Month: June 2017

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Start: Baker City, Oregon
End: Ontario, Oregon
Mileage today/cumulative: 83.5/576
Elevation Ascended: 2,088
Weather: Sunny, 51° at start; sunny, 89° at finish
3D Video

When riding a bike across America it’s inevitable that you’ll have a few days that don’t serve much purpose other than getting you from Point A to Point B. Today was one of those – a good ride but not high on the spectacular scenery scale. We remained in the high desert and began following the Snake River into a huge agricultural region. The Visalia onions smelled sweet as we passed by and I expect that these will be the first of thousands of corn fields we’ll see in the next six weeks. There was also the scent of lavender and clover. Our route has followed much of the Oregon Trail, so we’ve seen a lot of interesting history along the way. Today we passed the Van Ornum Wagon Train Massacre Site. We didn’t stop to read about it but it makes you think of the hardships people endured to claim a piece of land and seek a better life.

Our big excitement for the day was riding on the Interstate for the first time. In the wide open West, there are stretches where it is the only option to get where we need to go. Mom wouldn’t have approved but the staff gave us thorough instructions and it turned out to be much safer than many other roads. The shoulder is extremely wide with rumble strips between us and the cars – nothing like your busy Interstate in cities. We were on I-84 eastbound three different times for a total of seven miles. Traffic was light and we had plenty of room. That said, we still rode like our pants were on fire and were relieved to avoid getting a flat on the Interstate.

We lost an hour today crossing into Mountain time. Practically speaking we really lost it at an ungodly hour this morning, before we even left the hotel. In anticipation of the time change, the staff scheduled breakfast at 5:30 am to get everyone on the road early. We all moaned and groaned, then sucked it up.

We also learned that one of our riders is Jack Markell, the former Governor of Delaware. Jack completed two terms from  Jan. 2009 to Jan. 2017 and won his second election by the largest margin in any race for governor in Delaware’s history – and Delaware was the first state! He’s riding across the country to raise money for local Delaware charities. He seemed to be in politics for all of the right reasons and I wish there were more like him. Speaking of politics, we have no idea what’s happening in the world and we’re going to keep it that way until the end of our journey. With our daily routine (wake, dress, eat, load luggage, go ride, eat, unload luggage, shower, eat again, pack for the next day, and sleep), there’s no time to watch television or read the news online. There are no political discussions among riders and, with very few exceptions, we haven’t heard the “T” word since we arrived in Astoria a week ago.  How refreshing!

It’s hard to believe we left the Oregon coast a week ago. Tomorrow we say hello to Idaho and have been promised a BBQ for dinner!

 

 

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Start: John Day, Oregon
End: Baker City, Oregon
Mileage today/cumulative: 81/492.5
Elevation Ascended: 5,016
Weather: Sunny, 52° at start; sunny, 84° at finish
3D Video

Today’s ride was one of our favorites, even if we’ve only been at this for six days. We departed from John Day, a town named after a man who went insane. That seemed appropriate given that we are all attempting to do something that most people have described as nuts. We passed through Malheur National Forest and Wallowa -Whitman National Forest, and even rode through a Forest Service prescribed burn area. Smoke was a bit heavy at times and we had been warned that there could be small flames licking the roadside, giving a new meaning to the phrase “ride from hell.” There were smoldering spots just off the road for miles and miles but, luckily, the fire stayed away from us and the wind was generally favorable. The route included three major climbs with two beautiful seven-mile descents that required little braking – wheeeeeeeeeeee!

After yesterday’s ride, several of us had been asked by the staff to dial back our pace a little bit on today’s ride. The ABB staff maintain a support window that can get very extended on longer or more difficult days. There are several ways that they can shorten that window, including sending slower riders out first and asking them to decrease their non-riding time, and asking faster riders to slow down a little and enjoy the journey. We did as we were told and it made for another memorable day.

We cross into Mountain Daylight Time tomorrow and will begin to encounter heat, finishing the day just west of the Oregon-Idaho border.

 

Friday, June 23, 2017

Start: Prineville, Oregon
End: John Day, Oregon
Mileage today/cumulative: 117/411.5
Elevation Ascended: 5,108′
Weather: Sunny, 46° at start; sunny, 80° at finish
3D Video – click for a brief flyover view of today’s ride

Four years ago today Bev and I hosted a trail run with about 75 of our good friends and at the end of it she clipped a veil to her cap and ran down the aisle to our “wedding party” playing “Here Comes The Bride” on kazoos. It was the perfect beginning to our life together and every day since then has been better than the last just because we’ve been lucky enough to spend it together.  My heart still beats faster whether we’re holding hands or I’m riding alongside her on a bicycle. Each day with Bev is the best day of my life. Today was no exception.

After our first four days of below average mileage, we made up for it today. Riding 117 miles with over 5,000′ of climbing required us to be efficient with our time and limit our photo-ops. The route took us into the Ochoco National Forest, through the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and into cattle and farmland. We rode the entire day with our new friend, Kim Brooks, who is a very strong cyclist and an all around good guy.

Tomorrow is another tough day with a lot of climbing on tired legs. Everyone is looking forward to the rest day in Boise on Tuesday but we still have many miles to ride before then.

 

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Start: Kah-Nee-Ta, Oregon
End: Prineville , Oregon
Mileage today/cumulative: 59.5/294.5
Elevation Ascended: 3,457
Weather: Sunny, 59° at start; sunny, 75° at finish
3D Video – click for a brief flyover view of today’s ride

After riding through the Cascade range yesterday, today was an “active recovery” day, which just meant a few less miles and gentler climbing. The scenery included more views of the Cascades and beautiful gorges on the high desert. We passed through the Crooked River National Grasslands and beautiful farmland. Roads were good  and conditions couldn’t have been more ideal. We even had a nice tailwind for the last 20 miles or so.

