Wagons and Bicycles

Just when I think I live in assholeville (as far as cycling conditions go), a 3 year old girl shouts at me from the blue wagon her dad is pulling her in. She excitedly shrieks, "HIIIIIIII BIIIIIIKE" as I fly by. Right back at ya, kid.

And that is total redemption for the 2 guys who screamed, "Get out of the road, asshole!" 

It's not always bike friendly around here, however, there are moments that make my heart smile. Thank you, blue wagon-rider, for making my day. 

Gratitude

So many of you left comments, and I received each and every one of them. I didn't have time to respond individually, which is why I'm dedicating a blog post to all of you kind souls.

Thank you so very much to everyone who left kind words; the small gesture meant so much to me. Some days I wanted to kick my bike, and when a happy comment would pop up in my email, it always made me smile. And to those of you lurkers who never left a comment, thanks for following along.

With gratitude,
P

What is a Cyclist?

When I first crafted the idea of cycling across America and started this blog, I wasn't even close to being a cyclist, and never thought I'd ever consider myself one. A cyclist is someone with a lean body wearing an ugly outfit on a road bike, riding at lightening speed. If you didn't fit that description, then you were not a cyclist...or so I thought.

Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there's all types of cyclists: there are those fast people on lightweight bikes, and there's mountain biking enthousiasts, or day riders on beach cruisers, or bmx punks, or those who, like myself, travel long distance on a bicycle - not that I don't like to move fast, but I like the travel part of cycling.

I wear bike shorts, paired with an awesomely ugly jersey, tank top, t shirt, button down, wool shirt or a wind breaker. My legs may be lean and muscular, but I don't have a typical cyclists body. I love my inefficient bike sandals. I want to ride lightening fast, but prefer a steel frame. I carry a frame pump and have a heavy Brooks saddle. My handle bars have a double wrap. Sometimes I don't wear gloves. I wear fast sunglasses, and I wear fun neon sunglasses. Beast is outfitted with a bell that just begs to be rung; I ring it with such joy. I will own a road bike one day, but right now, Beast is my pseudo road bike; I ride it hard, pretending it's a feather weight. And I have bar-end shifters that click loudly into place.

My name is Patrice, and I'm a cyclist.

Photo: Beast and I in Sisters, Oregon

Stats

Some fun facts and stats:

4,000 miles biked

86 days on the road. And around 10 of those were rest days.

10 states, 11 if you count the 2 miles through Tennessee to get into Virginia.

0 flat tires, though I had to change a few tubes from snapping or bending  valve stems. McKinley had 7 or 8. Stupid stock tires.

1 rear tire replaced in Berea, Kentucky, from a gash in the sidewall. My tire never actually went flat.

1 hard crash. Result: an awesome  knee scar.

3 chains

0 broken spokes

2 pairs of spd shoes - Keen spd sandals are amazing!

2 pairs of shorts that are totally falling apart

3 or 4 cries, from utter exhaustion or saddle sores

Countless laughs

And 1 new lifelong friend. That apparently is my twin. And I wish didn't live 2 weeks away by bicycle.

I thought this trip would be a quest for the best ice cream, but as it turns out, it was a quest for the best chocolate milk. Sorry to disappoint you, Lucy. Almost daily, I drank a bottle of the brown stuff, testing all of the local brands along the way. Contrary to populated belief, Nesquick is not the tastiest; my favorites were Highland, a local dairy in Missouri, and Borden, which carried further east into Kentucky. They were creamy delicious, since they are both made with whole milk. Yum!

My favorite convenience store ice cream was the Toll House chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, ringing in at 20 grams of fat. Double yum!

Best meals: veggie lasagna, one by ws hosts Jeff and Bettina, and the second by Beth and Garry, containing ingredients from their farm in Kentucky.

Favorite beer: Moose Drool, from Montana

Best coffee: Mojoe's in Damascus

Favorite self-made roadside sandwich: tomatoes and cheese on whole wheat with mayo and fresh cracked pepper. My mouth is currently watering. 

Favorite thing about bike touring: meeting the locals in small town America.

Will I tour again? Without a doubt; I can't wait to see what turns up next on the bucket list. Stay tuned.

Lastly, I'll probably keep this blog going for a while. I think I'll write only TransAm thoughts, or about other cycling adventures, since this is a cycling blog.

It's the journey, not the destination, so go on a journey, no matter how long or short.