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Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 29th:
First I would like to apologize. The hotel we stayed in on the beach didn't have wifi, the airport didn't have wifi, and I got home late last night- so this is the first chance I got to post this. :)
Today, OUR LAST DAY, we woke up and were immediately met with trials. Christian had a flat- and it took him a while to replace the tire and tube. After we got through that, we all grabbed our last breakfast together, prayed, and set off. It was rainy and dark, but at least it wasn’t hot J. The shoulder was rather large, but it was bumpy and hard to keep a good pace on. Nonetheless, the guys averaged about 15 mph to their 20 mile break- which is probably one of the highest averages we’ve had so far. After our 20 mile break, Jerry got a flat, which we quickly fixed, but then as we were about to leave, Christian thought that he had a flat too. After pulling his tube off, it didn’t have a leak, so we put it back on and set off again. After another 2 miles, Jerry realized that his tire was flat AGAIN, so we threw a new one on and prayed that we could get going again. Gratefully, we rode smoothly for the next 20 miles and got to our 40 mile break at 9:00 on the dot. After a few more miles on the road, we met up with Jerry mom (see pictures) who said hi and wished us luck. We hit the road again with a 15.71 mph average, and which was still rising as we approached Suffolk. As we got closer to the main city, the road we were going on was “prohibited” to bike across, but we saw no immediate danger, so we just chose to turn our heads whenever the sign came. ;-) After we got through Suffolk, at our 60 mile break, we had a choice to make: Do we take our 80 mile break and just skip lunch? Or do we try to put them together? Or do we take an extra break for lunch? We went with the second option and found a McDonald’s 11 miles from us- where we would grab a quick bite and then plow through the rest of the 25 miles we would have that day without a break. Just outside of Suffolk, Ed and Jerry BOTH got flats at the SAME TIME. Figures… we haven’t gotten a flat for almost 1000 miles, and now we get 4 flats in one day. Alright, we are now done with the day- and that’s saying something: This day was so action-packed that I didn’t get a single chance to write it down! Well, back to the story, after those flats, we had 5 MORE FLATS WITHIN THE NEXT 10 MILES!!!!!! We ran down to our very last tube, and gratefully it held. We booked it to the McDonald’s, and then we booked it all the way to the beach, reaching our destination by 5:00. We met with Jerry’s mom again at the beach, and then we found a hotel and got a good night sleep.
Alrighty- as the last time that I will be posting, I wanted to give a shout out to the guys on this trip. As Christian reminded me rather often, “You can never understand how hard it is to get on your bike and pedal for 8 hours a day- everyday- for a month, until you actually do it”. I wanted to include a little bit of a bio for each of these guys that has been built up during this whole trip…
Edgar “The Brute” Stone: Obviously the leader of the group. Pays for all expenses, including gas, food, and flights home. Grew up in Compton, and hasn’t forgotten a single thing about street fights and trash talk. 69 years of age and still young. This is his 3rd and, according to him, last trip, across the USA on a bicycle. There was never a time that wouldn’t put the boys in their place when they got cocky. Ultimately, he led the group onto victory.
Award: Manly Man
Jerry “Pooh-Bear” Janeck: Scary lookin’ fella at first glance. X-marine. 64 years of age. (Year 64 attained on the trip) Well versed mechanic and route planner. Also known for always having an injury to tend to, but never quitting. This is his 2nd,and once again, last trip, across the USA. Credited to be a “dog-whisperer”. Although he looks intimidating, if you give him a quick snake-bite on the back of the leg, you may learn otherwise.
Award: Most Persevering
Christian “Dope” Lyman: 17 years of age. Always looking for a new way to pick up a girl. He even watches “The Bachelorette” every week, JUST so we can talk to girls about it. (And if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you). Clean-shaven… literally. If you can find a hair on the boy’s legs or arms, you need to put your microscope away. Never complained (in public). Always woke up on time (NOT). However, he was consistently the first person to arrive at the hotel every day. Finally, he rocks a Mohawk that we gave him in Cortez, CO.
Award: Best Hair
Matthew “Hilarious Little Brother” Lyman: Obviously, the little brother of Christian Lyman. (who always reminds him of that fact) Least experienced coming into the trip. (Longest ride previous to June 1st: 30 miles) But despite that fact, he would plow his way through the routes- especially up the hills. He will always be cracking a joke- whether or not the time is appropriate. Still looking for his tractor. He is 15 years old, but you would never guess it.
