(Official RAAM mileage is 2,697.4, which excludes return to Savannah mileage) Savannahs about 20 miles away from the Atlantic, on the Savannah River. Last night I stayed at a Residence Inn, 6 miles south of downtown Savannah. 26 miles to wrap it up. I rode back into downtown, to the Hyatt where I finished riding

This is almost the end – very almost. Im in Savannah, or was. Got to Bay Street (main road – historic district) at 8:30 PM in the dark. No available rooms. No Atlantic (saw the river next to Bay Street). Had to taxi out to the burbs. I need to a) figure out exactly where

Its two for one on the wine at the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant in Valdosta, GA tonight. Considering Ive only covered 49 miles in two days, I dont deserve it. But then again, they make up for the quantity with the quality. Pardon me while I break open some peanuts, eat the nuts and toss the

For those of you following on a map, today was Marianna, Sneads, Chattahoochee, End (covering Bainbridge), Climax (not even a good sign), Cairo to just off to the right side of this map, Thomasville in Thomas County. Left Bob Lee in Marianna and headed east on the 90. Rolling hills, nothing exciting. Northern Florida (and

Dont get confused. That is the same map as yesterday. The route today went from Ft. Walton Beach (the 98), through Destin, across a causeway up to Choctaw Beach (where the 20 is), through Portland, Bruce, then New Hope, then off this map, to the map below. The purple line is what I was supposed

I started the day just off this map to the left, and ended at Ft. Walton Beach, about at the 98 above. This map is worthless to understand what follows. If you have a more detailed map of the Alabama and Florida gulf coast, open it. A day of variety, yet The weathers the same

Im not quite sure where I am on this map. Its Dauphin Island, AL, a 30 minute ferry ride west of somewhere west of Gulf Shores. Its probably just east of the #7. I got a very early start (6:30A) to get a jump on the wind. It was about 8 miles back to US90

Photo ops along the way are determined by uniqueness, importance, appearance, distance and time issues, and my then current mental state. I try to avoid repetitive shots. Coming out of Houma, for the first 35 miles or so until US90 met US310, it was pretty much the same old swamps and wind. So, I thought

Question of the day: Whats an arpent? Today I did what was on this map, except that a) started in Kaplan, b) took side roads (LA182- the grey line that heads SE out of New Iberia toward Jeanerette) instead of 90 for about 40 miles, and c) took the yellow line SE out of Morgan

Holly Beach is just below the m in Cameron on the map above. It seems like its on land, but this is a land of, for lack of a better word, swamps. Theres water all over the place. 82 seems like a road going through the outer banks of North Carolina. The easterly winds were

Youre not going to get this until tomorrow. Im in Roys Cabins in Holly Beach LA – staying courtesy of a special pre-season opening by David (manager) at the behest of the lady at the local convenience store gas station. They say they have 6 cabins, but I count only 5. Im in the 4th

Back in the saddle again. After a too short and too hectic break, landed in Houston at 3:15P, taxied to Northwest Cycles, picked up the bike and some new gloves and shoes, and tried to make up for the short day on the 16th. On the road at 4:30P, riding along the Frontage road along

Thunderstorms, hail, flooding, wind – the first half of the RAAM ended a bit early, about 35 miles before plan in Houston. Well pick up about there in the second half, in 10 days or so. For now, lets stick with the narrative. This also disrupted my ability to get out an update yesterday, so

The 4th day of on route, on distance travel. The line above goes up to Luling, then south to Castro, the actual route cut off at Sequin through Belmont to Gonzales. Ive been on US90 since Van Horn – 4 days. It has been a 2 lane, 4 lane, divided 4 lane and interstate, but

For the third day in a row, I have done the exact planned route and distance. Today, Del Rio to Hondo, had a headwind all day, incline out of the Rio Grande Valley to Bracketville, rolling hills to Uvalde, relatively flat to Hondo. Cline doesnt exist. Knippa and Sabinal (and Uvalde) are cute little towns

Yesterday was the first day I did exactly what was planned (the 2 to the 3). Today was the second (the 3 to the END). Theres really not much choice. The Adventure Cycling trip map indicated: East of Alpine the route follows US90, a two-lane road with wide shoulders. From Marathon to Sanderson, a stretch

Ive made it to somewhere you never want to be and they call it Sanderson, TX. Im in the Desert Air Motel, across from the 24 hour Town & Country/Phillips 66 Truck Stop (here the sound of idling semis in the background? I will, all night. Why dont they turn them off when they go

In West Texas, if it does not stick you, sting you, burn you or bite you, its a rock. –         slogan on business card from the Sierra Motel (www.sierrablancamotel.com) Well, I can definitively tell you that you cant effectively ride a bike in 50+mph winds. More on that as we get past 2:30PM. There are

In case you were wondering, there are still Gideon (or Gideons, if you remember the song on the white album) bibles in hotel rooms. Im in the Best Western in Willcox, AZ. The region here is famous for Indians (Cochise and Geranimo were both from this area). There are forts and museums. It is also

OK, Ill admit it. Im stalling. Its 9:25AM. I am in Papas Caf (seen better days) just south of the intersection of Interstate 10 and US90. Its still only 41 degrees. The westerly tailwind that helped me out of the valley, through the mountains and here, 33 miles, in 2-1/2 hours, is about to become

As some of you have pointed out, I left off the map yesterday. It wont happen again. Heres the map for today, kind of. (for best viewing, set view to Normal) Today was Bryans 3rd and last day of the ride. We had a big day, and went all the way to Deming, NM yesterday

It seems like I typically start these with some side comment. Todays – though it seems like there might not be much going on when youre sitting on a bike 9 or 10 hours a day, Im actually quite busy all the time. Gotta get started early to make the mileage, cant take any naps

And now a word from our sponsors. If you havent joined or contributed to the Sierra Club yet, nows the time. Just go to www.sierraclub.org and do your good deed for the day. While youre at it, check out www.aridewithareason.org. This is Bob Lees ride across the country. Hes about 2 weeks ahead of me,

The plan called for me to end up in Gila Bend after a 128 mile ride through largely empty desert. I started 40 miles ahead of plan, but rode only 83 miles. 🙁 The empty desert thing was right on. All day on, or just next, to Interstate 8. Flat (slightly uphill to 745 feet

First off, my apologies for being a day late with this (I hope only a day late.). The Chaparral Motel in Tacna, AZ, home tonight, lacks some of the modern amenities, like a phone, shampoo, electric outlets, a working TV so I cant email. Tacna is at mile marker 40 on the 8, just east

Its 9:58PM PDST in El Centro, CA. I just had dinner in the best restaurant in town, the China Palace Steakhouse. $14.95 gets you a pretty good NY Strip, with choice of salad, choice of potatoe (spelling from that Bush Sr. VP who you cant remember) and red, white or blush. The room at the