More importantly, I hope this site can be a resource for anyone who would like to ride across America and is looking for an alternative to Adventure Cycling's routes.
Here is the big version of the route.
And here's the RWGPS version: Petoji
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Welcome
In 2015 I rode across the country from Pescadero, CA to Jekyll Island, GA and named it Petoji. I did the ride in 23 days and you can see my ride reports below.
More importantly, I hope this site can be a resource for anyone who would like to ride across America and is looking for an alternative to Adventure Cycling's routes.
Here is the big version of the route.
And here's the RWGPS version: Petoji
More importantly, I hope this site can be a resource for anyone who would like to ride across America and is looking for an alternative to Adventure Cycling's routes.
Here is the big version of the route.
And here's the RWGPS version: Petoji
Monday, September 21, 2015
Petoji Day 1: Ride Report
Day 1: Pescadero, CA to Turlock, CA
July 31, 2015: the day I had been waiting for. I was finally there in Pescadero, California dipping my wheels in the Pacific Ocean.
The whole thing didn't seem real to me. I had dreamed of riding across America since I started cycling avidly back in 2004. It was always number one on the list of things I wanted to do. In 2015 10 years of dreaming transitioned into 7 serious months of planning, training, and obsessing. The time had finally come.
At first I was walking along the beach and I didn't feel any emotion. I felt like I should have been more excited, but the whole thing just didn't seem real to me. It didn't feel like a momentous occasion. It felt like just another ride.
It wasn't until I was on the road getting ready to clip in and take that first pedal stroke when the emotion finally hit me, and it hit me hard. More than anything I was grateful. I was grateful for my health and for the opportunity to ride. I was grateful for my wife, who was with me for the first two and a half days. Without her Petoji wouldn't have been possible. I felt very fortunate to be able to live a dream for 23 days. I'm not going to lie- I cried a little bit there on Pescadero Creek Road. I never thought I was the type of person to cry tears of joy.
The ride itself was a good one. As expected, it was foggy and cool near the beach and sunny and hot as I moved inland. The route began with a few nice, winding roads with little traffic. There was a little bit of climbing up to about 2,000 feet before a descent back to sea level towards the outskirts of San Jose.
San Jose was the first test of the Petoji route. Would I make it through without landing on any congested roads with no shoulder? I'm happy to report that the route was good. It was mostly bike lane with a few quiet side streets. The only problem is that I ran into some road construction (Hacienda Ave) and the detour was poorly marked. However, I made good use of the maps on my new Garmin Edge Touring GPS and found my way back to the route.
After San Jose it was time to ride up to 4,000 feet at Mt. Hamilton. Mt. Hamilton itself wasn't too bad. I rode a conservative pace, saving energy for the next 22 days. It was the little climb on Quimby Road (this segment) that really killed me. My wife met me at the top of Mt. Hamilton at the Lick Observatory and I actually took a little time to walk around and check it out. I had ridden up to Mt. Hamilton a few times but was always in a hurry to keep on riding. There was no rush this time.
The rest of the ride was mostly downhill and flat into Turlock. The descent of Mt. Hamilton itself was a big mess. There was a ton of loose gravel on the road and I took it super slow. I averaged 14 mph on the descent! I'll admit that I was a little extra cautious. Who wants to crash on the first day of a cross-country ride? But it was ridiculous how much gravel was out there, and it seems like they put it there on purpose.
After the Mt. Hamilton descent the scenery changed from mountains to farmland. By the end of the day I had climbed over 10,000 feet but was still at sea level. I stayed at the Travelodge in Turlock. I don't remember much about it, so it couldn't have been that bad. Just your average budget hotel.
All in all it was a good day. 10,000 feet isn't a ton of climbing over 130 miles, but as far as Petoji is concerned it was one of the biggest climbing days of all 23 days. The biggest climbing day was still to come on Day 2.
The ride itself was a good one. As expected, it was foggy and cool near the beach and sunny and hot as I moved inland. The route began with a few nice, winding roads with little traffic. There was a little bit of climbing up to about 2,000 feet before a descent back to sea level towards the outskirts of San Jose.
San Jose was the first test of the Petoji route. Would I make it through without landing on any congested roads with no shoulder? I'm happy to report that the route was good. It was mostly bike lane with a few quiet side streets. The only problem is that I ran into some road construction (Hacienda Ave) and the detour was poorly marked. However, I made good use of the maps on my new Garmin Edge Touring GPS and found my way back to the route.
