Going out for a little walk

UPDATED 26 December

Turning 60 in February 2017. Making plans to trek across America to celebrate.

Remember in the movie, when Forrest Gump started walking across the country? I recall thinking that would be a really cool thing to do. A few months ago we hosted a couch surfer who was pedaling her bike across America. She started in San Francisco following the Adventure Cycling Association’s Western Express Route, which happens to pass through Cedar City. From here, she continued on all the way to Washington DC. I was envious of her accomplishment following her on Facebook.

Spent the last few months researching. Maps in hand. Departing Christmas Eve to start walking on New Years Day. Not planning one long trek, but a series of shorter treks over a number of months.

For the first leg, I originally considered taking my bike with me on a flight to Houston to follow the Southern Tier adventure cycling route to Baton Rouge, then ship the bike back home. Revised plan looks more like this:

• Shuttle from Cedar City UT to Las Vegas airport New Years Eve.
• Red eye flight to Houston arrives 6:00 AM.
• Uber driver from Houston airport to HEB grocery store north of The Woodlands.
• Hitch hike from HEB to trailhead east of Richards Texas in Sam Houston National Forest.
• Lone Star Trail from west to east. 96.5 miles. 6-7 days.
• Hitch hike from last trailhead southeast to Cleveland Texas. Shower. Provisions.
• Buy cheap bicycle at Walmart in Cleveland.
• Ride north to Shepherd Texas to hook up with Southern Tier route, east to Baton Rouge, south to New Orleans, then on to Pensacola Florida. 595 miles total. Donate bicycle in Pensacola.
• Walk north on Great Eastern Trail through Alabama.
• Side trip to walk from Selma to Montgomery.
• Carrollton Georgia to visit friends at BlueWater Ropes.
• On to Atlanta to catch flight to Puerto Rico.
• Fly to Hawaii for training gig sometime in late February.
• Home in mid-March to run a couple courses.
• Red Rock Rendezvous in Las Vegas 24-27 March.
• Back on the road …..