Why do it?

Are we ready for one more blogger? Well I promise not to rant about politics or religion, the economy or the moral decay of society and will stick to the point. The question is why ride a bicycle across the country? To decipher the motivating force, we need to discuss the lose associations of a mind which never seems to be fully content with the present. Or perhaps we need to discuss an inner child which never fully seems to age despite my repeated efforts. Of course we are talking about cycling as evidenced by my endless love/hate relationship with the vast array of bicycles sitting in my garage. To start with there is the Pinarello which is my bike of choice, the Quintana Roo triathlon bike which has been collecting dust for the past few years but is available just in case, the Canondale which has been relegated to my "commuter bike", the Specialized fix gear which is for just knocking around and my latest acquisition, the Surly "Long Haul Trucker". A bike made of steel with a triple in the front and a 36t climbing gear in the back.

The plan is to do something a little out of the ordinary. Perhaps a chance to decompress from the endless franticness of the everyday work life and still incorporate my passion for cycling. Having lived in California for over 25 years now, I must say it is the most beautiful piece of earth that I have come accross. (Well okay the South of France is a close second) But having ridden over 50 century rides throughout California, having ridden 14 double centuries from Mt. Tam to Mt. Hamilton to Death Valley and having ridden from San Francisco to Los Angeles 3 times; having ridden from Santa Barbara to San Diego 4 times and San Luis Obisbo to San Diego I feel as though I have pedalled on and climbed up and over most roads, hills and mountains in the Golden State.

So having first travelled to San Diego from New Jersey to go to law school in 1978 in my black mustang pulling a small u haul trailer and travelling along Interstate 10 to Phoenix and then down to the 8 until it dead ended in Ocean Beach; It is a natural progression mixing my love for bike riding and the great outdoors to retrace my steps. Only this time once I hit the east coast I'll be heading south into Florida to see my folks instead of north to New Jersey, the genesis of my journey 32 years ago. And of course, I'll be going green, cycling and enjoying the fresh air instead of driving at 70 mph and listening to Joe Walsh and the J Geils band while checking to make sure that my radar detector was still working.