Award: Most Sarcastic Man I've Ever Met
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 28th:
Today we woke up for a 112 mile day to Emporia, VA. We grabbed a delicious continental breakfast at the Best Western we stayed at in Danville. We were onto Highway 58 early, about 5:30, and there were no problems for the first leg. We had to climb some hills early on our route, but after our 20 mile break, it flattened out quite nicely. We made it to our 40 mile break around 9:00- which is probably the best we’ve done all trip. At around 45 miles, we hit a section of the Highway that prohibits bicyclists… But Ed and Jerry dismissed that as a “mere suggestion” and we peddled our way through it. We got to our 60 mile break at about 10:45, and took a much needed rest in the shade. It was already 92 degrees, and the humidity made it even worse. I grabbed some Subway sandwiches for our 80 mile break, and the boys devoured them quickly before setting back off for our last few legs. At our 80 mile break, it was 98 degrees- and it was killing these guys- but they stuck it through as we approached our last break at 100 miles. After a quick break- we jumped back on the road to finish off our last century of the trip- and possibly Jerry and Ed’s last century ever. We wiped the tears away and booked it into the hotel where we found a nice pool and exercise room- not that these guys need it J
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, June 27th:
First of all, I would like to apologize that I couldn’t post last night- the place that we stayed didn’t have any wireless internet access. Anyways… Today- we woke up at the same old time- planning on hitting the road early and getting 95 miles down the road to Danville, VA. The day started out interesting- again… About a mile from the hotel, Matthew’s chain broke a link- and we spent the next hour trying to find the missing link to fix the chain. After a while, we just replaced it with a spare link that jerry had stowed in his toolbox and set back out on the Highway. Today we are going to follow Highway 58 all day to Danville, a probably all the way to Virginia Beach- so we’re going to get well acquainted with it… whether we like it or not. Our first 20 miles were climbing, climbing, and more climbing. After our break, we were relieved to see that we were at the top of the last mountain of the Appalachian Mountains. We hauled down the back side of the mountains for the next 20 miles until our 40 mile break around 10:00. Everything was smooth sailing until we got to Martinsville, where we were looking to have another day of Wendy’s, but it turns out the route we were going to take was an interstate- and we were prohibited from riding on it. So we planned a new route that went straight through Martinsville instead of circling around the outskirts of town- and found a Burger King to eat at around 64 miles in. After filling our guts, we set back off for Danville- 31 miles left to our hotel. We finished the next 20 miles quickly- then we took it into the Best Western Hotel for a good night sleep.
Sunday, June 26th:
Today we woke up to another interesting morning… and no, nobody lost a glove today. But we were up and ready for some breakfast at 5:00- so Matthew and I went to the lobby for the continental breakfast that we were told would be ready for us. Upon arriving there, we were just looking at the food, when an employee came up and asked us what we thought we were doing. We told him that we were gonna grab some breakfast before we left for our ride today. Promptly, he responded that the breakfast was only available from 6 to 9. We were in the middle of telling him that we had talked to a lady yesterday who said otherwise- when he raised his voice at us, saying “6 TO 9!!!” I thanked the man sarcastically and we went back to our room. After telling everyone, Ed just could not stand for that. He went back to the lobby area and gave this man a little talking to. He got his name and wrote him up to the lodge’s management for being rude to guests. Needless to say, when I checked out of the hotel, he was on his best manners. Well after that scuffle, we set on our way for Hillsville, VA- 102 miles from our hotel. After looking at the route, though, I noticed that there was a much quicker way to make it there. In fact this new route brought the day down to 95 miles- so we set out on Highway 11 north, which followed I-81 Northbound. We hit our 20 mile break fairly early, and averaging just under 13 miles per hour. Later, at our 40 miles break we had kept up the exact same pace and arrived at a nice little place with a bench- right around 9:40. We set back off, towards Wytheville, where we would be having our 60 mile break and lunch at Wendy’s again. A few miles after we pulled back onto the road a cop stopped next to me- just to check that I hadn’t broken down- and with that, we continued on our way. We took a cut off that led us to Highway 52- which heads straight south to Hillsville. With 7 miles left, we took our last break- and made it a quick one- because we were all super tired. After we rested for a few minutes we took it into the small hotel- and grabbed a good night sleep for tomorrow.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Saturday, June 25th:
