Buzz Ponce

     There is no disguising reality:  a Pacific to Atlantic Ocean bicycle ride from Oceanside, California to St. Augustine, Florida is an ultimate challenge. The route is 3,000 miles of sometimes hills, sometimes beauty, sometimes desolation. Mix in blistering heat and humidity during the time of year I will be riding (May, June, early July), and you have the recipe for a strenuous, demanding stew. 

      This type of trip can be a, ahem...ball buster at any age. But I'll segue into my seventh decade during the time I leave California and arrive in Florida.  Certainly there are heartier -- and older -- men and women who have conquered such a feat; nevertheless, I'll be joining a unique alliance of robust souls.  

     I'll have great camaraderie on this journey. My decades-old friend Dave Rickabaugh (The Dude, for those of you familiar with A Long Ride Coming) will be in a support vehicle, guiding the way. For eight weeks it'll just be The Dude, me, my bike, and a rickety 29 year-old motorhome. We're eschewing bicycle touring companies; strictly solo is the plan.    We'll stay in campgrounds most nights and stealth camp (off the road, in the bushes) some nights. Meals will be whatever we can cook up in the old motorhome; local diners will be a luxury. 

     The motivation? Two words: Warriors Heart.

     If you've ever known someone who has survived the horrors of combat or has been a first-responder (police, fire, medical) and was later caught-up in the nightmare of addiction, please, join me in this adventure by clicking on the Donate tab.

     The adventure begins May 1, 2018 with a blast off party at the Oceanside, CA pier when I dip the rear tire of my bike into the Pacific Ocean in the celebratory manner of a coast-to-coast bicycle ride. Two months later I'll be sliding the front tire into the Atlantic Ocean in St. Augustine, FL.

     For a town-to-town itinerary of  this charity coast-to-coast bike ride, hit the blue button next to the map.

 

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