Happy Trails

There are only a few roads leading into the Florida Panhandle, but there is more than one way to travel on those roads. When Bobbie (56) and Glen Gullickson (61) arrived in Apalachicola on Oct. 23, 2008, it was the culmination of a 5,608 mile, 123 day odyssey traveling the back roads and byways of North America on Surly tour bicycles.

Setting out from their home, a sailboat moored in Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island, 90 miles north of Seattle in Washington State, they traveled to Bar Harbor Maine along the Northern Tier of the Adventure Cycling Route Network. They detoured at one point to dip into Canada and travel down the Sunrise Coast of Michigan. The Gullicksons journeyed 4,345 miles over 97 days from May 18, 2008 to Aug. 22, 2008. Then, after shipping their bicycles to their daughter's bike shop in Bettendorf, Iowa and visiting family for a month, they trekked from Iowa in the Corn Belt to Florida in the Sun Belt; 1,263 miles over 26 days from Sept. 28, 2008 to Oct. 23, 2008.

Although Glen met Bobbie while coaching a women's softball team in Portland, Oregon. (He said he volunteered to coach hoping to meet girls.) Amazingly, the Gullicksons are new to cycling and say they became interested in fitness late in life.

Glen said, "We've always been active but it wasn't until a few years ago we joined an athletic club in Tennessee."

At the time, they were caring for a grandchild while their daughter was deployed as a communications officer in Iraq.

The pair insists they are no more fit than anyone else. Glen has an artificial knee and says the other one needs replacement.

They didn't even own bikes until two years ago.

Bobbie enrolled in a spinning class. Spinning, in this case, does not refer to the process of hand producing thread. It is an instructor-led class on stationary bikes modified to give the feel of a mountain bike. The instructor takes you on a virtual ride, changing the speed and resistance for a challenging cardiovascular workout normally accompanied by a lot of shouting and background music.

A number of triathletes were in the class and Bobbie decided she wanted to start participating in triathlons. She bought an expensive graphite racing bike and started training. Somebody gave Glen an old English ten-speed so he could ride along, but there was a problem.

"We've always tried to do things together," said Bobbie, "but, when I said I wanted to do triathlon, he said he had no interest. He said he'd be the cheerleader, but we had forgotten how much fun it is to ride bikes. When he came up with the idea of riding across country, I embraced it, because it was something we could enjoy together."

The Gullicksons researched touring bikes on line and finally found what they wanted, a pair of Surly Long Haul Truckers, in Victoria, British Columbia. They wound up spending $1,500 for each bike completely fitted out for long distance travel.

"There's bikes you can get for less that would do the job," advised Glen, but he said it's important to get the right kind of bike for long rides. Touring bikes have a steel frame, which is heavier than the frame of a racing bike, but is an excellent shock absorber.

Glen's bike is dubbed the Tortoise and Bobbie's is the Hare. Each carries a carved mascot on the handlebars. The couple carried all of their gear with them slung on the frames of their bikes in specially designed bags and racks. Careful attention was given to each detail. In addition to a Hubba Hubba two person tent, fleece jackets, Keen sandals, cooking utensils and bike repair gear, their equipment included more exotic items like a Hawaiian silk shirt, Sealskinz waterproof socks, a four leaf clover, peanut butter and dog repellant. Dogs actually turned out to be such a big worry on one leg of their Sun Belt travels that they opted to rent a car for a while.

Glen also said they took out health insurance before embarking. Fortunately, they never needed to use this, although Glen said he is still sore from a fall onto railroad tracks in Michigan.

During their journey, Bobbie and Glen rode rain or shine, only pausing once to wait out a torrential downpour under a tarp. While on the road, the pair tent camped about two thirds of the time, but opted to stay in a hotel about twice a week .

Bobbie said they originally thought they would camp more. She said that, although they usually stopped at a roadside diner for a hot breakfast, she did most of their cooking.

"I didn't think I was going to feel like fixing dinner after a forty-five mile ride, but it turned out I did. I've always loved cooking," she said.

Glen said they averaged about 45 to 60 miles a day. They found that a stretch of road that could be traveled in an hour by car takes about eight hours by bike.

The trip was relatively inexpensive. They had hoped to survive on $50 a day but the reality was closer to $85. The couple spent around $7,700 on their adventure, not including the cost of their gear. Glen said they spent $675 on campsites, $2,700 on motels, $1,600 on groceries and another $2,000 eating out.

The trip, they both agree, was fabulous. The roads they were on took them off the beaten path. They didn 't see McDonalds and Wal-Mart. They saw America. Both said that it was a spiritual journey as well as a physical one and a journey that brought them even closer together.

At the end of their trek from Washington to Maine, Glen wrote the following in his journal.

What's next for the rambling Gullicksons? They say they are considering a ride south to Tampa. Right now they have rented an apartment in the historic district and are looking at houses locally. Bobbie has taken a part-time job as a barista. Glen is preparing to send off an historical novel about the Knights Templar he wrote over the last three years for editing.

"Friday Harbor will always be our home," said Glen, "but we like it here. We picked this spot because it was similar to home. It's about the same size as our town but the weather is better."

Glen said the pair built their 31-foot sailboat; Laurel, themselves and it will always be their home base.

"She's a perfect sailboat. We could go back and live on her any time if we want to or we could just sail away," he said.

If you want to learn more about the Gullicksons and their amazing adventure check out their online journal at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/directory/?o=3Tzut&user=GlenandBobbie&v=4.