Today we woke up with another glove mishap- and today the victim was Matthew. Sometime between the time that we got to the hotel and when we left, his glove was misplaced. We checked the room, the laundry room, and even the hallways- but it was nowhere to be found. Gratefully, Ed had an extra pair that he could use- and with that, we set off. About 2.5 miles down the road, we came to the Cumberland Gap. They had recently built a tunnel system to navigate THROUGH the tunnel- rather than over it. However, when we got to the tunnel, we say the sign that said that bikers were prohibited. After 15 minutes of discussion and debate, we had to put our bikes into the Cumberland Gap Patrol’s vehicle and ride through the tunnel to the other side. During our ride through the tunnel, we passed the Tennessee state line- and on the other side, we got a picture next to the sign. Just another mile or two we crossed north into Virginia, our final state on this trip. This ultimately brings our state count to 11 states. That’s over a fifth of the whole US, and almost a fourth of the continental US! And in a couple days we’re going to be stopping right near the North Carolina border, and when they send me out shopping for them, I’m going to make sure to do it on the NC side. ;-) But that aside, we followed Highway 58, also known as Daniel Boone Trail, along southeastern Virginia all the way to our 20 mile break. After our break, we had to climb up another few big hills to our 40 mile break. Just a few mile after our 4 mile trip, Ed’s chain came off and got stuck in his guard rail. After a few minutes of playing with it, we got it back and working- just in time for us to go up the steepest hill of the day, Powell Mountain, at an elevation of 2319 feet. After dropping off the other side of the mountain and a few more hours of climbing we got to our 60 mile break at about 1:00. Because of all the climbing we were going super slow- but going slow is still shortening the distance to Virginia Beach. At 75 miles we stopped in Weber City, Virginia for some Wendy’s- and then crossed back into Tennessee towards Bloomingdale and eventually Bristol. After booking it through Bristol, we ended out our hotel between Bristol and Abingdon in Virginia.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday, June 24th:
This morning, due to the time change, we slept in until 4:45, then hopped on our bikes around 6:00. Today we are going to Middlesboro, which is right on the border of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. This is also the home city of the Cumberland Gap, which we will be passing tomorrow in the early morning. Last night, when planning the route, the original route was 103 miles- just taking Highway 92 most of the way. However, after changing our plan to some less-traveled roads, we cut the mileage for today all the way down to 88.9 miles. You can bet that that made everyone happy! J We started out heading east on Highway 92 going towards Stearns, KY. 20 miles down the road, we stopped for a break- and Ed went to the back of the Tahoe to get some Donuts that he had bought yesterday evening- but to his surprise- they were all gone! Everyone had eaten one this morning, leaving 20 left in the bag- however, what he didn’t know was that Christian had a sweet tooth this morning and had eaten ALL OF THEM! This led to some “colorful speech” on Ed’s part- and some laughing on everyone else’s. After our break- we continued up the Appalachian Mountains in Eastern Kentucky, just near the border of Tennessee. At one point, we had to climb 700 feet over a span of a seven tenths of a mile. Doing some calculations with right triangles- that means that we rose 700 feet over a hypotenuse of 3696 feet. So the sine of the angle of elevation is equal to 700/3696 or 175/924 which is approximately .1894. And by taking the inverse sine, we are left with an angle of 19 degrees! At our 40 mile break, we talked to a guy who owned quite a bit of land in the Appalachian Mountains, and he told us that there were plenty of hills to come, which did not make us happy- but we trudged on through the country roads until our turn off came. We turned onto Paint Creek Road, just to find out that it was unpaved a few tenths of a mile down- so we had to plan a new route to get to Middlesboro. We stayed on Highway 92 which took us into Williamsburg where we grabbed some lunch at Burger King at 53 miles. With this new route, we had about 51 miles to go to get to Middlesboro- so we set off. I went to the store really quickly and met up with the bikers 10 miles down the road- over a couple huge hills. At our 75 mile break- Christian told us that the last thing that he wanted to do in the world was to get back on his bike. Nonetheless, he did with the rest of the group and they set off again. It was hovering at 85 degrees, which when on a bike, is a deadly heat. But these guys dogged it to 95 miles where we had our final break and then went into the Holiday Inn hotel in Middlesboro for a good night’s rest.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 23rd:
This morning we woke up at 4:00, prepared for a long day and an hour lost due to the time change. We grabbed some breakfast at the Best Western Plus in Bowling Green, pumped up the tires, and set off. We had devised a way that we didn’t have to go all the way through Bowling Green by taking some country roads to cut off some time. In the end, the route saved us about 2 miles, which was definitely worth it. There were gently rolling hills along the country roads, and by the time we hit our 20 mile break, we were feeling great. After another 20 into Glasgow, Kentucky- we took another break and grabbed some bagels to snack on. Outside of Glasgow, we met up with Highway 90, which we would take all the way into Monticello this afternoon. We hit our 60 mile break around 11:30 Central Time, and then the time zone changed shortly thereafter. The beautiful scenery more than made up for the hills that we had to climb to reach Burkesville… until about 75 miles in. There was a MONSTER hill that was about a mile long- and one of the steepest hills we’d encountered on this trip so far. However, this didn’t even phase the seasoned bicyclists as they attacked the pass. We took our 80 mile break with some Subway sandwiches for lunch. We were about 26 miles from Monticello, so we decided to go another 20 and then take a short last leg. So we stopped really quickly at 100 for a quick drink and then took it into Monticello and the Monticello Motel.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 23rd:
