Bike Journey of Solutions

San Francisco, CA

2009-07-22T01:19:00.010-04:00

Bike across the country - check! We finished it off today with a short 39 mile ride. The route was actually more rural than expected if you ignore the fact that it paralleled I-80 for awhile. There was even a final climb of about 400' over the last ridge line before Vallejo on San Pablo Bay. The weather was sunny inland but cool with a brisk 20mph wind off the Pacific. I think it was actually the strongest true headwind of the entire trip so we were fortunate in the wind department. From there it was an hour ferry ride to the San Francisco Ferry terminal, and a six mile ride along The Embarcadero to Marina Drive to Fort Point at the Golden Gate Bridge and the end of the ride.

For those who like to keep numbers like me, here are a few trip numbers; 3834 miles, 60 elapsed days, 52 riding days (4 rest days, 4 schedule adjustment days), 74 mile per day average, 40 mph fastest descent speed.

I will need more time to reflect on the trip but I can say there is no better way to experience the magnitude and diversity of the country than at bicycle speed. I highly recommend it to anyone. There were certainly some challenging and trying moments but overall the ride went very well from all aspects. As I have written before, going east to west through the middle of the country has proven to be a good decision, and riding supported is a great advantage that made the ride that much more enjoyable. We appreciate all of the positive comments about the photographs and we will work on sharing more and our stories when we return to Rochester.

I would like to thank Sally my partner and SAG driver for all of her help and support, it was a team effort all of the way. And we are still on speaking terms. Thanks to our daughter Elizabeth for getting us started on the right foot with the jerseys and making the effort to meet us at the end of the ride today. And thanks to all of you who followed the blog, made comments, and helped us celebrate our anniversary, with special thanks to those who contributed to Journeys of Solutions in support of the ride.

Fairfield, CA

2009-07-19T20:03:00.011-04:00

The ride today continued 10 miles on the American River Bike Path to Old Town Sacramento. It being Sunday, it was quite crowded with other cyclists. The path is in a greenway such that you would not know you were riding through a city. Old Town is a restoration of historic store fronts with lots of tourist kinds of businesses, and there is a working steam locomotive. After going through West Sacramento on surface streets, the route connected with another bike path that abutted right up against I-80 on a miles long causeway across a marshy area. That led to the city of Davis and my third flat tire of the trip, one of the dreaded goathead thorns finally. Davis is known as a very bike friendly city and so it was back onto another 10 mile bike path. Outside of Davis the route entered an extensive agricultural area with fields of tomatoes, and orchards of various un-identifiable fruits, probably avocados and peaches. We had lunch in the small farming town of Winters, where Sally visited the local farmers' market. The last 20 miles of the 66 mile ride were in a word hot, probably the single hottest 20 miles of the trip. The motel pool in Fairfield was very welcoming. Tomorrow will be another schedule adjustment day (no biking) as we expect to finish the ride on Tuesday with about 40 miles or so left to ride.

We would like to wish Dave and Ruth Happy Anniversary as they celebrate their 40th year of marriage.

Sacramento, CA

2009-07-18T19:25:00.004-04:00

We are back on-line after our trip to Yosemite and a couple of motels that did not have their networks set up properly. Read down through the last four posts to see what we have been up to.

The ride today covered 65 miles as we made our way down through the foothills to Sacramento. It's hot here - close to 100. It is extremely dry, more so than anywhere we have traveled so far. The route started to make its way into the suburbs and more traffic as we approached the valley. The last 20 miles followed the American River on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Bikeway. There were a large number of people beating the heat on a variety of rafts floating down the river, and a number of bikers and others using the bike path. They must be more used to the heat than we are. We had another little adventure last night at the B&B as they lost power and it did not come back on until after Bob left for the day. His breakfast was not quite up to B&B standards as he ate whatever left over food we had in the truck. We did get more breakfast in Placerville. This is in the middle of the 1840's gold rush region.

7/17 - Fair Play, CA

2009-07-18T19:10:00.003-04:00

This morning, July 17th, it was back on the bike for a 66 mile ride to Fair Play, CA where we are staying in a B&B Winery. The first 15 miles was the climb over Carson Pass at 8500’, the way through the Sierra’s. This was the last major climb for the trip, and was fairly moderate. The remaining miles followed CA Route 88 down through the mountains and then foothills on a long descent with a few ups with moderate traffic. There is a forest fire to the north and the smoke was evident. The last 20 miles were a very pleasant ride along local roads (Omo Ranch) with very little traffic. The only down side was the hot temperatures in the high 90’s. While Bob waited at the road, Sally checked out the B&B, and the elderly gentleman across the road came out to make sure all was well. They invited us in for a cold drink and chat. We described our trip and now they know the reason they see so many bikers is they are on the bike route. A fellow B&Ber is British, and on his way east around the world, having just come from very cold New Zealand. He suffered from heat stroke yesterday, and will have his hands full going up Carson Pass tomorrow, loaded with 50 kilos of stuff. He’s been on the road 18 months. The United States is his last leg. He had many stories about going through Central Asia especially. We have seen very few bikers, again, except in Woodfords. It is a popular spot to park to ride along the foothills towards Carson City, or up and back down 2 different passes, one being Carson Pass. By the way, Sally was hiking there this morning among the wild flowers, finally, and found it tremendously easier going than yesterday’s hike.

7/14-716 – Yosemite Park

2009-07-18T18:56:00.003-04:00

We continued our mini-vacation from the ride with our visit to Yosemite Park. The first stop was an early morning visit to the White Wolf Camp Ground off of the Tioga Road to secure a camp site for two nights. We then decided to visit the Hetch Hetchy Canyon. It has a dam that has created a large reservoir to supply San Francisco with water. Built in the early 20th century after the San Francisco fire, it was controversial since the original canyon was said to be equal to or better than Yosemite Valley in beauty. We had a nice five mile hike to Wapoma Falls along the lake shore. The falls were running with plenty of water. We next drove over to Yosemite Valley. As expected it was crowded but the shuttle bus system helps. Since it was late in the day we limited our visit to the valley floor. On a late day hike to Yosemite Falls we caught a glimpse of a bear climbing out of the stream. As we learned, the park is full of them.

We started the next day with a short hike to Tuolumne Grove of Sequoia trees. They are the largest living things on earth by mass and date back to the era of dinosaurs. They only grow in a few specialized climate zones. At the park gas station at Crane Flat we saw a sow bear with two cubs grazing just off the road. We then returned to Yosemite Valley and hiked up to Vernal Falls with the crowds. It is amazing the lack of preparation some people have to take what is a moderately hard hike in hot weather. And it was hot, high 90’s in the valley floor. Our camp was at 8000’ so much cooler. After returning to camp we had a nice dinner at an adjacent tent camp lodge. This night’s quiet was interrupted by the cries of “bear in camp”. Every 15 minutes or so, from a different part of the campground, we could hear people yelling and banging to chase the persistent bear. It came sniffing past our campsite a couple of times but just passed on through as we had placed all of our food in the provided bear proof containers. The next morning we broke camp and headed for Tuolumne Meadows (9000’?) for a hike up to Elizabeth Lake. The lake was situated in a high meadow surrounded by the ridge line. We then drove back toward Woodfords, the town where we had stopped riding, to prepare for resuming the ride after this little vacation.

7/13 – Woodfords, CA

2009-07-18T18:43:00.003-04:00

We crossed over into the final state of California on a short ride of 29 miles. With only 220 miles left to San Francisco we will be off on holiday the next three days. Today we drove down the eastern side of the Sierras and visited Mono Lake. This area is still in the Great Basin so the lake has been formed because it receives water from five streams coming out of the mountains but has no outlet. As a result it is salty and has a very unique ecosystem. It is an important layover spot for the Pacific Flyway of migrating birds. In the 40’s LA started diverting water and so the lake level has dropped 45 feet. In the 80’s and 90’s there were many law suits to reverse the situation and a compromise was reached to raise the level significantly. Tonight we are staying in June Lake, a small local resort area that has a ski area and in the summer trout fishing in numerous lakes and streams nearby.

Lake Tahoe, NV

2009-07-12T23:19:00.005-04:00

We spent a nice day driving the circumference of Lake Tahoe. We had a nice hike along the lake shore in a state park. We visited the Squaw Valley Ski Resort, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics, only a few of you will remember that, and watched the hundreds of people floating down the Truckee River, the only outlet of Lake Tahoe. Did you know that Lake Tahoe geologically is a basin like all of the others we have been crossing? It has no outlet to the Pacific. It just happened to fill up with water. Tomorrow will be a short ride day as we slow down the pace. We will then be going to visit Yosemite Park since neither one of us has ever been there. Since we will likely camp, the next post may be delayed for a couple of days. But stay with us our faithful readers since you won't want to miss the exciting conclusion of the ride as we cross California starting later in the week.

Carson City, NV

2009-07-11T23:06:00.006-04:00

It wasn't until today that we realized how much last night's town Fallon marked a transition from the lonely US 50 to a busy and populated US 50. The traffic picked up dramatically as did the density of towns and businesses along the 66 mile ride to Carson City. Carson City is the capitol of Nevada and the biggest town we have seen since Cedar City UT at 20,000. The ride will become more of a tour over the next few days as we slow down to synchronize arrival dates with our San Francisco welcoming committee, Liz. Today we took a two hour detour to visit the historic mining town of Virginia City in a high valley off US 50. It was pretty touristy, especially after the steady dose of the small working towns we have been passing through during the last week. For all you bikers out there we learned that today was the annual "ride of death" in California. It is an 100 mile ride over several passes, kind of like the Highlander in Rochester. Sally learned this from her hair dresser as she got a cut in Fallon. Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying in South Tahoe on Lake Tahoe. Neither one of us has been before so we will explore the area. Sally is currently playing the slots to pay for it.

