Bike for Compassion

The Final Post (as promised)

2008-09-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

Final Thoughts

Here it is. The long awaited final thoughts from my 55 day epic adventure of cycling across the continent. Easily the most frequent question that I’ve been asked since returning home has been, “What was the toughest part?” It seems to be the most important question a person can ask, as if that one crucial difficult task is what is preventing more people from doing it. Well, I’ve given it a lot of thought over the past month. I’ve thought about all the hills, the weather, the sleeping in tents. It was all tough in its own right, but the singular toughest part of the entire ride was… getting to the starting line. Getting myself mentally ready to embark on this seemingly unachievable thing. My stomach was tied in knots in the days leading up to the start date. “Did I pack the right things? Am I in good enough shape? What if I get lost?” All of those thoughts just about made back out from even starting this thing. But I was bound to do this, one way or another. I had prepared enough and I was as ready as anyone who has done this before me. I just needed to get myself out the door.

I came the closest to quitting when Chancy decided to go home because of a family emergency. There’s no way I would have actually quit, but I really didn’t want to continue alone. Fortunately I met a guy named Nick who came around to the right place at the right time and said just the right things about his own cross country adventures by bicycle which spurred me on to where I was even looking forward to setting out solo across this great nation.

A number of phrases went through my head on my bike trip from America’s great patriotic songs. “From sea to shining sea,” on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. “Oh Beautiful, for spacious skies,” in Missouri and Montana. “Amber waves of grain,” as the sun would set throughout Kansas, and “Purple mountain majesty” in the beautiful Rockies of Colorado and Wyoming. It was all there in front of me as I peddled across the country.

I ate countless numbers of hamburgers and fries from all the local mom and pop restaurants. I met friendly people all along the way, both the restaurant owners and patrons as well as the other bicyclists. If you ever see a bicyclist eating a meal in a restaurant or taking a breather outside a gas station, ask them where they are going or where they’ve come from or how many miles they’ve biked so far. They would love to tell you about their travels and you would just as equally love to hear them. It only takes a moment to ask.

I loved the Rocky Mountains. I had never seen them before and was more than mildly surprised to see that they still had snow atop the high elevations. The bitter cold mornings in the Rockies surprised me and gave me cause to start my days at 8 or 9 rather than 6. I loved the sun shining on open highways with a gentle breeze at my back as the horizon presented new, unseen adventures of what they day was to behold. Each town had its own quirkiness. Each town had its own claim to fame whether it was the whiskey capital of the world or if it housed the world’s largest ball of barbed wire. Some towns were once booming gold mining towns and others were college towns. But they were all America. They all represented the woven fabric of what makes America unique.

Whenever I would ask someone what they thought of their town, I would usually get the same response. “It’s boring. There’s nothing to do here.” Which led me to think, “Huh. That sounds like where I’m from,” which further led me to realize that it’s not the town that makes a place special, it’s the people within the town who are actively pursuing a greater town, a greater community, which makes a place a great town where people want to be. Like the town of Baker City, OR where the downtown was a happening place, in part because they had fought to keep Wal-Mart and similar stores away which enabled and empowered downtown businesses to continue to do business. It meant that people would have to pay a little bit more for their goods and they wouldn’t find things all in the same place, but it enabled those family businesses to remain intact and it employed people that bigger super stores tend to put out of business.

So that was my impression of the bike trip. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Will I do it again? I certainly hope so!

There is still a need to raise more money for the kids in Uganda. The community center building which is being built with the funds raised for this bike trip is to be used by the Compassion International kids once a week when they come for their supplemental education on Saturdays. It will also be used by the 2 schools as well as the church which are all located together there on the hill of my village. Due to increasing food prices, increasing gas prices, and because of the December ’07 riots in Kenya there is a need to raise additional money to complete the building! I hope to post pictures soon of the progress of the building. I spoke with them recently and they are working on getting the roof onto the structure.

If you have been following me on this cycling adventure and have enjoyed it even a little bit and would be able to help this amazing cause and these amazing, amazing kids, then please consider even a small donation to this great cause. It takes a few people taking action and deciding to give, to sacrifice. When just a few people do that, then buildings in Uganda get built and communities are changed. Please, just take a moment to consider what you can do to help.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me!! I appreciate all of the encouragement along the way as well as the number of people who have told me that they enjoyed “following me” on my journey and miss their daily bike trip with me.

Below I’ve included some statistics from the trip, and beneath that my highlights of the trip.

Number of days on the bike: 55
Number of days off (no distance gained): 2

Number of 100+ mile days: 19
Starting point: Yorktown, Virginia
Ending point: Astoria, Oregon
Total distance traveled: 4581.7 miles

Straight line distance from Yorktown, VA to Astoria, OR: 2,478 miles
Average daily riding distance: 83.3 miles
Total amount of climbing (add up the height of all the hills): 201,465 feet
Approximate number of pedal turns: 1.7 million
Approximate energy intake each day: 4000–5000 Calories
Number of times each bike wheel went 'round and 'round: 2,160,000
Number of times the trailer wheel went 'round and 'round: 2,750,000
Maximum altitude: 11,529 feet (3514 m) above sea level (Hoosier Pass in central Colorado)
Minimum altitude: 0 feet (both coasts)
Typical weight of bike, trailer and gear: 90 pounds
Average speed: 11.4 mph
Total time on the bike: 23,114 minutes (385.2 hours OR 16.0 continuous days)
Average ride time each day: 7 hours, 42 minutes
Number of states: 10
Number of time zones: 4
Number of times I crossed the continental divide: 10
Number of flat tires: 9
Distance traveled before first flat tire on bike: 25 miles
Number of tires I wore out: 3
Number of days I rode solo: 33
Number of days I rode with at least one other person: 22
Number of people I rode with: 3
Person I rode with the longest: Pat McLaughlin (18 days)
Lowest temperature encountered: 35°F
Highest temperature encountered: 104°F
Number of other cyclists I encountered riding recumbents: 3

· Historic Yorktown, Jamestown, Williamsburg

· AA Meeting

· Civil War Battlefields

· Free Honey

· Swimming in Lake Anna after a hot day of cycling

· Chancy going home and meeting Nick

· The Cookie Lady

· Chris in Lexington, VA, owner of “Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe” a former lawyer who, “used to ruin peoples‘ lives with divorces… now I make ice cream.”

· People gathered around my “funny looking bike”

· Natural Bridge, VA

· Cecil, the city park director, who, after I told him I biked 100 miles that day, said “Nobody does that kind of mileage to get here. Not even the young, strapping ones like yourself.”

· From my blog: “It’s great to be doing this. Outside. On a bike. Great exercise. Sun shining. Listening to the birds, watching deer cross my path, hearing the bubbling brook I’m cycling next to.”

· Entering Kentucky, which I thought would never happen!

· Being chased by dogs in Kentucky.

· Kentucky: 4 wheelers, liquor stores, trailer homes and lawn ornaments.

· The breakfasts along the way were GREAT!!

· Kentucky hospitality and the family I camped with outside of their country store near Hudson, KY.

· I hate State Parks! State Parks = hills!

· A shower at the end of the day is worth its weight in gold

· The ferry ride across the Ohio river into Illinois

· Listening to my podcasts

· Meeting up with my friend Ashby in Farmington, MO

· Meeting up with Pat in Farmington, MO who I would ride with for the next several weeks

· Bathing in the clear, cool water of the Current River in the Missouri Ozarks

· Swimming in a rock quarry on a hot afternoon

· The flatness of Kansas and the smell of fresh cut hay.

· The barren, emptiness of Kansas

· Stepping on a nail

· “Mom’s Bar & Diner” in Seward, KS, where the streets are paved with… dirt

· Riding through Rush County, KS (I’m from Rush County, IN)

· The hotel at Ness City, KS that let us swim and shower there for free even though we weren’t staying the night there.

· Cycling with my friend Mark through parts of Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming

· Cycling 175 miles in one day!!!

· Meeting up with my friends Carol and Sherry in Colorado

· The Colorado Rocky Mountains

· Freezing temperatures in the wee hours of the morning

· Meeting John and Little John, the father and 12 year old son biking across the country, as well as meeting mother and daughter in the support vehicle.

· Alma, CO, the highest city in America

· Hoosier Pass, the highest point along the trail (11,539 ft)

· Our “secret” camping spot in Saratoga, WY and the hot springs there in the town

· Writing our names on the walls of the convenience store in Muddy Gap, WY and seeing that someone from Shelbyville, IN had been there

· My favorite sign “6% Downhill Grade – Next 17 Miles”

· Jackson, WY and the Teton Mountains

· The Japanese volunteers that I met at Yellowstone Park, Nozomi and Yoko

· Quake Lake where an earthquake and landslide in 1957 created a new lake and stranded several hikers and campers in the area and killed several others.

· Virginia City, MT where I saw a play

· Highway 12 along the Lochsa River near Lolo Hot Springs

· Baker City, OR where I took a day off to sightsee along the Oregon Trail

· The Lava Rocks on top of McKenzie Pass (and the road construction workers who made me wait 6 hours to pass)

· Eugene, OR and Hayward Field on the University of Oregon and running a lap around the track.

· The Oregon Coast where I almost cried

· Astoria, OR, the finish line of my trip, and my friend Amber and her mom and aunt there to meet me.

Day 55, Astoria at last!

2008-08-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

Day 55, Cape Lookout State Park, OR – Astoria, OR 77 miles (4250 total)

August 4, 2008

Time on bike: 7:19:04

Avg: 10.5

Daily Ascent: 3566 ft (46 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 0 ft

Max: 34.5 mph

Astoria at last! The last day of the trip. 77 miles to Astoria. The day was tough. 2 flat tires. A total of 6 flat tires in the past 4 days. There was a great deal of traffic along highway 101 and a lot of glass in the shoulder. I ran over nails and staples in the road. On a positive note, I did run into my friends Melody and Morgan who were driving the support car for John and Little John, the 12 year old boy and his father who were biking the trip. I hadn’t seen them since Baker City, OR and hadn’t talked to them since Wyoming. John and John were 15 miles ahead of me.

I was going to stop for lunch but I was just 25 miles from Astoria and I couldn’t bring myself to stop with just over 2 hours of biking to go, so I pushed ahead. I thought I’d be ok but about 10 miles out I started to crash from lack of energy. I came around the last turn and saw the bridge that was going to take me into Astoria. Just as I reached the foot of the long bridge I stopped. Another flat tire! I debated for a moment whether to fix the flat or just walk the bike in. I opted to walk. I limped into Astoria like a wounded soldier returning from battle. Hungry and tired, I looked for a place to eat. I had hoped for a nice big order of baby back ribs. Instead, I walked my injured bike to Diary Queen and ordered a double cheese burger, chicken sandwich, fries, a coke and a hot fudge Sunday.

My friend, Amber Smith, drove down from Washington with her mom and aunt to meet me in Astoria. We went to the Astoria sign to take some pictures as well as to the beach. It was really incredible to have someone in Astoria to meet me upon my finish. It was a great ending to a really great trip.

In my last blog I’ll touch on the highlights of the past 55 days of the trip.

Day 54, The Pacific Coast At Last!

2008-08-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

Day 54, Corvallis, OR – Cape Lookout State Park, OR 113 miles (4173 total)

August 3, 2008

Time on bike: 9:47:56

Avg: 11.5

Daily Ascent: 5427 ft (48 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 5 ft

Max: 40 mph

The Pacific Coast at last! So, after 54 days of cycling nearly 90 miles a day, I finally did reach the Pacific coast! Wow! What words can be spoken after such an epic adventure? I was speechless to say the least and I very nearly cried. I wanted to jump off my bike and immerse myself in the crashing waves! I wanted to leap for joy! I wanted to do a little victory dance on the side of the road. Instead, I sat on the wall of the ‘scenic viewing area’ and just smiled as the reflection of the setting sun glanced off the white capped waves. Thoughts of my grandparents went through my mind as I ate one of my grandma’s favorite cookies, one of those raspberry filled ones. I thought of Uganda and the kids there that I’m raising this money for. I thought of the settlers crossing this country for months on end to reach the promise of a new life. I thought of my parents and family and of the support they’ve given me throughout this ordeal, and of the countless friends who have sent me words of encouragement. It’s been an amazing ordeal!

I camped at Cape Lookout State Park which is a long, skinny peninsula which juts out into the ocean. It’s lined with tall pine trees and is just a stone’s throw from the ocean. I had another flat tire, my 4^th in 3 days, but nothing could deter me from reaching the ocean. I’ll cycle 1 more day to reach my final destination of Astoria, OR before boxing up my bike to ship it home and then flying home myself.

Day 53, Track Town, USA

2008-08-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Day 53, McKenzie Bridge, OR - Corvallis 111 miles (4060 total)

August 2, 2008

Time on bike: 8:44:33

Avg: 12.7

Daily Ascent: 1939 ft (17 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 200 ft

Max: 31.5 mph

From Bust to Boom! If yesterday was one of the crappiest days on a bike where I had to sit and wait some 6 hours for a power hungry road crew to let me pass, then today was a day I won’t likely ever forget!

I cycled into Eugene, Oregon, home of the University of Oregon. Eugene is also known as “Track Town, USA” because of the success of long time track coach, Bill Bowerman, beginning in 1949, and to the many legendary UO track athletes, notably Steve Prefontaine and Alberto Salazar. Hayward Field is a mecca of sorts for distance runners.

I reached Hayward Field and noticed some track events going on. There were just a few people in the stands and I wondered what exactly was going on. The front gate was locked but the side gate was open, so I cycled in. I was immediately met by a couple wearing stopwatches around their necks. I would later learn that this was Bill and Marcia McChesney, both celebrated distance runners. Bill, who is now 80, still runs 40 miles a week. In1981 Bill set an American and World record for 53 year old men in the mile with a 4:51.5. In the same meet, his son, Bill Jr. broke the four-minute barrier in the mile event. Bill Jr. They were track officials for this meet which was a masters division track meet with all of the events of a normal track meet. Masters are 40+ year old athletes. Some of the athletes competing were will into their 80s! Bill and Marcia invited me down to the start/finish line where I chatted away with them while the events were going on. We talked about my bike trip and about cycling and running. I asked if I could run a lap around the track and they said it’d be fine.

Unbelievable! I ran a memorable lap around the track at the University of Oregon, Hayward Field! Where some of the most amazing runners of all time have poured out their heart and soul and gutted out some of the greatest track times ever! I also met others as well. I met Bob and Wayne there as well and had memorable conversations with them too. Wayne and I, while in the men’s room underneath the grandstands, got to talking. He had just participated in the hammer throw and shot put competitions where he did quite well. The conversation went from that to biking to accomplishing things in life to Jesus and church. Who would have thought that I’d be talking Jesus and church in the men’s room underneath the grandstands at Hayward Field… Unbelievably neat!

The whole day was just fantastic, in large part due to my time at the track. The folks there just took me right in and we had such a great time and in such an amazing place. The track had been renovated just prior to the US Olympic Trials which were held there just a few weeks prior.

I ended my trip in Corvallis, OR where I spent the night (somewhat illegally) in the city park. I should reach the coast today (exciting!) and I’ll reach Astoria by Monday evening!

Day 52, A long day indeed

2008-08-02T12:52:00.001-07:00

Day 52, Redmond, OR – McKenzie Bridge, OR 64 miles (3949 total)

August 1, 2008

Time on bike: 5:59:09

Avg: 10.7

Daily Ascent: 2855 ft (45 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 1400 ft

Max: 32 mph

A really tough day. I was supposed to meet up with my friend Dan in McKenzie Bridge, OR at 3:40, so I woke extra early to get my miles in. I figured I’d be over McKenzie Pass and in town by noon to relax until I met up with Dan. McKenzie Pass is significant for several reasons. First, it’s a challenging climb, up 2,000 feet over 15 miles. Secondly, it’s the last real ‘climb’ of the trip. Elevation is over 5,000 feet and after that I don’t reach over 1,000 feet in elevation again.

I began the climb excited that there was no traffic on the road, much to my surprise. The road was a smallish road with no shoulder. A few bicyclists passed me and I finally asked one of them if the road was open ahead. I heard there was a land slide and the road had been closed. “It’s closed but they sometimes let bikers through. Just depends on what they’re doing. They’re logging and if they’re not cutting trees they’ll let you pass.” I was over halfway up by this point so I figured it was worth a try.

I began seeing cyclists heading back down the hill. “It must be closed,” I thought to myself. Finally I saw the guy who passed me and he shook his head no. “Oh well, I’ve come this far, maybe they’ll let me pass.” I stopped at an overlook near the top and met another cyclist name Jonathan. We talked for a while before riding up together.

We reached the roadblock and went around and eventually came to the crane and I saw one of the loggers and shrugged and pointed ahead to ask if we could continue. “Go ahead!” he said, “and thanks for going slow.” So Jonathan and I soon reached McKenzie Pass. It was gorgeous. It was very barren, covered with lava rocks and almost no trees or growth. There was an observatory which resembled a small castle which was built when they built the road. The overlook was really neat. You could get into it and then on top of it. Once in it, you could look through ‘tubes’ which pointed to the various peaks around telling which ones they were and their elevation.

Jonathan headed back down the same way he came and I headed west towards the town of McKenzie Bridge. About 5 miles into my gently sloping descent I got a flat. Talk about a gorgeous place to have a flat tire. Beautiful pines grew up all around and it was so peaceful and serene. I fixed that flat and then a few miles later another flat! Then the trouble started…

Up ahead was a work crew working on a section of the road. When I approached I could tell by the guys body language, not to mention the hunk of skoal in his lip that this wasn’t where I was supposed to be.

“You CANNOT cross here! You aren’t even supposed to be in here! You’ll have to go back!” They were working on a tiny stretch of the road, removing rocks from the surrounding hillside. “If you don’t like it, my supervisor will be here in 20 minutes.” So I waited.

An hour later the super showed up. “You CANNOT go through here! You weren’t supposed to be on this road at all. Those loggers shouldn’t have let you pass.” Water under the bridge at this point, I thought. It’s inconceivable for me to go back to where I came from, some 40 miles back. There was another road, but it was another climb up another similar hill. Just not feasible to go back. “If you could just let me through…” “Can’t happen! I’ll have to call the state police if you try it.” “I can go around, in the woods, can’t I?” “I can’t give you permission to do that, all I’m saying is that you can’t go through here!”

The terrain around where they were working was steep and with heavy undergrowth. Nearly impossible to pass on foot, not to mention carrying a heavy bike and all my gear! I started to walk through the woods to size it up when one of the road workers who was looking on said, “We’ll be done working by 3pm, why don’t you wait and cross then. Either 3 or 3:30.” It was2:30 by this point, so I decided to wait.

Three p.m. came and went. So did 3:30. Then 4. Then 5. Then 6. Then 7 and finally 7:30 before they finally wrapped up. I had waited there almost 6 hours from when I first came. Just sitting and waiting. They wouldn’t let me go through, so what was I to do. Had I known I was to wait so long I would have devised another plan, but I was waiting for what I thought would be a short time. Clearly I had miscalculated.

I finally reached McKenzie Bridge well after dark and called my friend Dan. He thought he had gotten there late and had gone ahead and ridden into Eugene which was the plan from the start. I found some food at a mini mart and then went to the campground. Of course, the campground was full so I had to search for an alternative. I found a clearing on the side of the road next to the Highway Department. There had been sand dumped there at one time, so it was soft and not visible from the road. I slept there and woke before dawn to clear out. It had certainly been a long day!

Day 51, Another long day

2008-08-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

Day 51, Mount Vernon, OR – Redmond, OR 132 miles (3885 total)

July 31, 2008

Time on bike: 10:49:36

Avg: 12.2

Daily Ascent: 5894 ft (45 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 2900 ft

Max: 43 mph

I’m not sure what exactly I ate for breakfast. I ordered biscuits and gravy with poached eggs on the side. What was delivered to me was more of a corn bread texture, but not taste and the eggs were runny and not like momma fixes ‘em.

The morning ride was smooth and downhill. I stopped for a snack at Dayville where a friendly little boy told me he was in 8^th grade there and that there were 12 other students in 8^th grade. I spent the rest of the morning climbing a hill, finally reaching the top and then quickly descending into Mitchell. Mitchell has had a dramatic life. In 1884 a flash flood washed over the bluff above the town, acarrying away wagons and livestock and it deposited huge boulders on the towns streets. Fire hit the town twie, in 1896 and again in 1899 destroying a total of 19 buildings. The biggest disaster occurred on July 11, 1904 when a sudden cloudburst in the desert resulted in a wave of water 30 feet high which rushed down the narrow ravine in which part of the town lies. With the exception of a few buildings the entire town was destroyed. Miraculously though, only 2 people died from the event. The sound of the oncoming water was enough to warn the town.

From Mitchell I headed up the steepest pass of the day: Ochoco Pass. It was a 2,000 foot climb in about 10 miles. I climbed and climbed, all the while listening to Tony Dungy’s book, Quiet Strength, on my iPod. After a while, Tony wasn’t enough motivation so I switched to my running music and locked myself in and pushed to the top. That hill almost got me to stop, but I was bound and determined to whip it, and I did!

