Bill,
Thanks for sharing this. An excellent write-up - no pictures needed.
Making new friends is the best!
Jeff

Thanks! I fully understand the "taking you back!"

Many of these cycle tour journals have taken me back too. Glad to be part of it.

I absolutely loved this. Thanks for writing it up. I grew up in LA county and my grandparents lived in Lancaster for many years, so I know the roads and the countryside you described. You did a great job of taking me back to my childhood. Nicely done!

So glad you wrote this up, Bill. What an adventure for a kid. Thanks.

Here I am at 79 years old, and waiting for the temperature to get above 55 so I can go barefoot... Sandals now on the bike though.

That’s another similarity we share. I loved to run barefoot, until I became a competition runner of course. Barefoot was my preferred outdoor footwear for most of my adolescence, and pretty much the first thing I would do when I got home was take my shoes off. I even still did this at work when I took my breaks out behind the building.

Well, not a big deal for a kid who hated to wear shoes and ran distance workouts barefoot.

Pedalling barefoot = badass cyclist. Chapeau.

I really wish I had some photos, but the best I could do was the family photo.

I wish your journal had some pictures of plants and animals. That way I could identify them for you. Ha ha!

Great writing Bill. Really enjoying this so far!

Amazing that you can remember with such clarity! But then again, how many days like that do you have in your life?

This is worth popping up some popcorn for. Keep it coming Bill.

This is really great stuff. Really enjoying this journal so far.

My mouth turned into a grin when I came upon this journal. "I had an old refrigerator metal shelf grate that I attached to the non-drive side of the rear wheel to hang stuff like my rock hammer and folding GI shovel. I wore khaki colored jeans, a cotton t-shirt, and an off-white felt cowboy hat." Amazing stuff!