Against the wind, Against the wind
We were young and strong, we were ridin'
Against the wind
New York City to San Francisco. Summer, 1972
Comments
[ Post a Comment ]| Dan Dalton | This pic is awesome... | | 
Voted 10/10 | Based on today, it looks like you are just as tough now as you were back then! It was a pleasure...
Dan | | Posted May 6, 2007 7:20 pm |
 | | Nelson | Re: This pic is awesome... | | 
Hasn't voted | Thanks man! You are a cool guy to hang with, the pleasure is totally mutual. See you around. | | Posted May 7, 2007 8:40 am |
| | Nelson | Re: Must've been quite the experience! | |
Hasn't voted | Nelson, Ohio. It was by chance that we chose a road that went through that town, so of course a stop at the sign was required.
I went with a college buddy named Perry and somewhere along the way we passed through a Perryville, if my memory serves me well, and stopped for a similar photo op.
It was a fantastic trip, two New York City boys' first experience with the great outdoors. Though it was during the Vietnam War era, and we were hippies to many across the country, the fact that we were on bicycles opened hearts and doors everywhere we went. Lots of wonderful memories and stories. | | Posted May 8, 2007 10:02 pm |
| | Nelson | Re: Must've been quite the experience! | |
Hasn't voted | Hey, if you are going to be near there that *would* be really interesting. I just did a Google search, looks like it is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, maybe 50 miles NE of Akron.
Back then you could get state road maps for free in gas stations. We used those and chose our route each day by looking at the smallest paved road that was heading generally west. Sometimes we wound up in cornfields and had to walk, but we got to San Francisco in August.
We had a great time with a family in Strongsville, Ohio. We kept in contact with them for many years after the trip. | | Posted May 9, 2007 5:27 pm |
| Chris | That's awesome! | | 
Hasn't voted | Wow, that's pretty cool...
You are one DAYAM hardcore dude to ride across the country on a bike, in JEANS! See you out in the mountains soon!
- Chris | | Posted May 10, 2007 12:34 am |
| Foxy Long Bottoms | Love it! | | 
Voted 10/10 | Great photo!!! Nothing like dirty, strong men doing what they love. | | Posted May 10, 2007 9:49 am |
| | Nelson | Re: Love it! | |
Hasn't voted | Thanks gurlyclimber! Yep, we were a couple of strong, dirty men on a roll (pun intended). | | Posted May 10, 2007 7:06 pm |
| Gareth | So... | | 
Voted 10/10 | When you guys got to San Francisco, did you arrive with flowers in your hair?
That trip must have been a cool experience. | | Posted May 12, 2007 12:26 am |
| | Nelson | Re: So... | |
Hasn't voted | We didn't go the hair flower route, but I did have a nice selection of tie-die shirts.
Yeah, it was a great trip! We tried to educate ourselves to some degree. We read "The Complete Walker" to see how that might apply to bicycle touring, took a course in bicycle repair, trained by riding around New York City to our jobs. Then we packed up, road crosstown across 125th Street, over the George Washington bridge, and headed west. | | Posted May 13, 2007 10:40 am |
| PeterN | awesome... | | 
Hasn't voted | ...route. How long did you bike ? Which route did you take ?
Maybe when you have time, would you introduce me to your tour details :P ? | | Posted Jul 28, 2007 2:11 pm |
| | Nelson | Re: awesome... | |
Hasn't voted | Thanks much for your interest. I'll drop you a PM in a day or two with more details.
I will say that we did not set any speed records, covered 4200 miles at an average of about 60 miles / day, but it was into that darn headwind! Regards, Nelson | | Posted Jul 28, 2007 11:54 pm |
| Deb | that BIKE?! | | 
Voted 10/10 | Creepy bike dude, put some 650 Zipp wheels on that thing! :) | | Posted Sep 17, 2007 12:16 am |
| | Nelson | Re: that BIKE?! | |
Hasn't voted | Hey, them's Peugeot wheels and tires! The only Zip I knew about back then had to do with the Post Office. My friend was on a Schwinn Varsity, all 40+ pounds of it.
A spoke broke in western Pennsylvania and it was 300 miles before we could find a replacement. A bike shop in Ohio had some that worked by cutting longer ones and using a die to cut new threads. We were carrying some spare parts but, in our wisdom, omitted what turned out to be one of the more necessary ones.
Take care, Nelson | | Posted Sep 17, 2007 9:00 am |
| McCannster | Very Cool | | 
Voted 10/10 | I'm planning to bike cross-country one of these years. | | Posted Sep 30, 2007 1:02 pm |
| | Nelson | Re: Very Cool | |
Hasn't voted | Thanks. Hopefully you'll be smarter than me and go west to east. Of course, we were in New York and wanted to get to California, so there was no way around that problem! | | Posted Oct 1, 2007 2:15 am |
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