Coast to Coast Via La Grange: America on Two Wheels

Twenty-seven women from around the globe stayed the night in La Grange Monday as part of a group bicycling trip across the U.S.

“This part of Texas, the hill country, has been the most beautiful of our entire trip so far, and the people have been the nicest,” said Laurie Singer, one of several who stopped at Latte on the Square, on their way to their overnight accommodations at The Best Western here.

Monday afternoon the ladies, even 1,500 miles into their trip, were all smiles as they talked about their adventure, which began when they all dipped their back tires in the Pacific Ocean in San Diego. It will end 58 days later when they put their front tires in the Atlantic Ocean in San Augustine, Florida.

They cycle anywhere from 4-10 hours a day, many days cycling about 100 miles. They do have eight rest days built in.

It’s all coordinated through a group called Woman Tours. There are guides and support vans and the entire itinerary is planned in advance. The tour is designed for women 50-older and most of the participants are in that demo graphic, though any women are welcome.

It does come with a hefty price tag of $13,990, according to the website, woman tours.com.

Two from the group of from Australia, one each from Sweden, Poland and Brazil.

“We’re all very accomplished, very determined,” Lori McCarney said.

La Grange is on the official Southern Tier route to traverse the U.S. that gets a number of cyclists every spring going from coast to coast. From La Grange, the group was riding to Navasota Tuesday, and would be in the Louisiana by the end of the week.