So I made it to San Francisco in one piece! Well, I guess two pieces, if you count the bike. It has a way of becoming an extension of yourself after two months. Right now we're in San Jose, picked up by friends of Lou from school who moved out here after graduating.
Since the last post we teamed up with another group, this time a father and son, and blew through the last two states. Guy and Miles are from Palo Alto, CA and are riding from Boston to San Francisco. We actually met them pretty much immediately after you last heard from me; when we walked out of the library in Milford we saw two loaded bikes propped up outside and of course had to wait to see who they were. Miles walked out of the restaurant across the street a minute later and we invited them to stay in the house with us to wait out the storm (we figured Eddie wouldn't mind!) We're really lucky to have met them; these are two of the most genuine, kind people I've met and they had us laughing a lot over the last week and a half.
Nevada for us had pretty much two sights to see: desert basins and mountain ranges. Notice how the word "towns" didn't even make the list. We went through exactly one per day and this wasn't because we weren't putting in enough miles; they're just 60-80 miles apart. Aside from the monotonous scenery, Nevada wasn't too hot thanks to the cold front brought in by the dust storm in Milford. I was actually colder during the day in Nevada more often than I'd been on the whole trip, and on a few nights it got pretty frigid. Nevada really wasn't as bad as I was told to expect; I actually found it beautiful (in a lonely, desolate sort of way...) Stayed in a town called Baker, population 52, where the owner of the only restaurant/motel in town lets cyclists camp for free in the backyard. He left us while we were eating dinner to keep an eye on the shop while he stepped out for a few minutes and when he came back said to us in his deadpan voice, "I have to kick you out now, because I have to start drinking."
Had some really good Chinese food (go figure) in a town called Eureka. We were excited when we saw the $3 glasses of wine on the menu, because there are few things more satisfying than a glass of wine after a long ride. I don't know why this didn't cross my mind immediately, but we soon discovered why they were only $3: the wine was pretty watered down, as was the soap in the bathroom in that place and the place in Baker. For an area where you see "Please Conserve Water" signs everywhere, they sure do like to use it in places I wish they wouldn't. The single waiter in the Chinese food place had a little trouble keeping up with all the tables, and when the very thirsty bikers finally got the refills we needed for our waters Miles warned us, "I don't know, guys, this tastes a little watered down."
California was a big change of scenery (trees! streams! other bicycles!) Actually, I think we saw more bikes in the two days in California than we saw in the entire rest of the country combined. The majority of the route after getting into CA was on bike trails or dedicated bike lanes on roads, which was really nice. The four of us stopped along the way yesterday to take a swim in a river that the bike trail was following, and a girl there was so shocked by my tan lines that she yelled to her boyfriend to look. I can't really blame her, because they are pretty appalling.
Started our last day with breakfast at Denny's, rode through the cutest farmer's market ever in Davis, and passed through miles of fruit trees and fields of vegetables before taking the ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco. Before saying goodbye to Guy and Miles we took a little victory lap with them to the sound of "We Are The Champions" coming from my portable speakers that we rigged to my handlebars. Navigating a strange city on a Saturday night was um, interesting, but we made it to the Golden Gate bridge and rode across it all lit up. (Don't worry, we used the bike/pedestrian walkway, fenced off from the car traffic!) I can hardly believe we got here on bicycles, but we have a few days to explore San Francisco and San Jose to let it sink in.
More later, including reflections on the trip.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Day 62: West Sacramento, CA.
Sincerest apologies for the newest break in posts: Nevada was a black hole for cell phone service and apparently eastern California is too. That's right, I'm in California! We're leaving Sacramento this morning and guess where we'll be ending up... SAN FRANCISCO. Today. I'll update you on the last week when I get to a computer, because right now I have to go to Denny's.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Days 52-54: Catch-up of the last few days in "Emergency Calls Only" territory.
Sorry for dropping off the face of the planet again, family and friends. Kansas was the Land of Cell Service (nothing to block the signal... at all) but Utah is apparently not so cell phone-friendly. I usually try to keep posts relatively short to limit the bore factor, but I've got a little more ground to cover on this one.
Miles (all cities are in Utah... yup, we're still there.)
Day 52: Bryce Canyon to nowhere, 40 miles (ugh)
Day 53: nowhere to Cedar City, 45 miles (ugh)
Day 54: Cedar City to Milford, 55 miles (double ugh)
But, thinking more positively: total miles, 3420.
As you can tell by the mileages, lots of unfortunate events have been keeping us from getting the miles done the past few days. Flat tires, steep grades, weather, and time were not our friends this week.
Rode through a town called Panguitch the other day. We were looking forward to that one for a while. Lou and I confessed to each other that we think "Penguin Sandwich" every time the name is mentioned, which I enjoy a lot more than is probably called for, and is almost definitely not as funny to you as it is to us. Had a guy in a truck slow down to offer us a place to stay in town, but we wanted to get a few more miles done for the day. Headed down the road to a campground called White Bridge that you did in fact have to travel over a tiny white bridge to get to. That U.S. Forest Service is pretty creative with the names.
Yesterday started with a long climb after which we dropped off the Colorado Plateau right into Cedar City. That descent was the most fun of all of the long ones we've had; I'm thinking it had to do with the absence of ridiculous headwinds and the ensuing storms that we had during every one in the Rockies. 17 uninterrupted miles of downhill was nice, to say the least. Cedar City is only one of two towns on this whole map (covering 465 miles) that has a bike shop, so I needed to get a new tube while I had the chance. We were disappointed to see that the shop was closed, but as we turned to leave a man opened the door and asked what we needed. When we told him, he solemnly motioned for us to follow and turned back into the store. He set us up with the tube and advised us that camping in the city park would be no problem. We rode over to it and saw a sign indicating that, unlike a lot of city parks we've been through, you're actually not allowed to camp there, but we found a dark corner and it was warm enough not to even set up the tent. Sneaked out this morning before it got light enough to see us, pleased with our stealth camping success.
Today started out looking promising: we got on the road early and even with having to stop to fix Lou's flat rear tire, strong tailwinds got us 40 miles before lunch. A few miles in, a car pulled over to the shoulder and the driver got out. As we passed by he asked us if we needed a place to stay in Milford, which was 55 miles from our starting point that morning. It was really nice to receive such an offer twice in three days, but again we wanted to get as many miles done today as possible (and with such a great tailwind, what was to stop us from being carried 100 or so today?), so we thanked him but had to decline the offer. We were planning on filling up water in Milford, the last town before an 84-mile stretch with no towns or services and camping somewhere along the road again... until we saw the dust storm. That's right, people, a new weather feature decided to make an appearance. It was actually kind of exciting at first, with thick dust making it impossible to see through to the other side and wind blowing the grass and small bushes crazily. We put bandannas over our faces to keep from breathing the dust and kept riding, but as we approached Milford, the road turned West and the crosswind was so strong we had to get off our bikes and walk until the road turned back North. It became pretty apparent that we had to stop when a trucker told us the wind in the next valley we were heading to was worse, and the woman in the post office told us it was supposed to keep up until 3am. During the "should we go on?" conversation, we miraculously ran into Eddie, the guy who'd stopped to offer us a place to stay earlier today. His father owns a house in town that he rents out, but it's vacant at the moment, and Eddie generously offered to let us stay there for the night.
Not happy to be covering so few miles today, but at least we got some in before the storm got bad, and we're way lucky to be meeting such nice people in Utah. They say that Kansas has the nicest people, but I'm pretty sure I've met a higher ratio of nice people to mean people here. Pretty much 100% nice, which is... nice.
Miles (all cities are in Utah... yup, we're still there.)
Day 52: Bryce Canyon to nowhere, 40 miles (ugh)
Day 53: nowhere to Cedar City, 45 miles (ugh)
Day 54: Cedar City to Milford, 55 miles (double ugh)
But, thinking more positively: total miles, 3420.
As you can tell by the mileages, lots of unfortunate events have been keeping us from getting the miles done the past few days. Flat tires, steep grades, weather, and time were not our friends this week.
Rode through a town called Panguitch the other day. We were looking forward to that one for a while. Lou and I confessed to each other that we think "Penguin Sandwich" every time the name is mentioned, which I enjoy a lot more than is probably called for, and is almost definitely not as funny to you as it is to us. Had a guy in a truck slow down to offer us a place to stay in town, but we wanted to get a few more miles done for the day. Headed down the road to a campground called White Bridge that you did in fact have to travel over a tiny white bridge to get to. That U.S. Forest Service is pretty creative with the names.
Yesterday started with a long climb after which we dropped off the Colorado Plateau right into Cedar City. That descent was the most fun of all of the long ones we've had; I'm thinking it had to do with the absence of ridiculous headwinds and the ensuing storms that we had during every one in the Rockies. 17 uninterrupted miles of downhill was nice, to say the least. Cedar City is only one of two towns on this whole map (covering 465 miles) that has a bike shop, so I needed to get a new tube while I had the chance. We were disappointed to see that the shop was closed, but as we turned to leave a man opened the door and asked what we needed. When we told him, he solemnly motioned for us to follow and turned back into the store. He set us up with the tube and advised us that camping in the city park would be no problem. We rode over to it and saw a sign indicating that, unlike a lot of city parks we've been through, you're actually not allowed to camp there, but we found a dark corner and it was warm enough not to even set up the tent. Sneaked out this morning before it got light enough to see us, pleased with our stealth camping success.
Today started out looking promising: we got on the road early and even with having to stop to fix Lou's flat rear tire, strong tailwinds got us 40 miles before lunch. A few miles in, a car pulled over to the shoulder and the driver got out. As we passed by he asked us if we needed a place to stay in Milford, which was 55 miles from our starting point that morning. It was really nice to receive such an offer twice in three days, but again we wanted to get as many miles done today as possible (and with such a great tailwind, what was to stop us from being carried 100 or so today?), so we thanked him but had to decline the offer. We were planning on filling up water in Milford, the last town before an 84-mile stretch with no towns or services and camping somewhere along the road again... until we saw the dust storm. That's right, people, a new weather feature decided to make an appearance. It was actually kind of exciting at first, with thick dust making it impossible to see through to the other side and wind blowing the grass and small bushes crazily. We put bandannas over our faces to keep from breathing the dust and kept riding, but as we approached Milford, the road turned West and the crosswind was so strong we had to get off our bikes and walk until the road turned back North. It became pretty apparent that we had to stop when a trucker told us the wind in the next valley we were heading to was worse, and the woman in the post office told us it was supposed to keep up until 3am. During the "should we go on?" conversation, we miraculously ran into Eddie, the guy who'd stopped to offer us a place to stay earlier today. His father owns a house in town that he rents out, but it's vacant at the moment, and Eddie generously offered to let us stay there for the night.
Not happy to be covering so few miles today, but at least we got some in before the storm got bad, and we're way lucky to be meeting such nice people in Utah. They say that Kansas has the nicest people, but I'm pretty sure I've met a higher ratio of nice people to mean people here. Pretty much 100% nice, which is... nice.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Day 51: Escalante Grand Staircase National Park, UT to Bryce Canyon National Park, UT.
Miles: 45.
Took a short day to spend some time at Bryce Canyon, which Lou has been looking forward to for the whole trip. We were really disappointed by how touristy the park was, and how expensive it was just to get in, but the park is really beautiful; thousands of columns of rocks amid the pink, red and white canyons. The Native American legend of Bryce Canyon is that before there were any Indians, there was a village there of spirits which were really animals but had the ability to make themselves look like people. They did something bad, which supposedly the legend is unclear about, and as a result were turned into stone. Camped in the park and going to take a hike around the canyon this morning before we head out. Sorry this is so boring; nothing much to talk about from yesterday except more rocks and steep climbs.
Took a short day to spend some time at Bryce Canyon, which Lou has been looking forward to for the whole trip. We were really disappointed by how touristy the park was, and how expensive it was just to get in, but the park is really beautiful; thousands of columns of rocks amid the pink, red and white canyons. The Native American legend of Bryce Canyon is that before there were any Indians, there was a village there of spirits which were really animals but had the ability to make themselves look like people. They did something bad, which supposedly the legend is unclear about, and as a result were turned into stone. Camped in the park and going to take a hike around the canyon this morning before we head out. Sorry this is so boring; nothing much to talk about from yesterday except more rocks and steep climbs.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Day 50: Torrey, UT to somewhere past Escalante, UT.
Miles today: we're not done yet, but 66 so far. (Update: it was 74 or 75, can't remember.)
