The Upcoming Itinerary

 

The time is approaching for the final push to ride in all 50 states.  Right now I am
planning to leave my home in Maryland a month from now on a “road trip” which will see me take rides in the five remaining states, plus see major league ballgames in three of the four current ballparks that I have not yet visited.

What Constitutes a Ride?

Over the years my rides in the various states has ranged from several hundred miles riding across a state as part of a bicycle tour, to multiple rides while living in or visiting that state, down to-- in the last couple of years--  a ride of at least 10 miles done with the intention of adding that state to my list.  Why 10 miles?  Those who know me and my detailed cycling record keeping know that I only record the data for a ride if it is at least ten miles    Anything shorter than that is hardly enough to consider that I’ve gotten any exercise benefit from the ride.  So as a result a short ride to the grocery store or a nearby home never gets counted.  I’m sure that several thousand miles have been excluded over the last 30 years of record keeping. 

Since I’ll count a 10 mile ride toward my grand total of 115,191 miles logged since 1992 (101,887 of those miles occuring since 2000, or almost 5,000/yr for the last 20.5 years), I decided that I’d count a ride of that length as qualifying for riding in a state.  In the last few years I’ve added a few states with short rides.  And I will admit that the last five states this month will be relatively short rides—although I’ll aim to exceed the 10 mile minimum threshold.

 What’s the Upcoming Itinerary?

In addition to the bike rides and major league baseball games, I will visit with several people as I drive about 7,000 miles during just over three weeks in August and early September.

En route to Fargo, North Dakota for my first state ride, I’ll make overnight stops in Indiana, Wisconsin, visit a friend and former work colleague in Winona, Minnesota before spending two nights with friends in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  Although I’ve been to Target Field in Minneapolis, we’ll go to a Minnesota Twins game (I have rooted for the Twins since 1959 when they were the Washington Senators) at which they are celebrating the 30^th anniversary of their last World Series win in 1991. (I remember it like it was yesterday!).  

Then it’s onto Fargo a short three hour drive.  My plan after arriving there midday on Sunday is to do a 15-mile ride partially on in town streets and also along the Red River on parts of the Fargo-Mickelson Tricorn bicycle path.  After the ride I will visit the Roger Maris museum (a famous ballplayer
from Fargo) before leaving the next morning for a day-long drive to Miles City, Montana.  Either late in the day or early the next morning I will take a 15-mile “tour” of the city on my bicycle before driving on again, this time to Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

I’ve already ridden in Wyoming so Wednesday morning it’s down to Denver to see the Colorado Rockies play the San Diego Padres in an afternoon game.  After the game it’s back into the car for the two and a half hour drive to  Glenwood Springs.   

Thursday morning will start off with a round trip ride of 15-25 miles (depending on how late of a checkout I can get from the hotel)  up the Glenwood Canyon trail along the Colorado River.  This will probably be the scenic highlight of the trip, and it will mark the completion of 48 states, with just two, Utah and Nevada, remaining.

A five hour drive Thursday afternoon will put me in Richfield, Utah for the night.  When I leave there on Friday morning I’ll have a three hour drive to St. George, Utah, which my daughter advises me will be home to the 70.3 Ironman World Championships about a month after my visit.  I can assure you I will not be an ironman here—I’m gearing up to maybe ride one of the hills in the area but will primarily ride the relatively new Virgin River trail system.

Saturday morning, it’s off on a two hour drive to Las Vegas.  I haven’t decided exactly where in the Las Vegas area I’ll ride that afternoon, but once I’ve finished, I’ll have ridden in all 50 states!  That evening I will celebrate by hopefully winning back half of what this trip is costing me at the blackjack tables!!  Would you believe a quarter of what it’s costing me at the slot machines?  How about I’ll spend a modest number of dollars to enjoy dinner before calling it an early night.

Heading back East

So what are my plans for getting back East after completing the 50 states?  First it will be off to a night in Tucson and a ride around a 25 mile loop in the Catalina Foothills that I frequently did when I visited there in the past, and which is pictured here.  Then a two day drive will get me to Dallas for a visit with my financial planner (to plan how to invest all my Las Vegas winnings!?!?!?), before heading  up to Wichita Falls for an appropriate celebration of finishing all 50 states—doing the Hotter N Hell Hundred bike ride for my 17^th and final time!   But in a clear sign that I am getting older, I will probably only do the 75 mile option.  Before you call me a woos, I figure I’ve got nothing to prove.  I’ve completed the full 100-mile ride nine times, with the most recent being two years ago.  A seventy-five mile ride will be just fine on the day after my 71^st birthday!

Then it’s back down to the Dallas Area (Arlington actually) for a ballgame between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers in the new ballpark.  I’ll be going to that game with my daughter’s best friend Jane who lives in the Dallas Area.  Then with one night en route, I’ll end the month in Kansas City with a visit to the Negro League’s Hall of Fame and a game at Kauffman Stadium, leaving me just one more ballpark—Oracle Park in San Francisco—to visit in 2022.

An overnight in Cincinnati will position me to have lunch the following day at the diner on Court Street in Athens, Ohio (I went to school at Ohio University there) before driving the last five hours and bringing the Biking and Baseball Road Trip, and the quest to ride in all 50 states, to completion!