(Feb. 22, 2009: Robert has had to suspend his bike tour. Read more at One bike tour begins, another ends early)
January 1 sounds like a good time to start a bicycle tour, or turn your life around, or, if you're Robert Hollandsworth, to do both.
Robert started his Cycle for Life bicycle tour from Houston on Thursday and plans to keep cyclo-touring the US with no end in sight. He'll survive on $200 a month from his family and whatever donations he gets from playing his guitar and tuning pianos along the way.
His trip is no spur-of-the-moment New Year's resolution. Robert's been planning this trip for several years with advice from experienced touring bicyclists at the Internet Bicycle Touring List. At his website, he writes:
“Now, after two years of more wishing than dreaming that I could just pedal off into the sunrise and let go of all the 'issues' of the past and begin a brand new life, I finally quit my job this month, gave my vehicle back to the bank, made the rounds to see my family for Christmas, and transported my gear to Houston, TX to begin my Cycle For Life Tour.”
Truck crash
Robert says many of his issues started one day 40 years ago, when he lived in Bakersfield, California, and was riding his bicycle and daydreaming about his girlfriend. He didn't notice a cement truck had run a red light and struck him, leaving him in a coma for several days.
So far, he's made it to Freeport, Texas, where he's living the nomadic bicycle-touring life by camping in a park gazebo. Over at the Internet Bicycle Touring List, Robert says that he's already been blessed with human kindness, after a passing electrician helped him fix his trailer and cut his lock his bolt cutters after he lost his key.
“It warms the heart to see such goodness.”
Good luck
After experimenting with a couple of different bicycle-trailer setups, he settled on a Specialized Sirrus commuter bike with a children's trailer that he converted to carry cargo.
I'm sure we're all pulling for Robert in his quest.
You can follow his progress, or enjoy some of his music, at his CycleforLife.us website. The photo above is from his website.
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