April 15 - Day One of my bicycle tour that will cross 13 states
in the 5 months to follow. This photo at the Louisiana - Mississippi
border taken on a gloomy morning was the first of nearly
600 snapshots documenting this trip.
My cycling buddy Jim rode the first 100 miles with me to Percy Quin State
Park in Mississippi. Tomorrow he would ride back to New Orleans
and I would continue on to an endless horizon. Jim meets up with
me in Yellowstone National Park two months later.
Hwy 83 and rolling hills between Gloster, MS and
Homochitto National Forest.
Homochitto River
If you want a detailed map,
look for the links in
the blue column page left.
Entering Homochitto National Forest.
Cyclists from Illinois on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
This couple would bike from New Orleans to Minnesota.
Crimson Clover on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Beatiful day for cycling on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Rocky Springs Campground on the NTP near Port Gibson, MS.
Natchez Trace Parkway. Only cycled here two days.
April 19. On my own again, back in Louisiana. Hwy 80 near Vicksburg, MS.
Pecan tree signs of Spring near Tallulah, LA on Hwy 65 with me pedaling
against a stiff wind.
Transylvania, Louisiana.
Yes...that is a bat on the water tower.
Substandard roadway and substandard lumber truck
drivers made this stretch of Hwy 139 near Bastrop
quite interesting.
April 21. Hwy 142 south of Crosset, Arkansas. Dig that four inch shoulder.
My route sliced Arkansas in half.
The sign up ahead reads Narrow Bridge.
Crossing "The Dump" as it is called by locals near Crosset, Arkansas.
Lots of trucks on the stretch of narrow road ahead.
First rock outcropping this trip on Scenic Hwy 7.
DeGray Lake State Park. Despite weekend revelers, this place was peaceful at night.
Ouachita Mountains on the horizon near DeGray Lake State Park.
Ouachita Mountain scene.
Hot Springs city limit.
Scenic Hwy 7 north of Jesseville, Arkansas.
Ouachita National Forest.
Stone bridge railings.
Ouachita National Forest north of Iron Springs.
Nice scenery in Arkansas.
Steep and fast decents were my reward for steep and slow climbs.
Foothills of the Ozark Mountains from Hwy 22 looking southwest.
Paris, Arkansas
Frank and Jeff flagged me down for some
ice cold spring water and a short
break from the heat.
Frank's turkeys cooling off by standing in cool water.
The Ozark Mountains south of Class, Arkansas from Hwy 23.
Arkansas mountain scene.
The Mulberry River
Mulberry River from the bridge in the previous photo.
Chicken feathers on the roadside.
Trucks full of chickens were common here.
Dogwood trees were in full bloom between Class and Denton, Arkansas.
Enough shoulder to be comfortable and relaxed.
Dogwood along Hwy 23.
Dogwood trees lined the road for many miles and several days.
Near St. Paul from Hwy 23.
Highway 23 south of St. Paul, Arkansas.
Trucks use low gears! YEEEHAAA!!
Hwy 23 between St. Paul and Whitter, Arkansas.
Tree farm south of Huntsville, Arkansas.
Martin of Martin's Crossbows.
Yeah, he let me shoot some of them.
Martin's Crossbows main office as it looks from Hwy 23.
Withrow Springs State Park north of Huntsville
with blooming dogwoods.
A loaded touring bike is a great conversation starter and friend maker.
Withrow Springs S.P. and new friend.
Three miles north of Withrow Springs State Park on Hwy 23.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
April 27. SHOW ME BABY! I'm in Missouri.
Just cut the corner of Missouri and Oklahoma.
Highway F in Missouri with murderous roller-coaster hills.
Smooth tarmac. Heaven.
Entering Roaring Rivers State Park on Hwy F.
My camp in Roaring Rivers S.P.
Hwy W east of Wheaton. Looks like a ski jump.
One of the nicer looking chicken farms. Didn't smell so nice though.
Click the thumbnail for sounds of chickens and wind recorded here.
I passed hundreds of these chicken compounds.
Highway D near Boulder City.
April 28. My only Oklahoma photo. I spent one night in this state.
The sight of this sign made me realize I was really getting somewhere.
April 29. Hwy 69 was my portal to "Wind World."
There was suffering in this state.
Map of Southern Kansas. See full sized map link in left page column.
Girard, Kansas is where my Adventure Cycling bike maps became relevant.
Hwy 7 near Farlington. This is pretty much how a Kansas dirt farm looks.
I saw hundreds of these.
Another Kansas dirt farm clone. You seen one...
Green horizons and blue skies between dirt farms near Chanute, Kansas.
Quivera National Wildlife Refuge where
Barn Swallows were playing tag.
Getting into tumbleweed country too.
Intersection of two unmarked roads near Hudson, KS. The wind was in my
face all day gusting over 30mph. Terrain was boring too.
This was my first photo in five days.
Hwy 19. Eleven miles east of Larned, KS heading STRAIGHT into a 30mph
headwind. Had to stand on the pedals in low gear fairly often.
Click thumbnail for sounds of the wind as I try to record my journal.