Today we decided to get up even earlier so that we could miss out on the hot, stormy weather that is predicted to come in the early afternoon, and we got ready to leave at 5:00. To the pain of the boys, that meant setting our alarms for 4:00. After getting up, we had a few bike issues… Matthew had a flat and all of the bike chains were rusty from yesterday’s storm. So we fixed up the bikes and were on the road around 5:45 towards Hopkinsville. We busted out a 13.5 mph average on Highway 68 and made it 40 miles around 9:00 in Hopkinsville. I called around for hotels- and found a really good steal with a Best Western Plus with and indoor pool/exercise room for 72.99! J We made a reservation and set out towards Bowling Green. We had a thick cloud cover all morning, but then around 10:00 the clouds opened up and it began to rain. Not as hard as yesterday- but the road still got thoroughly soaked. But we pushed through down the Highway where we had our 60 miles break, and then made it to Russellville, where I picked up some sandwiches for them to eat at their 80 miles break. It was about 12:30 when we stopped for our lunch break just outside of Russellville, Kentucky. After we were done, we headed back up Highway 58 and took the 242 cutoff to get to the east side of Bowling Green and take the highway up to our hotel. However, we took a wrong turn and we ended up taking a really weird route to the hotel… but we finally got there. The hotel was amazing- huge pool, exercise room, and laundry facilities. AND it was attached to a Denny’s where we grabbed dinner! Awesome hotel! J
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tuesday, June 21st:
This morning started off a little interesting… Now I know the question forming in your heads: How could anything at 4:00 in the morning be interesting?? Well the night previous, we got a load of laundry together for washing, but the machine for the guests was broken- so the hotel crew said that we could give them the laundry, and they would just charge the cost to our room. Well they started it around 7:00, which didn’t leave enough time for us to collect it before the morning. So in the morning we grabbed our laundry, and after sorting and folding- Ed realized that one of his biking gloves was gone. Looking everywhere for it, we all finally gave up and grabbed some breakfast. While sitting there- a little peeved at the morning’s events, we were less than happy to see the same employee who had washed our clothes come in to greet us. Gratefully, he brought the missing glove with him- because had he not- Ed may have torn his head off Compton style… and none of us want to see that. With that out of the way, we set off for the Missouri border. As I explained earlier, the bridge that we were supposed to go over was closed to traffic, but Ed pulled some strings and got permission to hop the fence. However, this meant that I, as the driver, had to go up north 12 miles and then come back to meet them on the other side. After crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois, we quickly bid farewell and rode over the Ohio River to Kentucky. Our high expectations of Kentucky were immediately met with beautiful scenery and pleasant locals who offered to let us come in and rest for a while. We gratefully declined and cruised our way down Highway 58/121 towards Mayfield. I grabbed some juices and milk in Mayfield and caught up with the group just in time for their 60 miles break. We stopped at a pretty place with a bench and a cave (see pictures). We decided to eat in Hardin, about 10 miles down the road, at a place called the Cross Roads. After eating, we started back out, and the rain started coming down too. We were 30 miles from our destination when the rain started pouring and we threw on our rain gear. After about 5 miles, though, Ed and Jerry made a decision to cut our losses and just stay in a small hotel just between Hardin and Aurora called the Lakeland Resort. Of course, right when we stopped- so did the rain. And it didn’t rain for the next while- so we could have made it to Cadiz… Oh well. There’s always tomorrow.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, June 20th:
Today we hit the road just after 5:30, right as planned. Our first 20 miles were the same as they have been through all of Missouri: Rolling hills. These hills are killing us, because we go straight up, then lose all of that elevation super quickly, then have to go straight back up another one. Also, the wind hasn’t been at our backs yet… until today. We had a slight breeze that was going southeast(ish). It wasn’t consistent, but it was much better than a headwind. Our second 20 mile stretch ended right around Poplar Bluff, and it breezed by. It was only 9:30 and we were almost half way to our destination, Charleston, MO. Charleston is right near the border/Mississippi river that we will be crossing early tomorrow about 105 miles from last night’s hotel. We found a McDonald’s in Dexter at about 67 miles, so we took a quick break at 60 and rode into Dexter with empty stomachs. McDonald’s was all out of ice cream, which for us was a deal breaker, so we headed over to Burger King just to spite them. After filling our guts we boarded back onto Highway 60 towards Sikeston with 38 miles left to go. We hopped off of the main Highway onto 114 and passed through Morehouse, then took our 86 mile break. The wind was at our backs and the boys especially were feeling like they could do 150 on a day like today. We pulled into the hotel, very glad that there was pool, and relaxed until the Bachelorette was on… fun…