My friend Dan wants to meet me in Eugene but he’s unable to on Saturday, so I had to go further today than I had planned. But my body seems to be healed enough and I was able to make the extra distance without incident. I did veer off the route for a spell, though. The final leg was 25 miles, but the other road which may be more traveled was only 18. I opted for the shorter route. Wow, was I in for a surprise. When I came to the intersection to chose routes, a semi took the marked route, but I went the other way up a hill and around a corner. What I didn’t realize was that the hill kept going around the corner, up another 400 feet in elevation before leveling out some. I bet the semi driver knew the hill and opted for the flatter course! Did I learn my lesson from all this? To follow the marked route? No, I learned to follow the semi drivers!

So now I’m camped out, illegally I’m sure, just outside a baseball field in a park under some pine trees trying not to be seen. There doesn’t seem to be any camping in Redmond even though it’s a town of 20,000 people. The only camping I saw was 3 miles south of town off the route. I didn’t want to bike another 3 miles today!

Otherwise the ride was good. The roads were quiet and there was a mixture of arid sagebrush and pine trees along the road. I saw a number of deer and cows. Tomorrow is another big climb up McKenzie pass, but it’s down hill for 50 miles after that to Eugene and my friend Dan is going to bike those last 50 with me. Should be good!

Day 50, Just another day on the bike

2008-07-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Day 50, Baker City, OR – Mount Vernon, OR 95 miles (3753 total)

July 30, 2008

Time on bike: 8:43:03

Avg: 10.8

Daily Ascent: 4347 ft (46 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 2900 ft

Max: 39.5 mph

I took the day off yesterday to get rested up. I spent my day off exploring Baker City and photographing the town as well as uploading pictures. I also visited the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. The Oregon Trail began in 1843 and it took emigrants as long as 6 months to get from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon. There are still wagon ruts visible near the Center.

From Baker City today there’s a 60 mile stretch without any towns, restaurants or convenience stores, with the exception of McEwen Country Store. I opted for a 3 mile detour off the route to Sumpter for a bite of lunch about 30 miles into my ride. Lunch included a salmon sandwich and a waitress who refused to let my Coke get beyond ½ empty.

After lunch I had 3 passes to climb in a 30 mile stretch. Each mile went up 1,000 feet from the valley below: Sumpter Pass, Tipton Pass and Dixie Pass. From Baker City the land was still arid and dry, covered with sagebrush, but about 15 miles past the rolling hills became covered with pine trees making it a pleasant ride. It’s amazing what adding one accessory can do to improve the whole landscape wardrobe. My ride continued through pine tree lined route 7. I did stop at McEwen’s Country Store, or at least trying to. From a ways off I could see the Coca-cola sign hanging up, but I couldn’t see the store. Only a church. Behind the church, where the sign was hanging was a house. I recognized the barn from my guidebook so I was sure this was the place where the store once was. The old barn was covered with a myriad of antlers and old rusty tools, and I mean covered! A boy of maybe 7 saw me pushing my bike up the hill and shouted inside, “Grandma, someone’s comin’.” “Is the store open?” I asked. “Grandma, is the store open? …Nope, not today, but you can get some water if you need it.” I talked to the boy for a while. His name was Lucas and he was visiting for the summer now that summer school was out. He’d never heard of Virginia, where I’d started, but he’d heard of Florida. He told me the names of the 3 dogs who were very interested in smelling me and all my stuff. Eventually “Grandma” came out. She was very friendly and I showed her the picture of her barn in my guide book. She’d never seen the picture before. It was taken 12 years ago and the barn had a new metal roof put on since then. Before it had a wooden roof. She’d been out weeding around the barn yesterday. She called her husband over to have a look at the book who had just come out of the garage. We talked about biking and about other bikers who had come through. They said they were almost all friendly except for a few. The store they opened on occasion but there just wasn’t much business. “Grandpa” talked about the friendliness of people he’d met when he’d ridden his Harley to Sturgis. He looked like a Harley rider, for sure! I wanted a picture of him just for the heck of it but was semi-afraid to ask. He actually used the word ‘bitchin’ at one point. A true Harley rider. They were both super friendly though and I could have stayed and talked to them all morning, but I had riding to do.

The road I was on was being redone with tar and gravel, so it made riding difficult. If I rode in the road it wasn’t much different than a gravel road, but the narrow shoulder where they hadn’t worked wasn’t bad.

I’m noticing veins in my legs where I didn’t even know veins were supposed to exist!

Riding today through the pine forest smelled like a Hallmark store around Christmas time.

Day 48, From Halfway to a half day

2008-07-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

Day 48, Half.com, OR (Halfway, OR) – Baker City, OR 60 miles (3658 total)

July 28, 2008

Time on bike: 6:28:50

Avg: 9.3

Daily Ascent: 3082 ft (51 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 3500 ft

Max: 42 mph

From Halfway to a half day. Boy! Last night! What a night! I camped out in the city park at the waitresses suggestion. It was quaint. Only a playground next to a Lions Club picnic shelter. I set up the tent and crawled in. Shortly thereafter I heard a dog sniffing around and growling. It was a growl as if to say, “There’s someone here, I can smell him! Someone in MY park!” He was close and I knew that all that separated me and whatever kind of dog this was, was the thin canvas of the tent. I waited in silence for something to happen. Preferrably for the dog to move on. A few more low growls and he eventually did. That was followed by a “Hup! Hup” and a “clip-a-tee-clop, clip-a-tee-clop” as a girl on a horse meandered by the park… “Weird,” I thought. So I fell asleep. The dog came back and growled at my invisible self some more before deciding to move on for the night.

Then at around 1:30 am an ENORMOUS rain storm hit all of a sudden! No sprinkles or anything, just a pelting on my tent! I sat straight up in bed ready to hold my poor tent up if necessary, but the rain was funny. It was just on the back half of my tent and I thought in that moment that it must be a very slow moving storm system…

Then it stopped. As quickly as it started. But there was a sound left behind. The sound of water hitting the tree behind me… It wasn’t a storm! The sprinklers in the park had come on!!! I debated whether to try to just go back to sleep, but the idea of pounding ‘rain’ hitting my tent every 5 minutes wasn’t something I figured I could sleep through, so I got out and in-between showers I uprooted the stakes and moved my tent, though it wasn’t far enough. I had to do it a second time before it was just right. Ah the adventures continue!

This morning I biked 12 miles to the next town, 8 of which was up a steep incline. There I found wireless internet and a friendly waitress. I was also noticing for the first time some chaffing which I hadn’t had this whole trip. If you’re unfamiliar with the word ‘chaffing’, let me just say it’s where skin rubs together and creates a rash. I found some petroleum jelly in town and applied and continued. The next 45 miles were generally up-hill and through the dessert, sagebrush area. The chaffing, unfortunately, worsened.

Somewhere in the midst of the climbing, sun, sagebrush, and heat I decided that I was going to take a half day and stop in Baker City and then maybe even take the next day off entirely to heal up. No sense cycling in pain! I stopped at Baker City Café for a sandwich and was very warmly greeted and served by the gals working there. I had 3 servers in a sense. The first one took my drink order, the second my food order and the 3^rd got my refills. I lingered to do some computer work and before I knew it they were mopping the floor. Apparently they had closed at 3pm and it was now 3:30 and there I was working away.

I apologized for my delinquency and got to talking to Brandi, the owner of the café. She was super sweet and we chatted about the café and the town. I was asking if there was a campsite around or at least a place to get a shower and she jumped on the phone and began to make some calls. Before I knew it she had me set up at the YMCA for a shower for $6 which she insisted on paying for! She said that she wanted to leave a good impression on “small town people” as she said it. She also told me to get in touch with Bev, a local bicycle enthusiast who owned an organic market just down the street next to the Y.

I enjoyed my 1^st shower in a week, sorry to say, (I had sponge bathed between times) and then sought out a place to put up my tent for the night. Upon meeting Bev I could tell that she was an enthusiastic soul, enthusiastic about life in general and possessing a special passion for cyclists. She immediately began talking about bike racing and a race that was put on in Baker City for cyclists that was done in 3 stages (3 days) and how she wanted to compete in it sometime before she turned 50, “I’m gonna hit 48 soon, so I’d better do it straight away!” She even had a wall of fame with magazine clippings of cyclists up on the wall in her market! I grabbed an apple and a vanilla cream soda. “Those apples are a bit tart, but they are organic. I’m just warning you. They’re great in apple pies!” I then asked if she knew of a place I could camp and she merrily offered her back yard for me to camp in, so here I am, sitting on an Adirondack chair in her back yard just feet away from a bustling stream flowing into downtown.

I’d hate to take a day off tomorrow. I haven’t done so during the entire trip. But if I have to then Baker City, OR looks to be a great little “small town” to have a day off in.

Day 47, Half.com, Oregon

2008-07-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Day 47, New Meadows, ID Half.com, OR (Halfway, OR) 105 miles (3598 total)

July 27, 2008

Time on bike: 9:43:17

Avg: 10.7

Daily Ascent: 4213 ft (40 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 2600 ft

Max: 41 mph

No, seriously. The town’s name where I’m staying tonight is “Half.com”. They changed the name of the town a few years ago from Halfway to Half.com. They are the only .com city in the world. But nobody calls it that. And the local’s “hate” the name, or so my waitress tells me. “Tourists come in and say, ‘so, this is Half.com, eh?’ but that’s about it. I don’t know who decided to change the name to Half.com. That was so long ago. Like 2001 or something.”

Another day on the bike. Another day, another state! The 10^th state I’ve reached on my trip and most importantly the last state! Go on, say it. “The final frontier!” I’m cranking out the 100 mile days now because I want to get to the ocean so badly! Not that I want the trip to end, because it has been fantasticly superb, but I want to accomplish it. To put it in the books. I want to say, “I rode a bicycle clear across America one summer!” How cool does that sound?

Right as I crossed the state line I saw Chuck and Leah who were touring on bikes on their way to Maine. Chuck was Leah’s uncle and he was super curious about my recumbent, asking an assortment of questions. I told him that it rode great, was a little tough up hills, but otherwise I had no problems with it and would tour with it again if given the opportunity.

Day 46, DON'T TRUS THE LOCALS!

2008-07-27T12:05:00.001-07:00

Day 46, Kooskia, ID – New Meadows, ID 108 miles (3493 total)

July 26, 2008

Time on bike: 10:56:31

Avg: 9.9

Daily Ascent: 5700 ft (53 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 3800 ft

Max: 48 mph

I wanted to do it. I thought about it all the rest of the day and it haunted me. It would have made for a fantastic story, really. Why I didn’t, I really don’t know. I had just eaten a FULL plate of sausage gravy and biscuit and as I was heading out of Kooskia I noticed people pining numbers on and stretching for a run. Looks like “Kooskia Days” involved a 5k run. I rationalized that I didn’t have my running shoes and thus I couldn’t run, but I desperately wanted to! I haven’t ‘run’ in over 2 months and I would love to know how well I can run after biking 8 hours a day for the past 45 days. I decided that I should have asked to borrow somebody’s extra shoes or even run barefoot. I’ve done it before. How cool would that have been to have run a 5k and even placed in a reasonable time and to have done it barefoot.

The landscape from Kooskia was barren and dry and rolling. It reminded me of a desert in not only the shape and color but also the heat. I was now around 1,200 feet in elevation, quite different from just a couple of days ago when I was over 6,000 feet high. My ride after lunch began an incline that would generally last the rest of the day. I began to follow the Salmon River upstream. The color of the water made me wonder if Nestle Quick chocolate milk had a factory upstream. It was chocolaty and thick in appearance. I listened to the water as I slowly passed beside it. I really saw a number of different things from it as well: bubbling, swirling, waving, foaming, rushing, babbling. Eventually I began to see rafters on the river enjoying the rapids. That gave way to more rafters. It was, after all, a Saturday afternoon and people seemed to be enjoying both the lazy parts and the swift parts of the river. I passed one pull-off where a man yelled at me, “Want some cold water?” and held up a bottle. “I’ve got beer too if you want some.” “I’d better stick with water, at least until I’m done riding for the day,” I replied. He asked me where I started from and I told him Yorktown, Virginia. “Hey kids! Come here and hear this!” and then the rest of them, family and friends, gathered around. “Tell them where you started from!” So I told them where I started and how long it had taken me to get there. They also gave me some berries they had been picking along the roadside. We talked for a while more about the bike and the trip and then I thanked them for the water and set off for the next town.

Along the way I heard a motor running across the river and I could see a generator or a pump just sitting there. I followed the line from it and then saw a man hosing off a blackened area of the hillside. Surround him were a number of other black areas, some smoldering and some still ablaze. Up the river I saw at least a half a dozen firemen fighting these brush fires. Some had the pumps and hoses and others had an ax and were fighting the fires with dirt.

Riggins was clearly a recreation town with rafting companies and RV parks set up all over town. Rafting trailers and buses buzzed around town. I stopped in at a gas station as 3 shirtless guys all walked out. Apparently they quit trying with the “no shirt, no shoes, no service” rules. That or they realized that they’d lose business if they did. I fueled up on Gatorade and Fig Newtons and asked how far the next town was. By this time it was 5:30pm. They said it was only about 35 miles away. “Isn’t it up a steep incline?” I asked. “No. It’s very gradual,” both the clerk and the firewoman behind me assured me. “You can make it by tonight.” From this I learned a VERY important lesson. DON’T TRUST NON BIKERS ABOUT THE TERRAIN! What should have been a 2 hour journey turned into a 4 hour journey and ended at 9:30pm as darkness was settling in. All along the way I was looking around for a place where I could stealth camp, but I was in a canyon with a river stream running beside me and pine forest land around me. I could scarcely find a flat piece of land and I was quite sure there may be grizzlies in these woods. Finally the “slight incline” did end and I found flat land. It’s one thing to be in a car and only have to push the gas pedal down another ½ inch to get up a hill and to be on a bicycle where your average drops from 13mph to 7mph on a ½ degree incline. Those hills really make a difference on a bike! DON’T TRUST THE LOCALS!!

Day 45, Like biking through a calendar photo

2008-07-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Day 45, Lolo, MT – Kooskia, ID 136 miles (3385 total)

July 25, 2008

Time on bike: 10:39:23

Avg: 12.8

Daily Ascent: 2349 ft (17 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 1400 ft

Max: 41 mph

Like I was cycling through a calendar. Last night I met Jim. A 70 year old cyclist from London (originally from Scotland) who was cycling across America going west to east. We shared a campsite outside of Lolo. It was more of an empty lot across from trailer homes, but we were able to get hot showers. He was doing about 60 miles a day and had taken the day off of cycling. He said that when he reached Missouri that his wife was going to fly over for 10 days and he would take that time off of cycling to drive around a bit. I told him I thought that he should throw his gear in the car and have her drive a support vehicle. In classic Scottish response, he said, “Well now, that wouldn’t be much of a vacation for her now, would it?” Jim and I shared an interest in running also and we talked late into the evening about marathons and triathlons.

I had breakfast #1 from McDonalds just before I set out. Breakfast #2 came 26 miles up the road at Lolo Hot Springs which was 8 miles from Lolo Pass (elevation 5,235 ft) which was also the Idaho/Montana state line. The climb up wasn’t terribly difficult or steep. The descent wasn’t steep either… just looooooonnnnngggg and gradual. Over the course of the next 100 miles I gradually descended nearly 4,000 feet and there was a 70 miles stretch without a house, gas station, restaurant, or any services whatsoever except an occasional rest area which only included an outhouse. It was highway 12 and it ran along the Lochsa River. From Lolo Pass down was just a scenic ride along a gradually widening mountain stream with old pine trees lining the mountains on each side. The road curved along the river for mile after mile after mile. The scenery never changed for the next 70+ miles but it was like I had cycled into a scenic calendar of the mountains. This isn’t what I thought Idaho was supposed to look like. Where are the potato fields, for crying out loud? Not that I’m complaining. The sun was shining and the fresh mountain water was glistening. I passed 3 cyclists peddling up the hill. Each one seemed to be cycling alone and each one had his headphones in when I passed. At one point I had to go and get into the water and splash around a bit. Man, was it cold! I saw a number of fly fishermen trying their luck.

It really was the same scenery all day. Gorgeous, but I was ready for civilization, which finally came at the end of the day. I entered the town of Lowell and the sign read “Population 24” with the 24 crossed out and 23 written in its place. I asked the clerk at the gas station what that meant and she replied, “I think it’s someone’s idea of a joke.” Since I crossed the state line into Idaho, I entered into Pacific time so I took advantage of the extra hour and added another 25 miles to my day for a total of 136. My 2^nd highest total since I entered into Mountain time when I did 175. I like high mileage days but they take their toll.

So I’m now at a Chinese Restaurant in Kooskia which is on an Indian reservation. They are having “Kooskia Days” and the locals are doing burnouts on Main Street and creating a plume of white smoke. There are a few booths set up selling knives and whatnots, but mostly people are just hanging around on Main St.

Weather permitting, I should reach Astoria, OR in 8-9 days or so. It’s difficult to believe that the trip is coming to an end, but I still have all of Idaho and Oregon yet to go, so there’s still plenty to see and do yet.

Day 44, In a roundabout way

2008-07-24T20:13:00.001-07:00

Day 44, Hamilton, MT – Lolo, MT* 70 miles (3249 total)

July 24, 2008

Time on bike: 6:17:59

Avg: 11.2

Daily Ascent: 1145 ft (16 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 3200 ft

Max: 29.5 mph

I forgot to mention the coolest part of yesterday. I had just finished up my Poweraid and Reece Cups and crossed a river when I noticed up a head a herd of wild… something-or-another. They looked like deer but they had horns like rams. There were 35 of them and they weren’t too afraid of me. I cycled up pretty close to them and watched them graze along the side of the road and cross as traffic stopped to watch. Some of the young ones were up on the rock-face and I was amazed at their ability to climb and then to scale down the side! It was just so serene to watch them and to feel like I was just part of the scenery and that they didn’t mind me being there. Especially being on a bike and not being separated from them by a windshield and being totally vulnerable, I felt like such a part of everything around me.

Early morning today at 5am and on the bike by 5:45. The goal was to put on some MAJOR MILES. Missoula was coming up and it’s about 60,000 in population, plus it’s a college town. Missoula is also quite the bicycle town! I can’t remember seeing so many bicycles. They were parked outside of almost all of the shops in town! There were a number of marked bicycle paths on the roads for the bikes as well. I saw another recumbent as I entered the town. It seemed funny to me that Missoula would be so into bikes, being that they have summer probably only about 2 months out of the year…

As I left Missoula my rear tire went flat. Upon checking it I found a 1” sheet metal screw lodged into my tire as if someone had drilled it in there! It chewed up my innertube to the point that patiching it wouldn’t suffice. So, I put on another tube which already had a hole, patched that one, and biked back into Missoula to the bike shop to buy 2 additional tubes which I should have done in the first place. While there I figured that I’d just go ahead and do some laundry and also wash my sleeping bag which hasn’t been washed in I don’t know how many YEARS!!

To top it all off I found out that Missoula isn’t even on the route but it’s 13 miles off the rounte at which point you have to turn around and bike 13 miles back. So, all’s told I only biked about 50 miles towards my final destination but 70 in total.

Day 43, One little rain cloud

2008-07-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

Day 43, Jackson, MT – Hamilton, MT 93 miles (3169 total)

July 23, 2008

Time on bike: 6:53:12

Avg: 13.4

Daily Ascent: 1924 ft (21 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 3600 ft

Max: 49 mph

The morning was cool as I cycled out of Jackson, MT with snow covered mountains on my left across the flat valley. Irrigation is big in these parts as fields have sprinklers watering them. I passed some men in a field who were moving the pipes of the irrigation to another section of the field by hand. The mountains off to the distance were picturesque to say the least. The sun was shining and the sky was an early morning blue. Talk about feeling alive!

I had the house specialty for breakfast at Wisdom, MT, 2 pancakes, sausage and 2 eggs, served by a cute, friendly waitress. I’d heard that the girls in Montana are the cutest on the trip and that may yet prove to be the case, we’ll see. So far so good. While there I got to talking to a guy named Jeremy. Jeremy’s story is that he’s a ranch-hand who hitch-hikes around to make a living. He has a golden retriever named Rusty who goes with him. To find his next job he goes on a Montana state website and looks for ranch-hand jobs and then calls the number listed and asks for a job, then he hitch-hikes there. I let him ride my bike around to try it out while I held his dog.

I pulled over just outside of Wisdom, MT to the Big Hole National Battlefield. I saw 2 other pairs of west-bound cyclists. The first couple was in their late 40’s to early 50’s and the other couple was probably late 50’s. They were all on road bikes with panniers and no trailers. They had stayed in Wisdom the night before. The battlefield was where the Indian tribe Nez Perce was attacked by US troops. Nearly 100 men, women and children lost their lives and a museum of sorts is there in their memory and honor. After watching a film about the site I came to discover a flat tire. In trying to repair the tire I pinched the tube and had to put on 2 more patches, bringing the total up to 4 on that particular tire!

From the battlefield I had a mountain pass to climb. It was a gradual incline up to the base of the climb, but it was through beautiful pine forested area. The trees were lush and green and there were no pine-beetle infected trees that I could see, just healthy green trees. The climb eventually came to an end and I then found a fast, windy downhill and a new set of snow covered mountains to view off in the distance. I reached nearly 50mph on the downhill. Fast, yes, but that’s part of the excitement!