Figured I'd write a post while there was cell service available. Breakfast today was the very first pancakes we've been able to find with real butter and real maple syrup on the whole trip. I couldn't believe it took until Utah, and I don't really know what's wrong with the rest of the country, but margarine and high fructose corn syrup are not where it's at, people! Lunch was not as good an experience as breakfast: expensive, touristy, and we were treated pretty much like an annoyance. I've gotten better treatment at Taco Bell at 2:30am on a Saturday night; if you've been to a college campus at this time of the week ever, you'll know just how much that puts things into perspective.
Pretty much the most intense climbs today since the Appalachians that I loved so much (if only I could express sarcasm over text message...), except on these, I didn't feel the burning need to fall off my bike and die halfway through. I still went ridiculously slow, but hey, not feeling like flinging myself under the nearest Rent-an-RV.com monstrosity is a good sign that I've gotten stronger in the past 7 weeks, right? Went down the Hogback, the most amazing/terrifying experience I've ever had on a bike. This was a narrow two-lane road with no shoulders or guardrails most of the way, and I'm not sure how far down the bottom of the canyon floor was, but I can tell you it was a long, long way down. The views were incredible, but the sinking feeling I got in my stomach looking over the edge was not so much.
Had an interesting and unique experience today: I'm pretty sure we were photographed by a member of the paparazzi. As we stopped to take a picture of the "14% Grade Next 4 Miles" sign at the top of the Hogback, a car stopped right in front of the sign. As we groaned about it having chosen the worst place to stop at that moment, the driver's door opened and a man, his face obscured by a camera, leaned out just long enough to snap our picture without greeting or explanation before shutting the door and driving off. There were a surprising number of French tourists around today, so we were thinking that it was likely a foreigner. I can imagine the travel agents in France telling their clients about what to expect in the American west: "If you're lucky, you'll spot a crazy American riding their bike across the hot desert. You'll be able to identify them by the heavy bags attached to their bikes and the profuse sweating. Be sure to photograph this creature if you see one, but don't get too close, because they smell pretty bad most of the time."
Figured I'd write a post while there was cell service available. Breakfast today was the very first pancakes we've been able to find with real butter and real maple syrup on the whole trip. I couldn't believe it took until Utah, and I don't really know what's wrong with the rest of the country, but margarine and high fructose corn syrup are not where it's at, people! Lunch was not as good an experience as breakfast: expensive, touristy, and we were treated pretty much like an annoyance. I've gotten better treatment at Taco Bell at 2:30am on a Saturday night; if you've been to a college campus at this time of the week ever, you'll know just how much that puts things into perspective.
Pretty much the most intense climbs today since the Appalachians that I loved so much (if only I could express sarcasm over text message...), except on these, I didn't feel the burning need to fall off my bike and die halfway through. I still went ridiculously slow, but hey, not feeling like flinging myself under the nearest Rent-an-RV.com monstrosity is a good sign that I've gotten stronger in the past 7 weeks, right? Went down the Hogback, the most amazing/terrifying experience I've ever had on a bike. This was a narrow two-lane road with no shoulders or guardrails most of the way, and I'm not sure how far down the bottom of the canyon floor was, but I can tell you it was a long, long way down. The views were incredible, but the sinking feeling I got in my stomach looking over the edge was not so much.
Had an interesting and unique experience today: I'm pretty sure we were photographed by a member of the paparazzi. As we stopped to take a picture of the "14% Grade Next 4 Miles" sign at the top of the Hogback, a car stopped right in front of the sign. As we groaned about it having chosen the worst place to stop at that moment, the driver's door opened and a man, his face obscured by a camera, leaned out just long enough to snap our picture without greeting or explanation before shutting the door and driving off. There were a surprising number of French tourists around today, so we were thinking that it was likely a foreigner. I can imagine the travel agents in France telling their clients about what to expect in the American west: "If you're lucky, you'll spot a crazy American riding their bike across the hot desert. You'll be able to identify them by the heavy bags attached to their bikes and the profuse sweating. Be sure to photograph this creature if you see one, but don't get too close, because they smell pretty bad most of the time."
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Days 47-49: Blanding, UT to Torrey, UT.
Miles: 75, 65 and ugh, 50.
Cell phone service, hooray! In the news from the past few days: we broke 3000 miles, we went 128 miles between towns (I have never been so happy to see a convenience store), and I got my first flat of the trip (which dashed my hopes of going the whole way across without one). Actually, Lou got 3 of them the following day, which makes me want to call up Utah and suggest they change their slogan from The Beehive State (I have seen no beehives whatsoever) to The Flat Tire Capital of America. I feel that title would be more accurate and deserved.
The desert came up pretty much immediately after Blanding and we've been seeing some really amazing landforms ever since. I had no idea the geography of Utah was so beautiful, varied, and HUGE. Rocks and water can really do some amazing things.
Met 7 new cyclists, all foreign, from England, Belgium and Germany. We weren't expecting to really meet anyone once we split off the Trans America route, which goes to Oregon and does not include a desert, to follow the Western Express route which definitely does, this late in the season. My theory is that the foreign people didn't have anyone to tell them that the desert in July is really, really hot. The Belgian, a 52-year-old science teacher, apparently has some knowledge of orthopedics and adjusted my wrist for me after we had breakfast together this morning. Super nice guy and we're super lucky to have met him! Today was Lou's birthday and after breakfast with the Belgian (pancakes, not waffles) we came across an organic bakery and coffee house a few miles farther into nowhere. The guy running the place was an interesting sort; went back and forth between being really nice and coming off as kind of a jerk as he bustled around the small kitchen. Later on we discussed our impressions of him and decided that he probably just spends too much time alone baking bread and tending to his plants and his goats. In either case, we had some freshly baked bread, freshly ground and brewed coffee, and freshly made feta cheese courtesy of the goats.
After that, bike trouble plagued both of us for the rest of the day, and we decided to call it a day when we got to Torrey and heard about the bluegrass festival in town tonight. We'd been looking for one the whole trip and I kinda can't believe it took us til Utah to find one. Dealt with the bike trouble, showers for the second night in a row (an unfathomable luxury), and then heading to see some live music.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Day 46: McPhee Reservoir, CO to Blanding, UT, or "I thought we were supposed to be in the desert!"
Miles today: 71.
So, we were welcomed to Utah with another hail storm... not very desert-like. I'm sure I'll be wishing for rain in a couple days, but for now I'm really sick of hail and headwinds. Bring on the dry heat! Holed up in Monticello for a little while to wait out the storm. Did some laundry (which provided for one of the most satisfying experiences: a clean sleeping bag!), had coffee to warm up and wrote some postcards. On our way out of town we stopped at a grocery, and as I made my way around a cute little motormouth boy shopping with his mother, he says to her loudly, "Mom, she's a little lady! That's a little lady, Mom!" Hearing little kids talk to their parents about me when they don't think I can't hear them has become one of my favorite things.
Managed to make it a little farther to just before Blanding, where we found the most perfect little secluded place to camp next to a reservoir, and made the first (yes, first!) campfire of the trip. Don't know how much cell service I'll be getting through Utah and Nevada, so the morning coffee readers may be disappointed a little more frequently... Sorry in advance, guys. I'll do what I can.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Day 45: Telluride, CO to McPhee Reservoir, a few miles past Dolores, CO.
Miles today: 76.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to inform you that I have hauled myself over the Rockies in one piece. Of course, on our last and longest descent Mother Nature saw fit to have the wind blowing in our faces AND throw a storm our way, but we got through it. Breakfast this morning was expensive but delicious (best sourdough toast ever), lunch was expensive and not so delicious (worst veggie burger ever). Camping tonight in a nice man's yard, where I realized that I left my flip flops in Telluride this morning. Major disappointment. Karina, if you read this before you leave tomorrow, rescue them from the bathroom!
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to inform you that I have hauled myself over the Rockies in one piece. Of course, on our last and longest descent Mother Nature saw fit to have the wind blowing in our faces AND throw a storm our way, but we got through it. Breakfast this morning was expensive but delicious (best sourdough toast ever), lunch was expensive and not so delicious (worst veggie burger ever). Camping tonight in a nice man's yard, where I realized that I left my flip flops in Telluride this morning. Major disappointment. Karina, if you read this before you leave tomorrow, rescue them from the bathroom!
Day 44: Montrose, CO to Telluride, CO.
Miles today: 65.
Today was better than yesterday: no storms! Met a father, Peter, and his daughter, Karina, who is my new hero. This chick is 13 years old biking from Connecticut to San Francisco and has a great attitude. What a rockstar. I wish I was that cool when I was 13.
Rode through a canyon for a while that had some really indescribably amazing scenery of the mountains around and the river below. I wanted to stop every quarter mile to take a picture, but that's pretty much been the case all through the Rockies. Telluride isn't marked on the elevation profile we have on our map, but we thought it was right before a particularly steep-looking climb. Surprise; turns out Telluride was AFTER it. Had a really fun time with that one at the end of the day! It was even steeper than we thought, of course, and with absolutely no shoulder, but we survived. When we got into Telluride we got a tip from a couple walking down Main Street about a "locals special" at the Italian restaurant a block down; I can't express how worth the $12 that bowl of pasta and glass of wine was. It really hit the spot. Turns out our waiter had done a cross country tour a few years ago, and he hooked us up with the special we weren't really supposed to be able to get. Awesome.
Today was better than yesterday: no storms! Met a father, Peter, and his daughter, Karina, who is my new hero. This chick is 13 years old biking from Connecticut to San Francisco and has a great attitude. What a rockstar. I wish I was that cool when I was 13.
Rode through a canyon for a while that had some really indescribably amazing scenery of the mountains around and the river below. I wanted to stop every quarter mile to take a picture, but that's pretty much been the case all through the Rockies. Telluride isn't marked on the elevation profile we have on our map, but we thought it was right before a particularly steep-looking climb. Surprise; turns out Telluride was AFTER it. Had a really fun time with that one at the end of the day! It was even steeper than we thought, of course, and with absolutely no shoulder, but we survived. When we got into Telluride we got a tip from a couple walking down Main Street about a "locals special" at the Italian restaurant a block down; I can't express how worth the $12 that bowl of pasta and glass of wine was. It really hit the spot. Turns out our waiter had done a cross country tour a few years ago, and he hooked us up with the special we weren't really supposed to be able to get. Awesome.
Day 43: Nowhere, CO to Montrose, CO.
Miles today: 68.
Wow... today kinda sucked. While going up a long hill with very little shoulder, it started to rain. Then it started to pour. Then it started to hail. The hail started really stinging, the next town was several miles away, and Lou was way ahead as usual and nowhere to be seen, so the only thing to do was pull over and cover up with the tent's rain fly. I have to say that I have definitely been much drier and MUCH warmer than I was for that lovely half hour crouching by the side of the road alone. The ride into town wasn't much more comfortable, and it was really fun to discover Lou having been at a cafe for the past hour. Dry.
Ok, so enough of the bad attitude: cool things for the day included having been mistaken for a goat by some other goats. At least I'm pretty sure that's what happened. They baaed at me as I rode by in a tone that made me believe they fully expected me to baa back. I could not, because I am in fact not a goat. Also, we spent the night in a real live tepee. Or teepee. Whatever. It was a first for me and was actually kind of exciting.
Wow... today kinda sucked. While going up a long hill with very little shoulder, it started to rain. Then it started to pour. Then it started to hail. The hail started really stinging, the next town was several miles away, and Lou was way ahead as usual and nowhere to be seen, so the only thing to do was pull over and cover up with the tent's rain fly. I have to say that I have definitely been much drier and MUCH warmer than I was for that lovely half hour crouching by the side of the road alone. The ride into town wasn't much more comfortable, and it was really fun to discover Lou having been at a cafe for the past hour. Dry.
Ok, so enough of the bad attitude: cool things for the day included having been mistaken for a goat by some other goats. At least I'm pretty sure that's what happened. They baaed at me as I rode by in a tone that made me believe they fully expected me to baa back. I could not, because I am in fact not a goat. Also, we spent the night in a real live tepee. Or teepee. Whatever. It was a first for me and was actually kind of exciting.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Day 42: Salida, CO to some BLM land 5 miles east of Gunnison, CO.
Miles today: 74.
I'm thinking Salida is one of my favorite towns so far. After we left the library where I wrote my last post, we stopped at a pizza place and a group sitting outside invited us to sit with them. They were all super cool and we had a good time talking and telling stories for a while before we headed across town to bed.
