The Road Trip Gets a Late Start. But it is now underway.

 

Wednesday, August 11

Today was the first day of the three week road trip to get the last five states to have ridden in all 50 and three of the four ballparks I need to have seen games in all 30 active MLB ballparks.  It was not a cycling day—it was just the first leg on my way to Minneapolis.  I had hoped to leave around 9:30 a.m.  It was almost a two hour late departure to go to Dayton.  I arrived at 8:00 p.m. after driving through a really scary storm around Zanesville,Ohio.  Dark clouds.  Driving rain so hard that most

people were driving with their flashers on at about 40 mph on I-70.  The wind started to blow everything around and the car felt like it wanted to go sideways.  Here’s a picture of the dark clouds ahead before I actually drove into the storm.

Tomorrow night I’ll be in Janesville, Wisconsin.  I will try to get an early enough start that I will be at the hotel in Janesville in time to watch the Field of Dreams game. I once thought I’d like to go to that game between the White Sox and Yankees at a small ballpark that has been built into the cornfield in Dyersville adjacent to the field from the Field of Dreams movie…but not with the average price that people are paying for a ticket topping $1,000.  TV will be fine for me at that price!

Some good news today.  Based on what I see online it looks like I-70 westbound into Glenwood Springs will be open by next Wednesday so I should be able to get there to do a ride on the bike path up the Roaring Fork River in the direction (but not enough time to ride the 44 miles to) Aspen.  Then a straight shot west to Salt Lake City to get Nebraska and Utah.

My first ride will be this Sunday in Fargo, so look for a report on that here on Sunday night.

The Go/No Go Decision

 

It has been a somewhat agonizing couple of days trying to figure out what I should do about this trip in the face of the Delta Variant of the Coronavirus.  Should I go?  Should I not go?  If I don’t go for the second straight year when I have my trip planned out will I ever go?  I’ve spoken to several people to get their take on how risky it is going, whether I’m being too anxious about it, or if wanting to go means I’m being too naïve.  Well, it wasn’t much help.  The opinions I got were all over the board from “You gotta live your life.  Go!” to “I don’t want to take a chance of losing a friend.  Wait till next year."

About 10 days ago I had made a change to the itinerary, replacing stops in southern Utah at Richfield (hotel night en route) and St. George (ride to check Utah off my list)and southeastern Nevada (Henderson—near Las Vega to complete the 50 states) with Ogden in northern Utah and West Wendover just across the border in Nevada.  The vaccination rates in that part of Utah and Nevada and the Covid infection rates looked a bit better that my original stops. 

So if I was flexible one time, I could be flexible again.  On Monday, 36 hours before I am supposed to leave, I decided to go.  The first part of the trip is not too concerning (although more than one person advised against going to the ballgame in Minnesota), but as I head further west I always have the option of turning around and heading back.  So I am going to leave here Wednesday morning with this itinerary planned.

Drive to Minneapolis (two nights en route and stopping to have lunch on Friday with an old Amtrak colleague and his wife in Winona, Minnesota.  Prior to Winona, all food consumed will be takeout.  Hotel rooms will be wiped with wipes from my two containers of Clorox wipes.   A few hours after leaving Winona, I’ll arrive at my friends’ home in Eagan, outside of the Twin Cities.  Saturday we’ll hang out and that night we’re going to see the Minnesota Twins (my team for the last 62 years since they were the Washington Senators) and their celebration of the 30^th anniversary of their last World Series (which I remember like it was yesterday!). 

Sunday morning I drive to Fargo, ND, and upon arrival will do a 15 mile ride through town and along the Red River and check off North Dakota.  After checking into the hotel I’m going to see the Roger Maris museum, and then Monday it’s a six hour drive to Miles City, Montana.  I’ll either do my ride basically throughout the town (I call it the Tour de Miles City) late Monday afternoon or first thing Tuesday morning.  Then it’s down to Fort Collins, CO, a bit north of Denver.  And here’s the first place where I will take stock of both the virus situation, and whether I-70 has reopened so that on Wednesday after going to the Colorado Rockies game I can get to Glenwood Springs.  If I can’t I’ll go back to Fort Collins (unless I decide that changes in the virus situation warrant a return home--in which case I'll probably head east into Kansas.).  Thursday I’ll do a Colorado bike ride in Fort Collins (I am really looking forward to riding at Glenwood Springs—I hope it works out) drive up through Wyoming to a night in Salt Lake City. If I am able to go to Glenwood I’ll leave there and head across Colorado after my ride, also to Salt Lake City.  Friday morning a 1 ½ hour drive will take me to West Wendover, Nevada for a local ride to get my fourth state, leaving just Utah.  If I have enough time I will drive around the Great Salt Lake and stop at Promontory Point, Utah at the Golden Spike museum (it’s a shame that as a former railroader I’ve never been there) before going to Ogden.  Saturday there is a paved bike trail from Ogden down to Salt Lake City on a former railroad right of way.  I’ll ride as far as I feel like, stop at one of the stations of the commuter rail system (Front Runner) and take the train back to Ogden with my bike onboard.