There are lots of motor cycle tourists on the road. Bicyclists usually wave as they pass each other. Bob has also been bonding with the motor bikers as they occasionally give him the motor cycle wave as they pass by that he returns - left hand extended horizontally palm forward.

And now a little food talk. Yesterday we estimate Bob probably burned about 5000 calories on his long ride. More or less here is what Sally recorded he consumed for anyone who might be curious about such things. Don't try this at home. He was hungry this morning.

6 AM Breakfast - two bananas, two donuts

On the road - 4 or 5 Nature Valley bars, Bob lost count

11 AM - Lunch - apple, three slices of left over pizza, four lemon cream cookies

2 PM Snack - apple, three cookies, chips

4 PM - another Snack - fast food burger and soft drink (after the ride)

6PM - Dinner - shrimp appetizer, salad, large burger and fries
10 PM - Snack - milk and three cookies

Fallon, NV

2009-07-11T00:12:00.005-04:00

We knew starting the day that the possible destination of Middlegate Station, a former stage coach station, would have limited lodging and camping options, and we were right. So we decided, since we had an early start, that we would just keep going and finished in Fallon after 112 miles. Another decision we made was proven to be a good one. Just west of last night’s town of Austin there was the choice to continue to follow US 50, or take Nevada 722 for 59 miles, the old US 50, over Carroll Summit. We chose the latter and it was a very scenic ride through a canyon and over the summit. If US 50 is the “loneliest road in America”, old US 50 is lonelier. Outside of a few scattered ranches, we probably saw no more than 20 vehicles during the four hours it took to ride this section of road. As we neared Fallon we dropped in elevation to below 4000’ and the landscape became much drier and flatter. Much of the riding was through salt and sand flats, and the afternoon temperatures were warmer. At one point we passed a large 500’ sand dune where the wind had pushed sand into a box canyon. Fallon is the home of a naval air base. Now why the Navy has an air base in the desert is interesting, I guess they need to learn over land before water. At any rate during the last few miles into town watching fighter jets take off provided some entertainment. Fallon is a good sized town and marks the end of the most sparsely populated portion of the Great Basin. Lake Tahoe is about 60 miles away and there will now be more towns on the route.

Austin, NV

2009-07-09T18:20:00.008-04:00

The next town on our Nevada itinerary is Austin. We arrived after a ride of 71 miles. Today all of the climbing was within the last 12 miles of town as we went over Bob Scott summit, then down 500 feet and back up to Austin summit(7484 ft) in quick succession. The town of Austin(6527 ft) is located part way down the descent from Austin summit on a very twisting road. Austin is another former mining town now with a tourist based economy such as it is. Several stores are selling polished stones and minerals. The current population is around 400. It has several historical buildings dating back to the late 19th century including the court house, several churches, and old store fronts. We went for a short hike just out of town to another old artifact called Stokes Castle. It seems a mine owner wanted to build a summer home for his family so he built a three story tower out of native stone on a bluff over looking the valley in 1898. It was supposedly modeled after a tower he had seen in Italy. After all the effort his family only used it for two months in the year it was finished. The elevation the last two nights makes for very cool (40's) mornings and pleasant days. We are still amazed at how green the valleys are, as well as mountainsides, although the last valley was drier.

Eureka, NV

2009-07-08T19:00:00.004-04:00

The route today reached four different summits to arrive in Eureka after 68 miles. It was another beautiful weather day, clear skies and lower temperatures with light winds from the north. To be honest there was nothing remarkable about the ride or the day other than the inherent unique experience of cycling through such beautiful remote country. There is literally no real intrusion of humans beyond the road itself for miles. Even wildlife sightings have been rare although we did see a kit fox cross the road early in the morning. We are staying in the town of Eureka, population of 860. It is the county center of government and the provider of services for the surrounding 50 mile radius. It was originally another mining town. Much of the main street is lined with restored historic buildings including an opera house and old hotels and saloons. As we have observed all across the country many local businesses have gone out of business or are for sale. One assumes they are victims of the current economy, although this part of Nevada is not on the popular tourist routes. At the same time there has been plenty of public investment in government facilities in Eureka so it is holding its own.

Ely, NV

2009-07-07T20:08:00.006-04:00

We covered 72 miles today in the Basin with two climbs and two valleys. Once again the weather was clear skies, temperatures in the 80's at 6000', although it was windy. Fortunately, once again it was either a cross wind or a tail wind. We are now following US 50 and there is more traffic than the previous state roads we had been following, but still not a lot. Ely is a regional hub of about 4000 people with a long history, still based economically on ranching and copper mining. Bob got a haircut in a local shop as the length of his hair was becoming a wind drag. We learned from the barber that the mining has been running again for five years. It opens and closes depending on the commodity prices. Ely sits in a high valley over 6000' and the surrounding mountains are high so the valley is green. Temperatures can get well below zero in winter with some snow but not like Rochester. This will be the largest town we see for the next three days so future posts could be erratic.

Sally arrives in the destination town ahead of Bob and one of her tasks is to pick the night's lodging. Tonight we are staying in the historic Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall. The price is low because gambling is the main revenue producer. Once again Sally is down on the floor trying her luck as Bob writes the blog. Last night she successfully won enough money to pay for a soft drink.

07/06 Baker, NV

2009-07-07T19:36:00.005-04:00

As planned we rode 70 miles today to the community of Baker, NV. So today we entered another new state and the Pacific Time Zone. It was a fairly fast ride as there were three downs and only two ups to deal with. I don’t think I have ever been in a place that seems both so vast and empty of any sign of human presence. When you stop riding it is perfectly quiet if the wind is calm. At times no vehicles pass for half an hour in either direction. With the time zone change we were in the destination town before noon. That was particularly fortunate since Great Basin National Park is nearby. We had a nice lunch in the park’s Visitor Center and then drove up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. Wheeler Peak is the highest mountain in this small range at just over 13,000 feet. As you drive up you go through several climate and vegetation zones from the salt flats in the basin to pine and aspen forests with lakes and streams. We took a hike up to the Bristlecone Pine grove. These are short stunted trees that have adapted to the harsh conditions at timberline and live for amazingly long periods of time. Some of these trees are 2000 to 3000 years old. Bob went a little further on the trail to view the “only glacier in Nevada” in an alpine bowl beneath the east face of Mt. Wheeler.

Tonight we are staying in the Border Inn on US 50 just inside Nevada. It is a combination RV Park, motel, café, gas station, and of course casino. It has a long storied history starting as an inn for the local sheep herders. It is the only commercial establishment offering services on US 50 for miles in either direction. As Bob is writing this blog post, Sally is in the casino working on paying for this trip.

Frisco Summit, UT

2009-07-05T21:05:00.004-04:00

The rest day yesterday was nice but it was also good to get back to business today. The journey today covered 70 miles as we started into the Great Basin region. We passed through the small farming communities of Minersville and Milford that are supported by extensive irrigation. There is also some copper mining in the area. In between it is wide open spaces of dry sage land with interspersed high lands. We crossed over one summit high point and ended on another one of 6400’, called Frisco Summit. Frisco is actually 14 miles past Milford where we are staying tonight. The idea was to balance the mileage between today and tomorrow since the distance between services between Milford and Baker, NV is 84 miles. We will start out going downhill tomorrow. Such is the flexibility and luxury of riding supported. Today’s ride will be typical of the ride through Nevada – basin to ridge and back down to basin, and repeat. None of the climbs will be particularly steep, just long up hills. Milford seems to be a rail center for the Union Pacific as we relaxed in the shade next to a crew station. Alas, no trains went by while we were there for entertainment.

Staycation in Cedar City, Utah

2009-07-04T19:39:00.003-04:00

Today we tried to sleep in, but the fireworks started at 6:15 AM, for a short burst. So after a leisurely breakfast at the motel, we went out to see the parade right in front of the motel. There were 75 units and many of the things we would see at home, like dance teams and young championship baseball teams with high power squirt guns to cool the crowds, county princesses, and old cars, fire engines and veterans, but maybe we wouldn't see the horses and the local ATV club. After 75 minutes, a good time was had by all. Then Sally had a nice dip in the pool and a chat with a young family from Las Vegas meeting parents and a grandparent from Idaho here for the holiday.

Our afternoon treat was a 20 mile drive south to a NW entrance to Zion National Park, and a nice hike up Kolob Canyon with occasional raindrops, gladly accepted in the afternoon heat. So after getting chores done for tomorrow, we'll have a nice dinner and try to sleep through the 10 PM fireworks at the airport. And then it's back on the road tomorrow morning to begin the crossing of the Great Basin and Nevada. Posts may be sparse depending on Internet availability as this will be one of the most remote parts of the trip.

Cedar City, UT

2009-07-03T22:46:00.011-04:00

As advertised yesterday we are now in Cedar City for today and tomorrow. The summer Shakespeare season has started at the Globe Theatre on the Southern Utah State campus, and the Five Brothers(along with wives and 26 children) are performing tonight as part of the Family Festival over the July 4 weekend. Parade is at 9:30 tomorrow morning right in front of our motel. The ride today was literally all up and then all down. The climb to Cedar Breaks National Monument from the east was a 32 mile ascent. As you can imagine it was pretty gradual with most of the steeper climbing in the last five miles. The descent to Cedar City was 21 miles for the day's total of 59 miles (I know it doesn't add up, there were a few extraneous miles as well). The descent down Cedar Canyon was a screamer at 4-8% gradient for more than 10 miles. I know because the road signs told me so. The "test your brakes" sign at the top should have been a clue. Fortunately, most of the holiday traffic was heading up and we are glad to be off the road for tomorrow. One thing that is noticeable is there are a lot more large pick-up trucks pulling trailers with ATV's than we would see in Upstate NY as it is a very popular sport out here. We also see many motor cycle tourists.

