Permian Shale: Such a Paradox

Shale is no longer new news to those that have any involvement in oil and gas upstream operations. We know it it is one of the larger industry disruptors of our careers. Right up there with 3D seismic technologies, directional drilling, MWD, and a host of other technologies developed in our life time. 

On September 27, Chronicle presented yet another data set about the most active drilling areas in the US; West Texas and New Mexico's shale fields. Colin Eaton wrote the article titled: "Prolific basin in West Texas and New Mexico is likely to soon produce more oil in a year than the previous high mark set in 1973"

I've read previous articles stating there is more oil in place in this single area than Saudi Arabia. Colin states: "there's more oil in place than Kuwait and Argentina combined". And then goes on to say that "up to another 70 billion barrels may still be recoverable". None of this is really new news. 

Yet here's the paradox. Texas and New Mexico has more oil in place than they can shake a stick at in an area that was in my career deemed dead in the water never to come alive again. YET - they have to make money or it will begin to slow down. 

Obviously some portion of those wells are not profitable because as the article states: 

"One piece of evidence that many of today’s cluster of oil wells aren’t profitable: Oil companies have left almost 2,300 wells dormant, waiting for crude prices to rise before they bring the drilled but unfinished wells into production."

This would then lead one to imagine that there may be many more wells that could be drilled but won't till prices climb, and when that happens another surge will occur putting pressure on the upward momentum of price increases. 

We are only talking about West Texas and New Mexico. We know there are other oil and gas Shale plays yet to be developed and yet to be discovered in the world. It would certainly appear that shortages are not on our global horizon any time soon. Especially with OPEC and Russia espousing their "temporary" production cuts. 

Which leads to perhaps the biggest paradox of all. Assuming somehow, the price of oil does begin to rise and appears to be sustainable just like the last 5 times in my career that it rose and appeared to be sustainable; more wells will surely be drilled in shale producing regions and if it really looks sustainable, we will see offshore subsea begin to roll again......and even more production will hit the markets. 

As a footnote, another article appeared in the Chronicle this morning Oct 4, 2017 written by Collin Eaton - "Permian Land Rush Looses Steam" - "Rising production costs, high acreage prices and a shareholder push for financial discipline have dramatically slowed the land rush in the Permian Basin, one of the world’s most active oil fields.

Drillers spent $35 billion in West Texas over a nine-month period that ended in early spring. By comparison, the collective value of land deals of the last six months is less than $5 billion, energy research firm Wood Mackenzie reports."

What a business to be in. And to think, many of us lived through almost 50 years of this kind of roller coaster price and activity swings. And I'd do it all over again. 

T.

Oregon Trail - Post Tour Stats and Comment

Garmin Statistics

Total Milage: 849 miles (BJ & Tom)
280 miles (Bill)* 360 miles (Joe)*

Calculated Calories Burned: 54,000 (Tom)

Total Time on Bike: 65 Hours (Tom & BJ)

Maximum Speed: 47 MPH (Tom)

Average Speed: 12.5 / 14.5 MPH (Tom)

Total Feet Climbed: 36,000 (Tom & BJ)

*Note: Bill and Joe left as planned after the first week of riding. Bill missed about 40 miles of day 3 and all of day 4 due to equipment failure (a broken shoe.)

BJ, Gay and I rolled into Missoula Montana after 11 Cycling days, and 2 rest days. We ended the tour at Adventure Cycling's world Hq. An organization we have used for years to guide us on numerous tours.

Our tour took us all the way across Oregon from the coast to the Snake River and thru Idaho into western Montana. Gay and I also drove through parts of Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Wyoming, traveling to and then returning from the tour.

Our daily mileage average was challenging creating at times a fair amount of fatigue and mental stress for all the riders. Even with the challenges, it was marvelous even with the 50 plus fires burning across the region. Due to the hurricanes, few people know about these fires. But they are real and burn as this is written.

I stopped to meet and talk to a number of true bicycle tourists. The photo below is Greg, who began his tour fully loaded in New York on April 1. He rode down to Virginia and then across the heart of the US to Montana where I met him near LOLO Pass headed the direction we just came from, to the coast of Oregon. Greg will have over 4000 miles when he completes the tour in a couple of weeks. Other photos of people I talked to are in the linked photo album.

There are just too many stories to tell in a blog like this. But there were a few highlight stories that I just have to tell.

The Water Story - Joe and BJ ran out of water at least 2 times on the tour. Each initially carrying 2-3 bottles and drinking them at a rate they did not anticipate before support arrived. On one of those days, Joe began stopping people asking if they could spare water which led to a meeting with a highway worker named Leroy who told us about multiple Eclipse festivals in Oregon.

One of those festivals had over 70,000 people who paid $400 each to camp in the wilderness and experience a Woodstock like experience. He was vivid in his description of the topless women swimming the the stock ponds during the event. He said they had over 700 security people. Bet you didn't hear about that in the news.