Left extra early this morning and climbed up to Monarch Pass at 11,312 feet! The climb took awhile but it was much different than the Appalachians. The grades were less steep, and it was steady uphill for miles instead of up and down and back up and back down, which was a lot less frustrating; it's incredibly disappointing to climb up a steep hill for a while and have to go downhill again only to earn back all that elevation over and over. This was the highest elevation I'd been to and towards the end I really started feeling its effects. Nothing too scary, but the lightheadedness and quicker pulse did make me stop more often than usual. The descent was the most fun I've had riding so far- not at all as terrifying as the one from the Blue Ridge Parkway-- gradual enough not to scare the crap out of me but steep enough to not have to do any work to keep going. The wind held us back from going too fast and I was cruising at 30 mph most of the way, which was kinda perfect.
Those headwinds weren't as welcome on the more gradual downhills we came to after getting off the mountain, and the storm they brought was even less welcome. We'd planned on making it farther but decided to stop for the day near Gunnison. There was nothing in the way of camping close to town, so we headed farther along and a little off route to an area owned by the Bureau of Land Management where we were told you can camp for free. A couple miles of dirt and gravel road later, we set up the tent on very uneven ground covered with sage and tufts of grass (the best option available) while being eaten alive by some voracious bugs. Not so ideal, but hey, we survived another night.
I'm thinking Salida is one of my favorite towns so far. After we left the library where I wrote my last post, we stopped at a pizza place and a group sitting outside invited us to sit with them. They were all super cool and we had a good time talking and telling stories for a while before we headed across town to bed.
Left extra early this morning and climbed up to Monarch Pass at 11,312 feet! The climb took awhile but it was much different than the Appalachians. The grades were less steep, and it was steady uphill for miles instead of up and down and back up and back down, which was a lot less frustrating; it's incredibly disappointing to climb up a steep hill for a while and have to go downhill again only to earn back all that elevation over and over. This was the highest elevation I'd been to and towards the end I really started feeling its effects. Nothing too scary, but the lightheadedness and quicker pulse did make me stop more often than usual. The descent was the most fun I've had riding so far- not at all as terrifying as the one from the Blue Ridge Parkway-- gradual enough not to scare the crap out of me but steep enough to not have to do any work to keep going. The wind held us back from going too fast and I was cruising at 30 mph most of the way, which was kinda perfect.
Those headwinds weren't as welcome on the more gradual downhills we came to after getting off the mountain, and the storm they brought was even less welcome. We'd planned on making it farther but decided to stop for the day near Gunnison. There was nothing in the way of camping close to town, so we headed farther along and a little off route to an area owned by the Bureau of Land Management where we were told you can camp for free. A couple miles of dirt and gravel road later, we set up the tent on very uneven ground covered with sage and tufts of grass (the best option available) while being eaten alive by some voracious bugs. Not so ideal, but hey, we survived another night.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Day 41: Westcliffe, CO to Salida, CO.
Miles today: 52.
Another short day today, but only 11 miles short of where we'd planned instead of um... 50. We're still used to the free city park camping options all through Kansas and were finding it difficult to bring ourselves to pay for camping two nights in a row. When we asked for advice in an outdoor store in Salida and were offered the backyard of one of the employees, we were more than willing to promise ourselves we'd get up an hour earlier to make up the extra miles.
Spent a little time this morning in Westcliffe having breakfast at an Amish bakery in town with delicious quiche and saying goodbye to the campground owner and the ice cream shop guy. The ride was easier today, and we actually encountered roads other than 96, which we'd been on since somewhere in the middle of Kansas (really). US-50 has the most breathtaking views and the least courteous drivers that we've found the entire trip; we unfortunately happen to be traveling on it during a weekend along with hundreds of tourists with huge RVs and no willingness to move over or wait 8 extra seconds to pass us safely. Thanks, guys.
Our map tells us that Salida has one of the oldest historic districts in the country, and it's a pretty cute one, too. Lots of character and people bustling around. Stopped at a bike shop to get new brake pads and the guy running it was pretty enthusiastic about our trip. Bought some new pads (in a dark orange color that I'm actually pretty excited about) and were offered some watermelon before we headed over here to the library. This time I don't have a timer counting down exactly one hour before it kicks me off!
Monarch Pass tomorrow, the highest up I will have ever been. Coming down the other side is my motivation for the 12 miles that are probably going to take me between 3 and 4 hours.
Another short day today, but only 11 miles short of where we'd planned instead of um... 50. We're still used to the free city park camping options all through Kansas and were finding it difficult to bring ourselves to pay for camping two nights in a row. When we asked for advice in an outdoor store in Salida and were offered the backyard of one of the employees, we were more than willing to promise ourselves we'd get up an hour earlier to make up the extra miles.
Spent a little time this morning in Westcliffe having breakfast at an Amish bakery in town with delicious quiche and saying goodbye to the campground owner and the ice cream shop guy. The ride was easier today, and we actually encountered roads other than 96, which we'd been on since somewhere in the middle of Kansas (really). US-50 has the most breathtaking views and the least courteous drivers that we've found the entire trip; we unfortunately happen to be traveling on it during a weekend along with hundreds of tourists with huge RVs and no willingness to move over or wait 8 extra seconds to pass us safely. Thanks, guys.
Our map tells us that Salida has one of the oldest historic districts in the country, and it's a pretty cute one, too. Lots of character and people bustling around. Stopped at a bike shop to get new brake pads and the guy running it was pretty enthusiastic about our trip. Bought some new pads (in a dark orange color that I'm actually pretty excited about) and were offered some watermelon before we headed over here to the library. This time I don't have a timer counting down exactly one hour before it kicks me off!
Monarch Pass tomorrow, the highest up I will have ever been. Coming down the other side is my motivation for the 12 miles that are probably going to take me between 3 and 4 hours.
Day 40: Pueblo, CO to Westcliffe, CO, or "Oh, so THAT'S what uphill is like!"
Miles today: 63.
So I guess we're not in Kansas anymore. The world went from 600 miles of pancake-flat immediately to very big mountains. Had one 14-mile climb during which my favorite moment of the day happened: as I was chugging along slowly but surely at approximately 3 mph (I wish I were exaggerating), 10-year-old Bobby the Nerd in his round wire-rimmed glasses sticks his face up to the window of an old bright yellow VW van that was overtaking me like a train overtaking a slug. The look on his face, equal parts interest and what the hell?, made me smile. His face had disappeared by then (trains move faster than slugs), but when I waved goodbye to little Bobby he popped his head over to the back window and returned my wave, staring at me as the van left me in the dust.
After the descent we stopped for pizza and beer in a small town (Silver Cliff) who shares a border with another small town (Westcliffe) that was surprisingly well taken care of. We've been through countless small middle-of-nowhere towns along the way, and have pretty much gotten used to the fact that a lot of the businesses would be closed and/or run down, but this one was um... not. We took a walk "downtown" and were amazed by how cute and updated everything looked. Asked the woman working at a really cool smoothie place why this town was so much nicer than all the small towns we'd been through until this point, and she told us the town was founded by cattle ranchers over 200 years ago and is now also home to artists and Texans with summer homes. The variety of businesses in Westcliffe show evidence of a seasonal population; real estate agencies, art galleries, and cafés make up the bulk of them.
We decided not to push on to Salida since it was getting a little late; I don't really know what we were thinking when we figured we could continue the 100-mile days in the Rockies, but we fell a little short. After a little searching around we found an RV park/campground that was opened just last year by a school principal and her husband. The campground owner, a super nice and welcoming woman, told us that the ice cream shop next door had the best malts in town. Malts are a big staple of our diet on this trip, so of course we were sold. The shop, Hunger Buster, is owned by the former sound guy for the band KISS. He had unfortunately closed the shop 15 minutes early, but poked out the back door to say hello; he was impressed with our trip and apologized for having turned off the ice cream machines but wished us luck.
Met 6 more riders today: a father and son from Iowa whose blog I had actually read before leaving on this trip, and four British guys about our age, one of whom was kind enough to provide the quote of the day. We stopped and said hello as is customary when passing fellow loaded cyclists, and as we said our Take-cares and Good-lucks I noticed aloud that one of the group and Lou had on the same pair of mountain-bike style shoes. The guy said that his companions, who were all wearing road-style (i.e. more conspicuously cycling-related) shoes, had been making fun of him for holding them back with his clunky shoes. I caught one of the other guys responding to him jokingly as we pulled away, "Yeah... it's not just the shoes."
So I guess we're not in Kansas anymore. The world went from 600 miles of pancake-flat immediately to very big mountains. Had one 14-mile climb during which my favorite moment of the day happened: as I was chugging along slowly but surely at approximately 3 mph (I wish I were exaggerating), 10-year-old Bobby the Nerd in his round wire-rimmed glasses sticks his face up to the window of an old bright yellow VW van that was overtaking me like a train overtaking a slug. The look on his face, equal parts interest and what the hell?, made me smile. His face had disappeared by then (trains move faster than slugs), but when I waved goodbye to little Bobby he popped his head over to the back window and returned my wave, staring at me as the van left me in the dust.
After the descent we stopped for pizza and beer in a small town (Silver Cliff) who shares a border with another small town (Westcliffe) that was surprisingly well taken care of. We've been through countless small middle-of-nowhere towns along the way, and have pretty much gotten used to the fact that a lot of the businesses would be closed and/or run down, but this one was um... not. We took a walk "downtown" and were amazed by how cute and updated everything looked. Asked the woman working at a really cool smoothie place why this town was so much nicer than all the small towns we'd been through until this point, and she told us the town was founded by cattle ranchers over 200 years ago and is now also home to artists and Texans with summer homes. The variety of businesses in Westcliffe show evidence of a seasonal population; real estate agencies, art galleries, and cafés make up the bulk of them.
We decided not to push on to Salida since it was getting a little late; I don't really know what we were thinking when we figured we could continue the 100-mile days in the Rockies, but we fell a little short. After a little searching around we found an RV park/campground that was opened just last year by a school principal and her husband. The campground owner, a super nice and welcoming woman, told us that the ice cream shop next door had the best malts in town. Malts are a big staple of our diet on this trip, so of course we were sold. The shop, Hunger Buster, is owned by the former sound guy for the band KISS. He had unfortunately closed the shop 15 minutes early, but poked out the back door to say hello; he was impressed with our trip and apologized for having turned off the ice cream machines but wished us luck.
Met 6 more riders today: a father and son from Iowa whose blog I had actually read before leaving on this trip, and four British guys about our age, one of whom was kind enough to provide the quote of the day. We stopped and said hello as is customary when passing fellow loaded cyclists, and as we said our Take-cares and Good-lucks I noticed aloud that one of the group and Lou had on the same pair of mountain-bike style shoes. The guy said that his companions, who were all wearing road-style (i.e. more conspicuously cycling-related) shoes, had been making fun of him for holding them back with his clunky shoes. I caught one of the other guys responding to him jokingly as we pulled away, "Yeah... it's not just the shoes."
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day 39: Denver!
Sorry for the interruption in posts, people, but I needed a rest. On Monday we left Ordway and a series of frustrating circumstances (having to do with the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere) kept us from getting breakfast for much longer than we would have liked. We eventually found a town, off route of course, that boasted a restaurant that opened before 11am. Had a nice chat with an old man over pancakes and when I went up to pay our check the waitress told us that the man had already paid it! Another of the many examples of people helping us out along the way. This trip is showing us in a big way that kindness still does exist in this world.
Later on, our friend Will drove down to Pueblo and brought us back to his house in Denver to take a rest day before tackling the Rockies. The rest day turned into two rest days after Lou woke up feeling sick the next morning and I thought my hand could use the extra day to recuperate. My left hand has actually been showing some kind of alarming signs of nerve damage over the past week, and something really needed to be done if I wanted to continue the trip.
To start solving the problem I bought a new stem, the part that holds up the handlebars, which puts me in a more upright riding position and takes some pressure off my hands. Before this point we'd gone 1500 miles without seeing a bike shop (well, one that was open at least), and we really needed to find one here. The guys at Campus Cycles in Denver very generously helped me out with a complete checkup for really just the cost of the stem. They called a local distributor for the part I needed and Nate, my guardian angel, went on his lunch break to pick it up and install it for me that same day! He said he'd been helped out by bike shops on his own tour of the west coast and knew how it was, but these guys really went out of their way for me and I wish I could tell them how much I appreciate them.
Will's mom was able to provide some professional medical advice over the phone and I think the wrist brace she recommended is helping as well. Denver is a really nice city, with beautiful parks and a well-planned public transportation system. Lou and I took the light rail over to the biggest REI we'd ever seen and got some things we needed before Will drove us back to Pueblo, where home tonight is the backyard of a fire station. We're hoping to knock out some miles tomorrow to put us at a good starting point to conquer Monarch Pass the next day. 11,000 feet: yikes.