Cedar Breaks has a wildflower festival that started in the last couple of days. The season is starting late this year so only early varieties were out. The yellow is dandelions in the pic below, but there were some shots where the yellow is tiny daisies. No lupine yet; just too early.

By-the-way, for those of you mechanically inclined and curious to hear the outcome of the rear hub problem, the bike shop guy used a special tool to clean out and replace the lubricant. There was only a light dusting of metal particles in what was extracted so we agreed it will probably make it the rest of the way. We are now at just over 3000 map miles competed.

And what did we do this afternoon? Laundry of course, what all road warriors have to do from time to time.

Panguitch, UT

2009-07-02T17:09:00.009-04:00

Today's weather was not expected but welcome for the 68 miles to Panguitch. It was cool, in the low 70's, overcast, and it even rained for a little while. There were two medium climbs to contend with. The first turned out to be a very pleasant, gradual up hill ride through green meadows and trees to the 7500' summit. But what a contrast on the other side as it was a steep descent into a rocky canyon. Bob swears that all the way across the country, with a few exceptions, the climbs are less steep west bound than east bound. Are there any geologists out there with a confirming theory to support the observation or is it just wishful thinking? (Jim B., Bob is glad you did not provide the elevation gain in Utah comment before he started across. Please hold off on Nevada until we get across! It's better not to know.) The purple flower picture is from Kodachrome Basin, south of Cannonville.

The second climb scaled the cliffs that form Bryce Canyon National Park. (There are lots more motel rooms available here, and better highways than in the mid-90's.) Bob was wearing his Danish Post jersey today, a gift from our Danish exchange student, Ditte. As Bob was stopped in a parking lot to take a picture in the park, a man came up and asked "do you have an inhaler"? Or at least that was what Bob thought he heard. In reality the man was from Denmark and was speaking Danish. He was on vacation with his family and recognized the jersey. On the descent from the Bryce summit there was a very pleasant five mile bike path through Red Canyon. It was nice to get away from the traffic for a little while.

Since we arrived relatively early in Panguitch we decided to make the hour drive via I-15 to Cedar City to visit a bike shop and take care of that troublesome bearing. It started to slip in low gear on the steeper climbs yesterday so it was time to fix it. The route tomorrow goes over a big climb to Cedar Breaks National Monument and down into Cedar City. We plan a rest day on July 4 in Cedar City since we are ahead of schedule. It will give us a chance to see how they celebrate the 4th in Utah. Sally is checking out the local newspaper calendar of events.

Escalante, UT

2009-07-01T18:47:00.009-04:00

We followed UT Rt 12 for 66 miles to the town of Escalante. The day started with a 27 mile 2500' climb to 9600' up on the Aquarius Plateau. The elevation change brought aspen and pine forests, green pastures, and running streams, a welcome change from the arid rocky land below. It was then a descent into the town of Boulder where we had a nice sit down lunch instead of the usual PB&J in the back of the truck. RT 12 had only reached Boulder in the early 40's as the result of a CCC project, making it one of the last communities in the state to be so linked. After Boulder we entered Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument. Two more shorter but in places steep (14%) climbs were required before the last downhill run to Escalante. In this section of road there was a four mile stretch of road called The Hogback that followed a ridge line with drops on both sides. In Bob's view the hype of the exposure for cyclists in the Adventure Cycling map was overstated. Sally thought it was a bit of a nail biter, but the drops on both sides were seldom at the same time. But the switchbacks were kind of steep and tight.

Sally upheld the social side of trip today with several encounters. She met a writer from Salt Lake City in Torrey, who accepted Bob's business card. We'll see if there are any comments. She befriended an expat French family at an overlook who are residing while in the states in Georgetown in DC. She befriended another Utah family at our lunch stop who we subsequently saw at several other points of interest. And she was chatting with a nice lady,originally from Michigan, at the Escalante Information Center as Bob rode up at end the day. The husband at our motel tells us his 3 great grandpa sold an island in Lake George, NY and came to Utah with the other Mormons around 1831.

6/29 Dirty Devil CP, UT; 6/30 Torrey, UT

2009-06-30T22:54:00.007-04:00

This will be a double post covering the last two days.

Monday 6/29 - After leaving Blanding the route joined UT 95, one of the most scenic drives in the US. After traveling through juniper and pinion tree mesa, the road dipped into Comb Wash and then went through a cut in Comb Ridge, a feature that runs north-south for more than 100 miles. That started a 12 mile 2000’ climb and subsequent descent into spectacular red rock formations, yellow slick rock, and winding narrow canyons, all typical of southern Utah. Traffic was very light although we did see five other cyclists including our Korean friend. He left Blanding at 5 AM with the intention of riding all 122 miles to the next town. We know he made Hite on the Colorado River at Lake Powell as Sally saw him at the store there. We hope he made it the rest of the way.

As for us, after 83 miles, we camped at Dirty Devil Camp Ground about five miles west of Hite with a view of Lake Powell and the rock formations. Lake Powell is down many feet so the marina at Hite is effectively out of business. We dined on a pasta/rice/chicken/peas/corn one dish meal and canned fruit. What better way to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. Right Sally?

Tuesday 6/30 –We had a good night at our campsite and were on the road by 7:15. Do you know that large rock walls that bake in the sun all day don’t lose much heat? We had a built in heater under us all night. Around the first turn in the middle of the climb up from the Colorado River who should we see but our Korean friend and he had linked up with another young cyclist we had met from South Carolina. So common sense had prevailed after all. The route started through a high red rock walled canyon that climbed out to wide open range land. It remained open until we reached Capital Reef National Park. Today was quite warm and so passage through draws with rocks close to the road on both sides was very warm. Bob’s lasting memory of the park will be the flies that, because of a tailwind, could keep up with him and were biting through the bike shorts! We ended the ride at Torrey, UT having covered 89 miles. After a much needed nice dinner we went back to the park to drive the scenic road along the rock fold making up much of the park. We are pleased to continue to find flowers and grasses even in this very dry area.

These are only a sampling of the many pictures we are taking. We will figure out how to publish a larger album when we get home if there is interest.

Lastly, thank you to all who recognized our anniversary. Needless to say, it will be a memorable one.

Blanding, UT

2009-06-28T19:20:00.007-04:00

The ride today took us 82 miles from Dolores, CO to Blanding, UT. Another state line has been reached. The ride traversed irrigated rolling farm land toward Monticello, UT at the foot of the Abajo Mountains. This small range is what is known as a desert island oasis in the middle of a dry mesa. The altitude draws in more moisture that provides runoff water to the surrounding area. A left turn south took us the final 21 miles to Blanding. There was a short climb out of Monticello to a shoulder mesa of the mountains and the view was forever. In contrast to the mountain weather, today was fair with patchy afternoon clouds and nary a threat of rain. After arriving in Blanding, we decided to take a short drive down to Bluff, UT to satisfy our curiosity since we have heard so much about the town as it is the current home of our friend Tucker. We didn't find his trailer home, but did enjoy looking at how the town is under the edge of the bluff.

Tomorrow we head out on a stretch of road that has no services for 122 miles. So we will be camping and dining in. And there will be no blog post so we will catch you up on the journey in a couple of days or so. By-the-way, you have dedicated bloggers. Last night Bob had to go to the Dolores Library after dark and walk around the building until he found a strong enough WiFi signal to make the post with the mosquitoes buzzing. And Sally just got back from a quick ride on her bike, around Blanding, before dinner.

Dolores, CO

2009-06-27T23:10:00.005-04:00

What a difference a day makes. After yesterday’s rain, today was sunny although cool to start in the high 40’s. The 16 mile ride up to Lizard Head Pass had to be the most scenic portion of the trip so far with great views of the surrounding mountains. We took our time to enjoy the views of mountains with snow caps, forests, green fields, sheep in pastures, flowers and small mining towns, including a 50 mile descent along the Dolores River valley to the town of Dolores for a very pleasant 66 mile day. The valley up high was narrow with high tree lined mountain sides. By Dolores there were much shorter red cliff hills as it opened up to the open spaces of western Colorado. There were a fair number of other road bikers on the road today, we assume coming from Cortez and Dolores. Cortez is the largest town in the area, about 10 miles from Dolores.

The big social event of the day was we were able to meet up with our close family friend Tucker and his friend Allison. They met us in Dolores around 1:30. We all went to the bike shop in Cortez as Bob wanted to get his bike checked over since the next shop is 400 + miles away in western Utah. (The rear hub probably has a bad bearing and the shop did not have the part so we will have to ride on it until the next stop). Tucker and Allison bought some food for a picnic in the town park. After picking up the bike, we went to the Anasazi Heritage Center for a hike to a pueblo ruin with a great view of the area, in all directions including Mesa Verde, back up towards Lizard Head Pass, west to Utah, etc. We then enjoyed pizza at the Dolores Brew Pub. Thanks to Tucker and Allison for spending part of their day with us.

We have to tell the story of one of our fellow riders. He is riding solo and unsupported, and is following the same route we are. He is from Korea and doesn’t speak much English. We first saw him wobbling up Monarch Pass as Bob passed him. We have since seen him in every stop over town as he is keeping pace, albeit at a slower pace. To our surprise he showed up at the bike store 10 miles off route. Apparently, he had a tire problem and some people picked him up off the road and took him to the store. It will be interesting to see if we continue to cross paths.

We finished last evening with a free gondola ride to the mountain above Telluride(it goes on over to Mountain Village where there are lots of big new houses) for the sunset. And then Sally went up again this morning after sending Bob on his way.

