"Claire Petersky" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:
[email protected]...
> "Pinky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Can someone advise me where to start looking for information in the very
>> first steps in planning a Trans USA cycle/camping trip in 2007 which will
>> be my 70th year.
>
>
> You might be interested in this fellow's story:
> http://mikebentley.com/bike/harry/. Harry rode from Seattle to Miami, and
> celebrated his 70th birthday along the way.
>
> BTW, my daughter's school music teacher is also a Mr. Panther. I have
> never met him, but I have this image of leonine strength and grace.
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky
> Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
> See the books I've set free at:
> http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky
>
--
Planning a trip like this is also a huge part of the overall enjoyment of
the whole event!
Thanks for that link to "Harry" and I read it with some interest -just for
the "feel" of a real touring biker -- even though he was motelling it (--
that option is a definite no-no for me in terms of expense. I find it
interesting that it seems very easy to "wild camp" in the US -- probably
because of an awful lot of open space. In UK and also many other European
countries "wild camping" is distinctly forbidden or at least heavily frowned
upon.
I must admit that I enjoy the facilities of being able to have a good warm
shower at the end of a days pedal pushing and my aging body has its body
"waste" functions adjusted to a fairly set routine which means I wake up in
the morning and have to go!!!!!!!! My youthful days of disappearing into the
wood with a digging tool and a couple of leaves has long since been replaced
by a comfortable and leisurely read of my book as all the necessary
functions work themselves through! Nuff said about that!
> BTW, my daughter's school music teacher is also a Mr. Panther. I have
> never met him, but I have this image of leonine strength and grace.
>
Ah would that it even applied in a small way to me! My days of "leonine
strength and grace" are long gone-- if they ever existed.
On my trips around Europe I have found that if I do about 80 - 100 kms/day I
then am able to have a pleasant evening where I can explore a little or just
relax in a new locale. My longest days journey this year was about 160 kms
which was fine but I certainly didn't spend much time sightseeing that day.
The aim of my travels is not just to cover "miles" or "kilometres" but to
see new places , interesting sights and events and above all meet new people
every day. I will stop for rest days as and when, and especially where I
find good company. I see little point in just getting my head down and
knocking off another 100 miles.
In Regensburg, on my way back up the |Danube this last summer, I met an
Australian who had cycled from Shanghai in China. He arrived at about 7 pm
in the evening set up and cooked a meal. He spent about 1/2 an hour telling
me and a couple of Hollanders about his travels and then was in bed. At 0500
hrs next morning, when I got up to have a pee, he was long gone.
What was very clear from his short conversation the previous evening was
that he virtually never stopped and "communed" with people or places. He had
travelled about half way round the world but had seen and sampled so little
of its wealth of experience -- what a waste of effort and opportunity!
I have travelled to and in many different places in the world but I am
saddened by the fact that there are so many places that I would wish to
experience which I shall now not ever see. I should like to "do" South
America, --- it would be fantastic to spend about a year in China cycling
slowly and living/working my way at "peasant level". I am something of a
good cook but my Chinese cooking is pretty basic and it would be a
tremendous experience to travel through China learning about food and
people.
I have rambled on far too much. My apologies for that. I suppose that the
second half of my life has been much like that -- a rambling journey that
has taken me in many different directions and has rewarded me with a huge
memory bank ( 100s of gigabytes in size) of wide ranging experiences. Even
the unhappy times -- they all count!
That is one reason I am looking at doing the coast to coast in the USA. I
have never been there although, in my long years as an "expatriate" working
in different countries I have made many US friends.
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
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