Introduction

August 26, 2023

Finishing Off the Republic

Since 2016, some friends and I have been riding across the USA in stages. Journals for these previous stages appear on another "network." I came across this format, liked it, and decided to take a shot at publishing an account of one stage of our journey here.

Starting at the beach in Lewes, Delaware on September 10, 2016.

Back then (2016), most of us were still working. Now, we are all retired with me being the last, finally stepping away from my position in July 2023. I think that 50 years of working was enough.

In the first 3 tour stages we had 8-10 riders. After a tougher than expected ride from Cincinnati, Ohio to Saint Louis, Missouri in 2018 (Stage 3), our group dwindled to 6 in 2019.

Stan riding on the backroads of Indiana during our adventure in 2018.

That year (2019) saw a lot of Spring rain and washouts of our planned route on the Katy Trail. So, we took roads across the Show Me State that had shares of hills, gravel, and remote rural countryside. Those challenges, along with the heat and then the Covid off-year in 2020 trimmed our group to 4 by 2021.

We graveled across rural Missouri in 2019. Away from the Katy Trail, the state is hilly and remote (photo by Fred-Parker).

The 2021 stage (5) was the longest in time and in distance covered. We started in Kansas City, Missouri and finished in Durango, Colorado. In July, ambient temperatures were very warm across Kansas and Colorado. There were long, hot, dry, and remote stretches in both states.

The Rockies were challenging but not as difficult as one might anticipate. On the last day, approaching Durango, the traffic became very stressful. We happened upon the post-Pandemic vacation breakout season. It seemed that everyone and their brothers were speeding past us with their RVs. We made it to Durango unscathed but needed a debriefing session to calm our frazzled nerves.

We crested Wolf Creek Pass, in Colorado, during the 5th stage of the tour, in 2021.

In 2022, we returned to Western Colorado to resume the tour. Crossing spectacular Southern Utah accounted for the lion's share of our trip. The riding was tough but beautiful. We passed through some of the most remote and beautiful countryside seen so far. We had a wonderful trip but several subsequent factors reduced our group even further for the remaining Stage 7.

Riding across Southern Utah will remain in my memory forever. Around every corner was another scene that simply blew me away.

As we begin Stage 7, two group members are already heading out West. They will be camping along the way, as they drive across the country. I'll be taking the train, first to Chicago. There, I will spend a couple of days with some friends and two participants from earlier stages of this tour. After that, I'll get back on a train bound for Flagstaff, Arizona. From there, I'll begin a preliminary ride to Ely, Nevada where we will meet to begin Stage 7 and resume the cross country tour.

This journal will report on my pre-stage 7 adventures as well as the actual stage itself. I hope you will enjoy reading and following along.

Training ride, with a friend, in August 2023.

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