2003 Trip Highlights & Statistics (revisited)

Key Dates:

• March 8 - Departed the Pacific Coast
  
• March 28 - Crossed the Continental Divide near Silver City, NM
  
• April 1 - Crossed the Rio Grande River & entered Texas
  
• May 1 - Crossed the Mississippi River
  
• May 17 - Arrived at the Atlantic Coast
  
• June 11 - Reached suburban Washington D.C.
  
• July 6 - Departed suburban Washington D.C. after a 3-week break
  
• July 9 - Crossed the Atlantic Continental Divide at Big Savage Mountain, MD
  
• August 3 - Crossed the Mississippi River & reached Minneapolis, MN

Basic Stats:

• Total Distance = 6,711 miles in 104 days (excl. 24 "rest" days & 3-week break)
  
• Total Riding Time = 599 hours, 27 minutes
  
• Avg. Distance = 65 miles per day
  
• Avg. Speed = 11 miles per hour
  
• States/Provinces Visited = 20 (CA, AZ, NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, WV, PA, OH, ON, MI, WI, MN)
  
• Bicycle Tourists Encountered = 24 (2 in AZ, 3 in NM, 1 in TX, 1 in LA, 1 in VA, 3 in MD, 1 in PA, 12 in MI)
  
• Flat Tires = 10 (1 in TX, 1 in FL, 1 in SC, 5 in NC, 1 in WI, 1 in MN)
  
• Autographs Signed = 1

Official Records:

• Longest Day = 132 miles (June 7)
  
• Longest Back-to-Back Days = 200 miles (August 1-2)
  
• Longest Week = 619 miles (July 28-August 3)
  
• Shortest Day = 12 miles (April 30
  
• Fastest Day = 14.0 miles/hour (May 31)
  
• Slowest Day = 6.5 miles/hour (March 11)
  
• Biggest Elevation Gain = 5,610' (March 27)
  
• Highest Altitude = 6,230' (March 28, Continental Divide near Silver City, NM)
  
• Lowest Altitude = 200' below sea level (March 13, Brawley, CA)
  
• Hottest Spot = Palatka, FL (May 16, 98º & humid)
  
• Coldest Spot = Alpine, TX (April 8, 27º with wind chill)
  
• Quickest Ride Thru A County = 0.7 miles (3 minutes) (April 21, Brazos County, TX)
  
• Shortest Ride In A State = 1 mile (1 hour) (July 8, West Virginia)
  
• Longest Ride In A State = 1,253 miles (25 days) (April 1-26, Texas)
  
• Most Consecutive Days Riding = 14 (May 30-June 12)
  
• Most Consecutive Days Not Riding = 23 (June 13-July 5)

Best Of...

• Favorite States - Texas (big & beautiful, friendly, good food & great ice cream), Michigan (nice people, attractive small towns, lots of lakes), North Carolina (beach towns, coastal habitat & historic spots)
  
• Favorite "Big" Cities - Austin, TX (pop. 656,562), Savannah, GA (pop. 131,510), Pittsburgh, PA (pop. 334,563), Minneapolis, MN (pop. 382,618)
  
• Favorite "Mid-Size" Cities - Silver City, NM (pop. 10,545), St. Augustine, FL (pop. 11,592), Cumberland, MD (pop. 21,518), Traverse City, MI (pop. 14,532)
  
• Favorite "Small" Cities - Pine Valley, CA (pop. 1,501), St. Francisville, LA (pop. 1,712), Dauphin Island, AL (pop. 1,371), Boulder Junction, WI (pop. 958)
  
• Best Store Name - Piggly Wiggly (various locations)
  
• Best Park - Big Bend National Park, TX
  
• Best Museum (quality) - Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, AZ
  
• Best Museum (fun) - Judge Roy Bean Museum, Langtry, TX
  
• Weird Weather - Sleet (Wickenburg, AZ), Snow (Silver City, NM), Severe Thunder/Lightning/Hail (western MD)

Worst Of...