After San Jose it was time to ride up to 4,000 feet at Mt. Hamilton. Mt. Hamilton itself wasn't too bad. I rode a conservative pace, saving energy for the next 22 days. It was the little climb on Quimby Road (this segment) that really killed me. My wife met me at the top of Mt. Hamilton at the Lick Observatory and I actually took a little time to walk around and check it out. I had ridden up to Mt. Hamilton a few times but was always in a hurry to keep on riding. There was no rush this time.
The rest of the ride was mostly downhill and flat into Turlock. The descent of Mt. Hamilton itself was a big mess. There was a ton of loose gravel on the road and I took it super slow. I averaged 14 mph on the descent! I'll admit that I was a little extra cautious. Who wants to crash on the first day of a cross-country ride? But it was ridiculous how much gravel was out there, and it seems like they put it there on purpose.
After the Mt. Hamilton descent the scenery changed from mountains to farmland. By the end of the day I had climbed over 10,000 feet but was still at sea level. I stayed at the Travelodge in Turlock. I don't remember much about it, so it couldn't have been that bad. Just your average budget hotel.
All in all it was a good day. 10,000 feet isn't a ton of climbing over 130 miles, but as far as Petoji is concerned it was one of the biggest climbing days of all 23 days. The biggest climbing day was still to come on Day 2.
Petoji Day 2: Ride Report
Day 2: Turlock, CA to Yosemite, CA
Strava Link: Petoji Day 2
Day 2 was set to be a big one: 140 miles and climbing from sea level up to 8,000 feet. It started in Turlock through the flat farmlands, which I enjoyed. I got an early start, which meant the temperatures were nice and cool and I could just relax and enjoy the last few flat miles I would have for a few days.
The scenery began to change around mile 40. The hills were starting to pop up and I could see the big mountains off in the distance. I felt pretty good early on. I was enjoying the scenery and everything seemed to be going to plan. It seemed like it was going to be a good day. Unfortunately, I wasn't eating or drinking enough and that caught up with me later on in the day.
From miles 70-100 it was pretty much nonstop climbing and I just didn't have enough food and water with me. I was trying to travel light and relying on food and water from the car, and that ended up biting me in the ass. I had a funny moment at the entrance to Yosemite National Park. There's a little bathroom there and off in the corner there was a pop machine. It seemed like perfect timing. A cold sugary beverage was exactly what I needed. I walked up to the machine and the dollar bill part was broken and it was only taking coins. Bummer. I got a lot of water from the bathroom, but I really needed those extra calories.
Somewhere around mile 100 I was climbing at a snail's pace, just waiting and waiting for the Crane Flat Campground area because I knew there was a gas station there. I stopped at a pullout and just then, magically, my wife showed up with the car. I drank a ton and just sat there in the car for a long time. I even fell asleep at one point. I ended up staying there in the car for about an hour.
I slowly got going again and guess what? There was the Crane Flat gas station just a mile ahead. I wasn't feeling great, but slowly I started to get a second wind. At this point I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish the full 140 miles before dark. My wife was still with me for the first 2.5 days of the ride, so I told her to go set up camp and meet me down the road. I'd just add a few miles onto the next day's ride. This was the one time during the whole 23 days that I'd actually be able to call an audible like that, so why not?
My wife ended up turning in the wrong direction, so I got to ride a little more than I thought. It turned out to be a good thing, though, because the longer I rode the better I felt. I rode until it was too dark to continue. Again, I was relying too much on the car and traveling too light and didn't have my lights with me. If I had my lights I could have finished. At the end of the day I completed 136 miles, just 4 miles short.
Eventually my wife showed up to drive me back to the campground. The next day was a 150-miler (now a 154-miler), so there wasn't any time to relax. All I could do was eat, sleep, and wake up early to do it all over again in the morning.
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| Flat roads outside of Turlock, CA |
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| Smaller hills between Turlock and Yosemite |
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| Smaller hills between Turlock and Yosemite |
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| Smaller hills between Turlock and Yosemite |
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| Getting closer to Yosemite |
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| Mariposa, CA: Yosemite in sight |
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| Entering Yosemite National Park |
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