Later on, our friend Will drove down to Pueblo and brought us back to his house in Denver to take a rest day before tackling the Rockies. The rest day turned into two rest days after Lou woke up feeling sick the next morning and I thought my hand could use the extra day to recuperate. My left hand has actually been showing some kind of alarming signs of nerve damage over the past week, and something really needed to be done if I wanted to continue the trip.
To start solving the problem I bought a new stem, the part that holds up the handlebars, which puts me in a more upright riding position and takes some pressure off my hands. Before this point we'd gone 1500 miles without seeing a bike shop (well, one that was open at least), and we really needed to find one here. The guys at Campus Cycles in Denver very generously helped me out with a complete checkup for really just the cost of the stem. They called a local distributor for the part I needed and Nate, my guardian angel, went on his lunch break to pick it up and install it for me that same day! He said he'd been helped out by bike shops on his own tour of the west coast and knew how it was, but these guys really went out of their way for me and I wish I could tell them how much I appreciate them.
Will's mom was able to provide some professional medical advice over the phone and I think the wrist brace she recommended is helping as well. Denver is a really nice city, with beautiful parks and a well-planned public transportation system. Lou and I took the light rail over to the biggest REI we'd ever seen and got some things we needed before Will drove us back to Pueblo, where home tonight is the backyard of a fire station. We're hoping to knock out some miles tomorrow to put us at a good starting point to conquer Monarch Pass the next day. 11,000 feet: yikes.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Day 36: Sheridan Lake, CO to Ordway, CO.
Miles today: 91.
Eastern Colorado may as well be Kansas in terms of scenery, town size, and services available (or not). More nothing on the sides of the roads and long stretches between tiny towns with everything closed. Met 5 other riders, all from Washington state but not all traveling together, which makes the count 75.
Best part of the day was second lunch/first dinner/whatever you want to call it on some railroad tracks in the middle of nowhere: beautiful light coming through the clouds and empty cars on the tracks that stretched for miles. Sunflowers grow all over the roadsides here and thousands of grasshoppers scatter if you step into the tall grass.
Camping tonight in another city park after being pulled over by the sheriff whose office we were trying to locate; he said my rear reflectors were not visible enough to him, but the two big (and very shiny) reflective spots on my rear bags plus the standard red one on the rear rack kinda makes me suspect he was either really enthusiastic or just bored. We received a "verbal warning" and directions to the park, and are now listening to the youth of Ordway finding ways to entertain themselves on this Sunday night in the summer. Most of it seems to involve walking through the park drunk and talking more loudly than they need to, but tired as I am, I'm thinking this won't really be too much of a problem. Pueblo and Denver tomorrow, meeting up with Will, and giving my sore hands and knees some needed rest with a short 50-mile day.
Eastern Colorado may as well be Kansas in terms of scenery, town size, and services available (or not). More nothing on the sides of the roads and long stretches between tiny towns with everything closed. Met 5 other riders, all from Washington state but not all traveling together, which makes the count 75.
Best part of the day was second lunch/first dinner/whatever you want to call it on some railroad tracks in the middle of nowhere: beautiful light coming through the clouds and empty cars on the tracks that stretched for miles. Sunflowers grow all over the roadsides here and thousands of grasshoppers scatter if you step into the tall grass.
Camping tonight in another city park after being pulled over by the sheriff whose office we were trying to locate; he said my rear reflectors were not visible enough to him, but the two big (and very shiny) reflective spots on my rear bags plus the standard red one on the rear rack kinda makes me suspect he was either really enthusiastic or just bored. We received a "verbal warning" and directions to the park, and are now listening to the youth of Ordway finding ways to entertain themselves on this Sunday night in the summer. Most of it seems to involve walking through the park drunk and talking more loudly than they need to, but tired as I am, I'm thinking this won't really be too much of a problem. Pueblo and Denver tomorrow, meeting up with Will, and giving my sore hands and knees some needed rest with a short 50-mile day.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Day 35: Dighton, KS to Sheridan Lake, CO.
Miles today: 104.
So we've finally made it out of Kansas and I must say I'm not sad to see it go. We're in a new time zone and have the Rockies coming right up! Had about the worst Mexican food in the country today: in case you've been looking for it, it's in Scott City, Kansas. Really abysmally bad. Met a solo female rider today on the road, which I didn't expect to happen at all and was kinda cool to see. Staying tonight in a "hostel" in a town with a population of 66. It's basically a tiny empty house with (very) tricky plumbing, but it does have electrical outlets, a shower, and a washer and dryer, which at this point in my life may as well be paradise. Oh, and apparently it comes with dead bugs in the carpet. We found some souvenirs that Danny and Greg left behind when they stayed here last night- the towns are so few and far between that there aren't many options in the way of nightly destinations, and we've been staying in the same places as they did the previous night since the rest day in Pittsburg. Off to bed; here's hoping I'm not either devoured by bugs or drowned by the faulty plumbing here in Paradise.
So we've finally made it out of Kansas and I must say I'm not sad to see it go. We're in a new time zone and have the Rockies coming right up! Had about the worst Mexican food in the country today: in case you've been looking for it, it's in Scott City, Kansas. Really abysmally bad. Met a solo female rider today on the road, which I didn't expect to happen at all and was kinda cool to see. Staying tonight in a "hostel" in a town with a population of 66. It's basically a tiny empty house with (very) tricky plumbing, but it does have electrical outlets, a shower, and a washer and dryer, which at this point in my life may as well be paradise. Oh, and apparently it comes with dead bugs in the carpet. We found some souvenirs that Danny and Greg left behind when they stayed here last night- the towns are so few and far between that there aren't many options in the way of nightly destinations, and we've been staying in the same places as they did the previous night since the rest day in Pittsburg. Off to bed; here's hoping I'm not either devoured by bugs or drowned by the faulty plumbing here in Paradise.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Day 34: Larned, KS to Dighton, KS.
Miles today: 100.
More nothing today in western Kansas; I didn't think it was possible, but there's even less to see in these last 100 miles than yesterday's 100. It has been interesting, however, to be able to see the few things that do exist from many miles away, like the two storms we rode through today. Those kinda sucked when they finally got to us. But we do get to see the grain elevators for upcoming towns well in advance: the farthest was our destination tonight at 11 miles! Dighton is having their county fair here this weekend and tonight there were fireworks visible from the city park, which was a nice surprise. We also got followed by two incredibly cute dogs for long enough that we just had to stop and pet them. Their owner showed up in his car to collect them a few minutes later with apologies that were not at all needed.
More nothing today in western Kansas; I didn't think it was possible, but there's even less to see in these last 100 miles than yesterday's 100. It has been interesting, however, to be able to see the few things that do exist from many miles away, like the two storms we rode through today. Those kinda sucked when they finally got to us. But we do get to see the grain elevators for upcoming towns well in advance: the farthest was our destination tonight at 11 miles! Dighton is having their county fair here this weekend and tonight there were fireworks visible from the city park, which was a nice surprise. We also got followed by two incredibly cute dogs for long enough that we just had to stop and pet them. Their owner showed up in his car to collect them a few minutes later with apologies that were not at all needed.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Day 33: Newton, KS to Larned, KS.
Miles today: 116 long boring miles.
OK, so Kansas really is boring. We rode a bunch of miles today, saw some fields and cows and oil pumping things and only 3 towns in 116 miles, and now I'm way tired out. Tonight's another city park called Schnack Park. I am eating my schnack of pretzels, cheese and a chocolate chip cookie and crashing hard. I sent your postcards: be on the lookout. That is all.
OK, so Kansas really is boring. We rode a bunch of miles today, saw some fields and cows and oil pumping things and only 3 towns in 116 miles, and now I'm way tired out. Tonight's another city park called Schnack Park. I am eating my schnack of pretzels, cheese and a chocolate chip cookie and crashing hard. I sent your postcards: be on the lookout. That is all.
Day 32: Toronto, KS to Newton, KS.
Miles today: 100.
Total miles: 2021.
Second century in a row and we broke 2000 miles! Today Kansas actually showed me some redeeming qualities. Had three meals in three different cafes with three different exceptionally nice ladies serving us. Scattered thunderstorms rained on us off and on all day, but at least the heat index was only 86 instead of yesterday's 110ish! The sky was actually really beautiful today. Clouds filtering the sunlight muted the colors of the open fields, which made for some amazing scenery, and it was interesting to be able to see the storms for miles over the flat Kansas terrain. I also got to enjoy a lot of one of my new favorite activities: passing by a field full of cows and seeing how many I can get to maintain eye contact with me until I've passed. I'm sure none of you know what I'm talking about, but it really is funny to see 30 heads slowly turning in unison to follow me. Super tired again and sleep is long overdue! Here's hoping tomorrow is as beautiful as today was...
Total miles: 2021.
Second century in a row and we broke 2000 miles! Today Kansas actually showed me some redeeming qualities. Had three meals in three different cafes with three different exceptionally nice ladies serving us. Scattered thunderstorms rained on us off and on all day, but at least the heat index was only 86 instead of yesterday's 110ish! The sky was actually really beautiful today. Clouds filtering the sunlight muted the colors of the open fields, which made for some amazing scenery, and it was interesting to be able to see the storms for miles over the flat Kansas terrain. I also got to enjoy a lot of one of my new favorite activities: passing by a field full of cows and seeing how many I can get to maintain eye contact with me until I've passed. I'm sure none of you know what I'm talking about, but it really is funny to see 30 heads slowly turning in unison to follow me. Super tired again and sleep is long overdue! Here's hoping tomorrow is as beautiful as today was...
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 31: Pittsburg, KS to Toronto, KS.
Miles today: 105.
Total miles: 1922.
Did our first century today between two cities with some pretty original names. Good job, Kansas. Managed to find the only semi-formidable hill in this state which of course picked pretty much the worst time to appear around mile 98.5, but don't worry, I showed it who's boss. Met two more eastbounders this morning, including the first one we've seen riding a recumbent, on top of three yesterday morning which brings our cyclist count to an even 50. Not much else to talk about from today; Kansas is quite boring actually. Nice people, but towns are few, far between, and tiny. Going through towns like these with only one convenience store in them makes me seriously wonder what these people are eating with no grocery stores anywhere around. Ridiculously tired from stomping out all those miles today, so I'm going to bed right about... now.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Day 30: Rest day in Pittsburg.
I never have enough time to get everything done in the time limit in libraries. They're especially strict at this one, so not much time to post anything good, sorry guys...
A few links to blogs of people we've met:
Dave, who we met at the Cookie Lady's house: http://www.leftd.blogspot.com/
Tom, a freelance reporter, who's doing his Life's Too Short Tour in memory of his cousin: http://www.lifestooshorttour.net/
Met 3 new ones this morning, count is up to 45! More tonight by text if I have time. You can thank the Pittsburg Public Library policy for the short off-day post...
A few links to blogs of people we've met:
Dave, who we met at the Cookie Lady's house: http://www.leftd.blogspot.com/
Tom, a freelance reporter, who's doing his Life's Too Short Tour in memory of his cousin: http://www.lifestooshorttour.net/
Met 3 new ones this morning, count is up to 45! More tonight by text if I have time. You can thank the Pittsburg Public Library policy for the short off-day post...
Day 29: Walnut Grove, MO to Pittsburg, KS.
Miles today: 76.
Total miles: 1812.
The terrain finally flattened out! Much better for my own self esteem in keeping up with the boys. Stopped in Golden City, Missouri to try the pie that we'd been hearing about since we got into Missouri. It was worth it! A million different types of pie and all of them delicious. Met three new cyclists today, two of which we had pie with. Dave and Kari are headed to Oregon and are planning on staying there and finding jobs; how adventurous! As soon as we sat down at the pie place, Cooky's Cafe, the waitress put a notebook on the table that had signatures from literally hundreds of bikers who'd stopped there. It was pretty cool to read some of them-- one person had drawn an illustration of a cyclist on his bike having a conveyor belt shovel pies into his mouth.
Crossed another state line and stopped for the night in Pittsburg, Kansas. Lou and I will be taking a rest day tomorrow and Danny and Greg are moving on. I'm pretty sad to have them leave us, but they don't want to take the day off tomorrow, so we'll be parting ways. Library tomorrow, so I'll try to do something about the photo situation and I'll be sending out those Missouri postcards. Last chance, people: send me yer postal information.
Total miles: 1812.