• Least Favorite Cities - Apache Junction, AZ; Sunland Park, NM; Melville, LA; East Palatka, FL; Leamington, ON
  
• Least Favorite State - Mississippi (poor, hot & humid, no shoulders, roadkill, bugs)
  
• Least Favorite County - East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana (major industries are "timber, welfare & crystal meth labs")

Frequently Asked Questions:

• "Why Are You Doing This?"
  
• "Isn't It Dangerous?"
  
• "Do You Have A Gun?"
  
• "Are You Crazy?"
  
• "No Really, Are You Crazy?"
  
• "Is Jesus Travelling With You?"

Where Did I Sleep?

• In A Motel (65 nights, $45-50/night avg.)
  
• In A Tent (34 nights, $5-10/night avg.)
  
• In Someone's Home (29 nights, free)

Stupid Things I Did:

• Fell off bike on Day 1 (while riding home at night, didn't turn when the road did; ran into sidewalk and scraped leg)
  
• Ran into parked SUV on Day 2 (tired of climbing hills; didn't look up until too late)
  
• Fell off bike again on Day 3 (while talking with another biker, got too close to curb; rubbed saddlebags & promptly fell over)
  
• Decapitated my in-the-ear headphones on Day 4 (in trying to take them off while pedaling, I dropped them & the spinning front wheel chopped off the earpieces)
  
• Decapitated my second in-the-ear headphones several days later (D'oh!)
  
• "Fixed" 2nd flat tire by inserting unpatched tube (with hole) from 1st flat tire!
  
• Fell off my bike on the VERY LAST DAY less than 5 miles from the finish line (approaching a 4-way intersection on a congested suburban road, riding way too slow behind several cars, I just fell over!)

Things People Threw At Me:

• An empty plastic water bottle (AZ)
  
• Three pennies (NC)

"Famous" Towns I Passed Thru:

• Aguila, AZ ("Home of the World's Finest Cantalopes")
  
• Alpine, TX ("Home of the Last Frontier")
  
• Mamou, LA ("Cajun Music Capital of the World")
  
• Poplarville, MS ("Blueberry Capital of Mississippi")
  
• Bayou La Batre, AL ("Seafood Capital of Alabama")
  
• Orange Beach, AL ("Gem of the Gulf Coast")
  
• Fernandina, FL ("Shrimping Capital of the World" thru the 1920's)
  
• Kingsland, GA ("The City of Royal Treatment")
  
• Midway, GA ("The Cradle of Revolutionary Spirit in Georgia")
  
• Gloucester County, VA ("Land of the Life Worth Living")
  
• Scandia, MN ("First Swedish Settlement in Minnesota")

Some "Well-Known" Places:

• Boston (PA)
  
• Hollywood (SC)
  
• Memphis (MI)
  
• Scotland (VA)

Towns With Cool Names That I Went Thru:

• Pumpkin (TX)
  
• Fred (TX)
  
• Mamou (LA)
  
• Spuds (FL)
  
• Ashepoo (SC)
  
• Wampee (SC)
  
• Ocracoke (NC)
  
• Paw Paw (WV)
  
• Willowick (OH)
  
• Ojibwa (WI)

Towns Named After Food:

• Mayo (FL)
  
• Molasses Junction (FL)
  
• Pumpkin (TX)
  
• Spuds (FL)

Towns That Weren't What They Were Supposed To Be:

• Ordinary (VA)
  
• Lively (VA)
  
• Novelty (OH)
  
• Panacea (FL)

Towns I "Visited" More Than Once:

• Alpine (CA, TX)
  
• Atlantic Beach (FL, NC)
  
• Beaufort (SC, NC)
  
• Brunswick (GA, MD)
  
• Cumberland (MD, WI)
  
• Hastings (FL, NC)
  
• Jamestown (SC, VA)
  
• Laguna Beach (CA, FL)
  
• Seaside (FL, NC)
  
• Sunset Beach (CA, NC)
  
• Washington (LA, TX)
  
• Williamsburg (VA, MI)

Famous Rivers Crossed:

• Colorado (CA/AZ)
  
• Rio Grande (NM/TX)
  
• Pecos (TX)
  
• Mississippi (LA)
  
• Suwanee (FL)
  
• Cape Fear (NC)
  
• Potomac (VA/MD)
  