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 19th:
This morning we woke up bright and early, ready for another century day to get to the outskirts of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. After packing our stuff into our bags and heading out to the car- we realized how unlikely that would be. There was thunder and lightning strikes every few seconds- and the rain was pouring down. Ed and Jerry made the executive decision to try and wait out the storm- and, gladly, the boys went back to their beds for an hour and a half. The storm had subsided, and the sun was shining as if nothing had happened that morning. We hopped on the bikes and set off, planning on getting to Van Buren, MO because of our late start. About 7 miles in, Matthew got his second flat of the trip, and his first in almost 1000 miles. Quickly repairing that, we got back on the highway headed through Willow Springs. After going about 28 miles, we stopped in a town where we got some breakfast and set back on our way with 42 miles left to go. We took our last break at about 50 miles- where the temperature was hovering around 90-91 degrees. Finally, arriving at our hotel- we planned the next few routes, as well as the route to cross the Mississippi tomorrow. For those of you who haven’t heard, the bridge that we were planning to cross over has been hit by a barge, and it’s closed down to the general public. Gratefully, Ed made a few calls and it looks like they’re going to let JUST us over the bridge because the nearest other option would be about 100 miles out of our way.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Saturday, June 18th:
Today we planned on going to Cabool, MO- about 93 miles through central Missouri. When I went outside to check the temperature, I found a new friend (see pictures). After parting with my new friend, we started our day on Highway 266 East. After our first 20 miles we took a break in the heart of Springfield and grabbed a quick snack for the road. That morning we decided to change our regular route where we dropped down to Highway 66, and instead cut through the farm roads and meet up with our other route 50 miles in. This was working well- until we found that one of the roads we needed to ride down was unpaved. Obviously- we couldn’t ride over the gravel, so we had to do some interesting backtracking to get down to the Highway. However, after that it was smooth sailing until we got our 40 mile break near Fordland. We’ve had some cloud cover all day, and no rain yet, so the temperature is still under 90- barely. Riding in the humid 87 degree weather took some toll on our bodies, but we pushed through to 60 miles where we grabbed some Micky-D’s in Seymour. I don’t know if we were going through an Amish city, or if people just have odd hobbies through here, but we passed many horse-drawn carriages as we rode up the highway (see pictures). Turns out we were right next to an Amish settlement, and we spoke with a few of them when we had lunch. After lunch, we had 40.3 miles to go, so we could have 20 miles- a break- and then ride it in to the hotel. At our break, we actually had a cop pull up and after we told him what we were up to- he just told us that we were crazy, and got on his way. With just 10 miles to go, the heat was overwhelming at a humid 91 degrees. These last 10 miles took us an hour plus some change. After getting into the hotel, we cleaned the bikes and planned some routes for the next few days.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday, June 17th:
Today we woke up at the same old time. I think the boys may be starting to get used to it now…. NOT! Waking up in the morning is like being drawn and quartered for them. Nonetheless, we grabbed some breakfast and hit the road at 5:30. Weather reports had warned about storms coming up from the west- and thunder and lightning strikes weren’t rare as we rode through the early hours of the day. We are planning on getting to Springfield, Missouri- about 100-130 miles depending on how far into Springfield we go. About 18 miles in Jerry got a flat, and we pulled over we were greeted by two very nice doggies (see pictures). We fixed the flat quickly and took our 20 mile break a bit early. Just as we were finishing our break- the storm clouds caught up to us and the rain started coming down. We set back out on the road- and not 30 feet later- Jerry gets another flat. In the process of fixing his first flat, he popped the replacement tire as well. Well, we pulled over and fixed that one- praying that it would work. Gratefully, it did, and we kept riding as we Missouri border grew closer and closer. After grabbing a few pictures at the border, we followed the highway southeast towards Carthage. Just before 11:00, the sun peeked out of the clouds. We couldn’t decide if this was better or worse than rain, because the temperature started to skyrocket. Once inside Carthage, we grabbed some subway sandwiches and stopped at a park next to a lake with a fountain (see pictures). Just around noon, we had already gone 60 miles- only 40 left to go. It had already reached 92 degrees at 1:00, but we only had 29 more miles to go- so we stuck through the heat and kept heading down Highway 96 to Springfield. Along the way, I was supposed to stop at a Walmart for some groceries, and while there, Christian texted to me to get a rubber snake. For those who don’t know, Jerry hates snakes- and we’ve messing around with him by pinching his leg and stuff. (For those who read this- DO NOT TELL JERRY WE GOT THE SNAKE. I’ll put it in the blog after we do the prank) ;-) At 80 miles we took our last break before we got into the hotel in 20 miles. With about 10 miles left, we turned onto Highway 266 and got to our hotel just after 4:00. Overall- good day J
