Just looking at your post has me reaching for the Ibuprofen. I'd hate to imagine actually climbing it.

That is good to hear. Keep the dream (him ) alive.

yea its an old outdated stage coach road. He also gets to go through a tunnel at least it has a passing lane.

Yea the 60 miles is misleading since the last twenty miles or so is where you do the real climbing. At least it is pretty!!

Yes. While I think his ride is bogus and he's a jerk, it's my duty as both a Christian and as a member of the 'touring community' to keep him alive. It's amazing what a PM or two on Bike Forums can arrange.

Also, I'm helping pay forward the favors I received when I had busted spokes in Confluence, PA, on my August tour. A poster in Texas offered to ship me a new rear wheel at that time.

It sounds like he needs this humbling experience from what I read.
I am happy, I can save my tarp.

I have to say, your post is more inspirational than anything Ryan is currently doing.

Good luck at inspiring and keeping the kid going. Get him to gear down and save those knees.

I haven't done that road, but typically those long western style climbs aren't so bad. They are seldom over 6% although locals usually claim they are 10% I know that we typically didn't find them all that bad, just gear down and grind your way up. Our biggest problem with the climbs in the west was the heat. At least Ryan won't have that problem it will be chilly going down the other side for him though.

I am glad to hear he is getting some gear. I hope he has a decent sleeping bag lined up.

I have done that route a couple of times - and hopefully he won't get a head wind when he heads up. It's a nasty road no shoulder at times and lots of trucks. It is steeper than 6% in places. With a head wind it feels at time like two steps forward and then two steps backward. We hit wacko weather both times we've done it.

It can get pretty cold.

However, my suggestion would be to bypass 8200ft Emery pass and instead go from Silver City to Deming on US 180 and then follow I-10 between Deming and Las Cruces. I did that route in 2001 and there were frontage roads for all but ~12 miles of the I-10 stretch. Journal page for that day: https://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/Jo...11.htm#March20

Looking at Ryan's remaining distance and time, it looks like he would need to approximate distances I did in 2001 (https://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/usa.htm). I passed through Julian on March 11th and came into St Augustine 37 days later. He would need to go at approximately similar pace to have enough time to get north to Washington DC after that, though he doesn't need to go south all the way to St. Augustine. So I think it is do-able though arguably December is more challenging than March and I wasn't running into as many issues early. Worst comes to worst, Amtrak parallels much of this route not too far off.

Mev, he's going to have ride much more than you did according to your blog. I noticed you rode better than 80 miles a day only 11 of the 31 days you rode in March and only 3 of the 19 days you rode in April. He needs to ride better than 80 miles everday and he won't be able to withstand the several days where you rode less than 50 miles. The young man's got a difficult but not impossible task in front of him.

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

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.