Telluride, CO

2009-06-26T19:09:00.005-04:00

Today our good fortune with the weather ended. A tropical thing from the Pacific brought in rain, lots of rain. So I would call the 68 mile ride the most challenging of the trip. There was one major 3000 ' climb over Dallas Divide that was less than fun in a cold rain and a head wind. The downhill wasn't much better as it was hard to stay warm since the rain gear worked like all rain gear does - it didn't. But the sun did come out every now and then for the end of the ride up into the ski resort town of Telluride, three miles off the route. So all's well that ends well. Hat's off to the SAG driver, Sally, for providing much needed and timely support stops all day.

We had visited Telluride many years ago but one forgets how beautiful the valley is with the surrounding mountains. We drove to the end of the road to view Bridal Veil Falls. With snow melt and all of the recent rain, it was very spectacular. We read that in 2008 Telluride received 0.3" of rain. We got that much today in 15 minutes! Sally located and visited the local yarn store but no purchases. And instead of camping in the free city campground, which is on the verge of flooding, we are in a nice dry simple ski lodge room. A quick storm just moved through as this was being composed.

Montrose, CO

2009-06-25T20:26:00.007-04:00

The 65 mile ride today ended in Montrose. The length of the rides for the next few days will be determined by the spacing of towns and major climbs. The idea is to get over the high points before the afternoon thundershowers build up as they do every day. The first 25 miles followed the Gunnison River and the Blue Mesa Reservoir in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The fishing for trout is supposed to be very good. It was interesting to learn that they are doing everything possible to keep Zebra Mussels out of the lake. They have already been detected in other Colorado Lakes, near Pueblo, so they have hitch hiked all the way from the Great Lakes. The next 20 miles included two climbs that totaled about 1700 feet. Montrose is at a lower elevation of about 5700’ so a five mile climb yielded a 12 mile descent.

Since Bob was able to start riding shortly after 6:30 and the day was short, we were in Montrose by 12:30. That left the afternoon open to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Black Canyon is a spectacular deep and narrow canyon cut by the Gunnison River. We enjoyed stopping at the Visitor Center and taking some short hikes along the rim, before light rain came in and interfered with picture taking. There has been a lot of rain this year so everything is green and the wild flowers are blooming.

PS Sally: I had a nice bike ride in and around Gunnison early this morning, especially around the Western campus. Also rode east for a bit with bikers who had been with the Colorado ride for several days, and then broke off to go east to Pueblo, via Monarch Pass. They were obviously supported, too. And yesterday on the top of Monarch Pass I chatted up 2 brothers, 20 somethings, and their Dad who were riding unsupported from CA to Yorktown, and then plan on a week on the beach in NC. It will be well deserved. One of these days I am going to write down everything Bob eats in one day, just so you can all see how many calories he is burning each day.

Gunnison, CO

2009-06-24T19:12:00.008-04:00

Today we crossed the Continental Divide after the climb up and over Monarch Pass. At 11,312 feet, Monarch is the highest point that we will reach on the trip. Like yesterday, the good news about a long climb is the fast and fun descent on the other side. The route is following US Highway 50. There is moderate traffic but a decent shoulder. Most people are courteous and pass with a wide margin. The one exception, and experienced road bikers will relate, are the large bus-like RV's, usually trailing something, that like to pass by much closer with a blast of wind as they go by. The weather was clear and beautiful for reaching the summit and then the mountain clouds began to build. There was rain somewhere, but not on us.

We reached Gunnison after 80 miles. Gunnison is the home of Western State College and looks to be quite prosperous. It sits in a large basin surrounded by tall mountains. As we arrived in town we could not help but notice that there were lots of other bikers in town. It is some kind of organized in state ride that is staying in Gunnison tonight.

Howard, CO

2009-06-23T18:14:00.008-04:00

Today we resumed the ride from where we left off in Pueblo. We had a great day and a half off. Bob's Albion College friend Steve and his wife Pat graciously hosted us overnight Sunday in their beautiful home high above Manitou Springs. They have a fantastic view back down to the foothills and the plains below. Bob and Steve calculated they haven't seen each other for about 35 years so it was fun to catch up with each other's lives. On Monday morning we hiked in Red Rock Canyon before Bob's cousin Katie and her daughter Laura arrived from Boulder. We spent time touring the Manitou Springs Historic District and had a nice lunch. And lastly we met up with our friend Sarah for dinner in Colorado Springs. All that socializing was fun but exhausting so we are glad to be back on the road today. Thanks to all for making the effort to spend time with us.

The ride confirmed the adage that hard work pays off. The first forty miles more or less climbed 4000 feet to top out at a little over 9000 feet. But then over the next 45 miles the reverse happened - there was an almost continuous descent with a stiff tailwind to boot as scattered showers popped up. The last 10 miles followed the Arkansas River to reach Howard after 90 miles. Our motel (Bandera's Bunkhouse) is on the river. It is exciting to be riding in the mountains. There is an amazing vista around each bend. There are rafters in the fast flowing river, and dude ranches have popped up. The flower picture confirms that there has been lots of rain over the last 2 months. We hope it has stopped now. Sally drove into Florence for gas, and found the huge maximum security prisons that will gladly take the prisoners from Guantanamo.

Pueblo, CO

2009-06-21T13:32:00.003-04:00

By plan today was a half day ride of 37 miles to finish at the Pueblo City Hall. This is the end of the Trans Am series of maps for us and we will shift over to the Adventure Cycling "Western Express" route to travel on toward San Francisco. Tomorrow is a planned rest day as we will visit with friends and family in the Colorado Springs area. Sally has a little story about public safety. As she was waiting for me to finish yesterday at a road junction that would take us the two miles to Fowler where we stayed, the local sheriff stopped by to see if she was okay. Later we learned from the motel owner, Bushy(as in large older man with big white beard), that the sheriff lives at the motel and therefore we did not need to worry about our personal safety.

Today's weather is more Colorado like, clear with bright sun. So it offered great vistas of the approaching mountains that were missing in yesterday's clouds. While I rode this morning, Sally drove into Pueblo and toured their version of River Walk. It's a 7 year old, and growing area which has returned the Arkansas River to its original path through downtown Pueblo. I found beautiful gardens, fountains, sculptures and bridges. They even have a boat tour, paddle boat rides and water falls, not all at the same place.

Fowler, CO

2009-06-20T21:50:00.005-04:00

Today’s ride of 78 miles took us from the middle of the high plains to a half day’s ride from Pueblo. Late in the ride we could see the Front Range in the distance, our first view of the Rocky Mountains. It was an unusual weather day with temperatures in the 60’s, almost no wind, clouds, and scattered showers. The nature of the landscape changed dramatically from scrubby sparsely populated range land to more inhabited ranch land as the route entered the Arkansas River valley. We noted that here the Arkansas had a lot more water than in Kansas, so someone is using it. I should mention that we have been following KS and then CO State Route 96 for days now. I don’t want to say this is a remote route, but there were times when 15 minutes would pass without a vehicle in either direction. We also discovered a sign of the economy perhaps. A rail spur paralleled Route 96 for miles. There was a stretch of 10-11 miles that was lined with empty stock cars, obviously in storage. In case you ever wanted to know, there are 56 rail cars per mile. It was something to do. Late in the day I suffered my second flat, glass not the dreaded local goat-head thorns. (Sally picked 37 thorns out of her Crocs from one trip across the RR tracks to the rest area bathroom, where we were camping.) So I am averaging one flat per 1000 miles.

A word about last night’s camping neighbors: Tim and Cindy have been cycling pretty continuously since 2002 in places like Alaska, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and the US. Their current trip will take them to the East Coast and back around to Indiana. On the way they will experience their first RAGBRAI, the bike ride across Iowa we have done. We were able to give them an introduction to the experience that is RAGBRAI. You can check out their site at http://www.downtheroad.org/. Tim will be speaking in Omaha and Ottumwa, and was interviewed on local TV as they cycled through Pueblo a couple of days ago. They have two books published, and plan more.

For the first time, sleeves were required last evening, and Sally will be in long sleeves and wool socks tomorrow morning, as we climb higher. Up to 4300 feet, now.

Eads, CO

2009-06-19T18:08:00.006-04:00

We completed two milestones today. We crossed into the Mountain Time Zone and we entered Colorado. You will be happy to know we are not having any problems with jet lag. We also climbed almost 1500 feet and we are now at just over 4000 feet which is higher than any point we reached on the East Coast. It was a glorious day for riding, sunny, low 80's, and a favorable wind all day so we ended up riding 105 miles. After the border the nature of the land changed from farming to range land. At a well positioned convenience store, the only service for 58 miles, we talked with a farmer who said he was about to begin harvesting his wheat crop on 10,000 acres. It makes New York farms seem pretty small in comparison. It was also a meeting point for lots of cyclists as we are seeing many now. Tonight we are camping in the Eads town park and everyone is happy about that. We are blogging from the library with time running out so will close.

Scott City, KS

2009-06-18T19:02:00.007-04:00

We started early and ended early for a total of 68 miles so this was a kind of rest day. The ride itself was one of those days of heads down constant pedaling into a persistent quartering southwest headwind combined with the gradual climb toward the mountains. When you ride heads down you get a chance to see all of the road kill up close and personal like this rattle snake.

As we expected we are now seeing more east bound riders and we are catching slower west bound riders. In particular, we finally caught up to the unsupported Adventure Cycling tour we have been hearing about since Illinois. There are thirteen people in all and they must have been strung out over 10 miles as I was catching up to them. Two guys from England ride consistently out front because they like to be first into the next town to start setting up camp. We also caught up with the couple from Wisconsin who are riding a recumbent tandem we have been hearing about. They were at our motel last night in Ness City. Last night we also talked with two eastbound couples who are doing the cross country ride in stages as they have limited vacation time. And we met three young riders from Colorado Springs to DC, documenting their ride. Riders tend to collect at county seat towns like Ness City and Scott City because they are the only places with sufficient services.

