Week 1 - San Diego CA to Tucson AZ

Hello Friends and Family,

The first week of USA bicycling is complete! Here are some highlights of the week:

Day 1 - Dipping our tires in the Pacific Ocean was a special moment. For anyone that plans on doing this ride. This is signature moment that makes it real. Well after a sunny start, the day became my hardest day of bicycling in my life. We bicycled 4 hours in a heavy rain storm while climbing over 20 miles and 5800 feet. The mountain wouldn’t let us go, as the last four miles were also in heavy fog. (No pictures of the mountains, my iPhone got wet and stopped working)

Day 2- A cool morning descent out of the mountains led us to a road that followed the US Mexican border for several miles . After hearing so many stories about the border wall, seeing the wall from a bicycle and absorbing the natural beauty of the area, just brought a whole new perspective to the challenges our country faces in this area.

Day 3- This day was a special day of bicycling. The morning ride through the Imperial Sand Dunes have been the most scenic part of our trip to date. After crossing the Colorado River into Arizona. (One state down , seven to go !) We then followed rail lines into Yuma, AZ (Watch the movie 3:10 to Yuma) . The biking day ended with a beautiful climb through the Fortuna Foothills of the Gila Mountains.

Day 4 and 5 - These days were long days of bicycling through the vast segments of the Arizona Desert . The reality of daily living was very present. Miles and miles of trains carrying containers from China eastward, the massive landfill for the city of Phoenix, and challenging living conditions for those in and around Native American Reservations. Day 5 ended with a heavy rain and hail storm . After hunkering down in a Circle K food mart for an hour, We biked in a heavy downpour and I had a slow leak flat tire and had to ride eight miles cautiously.

Day 6 - A cool morning leaving Casa Grande led us to a beautiful afternoon riding the bike trails of Tucson. We ate lunch with Sombrero Peak in the distance and then bicycled to our hotel with a view of Mt. Lemmon.

Here is quick story of one of my fellow riders. Mike V is from Franklin Tn. and has worked over forty years in public utilities. Now get this. He only began riding bicycles four months ago and for the first month, he didn’t know about padded Bicycle shorts . Mike retired from TVA on Thursday February 29th at 7:00 pm. The next morning at 5:00 am ,he was on a plane to meet us in San Diego. Everyday Mike is out in front riding and has become an inspiration for the group.

Mike is Pedaling for Veterans and their Service Dogs. Here is a link to his Website:

Peace, Jim