Where's Joe?
California
Stage 1 of the Journey: April 8 - April 28, 2005
On April 8, 1967, Joe Bowen began his first 14,000-mile bicycle adventure to discover America for himself. He was recognized as the first person to extensively tour the United States on a bicycle.
On April 8, 2005, thirty-eight years later, Joe began his second 14,000-mile bicycle trip. This time, the goal was to share "America's Story" via the internet with elementary students across the nation.
Joe trained for his trip during the winter of '05 in the Red River Gorge of Eastern Kentucky. He then pedaled 750 miles across Kentucky in March as a "warm-up" for the Big Trip. (see "KY Warm-Up Ride" on the Main Page) After receiving the Kentucky Unbridled Spirit Award by Governor Ernie Fletcher (see "Official Send- Off" on the Main Page) he went to California to retrace his original 14,000-mile trip of 1967-68.
California
And So it Begins...Again!
Pre-April 8
Joe is in route to California. He and
Barbara have had a wonderful drive. A special thanks goes out to Floyd
Anderson of Anderson Chevrolet in Campton, KY, for the loan of a van to
get them and the bicycle across the country.
Joe will arrive in Lompoc on April 6th.
He has a speaking engagement at the Rotary Club in the evening. A tour
of Vandenburg Air Force Base, where Joe was stationed when in the Air
Force, is scheduled for April 7th.
Gene Stevens and the Lompoc Chamber of
Commerce and Visitors Bureau have scheduled a big send-off for Joe on
April 8th. This will be thirty-eight years to the day and hour from the
beginning of his original trip.
Our good friend, Cliff Cantrell, from
Wolfe County, KY, will ride the first thousand miles or so with Joe.
After that, Cliff is starting his own bicycle ride from Alaska to Key
West. Cliff's job is to teach Joe how to use a laptop computer so Joe
can communicate with the students. You can follow Cliff at
http://ky-chaingang.blogspot.com/ Thanks, Cliff!
Joe says to Beanie,
"Live Strong!"
He also says, "Thank you," to Secretary
Jim Host, Secretary Virginia Fox and Joe Lilly.
April 8
After a lovely send-off from the good folks in Lompoc,
CA, Joe and Cliff are on the road.
They rode 46 miles to Arroyo Grande. There, they spent the night with
Gladys & Bill Paulsen who are friends of Joe’s from his days at
Vandenberg Air Force Base back in the 60's. Back then, they ran a
Methodist Summer Camp. Joe also spent the first night of his historic
bicycle trip 38 years ago with them.
No doubt our Kentucky boys are pretty
excited and we are excited for them. Please keep them in your prayers.
Ride Joe, Ride! (You too, Cliff.)
Until Joe learns to use his new laptop,
e-mails to him can be sent to
Joe@AppalachianHeritageAlliance.org. We will see that he gets them.
Only 14,000 miles to go!
April 9
Joe and Cliff had such a good time they decided to take the next day off. I knew the official itinerary listed on another page at this web site was merely tentative but I did think it would take more than one day to get off schedule. A reporter from San Luis Obispo spent several hours interviewing Joe. Several old friends from Bakersfield, CA, drove over to visit. Everyone ate too much and stayed up way too long telling stories. Our boys spent another night with the Paulsens and headed up the road on Sunday.
38 years ago, Joe spent the first night of his adventure with the Paulsens.
April 10
Sunday’s 50 miles proved very hilly with a 35-mile an hour head wind. Let’s stop and consider this for a minute. They are pedaling up a hill at maybe six miles an hour. Gravity is pulling them backwards in proportion to their weight, which is considerably augmented by yesterday’s overindulgence. Now add to this a continuous wall of wind pushing against them at 35 miles an hour- for fifty miles. A lot of us are looking forward to when we are in our sixties so we can perform heroic acts of strength and endurance such as this. Oh yea, three flat tires before arriving in Cambria.
Morro Bay
April 11
A passing car notices the “Kentucky Unbridled Spirit” license plate on Joe’s bicycle and flags them over. David Dawson and his Thai wife, Toy, want to know what’s going on. Now, we who know Joe also know that unless you have plenty of time, it is best not to ask such an open-ended question. The conversation started along the roadside and ended after dinner in a cafeteria. It turns out that David and Toy are going to Thailand to live and teach in a small village. They, and their students, want to be part of the on-line classroom. How about that, three days on the road and we’re all going to Thailand. But for now, it’s up the Coast Highway to Big Sur.
Cauliflower. Lots of cauliflower.
