Jim Lehman's Ride Across America

My Just Desserts!

2006-08-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Having been largely disappointed by the lack of pie availability on my ride across America, I set out to make my own. I found some really good rhubarb at a local grocer, and made two cherry-rhubarb pies. I used the Betty Crocker oil crust recipe, and used only canned cherry pie filling as sweetener for the rhubarb. I made one pie with top crust, and one with crumb topping. They were both delicious. Sara and Chuck, I hope you can taste them over the internet!

Splash!!! The Atlantic is Ours!!

2006-08-08T04:40:00.000-07:00

Short Posting: We made it!!! A little after noon, we reached the beach near Rye, NH, and dipped our wheels into the Atlantic Ocean. It will take some time for the reality to set in, but our journey is complete! I will add more to this page later.

So Much Fun I Feel Guilty

2006-08-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today and yesterday were what I had been waiting for quite a long time: good biking weather combined with great terrain and scenery. It was so cool when we set out from Brattleboro that many riders were wearing jackets for warmth, not rain protection. The light had an ethereal quality as it filtered through the cool fog.

What a change from just a few days ago when we battled fierce heat in western New York. I felt so invigorated and happy I didn’t want the morning to end. The first few miles were near some beautiful lakes, and I took some side trips to drink in the view and take some pictures.

Another goal of the morning was to spot a moose. At certain times of the year, they come out more during the day, but I was told by locals not to get my hopes up right now. I figured that a bog would be the most likely place to spot a moose. Although I never saw one, I took this picture in hopes that one would turn up when I enlarged the image. Let me know if you spot anything.

Soon we entered our final state of the ride!

Many riders were dreading the climbing today, since it was reputed to be harder than some of what we did out west. As it turns out, most of the climbs were short, but steep. They were mostly up hills, not over mountain passes, so it was more like what I encounter around the Shenandoah Valley, but with more trees and quaint villages.

I rode with a lot of different riders today, but hung with Sara, Chuck, and Peg around lunch time in hopes of finding a good place to eat, hopefully with homemade pie. We scored on the lunch end by finding a café with a railway theme. The hamburgers were good, but there was unfortunately, no pie today. I did buy a raspberry turnover at the gift shop to which the café was attached.

After lunch we attacked the biggest hill of the day. I was able to get by with third gear for the steepest part of the climb, since I never knew if the road would get steeper, and it is always good to have something in reserve. A few more rollers and we found ourselves in the old industrial city of Manchester. I was wondering if we were headed for the same hotel I had stayed in several times when I was in Manchester for the FIRST Robotics kickoff. When we were about two blocks away I recognized that it was in fact the same place.

This evening we gathered for our last dinner officially together as an ABBike function. The “feast” consisted of some lasagna and salad, but nothing to drink until the ABBike staff rounded up some water pitchers. Although the food was lame, we had a good time recalling highlights of the ride, and each of us was given the chance to offer a few words to the group. Most of us commented on the closeness of our group as a whole, and how it was the people that really made this ride work out to be such a great experience. I am sure there will be more reminiscing tomorrow night at the lobster dinner.

Green Mountains Treat

2006-08-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

I have been anxious for quite a while to get back into the mountains. Today, I got my wish! Right out of Troy, we started climbing, and the rolling terrain continued until we got to the first SAG stop. They had a lot of carved animals for sale at the store where the SAG was set up. We knew right away that we were in for a tourist-trap day.

In the distance, we could see the mountains we would be climbing, or skirting, as it were.

All of the towns we passed through today were ripe with history, and I took pictures of some of the old buildings and monuments as I rode.

This is a monument in Bennington in honor of the Green Mountain Boys of Revolutionary war fame.

In the same town, there was this old hotel, which I photographed but did not investigate.

Here is a picture of me entering Vermont, the penultimate state of this tour.

The first "designated" climb was sort of long, but not too steep. I did really well thanks to my preparations yesterday. On the route to Troy, we had few hills, but on each one I had started slow at the bottom, and sprinted up each one, trying to accelerate over the top, not slowing to recover. I feel this paid off well today, as I felt great on every climb. Also, I have been intentionally not riding with anyone (very closely at least) to make it a little safer. In honor of Kent, I am taking every precaution I can think of to make sure I have no incidents that could send me home early. Some of the others are doing the same.

I descended into Wilmington, a town full of tourists competing with trucks for space on the road, with little room left for bikes.

Fortunately, Sara had told me about this pie shop she had remembered from riding through here before. I checked in at the SAG, then headed back into town to wait for Sara, Chuck, and Peg, who ride together. We met up at the bakery she had remembered, and I had this great piece of raspberry pie. It was about time! The last good piece of pie I had was in Idaho. The states in between either had no good pie, or kept it hidden.

