What Is All This Nonsense?

I'm not a fast rider. I'm not one of those spandex-wrapped 90-pound packages of muscle you see blowing down the highway in groups of two dozen. I'm just an aging computer guy with a penchant for very, very long bike rides. Three summers ago I rode from the headwaters of the Mississippi down to New Orleans. That took a month and a hell of a lot of Gatorade. I've taken many two- and three-day rides to various locations between Florence, Alabama, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia.

This summer I'll be taking on a brand-new challenge. It's a three-parter, and I'll be undertaking it with my dad. Take a gander:

• On June 27th I begin a nine-day, 600-mile ride from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Fairmont, West Virginia, where I'll meet my dad, who will be driving up from Georgetown, Texas carrying a kayak.
• Upon my arrival, my bike will go in the back of his truck, and his kayak will go into the Ohio River, where he'll spend two months paddling up to Cairo, Illinois. I'll drive the truck and the bike back to Atlanta.
• Around Labor Day, I'll drive to Cairo. My dad will take the truck and the kayak back to Texas, and I'll begin a three-day, 240-mile ride to Nashville, Tennessee. I'll leave my bike at my mom's house and take a bus back to Atlanta.

Bonus: this winter I'll head back up to Nashville and ride the bike the rest of the way back to Atlanta.

It should be a fun project. My route takes me through eastern Kentucky, which, as far as I can figure, is largely devoid of humans but packed to the bursting point with hills. I'll spend an off day in Huntington, West Virginia, where I'll do what I don't know. Probably watch TV all day and rest my creaky knees.

Anyway, stay tuned. I'll be posting a daily diary and photos of the trip here, and I invite your comments. My dad's trip will be documented at http://rivermeister.com, so please keep an eye out there as well.

Thanks for visiting!