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General Discussion / Re: The Long Distance Bicycle Tourist a High-Profile Traveler.
« on: April 12, 2026, 01:24:57 am »
Some people asked me the same question. I told them I had a residence in Florida.
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2
South / Weather extremes on the southern tier.
« on: March 17, 2026, 05:03:07 pm »
I crossed the continent of North America five times across the Southern tier of states from Florida to California. In my experiences, the most serious emergent fatal events were extreme sudden changes in the weather. Try huddling under a bridge at night and early morning for hours, the wind blowing the rain parallel to the road at 75 miles per hour. Thousands of bolts of electricity exploding into the earth all around you. Traffic on all highways and interstates forced to a standstill. Flooding. Tractor trailers pushed over on their sides.⁹
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Routes / Re: Southern Tier Pearl River Alternate
« on: March 14, 2026, 01:34:38 am »
The last time I bicycled through there, both bridges were closed. Both had barricades. It was easy enough to get the bike and gear over the barricades or through them somehow. The barricade is effective for cars and trucks. It does not prohibit bicycles. Same thing with the bridge over the Pearl River. Take the panniers off the bicycle and all the gear. Lift the bicycle over the barricade. Lift the gear to the other side, repack and go.
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General Discussion / Re: The Long Distance Bicycle Tourist a High-Profile Traveler.
« on: March 08, 2026, 11:37:23 pm »
Talk about being a high profile traveler. Some weeks ago I cycled 250 miles. In Stuart Florida, on the bike path parallel with Monterey Road, somebody from a car three an object at me. It was a piece of plastic, square about 18 in on each side, approximately half an inch thick. Each side was a Sharp as a razor. You could shave with it. I reported it to the police. They picked it up.
A few days after that while bicycling in Fort Pierce Florida, about 15 miles north of Stuart, some criminal in a black jeep deliberately tried to t-bone me. It was obviously deliberate.
You would have to be some kind of high profile for people to track a person like that.
A few days after that while bicycling in Fort Pierce Florida, about 15 miles north of Stuart, some criminal in a black jeep deliberately tried to t-bone me. It was obviously deliberate.
You would have to be some kind of high profile for people to track a person like that.
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General Discussion / Re: Why did you go coast-to-coast? Research for a book.
« on: March 08, 2026, 11:30:40 pm »
I just read that post by BB, bikelicious babe. What a close call. Problems with the health can hit anytime, especially the older one gets.
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General Discussion / Re: Why did you go coast-to-coast? Research for a book.
« on: March 06, 2026, 07:13:25 pm »
Exactly what kind of contribution that would be to humanity, I do not know. It would be a chronicle of human experience. People would read about it. They might pick up a little information. There was a famous English writer. He was from England. One of his final books was Summing UP. He said he had always read widely and well. He said you never know when a little bit of out of the way information can become useful.
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General Discussion / Re: The Southern tier. East to west.
« on: February 28, 2026, 11:55:05 pm »Incredible..... Sorry to hear. Some of us have had similar experiences - but over the course of years, not hours. Can only hope the culprits both times were one and the same.
Should probably get back on the road just have the reassuring experience of getting to a more civilized (less crowded) area of the country.
Nonetheless - I compliment you on your start date - plenty of time, and then some, before the higher altitudes out west.
Age 70, Souther Tier next spring is on the list of possibilities..., but we'll see.
It was a wake-up call that--not all is well and good. The first missile in Stuart could have been lethal if it had struck the neck or an artery in the leg. The black jeep in Fort Pierce got outsmarted. Had it been successful it would have been death there on the spot. The facts are the first one missed me, and I expected the second attempt. There was only (1) place they could make their next move. When I came pedaling up to that sort of place, I out-maneuvered them. I completely deliberately changed my pattern of motion, and it worked.
One thing about bicycle touring. It does make you vulnerable. Bicycling roadways across a continent brings you to the attention of thousands of people in cars. These people would not know you existed at all if you traveled by automobile. In the deranged minds of criminals, a lone person on a bicycle might seem like an easy target. Reports of gruesome crimes are in the media constantly. The first one took me by complete surprise. The second one I out-maneuvered. I deserve a Darwin award for that one in Fort Pierce, and for the train derailment in Ireland. I survived both. I survived because I knew what was going to happen before it happened. I conducted myself according to my fore-knowledge of these events in a deliberate act for the express purpose of surviving whole and functional. Surviving these attempts was not a matter of chance, luck, timing or mere happenstance. They were foreseen and heeded.
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General Discussion / Re: Why did you go coast-to-coast? Research for a book.