Sara and her raspberry pie

Chuck, looking cool in his ABBike Doo-Rag

The scenery today was the best since the Black Hills, in my opinion. I am refering to the overall presentation, not specific things like Niagara Falls. Today we passed a lot of lakes and mountain streams, which combined with the exquisite cool mountain air, made for a most delightful day of riding.

Beautiful Ride Along the Mohawk

2006-08-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

Once again I woke up to the ominous words from Stu, “Its pouring rain”. Once we turned on the Weather Channel, however, I could see that the rain was in a narrow band that was moving rapidly past our location in Little Falls. Much discussion took place at breakfast, but in the end the concensus was that rain gear would not be needed, and that proved to be the case.

Little Falls in the Rain

The clouds were still hanging low over the mountain ridges surrounding the Mohawk Valley, and occasionally a few drops fell, but mostly we dealt with wet roads and traffic. The route today was unique (at least in recent terms) in that it involved only two turns at the beginning, and a few at the end. The rest was a long run on Route 5, and then a long ride on a series of bike trails along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers.

A castle along Route 5, now used as a restaurant.

The trails made for a fantastic ride, especially since the sun had burned off the clouds, and brought out the colors of the vegetation along the route. We always see wildflowers, but a bike trail brings them so much closer. There is just nothing like riding through shady glades in the cool of the morning. It makes you want to linger, even though the path begs you to ride fast along its dips and rolls.

Several places the path seemed to be painted over the landscape, contrasting with roads, which are forced through it.

We rode today for the first time without our compadre, Kent, who took too literally the motto “New Hampshire or Bust”. He left this morning for Virginia, where he will have more treatment for his broken collarbone. Kent, we miss you!!

Me at a lock on the Erie Canal

Another lock on the canal. Locks are located at dams, which level the water behind them. Locks allow the boats to be lifted or lowered to the next level, ranging from less than 15 feet to over 40 feet.

One of the old locks. This one looked somewhat preserved.

Ilkka and I at lunch, Kent's vacant chair in the background.

August 3 Addendum- Kent Back for Supper!

2006-08-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

In light of our disappointment in hearing about Kent's accident, we were delighted to see him show up as the guest of honor for dinner. He was released from the hospital after getting the X-rays that showed the extent of his injuries, and treatment for the pain that is sure to follow.

Kent will be flying out tomorrow morning, and then get some other opinions from several orthopedic surgeons regarding suggested treatment. His previous injury to the same shoulder the erector set you can see in the x-ray.

Here, Lil and Ray wish Kent well, and say goodbye.

Kent, we all will miss you, especially Ilkka and myself. I thought we made a great team, even though the 3 amigos ended up with our name. We will think of you every time we eat Mexican!! You already have two volunteers to accompany you when you want to finish up the final stage next year! Take care, heal soon, and God Bless!

Cooler, Yes! but Kent Breaks Collarbone

2006-08-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

We were looking forward to a nice riding day after the heat wave of the past week. The storms of yesterday gave way to cool and cloudy, with occasional sprinkles. The sky looked really red at sunrise.

I passed this little church in the middle of a small pond. They claim to be the smallest church in the world. Others in our group said they saw churches in other places that make the same claim. Does it really matter?

Our second SAG was in the town of Whitestown. I thought their town square really captured the essence of community. Our snack table was set up in the gazebo.

It was a couple miles past this SAG where Kent met up with misfortune. He was changing his route sheet, and hit a large bump that caused him to crash. He reinjured the same shoulder that he had broken at the start of his ABBike ride last year, which was why he was back this year. Nancy came upon the scene shortly after his crash, and said Kent had already called the paramedics and ABB staff. He seemed to be otherwise OK. I will report later on his status. We wish him the best.

After hearing about the mishap,I continued on to Little Falls in a rather subdued and cautious manner. I have been to Little Falls before in 1972 with the Mennonite bicycling group OutSpokin'. We arrived a day after Hurricane Agnes deluged the area with huge amounts of rain, and we had to seek shelter ourselves since our tents got pretty much destroyed by the storms. We were offered a place to stay overnight at a church that I have pictured here. The church is now vacant, and there was no name I could find, but I am fairly sure this was the place. Tomorrow we will also be retracing the 1972 journey for awhile. It has changed a lot around here since then.

Last Hot Day? Please?

2006-08-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

On the burner again. That was the prediction for today. We seem to have brought with us the heat wave we started out in South Dakota. Record heat seems to be the norm for this trip. I usually do fine with the heat, I just can't enjoy riding in it at all.

The sunrise looked a lot like yesterday's. Clear and beautiful in a sinister sort of way.

I joined a group of riders negotiating a maze of turns through road construction, and got this picture of Eberhard and Anja as they followed me. It took 6 shots to get the one I wanted. The rest were of the road.

My sister Judy wants me to take a series of shots showing my facial expressions for various situations, including pie proximity. I am working on this, and will publish it on a later posting.
Most of the day we were close to the Erie Canal. I was unaware that it is still in operation, and not just a historical relic. Here are a couple pictures of the canal.

