A few weeks after I returned, my family went on a trip to Santa Barbara to visit relatives.  Since I’d ridden my bike that direction, they were interested in seeing where I had gone and decided to follow my route over the mountains.  We had a 9 passenger VW minibus and it was loaded with my mom, dad and 8 of us kids.  As my dad drove up the steepest parts in granny gear (not going much faster than I rode on my bike).  My dad said “I thought you said this wasn’t too bad!”We stopped in Piru for lunch at the park, and the swarm of local friends ran out delighted to see me again!  I felt famous!  My “15 seconds of fame!”

College, marriage, career kept me from touring again until I retired in 2008 and did a self supported trip from Dayton, OH to Wake Forest, NC and back, stopping along the way to visit friends and relatives, and also making new friends with folks who allowed me to camp in their yards.  That 2200 mile trip took 2 months with all of the visiting I did. The website I used for journaling shut down a few years after I finished, so it is no longer available.

In 2008, about 9 months after a widowmaker heart attack hit me, I did my final self supported solo tour riding from Oldfort, TN back to Dayton, OH.  That was immediately after going with Scout Troop 71, Beavercreek, OH for a rafting trip on the Ocoee river with the rafting company where my nephew was in charge of guiding.  That trip providentially allowed me to start from my brother’s place to head back home.  That trip is still viewable.  It is titled “Heart Attack Comeback” and posted on CGOAB.

Bad knees have kept me from doing long or loaded tours since then, but as most of you know, my old cycling and naturalist interests now keep me checking in on touring journals to feed those appetites. 

Thanks go to Scott Anderson for provoking me into posting about an old tour (but not forgotten!)… even if there are no photos, (which to me are about as important as the writing) and without his push, this ride would have never been made public.
Thanks Scott!

               ------>Bill<-----