Just Checkin' In

I e-mailed Cary today and he mentioned that somebody had asked what had happened to us, and suggested that we let everyone know that we are OK.

The reason that we haven't been active on the forum lately is pretty simple. For two years we limped by with cheap cell service and limited internet access. That had two effects: First, we didn't have sufficient bandwidth to pursue our core interests online, and second, that meant we had lots of time to draft posts offline, so we could get caught up on things on the forum when we finally did have decent cell reception. It was often a hassle to do so, but at that time we had the time to burn.

The reason for the cheap cell coverage was that we retired about 8 years early. In order to pull the trigger that soon, we both agreed that for the first two years we would live a very frugal lifestyle, which we have done. Our first retirement income will begin in another three years, and it will be nearly five years before we have full retirement income. Those first two years we lived on about a third of the income that we will eventually have. We recently gave our selves a raise to about double what we were spending over the past two years (and our expenses have also dropped dramatically). One of the first things we did was to splurge and buy a Verizon unlimited phone plan, meaning our phone now works just about everywhere (we're still being frugal - my Republic Wireless phone runs off the Verizon's hot spot - it's like having an extra unlimited plan for $20 a month).

Having vastly improved internet service means that much more of my time is spent doing family history research with dozens of distant cousins who are spread all over the country. I turn that research into novel-length books that I self publish. They generally take a couple of years of research each, and I have several in various stages of completion. So I just don't have sufficient time to participate in the forum in any meaningful way. Plus I belatedly came to the conclusion that our situation is unique among the other owners that we have come to know. Our experiences are unique to our particular lifestyle, and don't really align well with the way that the majority of members use their campers.

As far as our tagteam cycling, where we had been bicycling continuously throughout the country the past three summers, I witnessed Alea having one too many close calls last fall, so we have opted to end that. We are currently figuring out what to do instead, because we enjoy staying active. While the tagteaming was fun and a great way to stay in shape, there were many stressful facets to it, not the least being that we never really knew what to expect on every new road that we traveled. We've had a few people hit us with stuff, try to intimidate us and generally be every sort of jerk imaginable. They were a very small minority of the people that we encountered, but we really don't want to seek out any more of them.

We traveled through one area last year, and had such a wonderful time that we were starting to plan a return trip. Then we met a guy who told us that, at the time we had been there, several cyclists had been run off the road intentionally, and most of them required hospitalization. That was because a group of people there had decided that cyclists don't belong on public roads, and thought it was up to them to do something about it.

Anyway, we are still full timing and having fun. We've put nearly 67,000 miles on our van in less than three years. Our camper easily has 80,000 miles on it and is doing great. We still gets lots of complements on it's construction and finish, and folks are very surprised when we tell them how much wear and tear we've put on it.

And we love telling people that we haven't vacuumed a carpet, mopped a floor, scrubbed a toilet or mowed a lawn in nearly three years. Who can't get used to that? ;-)

 

We are glad you are ok, enjoy your time off, its sounds great

 

Steve, I had mentioned to Cary that I had not seen any posts recently and wondered if he had heard from you. He indicated that the next time he talked with you, he would mention that we missed you and your many discussions on the forum. I had a more selfish reason for asking, as I had missed your daily writings on your tag team Bike adventure. I guess in some way I was living vicariously through your updates. My wife and I love to Bike and thought what you were doing was pretty cool. Actually looking at the Natchez Trace Parkway as a way to see that part of the Country.
We bought our CI two years ago from Dave and Dixie in Oregon and bought a Ford Transit Connect as our TV. Love the setup and the ability to carry the bikes standing up inside the van and out of the weather. Planning to do the Horsey 100 in Lexington Ky over Memorial Day weekend and will pull the TD and camp in it. Regards to you and Alea. If you are ever in the Washington DC / Northern Va area please reach out to us.
Bottom Line, we are happy that you guys are doing well but sorry that your tag-team adventure has come to an end due to a few inconsiderate people and respective actions.