Later I passed this building. I never would have guessed that it was a barn without the conspicuous label. Well Done!

Toward the end of the ride, I stopped at a roadside stand run by a young Mennonite girl. I bought some delicious peaches, and wanted to buy a rhubarb pie. Not being able to carry it, I waited in vain for someone else to come down the road and help me eat it. (The girl declined to share in eating it) While waiting, I told her that I was also Mennonite. She said I didn't look like it in the biker outfit. I asked if she had heard of Floyd Landis. She had, but didn't know much about him.

I reluctantly left the rhubarb pie behind, in hopes of finding a restaurant with some later. I caught up to Sara, Chuck, and Peg on the final leg into Liverpool, just south of Syracuse. We found a nice, restaurant, had lunch, and they did have pie. I had raspberry. It was quite good, and long overdue. When we left to ride the remaining two miles to the motel, we noticed that a large thunderstorm was approaching. We made haste, and beat it to the motel. Many others were caught out in it, but made it to shelter OK. It should be cooler tomorrow. I'm glad. I would like to ride with temps in the 80's again.

On the Home Stretch!

2006-08-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today we began our last week of riding! Like most experiences of this kind, the time has really flown by, and yet it seems like it has been going on since I can remember. At certain times of the day (usually between the last sag and the motel, I look at the empty road ahead, the endless corn fields, feel the endless heat, and vainly try to find some redeeming value in each mile I have yet to ride. Of course, the real value is when I realize the vastness of this continent, and think of those who trod those same miles before, and realize how easy I have it compared to some of them. You just can't get the same depth of that feeling in a motor vehicle. I remember back to my journey out to Astoria, and the "problems" I had getting there. How trivial they now seem, compared to the daily grind of the ride. Even with those "problems" it took but one day for me to fly serenely over the terrain I have traversed now for over 43 days.

The ride from Niagara Falls to Henrietta, NY, was a day where that kind of questioning pops up like a "whack a mole" game at the state fair. The terrain: flat and featureless. The main crop: weeds, or maybe corn. Heat: hot and humid by 9 a.m., sweltering and oppressive by noon. Our destination: a motel with no pool in the middle of a hot nowhere called Henrietta. Maybe by tomorrow morning I will find some gem of value in Henrietta, other than just another "Here" on the way to "There". At least we had a stiff tailwind much of the way.

Last night many riders had put their bikes in the window boxes of their motel rooms. Had there been any passers-by on the US side of the falls, they might have thought this was a four-story bike shop with window displays.

This morning, our prime enemy was soon spotted and photographed.

There seemed to be a bumper crop of weeds everywhere, including these intruding onto the bike lane.

Other places, the crops stayed where they belonged, like these cabbages.

The owner of this barn must have entered the "Reddest Barn Contest" My bike looked pink by comparison.

Sad news on Rest Day

2006-07-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

On what should be a carefree rest day, I found out from a co-teacher that one of my students at Godwin High School drowned at Virginia Beach Saturday. I remember Mani as outgoing, funny, bright, and dedicated. My heartfelt sympathies to his family, some of whom are currently in India.

Here is the article about the drowning in the Richmond paper.

Niagara Bound!

2006-07-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

It was somewhat cooler this morning when we headed up the road to the same restaurant that had given us such poor service last night. Breakfast was quite deliscious and quick. I was on the road with 2 pieces of French toast, two pancakes, and a good scoop of hash browns on board.

The light had a really nice quality for my standard morning shot.

I liked the layout of this farm, with the house and barn on raised "islands" above the rather flat terrain.

Tobacco fields gave way to sod farms, some of which had neatly mown grass as ar as you could see. I approve of the change. Other farms, especially on yesterday's route had switched from tobacco to ginseng as a big-money crop.

At one point today, the pavement ran out and we ended up on a dirt road for about 2km. We had been briefed about this at route rap, but when you are riding road tires, you never like to see the end of the pavement. The dirt ended on a very steep downhill stretch, stop sign at the bottom. As my dad would say, "What a waste of good energy!"

Niagara Falls was soon in our sights, and we headed for the Canadian side, with its views of Horseshoe Falls. I took this picture of the American Falls first.

Here are the other requisite pictures showing myself, and my travel companions Kent and Ilkka.

Here Kent tempts fate by trying to eat my lunch while I am carrying out my important documentation.

After lunch at the Falls, I headed over the Rainbow Bridge, through US Customs, and got my picture entering New York. I couldn't find a "Welcome to the USA" sign anywhere. I will investigate tomorrow.

Dinner was at Denny's, and then Dan and I walked over to the US side of he falls and got some more pix that I will put up tomorrow. Now for a great day off!