By now, after the flats and the hill, it was 4pm and I was ready for lunch, but the gas-station/restaurant only served breakfast! Go figure! So I opted for Reece Cups and a Poweraid and figured I’d get to the next town for lunch/supper. Once at the next town I figured I was only an hour away from the next town where I could bed down for the night after grabbing supper, so I opted for that. In the way to that next town (Hamilton) a tiny rain cloud that couldn’t have been bigger than 100 yards across settled right over me and dropped down big drops of rain. It was sunny and blue skies all around except for this one cloud which kept dousing me with rain. For 15 minutes it proceeded to soak me in what felt like a cartoon like situation. I couldn’t seem to shake it either! But I eventually dried out and reached my destination of Hamilton. So here I am finishing off my ribs ready to put another day to bed!

Day 42, Mpola mpola

2008-07-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Day 42, Twin Bridges, MT – Jackson, MT 76 miles (3076 total)

July 22, 2008

Time on bike: 8:48:09

Avg: 8.7

Daily Ascent: 3770 ft (50 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 6500 ft

Max: 38.5 mph

“Mpola mpola” (“slowly by slowly” in Uganda) Montana is nicknamed “Big Sky Country” and it is that indeed! The expanse of sky from mountaintop to mountaintop is breathtaking. I’ve seen a number of log-cabin barns and other small farm structures along the way. It’s become my visual identity of Montana thus far.

I decided to cycle 25 miles before breakfast, but uphills and headwinds prevented me from getting there until 11am. Breakfast was in Dillon, MT, population 3,752. After Dillon was a long, barren stretch up 2 mountain passes. First was Badger Pass, elevation 6,760 ft and then Big Hole Pass, elevation 7,360 ft. A lot of slow climbing today, and into headwinds, not that they make much difference when you’re peddling 4 mph. Before the 2^nd climb the sky started to darken on me quickly and I could see that it was raining off to my left. Then it began to drizzle on me. I threw on my rain gear and explored my options. There was a ranch just up ahead, but the rain didn’t look to serious. I started to forge ahead when I saw a corrugated steel, cylindrical building which had sand inside. Must have been owned by the state or something. I decided to pull in there and wait to see what was to happen. Sure enough, bigger than life, it started to pour! Nasty wind and rain! It’s a good thing I stopped, too, because there wasn’t much up ahead after my little shelter I found out.

I finally made it into Jackson and found a hotel with some hot springs. After a day of climbing and rain I figured I needed a night in a warm bed!

Day 41, Day of Dowhnills (and one big, honkin' uphill)

2008-07-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Day 41, Junction of 287/87 – Twin Bridges, MT 82 miles (3000 total)

July 21, 2008

Time on bike: 6:06:14

Avg: 13.5

Daily Ascent: 2429 ft (30 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 4650 ft

Max: 50.0 mph

A day of downhill (and one big, honkin’ uphill) Flat tire!!?? Not a good way to start the day! I spent the morning putting a patch on my rear tire before I ever got started. From the looks of it I may have ran over a piece of glass. Fortunately this wasn’t an omen for the day to come.

I biked through a valley with mountains on both sides and a babbling mountain stream ((Madison River) on my left. Clearly this is the state where fly fishermen master their trade. The rivers and streams are typically filled with them. Downhill I cycled to the town of Ennis (Hey Ken! Remember Curtis P?).

After Ennis came “The Hill” as the natives refer to it. An 8 mile climb up a 7% grade. It took me 2 hours averaging 4 mph to reach the top. Actually I reached a pseudo top where the road seemed to go downhill and around a corner before going uphill again for another mile! I managed to ride the entire time even passing by the scenic overlook near the top to keep climbing. Its frustrating climbing hills at such a slow speed. Not frustrating, exactly, but more… “grrrrrrrr” as my friend Kate Reuther likes to say.

The 8 mile climb was followed by a 3 mile descent into Virginia City where I reached a top speed of 50 mph! Super fast! I was actually speeding at times when I entered the city and the speed limits read 45 and then 35. I was actually hoping to get a ticket! Wouldn’t that be a great story!

Virginia City is an old mining town. At one time it was the capital of the Montana Territory boasting some 10,000 residents but having no law enforcement whatsoever, except for vigilantism. The town was a literal Gold Rush when within weeks of Bill Fairweather discovering gold in May of 1863 the town sprang up. The entire town of Virginia City is listed as a National Historic Landmark and it’s the only town to have that distinction. Most of the buildings in the town are the original buildings and to top it off they have an array of theatrical performances that take place. I stopped in at “The Creamery” where I saw a 1 hour “hometown” musical which was written and directed by the same fellow. The cast of 4 performed admirably the plot which was set in 1865 where the town marshal had his Stetson Hat stolen, presumably by someone in the audience. Come to find out that it was the piano player who stole the hat, and the piano player was none other than Calamity Jane in disguise. (Calamity Jane actually did live in Virginia City for some time). After buying some fudge I looked at the map and saw that 30 miles down the road was Twin Bridges and then NOTHING ELSE for the next 26 miles so I set my sights. Downhill again all the way there. A front was creeping in and I raced it cycling with tailwinds through sprinkles to get to town before real rain hit. I’ll bet I averaged over 20 mph for the next 30 miles, no joke. In fact, if you take out my 8 mile, 2 hour climb up the hill, then my daily averages goes from 13.5 to 18.5 mph.

So I’ve reached Twin Bridges where it looks like I’ll be putting up my tent right outside of their high school football field.

Day 40, Hello Montana!

2008-07-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Day 40, Grant Village, WY (Yellowstone Lake) – Junction of 287/87 88 miles (2918 total)

July 20, 2008

Time on bike: 7:20:18

Avg: 11.9

Daily Ascent: 2726 ft (31 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 6200 ft

Max: 39.5 mph

Hello Montana! It was a cool 20 miles to Old Faithful from my campsite. There must have been hundreds of RVs and campers at the site. It was, after all, a Saturday night. Apparently, 15 minutes before I arrived last night there was a grizzly bear around the campground. I guess I should have peddled faster to see it!

Old Faithful was erupting as I arrived, so I didn’t have to wait to see it. It was interesting but to be honest I thought it was a bit over hyped. A hole in the ground where water shoots up 30 ft. Eh, it was alright. Interesting. On the way to Old Faithful I crossed the Continental Divide 3 times! Biking up the Continental Divide 1 time is impressive enough, but 3 times! That’s just craziness. Three times within 10 miles at that! Absolute craziness!

Yellowstone was beautiful. Clearly the fire that swept through 20 years ago is still apparent. The land is covered with dead trees both standing and lying everywhere with young pines growing up all around. It certainly looks creepy. Like “The Nightmare Before Christmas” creepy. I did see some wildlife. A bald eagle, a buffalo and an elk. Mostly I saw groups of tourists with their cameras crowded along the sides of the roads trying to get shots of the animals. I almost wanted to photograph the tourists more than the animals. I thought they were the bigger spectacle. One guy, as I biked passed some pulled over cars said, “You’re my hero, man.” People were even taking pictures of me on my bike! I felt like I was in Uganda again. Like I was one of the attractions!

I finally reached Montana. There was a small wooden sign that welcomed me saying, “Entering Montana”. I stopped at a town called West Yellowstone for some cherry pie and a Coke and then continued on.

I road past Quake Lake, a lake that was created by an earthquake in 1959 that registered 7.3 on the Richter scale. The quake formed an 80 million ton landslide dam on the Madison River. The landslide traveled down the mountain at an estimated 100 mph and killed 28 people who were camping along the river. Another 250 campers and hikers were stranded within the lake region and had to be rescued via helicopter. Quake lake still has many trees that are upright and visible around the lake, creating an eerie reminder of how the lake was formed.

As I peddled I had my sights on my map for a campsite but more importantly a restaurant. There was one marked on the map but I wasn’t sure if it would be open or not. Wyoming wasn’t the friendliest of states and I had no idea how a backwoods bar/restaurant would be in Montana. I saw a restaurant/bar/RV park and took a shot. Talk about friendly people and a great place! An amazing burger and probably the best onion rings I’ve ever had! Wireless internet! Friendly, friendly, friendly people. I’ve been sitting on the porch of the restaurant talking to the owner, cook and local people for the past few hours, and if you know me, that’s sometimes like pulling teeth for me to do that… Hopefully that’ll continue!

Day 39, Yellowstone

2008-07-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

Day 39, Jackson, WY – Grant Village, WY (Yellowstone Lake) 84bmiles (2830 total)

July 19, 2008

Time on bike: 7:55:54

Avg: 10.6

Daily Ascent: 3676 ft (44 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 7800 ft

Max: 41 mph

I was out from the moment my head hit the pillow until my alarm went off at 6:30. It was so nice and comfortable sleeping in a real bed in an actual home. I allow myself some extra sleep when I get an actual bed to sleep in. I awoke to a fresh cup of coffee and said goodbye to Laurie and Chelsea.

I headed out of town towards the Teton Range. I decided to take a different route than yesterday, this one running right along the base of the mountains. The cute park ranger at the gate let me pass for free on my bicycle instead of paying the $12 charge which is typical for bikers. Chicks dig the recumbent bike. The cycling was majestic as the road passed so close to the Tetons that I stopped and took pictures nearly every 5 minutes. They were just so spectacular. I stopped for a short break at Lake Jenny and also took some photos there. The lake water was frigid as I waded in to sit on a rock in the lake. The whole day was sunny and beautiful and I had a brisk tail wind that pushed me along for some easy cycling.

As it neared time for lunch I was passed by another cyclist. I couldn’t tell if he was touring or not. He had a small backpack on and a rack on the back with some things but no trailer or panniers. At 1pm I pulled into one of the only available places I had seen in some time for lunch and found my fellow cyclist had also pulled in. “Wanna share a table?” he asked me. So we ate our lunch sitting by the window overlooking another lake (maybe Jackson Lake?) and looking up a the snow covered Tetons. Incredible to say the least. His name was Rex and he was cycling to Glacier Park he told me. He began his trip in Denver but had cycled down to New Mexico before heading back north. Sixteen hundred miles in all. He said he does 1,000 a month. I’m pushing closer to 3,000 a month so I don’t think we were paired up really well. At any rate, it was good to share a meal with a fellow cycler and share some tales of the road. We cycled together for a while. Not really together, mind you, but together . He got ahead of me before my break and I didn’t see him again and I’m not sure if he’s at this camp site tonight or if he pulled up at the one before this. Doesn’t really matter I guess.

I reached another pay gate and this time the guy at the gate wouldn’t let me by on my looks alone. I had to pay the $12, but my receipt will get me through all the other gates, he said. I started to ascend as I entered Yellowstone National Park. It was a narrow road with no shoulder and I was passed by numerous campers and big pickup trucks and SUVs, always keeping my eye on my rearview mirror to know exactly how much room I had available. I road through pine tree groves and the riding was somewhat monotonous and yet gloomy as the dead trees poked through the newer trees. I guess there were wildfires here in ’88 and ’03 (or maybe ’05) which destroyed some of this area.

I found a campground area called Grant Village which has everything: gas station, grill, campsite with shower, etc. I entered the park looking for my lunch pal, Rex, but after circling for a while and not seeing any bikers I decided to get a site. Upon entering the park there was a sign that read, “Campsite Full”. I was a bit scared to say the least because I figured that if this site was full then it was 15 miles to the next site and it might also be full. It is a Saturday night after all. I approached the counter for registration and asked the lady if there was anything available. “Are you a hiker or a biker.” “I’m a biker.” “Then, yes, we have something available. We save sites for hikers and bicyclists.” So I got a site, put up my tent and headed for the Grill.

As I pulled up I saw a couple of girls sitting outside. “Cool bike!” one of them said. “Do you want to ride it?” I asked? “Sure!!” So they hesitantly came over to give it a try. Unfortunately their legs were too short to pedal it so they couldn’t really ride it. They told me that they were from Japan and that they were volunteering in the park for the summer. I asked if they wanted to join me for supper and they said ‘sure’.

Their names were Nozomi and Yoko and they were college students from Tokyo but they had each lived in the US before, Nozomi in Pittsburg and Yoko in New Jersey. Nozomi was studying International Studies and Yoko biology. They were really interested in my bike trip and I was interested in Japan and Tokyo after having taken Japanese in high school. Unfortunately the Grill closed not long after we got there so we really didn’t get much of a chance to talk, but they were really fun to hang out with. We tried hanging out outside but the mosquitoes were brutal so that had to come to an abrupt halt.

Tomorrow I’ll see Old Faithful for the first time and I’m excited to do so!

Day 38, Off route to Jackson, WY

2008-07-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

Day 38, Wilderness Boundary Restaurant, WY (20 miles past Dubois, WY) - Jackson, WY 69 miles (2746 total)

July 18, 2008

Time on bike: 6:25:07

Avg: 10.8

Daily Ascent: 2553 ft (37 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 6095 ft

Max: 36.5 mph

Off route to Jackson, WY. Two things I forgot to mention. Yesterday when I was biking I must have been passed by 40 Porsches or similar cars. Small sporty cars, in other words. Sometimes they would be in groups of 4-5, other times by themselves. There must be a Porsche gathering like there is for Harleys in Sturgis… don’t know. Also, along the same lines though, a long time ago in Colorado I saw something very funny: a Porsche with a roof rack carrying a kayak.

I must say that spending the night in a cabin as opposed to a tent way up here in the mountains is divine. Instead of waking up to temps in the upper 30’s the cabin stayed toasty warm. When I pulled in last night I had my choice of $15 for a camp ground or $20 for a small, unfinished cabin. All that wasn’t finished was to run electricity to it for lights and the electric heater. But that little thing didn’t need a heater to stay warm.

I was at the midway point of climbing up to Togwotee Pass, so I knew I had some work to do. I began the ascent layered up with my long tights on and my fleece on as well. I was on the lookout for Bears as I ascended figuring that if I did encounter a bear I would turn around and head down the mountain as quickly as I could. I avoided the temptation to drop $50 on bear spray.

Up and up I went. The grade of the road wasn’t steep. Maybe 4-5%. Sometimes it would level out and sometimes it would go downhill for a quick minute, but mostly it was a climb, which I didn’t mind as my fingers and toes began to get numb with cold. I cycled passed pine trees with rocky cliffs not far up ahead of me in the distance.

I finally did reach the peak only to find snow still on the ground. Just as I hit the top a familiar black car passed me and pulled over. It was Melody and Morgan, the wife and daughter of John and Little John, father and 12 year old, who have been biking with me off and on. Come to find out that after a 120 mile day and a 115 mile day they took a day off in Dubois to get rested up.

At the top of the hill was one of my favorite signs. The one with the semi truck pointing down a steep incline! Yipee! The sign read, “6% Grade Next 17 Miles”. Music to my eyes. Downhills are great, but downhills in the cold are somewhat bittersweet to say the least. Downhill = speed. Speed = wind. Wind = windchill. Windchill = very cold! Not to mention that I’m not peddling so that makes me even colder. I kept wrapped up in my fleece, at times burying my face inside the fleece. There was road construction part way down so I had to stop for a flag woman just before the place they were dynamiting the road. She basically fit right in with the other Wyoming drivers in telling me that she hated cyclists and that we never use the shoulder of the road (because it’s full of rocks and debris). Eventually she let me pass and just a few miles down was a lodge and gas station where I picked up some hot chocolate before finishing the descent.

The descent opened up a spectacular view of the Teton Mountains off in the distance. The view was hazy, however, which I later learned is a result of some California brush fires. My pictures scarcely show the mountains but it was a beautiful sight to ride into. Grand Teton, the highest peak of the range, is 13,770 feet above sea level and there are 8 peaks over 12,000 feet.

I reached the junction and had to decide whether to go off route 30 miles to Jackson or to continue on the trail. Mark had suggested that I go into town, so I mentally flipped a coin in my head and headed to Jackson for the day. The ride into town could not have been more spectacular. The snow covered Teton Mountains lay just off my right shoulder and towered above me. I cranked up my iPod and sang show tunes at the top of my voice for most of the ride into town. It may seem funny to have passed a former shop teacher wearing Spandex and wailing on the likes of Rent and Aida but I really didn’t care at that point.

I wheeled into Jackson at around 1pm ready for lunch. Jackson is a gorgeous little town. “It’s regarded as one of the best towns in America,” my friend Ashby tells me. It must be. Several famous people have a home here: Harrison Ford, Tiger Woods, Sandra Bullock, Gary Shaw, and Vice President Dick Cheney to name a few. Jackson is located near Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park and the National Elk Refuge, home to 11,000 elk. On my way into Jackson I encountered a handful of wild buffalo, but no elk. (There’s 11,000, how did I miss them??)

Angela’s dad lives here and is the chief of police here. Angela is a friend from Peace Corps, so I called up her dad who was out of town but he insisted that I stay at his place with his wife and step-daughter, so I ventured over there. They live in a beautiful log cabin home that looks out on some rolling hills. They were gracious hosts who fed and entertained me for the evening. It was nice to sleep in an actual home and eat a home cooked meal for a change. Thirteen year old Chelsea had stories galore for me about everything from playing violin in school orchestra to her future home which included a tennis court, soccer goal and trampoline.

Day 37, Picturesque Wyoming

2008-07-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

Day 37, Lander, WY – Wilderness Boundary Restaurant, WY (20 miles past Dubois, WY) 95 miles (2677 total)

July 17, 2008

Time on bike: 9:23:36

Avg: 10.2

Daily Ascent: 3916 ft (41 ft/mi)

Current Elevation: 7800 ft

Max: 42 mph

When I opened up the tent flap this morning I was peering at the sunrise over the town of Lander. The RV Park was perched on a hill overlooking the town and my tent site was right on the edge of that hill. I was on the road by 6 and peddling solo for the first time in a long time. I had my iPod going as I listened to ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the Morning as I biked through more of what has become somewhat infamous sagebrush and rolling hills of Wyoming. I first stopped off at Fort Washakie which is located on Wind (like a road winds) River Indian Reservation, which was apparent by the townsfolk. An Indian man in an extended cab, Ford pickup greeted me as I parked my bike and asked where I was going to make small talk. On a side note, Sacajawea’s son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, has a memorial there.

From there it was on to Crowheart. The only thing in town was a gas station, grocery store and a post office. Coincidently they were all the same store… I met some east bounders who flagged me down shortly after leaving Crowheart. One of their riders was sick and they wanted to know where the nearest town was. “It’s 50 miles to Lander,” I told them and they dropped their heads. Seems like one of them may have gotten some food poisoning or something. I wished them luck and continued on.

Wyoming all of a sudden became beautiful. Just like that, out of nowhere. The rolling hills gave way to steep, rocky, canyon like walls where it appeared that a lake may have been and that gave way to red rock cliffs which reminded me more of Arizona than Wyoming. The town of Dubois (pronounced doo-boys) was at the 75 mile mark for me, so I stopped in for a 2^nd lunch and to email. Dubois was originally called Never Sweat, WY because of its warm and dry winds. The postal service, however, found the name Never Sweat unacceptable so it was changed to Dubois. It looks like a nice little touristy town with a number of log-cabin like buildings and quaint shops lining the main street. I stopped in to a pizza/deli place and had a fantastic ham sandwich.

The terrain past Dubois was alleged to go uphill and it didn’t disappoint. I managed a mere 20 miles into headwinds on my way up to Togwotee Pass. Togwotee pass often receives annual snowfall of 25 feet in any given winter (with reports of over 50 feet). The road is often shut down for days. I was told that they are working on the roadway and dynamiting from 7-8pm and they close the roads down through the night for it. I’ll find out tonight what that’s like. I stopped 17 miles short of the pass and found a restaurant/RV park where I decided to put down for the night. They convinced me to take a small cabin for $20 to avoid the grizzly bears. I kindly accepted.

Day 36, Mark's sendoff

2008-07-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Day 36, Sweetwater Station, WY – Lander, WY 40 miles (2582 total)

July 16, 2008

Time on bike: 3:55:49

Avg: 11.2

Daily Ascent: 992 ft (25 ft/mi)

Max: 40 mph

It was as if we were the last living creatures on the face of the earth and the mosquitoes were going to feed on us as if their life depended on it. There were 3 groups of us bikers at the Mormon camp site last night and all of us were in our tents by 8pm because of the thick nest of mosquitoes. We all kind of figured that they would be gone by morning but instead I think they called in the morning shift to take over. We hustled to get our things packed before we could get eaten up too badly. Mark and I set out by 6am.

We ate a little bit of trail mix before we began and it was a good thing. The map only indicated that the nearest restaurant was 30 miles and it’d be 40 miles until the next town. That’s a long way to go before breakfast but we wanted to get a jump on the days cycling so that Mark could get to Jackson and the Teton Mountains as soon as possible so that he could then get back to his car in Rawlins.

We stopped for breakfast at a log-cabin looking restaurant which I believe was called Frontier. HUGE pancakes that were bigger and thicker than the plate they were on. Mark was so hungry that he ordered 2 to go along with his Mexican Breakfast Burrito. I had to eat his other pancake.

