My Adventures Around the World: Bicycle Ride Across America on the Southern Tier Route

Summer 2015

By: Derek Rich

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In the summer of 2015 I rode my Cervelo P2 and Cervelo R3 from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean from Ocean Beach, California to St Augustine, Florida. The ride took 36 days and covered 2,885 miles along the Southern Tier route. After Ocean Beach, I passed through San Diego, El Centro, and Blythe, California before crossing Buckeye, Phoenix, Superior, Globe, and Safford, Arizona. The New Mexico route consisted of Mule Creek, Silver City, Emory Pass, Hatch, and Las Cruces. The cycling route through Texas was my favorite as the spring wild flowers were amazingly pretty. Beginning in El Paso, me and my support crew traveled through Van Horn, Ft Davis, Sanderson, Langtry, Del Rio, Campwood, Hunt, Johnson City, Austin, La Grange, Navasota, Shepherd, and Kirbyville. Louisiana was quite humid just like the eastern side of Texas and consisted of Mamou, Simmesport, Chipola, and Bogalusa. Mississippi was very short as I rode through Vancleave on the way south to Gulf Shores in Alabama. Florida was the last remaining state as I pedaled through Holt, Chipley, Tallahassee, Live Oak, Gainesville, and ended on the beaches of St Augustine.