HOW DID THIS GET STARTED?

I have been cycling for almost 35 years. It started innocently enough with a basic road bike for weekend rides. I was stationed in Savannah, GA with the Army at the time, when a flyer in the local bike shop caught my eye for the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). There was a group of people that were going to ride across Georgia over 6 days in June. The thought boggled my mind at first, but I took a flyer anyway because I was also sort of intrigued by the idea.

The ride was about two months away and I decided I wanted to do it. Being young and in the military, I was in decent shape and wasn't too worried about being able to handle the ride. I had basic camping gear and everything else I would need so I signed up. It was a supported tour so I had someone to transport my gear from town to town each day. I didn't know anyone doing the ride but that didn't faze me at all.

It was a fabulous ride and I met so many fun people throughout the week. I was bitten by the touring bug. I returned the next year to do the ride again, and then did a week-long supported tour in Florida that fall. I also had my first introduction to BikeCentennial (now Adventure Cycling) during this time. I started reading stories in their magazine (no internet back then) and started dreaming of what it would be like to load up your bike and go wherever you wanted without having to be on someone else's route or schedule.

As happens to many of us, marriage, children and life interfered with the realization of my dream for 20 years. I continued to ride with local bicycle clubs and do other cycling trips, but none was quite the same as I imagined an unsupported tour would be. I finally had the opportunity to do a cross-country unsupported tour the summer of 2007. I rode a slightly modified version of the Adventure Cycling TransAm route from east to west. It was everything I thought it would be, and more! I did a few smaller "shake down" tours prior to the cross-country ride, and have done several shorter tours since. 

My exploits are captured in journals at the below link:
Big Red's Touring Journals

As the result of some injuries and several surgeries, it has been a long time since I did a tour. I needed the time to heal and get back into proper "touring shape", as well as get to a point again where I could take a chunk of time off work. That time has now arrived and I am currently planning my next tour. Follow along for my adventure...