GoGeezGo : Easy Rider II: Cycling the Southern Tier

Tonto National Monument AZ

The 3,000-mile Southern Tier bicycle route from San Diego to St. Augustine FL is on the bucket lists of many touring cyclists, in part because it’s 1,000 miles shorter than other major coast-to-coast routes across the U.S.

But as I discovered riding the ST route this spring (March 17-May 16, 2022), shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier.

The western half of the route is largely shadeless desert, often with long stretches between resupply points.

To ensure that I didn’t run out of water in this austerely beautiful but unforgiving terrain, I regularly packed 2.5-3.5 liters on my bicycle frame, and carried another 2.5 in a hydration backpack.

The route is hillier than many might anticipate, even in Florida, climbing more than 100,000 feet over its course.

Wind direction also plays a major role in how hard the pedaling is each day, especially in the desert where there are no trees or hills to block the breeze.

Like many other touring cyclists, I found myself praying for tailwinds and cursing the headwinds that seemed to blow into my face most days instead. I also checked the weather scrupulously each morning and took a rest day whenever a storm or a particularly strong headwind was forecast.

For me, the most challenging route sections were the 5,696 feet of climbing over the 65.2 miles between Usery Mountain Regional Park and Punkin Center, AZ, the 4,220 feet of climbing over the 90.4 miles between Yuma and Dateland, AZ, and the 3,686 feet of climbing over the 45.3 miles between Lordsburg and Silver City NM. All three of these rides required me to fight hideous headwinds throughout significant parts of the day.

Usery Mountain Regional Park AZ

One of my easier longer days was on an 87.1-mile section between Silver City and Columbus NM, largely because I had a gentle tailwind and the route descended almost 2,000 feet.

For eastbound cyclists, the route exits the desert and becomes greener and lusher at its midpoint in the Texas hill country approaching Austin.

East of Austin, heat, humidity, heavy dew and bugs make it more challenging to camp.

Overall, I found the vast majority of drivers and other passersby along the route to be friendly, courteous and helpful.

Loose dogs, however, were a significant problem on parts of the route, particularly through rural areas in Texas and Louisiana.

Fortunately, I was able to stymie all of the numerous attacks, either by hollering at the beasts or giving them a toot with my boat horn.

Much of the first few hundred miles of the ST route track the U.S.-Mexico border. So the border wall and evidence of immigration enforcement are often apparent.

Several miles east of Del Rio, a scruffy, 20-something Hispanic kid waving a phone appeared out of nowhere on the Hwy 90 shoulder. “Ayudame (help me),” he was saying.

He apparently wanted me to stop and come down to him off the highway.

But my inner voice told me something very bad might happen to me if I complied.

So I just gave him my biggest grin and waved and pedaled harder.

“Buenos dias,” I said.

The most enjoyable parts of the route for me were on the lightly-trafficked and peaceful back roads through the deserts.

My favorite stopover town was El Paso. I enjoyed practicing my Spanish in the border part of downtown, where Spanish was the primary, and maybe only, language.

I also loved hanging out in El Paso’s historic Hotel Gardner, where the gangster John Dillinger hid out while on the run from the law in the 1920s and author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men and The Road) did much of his writing.

My favorite overnight hosts were Carlyle and Julie, who provided me with free room and board for a night in their lovely adobe home in Phoenix.

El Paso's Hotel Gardner

Cormac McCarthy's Room 108

The least appealing part of route for me was the section through Baton Rouge and New Orleans LA. It runs through too many industrial sections filled with smelly chemical plants and oil refineries, and I am not a fan of urban/highway riding.

My closest call during the tour was with a huge diamondback rattlesnake near Dryden TX.

Unbeknownst to me, it was asleep next to the concrete jersey wall abutting a highway guardrail along Hwy 90, where I had pulled over and propped up my bike. I needed to pee.

But when a truck appeared on the horizon, I leaned back against the guardrail instead and took off my sandals to put on my leg coolers.

Only after I stood up and turned around did I notice the rattler coiled asleep within inches of where my feet had just been.

Thank goodness it was chilly (in the 40s) that morning, and that the cold-blooded beast did not rouse from its slumber. Thanks also for the truck. If I had micturated on the serpent, it might have awakened, and I might be telling a very different tale now, if able to tell a tale at all.

My longest day in the saddle was the 90.4 miles from Yuma to Dateland.

The shortest day was 15 miles backtracking from Phoenix to Peoria AZ, to watch a San Diego Padres/Chicago Cubs preseason baseball game.

The only time I got temporarily lost was on the day after the tour’s official end, during a 57.6-mile ride from St. Augustine to the Amtrak station in Jacksonville FL. I took the Amtrak train home to northern Virginia. For some reason, Google Maps routed me into a wildlife refuge off A1A that had sandy dirt roads that were essentially unridable on my 1.75-inch tires.

On a second pass, Google dropped me into a paved cul-de-sac, then suggested a series of turns onto an extremely busy, shoulder-less road. But Apple Maps app eventually got me to the station.

I started the tour from San Diego’s Ocean Beach on March 17, finally reaching St. Augustine on May 16.

I rode the 3,062.3 miles in 49 days, averaging 62.5 miles daily. I also took 13 rest days during this time, including 7 days to go birding with my partner, Marisol, who met me in Austin.

So why did I do this tour? Well, I’ve done several similar tours before, and have always enjoyed the challenge and adventure. But in this case, I also wanted to do something memorable to celebrate my 70th birthday this year.

I also hope my example will encourage others, including my two children and six grandchildren, to take on some ambitious challenges.

Use it or lose it, and get it done while you can. Those are good rules to keep in mind.