Welcome to Barb and Jerome's Southern Tier Blog

Many of our friends and family have asked if they can keep track of us as we start out across the Southern US on bicycles next week.  So I've created this blog.  It's going to be pretty simple, but we'll try to add journal entries and some photos every few days.  Barb's flying in to RDU on Saturday.  We have her bike and her panniers already here at the house.  On Sunday, Aug 31, we'll be driving to St. Augustine with Cheryl to spend a day or two relaxing on  the beach and touring the area.  Then Sept 2, Barb and I will load our bikes and will take off on the Southern Tiers route with our intended goal of riding to San Diego, CA by sometime around November 1. 

We're both riding Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bikes which have been equipped with front and rear racks, and I expect we'll have our panniers (bags) packed with 40-50 lbs of gear each.  We've already taken them for a trial tour of 300+ miles from West Union, IA to Sioux City, IA in early August.  We rode through more hills that we'll see in the first half our trip, but certainly not as many as we're likely to encounter  in the last half.  But things went surprisingly well and other than a few bicycle adjustments we think we're ready to go.

Perhaps the proximity of leaving has made us more acutely aware of our upcoming adventure and how it relates to our everyday lives. Both Barb and I have seen messages this past weekend that have focused us on our upcoming adventure.   The one I spotted was someone's bumper sticker here in the Cary area that simply read  "Courage to begin.  Strength to endure.  Resolve to finish".    The message that Barb saw was the back of a T-shirt that some woman was wearing.  Though it really relates to running, you can simply substitute cycling to make it apply to us.

Whether you are 17 or 67,

the desire to hit the road

is not easily understood to those who

do not run.

We understand the pull of the road,

the joy of losing yourself in the solitude

of a good long distance run,

or the sisterhood you experience

when you find that great running partner.

Running is more that a feat of athleticism.

It is therapeutic.  There is an

exhilaration that we experience

having challenged our personal limitations. . .

finally proving to ourselves

that we can indeed make it to the finish line.

Whether you are here to win or here to

experience a little more of who you are,

we salute you.

And so in a week we'll be off and on the road, seeking the exhilaration, challenging ourselves, and learning about who we are.

Jerome