Into Urban Decay

2006-07-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

London turned out to be a very bustling place. There was a large mall close by, with all the related traffic. Anya, Eberhart, and I managed to get up to the mall on our bikes, and took them inside with us to the food court. Other than that, I didn't try to anything else in London. Our goal for today was to get to Brantford, which I somehow thought might be more laid back.

On the way, I got another good morning shot showing the mist that made the riding pleasantly cool for a while.

I got this shot of Sarah taking a picture of the same thing. This is how we take pictures on the fly.

I ran into this other recumbent rider (almost, literally) at an intersection about halfway to Brantford. His name was Fred, and his bike was almost like Larry's. He was a local and knew all the roads we would be riding. He was on a 60 mile loop if I got my facts straight.

Tobacco seemed to be the main crop in this area, which surprised me. I thought tobacco needed the hazy, hot, humid weather we have in the south.

At one point three of the coolest bikes were together on the route, including Larry's recumbent and the tandem of Barb and Steve. Mine, of course, didn't quite make the picture.

I didn't take any more pictures because I found the rest of the route to be rather depressing. Our course took us through the former main drag of the old town of Brantford, and most of the businesses were boarded up, closing as the transition was made to the more suburban areas with WalMarts and McD's. Our motel was in the older area, which must have been really nice at some point, but no longer.

Dinner was at another restaurant where the staff was not prepared to serve us. It took about a half hour for them to get the hot foods onto the steam table, and they once again took drink orders, rather than just putting pitchers of water, tea, and soft drinks on the table. I am working on a list of suggestions for the restaurants which the ABBike staff could give the restaurants in order to make sure we can get in and out in less than 2 hours. Having spent ten years in food service, I know I could have organized any of these meals quite easily, and it doesn't take a nuclear physicist to figure it out.

O Canada, We're Glad to See You!

2006-07-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

The sun was up a little higher by the time we started out today. We had a slightly shorter route, and were also departing in an unusual manner: as a group. This was because we had to cross the Port Huron-Blue Water Bridge over the St Clair River into Canada, and they wanted us to go together to make things safer and easier through Canadian Customs. Here are some pictures I took while we were waiting for our escort for the bridge crossing. (Musical interlude: The Final Four singing O Canada)

"The 'Bent Brothers" Jim and Larry

Riders with the bridge in the distance.

Finally we got our escort, and they closed the bridge to eastbound traffic so we could trave unimpeded. It was great they could do that for us, rather than make us ride off to the side with bridge traffic inches away. Here are some pictures during the crossing.

Ilkka, concentrating on the uphill stretch.

The group, heading up the American side.

We had to stop and dismount at these large expansion joints. You can see my front wheel in thee picture for size. One rider didn't follow the instructions, and tried riding across. Score: Bridge 1, rider 0.

After descending the Canadian side, we went through customs, and they didn't even check the passports we had so carefully brought along. We will no doubt need them re-entering the US on Sunday. We had to ride together for a while longer, due to some re-routing to avoid road construction. I tried to capture some pictures without looking at the camera, to the side and rear. Here Annie is telling me that I have the camera aimed wrong. I thought the shot turned out pretty well.

After we got on route, it was pretty much Michigan repeated, so I didn't take any more pictures. I got in at about 12:30, all in all an easy day at the office. I am still glad to be out of Michigan. It was my least favorite state yet: Bad roads, bad drivers, sloppy farms, mosquitoes, rain.

Michigan, We're Outta Here!

2006-07-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hooray, we are done with Michigan. I guess the endless cornfields are better than the endless scrub of South Dakota, but I miss the mountains. I am just not comfortable on flat land. As I am writing this, a severe thunderstorm is moving in, and I am glad that I didn't have to ride in it today.

The day started muggy and warm. Just like back home. It reminds me of my ulterior motive for the trip, escaping the Richmond heat. I guess I didn't choose well on that one.

Here is my bike in its parking place, the end of the hall at the Comfort Inn in Birch Run. We often use the halls as parking, since the rooms are not always big enough for the bikes and three of us.

The obligatory sunrise photo

As I ride, this is what I see from my seat.

I decided today to do a scenery theme. I had noticed the huge number of fallen (or falling down) barns. After seeing the neat, tidy farms of Minnesota and Wisconsin, I noticed right away that the way most Michigan farmers deal with fallen buildings is to let them stay there and hope they eventually erode into the ground. A few of these have just about made it. Others need more aging. Very sloppy to say the least.

Tomorrow we leave Michigan and cross the bridge into Ontario. I am looking forward to being back in the area where I first started my bike touring in 1972. In that trip, our group from OutSpokin', a Mennonite youth biking venture, set out from Kitchener bound for Harrisonburg VA by way of Ottowa. We ended up encountering Hurricane Agnes along the way in New York, and we will be retracing some of that journey. Hopefully this time there will be no tropical weather.