My bike had a minor mechanical issue this morning that required some fussing with the front and rear derailleurs. It took the ABB mechanic some time to sort it out and get me back on the road, putting us far behind schedule for our goal of reaching Prineville and getting to the laundromat before a throng of riders descended upon it. We couldn’t push ourselves hard to make up for the lost time because tomorrow’s ride is very long and we needed to take it easy. So, we shrugged it off and rolled along at a good recovery pace. As it turned out, the delay gave us two highlights of the trip.

As we rolled down a country road on the outskirts of Madras, Oregon, we spotted an enormous bull between the road and a fence. Being city folk, we assessed the situation and determined that the bull shouldn’t be on OUR side of the fence. The bull appeared completely unconcerned about our presence, so we did what any non-farmers would do if they saw a beast who could crush them like an ant, standing on the wrong side of the fence but with a perfect view of Mt. Hood in the background. We pulled out our iPhones and snapped photos.

The bull didn’t charge at us and, in fact, he never moved an inch. We hopped back on our bicycles and went looking to tell someone that a gigantic bull was loose. We quickly came upon a farm house down the next road, where we found John and Judy Brown, who we flagged down in front of their farm. We know their names because although our intention was to simply let them know about the bull, it turns out that Mr. Brown is a storyteller. Although we were over a half-mile from the bull and on a completely different road, they both knew exactly what animal we were talking about, saying “oh yeah – that’s the Peterson bull.” Mr. Brown also commented that the bull doesn’t miss any meals. The Browns are retired farmers who own 80 acres with an unobstructed view of the Cascades and, because they’re retired, they “only” grow hay. Before retirement, they farmed garlic, peppermint, wheat, hay, and cattle. Mr. Brown said that they farmed everything you’d see on your dinner plate when you went out on Saturday night (the peppermint was in your after-dinner mint or toothpaste). They asked where we’re from and it turns out that Mrs. Brown has a brother in Knoxville who lives in Strawberry Plains, one of our favorite places to cycle. The world keeps getting smaller. They were kind enough to pose for a photo and wished us well before we rode on. As for the bull, they believed he was inside of a hot wire that runs close to the road. Mr. Brown was unable to confirm this after looking at the photo Bev took and didn’t openly  pass judgment on us city slickers taking snapshots of farm animals.

A few miles later we reached the town of Madras and stopped at their Chamber of Commerce to ask if we could use their restroom. I watched our bikes while Bev went inside to inquire. While she was gone (which was a very long time because when she came out of the restroom, Joe, the President of the Madras Chamber of Commerce, had a bunch of questions for her about our bike ride), a woman approached me and asked “are you one of those people riding to New Hampshire?”  When I told her yes, I am, she replied “I heard about you on the radio!”  She knew that we had started in Astoria and would be coming through their little town. This also explained why, as we drove down the  main boulevard, a number of people gave us a friendly honk and waved. It seems that we were big news in Madras, Oregon.

We booked our cross country bike trip with America By Bicycle, so all the logistics were handled by the company.  We just had to show up with our bicycles, a willingness to ride many miles, and a positive attitude.  Our group has over 45 riders, with many of us signed on to complete the entire coast to coast route.  We are supported by six very hard working ABB staff members, all of whom are passionate about cycling and providing us with an awesome experience.

Our day begins with breakfast and the time varies with the distance of that day’s ride.  For example, tomorrow’s 115 mile ride means breakfast will be at 5:30am.  Breakfast is usually at the hotel, but sometimes at a nearby restaurant.  (The cost of breakfast, as well as dinner and all food at the rest stops, is included in the cost of the trip.)   Breakfast is followed by “loading”,  a time period during which we are required to hand our luggage to a staff member to put in the trailer for transport to the next hotel.  We are each allowed two pieces of luggage, with a total weight of no more than 50 pounds.  Considering we have to lug it to/from our rooms every day, often while wearing bike shoes, Greg and I are happy we are far under the weight limit.

Once we watch our luggage go in the trailer and sign off on the rider sheet, we leave on our ride.  ABB staff will eventually head out on to the course, three on bicycles and one of the remaining three in each of the vehicles (two vans with trailers and one mechanics van).  Depending on the length of the ride, ABB staff will set up one or more rest stops to provide us with food, water, sunscreen, and extra clothing drop-off or pickup.  The mechanics van will sometimes be at the rest stop, but generally remains mobile to help anyone in need.  Every rider has to sign in at each rest stop.

Following the provided route sheet (old school paper or a digital file for GPS devices, such as Garmin or I-Phones), we ride and ride and ride until we reach the next hotel.  (Ride distance varies by the day but on average, we will ride just over 80 miles a day.  We ride for 9 days in a row and then have one rest day.)  The trick is to not arrive at the hotel too early because the ABB trailer with the luggage generally does not arrive until around 2 to 3 pm.  Also, most hotels don’t have our rooms available until that time.  It makes no sense to zoom through the ride, only to sit and wait at the hotel in sweaty bike clothes.  Each rider must sign in at the hotel and every rider must be done riding before dark.

Late afternoon and evening are busy.  We attend “Rap” so staff members can talk about that day’s ride, provide us with the route sheet and any information  about the following day’s ride, and address any other business.  We also have “Mechanics Hour”, during which we can have the mechanics assist us with any bike issues.  We are also expected to clean and inspect our bikes.  Dinner, which is either catered by the hotel or provided at a local restaurant, is a must, as we are usually all starving by 6pm.  We also have to fit in laundry, errands, contacting family or friends, updating social media, writing blog posts, and so on before we climb into bed, thoroughly exhausted, only to get up early and do it all over again.

We are having the time of our lives!