailers "with predictable results" or succumbing to heat exhaustion in the middle of summer, of course out there your on your own, sometimes with no help available for for hundreds of miles.
For those interested distances involved are,
Across Aust 2500 miles
North South 1900
Around 20,000 http://www.travelaroundaustralia.com/travelling-around-australia.html
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