I took today off due to never ending gale force winds. Yesterday was
a really tough 80 miles of cycling.
Wind was reasonable this morning on Hwy 96 near Timken Corner, Kansas.
"It's All Uphill From Here" says the word balloon.
Thanks for extra mental anguish.
Today was the beginning of a beautiful relationship for me: A Dairy Queen Blizzard.
A TREE! A TREE!
Beeler, KS on Hwy 96. Grain elevators were spaced out every
ten miles horizon to horizon.
Highway 96 will take me STRAIGHT to Colorado. No fooling.
Sunset from City Park in Tribune, KS.
Crossed my first time zone today from Central to Mountain time.
Close Encounters of the Farm Kind.
I could see this thing coming on the horizon for half an hour...
...and half an hour more in this direction
Come Again!?
Not until you grow some trees and do something about that freakin' wind.
May 9. This does not look much better than Kansas.
I almost wore out my camera in Colorado.
Link to full sized map in left page column.
Grain elevators spaced out every ten miles.
Wait...a...minute. Are those MOUNTAINS in the distance? Heart be still!
Bull on the road. I slipped past him with no problems.
At a nearby filling station a cowboy walked up to me, looked
my loaded bicycle up and down, then looked me in the eyes and said:
"Boy...you must not have a gahdam thing to do."
Hwy 96 west of Eads, Colorado.
Youth Hostel. A bed and shower for five bucks!. Ordway, Colorado.
Inside the Ordway Hotel. I was the first cyclist of this year to stay here.
Topography at last. Hwy 96 north of Olney Springs. Biked my 1500th mile today.
Most definitely mountains on the horizon.
Hwy 50 west of Pueblo, CO. Pike's Peak is visible in the distance.
Colorado Front Range from Hwy 50 nearing Cañon City.
Hwy 50 between Pueblo and Cañon City, Colorado.
The best shoulder in two weeks, but lots of broken glass to avoid.
Finally riding between some topographic features.
The distant snow covered peaks got me all choked up for the first time
since the Leaving Kansas sign.
I am climbing 8-Mile Hill on Hwy 50.
This was my last day of hot weather for the next 100 days.
Also got my first dose of altitude sickness at 8000ft.
Scenery along Hwy 50 east of Cañon City, CO.
I took three days off at Royal Gorge Campground to acclimate to
9000ft above sea level
A room with a view.
Here I spent three nights in a sleeping bag reflecting on
how much I was missing the job I quit to take this trip.
My campsite in Paradise.
I will not drop below 5000ft above sea level for the next two months.
'Nuff Said

Welcome to my grandest bicycle touring photo journal of them all. Contained in these next few pages are nearly 600 photographs with captions, maps marked with locations for each photograph, a gear check list, fitness tips, psychology lessons, and lots of other information on the subject of solo bicycle expeditions lasting several months and many miles.

The first of the one hundred photos on this page starts us out at the Louisiana - Mississippi border on State Highway 51 roughly half finished my first day on the road and first 100 mile day of this trip. By the time we get to the last photo we will be in Colorado enjoying the Rocky Mountains. Small maps will be included in the photo collection, but they are just for reference purposes. I have links in the left column of every page to the full sized map sections. These maps show the route exactly as I rode it as well as some numbers showing where each photo was snapped. Those numbers are circled and represent photos on a roll of film, generally 1 through 24 or 36. These numbers do not cross reference to my photos, but it is not hard to figure it out based on my captions under each photo.

Alright...enough chit-chat. Touch any thumbnail above to get started!

Hover cursor for more information about these relevant book titles.
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