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thursday, June 16th:
Day 18: We rolled out of bed at 0415- packed up camp- and threw the bikes on the Tahoe to set back out to the Highway. We got our tires down and moving around 6:15, which was pretty good considering that we had to drive 30 miles to our starting point. We rode east on Highway 400 past Fredonia and through to the intersection of 400 and 47 East. By divine inspiration, Ed’s stomach told him that he needed some snacks- and it’s there were the cashier told us that Highway 47 was closed down for a 21 mile stretch. We planned another route to Pittsburgh, Kansas by going south on 400 around Parsons which only added 10 miles to our day. 110 miles isn’t horrific, so hopefully we’ll be able to stick through with it this time and ride straight up to the hotel. The sun was blocked by a thick layer of clouds, which looked rather threatening to the hurricane/tornado prone Kansas plains. Gratefully, the clouds have held out so far, and we reached about 50 miles by 11:30. Right after our 50 mile break, the clouds opened up. It began to drizzle, and then around 65 miles we got to Parsons, where the weather turned way downhill. Thunder and lightning strikes weren’t few or far between, so we decided to bunker down at a nearby Best Western for the night around 70 miles.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Wednesday, June 15th:
Today we got up to an early bagel breakfast, and then set out for the road around 5:45. Just after breakfast, I thought to check our route one more time- and when I did, I realized that there was no hotel where we were planning on stopping- Severy, KS. So, after discussing it with Ed and Jerry, we decided to head up to Fredonia- with was over 130 miles from our hotel. With forced smiles, we set off onto the Highway. As we rode the first few miles, we got to watch the sun rise over the flat Kansas plains which brightened our spirits very little after realizing that we might still be on the road when that same sun sets on the other side of the world. Around 35 miles in, we hit Wichita…. actually… it hit us: literally. Wichita’s shoulder, climate, and traffic all left us panting as sat down at a Dairy Queen for lunch around noon. Despite the horrible condition, we still had managed to go 64 miles in those 5 hours. Not too shabby- but 64 barely left a dent in a 130 mile day…. As you may notice, I write this all in the past tense- but just so you know, I write this all as we do it. I tell you this because as of right now, many of the guys don’t think that they can make it 63 more miles (I’m writing this at 12:39 Central Time about 7 miles out of Wichita). I really think that they can. I guess you readers can see who’s right at the end of the day ;-). The temperature was up to 86 degrees just before 1:00, and we were planning on it to keep climbing to the mid-90s today. After we got to 80 miles I went on ahead and scouted out the area for hotels. As we thought: nothing. So at 101 miles we threw the bikes on top of the car and drove into Fredonia, Kansas into the Fredonia Inn. It was a nice small hotel- perfect for a few pooped bikers. We grabbed a bite to eat at a Mexican Restaurant- and then went to the hotel to get some shut eye.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, June 14th:
Today we woke up and got ready for our 4th century in a row. We packed quickly, and were on the road by 5:45. Just like yesterday, the fog was dense enough to cut through, and as we rode, all of the equipment got drenched! The one plus to this climatic conundrum was that we didn’t have to endure the heat of the Kansas plains…. well at least not yet... It started raining about an hour later, and it rained for most of the morning. About 40 miles into our day, a cop came up to my car while I was parked- lights flashing- and I was scared that it was illegal to park where I was. Gratefully, he was just checking to see that I hadn’t broken down- and with that, he went on his way. We checked our mileage at noon again, and we broke our old record. We had already gone 72.6 miles when we stopped at a diner in Pratt, Kansas! It was still cloudy and cold when we went into the restaurant, but when we left, it was super hot and sunny. The temperature had climbed into the 80’s- and the humidity was killing us! We chugged for another couple hours and made it to Kingman right around 3:00- but of course our day can’t be over yet… Jerry popped a tire just 5 minutes from the hotel. We pulled into the hotel to find a nice swimming pool. However, the bee sitting next to me at the pool wasn’t so nice…
Monday, June 13, 2011
June, 13th: Hotter than outer darkness!
Today we woke up at the usual time, 4:15, so that we could miss the 100 degree temperatures that we saw on the weather report yesterday. After finally waking the boys up with lights, pillows, and eventually physical intimidation- we packed up and hit the road before 5:30. The sunset was quite pretty in the morning, but it began to be clouded by a thick fog. When we took a break about 20 miles down the road, the men were all soaked from riding through the fog (see pictures). Finally, the sun broke through- and the temperature started to shoot up through the 80’s before the morning was over. We pulled off the road into a nice patch of grass where we ate our subway sandwiches around 11:30. For the second day in a row, we hit 70 miles right around noon- and kept ourselves moving through the hot, windy, Kansas plains. It hit about 95 degrees when we pulled into Dodge City- into a Best Western Plus. The hotel was definitely THE BEST hotel we stayed in this whole trip- and gratefully so, because we had a bunch of grumpy bikers by the time we got to Dodge City.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Even More Picture Links!