We spent the next few hours plotting out how he would get back from Jackson. We looked up bus routes, rental cars and trains. We talked about getting a ride from a trucker and even called a few lumber yards there to see if they had any trucks going in or out. I contacted my friend Angela’s dad who is the chief of police there in Jackson and he recommended some bus companies, but after checking it all out we couldn’t find an efficient way for Mark to get back, so we decided to rent a car here in Lander and just drive him and his bike back to Rawlins and then I’d drive it back. It worked out well, really. The winds picked up severely this afternoon and it even rained on us on the way back to Rawlins.

Driving back along the route we came was very surreal. It took 90 minutes to cover the same distance that we covered on our bikes in one day. After driving for a while I really just wanted to get back on my bike. The car was too fast and too superficial. It sped past the beautiful sights and I couldn’t smell the wind in the car. It felt cheap in comparison to what all I had done. I like the bike.

Mark and I said our goodbyes and he bought me supper at Peggy’s Diner. It was fantastic to have my friend Mark along for a week. We both talked about how we wished it could be longer and then made tentative plans to bike again together somewhere.

Along the way back I happened across some east bound bikers we had met the night before. They were off their bikes at the base of a loooooooong, steep hill. I circled back and asked if they were ok. Come to find out that they had been battling headwinds all day at a speed of “3 mph” and were mustering up the strength and courage to forge the hill ahead. I asked if they wanted a lift into Rawlins and they practically groveled at my feet in appreciation. Sometimes you just need a break from a long day of cycling. They called me ‘angelic’ and a bunch of other mushy names to express their gratitude for stopping to give them a lift. The winds do whip pretty badly here in Wyoming, so I was glad to give Dave and Katie a ride to town.

So, tomorrow I’ll be solo again for the first time since Illinois (by the way, a person from Illinois is called an Illinoisan). I’m looking forward to it, to be honest. I got in a grove last time. Just me and the road. Pray for my safety if you think about it. I’d appreciate it a lot!

Day 35, Why are you so unfriendly, Wyoming???

2008-07-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

Day 35, Rawlins, WY – Sweetwater Station, WY 85 miles (2542 total)

July 15, 2008

Time on bike: 6:48:06

Avg: 12.8

Daily Ascent: 2455 ft (29 ft/mi)

Max: 40 mph

It’s tough to get an early start when you have a warm, soft bed to sleep in for the night. Sleeping in a tent just isn’t restful, but a hotel on the other hand… Mark and I got off to a late start this morning after a fabulous continental breakfast at Days Inn. Pat left our company yesterday so it was our first day just Mark and I plus my first day dragging my trailer in about a week. We left Mark’s car there in Rawlins where he’s planning on getting a bus back to there from Jackson, WY.

The morning was beautiful with sunshine and a gentle uphill which lead to a great, slow, gradual downhill. We crossed the continental divide 2x today. In case you’re wondering, the continental divide is the divide that separates where rain water is going to end up. If it rains on the east part of the divide, the water’s going to eventually end up in the Atlantic and on the west side, then towards the Pacific Ocean. Cool, huh? I just learned that the other day.

It seems that the further north you go in Wyoming the friendlier people are. Our first stop of the morning was at Grandma’s Café where we had our lunch. It was really the only thing in this town and the only building we had seen for 30 miles. Grandma’s was quaint and they were very clear to mark with signs that restrooms were ONLY for paying customers!

On to Muddy Gap where there was a convenience store managed by Dennis, a heavy set but very friendly guy who was wearing a shirt that read, “What wind? –Muddy Gap, WY” I hear that the winds can get up to 40-60 mph in these flat lands. We talked to friendly Dennis for quite a while and signed our names on the wall of the store with sharpie markers. He said that they used to repaint every spring, but they liked the way the signings looked so they’ve left them up for the past 3 years. Maybe when I come back someday I’ll still see my name written there??

We are still high up. The altitude here is 6,500 feet. Higher, in fact, than Denver Colorado. The average elevation of Wyoming is 6,700 feet! We stopped for an early supper, because there’s really no where else to stop along our route, at a little restaurant/bar. Another unfriendly bar owner. It’s really amazing to us. It seems like people would welcome bicyclists. We bring business and we talk to every biker we see and recommend places to eat up ahead. We also discourage them from eating at certain places. For example, the ‘locals’ next to us were given free popcorn as an appetizer upon entering, we weren’t even greeted. One man headed back to the bathroom and the owner yelled, “The light switch is on the outside,” but when I went before him I wasn’t told anything. After we had ordered and she started ringing up our food I told her we were paying separate. What 2 guys come in to eat together and pay together?? She huffed and puffed as if I had asked her to bike the rest of the way with me. It’s just unbelievable that people go that far out of their way to be unfriendly to people they’ve never met.

The rest of the day was just a nice day for biking. Some head winds but they died down in the late afternoon. Mark and I talked about all kinds of thing. I think we were both just so appreciative to be outdoors on bicycles surrounded by sagebrush and rocky mountains on either side. Appreciative of each others friendship and ability to do this together even if it is just for a short time.

We’re camped out tonight in Sweetwater Station with the father and 12 year old son. The mother and 10 year old daughter are also here. The mosquitoes are unbelievable here. At one point, Mark and I had to stop our bikes and coat ourselves in mosquito spray because they were all over us. The camp site is called Mormon Arts and Crafts. It’s a clean campsite and they let us here free. The bathrooms are amazingly clean, and there’s wireless internet, which I’m SHOCKED at to say the least. Just down the road is a diner that was closed when we got here at 6:30 and there’s a Rest Area with plenty of signs that read, “No Tent Camping” and “No Sleeping in the Lobby”. Overall it was a great day for riding, but I’m ready to get out of the arid south and into the scenic, beautiful northern part of the state and into Yellowstone!!

Day 34, Wyoming = wind

2008-07-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Day 34, Saratoga, WY – Rawlins, WY 42 miles (2457 total)

July 14, 2008

Time on bike: 3:05:39

Avg: 14.7

Daily Ascent: 1389 ft (33 ft/mi)

Max: 34 mph

Wyoming = wind. Last night we found and hung out at a local watering hole. No, not a smoky bar, but a hot springs. I’d never been to a hot springs before and MAN were they hot! It was open 24/7 and it also had showers available 24 hours a day, so we had to take advantage of it. We found some others there at the springs. One guy was a left tackle for the University of Wyoming standing 6’ 7” and weighing 310 lbs. They sure grow ‘em big out here. His brother was just a shade smaller than he was, but they were super friendly to talk to. The hot springs were actually too hot. You had to get in and just not move long enough to get used to it and then bury yourself up to your chin and just tolerate the pain until it became comfortable, and eventually it did. On a cool July evening (only in the mountains can a July evening be truly cool) it really hit the spot and we enjoyed talking late into the evening with the folks around there. One family was hauling 18 horses in 2 trailers from California. The horses were cutting horses and as Mark described them to me, they single out a calf from the herd of cows and the horse, with the rider not touching the reigns, has to keep the calf from getting back to the herd. Interesting, eh?

We found a super sweet spot to camp for the night, in town. We were supposed to camp out by a mosquito infected lake but we worked out a deal with someone in town. It’s so secret, in fact, that I agreed to not even put it on my blog, but just trust me on this, it was sweet!

Mark stayed behind in the morning to get his oil changed on his car but caught up with us a few miles down the road. Apparently the guy in town didn’t know if he could change the oil on a Prius so Mark decided to try Rawlins instead. The winds were very calm and we were doing 20 mph for most of the morning. The only road to Rawlins that was near us and that we were supposed to take was interstate 80, so we hopped on and headed there. We encountered headwinds and big trucks, but fortunately the shoulder was super wide and it didn’t prove to be much trouble, other than the constant noise. The fields surrounding the highway were lined with antelope almost everywhere I looked.

We got into Rawlins and ate lunch preparing to move on to the next town as we eventually approach the Grand Teton Mountains. Pat, however, decided that this was his final biking destination and that he was taking a Greyhound to Salt Lake City and then a train to Nevada where he’s heading to the Burning Man Festival, so we wished him well and promised we’d keep in touch. It’s been good to have him along, especially for something that wasn’t planned. We helped each other out, kept each other company and pushed each other along.

Mark had some business to attend to so we spent the afternoon in Rawlins which turned into the late afternoon which turned into the evening which turned into the night, so we got a hotel room and here we be. While at the library checking out friends websites and blogs, I stumbled onto some shocking news. Katie Reider, folk singer and songwriter from Cincinnati, died this morning after a 2 year battle with a rare tumor which started in her jaw and spread to her sinus, eye socket and in March of this year a spot developed on her esophagus taking away her voice and ability to perform. I read through a blog which was posted to inform her fans of her progress. She had gone from 125 lbs to 85 lbs and she lost her left eye and her face was disfigured from the surgeries. It was shocking to see it all and to process it and take it all in. Even now, as I type this, I’m just at a loss. I had met her only a few times but was inspired by her spunk, talent and music. I was on her site to see if she had any new albums coming out. I knew she was fighting this tumor but I wasn’t ready for what I found. Truly, a light has gone out. Katie, you will be missed.

Day 33, Picture perfect cycling into Wyoming

2008-07-13T19:51:00.001-07:00

Day 33, Walden, CO – Saratoga, WY 68 miles (2415 total)

July 13, 2008

Time on bike: 5:54:21

Avg: 12.3

Daily Ascent: 2754 ft (41 ft/mi)

Max: 47 mph

We tried to beat the cold by starting later (6am) and having breakfast first. Both good choices. It was cool but not cold by the time we started. We had camped at a city park and 2 other cycling groups camped next to us. One was a group of 3. Mark went over to small talk and brag about being 47 and doing this kind of trip, only to discover that 2 of them were in their late 50s and the other guy was 72!

We headed north towards the Wyoming border. Winds at our backs, cruising along at 20mph without a problem! Bluest skies you’ve ever seen without a cloud in sight! And if that wasn’t enough, the most picturesque snow covered mountains were sitting off to our right for the next 15 miles as if God had painted them there himself just for us. I know I say this a lot and I certainly think it more, it was just unbelievably beautiful and one of those mornings that makes you glad to be alive, glad to be on a bicycle and to wonder why you’d ever want to do anything else in life but ride a bike around God’s amazing planet!

We climbed a moderate hill and to our pleasant surprise there was a magnificent downhill beaconing for us to go all out. Mark and I both hit 47mph without really realizing that we had done it. This area and on into Wyoming is desolate to say the least. Still pretty, but void of anything other than cattle.

Up ahead was a lady on a recumbent bicycle. The 4^th we’ve encountered. Unbeknownst to us we were on the state line for Wyoming. Judy, I think her name was, was a solo rider and as nice as could be. She reminded me a great deal of my cousin Dixie. Free spirited and fun to talk to. She warned us of a restaurant in the next town. She said there were 2 and that the one had a rude lady who basically threw her food down on a plate and wasn’t nice to her one bit, though she tried her best to butter her up.

As we cycled on, the wind seemed to pick up and shift. Before we knew it we were peddling into a diagonal cross wind which felt about like a direct head wind. Our speed changed from 20 mph to about 11. We rode through rolling sagebrush and not much else, just waiting to get into town for our lunch.

We finally arrived and found 2 restaurants. Pat was parked at one so we went in, but had a feeling that it was the wrong one. Didn’t take long to find out. I had just plugged my laptop into an outlet when a very plain looking lady approached me and said, “you should ask before you do that.” “Do what? Plug in my laptop?” “Yeah.” “Well then, is… it… ok if I plug in my laptop?” “Yeah, but you should ask next time, k?” Mark shot me a look as if to say, “Sheesh, guess this was the other restaurant.” We went ahead and ate there and tried our darndest to be friendly, but we couldn’t sweeten this lady up one bit. We’ve had problems in these restaurants. It’s as if these small town people don’t want others around. As if they’re just sick of tourists who come to ski and see the mountains and cycle through their towns. Not an ounce of friendliness. And believe me when I say this, Mark can sweeten someone up and even his charms had no effect on her. She was clearly the owner as well and she did work up a storm while she was there getting everything ready, but man, were we ready to get back on the bikes. Pat wanted to stay for some reason, reasoning that the camp site was a good one, but we had only biked 50 miles by that point and that’s a lame amount to stop at.

We wanted to cycle more, we really did, but unfortunately towns are so spread out that if we didn’t stop here after about 68 miles, then the next decent town was 42 miles away. Not happening today, so we’re going to bed down somewhere here tonight. Currently I’m at a laundry mat which has free Wi-Fi. It closes in 15 minutes so I gotta get this done and get to our site. It’s been a good day but I’m tired and ready for bed. This trip is absolutely amazing. 3 states to go after this but it’s good to be in Wyoming and headed for the beautiful country that lay ahead!

Day 32, Frost, ladies and gentlemen... frost!

2008-07-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Day 32, Breckenridge, CO – Walden, CO 122 miles (2347 total)

July 12, 2008

Time on bike: 8:59:41

Avg: 13.3

Daily Ascent: 5248 ft (66 ft/mi)

Max: 41 mph

Downhill is a good thing. Leaving Frisco, CO was certainly that. Downhill! We cycled for about 20 miles in what was almost completely downhill. We learned a bit of a lesson from the other day and got a later start. No more 5am wakeup times in these mountains. We started at 9:30 to avoid the bitter cold. Pat rode with me this time so that Mark could do some snowboard shopping in Breckenridge.

We stopped for lunch in Kremmling, CO which is on US 40 which runs through Greenfield, IN a block from where I used to own a home. Something little like that draws me home and reminds me that this is the United States of America and that we all have a common thread that runs through us, from coast to coast, mountainside to mountainside and ocean to ocean.

We traveled east on US 40 to Hot Sulphur Springs. On the way we passed through Byers Canyon, a gorgeous canyon which had a river running just below us and a train track running along that. It was just incredible and such a change from where we had been biking through. The rocks seemed to just be sitting one on top of each other ready to fall into the river below.

After Hot Sulphur Springs we headed north along 125 towards Willow Creek Pass elevation 9,621 ft. It was the 2^nd time we crossed the Continental Divide.

We headed down hill 6 miles to the next town we were going to stop at, Rand, CO. The map said there was tent camping available. Mark drove ahead and met an 80 year old man there and was greeted with a , “What do you need?” Not exactly a friendly hello. Needless to say, he didn’t want people camping there, only hunters who were staying for a month or so. And Rand only has a Post Office about the size of a storage shed if that gives you any indication of how big of a town, or should I say ghost town, it is. Well, once we got there, Pat didn’t want to go any further. He wanted to ‘stealth camp’ behind some buildings. Mark, on the other hand, feels like these back woods mountain folk may not be the most understanding. His feeling is that since towns are spread so far apart and there aren’t exactly sheriff around, the townsfolk may take the law into their own hands at times and it’s best to just move on. So, Mark and Pat traded and Pat drove ahead as Mark and I biked along. I had already gone 100 miles by that point and it was 7pm, so I was ready to be done, but you gotta do what you gotta do, so we pushed on 22 miles to Walden.

We rode through a valley, leaving the big mountains behind us. Let me just say that Colorado hasn’t been the friendliest of states. In fact, it’s pretty clear that they don’t like bicyclists in general. Servers are blatantly short with you at restaurants and we’ve met people who’ve told us that cyclists don’t deserve to be on the roads because they haven’t paid state taxes to build the roads. Mark and I were passed by 24 vehicles on our way to Walden. Mark said he very intentionally waved to all 24 of them and not a single one waved back…

About 10 miles from Walden the sun ducked behind the mountains. And then it got cold. Really cold, really quick. I did have my cycling sleeves on to keep my arms warm, but other than that, I was just cold and ready to get to town. I swear I saw snow on the side of the road, but I may have been hallucinating. I couldn’t get to town fast enough. I just wanted a warm meal. 10 miles is about an hour of cycling and I was past my 7pm stop time and my body and my mind knew it. I thought Walden would never come, but come it did. Pat said he wasn’t sure if we would make it by the time the restaurants closed which was 9pm so he bought cold cuts. Despite the nice gesture, Mark and I wanted hot food, so we looked for a restaurant.

The roads were closed off on main street and they were having, what appeared to be some sort of festival. Really it was about 10 people dancing in the streets, but I think that was the festival. The town’s only about 700 people strong. The restaurant we stopped at was nice. Log cabin like with really friendly, young girls working there. Mark and I gobbled down our food and hot chocolate, but still couldn’t get warm. We ate our meal while Pat headed to the city park to set up his tent. Mark and I joked about getting a motel and leaving him out to camp but then showing up early the next morning to act like we had camped there! We left the restaurant, looking for a motel to stay in, but they were all occupied (they actually had 3 motels). So we headed to the city park to set up our tents. It got so cold in the night that Mark gave up camping and slept in his car. My sleeping bag is rated for 25 degrees F so I was ok, but it was super cold!! I awoke the next morning to FROST on the ground!! FROST! It’s JULY for crying out loud and it’s not like we’re in Canada, but we are up 8,500 feet.

Day 31, Brrrrrrr Cold!

2008-07-12T06:13:00.001-07:00

Day 31, Guffey, CO – Breckenridge, CO 68 miles (2225 total)

July 11, 2008

Time on bike: 6:30:40

Avg: 10.5

Daily Ascent: 4476 ft (66 ft/mi)

Max: 36.5 mph

Brrrrrrrrr. It’s COLD in the Rockies in the morning!! The temperature when we woke up at 5am were in the upper 30s! I put on my long tights for the first time along with my long sleeve riding jersey as well as my fleece. All I wanted to do was to jump on my bike and climb the biggest hill around to get my body temperature up. Normally climbing isn’t a pleasant thing, but in this case it would be well welcomed.

We had camped the night before in Guffey in the yard of a restaurant that was out of business and for sale. It looked more like a big house than a restaurant. Maybe a bed and breakfast. Pat said that ¾ of the town was for sale and he wasn’t far off. After listening to the morning wise-cracks that Mark and Pat make every morning about how big of a tent Mark is sleeping in (it’s my tent and it’s a 3 man tent), which take place every morning without avail, Mark and I finally set out at around 6am. I always like to coast downhill into camp or the city the night before. It’s just a great way to end a long cycling day. Yesterday, however, we cycled up a mile to get into Guffey, which isn’t such a big deal until you have to go downhill with the brisk, cold morning winds for that same mile. It made for a VERY cold start to say the least.

About 5 miles into our ride we came across a couple of bikers off the side of the road. Mark was ahead of me and pulled over. It was a couple we had heard about before but hadn’t yet met. A man and his 12 year old son. They were shedding layers of clothing as the temperature was going up. John and Jonathan were from Virginia Beech. John, the father, had done a cross country bike trip years ago and promised Jonathan that when he was old enough they’d do it together. Apparently 12 is old enough. It must be. They started June 13^th, 2 day after I began, and they also began from Yorktown, VA, same as me. Jonathan seemed little even for a 12 year old. How cool for a father to take his son on such an epic adventure. John explained how he had just arrived at a new engineering job and wasn’t sure what they’d say when he told them that this trip had been planned for some time and it was essential that he and his son do this, but to his surprise they were thrilled about it and told him he’d still have a job waiting when he returned. Jonathan said the idea came to him one day to ask if he could do the bike trip and that he also wants to hike the Appalachian Trail some day. The other 2 members of the family, mom and their 10 year old daughter, track them in their car and meet them in the towns up ahead with a warm meal cooking. They were very cool.

We stopped and had breakfast in a tiny mountain town. The views from every side were gorgeous! Colorado has been a different experience in regards to meeting people here. The people we’ve met, though generally friendly when they warm up to us, are cautious at first. As if they just see so many tourists that we’re just more of the same and they kind of wish that we’d just do our thing and move on.

For lunch we ate at Alma, CO which was just about 8 miles from Hoosier Pass, the highest point in elevation (11,542 ft) along the entire Transamerica Trail. Going inot Alma was weird. The town looked as if it were down hill, but checking the altimeter on my GPS as well as consulting my legs, we were actually going up hill. The headwinds didn’t help much, but it was the strangest optical illusion. We ate lunch at “The Highest Saloon in America” which was right across the street from “The highest boutique in America”. I kind of got the feeling that at 10,578 feet, Alma might be the highest town in America. Wikipedia confirmed that it was the highest developed municipality in the US.

Up ahead lay Hoosier Pass. Mark, Pat and I decided to climb it together and then Pat would cycle back down to pick up Mark’s car and meet us in Breckenridge. We cycled across some rolling hills before we hit the final climb, a 4 mile climb to the top. The Rockies to this point haven’t been nearly as steep or as treacherous as the Appalachians. The 4 mile ascent took us about an hour, moving at around 5mph. We climbed and climbed. The beauty of slowly climbing mountains is that it gives you a chance to enjoy the scenery. You have to find some positive about it. The surrounding mountains had patches of snow and were covered up to a point with pine trees. The surrounding scenery was so incredible. Traffic was buzzing by us and there were a fair share of trucks and RVs. The climb was tough, but enjoyable. We reached Hoosier Pass with great joy and much whooping! We posed for our pictures, hoisting our bikes high above our heads in triumph. And then we descended for the next 8 miles into Breckenridge, CO, a great little ski town with a ton of shops and restaurants.

