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Wednesday, May 31, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Locals trek across America by bike
By Jodi Schneider McNamee
Correspondent
David Miller of Sisters,
a cyclist who loves sharing
the roadway with friends, hit
the road for an adventure of
a lifetime on April 1. Along
with three other cyclists, he
would trek across America.
Three years ago, the
66-year-old RE/MAX Broker
and a friend cycled down the
Oregon Coast from Astoria
363 miles south to Brookings.
The cross-country ride
covered nearly 3,000 miles
over 40 days.
The three other cyclists,
Marlin Ard of Sisters, Rich
Lehman of Albany, and Brent
Kaufman of Lebanon rented
an RV in Sisters and headed
south to meet Miller in San
Diego to begin their cross-
county route.
“Our plan was to have a
driver that would scout 20
to 40 miles ahead of us for
places to eat, take a break
and sleep,” Ard said. Loren
Roth, a friend from Lebanon,
Oregon, drove the RV as
far as Scottsdale, Arizona.
However, his mother became
ill and he had to fly back.
From Scottsdale, the four
bicyclists took turns driving in
15-mile increments, switch-
ing drivers until they reached
Alexandria, Louisiana where
another David Miller (same
name — different role) took
over as driver after flying in
to Louisiana.
Miller (the cyclist) orga-
nized the “Southern Tier Ride
Across America” several
months ago knowing that Ard
had already cycled the same
route across America a few
years back.
The Southern Tier Bicycle
Route from San Diego to
St. Augustine Florida is the
shortest cross-country route
and offers a route rich in
culture and history.
Bicycle touring is an
excellent way to see new
places. And with a variety of
terrain, vegetation and cli-
mate to look forward to, the
four eager cyclists kicked off
their ride in good weather and
high spirits.
“Coming out of San Diego
we were raring to go, but it
was all about the elevation,”
Miller said.
The first part of the trip
through California, the four
riders had an incredible work-
out after climbing east from
San Diego and topping out at
3,800 feet.
“We went slower, geared
it down and took our time,”
Miller told The Nugget.
“Some of the downhills were
fantastic. One time Brent got
up to 45 miles an hour until
the next grade started. We just
kept in mind that maybe 40
miles down the road the RV
would be there and you could
have some Gatorade and rest
a little bit.”
Averaging 70 miles a day
through some rugged terrain
and highways they ran into
obstacles.
“We had our share of flat
tires,” Ard said.
However, Kaufman, an
avid cyclist who has ridden
in several marathons, was an
amazing tire-changer.
“Brent could change a tire
really fast and without a tool,”
Miller explained, laughing.
“He brought along 27 inner
tubes. The rest of us just
looked at each other thinking
we’d never use them all. We
were wrong. We used them all
and then some.”
Being a retired track coach
and sports enthusiast, Lehman
was very efficient making
bike adjustments.
“He made adjustments to
my bike that I would never
have noticed,” Miller said.
“Everyone brought something
special to the table. We all had
our little niche.
“Our goal was to help
all of us succeed together,”
added Miller.
In Arizona, they rode
along Interstate 10.
“You really had to focus
and stay very visible to vehi-
cles,” Ard said.
Texas dominated their
route, taking up an entire third
of the mileage. When they
hit Texas their perfect riding
weather began to change with
storms on the horizon.
“Three times in the eve-
nings it rained on us. Lots of
clouds and thunder. We rode
through some flooded areas,”
Ard said.
They went south toward
Del Rio, Texas, and ended up
along the border of Mexico.
“There is a partial wall
with gaps in it,” Miller said.
“We talked to the border
patrol and some other folks
and we found that not too
many were in favor of putting
up a big wall.”
The riders had a theory:
Once they rode through Texas
they would be on easy street.
“Marlin told us it’s all
downhill to Florida, but the
only problem was, once we
got into the next state of
Louisiana, I looked at the map
and there still was a thousand
miles to go,” Miller added.
But they kept on cranking.
The southern hospitality
stood out when they stopped
in Stonewall, Louisiana, at an
eatery called the Sugar Shack.
“The owner loved
PHOTO PROVIDED
Cyclists and their driver at their destination in St. Augustine, Florida.
bicyclists and he told us to
help ourselves to the buffet at
no charge,” Miller said.
The group stopped in
Alexandria, Louisiana to pick
up their new volunteer driver.
“I flew out to help these
guys in need,” said driver
David smiling. “My first night
with them in the RV, a major
storm hit Louisiana. The next
day, my first day driving, we
went through flooded country
where people were stranded in
their yards. This was north of
Baton Rouge. Yet the cyclists
still kept going because the
roads were mostly dry.
“For a most of these guys
it was a dream of a lifetime,
it was an amazing adventure,”
David added.
After 2,900 miles
riding through storms, flood-
ing and flat tires they arrived
at the oldest city in the United
States, St. Augustine, Florida.
“Our goal was to ride and
not really do much sightsee-
ing, although we saw spectac-
ular sights,” Miller said.
When they finally reached
their destination on the beach
in St. Augustine, each cyclist
picked up his bicycle, walked
across the sand, popped the
champagne, and took photos.
The group stayed in St.
Augustine for a day, then
turned around and drove the
RV back to Sisters.
“It’s the thrill of the ride,”
said Ard. “As a cyclist, you’re
able to filter out all the dis-
tractions and just focus on the
one task of the day — riding.”
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Service, sponsors & participants for making the
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huge success. This event launches the summer sea-
son of riding and racing statewide and regionally for
hundreds of participants and their families, and we
could not do it without your generous support.
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