Nuestro amigo Erden esta a 4 días de la meta final, Bodega Bay.. Exitos..
I am near Dallas in Texas now, struggling to cover some miles under an intense heat. The afternoon temperatures hover around 104°F (40°C) with high humidity. One reason for these record temperatures this early in the southwestern USA, is the developing an El Niño on the Pacific. In addition, the Tropical Storm Debby, now a post tropical cyclone heading ENE toward the Bahamas, lingered near Florida for a while blocking the eastward progression of the high pressure system now over me. With resulting intense sun without cloud cover, the ride became an ordeal. I hope to encounter cooling monsoon rains in the afternoons as I gain some altitude beyond Amarillo, Texas.
After my landfall near Cameron, Louisiana on 27 May, our friends at Spicer-Hughes Marina in Hackberry became our finest supporters in Louisiana. They contacted the local TV channel KPLC for a news piece. Later, we were able to secure my rowboat in one of their "boat stalls" where she stayed in the shade suspended out of the water in straps while I flew home to meet Nancy and to prepare my cycling rig.
Next, I flew to Baton Rouge where we had been able to locate a flatbed rental truck. Frank Hughes at the Spicer-Hughes Marina had arranged four truck tires. With a convincing call from Frank, AAA Construction provided a mobile crane without charge which was already at the marina on my arrival. We loaded my rowboat on the flatbed over the four truck tires, strapped her down and I began a miserable drive due west. The air-conditioner in the truck was not working well, making the cab a sauna especially in the afternoons under the westerly sun. I had to take breaks mid-day, and felt too drained to drive at night. Needless to say, the drive took longer than I had anticipated.
Short of Tuscon in Arizona, I made a phone call ahead to my high school friend Rick Bowers. We had been on the same cross country and track teams at the Brussels American High School in Belgium. Those were the days when ABBA, BeeGees, Star Wars and Jaws were all the rage. Already an accomplished photographer, Rick had studied wildlife ecology in college then taken up cataloging birds of North America. He and his wife Nora had published a book on the subject, which was helpful in identifying some of the migrating birds that I had encountered during my last row. Rick thought that I probably saw a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird north of the Yucatan Peninsula. These have a red chest and pollen may collect giving the yellow hues which I thought I saw. The little bird in my last dispatch was an Eastern Wood-Pewee. The broad winged, all-white birds migrating north in flocks of 10-15 with long legs and a crooked neck had to be a Great Egrets. These egrets have been ubiquitous all over the marshes and lakes during my bicycle ride.
Tom and Sveta Lynch had kept my trailer in their yard ever since my July 2007 launch from Bodega Bay for my human powered circumnavigation. I picked up my cycling rig which had already been delivered to Sacramento then drove straight to their home in Guerneville. We had a long overdue reunion with the friends of the late Peter Bird whose logo I have carried on my rowboat since 2007. John Cramer then hosted me for a couple nights, also helped in the transfer of my rowboat from the truck to her trailer. One-way rental on the truck had not been possible, so I began the torturous return drive back to Baton Rouge after securing my rowboat in Tom’s yard. All that I carried on the flatbed was my bicycle; the rest of my rig was stashed in the crowded cab.
Frank Hughes went out of his way to pick me up after I reached Baton Rouge, a 2.5 hour drive from Hackberry. He and the Spicers had arranged a barbecue so I could meet once again with their families and workers. On the morning of 21 June, my rig was ready for the ride. Frank Hughes and Matthew Spicer, who had brought out my friends Bill Hinsley and Graeme Welsh to find me at sea, took me down to the public launch in the Calcasieu Pass where I had touched land on 27 May. Since then, I have been pedaling despite the sweltering humid heat.
In short, many thanks are due to those who made my transition to the last land phase of the circumnavigation an easy one.
I should conclude this update with a noteworthy announcement:
Jason Lewis of Expedition360 is ready to distribute his 3-part, "The Expedition" book series. The first one called Dark Waters, will be available in the USA in August. For more information, please see: this link. Jason is the first and still the only person in history to have gone the distance for a legitimate claim on a human powered circumnavigation. His account of that journey should be a riveting read. I will announce the link to purchase the same, once that is made public.
Erden.