In Breckenridge I met up with my good friend Shelly and her boyfriend Mike. Shelly and I met in Uganda where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer and she was doing a summer internship with Africare. Shelly, myself and Jacob (another PCV in the town), were like peas in a pod for those 3 months. Shelly became an Honorary PCV and we have a number of great stories that we share from our experiences in Africa. We hit up an Irish Pub for supper and talked late into the evening. Shelly has more knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm for developmental work regarding HIV/AIDS in Africa than anyone I’ve ever met. We had several great laughs and stories.

Day 30, Definately not in Kansas anymore!

2008-07-10T20:25:00.001-07:00

Day 30, Pueblo, CO – Guffey, CO 72 miles (2157 total)

Time on bike: 6:31:23

Avg: 11.1

Daily Ascent: 5374 ft (75 ft/mi)

Max: 42 mph

Not in Kansas any more! The hills have begun! Though they’re not as steep as they were in Virginia.

We got off to a bit of a late start this morning. Mark and I headed to Canon (pronounced Canyon) City on a relatively flat road. It’s so arid and desert like here and I really wasn’t ready for Colorado to be like that. We had a very wide shoulder to ride on which was good because traffic was buzzing by. We stopped off in Canon City at the Waffle Wagon for lunch. Pat was supposed to meet us half way or along the way but we never saw him. We figured he was updating his blog or sleeping in. We progressed on to Royal Gorge which is a foot bridge which spans over a 1,000 foot gorge. When we went to buy a ticket we were a little sticker shocked to see that it cost $23 to get in… So… we turned around and headed back to our trail. No way were we paying $23 to walk across a bridge.

The mountains started right up. Mark and I climbed as Pat drove Mark’s car to where we would spend the night. Pat parked and cycled back to meet us and bike along with us. You could see the snow covered mountains off in the distance as we cycled along. There were times when we were slowed to 4 mph, but it really wasn’t all that bad. We finally made it into Guffey which is a small town of a hundred people or so. As we talked to the locals we found out that they have an interesting 4^th of July celebration that goes on here. They do something called the Chicken Poop where they take a checker board and put a coin to mark where they think a chicken will poop on the checker board and if they’re right they win. They also have a “Mailbox Chicken” contest where the put a chicken in a velvet covered mailbox and a grade school kid takes a plunger and pushes the chicken out of one end of the mailbox (it’s open on both ends) and whichever chicken/kid combo goes the farthest, wins. This is real American entertainment at it’s best, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you! Ah, the tales from the road!

Day 29, "Good times!"

2008-07-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Day 29, Boone, CO – Pueblo, CO 21 miles (2085 total)

Time on bike: 1:55:00

Avg: 11.7

Daily Ascent: 439 ft (21 ft/mi)

Max: 26 mph

Pueblo, CO, 81009. An easy 21 miles into Pueblo today for a rest day plus a chance to hit up the Great Divide bicycle shop for any maintenance and adjustments, laundry and haircuts for all. We arrived in town around 9am. Pueblo is on the edge of the Colorado Rockies with the mountains looming in the background. I met up with 2 good friends whom I hadn’t seen in a long time: Andrew Stevens and Carol Saunders. Andrew and I went out for ice cream and talked about families, life and God. Carol brought her friend James with her and we reminisced about wearing wigs to Oasis at Purdue at 3am and destroying PMO video tapes! “Ah, good times!”

Day 28, 174 miles in one day??? That's INSANE!!

2008-07-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

Day 28, Leoti, KS – Boone, CO 174 miles (2064 total)

Time on bike: 10:39:20

Avg: 15.9

Daily Ascent: 2655 ft (15 ft/mi)

Max: 28.5 mph

The day started out like any other day with a few minor exceptions. There were 5 of us in a hotel room rather than 2. Mark and I started biking and we went 22 miles before breakfast. We stopped and got some HUGE cinnamon rolls to go along with our eggs, toast and hashbrowns. While there we met another couple of cyclists, but these weren’t your run of the mill cyclists. Jerry had been a contestant on Biggest Loser. We had heard about him for some time now that he was up ahead of us. He was older than I anticipated, in his 50s I’d say. And his wife, Lynn, was cycling along with him. They were extremely friendly and outgoing, and once I found out they had been in Paraguay in the Peace Corps we had a bunch to talk about. It was good to have them to talk to because when we first walked into that restaurant , even though there were 8 customers having breakfast, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. No radio, no TV, no nothing. Also, we had crossed into US Mountain Time even though we were still in western Kansas, so we were there at 6:30 though our watches said 7:30.

Mark and I set out again to Sheridan Lake, 30 miles up the road. We arrived at around 10:30, too early for breakfast so we had a quick snack and pushed on ahead. At the time we were cycling with 3 other groups, though at different paces. There was a Belgian couple, a couple who were just out of college and the Biggest Loser couple, all GREAT people that we enjoyed chatting with.

The time seems to fly by when Mark and I cycle together. Mark is such a great story teller and has such a wealth of knowledge about a number of things. He has family out here in Kansas and knows a good deal about farming, so when we go into a restaurant or convenience store I practically have to pull him out the door because he’s talking wheat farming with the locals. It’s really a great education because he knows what he’s talking about and asks great questions, both about farming and just about life in general.

We peddled on to Eads where we stopped for lunch. By that point we had gone around 80 miles before lunch! I knew it was going to be a good day but I had no idea really what we were in store for. Pat was driving Mark’s car and we would meet up with him at every town. After a great lunch of ham, scalloped potatoes, peas, fruit and dessert Mark and I headed west for our final stint together. We rode 20 miles through more wheat fields. The area we cycled was so flat. Mark pointed out that the farmers in this area don’t live on their farms and that’s why you only see farms and don’t see houses, which is true. We stopped at a little town and I got a quick snack of Grandma’s Cookies and a Gatorade and then Pat and I continued on. Pat wanted to get some miles on his bike and Mark wanted to rest his bottom which had become sore after doing 100 miles.

Pat and I entered what seemed to be another climate all together. All of a sudden the crops stopped and we were cycling through what looked like desert. If you’ve never been through Colorado, if the land in the east isn’t irrigated then they can’t grow crops here. It’s just too dry and arid. Pat and I did 30 miles at a blistering 18.5 mph pace due in part to his fresh legs and the wind at our back. We stopped for a snack and then did another 20 miles to Olney Springs. We planned to stop there but cycling was so much fun and so flat and so effortless that we chose to just keep going until dark, so we told Mark where to meet us and we pushed out again, headed for Boone.

Mark arrived ahead of us and had us a camping spot picked out right in front of the volunteer firehouse. He had already met all of the volunteer firemen and was telling us how they must be the nicest volunteer fire fighters he’s ever met in his life. After all that cycling for all of us, needless to say, we were beat. So we put up the tents in the midst of the swarming mosquitoes and crawled inside. As I type this I think those 2 are both out in a very deep slumber.

We encountered several cyclists today. Somewhere around 25 if my count is correct. Two of which were riding recumbent bikes like mine. Three cyclists were riding solo. One pair was a group of girls. One was a father and his 12 year old son. The mother and 10 year old daughter were following in a car. All were friendly and we stopped and spoke with nearly all of them.

We’re close to Pueblo, CO which is the half way point on my trip. I can see the mountains off in the distance. No more flat land. No more 100+ mile days that I can see, but the mountains are beautiful from what I’m told and I’m excited about seeing them for the first time.

Day 27, Strong headwinds and a new rider

2008-07-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Day 27, Ness City, KS – Leoti, KS 81 miles (2064 total)

Time on bike: 7:16:55

Avg: 11.1

Daily Ascent: 2257 ft (28 ft/mi)

Max: 22.5 mph

“Brian? Is it almost 5 am yet?” “…mmmggghhh… close… enough,” I murmured as I tried to pry my eyelids open. Pat and I wanted an early start to beat the heat and the wind. But more importantly, we both wanted to be cleared out of camp and on the road before any of our fellow riders had even stirred. We hit the road at 5:30 just as the sun was painting a glimmer of light in the sky. I knew I was in a bit of trouble when, just as we were to begin, I noticed that my back tire was totally flat. Pat had spent the evening before picking out thorns that he had run over the previous day. So I put some air in the tire and hoped for the best.

The winds were relatively calm for the morning ride but about an hour later it was proving to be a day of head winds. In case you’re new to cycling, head winds are a bad thing. We averaged about 9 mph as we cycled through flat, golden fields of freshly harvested wheat. Upon reaching our morning break stop I decided to buy some fix-a-flat and put it in my tires as well as change my front tire and tube to my Kevlar lined tire, just in case. I hadn’t changed my front tire since the inception of the trip and I figured that it was time to do so.

So we left the town of Dighton and headed west on a road that had neither a bend nor crook in the road. Just straight west and flat with a very slight incline. Ten minutes out of town my front tire made a hiss and let out air. We pulled off. There were no shade trees, fences or anything around. Just grass. I tried putting a cheap-o Wal-Mart tire patch which was essentially just a sticker to put on the hole. I put on two. Didn’t do jack. Had to change the tube.

We pulled into the next town after cycling about 55 miles for the morning and I had my first Buffalo Burger. I asked the waitress if it was buffalo meat and she looked at me as if I had just arrived from Mars, “Of course.”

While there Mark Cain caught up with us. He’s going to bike with me for the next several days. We unloaded his bike and put Pat’s bike and all our gear in Mark’s car and Mark and I headed west. The plan is for 2 of us to bike and 1 person to drive up ahead. It'll certainly make our load lighter. About 10 minutes out of town it started to sprinkle. You could see the rain up ahead. In fact, you could see where it was raining all around. It was raining up ahead, off to the right and way off up ahead to the left, but it looked like we could skirt through and not get very wet. Clearly I don’t know how the weather works here in Kansas. The clouds seemed to just gather up and open the flood gates because it started to come down in buckets. “Hey! Over here! Come on in,” someone yelled from a gas extracting plant. I yelled at Mark that maybe we should pull in. We wanted to just ride through the rain but it looked like it had the potential to get nasty especially considering the heat and humidity.

We pulled in and the guys were so nice. We talked about what they did there and how they extracted natural gas, butane and helium from the raw stuff that was brought in. It was really interesting. They offered us free cookies and Cokes and were very interested in where we had come from. We waited there for about 90 minutes and watched the Doppler radar on their computer. It looked like a pocket had opened up to where we could reach the next town so Mark and I headed out. Pat was to meet us up ahead.

We started out OK but 15 minutes in the rains returned. It poured on us for about 10 minutes. “Little bitty stingy rain” as Forest Gump put it. But it let up and wasn’t too bad after we were soaken wet. We stopped at the Hi-Plains Motel and got a room. We then went to “Charlie’s Mexican Restaurant” next door where we ran into Colin and Halley who had come in after us. They said they were camping in the city park and we insisted that they share a room with us. If nothing else a hot shower had to be too enticing to pass up, so there are 5 of us in here with our bikes. We’ll make it work somehow. Tomorrow we’ll be in Colorado! Wa-hoo!

Day 26, Flat and HOT!

2008-07-06T19:07:00.001-07:00

Day 26, Larned, KS – Ness City, KS 66 miles (1983 total)

Time on bike: 6:45:08

Avg: 11.6

Daily Ascent: 1571 ft (24 ft/mi)

Max: 34 mph

Still flat, but now also HOT! I was excited about what lay ahead. Pat and I were going to cross into Rush County today. I’m from Rush County. Rush County Indiana, that is, but still it felt ‘homey’ to me. I was also excited because once we got onto route 96 we’d be on it for the next several days until we reached Pueblo, CO. No more getting out the map searching for these little out of the way roads and intersections. One road. One way. West.

Just outside of Larned we encountered Larned Fort. An old army fort built in 1868 to support the Sante Fe Trail, a wagon trail which ran from Canada to Mexico and was popular before railroad became the ‘in thing’. Just as we arrived they were hoisting a HUGE American flag and they were dressed in clothes reflecting the time period. “Can you move your bike? It can’t lean against that pole. Actually, it can’t be on the grounds at all because it’s not authentic to the period.” Said the worker there wearing Nike shoes and sporting a walkie-talkie clipped to his belt. “Sure.”

What began as a great, sunny cycling morning, soon turned sour as Pat noticed a flat tire. And it wasn’t just a flat tire. He had over 40 thorns in his tire. “Goad-head thorns” he called them which he picked up while cycling across the grounds at the fort. He got a flat on his rear tire and on both trailer tires. As we sat and fixed the tires we were passed first by a Belgian couple and then by a French Couple in their 60s. They asked if we were ok and we said that we were. Pat had trouble with his tires all day though. We replaced all the tubes (we figured that patching several holes wasn’t worth the trouble) and he still managed to get flats because we hadn’t removed all the thorns.

We reached Rush County (Wa-hoo!) and stopped at Rush Center, KS. Nothing was open because it was Sunday. It looked like a town but really it was “just an intersection” as one Kansan put it. We stopped though and hit the Pepsi vending machines. We met up with the French couple who were headed north. We also encountered a couple from Michigan who were fresh out of college in Toronto and then shortly there after an East Bound couple of older gentlemen came along and we all sat and talked up a storm about what lay ahead and what we had just passed through. It was the biggest meeting of cyclists I had been a part of and it was like talking to family in some way. We shared good restaurants and good places to sleep, swim and shower. We told them about Seward and “Mom’s Bar and Grill”. Also while we were there a Native Rushtukian (gotta be from Rushville to get that one) came by to fill up with fuel. He had a thick beard and was wearing overalls and a John Deere hat (sounds also like Rushville). He told us how Rush Center had once been the county seat and then courthouse records were stolen and the seat was moved to La Crosse, then stolen back to Rush Center, then back to La Crosse. Then gunshots were fired and the county seat remained at La Crosse. He also said that he was the 5^th generation to live on his family farm and that his 2 boys were the 6^th generation of his family to be there.

We continued on through the heat. It got up to 100 we were told yesterday and the temperature read 94 when we finally hit the town of Ness City by 4pm. We ate a big spaghetti lunch and put up our tents in the city park because it’s free there. Then I circled the town looking for a pay phone because I didn’t get cell reception here. After trying 3 phones and not getting a dial tone I found a hotel and went inside. The woman at the counter wasn’t at the counter. She was in one of the rooms watching TV, but she directed me to the pay phone which was working. I then noticed an indoor swimming pool and asked if we could pay something and take a swim. “You don’t have to pay anything,” she said. “Go ahead.”

“Well, how about a shower?” I asked.

“No, we can’t do that,” she said.

“Could we just use one of the rooms. Like I said, we’d be more than happy to pay,” I offered.

“Well, ok.” She sheepishly but without hesitation replied, as if she felt sorry that we had been out in the heat of the day riding our bicycles. I excitedly headed back to our camp site and got Pat and we swam, showered and checked our internet late into the evening! It was just one more oasis that we had stumbled onto during our adventure. We wanted to get the lady a $10 gift card from the gas station across the street, but they didn’t sell gas cards, so we just gave her $10. She didn’t want to accept it at first, but I insisted. The shower alone was worth it, not to mention the internet and pool!

Tomorrow I’m supposed to meet up with Mark Cain who was in St Louis this afternoon when I called him. We’ll be able to load up most of our gear in his car and have one of us drive along which will be a HUGE help. We’ll see how that all goes!

Day 25, Good Idea, Bad Idea

2008-07-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

Day 25, Hutchinson, KS – Larned, KS 75 miles (1917 total)

Time on bike: 6:45:08

Avg: 11.4

Daily Ascent: 1371 ft (18 ft/mi)

Max: 24.5 mph

It’s time for another Good Idea, Bad Idea. Good Idea: camping in a bigger city to watch fireworks on July 4^th. Bad Idea: camping in a bigger city on July 4^th because EVERYONE lights off their fireworks until the wee hours of the morning!!

We left the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson around 6:30am and headed to Burger King for breakfast and Wi-Fi. There was a gentle breeze from south by south east. We soon found ourselves on a very lonely stretch of highway biking through the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. There was nary a house to be found, not to mention a convenience store. Pat and I stopped for our 10:30 break among a rare patch of shade trees along the road. As we cycled we passed the normal scenes of Kansas: wheat fields, corn fields, bean fields, oil pumps and cows. I don’t mind boring drives, as long we’re not cycling into head winds. The winds today were cross winds, which made the trip tolerable. The temperatures were into the 90s today and shade trees were out of the questions.

At 11:30 I noticed on my GPS that there was a symbol for a restaurant some 10 miles ahead. We had been told by a number of people that there was nothing for 50+ miles along our route. We turned off our road and peddled a mile towards the town of Seward. We were fairly certain that there would be something there. There was a once nicely painted sign directing people towards Seward and a ‘reduced speed ahead’ sign seemed to indicate a town where children might be at play. Surely there would be a convenience store or restaurant. We came around the turn and our paved road turned into a dirt/sand road. I tried to continue but my bike does terrible on dirt, gravel, and especially sand. To make matters worse I semi-wrecked the bike and bloodied up my knee. Pat went on ahead to see if there were any life forms. He returned to tell me that any restaurants that had been there had closed 20 years ago. The town looked to be decent sized with maybe 150 people living there, but all the roads in town were dirt/sand roads. We pulled the bikes over under some trees . Pat cycled over to some large grain bins to see if they had some water. He met a man there who directed him to “Mom’s Bar and Diner” down the street. Intrigued and hungry we set out for this supposed oasis. Upon arriving we found a nice little bar and restaurant with about ½ the town inside eating lunch. We ordered and were served large and delicious portions of food (I had the double cheeseburger) and it was all reasonably priced. Not only that they had wireless internet as well! The last part shocked me the most, but why not? We finished our meals and lingered another hour not wanting to go back into the scorching sun.

I’ve discovered that in land this flat, cars don’t disappear over the horizon. They just keep going until they are so small you can’t see them anymore.

I love the feeling of being totally self sufficient. I can be in the middle of nowhere and I have no worries. If I get a flat or have a minor mechanical problem I have my tools and equipment and can manage. I can’t run out of gas or something equivalent. I have water and food and a tent. I feel ready to conquer any challenge thrown my way.

We pulled into Larned to see that the temperature was 98 degrees! I wanted to keep going for another 2 hours but after looking at the map (and Pat) and seeing barren nothingness for the next 35 miles, I figured that this was the best place to stop for the night. So we swam in the city pool (for free, cause we’re cross-country cyclists) and a good meal we’re camping in the city park. Free camping is always good. The prime free camp spots include: water, electricity, restrooms and a good shade tree. Showers are also greatly appreciated but not necessary.

My friend Mark Cain is loading his bike on his Prius (sp) and driving out to meet up and cycle with us for a week or more. It’ll be great to have him along. I’ll have to whip him into shape to get him ready for some 100 mile days. We’ve discussed Pat and Mark trading off and driving his car up ahead to the next rest stops and carrying all of our gear. That would prevent him from having to get back to his car, plus we wouldn’t have to haul as much stuff. We’ll see what becomes of that.

OK, I’m outside now and the gnats are eating me alive. Gotta turn in and get some shut eye!

Day 24, Independence Day

2008-07-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

Day 24, Newton, KS – Hutchinson, KS 38 miles (1842 total)

Time on bike: 3:28:17

Avg: 12.8

Daily Ascent: 686 ft (18 ft/mi)

Max: 20.5 mph

Independence Day. Today is a national holiday. So, befitting the occasion, we took a holiday from biking. We decided that we wanted to spend July 4^th in a city that was celebrating the occasion, so we biked a bit off the Transamerica Trail to Hutchinson, KS, population around 40,000 where we are camped at the state fairgrounds. It was a hot day with the temperatures hovering in the low 90s. We didn’t decide to break off our trip until we had biked some distance, in part because we couldn’t find any convenience stores or restaurants open in these little towns. Our decision was pretty much made for us. In the first 30 miles we had climbed just over 350 feet. Around 12 ft per mile. Quite a change from the 100+ ft per mile we were doing in Missouri. Man, I love Kansas!

Tonight we’ll get rested up, watch the fireworks and set off early tomorrow morning.

Day 23, Wide open spaces

2008-07-03T21:05:00.001-07:00

Day 23, Toronto, KS – Newton, KS 96 miles (1804 total)

Time on bike: 7:53:07

Avg: 12.4 mph

Daily Ascent: 2853 ft (30 ft/mile)

Max: 26 mph

I didn’t want to open my eyes. The alarm clock went off at 5am and I lay there thinking, “Is this worth it? Do I really want to ride a bicycle across the US? What is all this for?” It was the first time that doubt crept in. Not serious doubt, mind you, but doubt. Fueled by the head winds of yesterday, I’m sure. But I did roll out of bed eventually and packed up my stuff and got on the bike.

We stopped off in Toronto for biscuits and gravy breakfast. This was the only place open in town and they had quite a variety of groceries for only having groceries on 1 wall. Seems like everyone from town came in for breakfast and Pat and I had a nice time chatting with the townsfolk of Toronto before we set off.

Much to our surprise, the winds had shifted. Yesterday they were coming out of the south, so they were cross winds as we pushed west but head winds as we turned north, which we did a few times yesterday. Today, however, the winds were from the northeast. They were actually at our backs and pushed us along as we traveled west. It was “the perfect day” in many regards because in addition to the fantastic winds we also had temperatures in the lower 70s.