Later, Joe miraculously began to appear each morning with a camel back on after that day. BJ simply stuffed additional water bottles in his jersey pockets.

Another story occurred in Baker City where I met a guy named Gandalf riding a recumbent trike. He said he was riding across the US and handed me a card. Behind him was a trailer with what looked like a covered wagon. He said that is where his dog sits. We checked out his card and found out he lived in Baker City and had not left yet on this grand tour. But he indicated that his reason for the tour was to start what is called "The Joy Pandemic North America Bicycle Tour", creating a new and greater state of being. (Yea Right) His pic follows. Hes on Facebook if you want to know more.

In brief summary, we all had a great time. We were challenged and we persevered. We saw parts of Oregon and Idaho we would never have seen. And found places we want to go back to.

Leg 1 of the ride across the US is now complete.

Photos and videos can be found here. 

Riggins to Kooskia - Smoke, Smoke & more Smoke

We began our ride today early around 6:30am, well before we could see the sun and with a temperature of 62f. To be honest I'm not sure we would have actually viewed the sun until maybe 10:00am because of the terrain around us. Riggins is literally surrounded by mountains and sits in a deep bowl with two rivers merging just below our hotel. A photo is shown below.

The beginning of our ride today gave us 30 miles of descent into White Bird Idaho. Then a 7 mile climb and another descent into Kooskia. The further we moved into the heartland of Idaho the more smoke we saw and had to breathe. Following is a photo of the smoke we climbed into during that first 30 miles.

We met Gay in Grangeville to refuel, and also to find that the truck had a slow leak on the front left tire. As this is written it is still leaking slowly. Given that today is Labor Day we could not find a place to have it repaired. So we are in hopes that tomorrow morning the tire will still be holding enough air to pump up with our bicycle pump and then drive to a repair station up the road. Or, use the spare tire for the first time.

As we approached Kooskia we found ourselves in wheat farm land. As BJ would say, it is a lava bedrock with soil that originated from rich composition. It literally looked like Kansas. That is, until we dropped off into a canyon descending a mile at 12% grade that had our rims too hot to touch. It was a stressful mile. BJ hit a 9.5 on the pucker meter. I rounded a corner watching BJ behind me overcook the turn and narrowly missing a 200 foot vertical fall over the edge. Later BJ was viewed on the side of the road wiping his shorts clean while turning his rear tire to cool it off.

Then we arrived in Kooskia to find that Gay had found the hotel that BJ had had reserved and was frantically waving to us to warn us not to go there as it was not a kind looking place. Miraculously Gay had already found a beautiful wood log cabin and already had it rented. BJ cancelled the other reservations. All turned out well.

Two days to go.

So So Beautiful

We now have over 633 miles under our belt since departing the Oregon coast. While I've included a few photos in this post, you can view others if you wish by clicking here. 

Cycling Area	Distance	Calories	Time
Cambridge Cycling	81.34	5,337	5:48:55
Baker City Cycling	109.88	7,758	8:45:20
John Day Cycling	80.95	5,640	6:21:02
Mitchell Cycling	69.15	4,998	4:54:58
Prineville Cycling	46.84	3,066	3:38:21
Prineville Cycling	0	--	00:01.8
Cycling	0	--	00:00.4
Blue River Cycling	100.02	6,773	8:33:17
Eugene Cycling	62.06	4,040	4:18:10
Florence Cycling	82.15	1,877	5:59:24
Florence Cycling	1.17	28	05:19.8
	633.56

We continue to be astounded by the scenery. Every time we think we are going to see nothing but desert terrain, it turns into lush green or at least relatively green and wooded views. Hells Canyon is an example. When we departed John Day, crossing over the original Oregon Trail, it looked like southern Wyoming. Hot, dry and filled with sage. But soon that turned into irrigated farm land and water all around us. This has not been a desert tour, thank goodness.
The last post left off with us arriving in John Day Oregon for our first day off. Today we are enjoying our second much needed day off now in Riggins Idaho. And rest we did. After 12 hours of sleep we boarded a river raft for a half day trek down the Salmon River. Here is a photo of our motley crew.

Gotta Go Joe and The Ghost Bill departed our group as planned day before yesterday in Baker City Oregon. They both proved me wrong with my prediction that their flat land gears would eat their lunch. The Ghost proved it daily by arriving first in every destination except for the day he was searching for new shoes to replace his ultralight carbon racing shoes. Ok guys, I don't do this very often but I was wrong. You did fine with your gears.

So far we have completed two century days, each after 30 plus mile climbs at 7% on average. Climbs that test your soul. Especially with the heat we are now seeing in Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho.

Today we have 107f and day before yesterday same on a very long climb after crossing over the Snake River at the Oxbow Reservoir into Idaho. Near the top of that climb, I had to pull over and pour water on my head to stop the movement of the ground below my bike. Heat makes your brain see and feel things you know are false. And when that begins to happen it's time to pull over. Cool water on the head does wonders and quickly.

