A BRIEF OUTLINE AND HISTORY
Free as the Wind was our one-year long, self supported tandem tour of the USA, Mexico and Canada. The route was a counter clockwise loop around the perimeter of the USA that included numerous side trips and excursions. The actual riding portion of our trip took about eight and a half months with the remaining time spent visiting and exploring along the way.
We started Free as the Wind on September 10, 2000 from our home in Vancouver, Washington, near of Portland, Oregon. Our route followed the Columbia River to Astoria, Oregon where we turned south along the Pacific Coast to the Mexican Border at Tijuana. Turning northeast we stopped at Lake Havasu, Arizona to visit family and then continued east through Phoenix to southeast Arizona. We crossed New Mexico, following along the Mexican border to El Paso, Texas. We took the scenic route across Texas and Louisiana to New Orleans, then followed the Gulf Coast into Florida. We spent the winter here, touring the state and visiting friends and relatives.
We continued along the East Coast to Nova Scotia, then across the northern part of the US and southern Canada, making a big “S” turn in the middle of the country to visit our son and his family near St. Louis. Then we headed north toward Fargo, North Dakota and turned northwest across the Great Plains and Glacier National Park in Montana. A short ride through northern Idaho brought us to Spokane, Washington. Then it was west to Ephrata, Washington and our daughter's wedding. A few days later we continued west to join the Columbia River at George. From there we followed the river home to Vancouver, Washington.
WHY DID WE MAKE THE TOUR?
Because it is there - the lure of the open road, and the fun of traveling to many places and meeting many different people.
We are promoting cycling as a legitimate form of transportation, available to anyone. We are NOT Olympic class athletes. Our ride was not some form of challange. We are an average, middle-age couple. Anyone in reasonable condition could make this ride. We selected routes and scheduled distances that allowed us to travel comfortably, with time to smell the flowers along the way.