How Do You Spell Flat?--Central Michigan

2006-07-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

After yesterday’s rainy marathon ride, I was looking forward to a shorter, drier ride. I got pretty much what I expected. We woke to rain, and the radar showed a band of showers moving across the area, with another big blob behind, probably in Wisconsin. By the time we loaded, however, the rain had ended, and the roads were pretty good. The winds were from the southwest, which meant that anytime we headed south, we had headwinds, but any time we turned east, they were tailwind/crosswinds. Here in Michigan, they are on the grid system, so the roads are either north/south or east/west. I made good time on the headwind sections, and really good time when we headed east. There was only one town to go through, and although I wanted to look for a good bakery, it was too early in the morning to eat again. (I know some of you may be surprised, but I don’t like to ride with too much under my belt)

I stopped off at the post office in that town, Alma, and mailed a birthday package for Eric. It has been really difficult to mail packages because I don’t have access to my luggage throughout the day, and can’t carry too much on my bike, especially in the rain. I had decided to chance it today, and it paid off.

I got back on route, and was first to the SAG stop. I helped the staff set up the tent thingy they use to cover the snack table at the SAG, and helped myself to some bananas and granola bars.

I headed out again, anxious to finish in case the weather turned bad, and made quick work of the remaining 35 miles. I went to A&W for lunch with John, Daun and Bill. It was very nostalgic to get my root beer in the big glass mug, just like back in State College PA when I was a kid.

We had a relativelly late start. Here are some riders waiting to load and hit the road.

Here is Sara, whose blog many of you are following at http://sarabikes.blogspot.com/

The route was extremely flat, and this was the scenery throughout

Here, Kent goes for his favorite snack at the SAG stop.

Late Addition:

Dinner was at Tony's Rerstaurant. Here is Kent with his dessert

photo credit Bob Roberson

Last of the Century Days

2006-07-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Eric!!!

Whoopie! Today was the last of our rides of 100 miles or more. I put in a good 115 miles, and would have had a great time of it had it not been for the rain. When I went down to load at 5:45, Nancy came up the stairs and said that it was pouring rain. I took her warning to heart and unpacked my duffle bag to get out my rear fender. I was upset when I found out that it had just sprinkled lightly, but went ahead and installed the fender. This turned out to be fortunate thing. It ended up raining most of the morning, and the fender added significant spray reduction.

Rainy start at the motel. Several riders had relatives joining us today, and this was probably not what they wanted to see.

A wet ride. On a better day, we would have been able to enjoy bluff-top views of Lake Michigan, which we steamed across yesterday.

SAG 1, where some of these riders helped me sing Happy Birthday to my son Eric, who was getting ready to go to Kings Dominion theme park for his birthday.

The sun finally came out at about noon. I was mostly dry by the time I pulled into the Baymont Motel in Mount Pleasant at about 2:30. I even got a little sunburned.

As we wend our way through Michigan, into Ontario, and then the final 3 states of our ride, our longest day will be 87 miles. We are all getting a little worn around the edges, and will appreciate the shorter mileage. I really don't like the early starts. It is much nicer loading at 6:30 or so.

Across Lake Michigan

2006-07-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a very different kind of traveling day. First of all, we got to sleep in late. We still had to load our stuff in the truck. Then, we had to find something to do to pass the time until we were to gather at the ferry dock. Our riding route was about 4 miles to the dock, but most of us rode around the beautiful waterfront area near the Maritime Museum. I rode out to the marina, then found a group of our riders at a little cafe having "second breakfast".

At the requested time we found our way to the ferry dock. I stopped off at Subway to get a nice sub sandwich to take along for the four hour ferry ride to Michigan. I still got to the dock plenty early, and it was a "hurry up and wait" situation. Here are some of the "waitee's"

Stu, looking fashionable as usual.

Kent and Ilkka, wishing they were as dashing as Stu.

Fianlly it was time to board the SS Badger. This is the ony steamship operating on the Great Lakes today. While we were waiting, they had loaded four large truckloads of coal, which soon turned into large clouds of black smoke after heating the boilers.

They let us load our own bikes against one of the walls, correctly called a "bulkhead" on board the vessel.

The voyage was mostly pleasant, although the quartering seas made me mildly seasick for awhile. I did find relief when I lay on one of the deck lounge chairs and took a nap. Here is Kent on deck.

He took a picture of me, with the approaching bluffs of Michigan visible behind me.

As we docked, several swans sailed by, oblivious to the ferryboat.

After disembarking, we rode the four miles from the harbor to the motel, and grabbed a late dinner. I later walked up to Wal-mart and exchanged my defective camera (the one I had bought in Idaho Falls as a snapshot camera). I now have a Fuji camera for that purpose. It at least has a viewfinder, so that I don't have to use the stupid little LCD screen while wearing dark sunglasses, hoping I am pointing at the intended subject. I got to bed late.