This area is a center for feedlots and growing the grain to feed them. Irrigation is required and they use the circular systems that make those circular fields you see from cross country plane flights. (Picture from our motel parking lot.) We spent some time this afternoon at a local state park(Scott) in an area of outcrops where they had formed a small lake with a dam. All the drainage is on its way to the Arkansas River, which the Santa Fe Trail follows. Also there was the historical site of a 1600's Indian pueblo and an 1880's sod house.

Bazine,KS

2009-06-17T17:44:00.005-04:00

Today the ride continued west and north for 84 miles with favorable tail winds until the last stretch of 20 miles when it switched to more of a head wind. It was a tad warm as well with temperatures in the 90's after noon. At Alexander we passed the half way point in the ride so we continue to make good progress. Sally did some riding early at the Quivira Refuge as we resumed our ride where we left off. She saw what we think were coyote pups and mother. We stopped mid morning to tour Fort Larned. It was built in the 1850's as one of the string of forts along the Santa Fe Trail to protect travelers and local settlers from Indian attacks.

Sally is doing a great job as support driver. Today for lunch she managed to scout out about the only shade(note pic with cottonwood trees over truck. Lots black birds, both red-wing and yellow headed.) conveniently available for our lunch spot at a cross roads. She also provided more cold drinks at strategic times. As we were eating lunch a local farmer, Ron, stopped for a chat. We had a nice discussion about the local farming practices and situation as he patiently answered our questions. The chief crops are wheat (harvest now, as soon as it dries out), maize(plant now, and harvest in October), and some corn. This area gets 22" of rain a year so it is not as dry as locations to the west. Most farms are family owned but there is more consolidation as people retire without a younger generation interested in taking over. Tonight we are staying in Ness City and it has a real western feel to it. This is the only motel in town, and we will probably talk to 4 other bikers, here, later. We think one couple with a recumbent tandem are the ones from WI, we heard about, a few days ago.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, KS

2009-06-16T20:53:00.008-04:00

Last night a band of heavy storms passed through the Newton area (note flooded cornfield example) where we stayed. Sally was talking on the phone to the lady biker friends in Door County, WI when the rain started. (Check Ida's blog at www.idasrides.blogspot.com.) The motel lost power for awhile and further north there was more serious wind damage. Since the motel was on the route, Bob was able to get an early start in the coolness of the morning as hot temperatures were forecast. However, it never really got too unbearable. We think the humidity is lower so maybe we are getting far enough west that the air will be drier. The route went north and mainly west through a part of the state that is called the central lowlands. There are lots of streams and the Arkansas River makes its great northern bend. In fact tonight we are staying in Great Bend, KS. The scenery looks more like western Monroe County, NY than what you might think of as Kansas in this section. During the ride there were lots of places to be seen that had flooded and all the streams were high. With all of the streams, there is eastern style farming with corn and lots of tree stands. We talked with a couple who are doing our exact route west to east so it was good to compare notes.

The ride ended today after 79 miles at the Quivira Wildlife Refuge essentially about a third of the way across a stretch of the route "without services" for 58 miles. The Quivira Reserve is paired with the Cheyenne Bottoms Refuge north of Great Bend to form a large wetlands area significant for migrating birds on the Central Flyway. We drove around part of the Cheyenne Refuge on their dike roads and saw numerous waders, shore birds, cormorants, and white pelicans. At Quivira Sally saw great blue herons, roadrunner, prairie chickens, great white egrets and cows. There were supposed to be bison, but we don't know where they were hiding them.

Newton, KS

2009-06-15T17:48:00.005-04:00

We got an early start today as we had a long day planned and the afternoon temperatures were predicted to be in the upper 80's. The 94 mile ride essentially traversed the Flint Hills section of Kansas. The Flint Hills have great vistas of remnant tall grass prairie that are used today for cattle grazing, brought in just for the summer to feed. There are also small scale oil drills throughout the area. Each spring controlled fires are set to control weeds and encourage new grass to grow, simulating the effect of natural wild fires. The hills are very rolling with long ups and downs, so not an issue for cycling. However, I have detected the fact that there is more uphill each day than downhill as we gradually climb to 4000 feet at the Colorado border. The route was fairly remote, with the final 38 mile section having no services of any kind, and hardly any farm houses. So the support vehicle was handy, especially when it arrived with a cold soda when there was still 14 miles to go, and 92 degrees with a strong SW wind. After a hot ride the motel swimming pool was just the thing. The first outdoor pool of the trip, that has been open and maintained. Too much rain to get others open and fixed up. First pic below is downtown Toronto at 7 am.

The six degrees of separation has been proven again. Last evening two young women bike tourists stayed at our motel. They too are going to California but not San Francisco. They started out from Geneseo after graduation. One is from Honeoye. Today we caught up to Jerry from Arlington, VA (http://www.jerrybikeswest.blogspot.com/). Jerry is riding solo and unsupported. He worked in the FCC before retiring last February. He worked for Kathy F., former wife of Herkimer friend, Keith F. and knows Rosemary and Ray K. friends of Ida. Hopes to be in OR by August.

Toronto, KS

2009-06-14T17:25:00.006-04:00

Yes, there is a Toronto, KS. I assure you it looks nothing like the Toronto across the lake from our house. In fact, there is a large reservoir and dam on the Verdigris River, in the beginning of the Flint Hills. With the benefit of a tail wind again, we were able to cover 85 miles. With the exception of a brief shower the weather was good so our luck of avoiding stormy weather fortunately continues. I met up with the first east bound riders I have seen. They are doing the full Trans Am route, Astoria, OR to Yorktown. At the farm road where we had lunch we noted the limestone fence posts typical to the area (see picture above). They had more limestone then timber to make fences. Since today is Sunday, traffic is very light on some of the roads. There were times when I probably rode for 30 minutes without seeing a car in either direction. So all in all a quiet day of bicycle travel.

PS Sally: Ida: nice to hear our biker ladies are gathering, right on schedule. I hope the weather cooperates at least as much for you, as us. I'm going to miss your famous spaghetti, and hope to hear about others' special dishes.

Girard, KS

2009-06-13T18:17:00.009-04:00

Another milestone was reached today as we crossed the state line into Kansas. We ended the ride at Girard, KS after 83 miles. The first 30 miles continued to go up and down the river valleys of the Springfield Plateau. Then after one last steep climb out of a valley, around a bend a wheat field appeared and the land flattened out. We had reached the eastern fringe of the Great Plains. Now the cycling concern will be wind direction and speed not the elevation profile. Many of the roads today were arrow straight with very little traffic. Sometimes minutes would go by without a car in either direction. We generally go about 50 miles and then find a spot for lunch like this farm implement store parking lot.

We are staying tonight in Pittsburg, KS. It is indeed named after the other Pittsburgh in PA but they dropped the "h". It once was a strip coal mining area. At the end of the ride in Girard as we were packing up the bike in the truck, we were visited by the local policeman. It turns out he watches for bikers to help them find the local park for camping. For some unknown reason the local restaurant thing in Pittsburg is fried chicken dinners. We went to a place called Barto's Idle Hour. The menu consisted of choices like one dark, one white and so forth with fixed sides of German style potato salad and cole slaw. It was good. Barto's had competition from at least Mary's and Annie's.

PS Sally: Notice the beautiful day lilies. Can anyone tell me how the lilies are coming along at church? I'm biking 15 - 20 miles most days now, mid to late morning.

Ash Grove, MO

2009-06-12T21:24:00.007-04:00

Today's 74 mile ride had two personalities. It started on a high note with early fog and then sun, but more importantly a nice tail wind. So in spite of a continuous string of the Missouri "steeps" we made good progress over about 50 miles. But an east wind usually means trouble and sure enough weather moved in from the west. Fortunately, we were on the northern fringe of the severe weather so the lightening was fairly distant. But the last 20 miles were ridden in rain with a gusty head wind. We are starting to see some prairie flowers along the roadside, like Cone flowers. So what are some of the dangers of riding beyond the obvious traffic on narrow roads? There are the dogs of course, three tag teamed me today going up one of the steeps. But the biggest risk are --- squirrels. Did you ever notice how, when they cross the road ahead of you, they get almost all the way across safely, and then for no apparent reason reverse course to cross back right in front of you? Squashing them with a car is one thing, hitting them on a bike is another. Tonight we are staying on the outskirts of Springfield, MO. It is a fairly large city in comparison to the towns we have been passing through. We enjoyed some local barbecue for dinner.

Today marks the end of week three of the trip. For those interested in the numbers, we covered 555 miles last week and just over 1500 for the trip, so we are ahead of our estimated schedule.

Hartville, MO

2009-06-11T20:51:00.012-04:00

The biggest climb of the day was surmounted just 1.5 miles after leaving camp. We had a good camping experience in spite of the two rounds of thunderstorms and heavy rain between 9 and 11 pm. Our trusty tent stayed dry. Much of the day the route stayed on the Ozark plateau so after that first one, the hills were mostly rolling. In places the scenery opened up with scattered farms. The weather was fair but with a westerly headwind. Still we made good time and completed 75 miles shortly after 2 PM. Just before reaching our end town, we caught up with two more cross country riders, a couple from Germany. They started in Richmond and are headed to Northern California. Tonight we are staying in a just opened bed and breakfast in Mansfield, just down the road from Hartville. Mansfield is the location of the Laura Ingals Wilder home. Sally enjoyed visiting the farm home and museum while I enjoyed napping.

A shout out to Krista, what a wonderful article in the D&C, congratulations!