Cycling into Arizona
10 July, 2012 36.7764N,108.6963W
Hello fans and supporters,
I am writing this dispatch at a roadside fast food cafe in a lovely part of the world called Shiprock, New Mexico, inside the Navajo Nation Reservation. We have taken in spectacular scenery over the last week while traveling through northern New Mexico. Today, we head into northeastern Arizona, which should provide additional natural and raw beauty.
I met Erden on the road near Amarillo Texas one week ago and as the proverbial "sag wagon support vehicle," I have allowed him to move faster by taking the heavy loads off his bicycle. He has been maintaining 90+ mile days as a result, catching up with me at different points along the route. My providing cold drinks and fresh food allows him the proper fuel to keep moving at a faster clip. He is continuing to make his daily targets with an ambitious ETA back to Bodega Bay, CA on the 21st of July. Bodega Bay was the starting point of his circumnavigation, and hence the finish line for the same.
Last Friday morning in Springer, New Mexico Nick Heil (
www.nickheil.com) joined us to ride along and capture the story first hand. We were fortunate to spend 3 glorious weather days with Nick and thoroughly enjoyed his company along the way.
Please see the current cycling route by clicking on the ORS button on the upper right hand corner of this homepage:
http://www.oceanrowing.com/ErdenEruc/cy ... 2_dist.htm
We will be posting positioning data when we have a signal to do so. However, over the next several days, riding into remote parts of northern Arizona and southwestern Utah, then across Glen Canyon Dam, we most likely will be unable to communicate until we are in larger towns. Please be patient and stay tuned.
Thanks to all for your support and please continue to send good vibes as we head into the final stretches of this epic five year journey.
Regards,
Nancy
Reached Page
11 July 2012 36.9057N,111.4846W
Access to internet has been spotty lately. I am posting a quick update to mark my progress under the MAP link. ORS MAP link still works, and the Ocean Rowing Society has been kind to track my progress there. On the ORS MAP page, please click "Cycling from Cameron to Bodega Bay."
I have also just added the Google Earth file for the cycling track since Cameron. Please click here.
I reached Page in Arizona, next to the Glen Canyon Dam upriver from the Great Canyon. My ride along Rt 64 in northern New Mexico, then into Arizona through the Navajo Nation and their sacred Monument Valley has been absolutely spectacular. The cool weather at the 3000 meter elevations have now been replaced by a intense dry heat at 1200 meters. I may have to ride at night in southern Nevada after all, but I like my sleep -- we shall see.
It is great to have Nancy's company during this ride although the lack of mobile phone service is creating some frustration. Her mobile phone has coverage, mine does not (different provider). That's what we get by deregulation and free markets where service is secondary to profits. I had better cell phone coverage in Africa!!! So we plan the day in the mornings and she finds me up the road, then drives ahead to find lodging and comes back to tell me. We have only had to tent twice until now, otherwise the nights have all been spent in hotels.
I am on schedule to reach Bodega Bay on 21 July. I am looking forward to my friends joining me there that afternoon.
Erden.
.
In Nevada now...
July 15, 2012 37.7906N,114.4077W
I crossed into Nevada this morning. I am on schedule to reach the Spud Point Marina in Bodega Bay on July 21st around 4-5 pm in the late afternoon. The temperatures have been cooler than I had thought. The afternoon monsoon showers and the relatively high mountain passes are helping...
I tried bicycling through the Zion National Park, but the bicycles were not allowed through a mile long narrow tunnel inside the park. If you have a bicycle, DO NOT go to Zion. Instead, buy a Greyhound size obnoxious oversized monster of a motor home and remember to tow a Hummer behind you. Then the rangers will be glad to stop the traffic for you at the tunnel and let your monster rig go through alone for an extra fee of 10USD.
So I backed out 24 miles roundtrip, then routed north around the park on the state highways. As a bicyclist you will be told NO by the rangers, and even if you offered to pay the extra fee as a motor home would, the rangers will not stop the traffic for you, nor will they have any shame in telling this to your face. This will make a nice chapter in my book, I can tell you this much. I hope the overpaid park superintendent is reading this...
As a result, I am going to route north and outside of the Yosemite Park, which was a destination that I had wanted to revisit on this journey. I cannot count on a hassle free passage by bicycle through any national park anymore, and some other shortsighted regulation put in place by another overpaid zealot may block my way.
When you click the ORS MAP on the right top corner of this page, please click on "Cycling from Cameron to Bodega Bay" link. There you will see my progress...