Down to the Lake

2006-07-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Lake Michigan marks our entry into the eastern time zone, (at least after we cross it) one of the last milestones that measure our progress. Our mileage is now up to over 2600 miles (actual, not from the route sheet)out of 3600, so we are also down to our last thousand miles. I am both excited about getting closer to home, and sad to think that our journey will soon be ending. I guess one thing that I have noticed more often lately is that the morning is fun, and the afternoon seems like work. I still enjoy seeing the tidy farms of this area, but one corn field looks an awful lot like the 5000 before it. It seems so long ago that I was overjoyed to see ANYTHING green and alive springing out of the desert.

Today our route was short and sweet. We headed up out of Fond du Lac, by the shore of Lake Winnebago.

Then we steered basically east to hit the shore of Lake Michigan. Our route took us through Amish country, with lots of unique farms. None of my horse and buggy pictures were clear enough to look put here.

and of course cute animals like this little pony.

We then went north a ways and found ourselves in the port town of Manitowoc. We arrived way before our motel rooms were ready, so a number of us including Ilkka and Kent ate lunch and then went down to the port, where there is a really nice maritime museum. We saw the displays of merchant marine vessels, and also toured a submarine that is moored alongside the museum, much like the Torsk in Baltimore Harbor.

Here is Kent trying to take the sub out onto the Lake.

We headed to Ponderosa for dinner, but stopped off at a laundromat to start a load of clothes since we wouldn't have a chance to do it tomorrow due to the ferry boat ride over to Michigan. After dinner we walked back to the laundromat and tossed the stuff in the dryer, finished it up, and came back to the motel. We can sleep in late tomorrow morning, then head down to the Ferry at 11 a.m. for our four hour ride.

Easy Ride to the Bottom of the Lake

2006-07-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Note: keep checking old posts for follow-ups. Our internet access has been horrendous, and I can only add when it cooperates.

Today was an easy 84 mile ride to Fond du Lac, which I have been told means “bottom of the Lake” I am sure that my Francophonic relatives will supply any necessary corrections. Tomorrow we head for our last destination in Wisconsin, which has been a quite pleasant state to ride through. We are looking forward to catching the ferry to Michigan on Monday. We will finally be in Eastern Time zone at that point!

The big news today was that Ilkka’s daughter had her baby today, making Ilkka a 2nd time grandfather. I wrote congratulatory messages on the road with chalk for him to see as he rode along.

Many riders had trouble staying on the route today, making wrong turns that had them riding in some cases over 100 miles instead of 84. I found my GPS to be quite handy at keeping me on course, finding detours around construction, and also discovered hat it can help guide us to Dairy Queens. Too bad it can’t help find pie. I have pretty much given up on my quest. I haven’t been able to find a piece of decent pie since South Dakota. Minnesota basically was a bust. The roads absolutely suck, there are no small restaurants along the roads, and the drivers were quite rude. Wisconsin was much nicer, although there are a lot of un-leashed dogs..

Riding Scenes:
Road construction

Today's terrain
Riding through a typical small town

Recumbent Larry had experienced a broken seat mount, and the bike company sent him a new frame to get his titanium recumbent bike back on the road. Here he is heading out.

I am having a terrible time getting online at the motels. Most of them have wireless networks, but don’t know how to make them work. This is the third try at tonight’s posting. It has eaten the other two, and I am getting tired.

A Tale of Three Tunnels; or The Quest for Pie

2006-07-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

The ride today was different than most days in that a large section was done on a bike trail, the Elroy-sparta trail. This was not paved, but crushed gravel or dirt. My bike did fine, but many needed a good cleaning when we were done. the route led out from La Crosse on regular streets, then we found ourselves at the trailhead. You need to buy a permit to use the trail.

I enjoyed the shady, tree-lined trail, but it was not hot and sunny like yesterday, but rather cloudy and cool (no complaint here)

Here are Lois and Annie riding along the trail.

I got this picture of Ilkka coming across a bridge.

The tunnels were very cool (either meaning). They still bore the coating of soot from when trains, rather than bicycles passed through them. The longest was about 2/3 of a mile, meaning you couldn't initially see the other end. We used flashlights to see, and walked our bikes through. (at least most of us)

Our route sheets had indicated multiple possibilities for pie procurement and eatage at the little towns along the trail. At Kendall, it was indicated that we should be able to find "Amish food". We did a complete crcuit of the town, and found only two taverns, both so smoke-filled that I never would have eaten any thing found within anyway. At a stop sign, we asked a local driver where we could find good home cookin'. He said "nowhere around here!' He sent us on to the next town. On our arrival, I checked in to the SAG, and asked if anyone had found good food yet. I was given incorrect (or unclear) directions that had me on the wrong road, I think. Anyway, we settled for a little cafe that had great cheseburgers, but no real pie. I had a slice of something they called apple pie, but it was more like a cardboard display of pie. The waitress was also in the wrong line of work. She was offended when I tried to order more food. "Can't you see I have all these customers!?"

