Good luck, Ryan, glad you're keeping those pedals turning.

Who cares? Anyone who is trying to figure out what he is averaging daily. It really does make your daily mileage figure a bit meaningless if we don't know how far he went by car. This is especially true if more than a quarter and maybe as much as a third of the miles were in a car (which seem possible or maybe likely).

Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking Ryan and am rooting for him to succeed. It is just that the average miles you posted for his trip so far are at best pretty meaningless and at worst downright misleading.

As I understood it as stated originally, the task was to ride from point A to point B in a certain amount of time -- that is, LA to DC by Jan 20. In that scenario, average daily mileage is crucial; he cannot succeed if his average falls below a certain number.

Could someone please post me a link to where Ryan said he'd taken a car part of the way? I thought he'd done the distance from LA to AZ by bike, but with car support.

That said, now, hypothetically: if Ryan has already done some of that distance by car, then the possibility of riding the whole distance by bicycle is already out the window; so the possibility of riding it by Jan 20 is eminently realistic regardless of his average mileage. All Ryan has to do is keep riding, at whatever pace he can manage, until it's time look to Plan B.

As an idealist, I would be disappointed if he had to compromise his ideals; but as a realist, I would applaud Ryan for catching a lift early in the trek. This way, compromise is a done deal and he doesn't have to sweat it.

If I were looking for a compromise, I think it would be pretty good to ride across the country in the stipulated amount of time, then take Amtrak up the east coast.

Oh come on now. I doubt Ten Wheels is trying to mislead anyone.

It appears Ryan got picked up at San Diego, or a bit past it.

According to this timeline:

http://www.bikingforobama.com/2008/12/14/week-1-update/

He rode to to El Centro, CA, and then was car-transported to a town west of Phoenix. For the skeptics, this matches the story permanentjuan told me he was told.

I agree taking Amtrak from Florida is a better alternative than riding north in winter.

Not a bad choice, but faces almost relentless hill country rollers and some unseasonable winds for this time of year.

It's a stretch, and would require a good 6-8 hrs in a car, but I might be able to meet up with him somewhere Friday and pass along some supplies.

We must be coming to the part of the thread where someone claims 10 Wheels' avatar is a model of the female reproductive system. It happens sooner or later when folks start arguing with him.

:popcorn

It's a lot shorter than driving to Confluence, PA, in August. :thumb:

:roflmao2: It reminds me too much of that Big Mac in waiting mascot of that other school in Texas......

I get over it remembering it is the ride symbol of a true classic ride/race that thousands travel from far away places to be a part of.

I'm in agreement, ironically enough, that "who cares" if he took some early support. He hasn't hidden it and I recall a ton of suggestions he do just that in order to make getting to DC possibility.

At the end of the day it takes some Cajones to attempt what he is doing, caution be damned. I think the ride will manifest itself for him if it hasn't already. Yes, he may have had other reasons for leaving, but he's pedaling like mad now. I actually envy him in his journey.

Yep, lol.

Hmm. I asked for a link, and got a link, so I thank you very much; but if there is any mention of car transport there, I'm missing it.

Agreed, the distance from El Centro CA to Litchfield Park, AZ is 230 miles by car (says Mapquest), which is a lot of biking for one day.



Oh, I see-- someone told permanantjuan, and he told you, and you told us. Cool. Still, if he took a car... why doesn't the blog say he took a car? This disturbs me a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he shouldn't take a car, that's his call... but if he did, that's part of the story. He shouldn't leave it out.

Actually, it's the story Ryan told permanentjuan when he gave him the panniers in AZ.

Actually this is the more informative link: http://www.bikingforobama.com/2008/1...in-the-desert/

So he took the car from Centro, CA to Litchfield Park, AZ.

We are getting silly again, folks. It's pretty clear Ryan is not the most organized person in word or deed. Nor is he experienced at keeping a tour journal. Cut him some slack. There's no need to assume deceit when incompetence provides a satisfactory explanation. :)

He states he got a lift here:

http://www.bikingforobama.com/2008/1...in-the-desert/

We've known this for several days. I don't find any part of this story inconsistent.

On that page, I read:So, "move forward" means "take a ride in the car"? Yes, I agree with your interpretation; and I do not criticize Ryan's decision; but it still disturbs me that he so carefully avoids saying that he took a ride in a car.

Neil, you are right, of course: it is more likely incompetence than deceit. And evidently I am beating a dead horse. My point was only that I find this disturbing.

I find it disturbing how much arguments like these remind me of wasted minutes arguing with Oxfordians over Shakespeare's authorship of the Shakespeare canon. Folks will always argue away whatever evidence is there and invent their own. :)

Reread the paragraph before that one. It makes the car ride part pretty clear. I think Ryan was quite up front about it, his statement was just just lacking in any details.

I envy him too. It's a ride I'd love to take, but will probably never be able to.

Always?

Seriously, that's not just a silly digression, it's a silly debating tactic. I'm sure we can all play that game, based on the specifics of our own arcane fields of expertise, but let's not.

There is nothing wrong with reading the evidence and offering an inference; but when someone does that (and you have), it is important to draw the line between the facts (what Ryan says) and what we infer from them (he took a car).

Sigh. We already know what "Ryan says." If you want to question the young man, do it yourself. His phone number is in this thread.

+1

Somewhere on Ryan's site he even discussed the fact that he regretted taking a car, but since he tacked on considerable miles at the start of the ride (to go from his home to Oceanside) his total distance wasn't going to be that much less.

I think it's pretty simple - he's riding his bike from LA to Washington. He'll either make it on time, or he won't. When he gets to the end, he'll either be able to say he rode 100% on his own, or 20%, or somewhere in between.

He's putting a lot more miles on his bike right now than I am; hats off to him.

For an ill prepared young man, I am impressed with Ryan's progress so far.

Now, it sounds like all he needs to do is to realize that there is more value in making this a journey of self-discovery and change than in showing the country something, then we can all celebrate with him.

If I were him -- and if I thought I couldn't make it on time -- I'd try to do something else fitting and symbolic on the way. Then declare the trip a success, and leapfrog on to Washington

E.g.:
- visit the hometowns of the last 3 Democratic presidents (Johnson City, Texas; the LBJ library in Austin; Hope, Ark., and Plains Georgia).
- cycle from where he is to the ML King center in Atlanta

A bunch of great ways to celebrate the election between Texas and DC...

OK, talked with Ryan about 4 hrs ago.. He came across very well on the phone and seems to be a nice kid.

I'm going to do my best, life and scedule permitting, to meet up with him on Friday and deliver a care package. He needs better winter gloves from the sounds of it and I'll throw in an emergency blanket for lining his sleeping bag. He seems to have the basics for bad weather other than that. I'm not sure about his feet protection though.

He's a vegetarian, so I'll also put together an appropriate goodie bag of survival type food for him and try and help him get down the road a ways further. Any ideas on vegetarian stuff other than dried fruits, nuts, cliff bars and trail mix are appreciated, lol. Of course tuna and salmon are ok as well since he eats fish.

Edit: Just Darwins post and I can tell you he commented on wishing he had more time to see some of the places he's passed through and to spend more time with some of the people he has met that have been so nice to him. He was very appreciative of the offer to help if I could and he would love for anyone who can ride wioth him for even a few miles to do so.

He also commented on wanting to do this again someday when he has the time to enjoy the experience without a deadline.

All doubts aside, I wish Ryan the best of luck and hope he proves us wrong.

I offered him a place to stay in Huntsville and hope to meet up and ride with him for a couple days as he crosses Texas.