Encouraged by how this post is being handled, here's an update:

I'm in Phoenix, and last night was graciously given panniers and a handlebar bag by a fellow poster named Matt. I want to express thanks to him, his generosity and to Neil, whom he said let him know about my need. Just when i had my doubts about the bikeforums community, you came through in a time of need.

I appreciate the encouragement and advice that you have all given here. Right after this post i will be heading to pick up a tent and sleeping bag, pack my bike, and meet up with a bike coach here in Phx. Tomorrow morning I'll be back on the road at daybreak.

Its hard to keep folks updated daily, riding does take a lot out of you, and getting to a computer isnt going to be easy over the next few weeks without car-support. I skipped on the satellite phone, updated my own phone to one with internet service and gps, and purchased a miniature video camera to ride with.

If you have suggestions for my route, or how to bypass some of the troubling conditions I face ahead, please write me @ flyinryan08@gmail.com, or leave a comment on the website www.bikingforobama.com . I'll best be able to communicate to you that way.

Look forward to hearing more. I also posted the rest of the maps up, so if i'm coming your way let me know, I'd love to meet with you!

Although I'm sure I'd miss the view from way up there, I'm definitely interested in this route. Could you send me some more information on the maps section of my site: bikingforobama.com/maps/

Well, he's passing way too far south of me to lend a hand on anything he may need. It looks like he now has the bare essentials, save for possibly a stove and I'm not sure how he is set for lights.

I'm glad to see the community step forward and help him out with the necessary things to do this more safely for the sake of helping a cyclist and moving beyond what ever our personal beliefs may be about what our how he is doing it. I admire his capacity to dream, while I cringe at his capacity to plan, lol.

Let's hope he understands layering and the warning signs of hypothermia. The temps after he gets out of New Mexico may not be below freezing during the day but the wind is an opponent all it's own.

Ryan's website is vague about where he bailed and he didn't say anything in this thread (he should have), but at some point not far from San Diego, he apparently went to Phoenix in his support car.

I would suggest that Ryan print out Amtrak's route & schedule information while in Phoenix, and read up on Amtrak's bike policy. And txvintage gives excellent advice above about understanding the warning signs of hypothermia. Ryan is about to leave the bubble of warmth of southern California and Arizona.

I think this information would be the type he would appreciate being sent to him directly at his email address, flyinryan08@gmail.com.

We don't want him to miss the inauguration!

Huh? I am not aware of a post that said he was in San Diego last night or that he was thinking of quitting. He got a ride to Phoenix from an undisclosed location. He didn't say from where or how far the ride was, but he should have been way past San Diego by then. If he rode for 6 days and was still in San Diego he might as well quit now, but I doubt that is the case. It is too bad he needed to take a ride, but his planning and provisioning were poor at best, so it sounds like it was necessary given that.

He will be going self supported here. That is the real test of how he will do IMO. I hope he is up to it and wish him well. It is certainly an entirely different experience carrying your gear as compared to having a car following.

He was in SD on day two. Day 4 he was somewhere west of there I guess, He doesn't say.

Unfortunately he doesn't say anything about where he was from Day 4 to when he caught a ride to Phoenix. He was apparently at 220 miles on Day 4. I'd like to think that he was 160-200 miles farther along, but since he didn't say we don't know. He really should say.

Edit: Rereading his page I wonder if he rode on the weekend or not. If he didn't he is off to a very poor start and has ridden more in a car than he has on a bike. I hope that is not the case, because if he has only ridden 220 miles in 7 days with a chase vehicle he doesn't have a chance of making it to DC under his own power anywhere near on time. Even if you count the miles driven he is still off the required pace by a good bit. The pace may pick up as he gets in shape, but he needs to be making good time pretty soon.

How are the interviews going?

Have you obtained inauguration tickets?

If that is the correct interpretation he probably has about zero chance of making it there under his own power and on time.

The pace was too slow to start with. He could pick it up as he gets some mileage under his belt, but he has been riding with a chase vehicle and is now self supported. He apparently was not camping up to now and will be now. He will have no one to assist and will have to do everything for himself.

Then there is the car thing... Once you take a car ride for part of the trip, why not another, and another. It is kind of a slippery slope. One of three things will happen, he will quit, he will wind up taking a lot of rides or a few long ones, or he will change and start doing a lot more mileage very soon. I am hoping for the latter, but and starting to think it is pretty unlikely.

My guess is that he decided them little climbs out of San Diego through Cleveland National Forest were a bit too much for him, so he quit and took the easy way out after barely getting started...big surprise. Hopefully now he'll HTFU and finish the rest of the route under his own power.

The way you reconcile the differences here is that I occasionally deviated from the ST route. An example is when I went via Deming rather than Emory Pass. You are going off the posted ST route distances. My distance from Oceanside (since I bypassed San Diego) to St Augustine was 2763 miles and the ST route was 3159. A small amount may be because my odometer read low, but another part would be different routing.

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.

Never mind, I apologize for :deadhorse:

Yeah, Ocean Beach is here in San Diego. We had some bad weather this weekend... bad for us. Light rain on Sunday afternoon... temps in the low 60s. Saturday wasn't all that peachy either. Up in the mountains it would have been much worse than on the coast.

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.

Wow, light rain and low 60's is bad weather! You SoCal folks have it made :) That actually sounds delightful other than having to break camp with a wet tent. Since Ryan wasn't camping yet then the breaking camp part wouldn't apply any way.

How much worse would it have been at the elevations he would have been riding at?

Shhh! Folks, don't let Ryan know who "Neil" is. It will blow his mind! :)

You ol' soft hypocrite, you. :)

Is that a fat joke?!? :)

I think he should rename the trip "Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Bicycles." :)

For what it's worth, Ryan's website is down.

Got down close to freezing over night in Julian but the daytime temp was in the 50s. That said, many tourers would have pushed on down the other side of the hill into the desert where it was in the mid 70s.

Oh goodness, I hope he's OK.

I wanted to hear how all his interviews are going and wether or not he obtained tickets.

Tickets are still available, albeit hard to get. I figured he might be able to use his contacts/publicity to get some.

Yes that would have been my choice, but he may not have known to do it. It makes sense to ride to lower altitudes when it is cold if that is a choice given the route and timing. I have found that it usually is. If you are at the top of a pass, it usually doesn't take long to ride down the other side. Also it avoids the cold descent in the early morning.

I am sure you already know this, but typed it in case some may not have thought of it.

Here too:
stop the hate

What 'hate'? This has been a pretty civil discourse.

Camel's recent posts were dripping with sarcasm, but that isn't so unusual here. The Historian is the Historian, but bear in mind that he was instrumental in getting some panniers to Ryan.

I think most of the rest of us wish Ryan well.

Ryan is headed (unless he posts something) to Miami Arizona!

He is going to have so much fun. I know I have done it. Oak trees, elevation, and the ensuing flats.
Happy Trails