From there it will either be off to Texas for the Hotter n Hell Hundred bike ride and then a Texas Rangers game, or I'll head stright back home.

Bottom line is I’m going.  I assume I will get at least two of the five states I need (ND and MT) and maybe all five.  I’ll get several ballparks, and if I don’t cut out the Texas leg, I’ll also get Kansas City on the way home and will have all but one that I need—San Francisco.  That will be for 2022.

I’ll expect to be gone for somewhere between 1 ½ and either 2 ½ or 3 1/2 weeks.  Yes, flexibility is the rule of the day.  Except there’s one thing that I’m not flexible on.  Except in the car, on my bike and at my friends’ homes and in the hotel room, I will wear a mask.  And use Chlorox wipes and hand sanitizer liberally.  No flexibility on that.

There may be another post when I get to Minnesota, but if not there, definitely next Sunday night from Fargo, ND to report on (and have pictures) from my first state ride.

Thanks for reading.  And stay safe!

To Go or Not to Go. That is the Question.

 

No pictures for this one!

Next Wednesday (August 11) I am supposed to leave on my “road trip” to get the last five states I need to finish off my goal of riding in all 50 states.  But for the last two weeks I have been going back and forth between looking forward to the trip and getting ready to cancel it all.  Why?  Rising Covid cases,  “breakthrough” infections, and a concern that it’s now been over six months since I was vaccinated.

I think it’s pretty clear that the risk of getting Covid, albeit probably with mild symptoms, is increasing although still very low.  If I was simply going on this trip, riding in my car, going out and biking, and staying away from indoor restaurants, I probably wouldn’t be having the doubts that I am.  But I am also, as part of my parallel quest to see ballgames in all 30 active major league stadiums planning to go to games in Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas and Kansas City.  That puts me in crowds where the risk of contracting the virus increases.   I will absolutely feel the need to wear a mask whenever I’m at a ballpark (I wore one when I went to a game with my daughter Julie at Nats Park here in DC on Tuesday night).  I think I’ll feel . safe, although ballparks are clearly locations where the risk of getting infected is higher than on the bike or in the car.

I had already determined that my last two bicycle stops—St. George, Utah and Henderson, Nevada—were places where the percentage of those vaccinated was lower and the number of new infections was higher than I’d like.  So I’ve rearranged the western end of the trip.  I figured that once I left Glenwood Springs, where I would bike on the paved path through Glenwood Canyon, I’d head northwest toward the Salt Lake City area, doing a short ride in West Wendover, Nevada, just across the Utah/Nevada border and then go stay in Ogden, Utah where I’d ride down the bike trail the next day toward Salt Lake City to complete the 50 states.  As far as I decide to go I can then come back up to Ogden on the Front Runner commuter train which allows bicycles on board.  With the 50 state goal achieved, I’d head to Dallas, having to pass up the two night stay I had planned for Tucson.

But the other day I saw that Glenwood Canyon is closed, along with I-70 through the Canyon for getting to Glenwood Springs due to a major mudslide.  The closures are for an “indefinite” period.  I talked to the visitors bureau in Glenwood Springs which said the closures could be from three days to three weeks.  I will call tomorrow and find out what it looks like.  If getting to or from Glenwood is going to be too difficult, I may have to do yet another re-route.  Or I might just decide to only go as far as Denver, do a much less desireable ride in the Denver area, and then come home, leaving Utah, Nevada and three ballparks for next year. 

Monday is the day I have to make a final decision.  I'm still not sure what I'm going to do.  Stay tuned!

Bruce

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!