Will and Diane

 

You know a fun and safer alternative to riding on the on the road would be rail trails. There is a whole system of abandoned railroad lines across the country that have been converted to bike trails. I'm guessing there is good camping near many of them. I have plans to explore some when I retire in a couple of years, The Rails to Trails Conservancy has unlimited information about them, maps etc. I'm a long time road rider also and it does seem to be getting more dangerous out there with all of the distracted drivers and more anti bike people who refuse to share the road.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Randy

 

Did that trail with my son in 2013 . A father / son trip. He was 19 , I was 56. Funny, not a lot of talking but we both say it was an amazing trip. Tent Camping along the way. Memories made .... pricelesss.

 

I too have enjoyed living vicariously through your travels Steve and Alea. While few of us would have the stamina to do the biking tours as you all have done, I think most of us would love to hear of life on the road as full-timers. I hope y'all will stay connected with the forum.

 

Glad to hear y'all are okay, but do miss you here on the forum. Definitely understand the cycling dilemma with some drivers. Most are not a problem, but as you know the ones who are, are a major problem.

 

I wasn't around back then but will welcome you back.

 

Hi!

A word of caution about the Natchez Trace. The problem areas are Tupelo (not too bad) and Jackson. Both are the urban areas along this mostly rural stretch of very scenic road. Several years back, someone's loved one was killed along one of those two stretches. That led to MS adopting the 3' to pass rule.

Either some people choose to ignore it, or there still is a major illiteracy problem in MS. After having a few cars passing northbound in our lane within a foot or two at 70 mph around Tupelo, I finally just staked out the middle of the southbound lane and dared them to hit me (thankfully, there were no takers).

Jackson is worse. The northernmost stretch of the Trace is a shortcut used by locals to get to work, and you are taking your life in your own hands on that stretch. Part of the problem is that there is dearth of campgrounds along that stretch. If you can reserve at the public CG in Jackson, you can probably time things to avoid the hazards.

That said, most of the Trace is scenic and very pleasant. In my mind, it is a sanitized view of MS, much different from any other route you would take through the state.

And if you want a glass of wine now and then, plan well ahead. Lots of dry counties and goofy liquor laws in MS - more than in most states.

-Steve

 

Minnesota, Florida, and Virginia have some great trails, and many of them are fairly long. Not necessarily our cup of tea, but we understand the attraction.

Our vote for a really safe place to ride, with lots of varied scenery and little commercial traffic is from NE Oregon to Mount Hood. We left Joseph/Enterprise to the Snake River Valley/Hells Canyon, then went west through Baker City and Sumpter toward Heppner and Condon, OR. Trek does an annual tour out there for their employees/customers. From Condon, head towards Maupin and the Deschutes River, and from there to Mount Hood. In that 400 miles we rarely saw a few dozen cars a day, and a good part of it is restricted to commercial traffic.

And if you wanted to continue on to the coast, Portland was probably the easiest city that we have encountered to bicycle through. The coast is awesome cycling, but has become overrun with RVs. Best to do it as self-contained touring and not have a support vehicle. At the right time of year, the weather is great and it is a rolling party on wheels all the way down to SF.

There are several other parts of Oregon that are equally awesome. Most of US 26 east of Central Oregon is a favorite, and the area around French Glen is also near the top of our list.

-Steve

 

I haven't done the GAP, but it sounds interesting, and we have friends that have done it.

The KATY trail is a lot of fun. From the western terminus, it should be fairly easy to connect up with Northern Nebraska's Cowboy Trail. The latter is still being developed, and parts of it are too rough for road bikes, but it parallels US 30, which is an awesome road, another favorite of ours. Lots of cheap hotels, basic local restaurants and a fair amount of good camping. The highlight is Fort Robinson, at the southern end of the Black Hills. If you haven't been there, make it a destination.

We've been along that stretch more than once.

We reached the KATY from Chain of Rocks Bridge and through St. Louis. The stretch north of the Gateway Arch to Chain of Rocks is pretty sketchy - lots of places for someone to bushwhack an unsuspecting cyclist, and lots of graffiti and vandalism to consider that a likely possibility. But the rest of it is pretty awesome.

-Steve