Topics

1

Bikecentennial / Buel and Patsy McMurphy

« on: August 03, 2023, 01:03:44 pm »

Did any of you ever meet them? They welcomed riders coming through Sterling, Kansas. People would camp in their front yard. I found them on Find-a-Grave, so it is too late to thank them in person, but we could all leave a thank-you note.

Link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88964727/luther-buel-mcmurphy

2

Bikecentennial / My 1979 Journal (partial)

« on: July 23, 2023, 12:16:49 pm »

I thought I'd share it.

Reading it now I really wish I would have kept a journal for the whole trip.

I barely changed a word as I types this out.

I'm working on a write-up for the rest of the trip, using other notes, photos, and Google Maps to help me piece it all together. It is amazing how much of the trip I remember. I am unsure of many of the more mechanical details, but the scenes, the feelings, and the people I remember well.

Mike

3

General Discussion / Looking for the original maps/guides

« on: July 23, 2023, 01:50:53 am »

Hi,
I posted in the Bikecentennial section, but it seems to be about dead. I won't repeat my whole post here, but briefly, I am trying to write up my 1979 ride from NC to CA, a good portion of which was on the original Bikecentenial route. My copies of the guides are long gone and having a set would greatly help me sort out many of the details of my journey. Google Maps helps, but a 1979 Google Maps would be more helpful.

Anyway, I can't find copies on eBay or Amazon. Does anyone know of another source? I'll check our local and university libraries, but I'd really like to own a set. (I have the guide for the easternmost route.)

Thanks, Mike

4

Bikecentennial / Looking for the original maps and books

« on: July 23, 2023, 01:42:33 am »

In 1979 I purchased the whole set of maps and guides from Bikecentennial and set out from Goldsboro, NC for Sacramento, CA. Obviously, I did not need nor use all of them, and unfortunately, the ones I did use have been lost. I mailed each back home when I no longer needed them, and after that, they disappeared.

Now, 40-some years later, I am typing up my journal entries, and for the sections where I had no journal, I am reconstructing my trip from memory, which surprisingly, has not been difficult.

The difficult part has been retracing my route. For the purposes of what I am writing, I don't need to include the details of my route, but I'd like to. Plus, being able to zoom in on the terrain or town helps jog the memory. Google Maps has been helpful, but there are sections where what I remember and what I see on Google Maps do not agree. In these cases, being able to see the Bikecentennial guides I had with me would help greatly.

The part of my ride that I am working on now is from Modoc, IL to Springfield, MO. I well remember riding through those mountains, which were probably in the Mark Twain National Forest. I also remember camping along that route. But I don't know for sure which road I took or where I camped. I do remember that there was a stream and a waterfall at the campground, and kids were jumping 10-15 feet into the pool below. The only campground I see on Google Maps is nowhere near water and waterfalls.

I remember staying at the Lazy Louie Bicycle Camp and talking to Louie for quite a bit. Anyway, so I have that point on my route reconstruction, but the hilly part that came before, and the campground, elude me.

After Springfield I rode through Kansas, starting with Pittsburg, then heading north for a bit, then west. I met the in Sterling and stayed in the dorm at the college that night. After that it was west on a really deserted highway, then riding an amazing 155 miles that day before rolling into Garden City, made possible by an early start and for once, light winds. I'm sure you remember the winds in Kansas if you were traveling east-to-west.

I'm still trying to reconstruct my route through western Kansas, and being able to see the original maps would help greatly.

I can't find the original guides on eBay or Amazon. Does anyone know where I can get copies?

Thanks, Mike

P.S. The photo is of me in Crossville, TN. I had just crossed into the central time zone.