When I checked in at the motelin Wisconsin Dells, Ilkka and Kent told me of he wonderful pie shop that I had either just missed, or been on the wrong road to find. It was what I had been looking for. I was tempted to ride the 40 miles back to have my real dessert. Oh Well!

Across Old Man River

2006-07-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today was another fairly long ride, but included a real milestone, crossing the Mississippi River. We left the Rochester area, from where you can see this water tower shaped like a giant ear of corn.

The early part of the ride was rather misty, due to the copius amounts of rainfall that still puddled in most places. The ominous skies of yesterday were soon forgotton (not really, but is sounds better) in the beauty of the new day. Here are scenes from along the ride.

At one point, we were able to take a very nice bike trail that avoided some of the traffic, and kept us in the cool glades along a river. THis was another rails to trails project. The storms had inflicted a lot of damage to trees along the trail, but kudos to the crews who were clearing the fallen trees evevn as we rode by.

This part of the country has a wealth of older churches, with distinctive architecture.

I had a snack in the town of Rushford, where I was told that there would be great pies at local diners. Again, a bum steer. No pie exists in Rushford. Rushfordites, however, extolled the pies of the town we had just come from, Peterson. I would have ridden back to Peterson, except there was the matter of having coasted downhill 2 miles into Rushford, and I didn't relish the thought of climbing back out.

Rushford was not a total waste. I found a hardware store where I was able to bodge together some parts to make a camera mount to replace some pieces that had come off during the terrible storms of the day before. Once installed, I had a perfectly good mount, and my replacement camera went back on the bike, and has been working well since. I wish I could say the same for the camera I had bought back in Twin Falls. It has been my snapshot workhorse, but didn't survive the storms. When I went to turn it on to record yesterday's sunset, the lens just opened, shut, and did this two more times. It never went into picture taking mode. I will try to dry it out some more.
After the bike trail, we headed up the big climb for the day.

Our reward for the hill-climb was coasting down for 3 miles, crossing the Mississippi, and entering Wisconsin.

The motel in La Crosse is one of the best on the tour, and our room is big enough for all three bikes and probably one of the SAG vans. The atrium of the motel has an indoor water park. It will probably be noisy tonight. I think there is also a wedding party or something going on.

Where Were You When It Hit?

2006-07-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not talking about the meltdown of Floyd Landis in the Tour de France. I'm talking about the first huge thunderstorm of the day. They had predicted a 70% chance of rain, with scattered severe storms. The reality was worse than most of us expected.

The day started off with a steep climb out of Mankato. I took this picture of a farm implement dealership at sunrise.

Next came a rather unnecessary detour onto a gravel road that was very unpleasant for me, having no weight on my front wheel to give traction. It lasted about 3 miles, and pretty much messed up my whole camera mount. I had mounted my "new" camera (courtesy of my mother)and was once again taking sequential road pictures. Once back on pavement, I stopped and fixed everything. I was now at the back of the pack. I began catching up to those ahead of me, and ended up riding for awhile with Sarah. We pulled into the first SAG by a lake.

As you can see, the picture is rather gloomy. This is no illusion. The first signs of the impending storm were approaching. I headed out of the SAG with Larry (recumbent) hoping to get to the next town ahead of the storm (Ha!) We had just completed a Mach 1 recumbent fly-by of Dan and Bill when the dark band of clouds that had been on the horizon came over us so rapidly we barely had time to find shelter. Ahead of us, Don, Ted, and his son Steven had found the same farm we were headed for, and had asked the farmer if we could take shelter in his barn. He said no, he was afraid we might smoke. His wife eventually talked him into allowing us to go into his smaller barn. We did not smoke.

The storm hit with full force just as we rushed for cover. These pictures are accurate as to the color and darkness of what was about to hit us.

We had a good time once we were safe under cover. Also there were Sara and Chuck, who had been ahead of us and turned back. Barn census: Jim, Larry, Don, Steven, Ted, Chuck, and Sara. Soon, we had two more, as Dan and Bill found their way to the barn as well.

Here is our cozy group waiting out Round 1

We waited about an hour for the storm to subside enough to let us continue. Finally, we thought it was OK, so we headed out. We had only gone about a half mile when we saw what I can only describe as "The Doomsday Bolt". I saw branches out to each side within the cloud, and 3 separate bolts straight down to the ground in the direction we were headed. I pulled a very fast U-turn and headed back with the others to another farm we had spotted. I knocked on the door of the house, startling the housewife inside. Her husband then came to the other door, and we expleined our plight. The husband, Lonnie, invited us into his house, but we suggested that the garage would be more appropriate. He cheerfully opened the garage door, lit up a cigarette, and began to show us why he was such a good host. First he brought some bottled water for us, then he went back and brought in a baby chinchilla. He and his wife raise them to sell as pets. Here is a picture of an adult chinchilla he brought next.