• Monongahela (PA)
  
• Ohio (PA)
  
• Mississippi (MN)

Rivers Crossed That I Can't Pronounce:

• Hassayampa (AZ)
  
• Atchafalaya (LA)
  
• Ichetucknee (FL)
  
• Youghiogheny (PA)

Ferry Crossings (14):

• Newport - Balboa Island (CA)
  
• Atchafalaya River near Melville (LA)
  
• Mississippi River near St. Francisville (LA)
  
• Mobile Bay from Dauphin Island (AL)
  
• St. Johns River near Atlantic Bearch (FL)
  
• Cape Fear River from Southport (NC)
  
• Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke (NC)
  
• Hatteras Inlet to Hatteras (NC)
  
• Potomac River at Whites Ferry (VA/MD)
  
• Lake Erie from Sandusky (OH) to Pelee Island (ON)
  
• Lake Erie from Pelee Island to Leamington (ON)
  
• St. Clair River from Sombra (ON) to Marine City (MI)
  
• Lake Huron from Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island (MI)
  
• Lake Huron from Mackinac Island to St. Ignace (MI)

Animals Most Interested In My Ride:

• #1 - Dogs (bark, chase & appear rabid)
  
• #2 - Cows (stare, stare and stare)
  
• #3 - Roosters ("cock-a-doodle-doo")
  
• #4 - Humans ("are you crazy?")

Cool (Live) Animals Seen:

• Dolphins
  
• Roadrunners
  
• Javalina
  
• Snakes
  
• An alligator

Gross (Dead) Animals Seen:

• Armadillos
  
• Racoons
  
• Turtles
  
• Deer
  
• Snakes

Miles Ridden With Other People (1,010):

• Shahar (825)
  
• Mike (118)
  
• Troy (18)
  
• A guy entering St. Paul (16)
  
• A different guy in east Texas (12)
  
• Scott & Joanne (10)
  
• Another guy in southeast Michigan (5)
  
• Scott, Cindy & Breanna (2½)
  
• Somebody else in central Texas (1)
  
• Yet another person in San Diego (1)
  
• A female rider in north-central Michigan (1)
  
• Steve in Western Maryland (½)

People I Saw In More Than One State (4):

• Dave & Carol (AZ, TX, VA)
  
• Shahar (NM, TX)
  
• Tanice (CA, NY)
  
• Jim (AZ, VA)

Daily Riding Frequency:

• Less than 30 miles (9 times)
  
• 30-39 miles (11 times)
  
• 40-49 miles (7 times)
  
• 50-59 miles (15 times)
  
• 60-69 miles (17 times)
  
• 70-79 miles (18 times)
  
• 80-89 miles (12 times)
  
• 90-99 miles (7 times)
  
• 100 or more miles (8 times)

Additional Breakdown by State:

• Miles (6,711) - Texas 1,253, Michigan 819, Florida 703, Arizona 562, North Carolina 453, Virginia 393, California 357, Louisiana 328, South Carolina 314, Wisconsin 268, Ohio 198, Pennsylvania 189, Mississippi 172, Maryland 168, Georgia 156, New Mexico 131, Ontario 90, Alabama 78, Minnesota 77, West Virginia 1
  
• Days (128) - Texas 25, Florida 14½, Michigan 13½, Arizona 12½, California 7½, Louisiana 7, North Carolina 6½, South Carolina 5½, New Mexico 5, Virginia 5, Pennsylvania 4, Minnesota 3½, Mississippi 3½, Ohio 3½, Georgia 3, Maryland 3, Wisconsin 3, Alabama 1½, Ontario 1, West Virgina 0 (1 hour)
  
• Paved Bike Trails (268 miles) - Michigan 60, Virginia 53, Florida 42, Minnesota 25, California 21, Maryland 20, Arizona 16, Ohio 16, Alabama 6, North Carolina 5, Wisconsin 2, Louisiana 1, Texas 1
  
• Unpaved Bike Trails (194 miles) - Pennsylvania 100, Maryland 88, Ohio 6
  
• Interstate Highway Riding (63 miles) - Arizona 30, California 22, Texas 11