A Photo Essay: More or Less

This is my "fat" picture:  I had a few pounds to shed.
Taken at Bonnaroo Festival, June 2011.



My brother Tim was riding with me my last couple of days in California.
Luckily we were going DOWN this hill and on a newer road.

 

Riding in California, headed for Stockton, second to last day.

Ride 4615 miles and you HAVE to lose weight.

Bicycling in the Grand Tetons was a highlight of the trip.

The face of El Capitan, Yosemite Valley.
I thought for a moment a climber was hidden in that speck of shade at left center.
That gives you some perspective.





The last day I rode from Stockton to San Francisco my brother Tim trailed me in his car.
He had his flashers on and a sign in his rear window:  "Bicyclist on the Road."
You can't tell from this picture; but it really helped.

Does this pair of shorts make my ass look fat?

Meeting great people made my trip special.
Mike and Kathy Firzoel, Peru, Illinois. 
Kathy has been diabetic since she was a young girl; but her spirit is indominatable.

Early Mormon pioneers crossed the Great Plains pulling their possessions in handcarts.
That tops bicycling for difficulty any day.
Statue in Salt Lake City.

There were places in Indiana and Illinois so flat I didn't have to shift all day.

Trust me:  the ride through the Sevier Desert in southwestern Utah was tough.
I pedaled for 92 miles and there were no services.

Sunrise over Bear Lake, Utah.
I was up early because "camped" beside a golf course and the maintinence men were busy
by 5:30 a. m. 
I also got doused by the course sprinklers in the middle of the night.

This young lady was watching a parade in Wilmington, Illinois.
Most of the time she waved a little flag.

You really notice these memorials along the road when you're biking.
Each one represents a number of broken hearts.
We need to remember that every day we're granted is a gift.

A great way to end a ride across the continent:
spending time with my brothers Ned, left, and Tim, right, in San Francisco.

Tim Viall:  my older brother rode with me for two days.
Not bad for a guy born in 1946!

Tim in the foothills east of Stockton, California.



A helpful warning to riders:  if you don't already know,
tire debris from blowouts can cause most of your flats.

Riding into Yosemite National Park was great.
Tioga Pass:  9,943 feet, had to be crossed.

Near the top of Tioga; that's a glacial valley center, above bike.

Notice the specks on the rock behind:
those are climbers.

Close up of the same climbers.

Romance near Vernal Falls in Yosemite.

I tried to climb onto this rock in Mirror Lake (at Yosemite) and failed.
Notice my JDRF jersey.

Yosemite Falls.

In September the falls has slowed and you can climb up to this crystal green pool.

Only these two teens and one old guy (me) were willing to brave the icy waters.

Before taking the plunge.

Vernal Falls with rainbow.

Vernal Falls in black and white.

Vernal Falls overlook.

That wedge of rock is about eight feet long.
Near Yosemite Falls.

Rushing waters at Yosemite National Park.

All you need to bicycle across the country is a good machine and a bit of motivation.



Losing a lot of weight was a great bonus to the ride.