BJ is climbing these passes at about 7 mph while I'm sitting at about 4 mph on the recumbent. BJ descends at about 28mph while I descend at about 40mph. Almost a wash in average speeds except for those days where the climb is greater than the descent.

We are meeting a great number of interesting people on this tour. Virtually all are kind and inquisitive. One example is the gentleman below I met in Baker City. His name is Gandalf. On a bicycle crusade to rebirth humanity one smile at a time. He carries an 80 lb dog on his crusade across the country. (Facebook: Joy Pandemic North American Bicycle Tour)

While our Gulf Coast is suffering from the greatest catastrophe in our lives and possibly in history, the Pacific NW is suffering from some of the most devastating fires seen in recent times. Smoke has become a common expectation every day since early in the tour. And we have more smoke and fire to navigate in the last 3 days ahead. I wake up every morning with a continuous cough.


There are just so many stories. But I would bore you with them if I put them all in this post. So they will have to wait. But one example of a story can be viewed in the final photo of this post. An Axe throwing contest in New Meadow Idaho.

Till next time, all the best to you all.

First 5 Days - Smoke - Fire - Lots of Miles

First, my sincere condolences to all that have endured Hurricane Harvey's wrath. I am so very sorry for the misery it has caused both physical and mental. In my life I can only compare my days in New Orleans with my brother just after Katrina hit. Sights and smells I will never forget. A storm that in my mind eventually led in many ways to my brothers suicide.

We are now in John Day. Our first rest day of the tour. 5 Days of riding; Florence, Eugene, McKenzie Bridge, Prineville, Mitchell, John Day. The photo below was taken near the Heceta Light House up Hy 101 from Florence.

Following are a few stats pertaining to our ride thus far:

• Total Miles thru Day 5 = 361
• Total Approximate Calories burned = 21,000
• 32 Hours on the bike
• Ascent or Climbing Thus Far: 15,000'
• Average Speed: Does not matter cause it's a tour. :)

By far the two most beautiful days have been Florence to Eugene on day 1 and then yesterdays ride from Mitchel to John Day. Coastal rain forest are indescribable. And the country west of Mitchel turned out to be moderately lush high desert. Meaning there were trees and water on the route and we had a beautiful descent with little traffic. 

As we have said many times in the past, sitting behind the seat of a car windshield or watching touring videos from the comfort of a sofa can never compare with touring on a bicycle. All 5 senses are engaged with the country around you. The smell of Blue Spruce and Sequoias and smoke from the many forest fires along our route. The sounds of the rivers and streams. The feel of the air and our tired legs and fatigue. The sights unfolding in front of you while you take in the other senses. 

So far this tour has been pretty much all I had hoped for. We have many stories to tell. Stories that will be retold for years to come. Here are the highlights of a few of those stories so far. 

• The Golden Wheel Awards - Joe and Bill have received them every day. The first time for missing the route turn and deciding to "do it their way" and riding through Eugene traffic instead of following the Adventure Cycling map that took BJ and I to down town via safe bicycle paths. 
• BJ walking over to a car and opening the rear hatch with the driver standing right beside him. Only to find out it was really the drivers car not Bills rented car. 
• The climb over Santiam Pass that lasted over 35 miles with smoke and Sunday traffic that I don't ever want to see again. We rode 105 miles that day. Opps, sorry we all rode 105 except Bill who decided to go to Bend instead of Mitchel. 
• Joes side wall flat and the ensuing frustration after it blew out again in the same side wall cut that he missed the first time. Not to mention his use of racing tires instead of touring tires for the tour. 
• Bills equipment failure. His $300 carbon racing shoes split in half as he attempted to ride from Sisters to Mitchel to make up for his side trip to Bend. The failure led to a trip back to Bend for new cheap shoes and the loss of that segment of the trip. 
• The wrong turns and almost wrong turns we all made during the trip. These should be fewer now that we don't have to follow a map so closely and watch signs to make sure we are on the right road. But a few tricky turns still await us.

Ok enough for now. If you wish, you can view the photos I've taken so far by clicking here. 

It may be a few days before I post again. 

Houston We Have A Problem

We are now in Bend Oregon after 4 days on the road. Almost 2000 miles. Stayed in Boise Idaho last nite. The roads were clear and with light to moderate traffic all the way through the desert of Utah. Only moderate traffic in Boise Idaho and Salt Lake City. It was in Burns, Oregon that things got interesting. This is what the country looks like:


You might recall Burns was in the news in January of 2016 when a group calling themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom holed up at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.  There were about 12 of them intent on taking over the US and starting a new government to make America Great Again. Followers of Ammon and Ryan Bundy who ever they are. Click on the link if you want to know more. Anyway, that's not what I'm writing about today.

What I'm writing about today is what Burns looked like when we arrived - Gridlocked. Looked like an evacuation. Every friggin gas station had multiple lines waiting to get gas at over $3.00 per gallon. There were like 6 stations and all had lines.