6/10 Alley Spring, MO

2009-06-11T20:30:00.008-04:00

Today the route entered the real Ozark Mountain zone. For much of the latter part of day of the 73 mile ride, the route followed a relative quiet road through the hardwood forests typical of the region. There were plenty of those steep Ozark ups and downs. Did you know that the Ozarks are the only rugged mountain like terrain between the Appalachians and the Rockies? The mountains are made out of granite that has eroded in places. Underground the material is limestone and that has created a number of natural springs. Alley Spring, for example, has a daily flow of 81 million gallons of water a day. There is a restored mill at the site where grain was ground for the local population using the outflow of the spring. The largest in the area, Big Spring, has a daily flow of 450 million gallons of water a day. The Mark Twain National Forest is in the area along with the Jacks Fork Ozark National Scenic Riverway. The rivers all have a very blue color from the minerals. There are lots of companies offering float trips. This is also a big area for horseback trail riding. So the region is a major Missouri outdoor destination, like our Adirondacks.

For the first time on the trip we are camping tonight at the camp ground at Alley Spring. Rain and thunder storms are forecast. I am writing a draft of this post offline under a nearby picnic pavilion as the rain is coming down. The nearest town is 5 miles east, Eminence, where we had a nice dinner. Earlier in the afternoon while she was waiting for me, Sally did not scout out the fact that there was indeed a motel in town. Actually several resorts, cabins, B&B's,etc. Oh well. She did meet up with another cross country rider, James. He is riding to Oregon and riding about 50 miles a day, a pace to allow him to reach the West Coast in time to be in a wedding. He told Sally that so far he had not spent anything on lodging. He goes to the local volunteer fire stations, and so far they have allowed him to camp and sometimes to get showers. We on the other hand have spent a tad bit more on lodging.

Pilot Knob, MO

2009-06-09T17:52:00.007-04:00

Early this morning we crossed big muddy (and it was), the Mississippi River, to enter our fourth state, Missouri. The weather was cloudy all day and low 80's, a welcome relief from the sun. And once again, we were favored with a tailwind for much of the time. After the river bridge, the route was flat for awhile along the river. But soon the hills of Missouri began. In contrast to Kentucky, the hills tend to have sections that are fairly steep. They are steep enough that I have to resort to my fall back climbing technique of last resort, standing up in the lowest gear. The other contrast with Kentucky so far is the roads are much busier, with lots of trucks. Hopefully that will change as we move west deeper into the Ozarks.

We are staying tonight in Pilot Knob after 73 miles. The actual Pilot Knob is the highest point in Missouri at a little over 1500'. It turns out there was/is lots of mining in the area for lead and iron. There was a Civil War battle here over access to the mines. The Confederates attacked the Union forces at their Fort Davidson in the Arcadia valley. The Union retreated but eventually turned the tide. Earlier we had lunch in St. Joe State Park that was donated by the mining companies to the state. We read that the mining was so extensive that there are 300 miles of railroad tracks underground in the region.

Chester, IL

2009-06-08T18:57:00.008-04:00

We are staying tonight in Chester, IL on the Mississippi River. Today's ride covered 82 miles with a mid morning stop in Carbondale to find a bike shop. I needed new brake pads and the bike shop was nice enough to install them and check things over. The Adventure Cycling guide showed up in the store as we crossed over each other. They are overnighting in Carbondale with a rest day tomorrow so we will likely not see them again. We also saw a young woman at the bike shop just starting a trip to Pueblo, CO with a trailer. We caught up with her later in the afternoon. She seemed a little inexperienced so we wish her well. This area had a severe storm a couple of weeks back, and an ice storm in January. The clean-up was still under way. Storms threatened but did not appear during the ride. Lightening around us as we ate dinner tonight. However, the next week in Missouri promises more storm forecasts.

The route before Carbondale wound several miles through the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and a sign identified it as a Wilderness Area. Sally had a nice hike there while waiting for me to catch up. Who knew such a thing existed in Illinois? The end of today's ride became a little tedious as we pushed ahead toward Chester. The last 10 miles had the combination head winds, hills, heat, and a rough road so Chester was a welcome sight. The only downside is that there apparently is no Mississippi River casino close by. But we learned that Chester is the home of the creator of Popeye with a Popeye statue by the river bridge. The restaurant we ate in served spinach salad of course.

PS - To Mitchell and Breaca - Hazel should know that the most persistent chase dogs are all Beagles.

Sally PS - My bad. Just because we go into Missouri tomorrow, I assumed the reunion in Door County started yesterday, but it turns out that Bob is just doing so well that we are already one full week ahead of original estimates. Glad Linda put out a message to straighten me out.

Tunnel Hill, IL

2009-06-07T18:17:00.003-04:00

It was 26 miles from today’s starting point to the ferry at the Ohio River. We had to wait for the ferry to return and fell into conversation with a local family out on their motorcycles. They told the story of the history of the ferry that started in the 19th century. It seems the original ferry man would size up a customer, and if they seemed to be well off and no one else was around, he would rob them, kill them and throw the bodies into the river. Apparently this went on for years. There was no such danger as we crossed the wide Ohio into Cave-in-Rock, IL, our third state.

When Sally arrived ahead of me at the ferry crossing she caught up with the Adventure Cycling Tour. They are following the entire Trans Am route to Oregon. There are nine riders with two support staff. I eventually caught up with them farther down the road, and will stay ahead as they plan a day off tomorrow. They are camping in parks, church yards and fire house halls.

The riding in Illinois is much like Kentucky. The route goes through Shawnee National Forest. There are some steep hills with rolling sections along the ridge lines. The hills are called the little Ozarks. We finished after 76 miles at Tunnel Hill at the junction of a 45 mile rail to trail bike trail. We walked the quarter mile to go through the 100 yard tunnel. It was much cooler inside than the 90 degree riding temperatures.

Sally PS – Checked in by phone with family and friends at the 1747 Nellis Tavern Rhubarb Festival in St. Johnsville, NY. Chatted with sisters, brother and Tom F., and know that John M. and mom, Alice were also in attendance. Shout out to cross-country biking ladies gathering in Door County WI, today. Miss you all.

Technical note - the SD card reader seems to have stopped working so pictures will have to wait until we can get a replacement. Check back as we will update past posts.

Post update 6/8 - The boy is holding a chicken snake, so called because it eats chicken eggs. He caught it on the nearby golf course and was terrorizing the teenage girls nearby. He is the son of the people who managed the hotel we stayed at.

Clay, KY + 6 Miles

2009-06-07T07:34:00.003-04:00

Today’s post will be late as we have no Internet access tonight in our local motel in Marion, KY. UPDATE – Who knew McDonalds offers WIFi? We had another good day of weather. It started out foggy but then turned fair, a little warmer up into the 80’s, and a favorable tailwind out of the southeast. The terrain and country side was much like yesterday, rolling hills with a few 100-200 foot climbs every now and then, and then suddenly we were in grain fields of the Midwest, with corn, barley, wheat and oats. So we just kept moving nearly straight west to complete 101 miles. Now a century was not the goal at the start of day, although I wanted to do at least one sometime on the trip. It just kind of happened. Sally was also able to get out and ride to enjoy the conditions. We met a bike tour going east on the route, a local Kentucky tour of some kind. Our motel neighbor is traveling alone on his motor cycle from Colorado to “see some places he hasn’t seen before”. We will be riding right through his home town of Canon City, as it turns out. So, the full moon is shining in our window, as we contemplate the free ferry tomorrow, over the Ohio River, into Illinois.

Rough River Falls. KY

2009-06-05T16:27:00.009-04:00

What a difference a day makes. Today's 82 miles were completed under fair skies, temperatures in the 70's, and with a prevailing tail wind. It won't get much better than this. The country side reminded us in many places of Iowa. Small towns, farms, and rolling mostly flat terrain with a few un-Iowa like steep climbs out of river valleys. Sally visited Lincoln's birthplace park so we are getting our share of Lincoln history. We finally encountered our first west bound bike tourists, a couple from Hawaii. They are riding self contained and are headed to Astoria, Oregon. They are truly touring, having started at Yorktown in early May, riding 50-60 miles a day at about 10 mph, and expect to get to Oregon in August. They reported that there is an Adventure Cycling cross country tour about a day ahead so we will see if we catch up to them. I rode with them for a couple of miles. Sally had ridden ahead for her ride today and so met them on the way back to the truck. Tonight we are staying at a small motel across from the Rough River Resort State Park. The Army Corp. of Engineers maintains a dam here on the Rough River. The resulting lake is a local resort area know for its bass fishing. I am "borrowing" their WiFi sitting outside the main lodge. We expect to hit a local church that was advertising a fish fry for dinner tonight. Finally, we passed a milestone of sorts. We are now in the central time zone, so change your clocks.

Rt 457 and 52

2009-06-04T17:04:00.011-04:00

The 74 miles today featured Western NY weather - 60's, rain, and northeast winds. All that was missing were views of Lake Ontario. The good news is the wind was a nice tail wind for much of the day. The route wound through rolling hills with an occasional drop into and climb out of a stream or river valley. Once again I revisited some of the roads from last year's Kentucky ride. This is bourbon country but we did not make time for a tour and tasting.

We passed by Lincoln Homestead State Park. There was a replica cabin built on the original site of Tom and Nancy Hanks Lincoln' home, Lincoln's parents. Sally had a close encounter with a row of vultures along a fence line - we don't think they were waiting for bikers. We ended the ride at a country cross roads and are staying in Bardstown. Dinner tonight will be at the Tom Pig's Restaurant.

7PM Update - Tom Pig's appears to be out of business so we went upscale to the Old Talbott Tavern. We figure I am burning at least 3000 calories a day. So for you foodies out there my dinner consisted of one pint of Kentucky Bourbon Ale, fried green tomato appetizer, salad, pork chop, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and cherry cobbler.