The terrain finally flattened out! Much better for my own self esteem in keeping up with the boys. Stopped in Golden City, Missouri to try the pie that we'd been hearing about since we got into Missouri. It was worth it! A million different types of pie and all of them delicious. Met three new cyclists today, two of which we had pie with. Dave and Kari are headed to Oregon and are planning on staying there and finding jobs; how adventurous! As soon as we sat down at the pie place, Cooky's Cafe, the waitress put a notebook on the table that had signatures from literally hundreds of bikers who'd stopped there. It was pretty cool to read some of them-- one person had drawn an illustration of a cyclist on his bike having a conveyor belt shovel pies into his mouth.
Crossed another state line and stopped for the night in Pittsburg, Kansas. Lou and I will be taking a rest day tomorrow and Danny and Greg are moving on. I'm pretty sad to have them leave us, but they don't want to take the day off tomorrow, so we'll be parting ways. Library tomorrow, so I'll try to do something about the photo situation and I'll be sending out those Missouri postcards. Last chance, people: send me yer postal information.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Day 28: Bendavis, MO to Walnut Grove, MO.
Miles today: 91 (another new high score!)
Not much to talk about today except the especially annoying hills (but not Ill-annoying, since we're in Missouri), and... a real rodeo! Had fun talking to the locals and generally being a spectacle. We were somehow convinced to try-- get this-- fried bull testicles. Apparently they are called "bull fries" here, and look similar to fried clams and taste similar to fried chicken skin. Not the most horrible thing I've ever tasted, but I think I'll be passing on those from now on.
Camping in another city park and super tired. Tomorrow: a new state and, as we've been told, the best pie we've ever had our lives. I'm pretty excited.
Not much to talk about today except the especially annoying hills (but not Ill-annoying, since we're in Missouri), and... a real rodeo! Had fun talking to the locals and generally being a spectacle. We were somehow convinced to try-- get this-- fried bull testicles. Apparently they are called "bull fries" here, and look similar to fried clams and taste similar to fried chicken skin. Not the most horrible thing I've ever tasted, but I think I'll be passing on those from now on.
Camping in another city park and super tired. Tomorrow: a new state and, as we've been told, the best pie we've ever had our lives. I'm pretty excited.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Days 26 and 27: Farmington, MO to Bendavis, MO.
Miles those days: 73 and 75.
Total miles: 1646.
The hardest part of the Ozarks are behind us! Lou informs me that the difficult parts are over until we get to the Rockies, but I'm skeptical; his and my ideas of "difficult" don't exactly always match up. At this point I'm just hoping for one solid day of tailwinds in Kansas for a little self esteem boost in the mileage area. Cross your fingers for me, y'all.
Tallied up all the other cyclists we've met up until this point and it came to 41 including the two guys we're traveling with now! 9 of the cyclists were women, and 3 of those were over 50, which is pretty inspiring. I've gotten some extra credit here and there for touring as a female, which I think is kinda cool but almost a little annoying in a way. I guess it's legitimate, because it's pretty apparent that this is tougher for me than for the guys. I'm always the caboose. Oh well. I did have a new high score today: 43.8 mph! I'm pretty sure none of the boys have clocked faster, so at least I've got that going for me I guess.
Funny moment of the day: passed a motorcyclist going the opposite direction who, seeing us, started pumping his legs furiously as if pedaling. We liked it.
Last but not least, I've got a boatload of Missouri-themed postcards to send, so the first 14 of you to post a comment with your address will receive one when I get to a library to read them. Ready... GO!
Total miles: 1646.
The hardest part of the Ozarks are behind us! Lou informs me that the difficult parts are over until we get to the Rockies, but I'm skeptical; his and my ideas of "difficult" don't exactly always match up. At this point I'm just hoping for one solid day of tailwinds in Kansas for a little self esteem boost in the mileage area. Cross your fingers for me, y'all.
Tallied up all the other cyclists we've met up until this point and it came to 41 including the two guys we're traveling with now! 9 of the cyclists were women, and 3 of those were over 50, which is pretty inspiring. I've gotten some extra credit here and there for touring as a female, which I think is kinda cool but almost a little annoying in a way. I guess it's legitimate, because it's pretty apparent that this is tougher for me than for the guys. I'm always the caboose. Oh well. I did have a new high score today: 43.8 mph! I'm pretty sure none of the boys have clocked faster, so at least I've got that going for me I guess.
Funny moment of the day: passed a motorcyclist going the opposite direction who, seeing us, started pumping his legs furiously as if pedaling. We liked it.
Last but not least, I've got a boatload of Missouri-themed postcards to send, so the first 14 of you to post a comment with your address will receive one when I get to a library to read them. Ready... GO!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Day 24: Surprise, people, I'm in Missouri!
Miles today: 50.
Other days: I'll add 'em later.
Sorry for the lapse in posts on here, guys. Remember those allergies I mentioned having discovered? I'm not really convinced that it's allergies; I've been experiencing whatever it is since last Tuesday and it developed into an ear infection by Friday night. Spent a much-needed rest day finding a doctor and obtaining antibiotics. In the rain. Oh well: such is the life of a touring cyclist, I guess. It's not the worst thing that could have happened, but I have been super extra tired when we finally end up where we're going for the night, hence the serious lack of motivation to post.
In other news since the last one, we've moved past Kentucky with its scary dogs and Illinois with its terrible roads. The other guys have experienced some bike trouble here and there, Greg being the most unfortunate of them, but I've managed to avoid it lately somehow. Have met loads more interesting people, including maybe about 15 other Trans-Am cyclists, mostly all eastbound at this point. During a stop at a roadside fruit stand we met a guy who'd been walking around the country for 6 years; he said God tells him where to go and he just heads there and preaches. He had some interesting stories about life on the road. During a stop to fix a broken spoke on Greg's wheel, a really friendly man in a convertible pulled up and started a conversation by quoting Jeff Foxworthy ("Did you get a flat?...") and while headed down the road after a few minutes' conversation with him were chased down with boxed lunches he'd wanted to bring us. Seems to have been a recurring theme over the past few days; Danny was chased by a woman wanting to give him a bottle of water (she literally got out of her car and sprinted to him, which worried those of us behind him for a minute until we realized she wasn't mad) and Lou was chased by a woman wanting to give him $8! The first was a cyclist herself and the other had sons who'd done the Trans-America trail, and both wanted to let them know how much they admired what they were doing. There's a lot more that happened but I'll have to add it all when I see the inside of a library next!
As for today, we ended up taking a short day due to trouble with Greg's bike (yes, more) and decided to stop at one of six wineries within about ten miles of each other for a wine tasting. It was, in a word, delightful. Staying tonight at the fire station in Farmington, Missouri, INSIDE a fire truck. A little weird, but kinda cool, and the firefighters are super nice and helpful.
Quote for the day, which actually happened 2 days ago: when we crossed the ferry into Illinois the terrain got a little more hilly, and as soon as Greg rode in to the first stop to let everyone catch up, he says with a tone that clearly showed his pride in himself for having thought of it: "These hills are ILL-ANNOYING!"
Other days: I'll add 'em later.
Sorry for the lapse in posts on here, guys. Remember those allergies I mentioned having discovered? I'm not really convinced that it's allergies; I've been experiencing whatever it is since last Tuesday and it developed into an ear infection by Friday night. Spent a much-needed rest day finding a doctor and obtaining antibiotics. In the rain. Oh well: such is the life of a touring cyclist, I guess. It's not the worst thing that could have happened, but I have been super extra tired when we finally end up where we're going for the night, hence the serious lack of motivation to post.
In other news since the last one, we've moved past Kentucky with its scary dogs and Illinois with its terrible roads. The other guys have experienced some bike trouble here and there, Greg being the most unfortunate of them, but I've managed to avoid it lately somehow. Have met loads more interesting people, including maybe about 15 other Trans-Am cyclists, mostly all eastbound at this point. During a stop at a roadside fruit stand we met a guy who'd been walking around the country for 6 years; he said God tells him where to go and he just heads there and preaches. He had some interesting stories about life on the road. During a stop to fix a broken spoke on Greg's wheel, a really friendly man in a convertible pulled up and started a conversation by quoting Jeff Foxworthy ("Did you get a flat?...") and while headed down the road after a few minutes' conversation with him were chased down with boxed lunches he'd wanted to bring us. Seems to have been a recurring theme over the past few days; Danny was chased by a woman wanting to give him a bottle of water (she literally got out of her car and sprinted to him, which worried those of us behind him for a minute until we realized she wasn't mad) and Lou was chased by a woman wanting to give him $8! The first was a cyclist herself and the other had sons who'd done the Trans-America trail, and both wanted to let them know how much they admired what they were doing. There's a lot more that happened but I'll have to add it all when I see the inside of a library next!
As for today, we ended up taking a short day due to trouble with Greg's bike (yes, more) and decided to stop at one of six wineries within about ten miles of each other for a wine tasting. It was, in a word, delightful. Staying tonight at the fire station in Farmington, Missouri, INSIDE a fire truck. A little weird, but kinda cool, and the firefighters are super nice and helpful.
Quote for the day, which actually happened 2 days ago: when we crossed the ferry into Illinois the terrain got a little more hilly, and as soon as Greg rode in to the first stop to let everyone catch up, he says with a tone that clearly showed his pride in himself for having thought of it: "These hills are ILL-ANNOYING!"
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Days 17 and 18: Booneville, KY to Springfield, KY.
Miles on Day 17: 67.
Miles on Day 18: 69.
We broke 1000 total miles today! The terrain is getting easier (i.e. less uphill climbs), so as long as the wind's not blowing against us, as it was today of course, we're much happier. Not much to talk about from the last two days, just a couple picnic lunches in the middle of a road and some bike trouble that took us off the route for a while today. We've discovered ginger ale here in Kentucky called Ale-81, pronounced (as explained on the label) "A late one", and we've been drinking it at every opportunity. I've also discovered that I have allergies. Thanks, Kentucky. That made today fun. Met Britni and George today, two eastbounders going from Pueblo, CO to somewhere in Kentucky. Tired tonight, I'll write a better post tomorrow!
Miles on Day 18: 69.
We broke 1000 total miles today! The terrain is getting easier (i.e. less uphill climbs), so as long as the wind's not blowing against us, as it was today of course, we're much happier. Not much to talk about from the last two days, just a couple picnic lunches in the middle of a road and some bike trouble that took us off the route for a while today. We've discovered ginger ale here in Kentucky called Ale-81, pronounced (as explained on the label) "A late one", and we've been drinking it at every opportunity. I've also discovered that I have allergies. Thanks, Kentucky. That made today fun. Met Britni and George today, two eastbounders going from Pueblo, CO to somewhere in Kentucky. Tired tonight, I'll write a better post tomorrow!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Days 15 and 16: Elkhorn City, KY to Booneville, KY.
Miles on Day 15: 70.
Miles on Day 16: 65.
Total miles: 904.
New max speed(!): 40.9.
Lots more dogs in Kentucky, steep hills and intense sun. Did get one quick thunderstorm, and it actually felt great to get some relief from the sun, but had to stop and wait out the more violent parts in the safety of a gas station cover. Met another cyclist, eastbound. Chris is from England and is traveling from Los Angeles to New York, and he brings our Trans-Am count to 11! Stopped in Hindman and found $4 footlongs at the Subway there. Um... awesome. Stayed last night at Hindman First Baptist Church; had met the pastor's wife in the grocery store and she, a registered dietician, was pretty incredulous about the number of calories I must be burning. They very graciously offered to let us stay in the youth center they have, and we got to spend a night inside. Apart from a few miles on a very trafficky, very dusty, very uphill state road, today wasn't too bad. Staying at another church tonight at a pretty nice camping setup they have out back for cyclists. The four of us have definitely been noticing our appetites catching up to us; we ate two dinners. And two desserts. Exciting things for tomorrow: Berea, meeting up with Matt, and laundry!
Miles on Day 16: 65.
Total miles: 904.
New max speed(!): 40.9.
Lots more dogs in Kentucky, steep hills and intense sun. Did get one quick thunderstorm, and it actually felt great to get some relief from the sun, but had to stop and wait out the more violent parts in the safety of a gas station cover. Met another cyclist, eastbound. Chris is from England and is traveling from Los Angeles to New York, and he brings our Trans-Am count to 11! Stopped in Hindman and found $4 footlongs at the Subway there. Um... awesome. Stayed last night at Hindman First Baptist Church; had met the pastor's wife in the grocery store and she, a registered dietician, was pretty incredulous about the number of calories I must be burning. They very graciously offered to let us stay in the youth center they have, and we got to spend a night inside. Apart from a few miles on a very trafficky, very dusty, very uphill state road, today wasn't too bad. Staying at another church tonight at a pretty nice camping setup they have out back for cyclists. The four of us have definitely been noticing our appetites catching up to us; we ate two dinners. And two desserts. Exciting things for tomorrow: Berea, meeting up with Matt, and laundry!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Day 14: Rosedale, VA to Elkhorn City, KY.