I typically ride ahead of Pat. Sometimes I’m over a mile ahead. It may sound surprising that we don’t travel together at all times, but it’s good to get some separation to take it all in sometimes. I don’t ever get so far ahead that I can’t see him in my rearview mirror.

My impression of Kansas so far includes flat, open grasslands with occasional cows and corn. Today we biked through a very remote area. There wasn’t a building around for miles. It was just completely wide open. A few trees dotted the landscape and barren fields surrounded me. The cycling was mind numbingly boring, but efficient with the wind at my back. It dawned on me that I was in the Great Wide Open, but with a catch. There were barbed wire fences lining the road at all times. The Great Wide Open wasn’t as open as I thought it would be. It felt confining. Restricting. It was as if someone was saying, “I own this land and you’re not welcome on it.” The barbed wire served as a not so subtle message to me. It’s wide open, but… it’s not. It made me think about life, really. How it seems wide open but there is this barbed wire there that prevents it from being really wide open. And barbed wire is an intimidating thing. It’s small but effective. It just got me thinking about myself and how I want to be “wide open” but societal barbed wire prevents me sometimes.

Back to biking… with 40 miles to go from where we wanted to finish, we stopped at a convenience store. Not just a convenience store, but the only one around for at least 20 miles and definitely the last one for the next 40 for us. As I was looking for someplace to plug in my iPod, I went to go behind a bench only to step directly on a board with nails protruding through it. My soft, foamy flip flop did little to protect my defenseless foot, so my foot became impaled by a nail. I hate neglect. Why were boards with nails left outside a storefront?? Regardless, I now have a new piercing on the bottom of my foot. Hopefully it won’t affect my ability to get in 100 miles a day.

Upon arriving to Newton, we decided it was time for a hotel, so we stopped at the first mom-and-pop joint we found and for $40 a night we’ve got a room and free wireless internet. Let me just say, on the eve of July 4^th… I love this country!

Day 22, Flat as a fritter

2008-07-03T20:23:00.001-07:00

Day 22, Pittsburg, KS – Toronto, KS 103 miles (1708 total)

Time on bike: 8:54:53

Avg: 11.8 mph

Daily Ascent: 3209 ft (31 ft/mile)

Max: 38.5 mph

God Bless Kansas! Pat and I started our day early. On the bikes at 5 am, early. We wanted to make up for our down day yesterday with the bike tune-ups. The beginning of the ride was like none other to date. We headed north and without any effort we were cruising along at 20mph with a brisk wind at our backs. We were sure that we were going to get 120 miles plus today. That excitement was short lived as we turned West and that tail wind became a cross wind which feels almost identical to a headwind. My bike is low to the ground and probably 30% more wind resistant than Pat’s who sits high on his mountain bike. I was easily able to go 2-3 mph faster than him.

Everything I had read about Kansas said that it’s flat and boring. Pat said that he’d rather be climbing hills than face the wind. Me, I’d rather face the wind than the hills, and not because my bike is more efficient. I feel like I go at a steady pace against the wind, even if it’s only 10-11 mph. It’s better than 4mph up hills. Anyway, Kansas is sparsely populated. At least where we are. We cycle through fields of wheat and corn. There are plenty of cows and horses along the route as well. A few trees dot the landscape and there are a few hills, but nothing too tough.

People still seemed shocked when I tell them I’m going to Oregon. Pat and I talk about the freedom that we have to make such a trip. We talk about how nice it is to not be financially weighted down with credit card bills and jobs that won’t enable us to make this trip. I ride ahead of Pat and spend a lot of time biking alone. I still listen to my podcasts, but I also think a lot. I think about friends and wonder how they’re getting along. I think about how different I must be because of my Peace Corps experience, but I don’t know exactly how I’m different. I think about how fortunate and blessed I am to be able to make this journey, both physically and financially. I figure I’ll have spent around $600-$800 on the trip itself, minus the equipment, when it’s all said and done with.

We’re at a camp site for the night. Lake Toronto. I wanted to go swimming but the lake is up 22 ft, so that’s out. I settled for a nice, hot shower. I’m sure to sleep well tonight.

Day 21, Bike Tuneup - No Riding

2008-07-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

Day 21 – Bike Tuneup

No biking today. Pat and I slept in a bit and were preparing to go out but after some discussion and some careful map review, we decided that Pittsburg, KS would be our last chance to tune up our bikes for some time. For the next 700 miles it would turn out. The next bike shop we would hit would be in Pueblo, CO, 700 miles down the road. Looks like we made the right decisions. Neither of our bikes were in bad shape, but it was good to get the brakes adjusted and the cables lubed .

We spent the day at the Tailwinds Cycling bike shop with the owner, Roger. Roger had 2 couches set up in a corner of the shop for bikers “and for my kids” with a TV, X Box, and a computer. He also had Wi-Fi that we used. Pat and I used the day to get some laundry done and to swim at the “Aquatic Center” where we used every amenity the pool had to offer: curly slide, diving boards, kiddie slide, and the lazy tubing river. While at the laundry mat we encountered an interesting fellow. Pat was noticing that there was a funny metal strip on the edge of the counter where you dump your clothes to sort your laundry. The metal strip was on all of the counters. Pat asked an elderly gentleman who was passing by what the strip was for. The man, who had a hooked nose, white, wavy hair and wasn’t wearing his dentures and looked as if he had escaped from the nursing home, looked at us and replied, “I blame it on President Bush. I blame everything on him.” He was a very animated, ornery, little old man. He then went on the explain how he used to be for Hillary but now he’s for Obama and he’s changed the signs in his yard accordingly.

Pat and I finished the day off with some Italian food and got to bed early in order to get a jump start on the day tomorrow. Our good intentions of getting a good nights rest were well intentioned, however, what we hadn’t counted on were the plethora of neighbors near the city park where we set up camp who were anxious to test a sample of their fireworks. The booms and bangs went on until well past midnight.

Day 20, Kansas, sweet Kansas!

2008-07-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

Day 20, Fair Grove, MO – Pittsburg, KS 97 miles (1605 total)

Time on bike: 10:02:18

Avg: 11.1 mph

Daily Ascent: 5403 ft (56 ft/mile)

Max: 37.5 mph

Kansas, sweet Kansas! Pat and I have now had 2 back to back century rides (today we finished with 111 total after riding around Pittsburg). The morning dew was heavy, so the tent was packed away wet. But, the sun was shining and the day was young. We began by cycling through Walnut Grove and then Ash Grove. In Ash Grove we were able to pick up a stray Wi-Fi signal, so we checked our email and updated our blogs. We wanted to reach Pittsburg for a couple of reasons. First, because it was a new state, and 2^nd because it would mean back to back 100 mile rides. The hills continued to pester us in the first 50 miles. We were climbing around 85 ft per mile. At one point we passed an old rock quarry which was filled with water and just off the side of the road. The water was blue and looked too enticing for 2 sweaty cyclists to pass up, so Pat and I with the same mindset, circled back, parked our bikes next to the gate and scaled the fence to get in. The water was unbelievably refreshing! We swam and splashed around without a care in the world. It was a classic moment which both refreshed us and recharged our batteries.

The day was nice. 80 degree weather with a calm breeze, but the hills slowed us down. It stinks to climb hills at 4 mph all day. It makes you feel like you’re not going anywhere. Fortunately, just before we hit Golden City, MO, the land became as smooth as silk. I got so jazzed that I pushed ahead and averaged 17mph to the next town, leaving Pat in my trail of dust. I couldn’t help it. I had waited forever to get to this moment. I felt like a race horse who was in his first race. It was an incredible feeling and though I did feel bad for leaving Pat behind I just couldn’t help myself.

I think about a number of things while I cycle. I think about how fortunate I am to be able to do this trip. I think about my friends and family. I think about the fact that I’m crossing this great country on a bicycle and how cool that really is to do. I think about how every small town is just about the same as every other small town and where if I asked anyone what they thought of their town they’d say about the same thing, that it stunk and it was boring. Let me just say that the grass isn’t really greener on the other side of the fence. It’s the same grass. Really, it’s the people that make a town. If the people are friendly in a town it makes it an unforgettable place. I think about my future, and where it’s headed (which is another great unknown, but in a good way). I think a lot about running marathons and how this trip is like that, slow and steady.

Motorists are generally good to me on the road. Some pass slowly, some fast. Some wait behind me for several minutes before passing around turns and on hills. I don’t mind if people pass me if they are driving fast so long as they do it far away from me. And I don’t mind if they pass me closely, so long as they do it slowly. But occasionally someone will pass fairly closely and quickly and that makes me nervous. I don’t know why they do it. Often it’s someone older who seems to be concerned about staying in their own lane.

Well, it’s great to be in a new state! Supper tonight was at a Mexican restaurant. Pittsburg is a college town, so there’s a bit of a buzz about it. It has some life to it. We’re staying in a city park tonight near a couple of baseball diamonds. Everyone says that Kansas is boring as far as cycling through it, but if it’s as flat as it has started out to be… I won’t mind boring one bit!

Day 19, The heart of Missouri

2008-06-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

Day 19, Summersville, MO – Fair Grove, MO 101 miles (1508 total)

Time on bike: 09:42:02

Avg: 10.7 mph

Daily Ascent: 7081 ft (70 ft/mile)

Max: 41 mph

Pat and I began the day early to make up for our lost time due to rain the day before. We began at 6 and by 6:30 we met Steve heading East Bound and stopped to talk. Steve was from Oregon. We chatted with Steve for a while, discussing the terrain and other cyclists we had seen along the way. Then we pressed on through the towns of Houston and Hartville. There’s not much between towns here so it’s important to stop at each and “re-fuel”. I saw an armadillo (road kill) just outside of Houston. That was weird. Pat gets chocolate milk at EVERY stop we make! He swears by the stuff. It was a good day for cycling, weather wise. Cooler from the rain the day before, and sunny. But it was also windy and we did our fair share of climbing. The hills of south/central Missouri are rolling and not very steep, but they are long. You find that you’ve climbed a lot more than you expected by the end of the day. I’ve also discovered that the store that I’ve seen the most along the whole route has been Dollar General. So many of these small towns have one. More than any other store. Sub-way might be second.

We met Rudy just as we were about to finish for the day. He was a Floridan who had done the route 2 years ago but had skipped over Missouri and wanted to finish it, so here he was. Generally cyclists stop and talk to each other, but not always. You find that some cyclists, if they’re flying down hill especially, don’t want to give up their downhill momentum, so they apologize and keep going. That’s understandable.

Pat and I got our ‘hundred’ in, which was what we wanted. We’re camped out in town along the highway near a mill in a city park. I asked a volunteer fireman and this was where he recommended.

The sun is setting and I’m tired. I’m ready for bed. It’s 6 days until July 4 so I’m hearing fireworks around me. I hope they subside soon. We should be into Kansas by Tuesday morning. I’m looking forward to reaching my 5^th state.

Day 18, Rain Delay

2008-06-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Day 18, Owl’s Bend, MO – Summersville, MO 32 miles (1407 total)

Time on bike: 03:50:20

Avg: 8.9 mph

Daily Ascent: 3512 ft (110 ft/mile)

Max: 43 mph

Rain Delay. There was a bad storm that swept through Missouri last night. A lot of wind and lightening. Pat and I were camping. Fortunately we didn’t get too wet and our tents held up against the storm. It rained into the morning, though, so we didn’t get started until 8:30. Breakfast was at a little spot in Ellington. Breakfast buffet was $8.99. Too steep for us, however… the couple who had left before us left 5 pieces of bacon, a sausage patty and 2 silver dollar pancakes there on the table from their buffet. Pat and I decided to help ourselves!! Why not? Just as the waitress came to pick up the plates I said, “Hold on!” and grabbed the last piece of bacon!! You should have seen the look on her face. (Yes, I know this sounds gross, but you just had to be there.)

We cycled on through CRAZY hills (110 ft per mile!). We passed 4 cyclists, one of which was a woman named Sherry who was cycling alone. The guys, however seemed to be in a hurry, and we soon found out why. About 3 miles shy of Summersville we got hit with rain and wind. We made it to town, like a couple of drowned rats, and after a quick bite and mingling with the locals and figuring out that the rain might last all day, decided to bed down at Rose’s Green Roof Inn. A nice little hole in the wall motel, and I’m sure the only one in this town of 500.

So, it looks like we’ll get rested up and get a good jump on everything tomorrow…

Day 17, Pat, the new friend

2008-06-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

Day 17, Farmington, MO – Owl’s Bend, MO (near Eminence, MO) 75 miles (1375 total)

Time on bike: 07:30:16

Avg: 11 mph

Daily Ascent: 5104 ft (68 ft/mile)

Max: 43 mph

A New Friend. Inevitabely as I bike along this famous bicycle route I encounter other cyclists. As I waited to meet my friend Ashby outside of Motel 8 in Farmington I saw a man approaching on a bicycle. I wasn’t sure what to think at first. I initially thought he was pulling kids in his trailer rather than gear just by the size and structure of the trailer. He pulled up and introduced himself as Pat McLaughlin and said he was traveling to Nevada for the Burning Man Festival. We chatted for a few minutes about the terrain and weather, as most cyclists do, and then I offered him my maps to photograph since he didn’t have maps and was going strictly by his GPS. The thanked me and then later brought down 2 bananas to my room as a thanksgiving offering.

I didn’t plan on cycling with Pat. To be honest he didn’t seem to be well prepared for this type of trip. He was on a mountain bike, pulling a large load and wearing hiking boots rather than cycling shoes. But he looked in great shape for a middle aged man and he certainly seemed like he was determined to get to where he was going.

The next morning there was a knock on my door and Pat was there asking what time I was leaving. We decided to travel together and it proved to be a good move. Biking with someone is generally better than biking alone. We cycled through the Missouri Ozarks and small towns along the way. Missouri drivers are apparently known for being a bit hostile towards cyclists and we did come across a few vehicles that yelled for us to get off the road. But the scenery is still beautiful and Pat and I both agree that this is an amazing way to travel for every reason.

Once we had reached about 50 miles we saw up ahead on a hill a cyclist who appeared to be in trouble. His bike was flipped on its side and he was standing next to it. It looked like a mechanical problem. Once we arrived it was merely an out of shape cyclist who had started his ride in St Louis and was traveling to Oregon. We told him we came from Farmington and he said, “Oh yeah, I was there 2 days ago.” 50 miles in 2 days? Dude, you’re out of shape, but glad that you’re out here doing this. The hill he was on top of he walked up and it wasn’t a steep hill, but we all move at a different pace and in a week he’ll probably be cycling up most of the hills. Pat and I had a good chuckle though as we went on wondering which hills our comrade would be walking.

We settled down for the night in a beautiful little camping site called Owl’s Bend in the Ozarks along the Current River. We inquired about showers from some campers who were already set up and they said there were none but they bathed in the river. Sounded like a good idea, so Pat and I made our way down with our soap and towels in hand. It was such an incredible thing to be bathing in a crystal clear river in the middle of the Ozarks as the sun was coloring the sky the most amazing pastel colors behind us. It was surreal. The reason for making such a journey and certainly a fantastic way to end the days riding, which was good because we climbed some monster hills in our last 14 miles. It was certainly the first time I’d bathed in a beautiful mountain river, but hopefully it won’t be the last!

Day 16, Rest at last

2008-06-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Day 16, Coffman, MO – Farmington, MO 14 miles (1250 total)

Time on bike: not very long

Avg: who knows

Daily Ascent: ???

Max: not very many mph

Today was a very short day. I was hoping to get these 14 miles in yesterday to make it one long day but I ran out of daylight. I spent the day in Farmington doing laundry and surfing the internet. It was good to be off the bike for the day. I met up with my friend Ashby who came down from St Louis. We had a stellar game of bowling followed by a riveting game of put-put golf. Really it was just good to catch up with a friend.

Day 15, Hello Missouri! (What happened to Illinois?)

2008-06-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

Day 15, Goreville, IL – Coffman, MO 104 miles (1236 total)

Time on bike: 11:07:49

Avg: 10.5 mph

Daily Ascent: 6912 ft (66 ft/mile)

Max: 39 mph

Another night, another state. Hello Missouri. To be honest, I never thought I’d make it out of Virginia, but here I am now in the my 4^th state.

I awoke early today to get an early start. The state park where I camped was a ways off the trail and I had to climb several steep hills to get back to the trail, so my earliness was nullified. The weather today was hot and muggy. Highs in the lower 90’s and it felt like it. I don’t notice the heat until I have to climb and Missouri proved to be just as hilly, if not more so than southern Illinois.

I stopped in Murphysboro, IL for a bite to eat at the recommendation of a cyclist I met the night before. He said, “17^th Street Grill has the best BBQ Ribs in the world.” “You’re pullin’ my leg. Everybody says that,” I tell him. “No. They’ve won several awards and have even served their ribs to a few presidents of the US.” So I had to give it a shot after that.

It really was somewhat of a hole in the wall. It wasn’t much of a place, just looked like about any other bar and grill, heavy on the bar side. I ordered the lunch ribs which came with 3 sides for a whopping $8.99. I got 3 ribs for that price and they were good. No complaints here.

From there I progressed to Chester Illinois where I was to cross the Mississippi River… at flood stage. Chester brags about being the “Home of Popeye” as the cartoonist was born in Chester, IL. There’s a huge metal statue of him at the bridge into Missouri.

The river was massive and powerful. Looking at the supports of the bridge I could see how quickly the water was moving. There was a service road that ran parallel to the river that was submerged in sections. Chester is a city on a hill, so it wasn’t affected.

I wanted to reach Farmington today and am disappointed that I didn’t. I blame the hills, mostly. I’m meeting my friend Ashby Tyler there tomorrow and taking the day off from biking. It’ll be my first day off since starting the trip. I don’t want to take a day off in terms of recovery or progress, but I do want to chill out and spend a day with a friend that I rarely see.

I’ve been thinking about how the human body is an amazing thing. To ride a bicycle for 10+ hours every day for several weeks at a time… For my legs and knees to be pushing and bending over and over and over and over with the amount of stress and pressure I exert on them minute after minute… The human body is capable of so much more than we think it’s capable of and it does it without us really thinking about it. I imagine putting that amount of stress or pressure on a door hinge over and over and over for days at a time. I think it’d wear out before too long, but our bodies are designed for the weird and straining things that we throw at it. It’s really amazing when you think about it.

Day 14, Hello Illinois!

2008-06-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

Day 14, Clay, KY – Goreville, IL 94 miles (1132 total)

Time on bike: 9:17:01

Avg: 10.3 mph

Daily Ascent: 6265 ft (67 ft/mile)

Max: 40 mph

Illinois! What gives!! I always thought of Illinois as being a flat, boring state! Apparently southern Illinois is covered in hills! I haven’t climbed this much since I was in the Appalachian mountains in Virginia! The hills weren’t long or terribly steep they were just plentiful.

Early on in my ride I came to the Ohio river where I had to cross by ferry. On the ferry I met a group that had their bicycles mounted to their cars and were heading for some light trail riding. We had a great conversation bout cross country riding and recumbent bikes. The guy I spoke with had an older recumbent bicycle.

To keep me from going crazy by just peddling my bike all day long and listening to – creak, creak, creak – I listen to podcasts throughout the day. I put one earplug in and keep the other one tuned in for traffic. Every time I stop for a break I charge up the iPod. Here’s what I listen to in no particular order:

Tony Campolo

Rob Bell – Mars Hill

Mark Nelson – Crossings

NPR: Fresh Air w/ Terry Gross

Dave Ramsey

Car Talk

BBC Documentaries

This American Life

NPR: Religion

NPR: Politics

ESPN: Best of Mike & Mike in the morning

ESPN: Football Today

Footballguys.com – The Audible

Day 13, KY Farmland

2008-06-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

Day 13, Hudson, KY – Clay, KY 112 miles (1038 total)

Time on bike: 10:07:16

Avg: 11.8 mph

Daily Ascent: 6588 ft (59 ft/mile)

Max: 38 mph

I’m biking through Kentucky farm land! I thought the hills were supposed to disappear? So how did I climb 6500 feet today? Most of the day was through roller-coaster like hills. Fast ups and downs most of the day. I awoke to my host father (of sorts) opening the country store at 6:30am. There was already one Chevy pickup waiting in the parking lot by the time he opened, waiting for breakfast. He immediately got to work preparing biscuits (warming them up) and sausage and bacon. I ordered 2 sausage and biscuits, but I ended up only having to pay for one. That set me back $0.50. Over the next several minutes a total of 6 different farmers rolled in. Some for coffee, some for breakfast, but most to sit around and exchange one liners and talk about the weather. It was a beautiful way to start the morning.

A horrible scene occurred early in my ride this morning. It haunted me all day. A young, juvenile dog, playful enough to be a puppy but in a full sized dog’s body, saw me coming. He playfully ran towards me. What he didn’t see was the neighbor’s big truck, a Ford F-350 pull out across the street. I think the neighbor was too interested in the bike I was riding to notice the dog and 15 feet away from me I heard a distinct thump-thump, the way a vehicle makes passing over a speed bump. I was afraid to look back. I was sure to see a black lump in the road, but instead I heard the most awful howling from a dog clearly in shock and pain. I glanced behind me. The truck just kept on going. The dog limped off the side of the road, still howling, and I could see that it’s front leg was clearly broken. My initial instinct was to flee the scene. “It’s not my problem.” I told myself. So I peddled harder. I’d like to say that I turned around and got some help, but I didn’t. I rationalized that there was nothing that I could do. The dog may have to be put down. It may be euthanized even as I write this. What I know is that that image hung in my mind and bothered me all day.

