Originally Posted by
spinnaker
I don't see anything wrong with using alternate transportation to get around some of the rough spots (challenging terrain, bad weather, not feeling well, etc. etc.) just as long as you don't misrepresent yourself.
Ryan already got an assist, and as I said nothing wrong with that, but he can no longer go in front of the news cameras with the claim of the young man that rode across the U.S. for Obama. If he gets no more vehicle assist and wants to make the claim he rode from Phoenix to DC then that would be fine and still be a great accomplishment given the short amount of time and limited his experience.
Taking car rides devalues any trip if the point of the ride is to say that you rode from X to Y. In this case that would seem to apply. Also if he didn't ride on the weekend, he probably has ridden farther by car than by bike.
The whole thing is quite confusing due to the sketchy details he has given about where he was and when. He rationalized taking the ride by saying that he "had already ridden 200 miles to get to my map’s starting point at Ocean Beaches, CA". That doesn't sound right though. Isn't Ocean Beaches about 125 miles from Occidental College?
In any case he has botched this thing pretty badly from a logistical perspective. He really needs to pull this together if he is to have any hope of success. He should be up to speed by now and should be managing decent weekly mileage this week, if he is on track to succeed. If he doesn't manage at least 500 miles of actual riding this week I think that he needs to revise his goals. Even 500 miles isn't nearly enough, but at least he will be improving his progress. After two weeks on the road he really needs to be up to speed and should be on track with daily mileage that equates with arrival on time.
I still keep hoping that we are interpreting his comments wrong and he has ridden a lot more that 220 miles before he hit Phoenix.