April 12
Joe and Cliff spent the preceding night just shy of Monterey and made it to Carmel today. Clint Eastwood used to be the mayor, here. They were on the road for ten hours- four spent talking to people and the other six fighting the incredible, and highly unusual, winds. One gust even blew Cliff off his bike. They are becoming quite well known. Cars are driving by and shouting out at them, “Are you guys Joe and Cliff?”
April 13
Today they rode from Carmel to Monterey to Salinas and back to Monterey. While in Salinas, they went to the John Steinbeck Museum. Joe got to take his bicycle into the museum. He will tell you about it as soon as he begins his narratives. Needless to say, neither you nor I could take our bicycles into the Steinbeck Museum.
Strawberries. Lots of Strawberries.
April 14
Today's trip took them from Monterey to Santa Cruz. Most of the trip was on bicycle trails or on roads with dedicated bike lanes. They passed hundreds of acres of strawberries and artichokes.
April 15
Thirty-eight years ago, Joe was fined $15 for riding his bicycle on a restricted highway in Santa Cruz. If you recall, he only had $43 dollars when he started his trip so the fine amounted to, at that point, almost 40% of his funds. Major bummer. This time, he decided to give the city of Santa Cruz the opportunity to clear their conscience and return the $15. He didn't even ask for accrued interest. City Hall was not interested. They made it to Half Moon Bay by evening. Again, heavy winds.
San Francisco Bay
April 16
Today, Joe and Cliff rode from Half Moon Bay to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. They went to the Fisherman's Warf and ate at a really, really fancy restaurant. They were joined by Cliff's daughter, Sally, and her boyfriend, Chris. They had a great time. Unfortunately for Joe, he used up the next two weeks of his food budget. Peanut Butter and Jelly, here we come.
Golden Gate Again!
April 17
Across the Golden Gate Bridge and onward to Petaluma. There are bikeways everywhere but sometimes hard to find. There are also bicyclists everywhere. Apparently, if you build a bikeway people come to ride it. And have fun.
April 18
Before leaving Petaluma, Joe and Cliff took the twelve mile trip to Jack London's home. Naturally, Joe took his bicycle into the museum. Afterwards, they rode through thousands of acres of vineyards in the Napa Valley. They stayed in the town of Napa. Cliff has experienced some serious mechanical problems so far. Both guys have taken a spill. They're OK.
April 19
Seventy four miles to Sacramento. Longest ride so far. Three mountains. One was 2.4 miles upwards at an 8% grade- from 60 feet above sea level to 1250 feet. Lots of bicycles in Davis. They're everywhere. Once down into the valley flatland, our intrepid riders average over twenty miles an hour all the way to Sacramento. They are staying with some of Joe's wonderful friends.
Cliff's new bike.
April 20, 21, 22
Joe and Cliff spent several days relaxing, reorganizing, and recuperating with the Hennings, special friends near and dear to Joe's heart. Colonel Henning, who recently passed on, was an extremely important person in Joe's life. Joe got a couple of new tech toys, a GPS and a Blackberry, which means more teaching work for Cliff. Cliff got a new bicycle so maybe his mechanical problems are solved for a while. We can't overemphasize Cliff's importance to this trip. Not only is he a most excellent person and fellow adventurer, he is Joe's technology teacher. Joe said, "If I had custom ordered my idea of the perfect traveling companion I wouldn't have got someone as good as Cliff because I would have left something out." Thanks, Cliff.
April 23
After fond farewells, our travelers headed north up the Sacramento Valley. Basically flat but the High Sierras loom in the distance. The snow line appears lower on the mountains than they had hoped. They rode in the rain for the first four hours. Heather, the eighteen year old granddaughter of their recent hosts, rode the first 33 miles with them. Seventy-five and a half miles later they arrive in Oroville.
April 24
Rode 67 miles to Red Bluff. One small rain shower then plenty of sunshine. The town of Chico was sponsoring a Century Run. One hundred miles of country back roads surrounding the town are marked off and bicyclists come and ride the route. Five thousand riders participated. Five thousand. Wow! Our boys rode with them for a little way but since they didn't have time to ride in a big circle, they waved goodbye and headed north.
April 25
Today was a beautiful sunny day. Joe and Cliff headed into the mountains. The snow line is quite visible but still well above them. They spent the night at Round Mountain.
April 26
Our riders camped last night on a hill behind a gas station. Ate sardines and cheese. Today, they got their first good view of Mt. Shasta. It must really be something to behold! They are definitely in the mountains, now.
Mt. Shasta
April 27
Joe and Cliff stayed up late spinnin' yarns with a cowboy in Canby. I bet that cowboy has more respect for Kentucky than he did yesterday. Earlier that day, they reached their highest point in the trip so far at Adian Pass- 5173 feet.