S2M Living

I will give the final update on Bradley and Shannon’s race with a very heavy heart.  Both are fine but others tragically are not.  On the final night of the race three racers were hit by a car over three seperate events.  It appears one individual decided to do this and thankfully they have in custody.  The race organizers did the right thing and stopped the race not knowing what was happening and not wanting to put others at risk.  Bradley & Shannon were minutes away from getting on their bikes riding onto the road.  They went into the race to prove that they can compete at a high level – job done.  They were in the top 10 in the coed category when the race was stopped.  They were 1 st in the 2CO group.  Talking to Bradley early, he and Shannon will go back and finish the ride soon.  I cannot be prouder of both.  Congratulations to both of you... job well done!!!! For todays ride, it was much tougher than I expected.   Th...

Want to give a quick update on Bradley and Shannon.   There is about 20 hours remaining in their 72- hour race and they are doing great.   As best we can tell they are 10 th overall in the Coed division and 1 st in the Coed 2 (2 people) division.  We are watching them move via GPS tracker.  Hope I am reading this correctly and they have a strong last 20 hours.   Bradley & Shannon Heading off on bike Thanks Nora... For todays ride…   well we made a good call on the hotel last night and tonight.   We woke up in Globe with 34F temperature. Tomorrow morning in Safford the forecast in for low 30F’s.    Day 11 Send Off... With a hotel stay last night it was easy to get up an get out early.  The ride started around 8:30AM after a hotel grab and go breakfast.  With no bacon and eggs, I got hungry early in the ride and stopped at a store for only the 2 nd time since San Diego.  I was inspired by a picture Bradley sent...

The highlight of the day is to give all of you an update on Bradly and Shannon on their race.   They are 36 hours into their adventure race across Florida and doing great.  It is tough to tell from the GPS tracker but it looks like they are running in the top 10 overall and 2nd in the co-ed double's group.  A lot can change but my sense is they are achieving their goal.  Thanks Nora Bradly and Shannon taking a break For our ride, we hit double digits on days riding’ #10 and over 500 miles.  We slept last night in open land outside of Tonto Basin.  When we woke up this morning it was in the high 30’s and cold, looking forward the forecast for the next few days, the morning temperatures will be in the 20’s.   Sandy and I are good in the upper 30s’, but 20 is too cold for our gear.  Since we got on the road our plan has been to stay between small towns and camp in public land (BLM).  We adjusted today and did a short ride to Globe AZ t...

Before I get into todays ride I need to give a special shout out to my Son and his Fiancé.  Bradley and Shannon started the 72 hour Adventure Race across Florida this morning at 10AM in Tampa.  They will run, bike, row and orienteer their way to St. Augustine FL before 10AM on Sunday morning.  The have a GPS tracker so we can follow them on their way.  As of tonight they are doing well...   I will give you the update tomorrow.    Bradley & Shannon at one of the check points. Thanks to Shannon's Mom, Nora who is helping with the event and sending us pics. As expected, the ride today was difficult.  I was on the road for just short of 8 hours, had one more front tire flat and climbed my behind off.  All in all, a great day riding to Tonto Basin. Sign Across the road entering town.   Not much of a town to show. The ride started early around 7:30 AM after a hotel breakfast of coffee, apple sauce and blueberry bread.  ...

Our 1st rest day has started and it is a good time to reflect and try to remember what happened over the past few days.  Todays blog is coming to you from the comfort of a nice bed.   Left: On the road in blogging from Bessy Right: Blogging from a hotel bed Same T-shirt I mentioned a few days ago that we will finish ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) Map One in Phoenix.  The complete Map 1 is below (total of 7 maps).  Each night Sandy and I would pick a target location to finish the days ride and make camp.  As you might imagine, this one of the most important parts or our day.   On to the refection part...   some of the selections below were easy.  No doubt the Santa Ana winds were the scariest part of the journey.  The rest are more subjective and fun to discuss. Favorite Ride Day: (Steve) Day 1 leaving San Diego and climbing to Mar-tar-Awa Favorite Drive Day: (Sandy) Day 4 Glamis to Dome Rock Hardest Ride: (Steve) Day 5...

The Day 7 ride was on 2/23/2021 Today’s ride had a real finish line, a ride with a mission.  I am sitting on a nice bed in a hotel writing the update.  All three of us need a rest day.  Most days Sandy’s job is harder than mine.  I help a bit with packing up before I head off, but she does most of the heavy lifting getting Bessy packed.  After this she must find a place for us to camp for the night – all harder than it sounds.   Bessy is holding up well but last night after our first dinner out on the trip we notice a crack in the windshield.  Hang in their girl we need you.  My legs are tired but I still can't wait for the next day to ride again.   The Day 7 ride was an easy 70 miles to Mesa AR.   The ride was basically flat with a tail wind.   Riding into the city gave a new view from desert and flat land riding over the past few day. Getting near to the hotel, I had a guy holler at me and give the middle finger… ...

Day 6 update, ride was on 2/22/2021... no internet that night. Day 6 is finished with a great camp and interesting scenery. Day 6 Camp, Sandy showing the finish... Today started with the sound of Donkey’s.  As soon as the keeper walked out to the yard they started screaming, wanting breakfast.  If was fun to listen too…  Shortly after the Donkey call, the dogs started circling the tent wanting attention.  What a fun place to camp.   Doing some research, we think the animals are Mules.  This does not sound as fun and sleeping with Donkeys.   If anyone really knows, please comment.  The plan today was to get as close to Phoenix as we could, stay on BLM land and be able to get to the S/E side of the city tomorrow – mission accomplished.  We are camping near Lake Pleasant Regional Park about 30 miles north of Phoenix.  I don’t know what the tall cactus are called but the place is loaded with them.  We took a walk and got up ...