Miles today: 50.
More climbing today. Was chased by the first actually vicious dog, and this was before we even got into Kentucky! As soon as we rode past (up a hill, of course), the dog was viciously barking and biting my back tire. The best part: his owner was literally watching this whole thing happen, and was ignoring me asking him to call off his stupid dog. If I hadn't been so petrified with irrational fear it would have been very satisfying to mace that dog right in the face with his owner watching... but I didn't. Probably a good thing. Obviously I survived, but that one was not fun. Other than the dog drama, we met THREE new cyclists: Greg from Connecticut, bound for San Francisco as well, and Andy and Caleb, eastbounders who go to school in Knoxville. Greg fell in with us for the day, and the four of us including Danny are camping by a river in a formerly important railroad town a few miles from the state line. Got invited to a party by one of the locals, but we're too worn out to think about such things; it's bedtime.
More climbing today. Was chased by the first actually vicious dog, and this was before we even got into Kentucky! As soon as we rode past (up a hill, of course), the dog was viciously barking and biting my back tire. The best part: his owner was literally watching this whole thing happen, and was ignoring me asking him to call off his stupid dog. If I hadn't been so petrified with irrational fear it would have been very satisfying to mace that dog right in the face with his owner watching... but I didn't. Probably a good thing. Obviously I survived, but that one was not fun. Other than the dog drama, we met THREE new cyclists: Greg from Connecticut, bound for San Francisco as well, and Andy and Caleb, eastbounders who go to school in Knoxville. Greg fell in with us for the day, and the four of us including Danny are camping by a river in a formerly important railroad town a few miles from the state line. Got invited to a party by one of the locals, but we're too worn out to think about such things; it's bedtime.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Day 13: Mt. Rogers to Rosedale, VA.
Miles today: 60ish.
Today started out super easy: 20 miles of consistent downhills! FINALLY!! Stopped in Damascus after about an hour and we found it a little odd. Damascus is basically a tourist town for people who don't really ever ride bikes; the town has everything they need to rent a fleet of bicycles for their group and be bused up the mountain, bikes and all, and ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail back to Damascus at the bottom, and spend more money at the restaurants. The town consists of three bike shops, which were basically rental outlets and not repair shops, a coffee shop (named, of course, "Mojoe's"), and a "country store"/restaurant. We stopped for breakfast at the "country store". The quotation marks are deserved because of the Country Crock margarine, Aunt Jemima syrup and boxed-mix pancakes we were served, and the mass-produced country-style home decorations they had for sale. We understood what they were going for, but felt that it really missed the mark.
We went on and ended up meeting yet another cyclist on a water break. Danny is going to San Francisco as well; he just graduated from Georgetown last year and is heading to San Fran to visit his parents who live there. Danny's a great person to meet on this sort of travel; positive attitude and has a way with words that just makes you laugh. We ended up sticking together for the rest of the day.
We came upon the abomination called Hayter's Gap after the water break; I Hayted it. Several miles of steep, winding uphill climbing. That's all I will say about that.
Stopped to eat in Rosedale and decided that the Gap took too much out of us to continue on to where we'd been intending, so we started looking around for a place to camp. Asked for suggestions at an antiques store and ended up receiving a very generous invitation to camp behind the store. The woman who owns it sent us some food to eat with her daughter, and her son who lives in an apartment next to the store entertained us with some great conversation. Food, a place to sleep, good conversation, and a shower: life is good.
Tomorrow: Kentucky!
Today started out super easy: 20 miles of consistent downhills! FINALLY!! Stopped in Damascus after about an hour and we found it a little odd. Damascus is basically a tourist town for people who don't really ever ride bikes; the town has everything they need to rent a fleet of bicycles for their group and be bused up the mountain, bikes and all, and ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail back to Damascus at the bottom, and spend more money at the restaurants. The town consists of three bike shops, which were basically rental outlets and not repair shops, a coffee shop (named, of course, "Mojoe's"), and a "country store"/restaurant. We stopped for breakfast at the "country store". The quotation marks are deserved because of the Country Crock margarine, Aunt Jemima syrup and boxed-mix pancakes we were served, and the mass-produced country-style home decorations they had for sale. We understood what they were going for, but felt that it really missed the mark.
We went on and ended up meeting yet another cyclist on a water break. Danny is going to San Francisco as well; he just graduated from Georgetown last year and is heading to San Fran to visit his parents who live there. Danny's a great person to meet on this sort of travel; positive attitude and has a way with words that just makes you laugh. We ended up sticking together for the rest of the day.
We came upon the abomination called Hayter's Gap after the water break; I Hayted it. Several miles of steep, winding uphill climbing. That's all I will say about that.
Stopped to eat in Rosedale and decided that the Gap took too much out of us to continue on to where we'd been intending, so we started looking around for a place to camp. Asked for suggestions at an antiques store and ended up receiving a very generous invitation to camp behind the store. The woman who owns it sent us some food to eat with her daughter, and her son who lives in an apartment next to the store entertained us with some great conversation. Food, a place to sleep, good conversation, and a shower: life is good.
Tomorrow: Kentucky!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Day 12: Rural Retreat, VA to Mt. Rogers.
Miles biked today: 30ish. Miles hiked today: A MILLION.
Took a short day today and climbed the whole time (of course), but it wasn't too bad because it was a lot less steep than it has been recently. Met up with Clay, the cyclist from yesterday, at a roadside restaurant and had a nice lunch with him, including some amazing sweet potato fries. Set up camp and were going to hike up the tallest mountain in Virginia, but we didn't have enough time to get all the way to the top and back before dark- 7 miles each way! Oh well. This campground has the cleanest bathrooms I've ever encountered, so we're turning back now and a nice shower awaits us at the bottom. Probably won't have service later, so this is all you get tonight!
Took a short day today and climbed the whole time (of course), but it wasn't too bad because it was a lot less steep than it has been recently. Met up with Clay, the cyclist from yesterday, at a roadside restaurant and had a nice lunch with him, including some amazing sweet potato fries. Set up camp and were going to hike up the tallest mountain in Virginia, but we didn't have enough time to get all the way to the top and back before dark- 7 miles each way! Oh well. This campground has the cleanest bathrooms I've ever encountered, so we're turning back now and a nice shower awaits us at the bottom. Probably won't have service later, so this is all you get tonight!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Days 10 and 11: Troutville, VA to Rural Retreat, VA.
Miles on Day 10: 63. Miles on Day 11: 64. Total miles: 629.
Left the very welcoming town of Troutville and realized the reason why Cecil, the man who takes care of the city park we camped in, sounded so familiar: I'm pretty sure he narrated the movie Charlotte's Web. Were intending to stop for the night in Radford at the Lees', a family who hosts Trans-America bikers, but it turns out they were on vacation. It appears that Virginia has some underground network of people who have places for cyclists to stay, perfectly spaced along the route, who know about each other and advertise each other's existence; the Cookie Lady told us we should stop at Mallard Duck campground (the one owned by Larry the Cable Guy's brother, who asked about the Cookie Lady), then the next night in Troutville Cecil assured us that the ride to the Lees' wouldn't be too difficult. It would have been really nice if the Lees had been home, because Lou experienced some trouble with his front wheel and we had to stop for the day in Radford anyway. The owner of the only bike shop in town, a short, middle-aged man with a crowded little shop and a cat he brings to work, was kind enough to keep the shop open an extra hour for us to get there and then another hour to fix the wheel! This guy was super helpful and even made sure to ask me (twice!) if my bike needed anything looked at, two hours after closing time. It was getting late by then, so we ended up just getting a hotel in Radford, which the shopowner in his extreme helpfulness called to find the most, um, economical.
Today was really hot and had a lot of uphills, but we stopped to pick wild blackberries on the side of the road and ended up running into another Trans-Am'er! Clay Bedford is a teacher from Washington state. We saw his entry in the guestbook at the church we stayed at last week and had been hoping to run into him! He's a super nice guy and took a picture of us to put on his blog. Camping tonight in Rural Retreat by a lake. Rode up the street after dinner to hear what we thought would be live bluegrass music, but it turns out the place was closed, so it's early to bed and (hopefully) early to rise!
Left the very welcoming town of Troutville and realized the reason why Cecil, the man who takes care of the city park we camped in, sounded so familiar: I'm pretty sure he narrated the movie Charlotte's Web. Were intending to stop for the night in Radford at the Lees', a family who hosts Trans-America bikers, but it turns out they were on vacation. It appears that Virginia has some underground network of people who have places for cyclists to stay, perfectly spaced along the route, who know about each other and advertise each other's existence; the Cookie Lady told us we should stop at Mallard Duck campground (the one owned by Larry the Cable Guy's brother, who asked about the Cookie Lady), then the next night in Troutville Cecil assured us that the ride to the Lees' wouldn't be too difficult. It would have been really nice if the Lees had been home, because Lou experienced some trouble with his front wheel and we had to stop for the day in Radford anyway. The owner of the only bike shop in town, a short, middle-aged man with a crowded little shop and a cat he brings to work, was kind enough to keep the shop open an extra hour for us to get there and then another hour to fix the wheel! This guy was super helpful and even made sure to ask me (twice!) if my bike needed anything looked at, two hours after closing time. It was getting late by then, so we ended up just getting a hotel in Radford, which the shopowner in his extreme helpfulness called to find the most, um, economical.
Today was really hot and had a lot of uphills, but we stopped to pick wild blackberries on the side of the road and ended up running into another Trans-Am'er! Clay Bedford is a teacher from Washington state. We saw his entry in the guestbook at the church we stayed at last week and had been hoping to run into him! He's a super nice guy and took a picture of us to put on his blog. Camping tonight in Rural Retreat by a lake. Rode up the street after dinner to hear what we thought would be live bluegrass music, but it turns out the place was closed, so it's early to bed and (hopefully) early to rise!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Day 9: Another middle of nowhere to Troutville, VA.
Miles today: 50.
Split with the other bikers we spent the last couple days with, which was a little sad. Less steep hills (although they definitely made their presence known), and the sun was intense today. Tried to take the opportunity to get rid of my glove tan line, but it didn't work out so much. I figure it's pretty much hopeless. Went through some really cute towns and met some nice people on the way to our destination tonight: a city park in Troutville, 15 miles north of Roanoke. The man who takes care of the park offered to take us with him to an all-you-can-eat buffet for dinner and we had a nice conversation with him about some of the local history. He's a great guy and really went out of his way to make us feel welcome and help us out. I feel really lucky to be meeting all these wonderful people!
Funny/weird moment for the day: chugging my way up a hill, a van pulls up next to me and the window rolls down. The guy driving says, "Hey, man, where y'all headed?" I only had enough energy to tell him "California", and he replied with a very enthusiastic "Alright! Ha-ha-haaa!" before he drove off. It was actually quite hilarious.
Split with the other bikers we spent the last couple days with, which was a little sad. Less steep hills (although they definitely made their presence known), and the sun was intense today. Tried to take the opportunity to get rid of my glove tan line, but it didn't work out so much. I figure it's pretty much hopeless. Went through some really cute towns and met some nice people on the way to our destination tonight: a city park in Troutville, 15 miles north of Roanoke. The man who takes care of the park offered to take us with him to an all-you-can-eat buffet for dinner and we had a nice conversation with him about some of the local history. He's a great guy and really went out of his way to make us feel welcome and help us out. I feel really lucky to be meeting all these wonderful people!
Funny/weird moment for the day: chugging my way up a hill, a van pulls up next to me and the window rolls down. The guy driving says, "Hey, man, where y'all headed?" I only had enough energy to tell him "California", and he replied with a very enthusiastic "Alright! Ha-ha-haaa!" before he drove off. It was actually quite hilarious.
Day 8: Afton, VA to a campground somewhere between Vesuvius and Buena Vista, VA., or "Just Keep Spinning", Finding Nemo style.
Sorry about the late post, guys. No service at the campground. Believe me, I looked... for a while.
Miles today: 44 laborious miles.
Let me just say that I CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN RANGE TODAY, and I'm feeling pretty victorious about it. Got up early and Saz and I made pancakes, oatmeal, bacon and tea for everyone at the Bike House, then said a sad goodbye to the Cookie Lady and all headed up the mountain to the dreaded Blue Ridge Parkway. The climbing was pretty tough, and it was hard to even enjoy the downhills because you'd just worked so hard to get up all those feet and would have to be earning them all over again. Even though the ride was really demanding, I felt really good all day. I'm realizing that the difficulty (and your enjoyment) of this sort of travel has a lot to do with attitude, and having other people riding with us was so valuable for motivation and keeping our spirits up. We all took a side hike up a mountain to Humpback Rock, a rock formation that offered some pretty awesome views of the Shenandoah Valley. The hike up was steep- I don't know if we would have done it if we'd knew what we were in for- but sitting up there looking out onto the valley, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I am.
