We had a couple of bicyclers camp with us last night here at Park Creek. Huck and Amelia are on a long-distance ride from San Francisco, CA to Brooklyn, NY over a course of three months.
They are both landscapers and took 3 months off work to ride across America on a lark. At 25 and 23 years old why not?
They told me they travel about 60-100 miles A DAY!!! They usually start out at 11 am and peddle till an hour before sunset, averaging about 7-9 hours of cycling a day. Oh, my butt and legs ache just reading this! Needless to say, they don’t pack much gear with them…a couple of satchels, food and water.
They carry plenty of food with them and usually stock up every couple of days. Amelia said they were pretty tired of eating salami and cheese and are ready for a change.
They both sleep together in a one person pup tent.
They plan on peddling to Alamosa today, and then on through Trinidad and into Kansas where they will board a train to travel to Kentucky then cycle up from Kentucky to New York. The train ride is to bypass the threat of tornadoes in Kansas. They are a bit behind in their time allotment. Amelia said they zig-zaged across Nevada going to Las Vegas and through Arizona and lost time. They need to be in New York a week or so before August 1 so Amelia can visit relatives before taking Amtrak back to San Francisco (a 3-4 day trip) and as they are due to start back to work August 1st.
What a nice conversation we had this morning sharing places we have seen and how we both enjoy living minimally….seeing new places and meeting interesting people is more important than having a big house full of possessions.
I gave them our social card and they said they would send us a postcard and let us know how the rest of their trip went. I certainly admire these two young people and wished them well and sent them off with my blessings.
Remember, you are loved.
Oh to be young and a free spirit. We wish them well. Such interesting people you two meet. We can hardly wait.
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