Jim Hendrickson - Vagabond on a Bicycle

VAGABOND ON A BICYCLE

100,000 Miles and 100 Cultures on a Bike

2nd Edition

Jim Hendrickson

Copyright 2016 Jim Hendrickson

All rights reserved.

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Cover photo credit: Jim Hendrickson

Cover by Rita Toews www.yourebookcover.com

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

BOOK DESCRIPTION

This book comprises a series of stories about 16bicycle journeys I have made in the United States, Europe, Africa,Oceania and South America. Together these and many other tripscomprise over 100,000 miles of cycling in more than 100 cultures ofthe world. The stories are based on experiences that I havethoroughly enjoyed and wish to share with you, my reader, whoprobably love traveling as much as I do.

Jim Hendrickson

February 2016

OTHERBOOKS BY JIM HENDRICKSON

LIKE ALEAF ON A RIVER (Travels of aYoung Man)

NORTHTO ALASKA! (Montana to Alaska byBicycle)

SHALOM, ISRAEL! (WashingtonState to Israel by Bicycle)

TRAVELIS MY PASSION (Memoirs of a WorldTraveler)

RVINGTO THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN (Washington State to Alaska)

AROUND THE WORLD IN THINSLICES (From Asia Through the Northwest Passage)

SOUTH PACIFIC ODESSEY(Marquesas and Mariana Islands, South Australia, American Samoa,Samoa, and Indonesia)

HEAVEN ON EARTH (Travelsof a Restless Soul)

MY ENDLESS PURSUITOF TRAVEL ( Western, Northern and Central Canada, Minnesota,Colorado, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia,Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia,Kosovo )

To a long-distance cyclist par excellence,

Bill Weir

Happy trails to you and Bessie the Bicycle!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I wish to thank Bill Weir who proofread themanuscript of this book for errors such as typos, misspellings andpunctuation, and who gave me countless suggestions on ways toimprove it.

I also want to thank John Low, who formatted thefinal manuscript, and Rita Toews, who designed the beautiful coverof the book.

In this book I share with you my deepest passion inlife: traveling the world, especially by bicycle. Perhaps like you,I began biking when I was a kid. My first bike was actually atricycle, and I was only three years old.

When I was about six years old, I got a realbicycle: an old Schwinn, made of steel, with fat tires, and abattery-operated horn enclosed just under the top tube. Dependingon your age, you may have had a bike just like mine when you were achild. My trusty Schwinn took me everywhere: to school, to thestore and all over Greenfield, my neighborhood near Milwaukee,Wisconsin. But for me, my Schwinn was more than justtransportation. It was a symbol of my independence and my freedom.My bicycle was the steel stallion that took me on manyadventures.

Occasionally, during my teenage years Iwould pack a tent, a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, and a fewsnacks on my bike. Then I'd head for the woods and camp out allweekend. I really enjoyed being outdoors on my own and discoveringnew places.

The desire to explore the world has remainedmy passion throughout my life. Since those teenage years I havevisited over 130 countries on 7 continents and used over 25different modes of transportation, including the humble bicycle. Todate, I have pedaled over 100,000 miles and experienced more than100 cultures in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand,and South Africa.

I have learned that, like life itself,travel by bicycle has a lot of ups and downs. Disadvantages oflong-distance biking include inclement weather, tough terrain,mechanical breakdowns, and nasty passersby. For example, on a solobike ride along Route 66 from Santa Monica, California to Tulsa,Oklahoma, I encountered massive headwinds that whirled my bike andme in circles as if we were on a merry-go-round. On that same trip,a sudden blizzard nearly killed me.

The dusty, graveled, potholed road known as"Top of the World Highway," stretching 175 miles from Dawson Cityin the Yukon to Tetlin Junction, Alaska, proved the toughestterrain I have ever ridden. Thousands of washboard-like bumps,formed by motor vehicles, hammered me so badly that painfulblisters quickly developed where the sun don't shine.

While coasting downhill into East Glacier,Montana in biting sleet, I nearly lost control of my bike when itshandlebar loosened. When I wobbled into that town, the stemsuddenly snapped in two. I could have been seriously injuredorworse!

Nasty passersby can be a road hazard tobicyclists. Over the years, people have shouted every expletive inthe book at me. They have also thrown an interesting assortment ofitems at me, including coins, golf balls, containers of ice, andeven a rearview mirror!

On the positive side, bicycling is a greatway to exercise and to lose weight. For example, on mylong-distance bicycle trips, I eat like an elephantjust abouteverything from organic foods to fast foods. Still, I generallyburn up about 10,000 calories per day; on a ride of several months,I usually lose over eight pounds. Other advantages of biking areplenty of fresh air, a relaxing slow-paced mode of travel andinexpensive transportation.

But what I like most of all about travelingby bicycle, and traveling in general, is meeting people. I've methundreds of wonderful, interesting folks on my bicycle trips.People have often approached me when I stopped at a grocery storeor pulled into a campground, and began a conversation. Others haveinvited me to set up my tent in their backyard, to join them for ameal, and even to take a shower in their home. Imagine: We meet ascomplete strangers, but in no time, we become good friends. That'swhat I really like about cycling the world.

Route 66, the first completely paved highwayin the United States, conjures up pleasant memories for manypeople. In 1946, Bobby Troup immortalized that famous road in hishit song, Get Your Kicks on Route 66. In John Steinbeck'sbook, The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family traveled alongthe Mother Road, another moniker for that historic thoroughfare.And every week in the early 1960s, I watched the television seriesRoute 66, starring Martin Milner as Tod Stiles, and hisbuddy George Maharis as Buzz Murdoch. How I loved that series! Idreamed to wander from town to town along Route 66 with Tod andBuzz in their fiery red 1960 Corvette convertible. Although thatdream never came true, I decided to pedal down the Mother Road onmy 1995 fiery red Bruce Gordon touring bicycle.

On a Saturday in mid-March, my bike and Iarrived at Los Angeles International Airport, assembled thetwo-wheeler, and rode it ten miles north to the Santa MonicaInternational Hostel. I checked into a dormitory room, took ashower, ate supper, and went to bed at ten o'clock.

I got up early the next morning when mostAngelinos were still asleep, checked out of the hostel, loaded fourpacked panniers on my bicycle, and headed east toward Chicago, theoriginal starting point of Route 66 and my final destination. Thesun shone brightly, the temperature was in the 80s, and the windblew softly through the palm trees along Ocean Boulevard. On myback fender I had mounted a black-and-white sign in the shape ofthe U.S. Highway shield that read, "Getting My Kicks on Route66."

As I spun my wheels down Santa MonicaBoulevard, it felt good to cycle without hundreds of air-pollutingmotor vehicles racing alongside me. I glided easily up SunsetBoulevard and through Beverly Hills past its multimillion-dollarhomes, lavish swimming pools, and manicured yards that were fencedin by high-tech security gates. West Hollywood was not nearly asattractive, but I enjoyed cruising through gorgeous South Pasadenawhere the Tournament of Roses Parade takes place every New Year'sDay.