We continued on and finally made it up the last big climb, then after a frighteningly fast descent we pedaled the last few miles to a campground near a river. The owner, Alan, might as well be Larry the Cable Guy's brother. Kyle had stayed at this campground last year when he made the trip solo, and the two of them cracked a lot of jokes at each other's expense, although I think Kyle got the shorter end of the stick on that one. Alan volunteered (insisted, even) on driving us in his pickup truck to the nearest grocery store, and as a result of his kindness we all enjoyed a filling dinner to end the long day.
Miles today: 44 laborious miles.
Let me just say that I CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN RANGE TODAY, and I'm feeling pretty victorious about it. Got up early and Saz and I made pancakes, oatmeal, bacon and tea for everyone at the Bike House, then said a sad goodbye to the Cookie Lady and all headed up the mountain to the dreaded Blue Ridge Parkway. The climbing was pretty tough, and it was hard to even enjoy the downhills because you'd just worked so hard to get up all those feet and would have to be earning them all over again. Even though the ride was really demanding, I felt really good all day. I'm realizing that the difficulty (and your enjoyment) of this sort of travel has a lot to do with attitude, and having other people riding with us was so valuable for motivation and keeping our spirits up. We all took a side hike up a mountain to Humpback Rock, a rock formation that offered some pretty awesome views of the Shenandoah Valley. The hike up was steep- I don't know if we would have done it if we'd knew what we were in for- but sitting up there looking out onto the valley, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I am.
We continued on and finally made it up the last big climb, then after a frighteningly fast descent we pedaled the last few miles to a campground near a river. The owner, Alan, might as well be Larry the Cable Guy's brother. Kyle had stayed at this campground last year when he made the trip solo, and the two of them cracked a lot of jokes at each other's expense, although I think Kyle got the shorter end of the stick on that one. Alan volunteered (insisted, even) on driving us in his pickup truck to the nearest grocery store, and as a result of his kindness we all enjoyed a filling dinner to end the long day.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Day 7: Charlottesville, VA to Afton, VA.
Miles today: 31. Total miles: 401. Avg. speed today: 10.2. Went for one last ride to downtown Charlottesville to buy Matt a birthday present (which, Matt, the shopkeeper informs me you will be receiving on Wednesday), then headed out of town. And climbed. And climbed. We eventually came upon an oasis in the form of a peach orchard and stopped for fresh peaches, cider, and peach ice cream. As we were sitting there devouring, two cyclists rode up with loaded bikes! Aaron and Saz are siblings from New York on their way to Seattle, and were planning on stopping for the night at a Trans-America legend: The Cookie Lady's House. June Curry is a sweet elderly lady who has been hosting cyclists since the Bikecentennial ride which started it all in 1976. She has a whole house that has memorabilia dating back to that ride, and a huge following of bikers who have stayed there over the years. The four of us spent a while talking to her on her porch, listening to stories and watching the neighbor's rooster and peacock (you read that right: peacock) stroll through the yard. We went to check out the Bike House and three more people showed up. Kyle and Chris graduated from Salisbury last year and had met Aaron and Saz a few nights earlier at a fire station where they all spent a night. Dave is eastbound, almost done with his trip, and we squeezed some useful information out of him on what we'll be encountering. Showers and plentiful food (hooray!) and now sitting out on the picnic table enjoying the first conversation with other Trans-Am cyclists we've been able to come by. Super excited to meet other people following the same route, and a great day in spite of the constant hills. This will give me something to think about to keep my mind off the brutality I'll be subjecting my body to tomorrow. Appalachians: prepare to be dominated. Or at least rode over.
Day 6: Rest Day in Charlottesville.
I think we pretty much picked the perfect city to take a rest day in. Decided to give our knees a break before the big climb coming up. This town is super cute! Lots of action, really welcoming people, and lots of things to look at and do. Charlottesville has free concerts on Fridays in the summer, and this one was a British classic rock cover band. Seems like everyone in the community was there. Booths in the historic downtown area were selling clothes, jewelry, sunglasses, etc., and a few art installations were there to look at. My parents drove down to meet us for the day and it was really good to see them! There's definitely a bike culture here- lots of people riding bikes, and even the road signs acknowledge bicycle traffic. Saw lots of bike hats and t-shirts; my favorite was "Bike Charlottesville- Earn Your Downhills". Judging from the few miles we've done actually in Charlottesville, I think "earn" is entirely appropriate. I'm a little sad to leave here, but we've got more places to see and things to do!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Day 5: middle of nowhere to Charlottesville, VA, or, "Oh, the humidity!"
Miles today: 78. Total miles: 365. Avg. speed today: 11.4 (are you seeing a pattern as we get closer to the mountains?)
Hills, heat, and humidity are the words of the day. As I pedaled up one of the nastier hills, I glanced down at my bike's computer displaying 4mph and seriously considered the possibility that that truck who passed me way too closely a few miles back had in fact killed me, and I was now pedaling through hell.
Lunch, a bright spot in the hours of despair, was beautiful and perfect: a tomato, an avocado, strawberries, Greek yogurt, and crackers and green pepper with hummus, enjoyed in the sunshine on a picnic table which are quickly becoming one of my favorite things.
But hey, that long day is over and we're in Charlottesville... in a hotel room WITH A SHOWER! Sorry for the lack of posting last night, loyal fans and concerned family members, but I was just too occupied with removing the layer of grime and getting to sleep in a real bed. Selfish, I know.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Day 4 Update: Glendale, VA to the middle of nowhere, kinda close to Coatesville which is not a real town.
Miles today: 64. Total miles: 287. Avg speed today: 12.6 (ugh). Not much more to say other than we stopped at what the map indicated was camping and apparently used to be a general store but now just has a sign in the window saying "Cyclists are welcome to camp on the property". No big deal; property and permission is all we need. Dinner was trail mix, potato chips, and a mini bagel with peanut butter and honey. Primitive camping in the (now pouring) rain tonight, but hey, it's free. I think we'll take as many of these nights as we can get.
Day 4: Mechanicsville, VA
I'll post the stats by text later on tonight when we get done. Right now I'm in a public library in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Feeling great today despite the rain and increasing hills because LOU THE BICYCLE GENIUS FIXED MY REAR DERAILER THIS MORNING!! Climbing is so much easier than it was yesterday. Have more energy than yesterday too; I think it has to do with the amazing facilities we were provided with last night in addition to having a better-functioning bike.
Other things to be happy about today: Drivers we've been sharing the roads with have been really courteous even with the lack of shoulders, everyone we've talked to has been super nice, and... wait for it... we've located the first Chinese food place, and it's right across from this library! We've both been craving Chinese and I'm pretty sure this is a sign that the world is on our side.
Sorry for the lack of pictures on all these posts so far. I'll make it more interesting when I can steal some of Lou's photos, since my camera is pretty much a useless weight in my left rear pannier at the moment. Kinda wish I knew why, but it's really not the worst thing that could happen.
More updates tonight. Thanks for all the comments so far!
Other things to be happy about today: Drivers we've been sharing the roads with have been really courteous even with the lack of shoulders, everyone we've talked to has been super nice, and... wait for it... we've located the first Chinese food place, and it's right across from this library! We've both been craving Chinese and I'm pretty sure this is a sign that the world is on our side.
Sorry for the lack of pictures on all these posts so far. I'll make it more interesting when I can steal some of Lou's photos, since my camera is pretty much a useless weight in my left rear pannier at the moment. Kinda wish I knew why, but it's really not the worst thing that could happen.
More updates tonight. Thanks for all the comments so far!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Day 3: Newport News, VA to Glendale, VA, or "Beans, Beans, They're Good For Your Heart"
Miles today: 68. Total miles: 223. Avg speed today: 13.4 but felt like 1.34.
Made pancakes this morning- was kinda fun, but took kinda forever. Don't think we'll be doing that again for a while. Ended up riding through historic Williamsburg which was nice. Quote for the day is from a little kid who as we rode by exclaimed, "Wow! That one's got TWO drinks!" Funny how the most remarkable thing to him about what we're carrying is the second water bottle cage.
More hills today, in which the derailer trouble I've been having became a factor. A very frustating one, to put it mildly. For lunch, stopped at what the map indicated would be a grocery store, and turned out to have available a lot of expired canned goods and a single can opener that lasted about 1.1 cans. A blonde in a baseball cap very generously offered to bring a working one back from her house up the street. Another very important way we benefited from the help of strangers: tonight we're staying in "The Hut", an outbuilding of a church that hosts Trans-Am cyclists quite frequently. They made us feel more than welcome, like we belonged there really. I wish we could have told them just how much we appreciated their hospitality. One last thing- if anyone could forward this letter to the town of Williamsburg it would be much appreciated:
Dear Williamsburg,
Please use asphalt next time instead of that rocks-in-cement bullsh!t. A thousand cyclists will thank you.
Love, Mallory.
Made pancakes this morning- was kinda fun, but took kinda forever. Don't think we'll be doing that again for a while. Ended up riding through historic Williamsburg which was nice. Quote for the day is from a little kid who as we rode by exclaimed, "Wow! That one's got TWO drinks!" Funny how the most remarkable thing to him about what we're carrying is the second water bottle cage.
More hills today, in which the derailer trouble I've been having became a factor. A very frustating one, to put it mildly. For lunch, stopped at what the map indicated would be a grocery store, and turned out to have available a lot of expired canned goods and a single can opener that lasted about 1.1 cans. A blonde in a baseball cap very generously offered to bring a working one back from her house up the street. Another very important way we benefited from the help of strangers: tonight we're staying in "The Hut", an outbuilding of a church that hosts Trans-Am cyclists quite frequently. They made us feel more than welcome, like we belonged there really. I wish we could have told them just how much we appreciated their hospitality. One last thing- if anyone could forward this letter to the town of Williamsburg it would be much appreciated:
Dear Williamsburg,
Please use asphalt next time instead of that rocks-in-cement bullsh!t. A thousand cyclists will thank you.
Love, Mallory.
Day 2: Accomac, Va. to Newport News, Va.
Miles today: 88. Total miles: 155. Avg. speed today: 14.0.
Today was a little more stressful; had to deal with the Bay Bridge-Tunnel and the traffic around Norfolk, which took some effort and patience, but we made it. Said goodbye to Andrea and Charlie (wonderful people) and headed south. Found a super cute roadside restaurant/store, The Machipongo Trading Co., on 13: all local/sustainable crafts and food. Wish I'd taken a picture, but it turns out my camera's inexplicably not working. Fabulous. Got to the Bridge-Tunnel and a man in a bright yellow safety outfit drove us across in a pickup. Lots of traffic around Norfolk, but we fought through it and got to the bus transfer station, where a bus brought us and the bikes to Hampton Roads. Continued north toward Yorktown, but started looking for campgrounds several miles earlier since our map only showed three expensive hotels to stay at in Yorktown ($129? No, thank you...) Some nice people in a church directed us to the Newport News Park a few miles up the road, and after a few discouraging moments we found the place. We did discover one thing that made the whole day worth it: showers. Two days in a row- how luxurious!
Today was a little more stressful; had to deal with the Bay Bridge-Tunnel and the traffic around Norfolk, which took some effort and patience, but we made it. Said goodbye to Andrea and Charlie (wonderful people) and headed south. Found a super cute roadside restaurant/store, The Machipongo Trading Co., on 13: all local/sustainable crafts and food. Wish I'd taken a picture, but it turns out my camera's inexplicably not working. Fabulous. Got to the Bridge-Tunnel and a man in a bright yellow safety outfit drove us across in a pickup. Lots of traffic around Norfolk, but we fought through it and got to the bus transfer station, where a bus brought us and the bikes to Hampton Roads. Continued north toward Yorktown, but started looking for campgrounds several miles earlier since our map only showed three expensive hotels to stay at in Yorktown ($129? No, thank you...) Some nice people in a church directed us to the Newport News Park a few miles up the road, and after a few discouraging moments we found the place. We did discover one thing that made the whole day worth it: showers. Two days in a row- how luxurious!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Day 1: Ocean City, Md to Accomac, Va.
Miles today: 66. Total miles: 66. Avg speed today: 14.4 mph.
