July 4, 1987, I completed my first multiple day bike ride, riding 220 miles from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Durango, Colorado in two days. I also biked about 50 miles while in Durango, Colorado. The high point of the trip was getting to the Colorado boarder.
August 8, 1987, I left Albuquerque, New Mexico for San Diego, California, riding 903 miles in eight days. I would not recommend that anyone make this ride through the desert during the month of August. I encountered temperatures over 115 degrees Fahrenheit. I also crossed paths with a rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike, when I took a short cut through a field. The high point of this trip was making it to the Pacific Ocean.
May 28, 1988 marked the most spectacular ride of my life! Starting in Durango, Colorado, I cycled through the Rocky Mountains, I went through Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Banff Alberta and Jasper Alberta. From there I rode to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, where I took the ferry to Juneau, Alaska. After working at Douglas Cold storage near Juneau for ten days, I went ferry hopping until I arrived in Washington State. I cycled all the paved roads in Southeast Alaska and parts of Vancouver Island. In Washington State, I cycled to the top of Hurricane Ridge (a 5,000-foot climb from sea level) and around the Olympic National Park before taking the ferry to Seattle. That summer marked a 4,153.9-mile journey for me.