We finally just picked one and waited our turn. When we made it to the pump the pump attendant told us it was the Solar Eclipse. He said the town had been like this for 3 days. People from the west coast and parts of Idaho traveled there to view the eclipse and were heading home. Looks kind of like it did in New Orleans after Katrina but without the devastation. Amazing to see that out on the high desert. Kind of scary. Both the gridlock and the attempted take over of the United States government.

Any way that is only part of the story. When we got to Bend we found out there is a wild fire out of Sisters Oregon. A big fire called the Milli Fire. Like 11,000 acres big and right on our route in a few days. So we now have a humongous wild fire on our route we are going to have to plan contingencies for.



That's it, I'm tired. We pick BJ up at the airport tomorrow afternoon. Then on to Florence on the coast. Gosh I hope we don't see any more drama. This is supposed to be a nice leisurely bicycle tour.

More soon.

We're Not in Houston Any More Toto

Gay and I departed Amarillo about 8:00am this morning. Heading the usual way toward Colorado but turning in Walsenburg and following SH 69 thru the scenic back roads of South Central Colorado. Places like, Gardner, Wolf Springs Ranch, Texas Creek and then Salida.

Took us maybe 2 hours more today because we did the retirement thing, we TOOK THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED. Imagine that. Taking a road that takes you longer than it would have if you were 30 years old and in "Bust Your ASS" work mode. It's not all bad folks. My brother Larry used to call that "Smelling the Roses".

We stopped in Salida and visited a couple of bike shops and walked by the river and watched the swimmers and kayakers in the city park. A place I've been on at least 2 Bicycle tours of Colorado in the past.

We then proceeded on to Gunnison and Black Canyon on the Curecanti National Recreation Area then on to Grand Junction. All places we have visited on past bike tours and very beautiful country on the Western Slope of the Rockies.

The bikes are all fairing well. Only 2 rain storms. Shipping these bikes up would have cost approximately $300 in RT shipping charges and up to another $200. in boxing and disassembly/assembly costs Rt. Or about $500 per rider. Vs. us driving them up.

Tomorrow it's on to Salt Lake City and then Boise Idaho.

The Mormon Hand Cart Tragedy of 1856

Gay and I made it to Amarillo mid evening August 19th after about 600 miles in my truck. We have at least two more days of driving to make it to Oregon.

As we progress toward Oregon I am remembering chapters recently read from the book: The Oregon Trail - A New American Journey by Rinker Buck. In two days we will pass through Salt Lake City on our way to Boise, Idaho. I cannot get the chapter about the Mormon Hand Cart Tragedy out of my brain. Over 200 Mormon converts died attempting to make it to the new promised land of Salt Lake City and on to Oregon. Below you will see a photo of a statue of a settler and his family and the hand cart they would have built and pushed and pulled from Iowa with about 17# of luggage per cart.

Your getting the "thumbnail version" of this tragedy in this blog. I'll link you to more detail if you want it below.

History records that there were actually 5 parties of pioneers that left for the promised land that summer. The first 3 made it through before the winter storms began in early October of 1856. The last 2 parties, the Willie and Martin companies left late in the season and were caught in the first storms to hit the Wyoming territory in October. Over 200 died along the way. Husbands, Wives, Children and even Grand Parents.

There is much more to this story. But I know many of you are working and have to get back to production. So when you have time. Click here to read more. 

I write this because all through the summer as we trained for this tour, we worried about the heat. Here it is, we are about to embark on a 1000 mile journey that will take us into early September and I cannot help but wonder what if heat really not going to be our challenge? What if it's rain and sleet before the snow of October?

Time will tell.....More soon.

Tommy10

Bikes Loaded and Ready

Our group met last evening to situate and load and cable lock our bikes in the back of my truck. The photo below shows the results of our work after a few beers and alot of story telling.

 From left to right: Standley, Oswald, Schumacher, Davis or in our handles: Tommy10, Gray Ghost, Gotta Go Joe, Voice of Reason.

We depart in the morning for New Mexico and then Salt Lake City and then Oregon we hope. With luck we will see the solar eclipse.

Interestingly our tour will travel over most the the path of the eclipse all the way to the Snake River.

More Soon
Tommy10

Ride Report - Saturday August 12th

This marked our last weekend training ride before our Oregon Trail ride begins. Out of 7 original riders, we ended up with 4 that I'm confident will be on this tour and will finish their stated goals. Those riders are: Voice of Reason - BJ Davis, The Gray Ghost - Bill Oswald, Gotta Go - Joe Schumacher, and Tommy10 Standley. 

Today we rode with the Woodlands Cycling Club. There were approximately 35 riders on the ride out of the Honea Baptist Church off FM 2854 this morning. All the riders mentioned above except Joe were there along with many old timers like Cynthia Ullman, Bill Wiedline, and others we have known for years. 

