Where to go for a zero birthday: 50 is a big one.
Jacinto's first choice was the Mississippi River Trail. One river and seven states. That has a nice ring to it. Plus we haven't done any riding back east. A big down side is that we have to tour in the summer months due to work. Spring or fall would be the best touring time for this route. Jacinto was willing to do heat and humidity. Let's even say he would love that. But the part that slowed him down was flat. Jacinto loves to climb. He wanted a climbing route to prove that he isn't over the hill at 50. What can we do for a climbing route in the summer?
I have long desired to do a paved version of the Great Divide. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=2415 It has been done. There is a mileage list and a hotel list. What's not to like? There's a couple of days in sparsely populated New Mexico with huge miles. Could we bring a tent and sleeping bags for that small section and then send them home? Jacinto says no. Absolutely no camping. It reminds Jacinto of growing up in Mexico. He slept on the dirt floor until he left home. He's camped all he's going to in his life. OK. Let's keep thinking.
The Sierra Cascades route certainly has climbing. A friend just rode it this summer and said the route had a nice variety of scenery and lots of small towns. That sounds promising. Could we do it as a motel trip? I posed the question here on CG. Enter an angel with pink panniers instead of wings. Alison Stone had done this trip twice. First as a scouting trip and then as a leader for a group. She volunteered her motel and mileage lists and answered MANY questions. I would have given up, overwhelmed by the task if it weren't for Alison! She sent me a trip packet the likes of which I will never see again. Talk about helping your fellow cyclist!
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Unfortunately, CGer Pete Meltzer does not have any journals here on CG. He deserves special mention for having a memory like a steel trap. Specifically, Pete remembered the cabins at Eagle Cliff Campground. This saves us a 20some mile round trip to Cougar, OR and an 80 mile day. Pete also succulently compared the Rainy/Washington Pass day to the long slog from Doloroes, Co to Telluride, CO. That was a comparison I could relate to and REALLY helped ease my mind about the tough climb. Any little question I had, Pete remembered the route. He was/is a huge resource for me.
OK -we were on! The Sierra Cascades route it is. Our original plan was to finish in Yosemite. Alison warned me, Wayne Estes warned me, Jim Fitch warned me. Reserve Yosemite early. I called in November for July. Sold out. Really? What if we stayed in the tent cabins and played with the dates some. No, nothing? Darn. Double darn. Yosemite would be such a great finish to the tour. I started calling the other towns on the list. All of the other places were surprised I was calling so early for a summer reservation. From one extreme to the other. But I managed to book the entire month long trip. Hurray for me! The trip was really on.
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