Retired P.E. teacher, 70, bikes home to Wrightsville Beach from San Diego

Last February, David Mayo turned 70, and celebrated by buying a one-way ticket to San Diego. The ticket had to be one-way because he wasn't sure where he would be when he decided to come back home. On March 3, the longtime resident of Wrightsville Beach and retired P.E. teacher boarded a plane with his bike, a pup tent, some supplies, a few clothes and 10 detailed Adventure Cyclist magazine bike trip maps, starting what would become the experience of a lifetime. "I just decided I'd give myself a birthday present and go to California," he said.

Mayo's original goal was to ride across the state of California from San Diego to Blythe, on the Arizona border. Having accomplished that he said, "Gee, if I could just get to Phoenix, that would be great." The next goal was El Paso, Texas. Well, it didn't look like it would be that hard to get across Texas, and maybe even get to the Mississippi River. And why stop now?

He picked up some friends in Mississippi, and the four of them traveled together to Florida. His companions went on to St. Augustine, Fla., but Mayo decided to take the northern route to Jacksonville, Fla., and then bike back to Wilmington by himself.

Mayo returned home to a surprise reception with family and friends May 2, after having biked 3,535 miles in 60 days. His days went something like this: up early and on the road by 8 a.m; average biking speed, 12 mph; average distance, 60 to 65 miles per day; and stop for the night about 3 p.m. He spent five nights out of seven in a pup tent in a campground or trailer park and one night in a church. The other two days a week, he treated himself to a hotel. He also took a few days off to enjoy some favorite spots, including Phoenix; El Paso; Navasota, Texas; and New Orleans.

One of Mayo's biggest surprises is that he had no problems with his bike, unless you count flat tires.

"Usually when you get a flat tire, you put the inner tube in water to find out where the leak is and patch it up, but when you're on the road, you don't happen to have a bucket of water with you." So he carried a deflated spare tube, pumped it up, and substituted that one for the one with the hole. That evening when water was available, he could find the hole, patch it up, and use it as his spare.

When asked what he learned on the trip, Mayo said, "How many nice people there are." And then he added, "You know, you don't represent any threat at all when you ride up in a bicycle. And I wore nice clothes and shaved every day, so I looked good."

Mayo's interest in riding a long distance started with the North Carolina "Mountains to Sea" bike trip - a mere 450 miles. He said he really didn't train for the journey. He routinely rides 25 to 30 miles a day, five days a week, and shortly before his trip, he rode about 60 miles each day. "I'm thrilled that I did this. I wouldn't have given it up for anything in the world," he said.

But as for doing it again, he said, "I would definitely do another long trip, but only with friends. It gets pretty lonely out there alone."