The ride had a number of options that I won't go into, but was basically a 50 to 60 mile ride. I ended up with almost 60 miles riding from my house in Wood-forest.

Route Brief - Honea Baptist Church on FM2854 to Kennan Cutoff to FM149 to Jackson Road, to Dobbin and then Dacus and then back via the Gorilla Loop to FM1097 and then Montgomery and FM2854 back to the Church. 

It was a spirited ride with speeds up to 35 miles an hour on stretches with down hill slopes and up to 28 miles an hour on many of the flats. 

There was a reported crash behind us just out of Dacus on the railroad tracks. A rider hit the tracks at speed and went down. Don't know who it was but he was not able to ride again and had to be transported I'm told. 

This was my first ride with the club with my recumbent set up for the tour. The larger tires and touring rims performed well and were comfortable with an acceptable performance reduction. 

The next post will be from the field on our way to Oregon and then along the way until we reach Montana. If you want to follow our tour, you will need to sign up for e:mail notifications by clicking on the appropriate link to the right of this post. 

Oregon Trail Forecast Weather

Before we talk about weather, thought you might want to take a look at a video I shot with my GoPro in Dillon Montana last year. This is a bit of what it will look like on our tour. 

We are now almost exactly one month away from beginning our Oregon Trail tour. The riders are all training as much as they are able. Three of five riders are still working. The other two can ride anytime they want. Which sounds great, except for one little challenge, Houston Weather. The Heat.

As this is being written, I've ridden 6 out of 8 days putting in close to 300 miles. Each day I departed the house about 6:30am with temps in the 80's that quickly rose to the 90's. By the time I returned, heat index's were well over 100f.

We are now starting to see cramping and heat stress related issues. Sunday morning, our group began to fade quickly about mile 50 with one rider developing cramps but still making it back to the start for a total of 65 miles. Another group of riders we know, went out with 5 riders and came back with 3. One turning after about 20 miles and heading back. Another stopping with full cramps necessitating a sag to come pick him up.

Which brings me to the topic of this post. "What will it be like a month from now along our route in Oregon, Idaho and Montana?"

The following shows our forecast weather during the last week of August and first week of September.

Florence Oregon - 53f - 66f

Eugene & McKinzie Bridge Oregon - 50f - 81f

Prineville Oregon - 44f - 82f

John Day Oregon - 45f - 84f

Baker City Oregon - 40f - 78f

Riggins Idaho - 47f - 80f

Missoula Montana - 45f - 70f

Bottom line - while we will be putting in alot of miles. We will be riding in much much less stressful weather conditions.

What Knowledge We Share On Weekend Rides

During our training ride this Saturday near Huntsville we had an informal discussion about electric power generation and renewable energy resources. Don't ask me how it got started, but it was not surprising how diverse and passionate the conversation became. 

Some in our group took the stand that hydrocarbons will be prominent forever. Some said no new forms of energy will emerge. Some said just the opposite. Some stated that micro electrical generation units, "fuel cells" will emerge and even shock our current belief systems. 

I took the "E" stand. Renewable energy sources and Electric powered vehicles are moving rapidly forward and disrupting what we have all taken for granted in our life. 

I believe the day will come when the predominant source of our energy will come from the sun and subsequently the wind and waves.

People will view gasoline and diesel vehicles as "old school" relics of the past.  Not in my life, but it's gonna happen. 

As a trending example, read this recent article found on AARP's magazine: http://www.aarp.org/auto/info-2017/electric-vehicles-more-affordable-fd.html?intcmp=AE-HP-DP2

When we ride across the Oregon Trail in a few weeks, we might imagine similar discussions in the 1850's by the wagon drivers:

"Hey Jeb, you reckon we ever be able to fly like a bird?" "Hell no Jimmy, if man was meant to fly, God woulda given him wings son." Now tend to your mules boy quit that crazy dreamin."

Little did those wagon masters in 1850 know that Leonardo DaVinci had envisioned flight in the 1500's. And little could Jeb imagine that Lilienthal would fly in a glider in 1890, and that in 1903, man would take to the air in a powered aircraft. And that a little over 100 years from that wagon train's travels in time, man would set foot on the moon. Flying there in a space craft. 

Ref: https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lilienthal-glider

Ref: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/wright.htm

The Wright Flyer built from an image in their minds.

Did I mention the E bike I saw 2 weeks ago on FM1488. The guy was peddling about a half mile ahead of me and headed my way when suddenly without peddling, he accelerated rapidly and blew by at about 25 mph or more. Big smile on his face as he showed off his new "E" bike of the future. 

The Evelo Delta E Bike - 40 Mile Range between Charges

My Cycling Life Changes

You never know what might happen in life. As I have moved into this new state of what some call "retirement", a lot is happening and a lot is being learned. Let me give a few examples.

