Biker Rides 3,141 Miles Across U.S.

COURTESY PHOTO During his rides through Arizona and New Mexico, John Rice often found himself biking on the side of highways. “There were some tense days,” he said. “You really had to ride defensively and be aware that you were making sure drivers saw you.”
COURTESY PHOTO During his rides through Arizona and New Mexico, John Rice often found himself biking on the side of highways. “There were some tense days,” he said. “You really had to ride defensively and be aware that you were making sure drivers saw you.”

Bella Vistan John Rice was always intrigued by the idea of cycling across the country. Although he's been a serious cyclist for eight years, Rice often found reasons not to embark on the adventure.

"Finally, I thought, if I'm going to do this, I can't put it off any longer," he said. "So I decided to go."

With the decision finalized, Rice looked to the Adventure Cycling Association for guidance. Established in 1973, ACA is a nonprofit organization based in Missoula, Mont. ACA aims to "inspire and empower people to travel by bicycle," according to its website. It provides cyclists with routes, maps and tips for biking from coast to coast.

Rice chose the southern tier route, a 3,141-mile trek from San Diego, Calif., to St. Augustine, Fla. The journey began in mid-September and finished in mid-November. All told, Rice spent 65 days on the road, 56 of them biking.

Rice, who's active with the Bella Vista Bike Club, started training for the trip in the summer. Already in excellent shape, Rice estimated that he would pull about 60 pounds of equipment on the trip. So he attached a small trailer to his bike and slowly increased his load on a monthly basis as the summer wore on.

When fall rolled around, Rice was ready. He bid farewell to his wife, Chris, and caught a flight to San Diego. His bike, a sturdy Bianchi Volpe, arrived a few days later.

Rice joined 14 other cyclists in Southern California. They departed one blustery September morning for Florida, ready for stops in Arizona, Texas and Louisiana along the way.

"That first day was really brutal," Rice said. "We were coming out of San Diego and there was a lot of climbing and it was around 107 degrees. I thought if the whole ride is going to be like this, it's going to be a long two months."

Three people dropped out on just the first day. Rice, who was pretty well exhausted from the first leg, said he felt bad for the people who pulled out.

"They'd put a lot of money and time into this," he said. "There were a lot of preparations. The trip was 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. I think if they could've just made it past that first day, they would've been OK."

The group made its first stop in Alpine, Calif., a small community about 30 miles east of San Diego. Riders usually traveled in pairs, but Rice said everyone rode at their own pace. The group would rendezvous at night, often in state parks. Each rider carried various pieces of cooking equipment and rotated their cooking duties.

"I usually tried to encourage going to a restaurant when it was my night to cook," Rice joked.

ACA's resources provide vital travel tips for riders, including places to camp, where to eat and the best stores to buy supplies. The rest is up to the rider.

"The camping got to me more than anything," Rice said. "It was enjoyable to camp in the parks, but sleeping in a tent on the ground every night wore on me."

After leaving California, the group found flatter terrain en route to Tempe, Ariz. Rice said the contrasting geography between states was one of the many perks of the trip.

Just days before, he was pedaling through the mountains and valleys near San Diego, and now he was cruising through a sprawling desert.

"Biking is so different than riding across the country in a car," Rice said. "It's really interesting. You're so involved in the moment. Everything is really magnified -- the smells, the sounds, the sights. You see things in a way you don't usually get to."

But while passing through Tempe, Rice found himself in a bustling urban environment.

"I felt a little intimidated because of the traffic," he said. "Occasionally we had to get on the interstate, but out there they had lanes for cycling. Our biggest problems usually came from riding on the highways."

Rice added that there were times when wayward tire treads, broken glass and other debris strewn on the shoulder of the highways made navigating his bike somewhat perilous.

"There were some tense days," he said. "You really had to ride defensively and be aware that you were making sure drivers saw you."

After a few stops in Arizona, Rice began his favorite leg of the trip when he entered New Mexico. In the Land of Enchantment, he encountered surprisingly lush landscape. The route took him through Buckhorn and Hillsboro, towns with a combined population of less than 400.

"Everything was just so green (in New Mexico)," Rice said. "I think we were partly so starved for vegetation after being in Arizona."

Rice's captivating ride through New Mexico was somewhat dampened by his time spent in Texas. After leaving Las Cruces, N.M., the group's first stop in the Lone Star State was El Paso, one of the larger cities in West Texas.

"I had been in the area before in a car, and even then, it takes forever to get through," Rice said. "West Texas is a pretty place, but the hard days were ahead of us. We'd have 91-mile days with strong headwinds, climbing 4,400 feet and it just seemed to never end. You'd bike, go to sleep and wake up still in Texas. You just had to be stubborn enough to get through it."

Rice found some respite in Louisiana, particularly after he arrived in New Orleans. He was in the Big Easy on a two-day layover, and his wife, Chris, flew down to meet him. The couple spent their days enjoying the attractions of the city and retreated to a hotel in the evenings.

But after a cozy lull in his journey, Rice had trouble adjusting when it was time to get back on the road.

"I really enjoyed the bed. But my body thought the ride was over, and it was tough to get started," he said. "But I had to finish the trip."

Powering through Alabama and Mississippi, Rice found more hills than he expected, but encountered a special act of generosity that was typical during the trip.

"I met a lot of really great people on the road," he said. "Once in Mississippi, we stopped at a sort of food trailer. The chef asked what we were doing, and another rider and I told her about the trip. Each meal was about $7, so when I handed the chef a $20, she gave me back $16 and told us, 'you guys are doing something awesome,' and gave us a discount. That was typical of the reception we got."

Rice said he thinks being out on the road, especially on a bike, makes you more approachable.

"I met several other bikers and people making similar trips," he said. "We'd often trade road stories. But if you were ever out of water or looked like you were struggling, people would go out of their way to help you."

Finally in St. Augustine, Rice wasn't content to relax. Chris flew down to pick him up, but the pair spent a few days in north Florida biking. The pair yearned for Bella Vista, though, and packed up a car, bikes in tow, and drove back to Arkansas.

"She and I are pretty active," Rice said. "We love to bike and hike, and have done a toned-down version of my trip across Iowa."

With his journey complete, Rice said the finale was somewhat bittersweet.

"We were glad it was over, but we knew we were going to miss each other and the riding," he said. "Some of us worried about being depressed afterwards, because you get so many endorphins pumping when you're out there every day. It's a hard experience to duplicate and just totally different than anything you normally get to do. We saw different things and met new people every day.

"(The trip) really made me appreciate the simple things -- the little comforts -- in life that we take for granted, and it made me want to do more exploring," Rice added. "There's a lot of interesting people in the world, but it's hard to meet them if you don't get out there."

Community on 01/22/2015