Yes, my Coast 2 Coast ride is complete. Here are some of the highlights:
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This picture at the Pacific Ocean was a foreshadowing of the weather we would experience over the next 52 days. Fortunately the trip was much more than the headwinds, rain, hail, severe thunderstorms etc that we experienced. Our route was along the southern tier of the USA so we saw mountains, deserts, ranches, cities large & small, swamps, rivers. We went through areas that had recently been devastated by a hurricane. What better way to see all this than from the seat of my Q45? There was so much I could talk about, but the one thing that stands out to me is that we crossed the desert while it was in bloom. If you ever have the chance to see that, do it! The other thing that stands out for me is the people that I encountered. That includes the other riders in my group (there were a total of 43 of us), the staff of the tour, local residents along the way & other riders we connected with as we crossed the country.
I am happy to report that my Q45 performed flawlessly. I am very happy that I changed the cassette from the stock 11-36 to an 11-42. I needed it for some of the hills. I even thought to myself, "why don't they just include an 11-42 stock with the bike?" Guess what - the 2019 model Q45 has exactly that. Must have been reading my mind. I am also happy with the Thor seat & headrest I installed. My level of comfort was envied by all the other riders. I did replace my chain after about 2,000 miles. I wasn't having trouble with it, but the mechanic measured the links and recommended a change. I only had one flat tire the whole ride, which I attribute to luck more than anything else. There were riders who had 20 or more flats. Here I am riding in Texas:
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You may notice the bandage on my left knee. I went down on a rainy day on a patch of mud that I thought might end my quest, but X-Rays said nothing was broken. I could pedal without pain, but walking was difficult. I managed another 800 miles after that experience, but it took some of the fun out of it.
I was most surprised by the interest my Q45 had from the other riders. There was only one other recumbent, a P-38, but I was the only Cruzbike. I had lots of conversations about the bike & offered to let folks try it on one of our off days, but had few takers. It was very common for me to get questions, like on a windy day "Was that recumbent all over the road today?" Actually the windy days were to my advantage. I would pass stronger riders because I was much more aerodynamic. And everyone agreed I was more comfortable for the whole ride. I warned them there was a learning curve with a Cruzbike, but it is well worth it in my opinion.
All the learning, planning, training & effort was well rewarded when this picture was taken at the Atlantic Ocean in St Augustine.
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I can heartily recommend to everyone that this was a worthwhile experience. Lots more details are available on the blog I wrote during the trip: jimscruiseacrossamerica.blogspot.com
