Originally Posted by
Bassmanbob
A number of people have suggested doing the tour in sections. While this is something I would consider, my current vacation time is spent with my wife. She has 2.5 months off each summer and a week here and there. But I usually have 10-12 days during each summer and maybe a week during Christmas once every two or three years. I also take 2-4 long weekends: two with her, one quick return to family in Long Island and one bicycle long weekend trip for me. My bicycle long weekends have been two different short tours, 6 Gap in Georgia, the Bourbon Burn in KY, Ride Across Wisconsin and the GFNY in New York.
But I can't justify going for a week by myself with only 1.5 to 2.5 weeks off all year while my wife waits for me back home, nor do I want to right now. I also have to go to two 3- 5 day mandatory conferences a year that take me from her as well. Now if I could just hypnotize her into wanting to do bicycle touring, I'd love that. But she knows I want to do this, and has accepted that this will be done upon my retirement as long as nothing imperative gets in the way.
Let me make one more comment, and one more suggestion, and then I promise I won't argue with you any more over this.
Comment: it's not just about your health, it's also about your wife's health in 10 years. If you figure you've got a 70% chance of being healthy enough to ride this trip in 10 years (a number that appeared floating in the air as I looked out the window!), and your wife is as healthy as you are, there's a 50% chance one of you isn't going to be healthy in 10 years. Are you and she ready to face the possibility the only way you'll make the trip is to put her in an assisted living facility if she's had a debilitating health issue -- heart attack, hip or knee replacement, etc. -- and can't live on her own?
Suggestion: Negotiate a vacation where you spend 4-5 hours riding per day, and the rest of the time with your wife. Some supported bike rides have provisions for this; she'd drive the car while you ride the route. Or just pick a convenient part of the Trans-Am, or some other route, and she can shuttle camping gear, or the two of you can meet at a motel at the end of your day's ride, and take in the sights. You can spend the afternoon at Colonial Williamsburg, or touring Monticello, or the Bardstown bourbon center, or a train ride or whitewater rafting through Royal Gorge, or look for buffalo and bears in the evenings at Yellowstone, etc. The Adventure Cycling maps note on-route diversions, or with a car you can look up things near your route in AAA guide books.
The point of all this is to experience the country, mostly outside big cities, as much as you can, as soon as you can, while you can. It's not that I hope bad things happen to you; rather, I wish you and your wife well, and also I hope you maximize your chances to experience bike touring.