On to a more pleasant note, I did get 112 miles in today. It was a beautiful day, highs around 85 but low humidity. A perfect summer day in many regards, through the rolling farm lands of KY. I encountered 4 other cyclists who were also going West. Two were going to San Francisco, a young man and woman. They were going a little too slow for my taste. We chatted for a while, mostly about the infamous family of 4 on one bicycle which we’ve all by now heard about but nobody has yet seen.

I’m well into my routine now. I wake up at 5am (I’m an early bird if you haven’t noticed) and I’m on the bike by 6:30 after a lunch of a bagel and peanut butter. Then around 10am I stop for a 30 minute break where I try to find a blueberry muffin for a snack. Then I cycle until 1pm and take an hour for lunch, hoping to find a Subway where I can get a foot long sub for $5 and save the other half for supper. By 4:30 it’s time for another 30 minute break. On my breaks, my shoes have to come off and my flip flops go on to really relax my feet. They get sore from all that peddling. Then by 7pm I try to find a place to sleep, which typically consists of a church, fire station, city park, or a friendly looking home along the route.

I’ve come to hate State Parks! Basically, a State Park is their way of saying, “We couldn’t farm this land because of the hills. Cyclists, knock yourselves out! J”

This evening I settled in Clay, KY. A small town of about 1,200 people. It has 2 convenience stores, one which stays open all night and the other that closes at 9pm. It also has 1 restaurant which closes at 8pm. I pass through so many small towns on these “off the beaten path” roads. Here I pulled into a nice neighborhood near the city park and asked if cyclists camped out in the park. They didn’t seem to know but pointed me to the city councilman across the street and he said it was ok. I got to chatting with the neighbors. They were curious about how far I’d come and where I was going. They were so kind and helpful. They told me that I could shower at 2 of the churches in town. One man even called up the Baptist pastor and asked about the showers. “The janitor won’t be in until 7am tomorrow, so you’ll have to wait until then to shower.” I sleep so much better after a shower, but it’ll have to wait yet again. Ah well.

Day 12, "Will you sign my guest book?"

2008-06-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

Day 12, Springfield, KY – Hudson, KY 98 miles (926 total)

Time on bike: 8:51:16

Avg: 11.1 mph

Daily Ascent: 5696 ft (58 ft/mile)

Max: 36 mph

The morning began just outside of the Lincoln Homestead just a few miles west of Springfield. Three log cabin structures stood in the morning mist where Abraham Lincoln’s father was raised until he was 25. I continued on to Bardstown which is the 2^nd oldest city in Virginia when it was settled in the 1780s. Bardstown was the first center of Catholicism west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Diocese of Bardstown was established on February 8, 1808, and served all Catholics between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, an area now served by 44 dioceses and archdioceses in 10 states. Bardstown is nicknamed the Bourbon Capital of the World. It is home to such distilleries as Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Heaven Hill. Bardstown is also the home of My Old Kentucky Home State Park, on which the Federal Hill mansion (the alleged inspiration for Stephen Foster's song "My Old Kentucky Home") was built.

As I cycled through Bardstown the Catholic presence was evident as I began to pass several concrete statues of the Virgin Mary, some of which were sheltered by a half buried bathtub creating a cave of sorts to shelter the statue. The statues were somewhat eerie to cycle past, I have to admit. They seemed to come from nowhere and they were in a number of yards and they had quite an elegant shrine built around them.

It was a welcome relief, of sorts, to run across interstate 65 because I went to college just off of 65 at Purdue, so it felt like a piece of home and also a milestone to cross as I felt like I was making progress. Dark clouds ahead caused me to pull off into a gas station and wait a few hours to see what the weather was going to do. The wind picked up but there was no rain so I pushed on ahead.

I went longer than usual trying to make up for the stoppage time and found myself in a rural farm land area looking for a place to put up my tent. A woman picking up sticks in her yard yelled at me, “Do you want to sign our guest book at the store?” “Well, to be honest, I’m looking for a place to put up my tent.” “You can do that too, let me get the keys and open the store back up.” So I ended up talking to Arnold, Lucy and Lauren, their 13 year old “mature” daughter until 10:30pm telling stories of Africa. We sat in their store and watched TV and sat around their booths and tables late into the night. Their store, as with many country stores, was a hodgepodge of a little bit of everything. The shelves weren’t stocked deep with items, but they made up for it with variety of items. Everything from cans of beans to fan belts for an automobile. They allowed me to take a shower which was also in the store and then fed me sausage biscuits for breakfast the next morning. Kentucky hospitality is a wonderful thing!

Day 11, A visit from Dad and Mom

2008-06-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Day 11, Berea, KY – Springfield, KY 72 miles (828 total)

Time on bike: 7:51:16

Avg: 10.6 mph

Daily Ascent: 5426 ft (65 ft/mile*)

Max: 36.5 mph

Rolling farmlands. The day started out with breakfast at Cracker Barrel with mom and dad who came to Berea to visit. My joy in seeing them was only slightly surpassed by the chance to sleep in a bed and take a hot shower. After bidding them farewell I started off later than ususal and wanted make up for lost time, but Berea proved to be difficult to navigate. Kentucky doesn’t mark the roads with the “Route 76” bike route signs like Virginia did, so you’re pretty much on your own to find the route, and the course changed roads frequently. Mix in a few scattered showers and it made for a crazy morning where I went down the wrong road on more than one occasion. (I actually biked 11 more miles than my mileage indicates) Just before Harrodsburg I got onto route 152 and stayed on that until I reached Springfield. Today was the first day when I looked out into the horizon and didn’t see mountains. I was so happy I almost cried.

The mountains have given way to rolling farm lands of corn and bales of hay. I’ve seen every kind of animal in Kentucky except for pigs. I’ve seen horses (of course), cows, chickens, sheep, goats. I’ve even seen buffalo. The trailer homes in the hills have given way to beautiful farm houses and modest but big, picturesque homes on the hills.

*Ascent average was calculated from actual miles traveled which includes ‘lost’ miles.

2008-06-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

Day 10, Buckhorn, KY – Berea, KY 76 miles (756 total)

Time on bike: 8:14:19

Avg: 9.4 mph

Daily Ascent: 5014 ft (66 ft/mile)

Max: 30.5 mph

Desolate, dogs and roller-coaster hills. The day started off great with a hometown breakfast in a little country shop that sold everything from breakfast to auto supplies. I had sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy and fried apples. Plus I was able to use their Wi-Fi and watch ESPN News! All this in a town with a population of 144! So, needless to say, I got off to a later start than usual.

The hills weren’t too bad but they were steep, roller-coaster hills. No sooner would I have gone down one than there was another steep one right in front of it. It felt like I was making no progress at all. I was also in a very isolated area. I planned on eating lunch around 1 but there was no where along the route to stop. I peddled through a valley for 30 miles and barely saw a car. I’ve never seen Deliverance, but I’ve heard it’s something like that. It felt kind of creepy, but the roads were smooth and relatively flat (after the roller-coaster hills) and I made it to Berea. My parents are on their way here and I’m in a hotel for the night. Warm shower, free Wi-Fi and it’s right next to a Cracker Barrel. What more could you ask for??

I met a group of 4 English chaps who are cycling from San Francisco (or was it San Diego) to Washington DC. We exchanged pleasantries (cheers, blokes!) and then swapped some stories about the terrain ahead. One of the guys had been to Malawi so we talked Africa for some time.

Some things I’ve heard along the way… apparently there’s a family of 4 ahead of me, father, mother and 2 children, who are on a bicycle built for 4 and toting a trailer… this I gotta see. Also, an old man stopped me to chat and he was telling me about a bloke (sorry, still in English mode) who passed through town going cross country several years back on a horse!! He said he had taken over a year and he was heading to New York… I’m assuming the state.

Day 9, Kentucky indeed...

2008-06-20T04:52:00.002-07:00

First of all, check out Mark Nelson's blog to find out what this incredible picture is all about...

Day 9, Lookout, KY – Buckhorn, KY 96 miles (680 total)

Time on bike: 10:20:40

Avg: 9.3 mph

Daily Ascent: 6150 ft (64 ft/mile)

Max: 38 mph

Kentucky: Dogs, trailer homes, 4-wheelers and liquor stores. I was chased by a number of dogs today. Nothing too ferocious, but annoying enough that I had to bust out my doggie pepper spray (Halt!). One was particularly clever. It was a beagle mix and it would chase for a while, then look away, as to not get sprayed, and then chase again. It seemed to have the system figured out.

Trailer homes. I don’t ever remember seeing so many trailer homes before. They’re everywhere. What amazes me are the elaborate porches that are built around the trailer homes. That and the $30,000 vehicles parked in the driveway.

4-wheelers. As soon as I hit the state line I saw almost as many 4 wheelers and dirt bikes than dogs. People were driving them on the road, they were in the backs of pickup trucks, there were even a number of the kiddie, power-wheel 4 wheelers.

Liquor stores. I’d bike through the hills and go through several towns. The towns would have abandoned auto shops and abandoned general stores, but the one business that they did have that was still open was the liquor store. Several times that’d be the only store in the entire town.

On a side note, did you know that over half of Kentucky is covered in forest land and that they have more running water (rivers and streams ) than any other state other than Alaska. Cool beans, huh?

Can I just have a day of cycling where I DON’T have to climb over 5,000 ft!! Sheesh!

Most tempting piece of litter on the side of the road today: Twizlers. Least tempting: blue jean shorts.

I got a couple “Get off the road!” yells from the hillbillies today, but believe me, it’s NOTHING compared to what I’d been getting in Uganda as far as harassment goes! Try being the only white guy in an African village for 2 years. You develop some pretty thick skin.

My favorite was when a guy going the other way in a Chevy Cavalier with 2 different colored fenders, both were different than the color of the actual car. He had a cigarette in one hand and he leaned out the window which was either rolled down or busted out and hollered, “Dontya betya ‘s easyah ridin’ lahk dat d’n dey udder’s strait up er yah, ain’t it?” My response… “yeah.”

Day 8, Kentucky at last

2008-06-20T04:52:00.001-07:00

Day 8, Damascus, VA – Lookout, KY 97 miles (584 total)

Time on bike: 10:24:39

Avg: 9.3 mph

Daily Ascent: 7146 ft (74 ft/mile)

Max: 34.5 mph

I left Damascus early this morning. It was a cold morning. I don’t know how cold exactly but I had to dig for my cold weather gear which I was saving for Colorado. I arrived at Hayters, VA and took a break there at the church. (Can you imagine going to “Hayters Church” every Sunday??) After cycling some easy terrain for the first 15 miles I came to a steep wooded incline and began to climb. Let me just say that it’s a good thing that these ascents wind through the wooded mountains, because if they were just laid out straight ahead, I’d have given up this trip long ago. Once you start to climb, all you see ahead of you is a turn. In your mind you think, “OK. After that turn it goes back down.” But it doesn’t go back down. It just goes to another turn. So you climb that one, hoping that it’ll go down next. And again it doesn’t. So you repeat this 30 times or so traveling at 4 mph. I refuse to walk up a hill. I have to conquer the hill, the hill cannot conquer me. It’s a battle of man vs nature. It’s about the struggle and the fight. Who will give up first. As long as I am moving, albeit slow, I haven’t given up. So an hour later, after all that climbing and all those turns, and at 4 mph that would mean that I’ve climbed for 4 miles straight, I reach the summit and proceed to coast down hill which seems to take all of 30 seconds before I’m at the bottom ready to climb the next hill!! Yikes!

It was a tough day today. There was a lot of climbing and a lot of hills. It’s awe inspiring to be cycling through the hills with steep rocks hanging overhead. It’s humbling in many ways also. I passed through the towns of Meadowview, Hayters Gap, Rosedale, Council, Bee and Birchleaf. I went past Breaks Interstate Park but didn’t enter. It’s not on an interstate highway, by the way. It’s called Interstate park because it’s between the states of Kentucky and Virginia.

Speaking of Kentucky, I’m in Kentucky now! Yipee! It’s GREAT to be in a new state! Already I’ve seen a bunch of Ford pickup trucks, tacky lawn ornaments and a number of double wide trailers. I think I’m going to like this state! I’ve heard the dogs are bad here and I’ve already had a few chasing me. Virginia, I’m told, has leash laws, whereas Kentucky doesn’t. I’d better have my doggie pepper spray handy!

Day 7, Damascus Road

2008-06-17T18:45:00.001-07:00

Day 7, Newbern, VA – Damascus, VA 92 Miles (487 Total)

Time on bike: 9:05:52

Avg: 9.8 mph

Daily Ascent: 6647 ft (72 ft/mile)

Max: 32.5 mph

Today was a day of long, gradual ascents through beautiful Virginia scenery. I peddled through valleys with wooded mountains rolling along side of me, covered with pine and oak trees. At one point I passed through a town around noon and the temperature read 68 degrees. Chilly compared to my home in Uganda. These hills today, though, weren’t as steep as yesterday. I can handle the long, gradual ones better, but to say the least, I’m looking forward to the flat plains of Kansas!!

It’s great to be doing this. Outside. On a bike. Great exercise. Sun shining. Listening to the birds, watching deer cross my path, hearing the bubbling brook I’m cycling next to. So the hills aren’t much fun. The experience is. It serves to remind me to enjoy life more, which I don’t do naturally. And to mingle more with people. Everyone has been incredibly friendly thus far. They’re interested in the bike and the trip. I know I’ve said all this before, but it’s so true. And the bike just starts the conversation.

By the end of my trip today, I had already covered 75 miles through the mountains and I wanted to reach Damascus for the night. Needless to say I wasn’t interested in climbing more hills, but as luck would have it I was on a road that paralleled a mountain stream that lead almost all the way into town. Downhill for a majority of the way! What a relief!

On a side note, I hate cooking! I brought some pots and a Whisperlite stove, but I dread busting it out. I’d rather eat cold food or eat out than spend the time necessary for cooking! After biking all day I just want to eat! Is something wrong with me??

Day 6, The hills just keep on coming

2008-06-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Day 6, Troutville, VA – Newbern, VA 70 miles (395 total)

Time on bike: 7:36:13

Avg: 9.8 mph

Daily Ascent: 5645 ft (81 ft/mile)

Max: 34.5 mph

I left Troutville, VA and headed for Nanny’s for sausage gravy ‘n biscuits. I wasn’t sure I’d found the right place. It was a log-cabin looking structure with gas pumps outside and 3 men sitting out front talking farmin’. “I’m looking for ‘Nanny’s’.” “You found it,” I was told. Inside looked like a convenience store, but there was a back room with a few tables for dining and a 13” TV in the corner. “Single or double order?” Nanny asks me. “Better make it a double.” I scarf down my delicious breakfast and Nanny asks me to tell my friends about the place.

Today was a roller coaster of hills. Up one, down another. It was better than my climbing yesterday, but still slow going. I went through back roads of Virginia today to be sure. Old rustic barns and silos dotted the valleys with fields littered with rolls of hay. It was beautiful and difficult all in the same day.

I gave my bike a name today too. “Betsy”. Ol’ Betsy and I weren’t getting along too great today. She wouldn’t let me clip my cleats into the pedals when I’d get started and she also won’t drop down into the lowest gear on the front. I could adjust my derailer to make it work right, but then I wouldn’t have anything to yell at Betsy about. I also named my trailer, Steve. I don’t really talk much to Steve. He tags along behind and doesn’t bother me much, except for the hills. He’s rather steady and reliable.

Just before Christiansburg there’s a steep hill called “Danger Hill”. It winds its way up to the city. On one corner it was just too steep and I lost my balance and had to hop off the bike and push it the rest of the way up, which suited me just fine. I looked in my guide book just now and it notes an alternate route. Wish I would have found that sooner.

I got an email today from Nick the guy who helped Chancy and I back in Charlottesville. He told me, “Remember, it’s not about riding the bike. It’s about the people you meet along the way.” Tonight, rain was coming in and I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it to the campgrounds, so I asked a family if I could put up a tent in their yard. They said it’d be ok and then they offered me a huge plate of spaghetti for supper. Their two little boys, 3^rd graders, I’d imagine, had all kinds of questions about my bike and my journey across the US. Kevin, the youngest, insisted on sitting out on the porch with me while I ate.

Day 5, A century through the mountains!

2008-06-16T12:13:00.001-07:00

Afton, VA (The Cookie Lady) – Troutsville, VA 100 miles (325 total)

Time on bike: 10:15:52

Avg: 9.9 mph

Daily Ascent: 6780 ft (68 ft/mile)

Max: 37 mph

Hills, hills hills. The day began from The Cookie Lady’s Bike House. I left around 630am and there was a thin fog on top of the mountain. After a short climb I reached the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a beautiful, scenic drive along the Blue Ridge mountains as part of the Appalachian Mountains. The road is closed to commercial vehicles. I spent the majority of the morning climbing, and climbing and climbing. When you move at 4 mph you don’t cover a lot of ground, but the many scenic overlooks were breathtaking of the valley below. Land on either side of the road is maintained by the National Parks Service. It stretches for469 miles and is the longest, narrowest national park in the world and is the most visited park in the US National Parks System.

After what seemed like days of climbing mountains, I finally hit a long decent. One and a half miles later I hit flat land that took me into Lexington, VA. Lexington is a historic town where Stonewall Jackson and General Robert E. Lee (and his horse, Trigger) are buried. Upon pulling in to Lexington I was immediately approached by a cyclist named Rick. He eagerly asked if I was riding “The Trail” and then pointed out some places to eat as well as an ice cream shop around the corner. He then proceeded to tell me that he rode across the US on the Transamerica Trail as one of the original riders back in 1976 and then went on to describe the hills along the way leading out of Lexington.

I ate lunch and ventured to Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe for a treat. There I met Chris, the owner. Chris worked as a lawyer for a few years before he got burnt out “…ruining people’s lives with divorces and law suits,” he tells me. “Now I make ice cream.” Chris and I talked about cycling, Africa, religion (he was a preacher’s kid), and Tony Campolo among other things. He treated me to more ice cream than I could eat. Great ice cream, too! Homemade and very rich! (Hey Chris, tell Rick that I made it to Troutsville and got my century in!) It was great to meet Chris and stop in the ice cream shop and chat for a while.

I went out to get back on the trail when I found a small crowd gathered around my bike. People are fascinated by it, I have to say. I really half expected the bike and my trip to just be another biker going through town, but people are genuinely interested in me cycling across the US and curious about the bike. It’s quite different from my Uganda experience where they were just interested in staring at me. The big questions is, “is it comfortable”. And the answer is YES! I’ve been going for 5 days and my butt is fine. My legs have a dull ache to them, but that’s to be expected, but the butt is A OK.

From there I proceeded west. The big hills were behind me. Just some small ones to climb. I kept going and going. I wanted to get good miles in to make up for my rain day the day before. I’ve seen a number of animals along the route: deer, ground hogs, squirrels, turtles and foxes.

My route took me near the Natural Bridge in Virginia. It’s one of the 7 natural wonders of the modern world, so of course I had to see it. I’d seen pictures of it before my trip but nothing would have prepared me for the real thing. First off, the highway you take to get to it drives over the top of the bridge. Then you have to pay $13 admission to get in to see it (I skipped the additional package for the wax museum). The bridge is HUGE! 215 ft high and 90 ft wide! It’s much bigger than it looks in the pictures. 157 acres of land including the bridge was purchased by Thomas Jefferson in 1774 from King George III.

Finally, I pushed ahead to finish my mileage and bed down for the night. I reached Troutsville (population 424) at dusk and asked a passing couple out walking the dog if cyclists stayed anywhere in particular. They directed me to the city park. No sooner had I set up my tent and began to prepare my macaroni and cheese than Cecil, an older man wearing a sleeveless white shirt, blue jean shorts and tinted glasses approached me and welcomed me. He then told me he was the parks director and that he’d leave the men’s restroom unlocked for me and that I could shower across the street at the fire station. He also told me there was a restaurant 7.5 miles up the road called Nanny’s where I could get some good biscuits and gravy in the morning for breakfast for a reasonable price. He asked where I started from that morning and I told him. He said he couldn’t remember having someone biked there over 60-80 miles, including the “young, strapping ones like yourself” and that I had biked 100 miles. I was very happy with that! Very!

Day 4, The Cookie Lady

2008-06-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Charlottesville, VA – Afton, VA (The Cookie Lady) 32 Miles (225 Total)

Time on bike: 3:22:20

Avg: 9.9 mph

Daily Ascent: 2565 (80 ft/mile)

A tough day today for many reasons, but a nice finish to it all. I had to buy a cell phone in Charlottesville, VA because Chancy was the one with a phone. Charlottesville is a nice college town. Some people stopped on their way into Panera Bread there to ask me about my bike and where I was going. People seem so interested in my bicycle. They ended up giving me $10 and buying me coffee and a pastry. I finally left Charlottesville at 11pm headed up into the mountains. I climbed and I climbed and I climbed in the heat of the day, refusing to let the mountains get the better of me. I went for my first swig of water from my Camelpack only to find it empty. I had forgotten to check before I left. Now, I’ve run 20 miles before without drinking water in Africa before, so I wasn’t too worried. I bargained with myself that I’d ask the first person I saw outside their house. I pulled into a nice brick home with a beautifully landscaped lawn and asked the man for some water. He went inside and produced 2 bottles of ice cold water. “Is that enough,” he asked. I told him that I could use more so he went in and produced a pitcher of ice water. How refreshing!