This time last year, we were moving into a rental home after living a year in an RV on Lake Conroe. Originally we thought living in an RV would be like way cool. And it is. But we learned an RV is not a house and you better be a really good fix it yourself-er. And you better enjoy living in a very transient environment with new people coming and going into and out of your life all the time. The long and short of it is, we were not RV full timers and never will be. But as Grandpaw said, "Bought Learning is the Best Learning".

So fast forward to today. The RV is now sold. We built a new house which closed yesterday. We now live in a 55 plus community called Bonterra. No kids or adolescents. A club house with a pool and work out facilities and lots of resident clubs to keep us socially active and plugged in. Yoga, Whisky Tasting, Wine Tasting, Travel, Water Aerobics, Massage Therapy, Parties Parties Parties......and the list goes on....Below you will see a drone shot of the completed home.



Now comes the really fun part, cycling. This year I've cycled a little over 3500 miles. We are getting ready for an 850 mile tour that will cross Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

I have a new, used bike that I love and I'm selling my speedster friend the R84. See pics below. The R84 is great for speed on the weekends, but the Bacchetta is more suited for both weekend riding as well as light load touring. And I really don't need 3 bikes.

This is the R84 Full Carbon Speedster

This is the Bacchetta Corsa High Racer

In the back ground of the Bacchetta photo above you will also see a partial image of a Surley Long Haul Trucker touring bike. I ride this bike as well. It's just not suitable to ride with my speed hungry riding buddies. But stay tuned, it may see some real touring use next year.

Interestingly, the gentleman that is buying my R84 is an 82 year old cycling addict. His name is Jerry. He used to own his own plane and has been bicycle touring for many years. Take a look at one of Jerry's trips with his buddies by CLICKING HERE. 

The really cool part about selling my bike to Jerry is that it's gonna be a great bike to keep him out there and pushing his limits with his buddies too. And it's given me a new insight into just how long we all could stay active if we just reset our brains and stay away from the television and internet surfing and the dinner table.

So far I have not been bored. Who knows, if the right situation comes along, I might consider going back to work part time for a while. But right now, I'm applying what I learned these last 45 years of working to what I love.

Oh, and here is a picture of me trying out a new recliner for the house. We told them we wanted something as comfortable as my recumbent. Here is what we found.



More soon.

Tour Update: Oregon Trail

A group of long time cycling friends have come together to form its own self supported bicycle tour from the Oregon Coast to Missoula Montana this summer. We are calling the tour "The Oregon Trail Tour".

Those riding will be: BJ Davis, Mike Kimbell, Bill Oswald, Joe Shoumacher and Tom Standley. Supporting us along the way will be Gay Riegel, Gail Shoumacher and Val Oswald. Peddles will begin turning on Friday August 25th in Florence Oregon heading due east.

The map below is from Adventure Cycling's map network, our source for every self supported cycling trip we have taken in the past. Two Trans-America routes are shown.

The orange or lower route is called the Trans America route. This route was created back in 1976 and is the route we will be riding this year from Oregon to Missoula Montana, 850 miles.

The pink route is called the Northern Tier route is shown only for reference. Our plans will be to return next year to connect to that route and complete the tour all the way across the US.

The first part of our tour follows or crosses many of the routes used by settlers in the mid 1800's that migrated from the east to promised lands of milk and honey in the West. It was a time of gold rushes, pursuit of religious freedom and the promise of land. It was a time of expansion. The building of America's first trans America railroad.

It was also a time when America pushed aside the peoples who had lived these lands for thousands of years. The Cherokee, Apache, Comanche and many many others who were eventually either killed outright or placed on reservations to adopt the white mans ways. A fact that many of us today are not proud of. Yet a fact non the less.

Frontier Trails of the Old West states that:  "From 1843 until 1869 when the first transcontinental railroad was completed, there were over 500,000 people who made the trip in covered wagons pulled by mule and oxen. Some went all the way to Oregon to farm and others went to California to search for gold."

One can only imagine what it must have been like to travel over those lands in those days. Imagine pulling a wagon with a team of mules over barren prairies and across raging rivers and over mountain passes, ever vigilant for hostile peoples and animals.

The Oregon Trail a modern nonfiction novel written by Rinker Buck states that: "I often come across the phrase "seeing the elephant", a term that pioneers used to describe their anticipation about striking out across the unknowable wilderness of the plains."

Other comments about those who traveled the trail were: "The cowards never started. Only mad men started." He went on to say: "I believe in crazyass passion. It was crazyass passion that dug America's canals, flung the wagons west, built the railroads, and propelled the God fearing to their deaths at Cold Harbor and Shiloh....it was crazyass passion that would deliver me to the trail."

OMG how that perfectly explains what we are about to embark upon. We have set this goal this BHAG (Big Hairy Assed Goal) of riding across the US on a bicycle. That goal is about to begin. We don't know how it's going to end, but we do know that on August 25th we will depart Florence Oregon on our way to "see the elephant."

More soon....

Weekend Racing vs Touring

Do you remember the feeling of freedom you had when you rode your first bicycle? Just in case your mind is fuzzy, here is a picture of my Grandson Cooper after I presented him with his new bike for his birthday.

