In July, 2008, I rode west from my Ohio home, roughly paralleling Rte. 30, until I met up with Adventure Cycling�s North Lakes route, which I planned to follow up through Michigan�s Upper Peninsula and into Wisconsin, before dipping south to visit my son�s family in Madison. However, my beginning mileages were lower than hoped, and even that early in the ride, I feared I wouldn�t have enough time. At Ludington, Michigan, I short-cutted, hopping on the SS Badger for the four-hour ferry ride to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
I navigated all the way across Wisconsin mostly by the advice of local bicyclists I met along the way. My planned route seemed to change daily. I joined Adventure Cycling�s Northern Tier route near Minneapolis, Minnesota, following this route through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington.
From Anacortes, Washington, the Pacific Coast route took me south along the west coast. I did not want to bicycle alone through Los Angeles and San Diego, so I picked out a route that cut across the middle of California and joined the Southern Tier at Quartzsite, Arizona. The Southern Tier took me through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
From St. Augustine, I took Adventure Cycling�s Atlantic Coast route north through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
From Bar Harbor, Maine, the Northern Tier route led me west through New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and into Ohio. I left the official route at Geneva on the Lake, Ohio, and pedaled south to arrive home on my fiftieth birthday in July, 2009. |