The weatherman had said there would be storms in the afternoon, but I was headed for Afton, VA which is notorious for being the home of “The Cookie Lady”, June Curry. June has been helping bicyclists along the TransAmerica Trail for over 30 years. She provides a “Bike House” for cyclists to stay in and the walls are COVERED with post cards of appreciative riders who have sent her letters expressing their gratitude. I had read extensively of June and was expecting a nice old lady with a fresh batch of cookies. What I found was more of a combination of a museum and a shrine dedicated to those who have braved the TransAmerica Trail. Over 14,000 by June’s count.

June is 87 years old and doesn’t get around like she used to, she tells me. She talks up a storm, partially due to her inability to hear, but partially from years of stories from other cyclists. When I first arrived she pulled out her Polaroid camera and took my picture and had me sign my name, date and hometown. It then went into one of several photo albums labeled by year. I flipped back to 2004 and found my friend Chad who had biked The Trail and had given me the idea to do it. We were wearing the same shirt in the picture as I was wearing the one I borrowed from him. Stranger than that, I found that a month and 3 days ago a man named Brian Dunn from Chicago, IL had also passed through here. How random is that??

So here I am, at the Cookie Lady’s Bike House for the night. The storms did arrive so I crashed here. One could spend a month going through this place. It’s separate from her own house and it’s filled with memorabilia that cyclists have donated and sent to June. Each card has a story, cyclists from all 50 states and many countries. Her hospitality over the years has certainly been a lighthouse and an oasis for fellow trail riders.

A short day on the bike, I’ll make up for it tomorrow.

Day 3, Let the Hills Begin

2008-06-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

Mineral, VA – Charlottesville, VA 54 miles (193 total)

Time on bike: 4:55:57

Avg: 11.6

Total Ascent: 3,084 ft (57ft/mi)

We left the town of Mineral, VA at 8am. A mile down the road Chancy forgot his gloves and had to turn back. We rode through the beautiful Virginia countryside . We passed several historic sites along the way: Ash Lawn Highland which was the home of James Monroe, the nation’s fifth president, Monticello, home of our 3^rd president, Thomas Jefferson, and Michie Tavern, an 18^th century tavern, originally located on a well traveled stagecoach route.

The cycling today was tough with us climbing over 3,000 feet in 50 miles. We stopped at a coffee shop that had free Wi-Fi internet. It was there that Chancy told me that his mother had called his cell phone to tell him that his father, who has had a history of health problems, was ill and that he should get home to be with him, so tomorrow Chancy will take the Greyhound back home and I’ll continue alone.

I was a little freaked out by this news at first. I want Chancy to do what’s right for him and his family and if his father is sick then there’s no doubt that he needs to go home, but I don’t know if I’m ready to do this alone. Chancy has been my bike mechanic and I’ve been the navigator thus far with my books, maps and GPS device. He’s been the kind of guy who is willing to go however far and eat wherever and whatever. Though we just met as we boarded the Greyhound in Indy for the first time, we’ve become fast friends on the road these past 3 days. He says that if he finds that his father stabilizes then he might re-join me on the road.

In the midst of all of this we got Chancy’s bike to a bike shop to dis-assemble it to take it on the bus. As chance would have it, a curious onlooker at the bike shop loitered and started asking us a number of questions about our bikes and where we were going. He then told us that he had traveled the TransAmerica Trail a couple of times with a number of side trips besides that. At that point I started asking him questions about his bike and his trekking. He was really, really helpful with information and tips and he also helped us take apart Chancy’s bike and even took us to the hotel where we were staying. His name was Nick and, seriously, without him I think I would really be feeling anxious and nervous about continuing alone but he kept going on about how he LOVED the trip he took across America and how incredible it was to do it alone. If you believe in angels, then Nick was my angel today. No doubt. Providing the right help and encouragement at JUST the right moment. So if you read this Nick… Thank You!

Day 2, the first century (100 miles) ride

2008-06-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

Day 2

Charles City, VA to Mineral, VA - 98 Miles (139 total)

So much for taking it easy. We left Charles City and headed West past a number of beautiful plantations and rolling wheat covered hills. At times the fields of corn and the red barns and silos reminded me a great deal of Indiana. There were no restaurants in Charles City so we couldn’t get breakfast so we stopped at a convenience store a few miles up the road. We grabbed about $10 worth of trail mix and Gatorade. I then explained that we were riding for a cause (Bike for Compassion) and inquired as to whether he could give us a discount. “Just take it,” he told us, so we thanked him profusely and made off with our stash.

We stopped 35 miles down the road in Mechanicsville which is just north of Richmond at Panera Bread for an extended lunch which included free interneting. After 2 hours we were back on the road. We passed civil war battlefields with Union canons pointed towards the oncoming Confederate lines.

We biked and biked and biked. The hills started coming at around mile 60 and they kept coming for most of the rest of our trip today. I stopped along our route when I saw a sign that just said “honey”. I know from my running that honey is wonderful fuel for extended workouts, so I went for a squeeze bottle. A frail little old woman answered the door and took me to her garage which had wood working supplies and bottles for filling honey. “It’s not real formal around here,” she told me as she went to fetch the honey from what looked like a humongous coffee pot with a nozzle near the bottom. She filled up a bear-like squeeze bottle for me and then wouldn’t take any money from me for it. I thanked her and then noticed the her address on the label of the bottle. I’ll have to send her a post card.

We then began looking for a place to stop to refresh ourselves with a Gatorade and some snacks. The map showed a convenience store just up the raod, but when whe reached it it appeared to have been abandoned yaears ago. We continued on. A few houses lined the street, but no towns, no villages, no sign of organized civilization. The map again showed a convenience store, but again no. A third time and still nothing. We had water but in the muggy heat of the Virginia sun we were in need of more than water. Finally, over the crest of a hill, in the middle of nowhereseville, VA was a small store that said “Route 76 Mart”, meaning that it was along our bike trail. Parched, we parked our bike only to have a hefty man walking out with two sticks of pop-ice for us! How amazing! He invited us in and told us we could camp there for the night if we wished. We thanked him and ate our free snacks and guzzled some sports drinks while sitting in some cushy chairs provided with our feet on the throw rug. It was some oasis, I have to tell you.

Lastly, we circled up near Lake Anna as we closed in on our cycling day. The water looked so tempting that we had to take a short swim. The water was so warm that it felt more like bath water than a nice, refreshing lake.

Finally we arrived in Mineral to find a Firehouse that hosts cyclists with a kitchenette, TV, DVD player, laundry facilities, Air Conditioning, etc free to cyclists. It was a really nice place to stumble upon.

We’ll see how our bodies feel tomorrow after cycling 100 miles today!

And so it begins

2008-06-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 11

Day 1

Yorktown, VA – Charles City, VA 41 miles

I woke up the morning of June 11^th in the heat of the Virginia summer. I slept outside instead of in the tent which was serving more as a sauna than anything. Chancy and I had camped out just a stones throw from the Yorktown Victory Monument. On October 19, 1781 General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington. Afterwards we ceremoniously dipped our rear tires into the mouth of the James River and started our trip.

We stopped briefly in Williamsburg to walk around and see the colonial settlement. For lunch we visited 3 restaurants before we found one willing to offer us a deal on a lunch. It was a nice restaurant with no customers. The waiter promptly told us he could give us a discount by just not ringing up one of our meals. Great! So we ordered and only paid for 1 meal. We spent most of the lunch talking to him about his career with the Air Force and about his upcoming schooling at The College of William and Mary studying English Literature. He was a nice guy and I think he was just needing some customers to mingle with.

Minor disaster struck on the way to Jamestown. I had my first flat after only 25.8 miles on the road… After a quick 10 minute tire change we were off again to visit the first settlement in the US which was settled in 1607. We had some confusion as to where to go after Jamestown and headed down the wrong road for a short spell before finally getting on the right track. It was a small, almost country road that we spent the rest of our time on. We stopped off in Charles City which is a bit of a misnomer. Despite having a courthouse and church, it has only 2 residential buildings, only 1 of which is in use. We found some people outside the church so we stopped to ask if we could stay the night there. They made some phone calls and before we knew it we had our tent up in the back. At the church that night was an AA meeting. “We’re not doing anything else,” I figured so we might as well go. I asked if it was an open meeting and they told us we were more than welcome to sit in. I’d wanted to attend an AA meeting to see what it’s like since college but have never had the courage to do so. What better time than now.

It was amazing. If you’ve never been or don’t know anything about it, it’s about letting go. About realizing that you’re powerless to control your own drinking and that God and others have to help you. It’s about wanting to make the change and putting sobriety at the highest level of importance and fighting it with every ounce of your being. It’s about confessing, very openly, your struggles and successes and failures with it. It’s about helping each other but not in a way that is pointing fingers and telling people what to do but about sharing your own life stories and struggles. It was so powerful and fresh and open. I felt like I was a part of a powerful underground society that wanted solely to shoulder one another’s burdens and realized, like only an alcoholic can, what struggles they were enduring. It was a great ending to a great first day.

Pre-Day 1

2008-06-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

After a 22 hour, shady bus trip we made it to Williamsburg. It wasn’t so bad after those crowded Uganda bus trips. We arrived at the bus station and began assembling our bikes. Chancy got his up and ready after about 15 minutes. Mine took 2 hours. It’s a recumbent bike and I had to totally disassemble it to get it to fit in the box. Unfortunately my bike mechanic skills are moderate at best so I put the de-railer on wrong. That’s the thing that changes gears. So we headed for a bike shop first thing. Then a guy asked me right away if I was going to be traveling with THOSE tires on my bike!!?? What’s wrong with them?? I was in Africa trying to throw this thing together!! It was the best I could do! I was agonizing in the bike shop whether I had even made the right decision to do this thing. Finally we got the bikes on the road and headed to Yorktown. It was only 13 miles but it seemed like 20 for some reason. It was a beautiful, tree lined road all the way. Hot but in the shade the whole way. We arrived in Yorktown, population 200, and stopped at the first house we found to ask if we could pitch a tent in the back yard. He said that his mother was ill but he’d help us out. He walked with us down the block to the neighbor who was apparently a prominent figure in the town and friendly to boot. His name was Dan and he let us put up the tent in his back yard and explained to us a little bit of the History of Yorktown. Harvey, the first guy, gave us $20 for supper, which was super nice and we headed to a pub down the street for appetizers after a quick dip in the James river at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

“We’ve made it.” I felt like screaming. We’ve made it to the start point. Now the adventure can begin. Tomorrow we’ll dip our back tires in the Atlantic Ocean and take our picture at the famous monument her in Yorktown and head West, as the early settlers did, on our quest to bicycle across America! How cool does that sound???

Towns Along the Way

2008-06-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a list of towns along the way of the Trans America Trail that I’ll be traveling through or near along the bike route. If you’re on the route or nearby, send me an email. I’d love to meet up with you!

Virginia
Yorktown
Williamsburg
Richmond
Charlottesville
Roanoke
Christiansburg
Wytheville
Damascus

Kentucky
Elkhorn City
Hindman
Booneville
Berea
Harrodsburg
Springfield
Bardstown
Sebree
Marion
Elizabethtown

Illinois
Goreville
Carbondale
Murphysboro
Chester

Missouri
Farmington
Centerville
West Eminence
Houston
Bendavis
Hartville
Marshfield
Fair Grove
Ash Grove
Golden City

Kansas
Pittsburg
Girard
Chanute
Benedict
Eureka
Newton
Hutchinson
Rush Center
Alexander
Scott City

Colorado
Eads
Sugar City
Pueblo
Williamsburg
Canon City
Fairplay
Silverthorne
Dillon
Heeney
Parshall
Hot Sulpher Springs
Rand
Walden

Wyoming
Riverside
Saratoga
Sinclair
Rawlins
Jeffrey City
Lander
Dubois
Moran Junction
Colter Bay Village
(Yellowstone National Park)
Madison

Montana
West Yellowstone
Ennis
Sheridan
Wisdom
Darby
Hamilton
Stevensville
Missoula
Lolo

Idaho
Lowell
Kooskia
Grangeville
Council

Oregon
Oxbow
Halfway (Half.com, OR …no, seriously. It’s true)
Baker City
John Day
Prineville
Redmond
Sisters
Nimrod
Eugene (Largest city along the route. Population 140,000)
Harrisburg
Corvallis
Monmouth
Salem
Tillamook
Astoria

Plus there will probably be an additional trip up the coast of Washington to Vancouver.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Start your Bikes

2008-06-07T10:17:00.001-07:00

Well, it’s been some time since I’ve posted, but it’s soon to happen. My bags are packed and on Monday I’ll get on a Greyhound bus headed for Williamsburg, VA to begin the bicycle trip across the country. I’ll begin cycling on Wednesday, June 11^th from Yorktown. I expect it’ll be slow going in the beginning as I get used to the cycling plus there are a number of historic sites in the first few miles: Williamsburg, Jamestown, Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson).

I will be traveling with another cyclist. Chancy is a student at Indiana State and he contacted me several months ago telling me that he was interested in making the trip. “Sounds good to me,” I told him, not wanting to cycle alone. We’ll meet for the first time when we board the Greyhound bus in Indy.

The route I’ll be taking is the Transamerica Trail which is a series of highways marked out specifically for cyclists wishing to travel across the country. It begins in Virginia and ends in Oregon. The entire trip should take 6-7 weeks and is over 4,000 miles. We’ll be sleeping in tents and asking for restaurants and grocery stores to donate food which will reduce the costs of the trip which will enable more money to be sent to the Compassion International building project. For more information about the building project see the first post to the blog.

I will be taking my laptop along the trip and will be blogging the trip whenever the opportunity presents itself. Please feel free to check in and check it out. There will also be a lot of downtime I suspect so also feel free to send me an email. Below I’ve listed the equipment I’ll be traveling with.

Cycling Gear

Shimano SH-M035 Cycling Shoes

shoe covers

Shimano Cleats

Bike Pedals w/ clips

1 can Halt!

2.5 L hydration system

bicycle helmet (w/ plastic visor)

sunglasses w/ Rx insert

Planet Bike Dual Spot LED/halogen headlight

Lightweight lock

Adventure Cycling Association Maps

Light colored Backpack

Reflective Tape

Handlebar Rearview Mirror

Red LED tail light on bicycle and trailer

Camping

Tent - Eureka! Zeus EXO 3

Ground cloth for under tent (tarp)

Sleeping Bag

Sleeping Pad

50' length of parachute cord

LED Headlight

Pillow

Shovel

Cooking/Food

Lightweight nylon bag for food

Stove - MSR SuperFly stove w/ AutoStart ignitor - 5.1 oz

2 canisters isobutane for stove at a time

MSR Blacklite cookset

lexan bowl, cup, utensils

Salt/pepepr shaker

Scotch Brite scrub pad

5 Gallon water container

egg holder

cutting board

Clothing

3 pair Coolmax Alta shorts with liners

1 pair lightweight nylon shorts/pants (zip off shorts)

1 pair long cycling tights

3 short sleeve Coolmax Alta shirts

long sleeve Coolmax heavy weight cycling jersey

Gloves

Flip Flops

microfiber fleece vest

rain jacket and pants

4 pair Coolmax socks (3 short, 1 long) (Wal-Mart)

3 pair synthetic underwear (Campmor)

arm warmers

baseball hat

Bandana

First Aid/Personal Care

First aid kid (Liquid Skin, Neosporin, Band-Aids, ACE Bandage, non-stick gauze pads, kling gauze, safety pins, matches, Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed, etc)

Aquis pack towel (hand towel size)

Lip Balm

Sun Screen

Toilet Paper

Foot powder

Moisturizer

Camp Soap

Bug Spray

Deodrant

Maintenance

3 - 20" spokes

Kevlar emergency spoke

4 - 20" tubes (bike)

16" tube (trailer)

2 tube repair kits

4 - Continental Top Touring 20" tire (for bike)

16" Primo Comet tire (for trailer)

pump w/ built in pressure gauge

2 spare chain links

Crank Brothers 19 Multitool

2 tire levers

chain lubricant

Duct tape (15' wrapped around a pen barrel)

zip ties

bicycle bell

Misc

Leatherman Micra (small pocket knife)

Credit card/debit card/checks/drivers license/passport

Technology

Laptop Computer

GPS Garmin Vista

Digital camera

Cateye Enduro 8 (Bicycle Computer)

8 Energizer Rechargable AA batteries & charger

Books

Long Distance Cycling by Edmund R Burke and Ed Pavelka

Bicycling Coast to Coast by Donna Lynn Ikenberry

Bike

Rans Rocket Recumbent Bicycle

BOB Trailer

What can $10 do?

2008-01-03T04:43:00.000-08:00

A friend recently donated $10 towards this Cause. I began to evaluate what that meant. $10 buys almost 250 bricks. $10 pays for 10 men to work for 1 day. $10 goes a long way here.

Would you consider contributing $10?

Donations to date: $21,660
Amount needed: $8,340

The Focus, The Need and The Project

2007-10-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

In June of 2008 I will embark on a coast-to-coast (USA) bicycle ride to raise awareness and support for Kyamate CDC, a children's aid organization in Uganda partnered with Compassion International. The goal is to raise $30,000 by August of 2008 (the end of the bike ride) to build a community center for the 285 OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children). The center will also serve the secondary school, primary school and church in the community.

The Focus: Kyamate Child Development Center (CDC) services 285 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) of the poorest of poor families living in and around the Ntungamo community. 90% of these children have lost one or both parents, most of which have died from HIV/AIDS. The Child Development Center provides health care, pays for school fees, uniforms and supplies, develops income generating activities (IGA) and facilitates educational, health, spiritual, and economic teachings as well as socio-emotional support to the children. This community believes wholeheartedly in the value of education and service to these needy children.

The community center will serve as a learning center and dining hall for the Kyamate CDC children and will be rented out and function as a multi-purpose meeting hall, banquet hall and theater for the community by servicing weddings, the arts, and organizational and school meetings. A number of other schools, churches and community members will also benefit from the proposed center.

The Need: There is an immediate need to provide basic shelter where the children of Kyamate CDC will meet especially during the rainy seasons. Since 2003 they have conducted their weekly classroom sessions and eaten their meals outside. The facility would also directly serve the local secondary and primary schools for organizational meetings as well as for music and drama competitions. The local church will also be a direct beneficiary and will use the facility for wedding receptions and various meetings and seminars. Kyamate is a developing community. Within the last 3 years a 3500 sq ft church has been constructed. If the project is not completed the Kyamate CDC children will continue to meet outside and the community will continue to struggle without the aid of a community center.

The Initiation: The building project idea has been around since 2003 and was brought to my attention by the Project Director of Kyamate CDC, Japheth Weyakala, in 2006. The Kyamate CDC Committee, consisting of local community leaders, has organized a specific committee for the proposed project. The project committee has assessed the need for the project, identified the direct and indirect beneficiaries, solicited local contributions from community members and organizations, rendered construction plans and estimations and assisted in proposal writing. The committee will oversee the construction of the building, after which Kyamate CDC will manage the use of the building.

The Sustainability: Upon completion of the community center, 285 OVC of Kyamate CDC will weekly use the center for services in education, economic, spiritual, socio-emotional and health programs. It will also be used for meal service, dramas and singing, a shelter for cooking and preparing food and income generation (through renting). By providing a basic shelter we will be able to provide continued services to these children throughout the year.

Once the structure is built, Kyamate CDC will oversee and manage the use of the community center. It will be sustainable so long as it is under the provision of Kyamate CDC. It will be used by a variety of community groups and members for many years.

The Community Contribution: Kyamate Church of Uganda will contribute land, poles for scaffolding, transportation of poles and water valued at 6.16 million Ush ($3,500 USD). Kyamate Primary School will also contribute poles for scaffolding.

The Implementation: Throughout each phase leading up to the use and management of the project Brian Dunn will be managing the fundraising and will be assisted in construction management by the Kyamate CDC director, Japheth Weyakala. Construction will be done by local skilled construction workers. Once the community center is finished it will be managed by Kyamate CDC.

Bike for Compassion

2007-10-02T01:22:00.000-07:00

The bike route is yet undetermined but it will mostly follow the Transamerica Bicycle Trail. I have only begun to plan this trip but have already found a wealth of resources for it. I will be updating this blog as the trip approaches and as I travel along my route.

Tax-deductible donations can be made one of two ways. First, to donate by credit card, click the "Donate" icon in the upper right column. This is a PayPal donation and a secure site.

Second, mail a check. It's important that you write "Bike for Compassion" in the memo line of the check! A donation via check can be mailed to:

Purdue Christian Campus House
1000 State St.
West Lafayette, IN 46906

ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE