FINAL ITINERARY-EPIC RIDE 2009

After nearly a year of dreaming an planning, I'm counting down the days to EPIC RIDE 2009. Since I took up mountain biking nearly one year ago, I had a desire to take a trip out west to some of the most heralded mountain bike riding spots in the desert and mountain regions southwest. Many hours of planning, examining websites to determine the best riding locations, talking with friends who have made similar trips, and examining my funds, I have finally reached the end of the planning stage and am ready to implement the journey itself.

With 2.5 weeks of vacation blocked off in the beginning of May, I was ready to start making the necessary arrangements. I began by plotting out the most efficient driving itinerary, keeping my outbound and return segments as short as possible, but not making the driving days so long that I would be utterly exhausted at the end of the day. Furthermore, I still needed to arrive at my destinations at a reasonable time to permit setting up camp and getting proper nutrition. I kept the days to at most 12 hours of white line fever. Assuming I am on the road by 7am, this gives me plenty of daylight to set up camp when I arrive at my next destination, without having to use headlights or flashlights.

Day one constitutes driving from my home near Tampa, Florida to the area of Scott, LA. I made some pre-planned arrangements to stay at a KOA Kampground in this area. I chose KOA because of the availability of fresh water, nice showers, and other facilities that will make my commute enjoyable. Plus, I wanted to have a set place to hang my hat each night, instead of searching for a place to crash while on the road. There's nothing worse than being tired, sick of driving, hungry and smelly and having to search for a place with vacancy where you're going!



Day two is going to be quite a haul- from Scott, LA to Amarillo, Texas. Let's face it, driving through Texas SUCKS. Flat and boring in most areas up north. At least Dallas breaks it up a bit, and of course, Amarillo is home to the WORLD FAMOUS Big Texan Steakhouse!! Chances are I am going to gorge myself at this place on my return trip. Now, since there is an absence of decent campgrounds in Amarillo, I chose to stay in an ULTRA cheap Travelodge hotel. Most of the camping sites in Amarillo are too far off the beaten path and would add too much driving to an otherwise loooong day. The KOA in Amarillo was actually the same price as this hotel-so I opted for a good night's rest in a squeaky and maybe uncomfortable bed as opposed to being in a sleeping bag. Call me a wuss. Whatever. I'm heading to Colorado the next day!