The yarn and button picture is in response to popular demand for all of you knitters out there. This is the sum total of Sally's shopping so far.

Bryantsville, KY

2009-06-03T16:43:00.006-04:00

As reported in the last post, yesterday was a rest day. We visited Natural Bridges State Resort Park and hiked up to see the natural bridge carved into the sandstone and the surrounding rock formations including a cave with 50 degree air blowing out. After a picnic lunch we hung around the park reading and napping. After all it was a rest day. On the way back to our motel a storm blew through with strong winds, and bang, a large limb hit the windshield. Fortunately, no damage was sustained other than the sudden jolt to our psyches.

Today the ride wound for 75 miles to the cross road of Bryantsville. There was a transition from the woods, hills, and hollows of Appalachia to the rolling hills and farms of blue grass Kentucky. In fact in my experience it was as dramatic as crossing a county line. The first 20 miles or so of the ride was largely downhill with a tail wind. At 40 miles we reached the town of Berea. Sally rode out to meet me to get some miles in. She also enjoyed some time shopping (Pam, Tracy remember?) and purchased --- more yarn! Last year Sally and I and some friends did a bike tour with Black Bear Adventures in this part of Kentucky, and we stayed at the Boone Tavern Hotel in Berea. The next portion of the ride followed the same route we rode last year so it was familiar, and I managed to not miss turns on vaguely marked roads, unlike last year. Adventure Cycle calls Berea the "gateway to the Appalachians".

I had my share of the usual kinds of experiences that can happen on a bike ride. The Appalachia part of the ride today featured so many dog episodes, I lost count. So far strongly voiced shouts of "stay" or "go home" have kept them from getting within biting distance. I was stung in the face by a bee that hit me on a down hill. And there was a line of thunderstorms to navigate. I took shelter for 20 minutes in what I thought was an abandoned building, but a guy turned up who was using it for a warehouse for his vending machine business. He invited me to take shelter while the worst passed. He told me he can net 20-25% from the business. (Most businesses would die for that margin including my former employer.) A tornado had gone through the area in early May and the damage was very evident. I ended up riding the last few miles in the rain but without much of a storm to deal with.

We are overnighting in the city of Danville. We toured their historic park and met Abby who was manning a cooperative farm stand. She is from Ohio, went to school in NC, works during the school year in Minnesota, and is working this summer in Kentucky because "it's in the middle". We convinced her she has to ride cross country some day.

Stone Coal Baptist Church

2009-06-01T20:16:00.009-04:00

Stone Coal Baptist Church was the end of the ride today after 75 miles. The church is essentially at the top of a long hill in the middle of a long stretch between towns in Daniel Boone National Forest. Let's just say I was ready to end the day. We ended up driving about 20 miles to Irvine, KY for the overnight and a rest day tomorrow. So day after tomorrow we will return to the church to resume the ride where we left off.

The route today started off on quiet country roads but then things became more hectic. The route followed two major highways with heavy traffic for about 10 miles around Hazard. There were shoulders but they were filled with those tiny stones that can cause flats and crossed by @#$% rumble strips. Since this was now the work week, the 18 wheel coal trucks were also out in full force until I went far enough west to get beyond most of them. Towards the end of the day it was back to quiet back roads through the forest.

Sally visited Buckhorn State Resort Park on Buckhorn Lake to do some hiking before meeting me down the road at Booneville at about 59 miles into the ride. She commented on how nice the daisies look right now along the road side. Can't say I noticed but I did almost run over a live black snake crossing the road. I stopped at the Buckhorn general store for drinks. It was one of those throw back stores and the proprietor keeps a log of riders that I signed. I learned that I am about two days behind two other Trans Am riders.

A footnote to yesterday's post - our waiter in Hazard expressed interest in the ride and is now following the blog. Check out his comment on yesterday's post.

Carrie, KY

2009-05-31T17:02:00.007-04:00

The ride ended at the post office of Carrie, KY after 72 miles. I think the post office is Carrie in its entirety. The route today followed numerous hollows, narrow stream valleys between the hills. At the end was a challenging climb over a ridge into the the next hollow. As the route moved west the climbs were shorter but still steep. The most interesting was the first, a 2 mile long almost 1000 foot climb.

This is eastern Kentucky coal country. Coal mining is of both the hard rock and strip mining varieties. We passed several large strip mines where half a ridge line was gone. The homes along the roads are very modest with gardens and chickens. Today was dog day, with five or six chases. Fortunately, they were all small and cowards. For those of you who rode on the Black Bear trip last year in Kentucky, I can report the roads are just as good in this part of the state. After rain last night, the weather has turned fair under a high pressure, so the ride ended in bright sunshine and clear skies. (Matt K. - Sally is making good use of your present, she verified that high pressure has arrived.)

We are staying tonight in Hazard, KY. We struck up a conversation with a guy as we were buying a mid afternoon sub. It turns out he is from New Hampshire and came down to Kentucky to mine hard rock coal, even though he currently is "changing tires". Asked why he would want to mine, the response was "its dirty, dangerous, pays well, and I don't like the sun". He also added the temperature is always 65 degrees.

Breaks Interstate Park

2009-05-30T15:59:00.009-04:00

Today featured lots of climbing over 67 miles. The biggest challenge was a 3.5 mile 1500' climb followed by another 1000 footer and a couple of 500 footers. The legs were starting to feel it by the end of the day. The compensation was more splendid descents of several miles each. The day started foggy but the sun emerged and so a whole day with no rain. We ended the day's riding just over the Kentucky state line so Virginia is checked off. I am writing the blog from the Visitor's Center hot spot in Breaks Interstate Park on the Kentucky-Virginia border. The "breaks" is a river gorge first discovered by old Daniel Boone in the 18th century. The park is on top of the ridge looking down. We will now be entering coal country in Pike County, KY. This is also the area of the legendary Hatfield and McCoy feud. The first picture was taken from an overview of the Breaks on the final ascent. We are staying just down the road in a local motel on the bike route.

Meadowview, VA

2009-05-29T16:14:00.011-04:00

Today's 73 mile ride crossed over another arm of the Appalachians. The weather was cloudy to sunny with one brief shower and 10-15 mph headwinds. We seem to be in a consistent pattern of a rain threat every day. The route headed west for 25 miles through rolling country before ascending two separate 1000' climbs in the Mt. Rodgers National Recreation area to a maximum elevation of 3700'. The climbs were very manageable, several miles at a relative low grade. We passed under the mountain to the east. For those who are into high points, Mt Rodgers is the highest point in VA at 5729' according to the map. Sally and I climbed it once upon a time. The Appalachian Trail crosses here, and while we were stopped at the trail crossing, right on cue a through hiker emerged for a chat. He was from Australia and hiking solo. A man of few words when asked if he was going to Maine he wisely said he was going to the next shelter. After lunch at the "top", there was a glorious 15 mile descent to Damascus on a windy road with good pavement through the forest with a rushing stream on the side. Damascus is the junction of the TransAm bike trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the Virginia Creeper, a local long distance biking trail. Sally was able to get out and ride two separate times to enjoy the country side. Today marks one week and my odometer shows 508 miles, so a good start.

There is an adendum to the 5/26 post. Sally came across another couple doing the same thing as we are only west to east. They started in April in Huntington Beach, CA. Their blog is http://www.meezan-thecrossing.blogspot.com/.

Wytheville

2009-05-28T17:47:00.008-04:00

Today's ride ended in Wytheville after 68 hilly miles. I started riding about 12 miles north of last night's town where we had left off yesterday. Within five miles there was a 500' climb that set the precedent for the day. With the exception of a few river valleys the route went up big hills and down big hills (200-300'). There was lots of gravel on the roads from yesterday's rain. I now can appreciate the statement that Virginia has the most aggregate elevation gain for any state on the entire trip route. With the exception of a couple of showers the weather was good, with some sunny breaks in the afternoon. Kim and Liz, I am working on my tan, and you? The country side is a combination of woods and farm pastures with views of the mountains in the distance.

Our days have settled into a routine of sorts. Up at six, breakfast, and then on the road by seven or so. We pick a location 25-30 miles down the road for a first meeting, and then another at around 50 miles for lunch from the back of the truck. We are finishing in early afternoon. Today the meeting place was the junction of RT 11 and 52 in Wytheville. Wasn't so obvious where that was as it turned out. So I had to do a little circling around until I spotted the truck. But no Sally. I packed the bike and still no Sally. I walked up the street, and still no Sally. But wait, here she comes with a bag. She had been shopping for ... yarn. I know Marji will relate. Anyway, we find an inexpensive motel (no camping yet), get dinner, blog, and get ready to repeat tomorrow. Tonight we went upscale for dinner, the 1776 Log House Restaurant. It was good, on the other hand by the end of the day I will eat anything.

Christiansburg

2009-05-27T20:32:00.002-04:00

The 78 mile ride today followed the valleys between the highlands. The terrain was rolling with a few steep but short climbs. Did I mention that it rained? Actually, off and on until the last 10 miles when it became serious rain with streams of water coming down the road and large puddles. Unfortunately, I got a flat tire not far from where I planned to stop about 12 miles short of Christiansburg. We are staying there tonight and drying out all of what I had with me. I am carrying a fanny pack with phone, ID, money, camera, and food. The plastic bag with the gorp opened. Picture all that stuff sitting in a puddle of water in the pack. But hey it's all part of the adventure. No pictures today, it was raining too much.