May 27th: The trip from Oregon to Cali:
June 9th: The Wolf Creek Pass:
June 11th: La Veta Pass:
Sunday, June 12th:
Today, once again, we arose at 4:30 from our very comfortable beds (and air mattresses), so that we could beat the weather and the clock as we journeyed over to Kansas. We were given a delicious breakfast by the graveyard-shift worker at the Holiday Inn Express before we left the hotel. After hopping onto Highway 50, we actually started to feel some sprinkles of rain as we headed out east. Gratefully, they passed as we traveled farther and farther from La Junta. However, we were also grateful that the clouds stayed hanging over us to shelter us from the sun. We stopped at a small gas station in an even smaller city called Las Animas and spoke with some very kind men who told us that we were crazy to try to bike so far. J However, more importantly, they told us about the storms that were blasting directly through our route today. Cautiously, we proceeded on to Lamar, a larger city, where we bought Subway sandwiches to eat later on that day. We stopped 20 miles later in Granada and ate our sandwiches- already having gone 75 miles at 12:15! We finished our lunch and then set out for the Kansas border. About 15 miles later we snapped some pictures at the welcome sign, and then biked into Syracuse where we stayed the night.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Saturday, June 11th:
Today we woke up at the ungodly time of 4:15. We packed up and hit the road at 5:30- approaching the La Vita Pass. After 20 miles of climbing, we reached the peak and looked down on the Eastern half of Colorado. The scenery was absolutely stunning! We rode down the back side of the mountain, averaging almost 25 miles per hour. However, after we reached the bottom of the pass, we faced a strong head wind- and could barely manage to ride over 12 miles per hour all the way to Walsenburg. We had a hearty Carl's Jr. Lunch- and set back out for another 72 miles on the almost hidden Highway 10. We struggled through the 40 mile per hour headwinds as we inched our way to La Junta, Colorado. Nearing 5:00, we finally reached our destination where we bunkered down in a Holiday Inn Express, and slept soundly for another 4:30 wake up call.
Friday, June 10th:
Today we slept in until 7:30, so that we could have a small rest from yesterday’s sojourn over Wolf Creek Pass. We set off around 8:15 and racked up about 40 miles before lunch at a small restaurant in Alamosa, Colorado. While we were eating, we spoke to a man who seemed very interested in our journey across America. He told us that we should get some protection… and not like helmets- he meant a gun. He told us that there were dogs, bears……………………and………………..aliens ravaging the streets of Alamosa! He told us that he didn’t believe in aliens until he saw his cattle disappearing- and their organs were being taken. Obviously- to anyone with a brain- the only rational explanation is aliens! We bid him adieu and left the café. After another 20 miles he arrived at our hotel in Fort Garland. They only had one smoke free room- so obviously Ed and Jerry called seniority and shoved us into the smokey room. We grabbed some Pizza Bites for dinner- and went to bed early so that we could ride over the pass while it’s still cool tomorrow.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Thursday June 9th:
Today we had no delusions of sleeping in like yesterday... We were up bright and early at 4:00, trying to be on the road as soon as we could. We grabbed a little breakfast, and made it out on the road by 5:35. The first eventful thing we had was when we had our first wipeout! Christian ate some asphalt when his front tire got caught in a crack on the road, tossing him off his bike to the hard pavement below. Just another 10 miles down the road, we were joking around about Christian falling, and Jerry fell over just standing there! He banged up his leg real bad (see pictures), and even broke one of his shoe clips. So I had to run back to Durango and wait an hour and a half until the bike shop opened so that we could buy some clips for Jerry. A few hours later, we stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant, where we learned from the locals that we were going to be climbing up to 10800 feet above sea level in order to get to South Fork through the Wolf Creek Pass. Another person told us that it was 8 miles straight uphill. He was close. It was 8.7. Literally. Straight. Up. Hill. Despite the brutal climb, the scenery was the most majestic that I have ever seen. After summiting, we reserved a hotel room, and coasted down 21 miles to South Fork. Today we were on the road for almost 15 hours!!! We grabbed a bit to eat- and then went straight to bed
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Wednesday, June 8th:
Today we slept in until 6:00, because we only had 46 miles planned- which would bring us to Durango, Colorado. We grabbed a Continental Breakfast at the Best Western, and then set out on Highway 160 East. Jerry’s knee hasn’t been doing great, but he stuck through it with the help of some drugs. ;) The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, but half way to Durango, the battery in the camera died. This would not have been a huge deal, except for the fact that Jerry realized that he forgot the spare battery and charger in our hotel a few days ago. I called the hotels, and located the charger- and after a few minutes of hassling the clerk, we agreed that she’d mail it to Walsenburg, Colorado. We finished off our day, and came into the Best Western in Durango. It had a huge pool, and hopefully enough wifi connection for me to upload all of the pictures!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tuesday, June 7th:
Today we woke up bright and early at 4:10 am (which, due to the hour that we lost, felt like 3:10- or in the boys words, “living hell”). Nonetheless, we were on the road not much after 5:30 back on Highway 89- Northbound. Today we are expecting to go 118 miles- not because we’re feeling ambitious… just because it is the nearest place with a hotel to stay in! We are still on a bunch of Indian Reservation land, and the scenery is beautiful. As you can tell from the pictures, we were already out biking before the sun rose- which made for some beautiful pictures along the North Eastern Arizona border. For any of you that have heard about the wildfires in North Eastern Arizona- I would like to console you with the fact that we are riding AWAY from the fires, and hopefully we’ll ride fast enough to avoid them altogether. Once again, we checked our odometers at noon, and we had already gone 72 miles! And today we didn’t even have a tailwind! We stopped for lunch right around noon, and ate some snacks that we had purchased at the last trading post we had passed by. Jerry’s knee has been killing him, and he’s even managed to ride with only one foot for a few miles! The boys are all talking about getting their hair cut tonight- and I guess you’ll have to wait till the pictures to come out to find out what their plan is... We crossed the border into New Mexico another 5 miles down the road, and then we went to 4 corners (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado) and got some pictures. Just a few minutes later, we followed Highway 160 up into Colorado, and into a construction zone. Ironically, they were fixing the rough shoulder of the Highway, but because of the construction, there was a 2 mile strip where the road was only one lane. Luckily, the workers were really nice and made sure we made it across safely before any cross traffic could come through. We finished the last 20 miles of our journey into Cortez, CO- ending a 119 mile day. Once we got into the hotel, we got some food, cut out hair (check out the pictures in a few days), and went to bed- ready for another day on the road.
Monday, June 6th:
Today we wanted to beat the Arizona heat, so we awoke from our slumber at 4:15. Packing quickly, we were on the road at 5:15, headed up towards Colorado. We didn’t really have a destination in mind today, because there isn’t really a town in northeastern Arizona anywhere. The one thing that we did encounter plenty of: Indian Reservations. Going along I-89 North was smooth sailing; we had a strong tailwind, the temperature stayed under 90 degrees, and our bikes didn’t have any problems. However, the one issue that we didn’t foresee was the one that threw us off the most. Sandstorms. After about 40 miles on the road, we were feeling great about the time we were making. It wasn’t even 10:00 yet! But that’s when we noticed that the horizon was starting to disappear… We kept true to our course, and the winds picked up. According to a weather report, winds were over 50 mph throughout most of North Eastern Arizona. Sand and tumbleweed were flying everywhere! But we stuck through it, and after about 10 miles it all cleared up. We ate our lunch just before noon (Since there was no place to eat, I picked up sandwiches in the morning that we ate), and then set back off on I-89. We checked our odometers right around noon, and to our astonishment, we had already hit 65 miles! The one city that had a hotel, Kayenta, was only about 30 more miles down the road! Needless to say, we were ecstatic to realize this, because the temperature was already up to 85, and the sun reflecting off of the black asphalt didn’t help the situation at all. Somewhere along this road, the time zone changed- so we lost one precious hour of our day. Nonetheless, when we pulled into the Wetherill Inn in Kayenta, it was only 4:00, and we had gone 98 miles! We took some time to play in the indoor pool, play hackisack, and eat some dinner at Sonic before bedtime. And then even, the boys convinced me to stay up to watch, “The Bachelorette”- because it is quote, unquote: “Manly”. Umm…. disagree… J
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Sunday, June 5th:
Today we decided to sleep in until 6:00 so that when we reached Flagstaff- the bike shop would be open. Needless to say, I believe everyone enjoyed the extra 2 hours of sleep. After packing up and setting off, we jumped back onto our favorite road (cough cough), I-40. After rrrriiiiiiddddddddiiiinnnngggg on this less than perfect road for 35 miles, we reached Flagstaff- where we hopped off our bikes at the shop, then stopped for a bite to eat. While the others were eating their Burger King meals, Jerry and I drove to his cousin’s house (She had some bike supplies that we were starting to run low on) and said hi. We had been talking lately about changing our route in order to avoid I-40, so we finally decided to head up I-89 towards Colorado and 4 corners. After we got about 5 miles up Highway 89, it dropped straight down. We had a tailwind, a 6% downhill grade, and everything was going great. We made it into Cameron, Arizona around 4:30, and we set up camp for the night at the Cameron Trading Post Hotel.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
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