Now take that feeling you can see in my grandson's eyes and imagine multiplying it by 10 and you will begin to understand the thrill of bicycle touring. This post is meant to give a glimpse into the primary differences between weekend weekend rides and touring. Lets start with a contrast.

Weekend Rides

This is where you meet up with a group of your friends to ride a route you usually know. These rides are generally called club rides. They are a group of friends who meet to ride for the fun and exercise of it but with an element of competitiveness and high physical output, many times riding anaerobic for a large part of the ride. (That means out of breath or oxygen deprived.)

Bicycle Touring - Touring on a bicycle means traveling a route for the fun of it. It is traveling, seeing, exploring, and learning about where you have been while using a bicycle as your vehicle. It is about meeting people and discovering how they live along with the history and landscapes along the way. 

Bicycle touring is also about being prepared for the unexpected but possible challenges. It includes the possibility of equipment failure,  weather and every day needs like food, shelter, fluids and the knowledge of how to fix your own bike. 

Touring requires more self sufficiency.  If it could rain and get cold you better have a rain coat. If it could become hot you better be well conditioned and have plenty of fluid on board. If it could snow you better have extra warm clothing. If its going to be sunny you better have sunscreen and plenty of water. If it's going to be hilly or mountainous you better have a gear set that will not burn out your knees. And all of this holds true because you generally don't have readily available support. You can't just call home and have mama come pick you up. 

Weather - We have encountered snow, sleet, tornadoes, rain, hurricanes on tours. I'm serious. It snowed and sleeted on me in Wyoming 3 years ago. We woke up in Leadville on a Colorado tour with snow on our tents and temps in the 20's. We rode through a hurricane 15 years ago in east Texas...the one that flooded the coast. (Hurricane Allison) We rode in a summer storm one year that spawned a tornado that touched down in the woods near us. The Sherriff set up road blocks to get us off the road. We avoided the road block by sitting on a kind residents porch till the storm passed. 

I've viewed people shivering under trees just after the summit of Cottonwood Pass Colorado because they did not have adequate clothing on board as a snow and sleet producing weather system pushed over the pass. And on that same ride, saw a guy try to beat the cold by blasting down the mountain only to have his bike suddenly go horizontal at 40 mph in the blowing rain. He did a great job of getting back up for about 3 seconds till he noticed shorts and jersey were virtually gone. 

Arid and hot climates produce special needs - More Hydration and better conditioning. On a tour back in the 80's, my brother and I left Twenty-nine Palms California on a September morning bound for the Arizona border. (That by the way is all pure desert.) The photo below is also in the desert. 

We  had a tail wind, it was very dry, maybe 20% humidity. And it was cool, in the 50'sf. I had 8 water bottles on board with plans to replenish about 70 miles out. No services for 70 miles. My brother had 3 regular water bottles and two 2 liter bottles of frozen water strapped on the back of his bike. We had plenty of water to make it to the first service station out in the desert. 

About mile 50 the temperature reached 90f. and then quickly rose to 114f. Dan ran out of water because he dumped his two large bottles in favor of making better time and higher speeds thinking he could make it. I shared what was left of my water but we ran out of water about 10 miles from the desert station. He had was beginning to hallucinate with chills and the shakes. 

Fatigue - We all get fatigued  on multi-day tours and we all handle fatigue in different ways. When we ride on a weekend, we ride 1-2 days and then recover by going to work on Monday. On tours, you ride day in and day out and you have limited recovery time. 

Some people get cranky when they get tired. Saw one couple pack it up on the middle of a tour after a big argument because of some lost camping gear. I've seen people stop talking and in some cases cease to reason well. Especially if we are riding above 5000'.

Saddle Sores - I've seen people complain about saddle sores around day 4. In a couple of cases, I've seen people transported to emergency rooms because of infections due to saddle sores with a high fever. They waited too long to manage them and paid a heavy price. One must use butt butter or utter balm daily and liberally to avoid these sores.

Conditioning - Things happen to the body on a tour that don't happen on a weekend ride. That little arm issue you feel on a weekend becomes agony on a long tour. That little knee pain you get every now and then will stop you dead in your tracks on a long tour. Especially if you are inclined to try to race the tour instead of tour the tour. 

Bottom line, the best way to condition for a tour is to ride. And ride it like a tour. Put in back to back days of miles similar to your tour miles leading up to the tour. If you cannot do that, then try to ride at least 30-40% of the expected tour miles on back to back days leading up to the tour. 5 to 6 days in a row.

I came back from my very first tour in California with swollen knees because I didn/t understand gearing. I've watched people give up on cycling altogether because they refused to "wuss it" and get a triple or compact crank. 

My brother eventually road all the way across the US on a modified version of RAAM. He called me mid way and said, you should have seen all the racer guys at the end of week 1. Many were toast and went home. Those that remained toned it way down with much lower average speeds. 