Blue Ridge Parkway to Lexington

2009-05-26T17:54:00.013-04:00

I have looked at the elevation profile on the route map for days wondering what the climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway was going to be like and now I know. The hardest climb was up to the town of Afton on a county road just before Rockfish Gap, the beginning of the Parkway. The climbs on the Parkway itself were long, up to two miles, but the gradient was reasonable. Still I am glad to have the new compact gearing. Our host Howard accompanied me for the first 30 miles to the Parkway entrance. Sally and Margaret did their own 20 mile loop ride before Sally drove on to catch me well down the Parkway.

On the way to the Parkway Howard and I came upon a bike tour group riding a tour in Virginia. It happened to be on a fairly steep hill and as we approached we watched one of the men fall off his bike into the roadside ditch full of poison ivy. He wasn't hurt ---yet. We also stopped at the house of "The Cookie Lady" in Afton. She has been providing cookies to cross country riders for years and her house is full of biker memorbila. We saw her in the yard but did not spend the time to go in the house.

The weather on the Parkway was foggy to start and then some views opened up. It also rained from time to time. The balance of the week promises more rain and scattered storms. The downhill run off the Parkway dropped over 2000 feet in four miles. I was glad I did not have to make that climb. Tonight we are in Lexington after 78 miles.

Charlottesville

2009-05-25T18:02:00.007-04:00

After a good night's sleep I started riding at around 7:30. The route today continued on back roads through central Virginia ending in Charlottesville after 62 miles. For the first time there were more interesting hills as an appetizer for the bigger climbs to come. I came across my first self supported bike tourist heading in the opposite direction at a road junction. He is on his way to Maine from San Diego. I think he kind of looked down his nose at me on my light weight road bike, or maybe it was envy. This meeting happened in the town of Palmyra that happened to be a meeting spot with Sally. While we were there a couple of other cyclists showed up heading in the same direction as we were. They were two college professors on a three day credit card trip from Richmond to Lexington. We hooked up for the final 20 miles into Charlottesville. Once in Charlottesville I managed to miss another turn and rode through the Main St pedestrian mall that I was later informed that I could have been ticketed for. Tonight we are staying with Margaret and Howard. Margaret was a rider on the cross country trip that Sally went on in 2006. They live near the U of VA campus so we had a nice tour of campus and a great meal. This will the last night of lodging with friends for quite a few days.

A Nice Day of Cruising

2009-05-24T20:19:00.003-04:00

Our hostess Terry served up a delicious breakfast of omelets, potatoes, and raspberries. After returning to the spot where we left off, I took off for the day’s ride under overcast skies and temperatures in the low 70’s. After the first 1.5 miles I came upon the first detour of the trip, it was not too far out of the way. The route skirted the northern suburbs of Richmond. Good pavement, nice rolling terrain, and quiet roads except at major intersections. There was maybe a 300-400 foot elevation gain from the James River. I noticed quite a few snake road pizzas, something we don’t see much of in NY. Sally did a quick tour of downtown Richmond and we rendezvoused for the first time just outside of Ashland more or less as planned. The next scheduled meeting point was somewhat more of an issue as we learned to pick landmarks right on the route. With no cell phone coverage, it took about 45 minutes for Bob to be found. We were waiting at intersections only about a mile apart. Sally enlisted the neighbors who helped get her headed in the right direction. With a few more days of experience we will get the drill down to a science. There were lots of turns in the route so one had to be very diligent although there is good signage as the Adventure Cycling TransAM route is marked in VA as Virginia Bike Route 76. By the end of the day I had ridden 84 miles, of which 75 were actually productive miles. The others were the detour, one missed turn back track, and the Sally search. Tonight we are staying in the Rebel Motel in Louisa ($45), my kind of place. Dinner is pizza at Pizza Hut. Life is good.

Day 1

2009-05-23T20:22:00.007-04:00

Maybe I will come up with more creative titles as the trip goes along. We were up sort of early (some people have a hard time getting up) and on the road by 7:30 to drive to Yorktown. We stopped at a Waffle House on the way for a double waffle breakfast, always a cultural experience. Bumper to bumper traffic with rubber banding all the way down. Those of us in NY may be taxed and cold much of the time but at least we don't have congestion like this. After arrival there was the obligatory pictures of the start, a good bye to Liz and Kim, and then I started riding at around 12:30. The first half mile was past a bikini beach in Yorktown, not that I noticed. The next 25 miles or so were along the Colonial Parkway. I had ridden this road once before several years ago, and I remember now why I didn't like it then. The surface is concrete with embedded pebbles. At Williamsburg, the parkway goes through a tunnel so you have to cut through town. I learned the hard way how to read the Adventure Cycling town maps since initially I read it from the wrong direction and spent 20 minutes wandering around the town trying to find my way. The route transitions from the parkway to a nice bike trail that eventually will go from Jamestown to Richmond. The last 25 miles of the day were along Rt 5 which parallels the James River. Flat and through a nice forest. It ended up being a 62 mile day so a reasonable start. Tonight we are hosted by our friend Terry in Richmond who cooked a delicious meal. Tomorrow we go for an early start that will be more typical of the days ahead.

PS Jim R, what were you thinking? What kind of precedent does this set for the rest of us?

Day Zero

2009-05-22T22:49:00.009-04:00

Today is staging day. We finally finished loading the truck and closing down the house by nine and drove down to daughter Liz's apartment in Falls Church. We played around with the new GPS unit on the way down. It got somewhat confused as we drove down a new stretch of Rt 15 just over the PA line as it appeared we were driving through a field for a couple of miles. I would like to say we managed to pack light (well one of us did), as I discovered that Sally brought along our bathroom scales. Enough said. We had pizza at my favorite local pizza restaurant, Pie-Tanza. Then it was off to BWI to pick up Liz's friend Kim who is visiting for the weekend. They will be going down to Yorktown tomorrow for the start of the ride. Tomorrow is Sally's birthday so Elizabeth made a cake from scratch, blueberry lemon cake with a lemon cream cheese frosting. Very good. She also gave us matching jerseys personalized for the ride. Very cool. So it is up early tomorrow to drive to Yorktown and finally get on the bike and head west. Can't wait.

One Week and Counting

2009-05-16T16:20:00.005-04:00

There is only one week to go now until the ride starts next Saturday, 5/23. I am ready and getting anxious to start. Today we have been doing final yard work and we have started packing. Next week will be busy with finishing up end of quarter requirements at RIT, really packing, and closing the house down for two months. I talked with a reporter from the Greece Post so there may be an article about the ride in an upcoming issue.

Yesterday I did a tune-up 100 miles as part of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ride. It was my first time participating and it was a lot of fun. The group either rides by or stops at elementary schools along the route in Monroe County and the city of Rochester. This year Hilton was the first stop so familiar territory. The ride is on a tight time schedule so that at arrival the kids are all out cheering their little hearts out. At the stops there is an educational program, food, and then off we go. There was a police escort the entire way so we never had to stop in between schools. There were 227 riders, riding in pairs, so a fairly long line. The average speed was supposed to be between 14 and 15. But in practice the line continued to rubber band between slow and fast (10-20) so you had to pay attention constantly to avoid rear enders. I recommend it for a fairly easy century.

April Training

2009-04-19T16:21:00.003-04:00

Spring has arrived, the skis have been moved to off season storage, and bike training has been the objective. So far I have been able to log about 550 miles of training rides, in the 20-35 mile range. While the weather has been fairly dry the last couple of months, it has been cool. The temperatures for most rides have been in the 30's and 40's. Since we live on Lake Ontario, it is guaranteed that we will get cold northeast winds most days due to reverse lake effect. Since the lake water is still cold, as the land heats up during the day, a lake breeze kicks up to replace the rising warmer air. I figure it is good mental training for those days of headwinds on the plains.

Trip planning is moving ahead. We have made our lists and are checking them twice. I am starting to get the word out about the ride to create awareness for the fund raising aspect. The target departure date from Rochester is 5/22 right after I finish my RIT responsibility. The actual riding will start the next day, 5/23. I have registered for the National Register of Missing Children Ride on 5/15 here in Rochester. It is an all day 100 mile ride around Monroe County that visits local elementary schools to raise awareness and money. It will be a good tune up for a longer day before the ride starts. Stay tuned for at least one more post before the ride.

The Kickoff

2009-01-15T11:15:00.001-05:00

It is 10 degrees and snowing today. Cross country skiing is the current sport of choice. Bicycling across the country seems like a long way away. But it isn't too soon to start getting ready. Starting in late May I plan to fulfill one of my life list goals by biking cross country. I decided to go across the middle starting from York Town, VA on the East Coast, and finishing in San Francisco at the Golden Gate, 3785 miles. The route follows the Adventure Cycling TransAmerica Trail through Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas to Pueblo Colorado, and then picks up the Adventure Cycling Western Express Trail through Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California.

My wife Sally will be my SAG wagon driver for the entire trip. That way I will be able to ride light and "fast". In fact she is fulfilling her end of an agreement to support my ride since I supported her decision to bike cross country in the spring of 2006 from San Diego to St Augustine FL on a trip with Woman Tours. We plan to camp a lot, see the local sights, and hopefully link up with friends and family along the way, the ultimate road trip. We welcome anyone who would like to join us at any point on the road.

I have also decided that, as long as I am making the trip, I might as well use it for a good cause. I chair the board of a grassroots 501(c)3 non-profit in Rochester called Journeys of Solutions, Inc.(JOS). The objective of JOS is to provide a non-profit infrastructure for supporting projects to help people in need in developing countries. Often adventure travelers to these countries would like to help the people they meet, but find it hard to get started. JOS is intended to provide that help and encouragement. Of course the biggest challenge is to raise funds for project work. So I decided to dedicate the ride to raise money for JOS. The tag line will be "a donation of just a penny a mile can make a big difference".

Stay tuned for more details on fund raising and preparation for the ride. In the meantime, I am going skiing.