Richard Davies

A little about Richard

What is your age?

I was 69 when I rode the Northern Tier in 2014.

What made you want to ride your bike across the country?   

Was on my bucket list to ride across the the United States for several years.

Where do you live?  

Albuquerque, NM

What is your profession?  

I’m retired after serving in the Air Force for 20 years and working for the Department of Defense for another 23 years.

What route(s)/year(s) did you ride with Bike the US for MS?  

Northern Tier in 2014 and I did a segment of the Southern Tier 2014.

Pre-trip

How many miles did you clock in before the trip?  

I had just bought a new bike in March so I did about 550-600 miles getting used to the bike.

What was your cycling experience before signing up?  

Numerous century rides, a lot of riding around New Mexico and I had ridden the week-long Iowa ride 9 times.

Where did you find the most success fundraising?  

Family and friends.

What was your biggest worry before the trip, and how did you handle it?  

Getting my bike to Bar Harbor.  I used Bike Flight to ship my bike and it work very well.

How many fundraising letters/emails do you think you sent?  

Most of mine was personal contact with family and friends.

What surprised you most about the fundraising process?  

How everyone supported me.

Gear

What type of bike did you ride? Where did you get it?  

I rode a Motobecane that I bought online from Bikes Direct.  I had a professional bike mechanic put it together and check it over.

What is something you wish you had brought which you didn’t?  

My cold weather riding clothes and my 0 degree sleeping bag.  Even in June the nights were cold!!!

Is there anything you spent a bit more money on that you were glad you did?  

Breakfast.

How much casual clothes (t-shirts, shorts, etc) did you bring?  

3 shorts and t-shirts.

How many pairs of cycling shorts/bibs did you bring?  

2 shorts

What type of sleeping pad did you use?  

I had a Big Agnes inflatable pad which was great.

Food

What was your favorite trailer snack?  

Power and Cliff bars

How often would you go out to eat? 

Once or twice a day.

Would you cook at camp often? If so, what was your favorite recipe?  

Yes, and would do rice or pasta box mixes.

On-the-bike

Did you prefer to ride alone or in a group?  

I did both.  Some days you would feel like a group ride and others going it alone.

What would you keep in your bike jersey pockets?  

Snacks, map, and a small pouch with money and credit card in it. Money kept in a zip lock bag to keep it dry.

Did you use a rack/saddle bag/handlebar bag?  

I had an Arkel trunk that mounted on my seat post with a quick disconnect.

What type of tires did you ride? 

Specialized Armadillo 700×23

Did you use a cyclocomputer? 

What was your normal pace?  Everywhere from 4 or 5 MPH to 35+.

How long did it take to learn to read the maps?  

With the training given before the ride it was easy.

Riding on a flat terrain with a headwind, or climbing a mountain pass for miles. Which do you prefer?

Much prefer climbing a mountain pass.

What was the most difficult part/aspect/state of the ride?  

One day in North Dakota with a steady headwind.

Routine

Were you an early riser? Did you sleep in?  

Up and at it early!!!

When you got to camp, the first thing you did was….

setup my tent.

How often would you do laundry? 

When available or three to four days.

It’s the evening and you’re out of your bike clothes, fed, and your tent is pitched. What are you doing to pass the time until you fell asleep?

Write in a journal and visit with the others.

How many sink/hose showers did you take? 

2 or 3.

How many loads of sink/hose laundry did you do?  

None.

On rest days, did you prefer to go out and see what the town has to offer, or did you hang out, rest up, and relax?

Go out and see the town.

Post-trip