Tried to get up to watch the sunrise today, but the clouds weren't cooperating. A little more later on than we'd planned, did the wheel-dipping ceremony amid lots of stares and headed out. Couldn't ask for better riding conditions, really: partly cloudy, light breeze, relatively wide and relatively clean shoulders most of the way. Spent most of our time avoiding rumble strips and exchanging bad jokes about things along the road. Made it past our first state line and stopped in Accomac, where we asked the only two people who seemed to be alive in the town about camp grounds. Turns out they're cyclists too, and they offered their "Florida room" for us to stay the night. Spent a couple hours talking with Andrea and Charlie; they're hilarious! Quote of the day, from Andrea: "We don't get a lot of visitors here. But I think there's room in the freezer for a couple more!" Tomorrow we tackle the Bay Bridge-Tunnel and the Norfolk area with the help of an escort and public transportation (respectively), and are aiming to end up in Yorktown for the official beginning of the ACA Trans-America route.
Tried to get up to watch the sunrise today, but the clouds weren't cooperating. A little more later on than we'd planned, did the wheel-dipping ceremony amid lots of stares and headed out. Couldn't ask for better riding conditions, really: partly cloudy, light breeze, relatively wide and relatively clean shoulders most of the way. Spent most of our time avoiding rumble strips and exchanging bad jokes about things along the road. Made it past our first state line and stopped in Accomac, where we asked the only two people who seemed to be alive in the town about camp grounds. Turns out they're cyclists too, and they offered their "Florida room" for us to stay the night. Spent a couple hours talking with Andrea and Charlie; they're hilarious! Quote of the day, from Andrea: "We don't get a lot of visitors here. But I think there's room in the freezer for a couple more!" Tomorrow we tackle the Bay Bridge-Tunnel and the Norfolk area with the help of an escort and public transportation (respectively), and are aiming to end up in Yorktown for the official beginning of the ACA Trans-America route.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Family goodbye dinner, and Ocean City tomorrow!
Tonight we had family from both sides come over for dinner to say goodbye, which included the most important food group (to Maryland natives, at least): steamed crabs with Old Bay. Almost everyone was able to make it out and I'm really glad to have been able to see everyone before I left. Every time my family gets together I think about how lucky I am to be related to such amazing people, and tonight kinda blew my mind. Monetary donations and other gifts for the trip came from all sides, which was completely unexpected, and I'm incredibly grateful for everyone's generosity. Thanks, family!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The requisite Equipment List
(Updated 6/12/09)
After months of careful research, these are all the things I will be carrying across this great big country of ours, subject to revision and redistribution for weight/bulk/necessity after I get everything situated (oh yeah, I did a LOT of revision for placement when all was said and done):
On self
- Helmet
- Sunglasses; ridiculous red plastic that are going to give me terrible raccoon eyes, but I do enjoy them.
- Zip jersey
- Cycling shorts
- Socks; carbon from coconut shells incorporated into the fabric cuts down odor. I have tested them, and this, miraculously, does work.
- Cycling shoes; these clip directly on to my pedals for more efficient power transfer.
- Cycling gloves; the half-fingered variety which help cushion the palms and support the wrists.
On bike
- 2 water bottles
- Bike computer; keeps track of statistics such as speed, mileage, cadence, and their averages and maxes.
- Front and rear lights
- Frame pump
- 2 bungee cords wrapped around the rear rack, in case anything needs to be strapped to the rack, and for hanging laundry to dry.
- Fenders
Handlebar bag- detaches easily to be taken with me when I lock up the bike somewhere. These are things I'd like to have accessible and/or really especially don't want to lose.
- Camera; Fujifilm FinePix F470. I wish this ran on regular batteries, but I'm not about to buy another.
- Cell phone; switched to my old, less crappily-made one.
- Wallet; ID, medical insurance card, debit card, small amount of cash.
- Journal; in this bag because if it's lost, I'd be super pissed.
- Mace; for ill-intentioned dogs, murderers, and zombies.
- Folding knife; if I do encounter a zombie, maybe I'll skip the mace and use this.
- Headlamp; instead of a regular flashlight, to keep hands free, and to look really cool of course.
- Quick flat-fixing or bolt-tightening tools: tire levers, a patch kit, and a bike-specific multi-tool
- Sunscreen and chapstick
- Sanitizer gel and baby wipes
- A couple energy bars
- Ziploc bag with a length of rolled-up toilet paper, to be replenished along the way as needed (camping-store "emergency toilet paper"? What are you really paying for?)
Front right pannier
- Cooking equipment: MSR Pocket Rocket (I still chuckle at the name), fuel canisters, a cooking pot whose lid doubles as a frying pan (genius), a lighter, 2 stainless steel plates, 2 collapsible silicone bowls, 2 fork/spoon/knife sets, and a tiny pancake flipper that I couldn't resist which can be used also to scrape the pot clean, a sponge (cut in half to save a little space)
- Spices/herbs: garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano; these spices seem to make me feel full for some reason, salt and pepper packets to be replaced along the way, a little squeeze bottle for olive oil, gatorade mix, the night's dinner and the next day's breakfast
- A frisbee for playing
Front left pannier
- Rain jacket and rain pants, which will probably be used only if it's cold out while raining
- A shower cap, for rain, to cover my precious Brooks saddle when I'm off the bike and to cover my helmet while I'm on the bike if it's really pouring and making my head wet and uncomfortable. I probably couldn't look much weirder to non-cyclists anyway, and the cyclists will understand.
- First aid bag: Ace bandage, ibuprofen, Excedrin Migraine (and the hopes that I don't get one in June, July, or August), band aids, roll of gauze, neosporin, burn spray, antihistamine, tweezers
- Emergency blanket, for um, emergencies... and rain cover, shade, etc
- Flip flops
- Bike repair: patch kit, spare tubes, folding tire, extra spokes, old toothbrush for cleaning; since I'm not exactly what you'd call a "bike person", and Lou is, I'm trusting his knowledge of the other tools we'll need and hopefully I'll learn to use them along the way.
- Zip ties, rubber bands, duct tape, super glue: the things that hold the world together
- A Sharpie (may come in handy) with some electrical tape wrapped around the handle; don't need a whole roll, but may need a little, and this saves the space.
- extra Ziploc bags
- Chargers for various electronics
Rear right pannier
- In a waterproof bag, to do double duty as a pillow, because I'm a thinker like that: extra cycling shirt, high-visibility shirt (the thing is ridiculous bright yellow, but it's actually great in hot weather, and could be useful when bad weather makes me harder to see, my pride be damned), 1 extra pair cycling shorts, tights, 2 extra sports bras, 1 regular bra, 3 extra pairs of socks, 2 pairs undies, 1 pair of off-bike shorts, 2 off-bike shirts, a bathing suit, bandanas
- Zip jacket for warmth
- A camp towel; got a MSR Personal towel in XL and cut off a little extra length to be used for hands and clean cookware.
- A drain plug, for doing laundry in sinks that lack stoppers; recommended by many veteran tourers
- 6 clothespins; the amount that the aforementioned tourers deemed sufficient
- The Plastic Tomato (details on that particular item to come; something for y'all to look forward to)
Rear left pannier
- Sleeping bag & sleeping pad
- A book; a gift from Matt for my birthday
- Toiletries: a bar of Castile soap (for hands, body, face, hair, dishes, clothes, and everything else), deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, nail cutters, spare pairs of contacts and solution, razor and spare blades, bug repellent, comb, Divacup (someone in the bike-tour blogging world had to address this issue: guys, don't click on that link unless you want more information than you bargained for, but ladies, you should check that out, even if you never plan on riding a bike ever in your life: it is awesome)
- Water filter
- A 4L dromedary bag, which is basically a Camelbak minus the whole wearing-it-on-your-back thing. I know my limits, and I would not be able to handle having a big heavy bag of water plastered to my sweaty back for hours on end. It probably won't be needed and therefore not filled most of the time (because water is heavy), but I do need to be able to carry enough water for the Nevada desert.
That's everything! I'm planning on doing a post at the end of the trip reviewing the things I bought for the tour as a reference for those who may be looking at this to plan for their own, so if you'll kindly wait 3 months I'll have that ready for you.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
I had a brief moment of fun with Photoshop...
...and created this here picture showing the route we'll be taking: the Adventure Cycling Association's Trans-America until Pueblo, CO (where the dot in the middle is), and then rather than following the rest of the Trans-Am northwest to Oregon we're picking up the Western Express to San Francisco. I didn't feel like figuring out how to add the tiny amount of blue line connecting our starting point in Ocean City, MD to the beginning of the Trans-Am (because, being from Maryland, we aren't fooled into thinking Yorktown, VA is on the actual coast and not the Chesapeake Bay), but you get the idea.
UPDATE: Immediately after posting this, I went over to check Lou's blog and sure enough, he had already outdone me by doing this exact thing, adding the Ocean City to Yorktown part, labeling the beginning and ending points, and turning the whole thing green, which is pretty much exactly what I'd planned on doing when I had more time. Fantastic.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
TOSRV: a learning experience
This past weekend I followed the 48th Tour of the Scioto River Valley, or TOSRV as it's known around here. It's a 2-day, 210-mile tour from Columbus, Ohio to Portsmouth, Ohio, which is right on the Kentucky border.
My friend Kyle is training for a long tour this summer as well: he's participating in a Livestrong event in Philadelphia in August, and is riding his bike to it from Columbus. He and I have been motivating each other to train, and we decided (at the last minute) to do the TOSRV. It turns out that if you register the day before the race they tack on $20 extra to the $47 fee, which includes a chunk of floor to sleep on at the Portsmouth YMCA and lunch during each day's ride. We didn't see $67 for this as what you'd call "worth it", so we rode out to Sports Authority where we bought the necessary supplies to camp for the night, and I packed food for both of us.
This was my longest ride yet and it was quite a challenge, but I'm really glad I did it. We only ended up going about 72 of the 105 miles, due in part to the riding conditions on Saturday and also due to the fact that 105 miles is really a little more intense than was realistic for us at that point. Despite the wind coming from opposite direction on the second day (thank you, Mother Nature), the way back was much more enjoyable, and I learned some really valuable lessons.
Things I learned on the TOSRV:
- 30mph headwinds are no joke.
- 30mph headwinds are no joke.
- One can't really appreciate how riding with weight is more difficult until they've experienced it. Against 30mph headwinds.
- I really need to reconsider every ounce I'm planning on carrying across the country.
- I don't know what we were thinking, but stopping for greasy food and ice cream in the middle of a ride is a terrible idea.
- Energy gels taste a little unpleasant, but they sure do work miracles when you're in the depths of low-energy despair. This weekend, I was there.
- Oatmeal raisin Clif bars are too good to be true.
- I actually don't care if I wear the same clothes every day, even if they look ridiculous to non-cyclists in small towns.
- ...But if I wear them every day, they will not smell like roses.
- Judging from the ones I acquired over 2 days, I'm pretty sure my tan lines from this summer will be visible for the rest of my life.
- I like camping and am pretty excited to do it for 2 months.
- Pitbulls can be quite frightening. Especially when they're chasing you, up a hill, with camping gear and 2 days of food on your bike.
- Geese really DO have the ability to cross roads with urgency. Or maybe I encountered the only one in the world who actually got out of my way.
- I can totally do this: I just have to take it one day at a time.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The What and the Why
This fall one of my dearest friends, Lou Eney, asked me if I wanted to to a coast-to-coast bicycle tour with him this summer. Having not ridden a bike regularly in several years, and having not a clue about what this would entail, my answer was, of course, an enthusiastic "yes!"When I tell people I'm going to ride my bike all the way across the country this summer, they react in one of two predictable ways. The first is, "Wow, I'm really jealous. I could never do that." These people are mistaken; the truth is that, short of a medical obstacle, anyone could; they just have to want it enough. The other reaction is "Wow, you're crazy! Why would you want to ride a bike all that way when you could just drive a car?!" I think John Forester provides the best answer to this question:
Cycling does it all --- you have the complete satisfaction of arriving because your mind has chosen the path and steered you over it; your eyes have seen it; your muscles have felt it; your breathing, circulatory and digestive systems have all done their natural functions better than ever, and every part of your being knows you have traveled and arrived.
I came across this quote in my (very extensive) research for what is admittedly a huge undertaking. The Atlantic and the Pacific are pretty far away from each other, and bicycles can only travel so fast, so this leaves a lot of possibilities in between. Some certainties, however, are that I'd be foolish not to start this in good physical shape and with adequate equipment and finances, so in January I bought a bike and started training, researching, and saving in earnest.
The fact that I have no way of knowing exactly what I'll experience this summer in no way discourages me. In fact, it's exactly the reason I want to do it.
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