Route Management - People don't like detail. People like to be told where to turn and or have an arrow on the road to point the way. Yet, without trip and situation awareness things happen that we cannot anticipate. You have to use a map and have a route. 

Riders get separated and take wrong turns. My brother decided to ride ahead of me with no maps near Lom Poc California. He turned right. I turned per the map. He ended up in custody of the Vandenburg Airforce base security for a time.

I missed a turn in Montana last year and ended up riding 20 extra miles that day. It was a 60 miles day that turned in to 80 miles. All of this essentially means, get a map and use it. Especially near larger towns and cities. 

The 7 P's - Use the 7 P's. I will keep touring as long as I can. I say this because virtually everything that can happen to you can be either avoided or minimized by applying "The 7 P's". 

1. Proper
2. Prior 
3. Planning
4. Prevents
5. Piss
6. Poor 
7. Performance

This post was about the differences between weekend riding and touring. It focuses on the stuff that can detract or stop your tour and now to avoid those things. Perhaps in future posts I'll write some of the hundreds of cool stories and things that happened that made it all worthwhile. And the boundless beauty experienced and photographed over the years.

This photo is special to all of us. That's Tennessee Bob on the far right. The winner of the day's first pass climb. You really have to know the whole story to fully appreciate the photo. Yes it was supposed to be a tour. :))

Happy Touring

Summer Tour Set - Oregon to Montana

Most bicycle tourist don't bother with a lot of planning. They just get up every morning and pack their stuff and start riding toward some predetermined general route and then let what happens happen. I kind of like it that way.

In the 1980's my brother and I rode from San Francisco to LA. No reservations, just a route and our bikes and gear. We would decide each day if we camped that night or stayed in a hotel. We didn't even bother with reservations. Just ride and solve our basic essentials challenges as each day progressed. A simple life and a simple vacation.

After a few camping nights, we migrated to hoteling it. We even stopped along the way to mail home unneeded camping gear, including most of our cooking stuff. That was the tour that hooked me on bicycle touring. Some call it credit card touring. Stay in a hotel and eat mostly at restaurants.

For another persons first hand account of riding long distances, check out this site: http://www.familyonbikes.org/ Watch her Ted Talk video. Most families would never dream of doing what this family did.

Since the last post, we have begun active planning for our summer tour. (Oregon to Montana) The Adventure Cycling maps arrived and as expected are stuffed full of useful information about the route, weather, lodging, and things to do along the way.

We will dip our wheels in the Pacific Ocean just outside Florence Oregon and end in Missoula Montana. The route distance will be around 800 miles and will take us through the heart of Oregon, across Idaho and into western Montana. If all goes as planned, next year we will begin where we end this year and ride across the US all the way to Maine.

Our departure date will be around August 24. And as of this post we have 5 riders.  Bill Oswald, BJ Davis, Mike Kimball, Joe Schumacher, and me. The photo below was taken recently taken on a training ride out of Anderson Texas, three of 5 riders who will ride this years tour. From left to right, Oswald, Standley, Davis.

More soon.

Ride Across Oregon

I have some new news to report. Our Ride Across America remains alive and well . It appears our new home will close in early July. Walls and roof are framed and shingles on by this weekend. Given this progress we will move into the new home in July leaving the prime riding season months of August and September open to begin my long awaited Ride Across America.

BJ Davis, Bill Oswald, Val Oswald, myself and Gay will begin the tour in Astoria Oregon. The plan will be to ride across Oregon to Baker where Bill and Val will head back to Houston. BJ, Gay and I will continue on as far as we are able with the goal of making Missoula Montana. (Note: Joe Schumacher

 has also expressed interest and may end up going with us.)

You may recall from an earlier post prior that we were riding out of San Francisco on the Western Express route. Mike and Ian are still doing a portion of that ride in mid May of this year ending in Colorado. The timing is too close to house closing for me to go with them. But I do look forward to reporting their progress.

Our Oregon Montana route segments follow:

Segment 1: 234 Miles

Segment 2 - 333 Miles

Segment 3 - 419 Miles

The maps are ordered. Our plans will include staying in hotels as long as lodging is available or in proximity of each days destination. Gay and Val will be driving vehicles and doing their own thing during the tour. It would not surprise me to hear of Gay planning a day hike or a fly fishing trip along the way. And of course we will have the comfort of knowing that worst case help will be available if needed. 

This route is from the original Trans America BikeCentennial route. This is the same route my brother Dan rode back in the 90's. Next year if all goes as planned, we will ride from Missoula north to intersect the Northern Tier route and then ride all the way across the rest of the US. I am greatly looking forward to seeing this part of the country and riding through the Cascade Mountains eventually all the way to the Great Lakes and then the Atlantic.

Oh yes - one more thing. I sold my Cannondale carbon bike and now own a state of the art touring bike called a "Long Haul Trucker" by Surley bikes. Whoaaaa.

More will follow after the maps are received and a departure date is set.