Erden.
The Glen Canyon Dam from a downstream perspective
A pictoresque sandstone tower near Monument Valley
DISPATCHES
Mudslides and wind...
18 July, 2012 Tonopah, Nevada
Making progress towards Bodega Bay, but not without the challenges of mother nature. We expected temperatures in Nevada to have us baking at 110F degrees /43C plus temps but surprisingly we have experienced at highest 84F/28C throughout central remote Nevada. Strong winds up to 45 knots coming from the south (due to the monsoons) have been the culprit on this leg of the journey.
We've encountered several mudslides / avalanches which cut off all road traffic. The first one was at at Caliente Pass in eastern Nevada. As a result, we had to come up with an alternative plan that would have added 100 more miles to the route. Fortunately the road crews worked overnight and repaired the damage enough to allow a single lane of cars (and a single cyclist) safe passage. Had we been on track ahead of a storm just a few hours earlier, Erden could have been caught in this slide, which sent boulders the size of a Volkswagon Bug onto the highway. We were greeted with kindness and support from the road crews and the local county sheriff who kept us up to date on the work and timing. We waited out the storms, and took off the following morning. We are grateful for acts of kindness and cooler temps.
Coming across the Extra Terrestrial Highway in central Nevada is as remote and desolate as any place on our planet. Riding was long and arduous, but what few encounters we had with people, always interesting and engaging. We came across an Argentinian female cyclist heading to New York, and in Shiprock, NM, a male Japanese cyclist heading south to Argentina. So few cyclists on these long distance journeys, and we encounter two. Were these aliens or were they real??? Hmmnn.
Later today, we enter California. Four days to the finish line. Stay tuned.
Nancy
Cap. (CASMAR) Mildred Cobos
twitter: @onsavenezuela
Móvil: +58 (424) 8871339
ISLA DE MARGARITA-VENEZUELA
Vice Comodoro Wilfredo Landaeta Com. CZ La Guaira
O1a. LUIS MARIANO ARANGUREN. (La Guaira)
O1a. ISRAEL BALBAS (C/Z Pto. la Cruz)
posición para las 7 am
posición actual:
en el día de ayer el Com. Cap. Newlan Vasquez y un grupo de oficiales salimos al encuentro del Sr, Erden Eruc, dimos parte al Cap. de Guardacostas Cap. Cesar Romero quien muy amablemente a seguido el caso a través de mi persona y es el quien directamente recibe cada reporte del ciudadano turco, pendiente y atento de cualquier evento que se pudiera presentar, pero a Dios gracia hasta el momento su travesía a sido tranquila.
yo le hice entrega del emblema de ONSA a través de una corona, también le obsequie mi emblema personal de la organización, y lo recibió con mucho cariño, tenían que haberle visto la cara, estaba feliz.
nos grababa mientras nos acercábamos a su bote.
erden reporta que esta cerca de la isla de la blanquilla y me dice que se le han acercado botes ofreciéndole ayuda, todo bien full avanti...
Erden escribió: todo esta bien subiendo hacia mejores corrientes y vientos.
seguiré informando
justo la marina de donde zarpo. en California
Ya le falta poco para culminar su travesía en el mar y romper unos cuantos records mundiales, aparte de demostrar que querer es poder, que mejor educación que el ejemplo, queda demostrado que la voluntad del hombre es del tamaño que nosotros mismos le demos.
Día 202 - 10 de mayo de 2012 (04:01 GMT) 25:22:01 N 88:22:16 W 68 millas (109 km) (59n/miles)
NUEVO DESPACHO DE ERDEN:
Erden espera estar el domingo cerca de Galveston con el favor de Dios
27.05.12, 10:00GMT. The same positions starting with 5:00GMT (midnight local time). According to message below, Erden must be on anchor.
Tan orgullosos de nuestro amigo Erden Eruc para cruzar el Atlántico en el poder humano único con remos - su barco! Y esto es después de haber cruzado el Pacífico hace un rato. El hombre increíble, logro asombroso. Lea su historia en 
A migrating barn swallow found a perch on my oar shaft. I stopped rowing while it reste
A small migrating bird, perhaps a flycatcher, taking a rest on my boat..
The crew of MR JESSIE supplied me with a tub of ground coffee
The first oil platform I encountered near the “Green Canyon” area
