Saturday, August 28, 2010

Random TransAm stuff.

Some random statistics/observations:

Trip dates: May 9 - July 31
Route: Yorktown, VA to Astoria, OR
Total miles ridden: 4,550
Total trip days: 84
Days of actual riding: 75
Days of rest: 9
     Days of rest due to fatigue: 4
     Days of rest due to injury: 3
     Days of rest due to not wanting to leave a cool town: 2


Longest ride: 120 miles (Sonora, KY to Sebree, KY)
Shortest ride: 17.5 miles (Hayter's Gap, VA to Elk Garden, VA)



# of states visited: 10       Average miles ridden per day (overall trip): 60

# days in Virginia: 13        Average miles per day (Virginia): 46
# days in Kentucky: 8       Average miles per day (Kentucky): 64
# days in Illinois: 4            Average miles per day (Illinois): 66
# days in Missouri: 6         Average miles per day (Missouri): 61
# days in Kansas: 10        Average miles per day (Kansas): 59
# days in Colorado: 9        Average miles per day (Colorado): 65
# days in Wyoming: 9       Average miles per day (Wyoming): 52
# days in Montana: 9        Average miles per day (Montana): 60
# days in Idaho: 5            Average miles per day (Idaho): 63
# days in Oregon: 11        Average miles per day (Oregon): 66



State with the worst wind: Wyoming, and then Kansas
State with the most unfriendly, dangerous drivers: Missouri
State with the most unfriendly people: Kentucky
State with the nicest, most genuine people: Kansas
States with the most difficult mountains to ride: Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri (the Appalachians and Ozarks)
Highest altitude crossed: 11,542', Hoosier Pass, Colorado
State with the most rain: Virginia
State with the best food: Oregon
State with the worst food: Kentucky, Missouri

# nights spent camping: 41
# nights spent in someone's home: 10
# nights spent in motel: 19
# nights spent in hostels: 8
# nights spent in a church: 4
# nights spent at a fire department: 3

# of times I was stopped and interrogated by a police officer: 2
# of tickets I was issued by police officers: 0

# of "phantom" flat tires: 1 (On day 3, the front tire went flat while riding, but I couldn't find a leak. I pumped it back up and rode the final ~ 4,400 miles without a problem.)
# of actual flat tires: 1 (the rear tire, 40 miles outside Pueblo, CO in the desert)
# of times I had to replace a used tire: 0 (Yes, I now have ~ 5000 miles on the original set of tires!)



# lbs of body weight I lost in 84 days: 2.5 (Yes, that's all. I too was disappointed! Too much biscuits and gravy?)




# of times I got a ride in a school bus (with my bike) through where a river had flooded the road: 1

# of live rattlesnakes I almost ran over on the road: 1
# of dead rattlesnakes I saw on the road: probably more than hundred
# of dead rattlesnakes I ran over: 1 (I was zoning out...then THUMP THUMP...it scared the HELL out of me!!)


Some random photos:

Look closely: Pure.....USED.....oil??

Yes, in Kentucky, they really DO play a game, in public no less, called "Corn Hole":

This Kentucky dude not only drove a tractor on the road, but he'd attached a patio umbrella to it:

# of adorable puppies I found abandoned, then rescued and carried with me for three days in my handlebar bag: 1

You know you're in Amish country when you see this sign:

# blow up dolls I saw riding on Kentucky tractors: 1 (is that really all?)

# of times I slept in some Good Samaritan's garage because of a tornado warning: 1

# of Rubik's Cube masters doubling as touring cyclists that I met: 1 (Nice work, Zach!  1 min, 9 sec. flat!!)

Chicago dog!!!! (In the Chicago Amtrak terminal while I waited for the train to D.C.)

Really?! Ten and a half street?! Of course it's a dead end...it's half a street!!

I'm sure the locals thought they were being funny here...but I think steep uphill rides ARE fun!!!

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

You know, I'm really NOT craving a drink at the moment, thanks.

Actually, yes! Kansas WAS so flat, boring, and remote at times that I took a picture of an intersection:

Uh, who is that "manning" the hotel's front desk?

Yes, I know the flies are encased in plastic...but it still creeps me out to think about sitting there.

Yes, let's ALL give a round of applause for Mr. Johnson (without whom none of us would be sitting here today)!!!

This spot in the middle of NOWHERE really excited me because it was the first sign I saw for Portland (home):

I thought the bumper sticker alone was a funny photo. Then Shaw spontaneously made it funnier.

There are some CRAZY folk out there.

I would LOVE to drive this thing in the Yellowstone snow...check out those "wheels"!!

ALL these trails crossed right HERE in the boonies of Wyoming!! (The Pony Express, Oregon Trail, Mormon Pioneer Trail, & California Trail.)

Anyone feel like fishing?

Seeing this guy (Sky) riding the TransAm really humbled me. I had it easy.

This dude (Mike), on the patio outside a Kansas bar, was cool as hell. He even let me play his guitar.

A snowy train ride at dawn through Montana's Glacier National Park was a great way to begin my trip!

The best cookie of my LIFE, no question, in Kansas at Buhler's Mustard Seed Deli...a perfect pecan chocolate chip, covered with a caramel drizzle.


And thus ends the TransAm journey. More posts are coming soon, however, regarding TransAm reunions in Portland (because a number of us that had ridden together but finished at different times ended up seeing each other again in Portland), and Hawaii's Cycle to the Sun race.