« on: February 09, 2026, 12:05:28 am »
When you first write it is just to get the ideas and descriptions on paper. After you have eliminated large and other bits of information not central to the main points, you can start on sentences. You can rewrite sentences using stronger verbs and more descriptive vocabulary. You cannot always think about things like that when you are writing in the field. When you're at home revising a manuscript and using a thesaurus you can come up with all kinds of flashy descriptive articulate vocabulary that make the reading more engaging. If there are too many long sentences, make some of them shorter. They say having long sentences in some parts and going from that to shorter sentences engages the eyes and mind more than all long or all short sentences.
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General Discussion / Re: Why did you go coast-to-coast? Research for a book.
« on: February 07, 2026, 10:19:58 pm »
If you wrote long hand field notes, you used stream of consciousness. After it is written you might have to change the sequence of sentences and paragraphs to keep Central ideas flowing and unbroken.
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General Discussion / Re: Why did you go coast-to-coast? Research for a book.
« on: February 07, 2026, 12:05:23 am »
I have several journals of my bicycling tours around the world. One of them is about 180,000 words. I revise, and reread, and revise, and reread and I keep finding grammatical errors and misspellings. For editing you eliminate first large bits of information that are not necessary for the central meaning. Then smaller bits of information. Then paragraphs and sentences. It's really easy to make and miss grammatical errors.
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General Discussion / Re: Why Adventure Cycling Is at This Juncture
« on: February 05, 2026, 03:16:17 pm »
I do not know anything about it. I got emails to vote for the sale of it. I voted for the sale. I got emails saying the boat was canceled. They said I should vote to save the building. I voted to save the building. I don't know why they contact me. I do not know anything about it at all.
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General Discussion / Re: Why did you go coast-to-coast? Research for a book.
« on: February 04, 2026, 11:00:45 pm »A belated thank you to everyone who replied. Your responses were fantastic. What's interesting is I shared many of your motivations for going cross country. After 3+ years, the book is finally written. I'm in the process of editing the beast now and will start to figure out a publishing strategy/option shortly.
I have written at least 2 million words, taught writing for academic purposes, and studied editing and revision. If you need any assistance, or some proof-reading, I might be able to help.
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General Discussion / Re: The Southern tier. East to west.
« on: January 31, 2026, 11:58:22 am »
There were problems that were not standard parts of a bicycle tour. I was bicycling on the bike path next to Monterey Road in Stuart Florida. An object came flying through the air at high speed, hit the pavement right in front of me, and bounced off into the grass. I went back to see what it was. It was a piece of stiff hard plastic, square, about 18 inches on each side. All four edges were as sharp as a razor. You could shave with it. I called the police. They went and picked it up. I think they were going to try to get fingerprints off of it.
There was another incident in Fort Pierce florida, about 18 miles north of Stuart. There was a black jeep. It was obviously deliberate. The SOB tried to t-bone me. I was ready for it and vigilant and expected it. I was watching for it. I made a concerted deliberate effort to avoid their being able to do anything like that. My vigilance and foresight are the only reasons I am alive right now, or at least the only reason why I am not laid up severely damaged in a hospital or worse.
This state is grossly overcrowded. There are people cruising the streets from all over the world and the country. Most are simply visitors, winter residents, tourists. Many others, as the statistics show, are traveling criminals with bad intentions.
There was another incident in Fort Pierce florida, about 18 miles north of Stuart. There was a black jeep. It was obviously deliberate. The SOB tried to t-bone me. I was ready for it and vigilant and expected it. I was watching for it. I made a concerted deliberate effort to avoid their being able to do anything like that. My vigilance and foresight are the only reasons I am alive right now, or at least the only reason why I am not laid up severely damaged in a hospital or worse.
This state is grossly overcrowded. There are people cruising the streets from all over the world and the country. Most are simply visitors, winter residents, tourists. Many others, as the statistics show, are traveling criminals with bad intentions.
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General Discussion / Re: The Southern tier. East to west.
« on: January 31, 2026, 11:51:24 am »I thought you were starting a bit later! I am still wrestling with starting around March 1st heading west out of St Augustine. But I have an "adventure (camping) van" and its call is strong! A warm, dry, comfy place to sleep with a 4" memory foam mattress is pretty appealing to my backside.
That is the way to do it. Faster and much more comfortable.
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General Discussion / Re: The Southern tier. East to west.
« on: January 22, 2026, 07:20:04 pm »
As usual, I overpacked. I could have eliminated half the baggage and not missed it. The bike rode well. I cannot say the same for myself. I did about 250 miles. Then things went south figuratively and literally, in the cardinal direction. I went back. I could not stand hanging around apartment doing nothing. I began a motor vehicle vacation. I can always start again.