Then came the puppies (pictures came out blurred) Here is our group in the garage, and folding chairs that Lonnie brought out for us.

, fashioned a garbage bag poncho.
Chuck, missing his rain jacket

The rest of the day was a seemingly endless progression of ride..rain..lightning..shelter..rain..ride..lightning..shelter, etc. I made it in at about 4:15, my longest day of the tour time-wise. Everyone had their own stories to tell at dinner/route rap. See other blogs for other accounts.

They say tomorrow should be sunny and pleasant, with favorable winds. We shall see.

A Good Day in Minnesota, You Betcha!

2006-07-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

5:15 The alarm goes off, but we are already awake thanks to Ilkka's internal alarm that flawlessly wakes him 5 minutes before the motel clock.

5:20 I am packing all my electronic gear and waiting for my turn in the bathroom

5:30 Take care of various things in the bathroom. Some would be too graphic for this blog. I also fill my water bottles from the faucet. We don't use the coolers from the SAG vehicles for water until the first SAG stop.

5:35 I have packed my bags and taken them out to the truck for loading. It is not yet ready for loading.

5:40 Get my bike from Larry's room. He is my new recumbent brother. He let me store the bike there since our room was too small.

5:45 Get in line to load my bags onto the truck. Load bags, initial the checkout sheet, add Gatorade to one water bottle. Pump air into rear tire. Only needs 5 pounds more.

5:50 Head down the road to breakfast at Country Kitchen. Arrive to see lots of bikes decorating the exterior. It looks good.

5:55 Wait in line while cooks finish setting up the breakfast buffet.

6:40 Head out and begin the ride.

6:40 to 8:20 Ride, take pictures of the scenery.

7:11 Spot a cropduster plane spraying a field. Take pictures.

8:20 Arrive at SAG #1 Sign in, wash hands, eat snacks, take a picture. This was the largest group I have seen at a SAG at one time.

8:25. Head out from SAG. I don't like to hang around too long or my muscles stiffen. I ride for awhile alone, then spot the wolfpack rapidly getting larger in my mirror. I see that they are being led by the tandem of Daun and Bill. They must be moving at about 22 mph. They pass me, and I hook onto their draft. We ride quickly for quite a few miles.

9:25 Most of the wolfpack wants to keep going north where we are supposed to turn east. I make the turn, and honk to let them know to turn. I increase speed, and they fall behind.

10:14 Arrive in town of St. James. I find a stretch of road covered by loose gravel. I find out how loose by doing a 2 wheel slide at 20 mph. I stay upright fortunately. I call the road conditions in to staffer Michelle. The next SAG is just around the corner, so I head there after slowing down the arriving tandem of Lil and Ray, and the rest of the pack.

10:20 Short break at the SAG. Head out with pack. Find a rider looking a lot like Kent, who should have just been pulling into SAG. It is Kent, who missed the SAG.

11:30 Run into paving operations. Call Michelle to report alternate route, and tell them that we know where Kent is. Resume ride, now with Kent. The pack is long gone.

12:15 Stop in town of Lake Crystal. Objective: DQ for lunch. The pack is eating here also.

12:45 Have resumed ride. Pass scenic lake. One house has this float plane in the yard.

1:45 Arrive at Holiday Inn in Mankato

2:00 Head for jacuzzi and pool for relaxation

2:30 Call home, let them know I got in fine, and that my replacement camera has arrived. . . finally. I ordered it Friday a week ago, and have missed photographing two states because of the delay.

3:00 Head for the post office to mail a package home with extra stuff I don't want to carry anymore.

5:30 Route rap. Discuss the route for the next day. Is there really a cliff at mile 85?

5:45 Load van for trip to Old Country Buffet for dinner.

6:00 Eat, and eat some more

7:00 head back to hotel so I can finish this blog.

A Middle Chainring Day

2006-07-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Note: There seems to be a problem uploading pictures today. I will try again later.

My bike has 27 speeds. There are three chainrings at the crank, and 9 cogs on the freewheel cassette. By choosing various combinations of front and back gears, you can find a gear ratio for just about any situation. In the mountains, I spend a lot of time on my small chainring, giving me a selection of my lowest ratios. On the flat stretches and downhills, I usually keep it on the big chainring, for the highest gear ratios. Today should have been one of those days, but a strong crosswind turned into a headwind for a good part of the ride, and my middle chainring got a real workout for once. It was also like that going into Sioux Falls. Fortunately, the wind was out of the Northeast instead of Southeast today, making it about 15 degrees cooler than the last few riding days.

We departed Sioux Falls by way of their very nice bike trail, running along the Big Sioux River, each turn bringing us into a cool glen still wet with rain from an eary morning thunderstorm. Eventually we made it to Sioux Falls Park, where we had to leave it for regular roads. It was nice while it lasted. The regular roads did have one benefit, they led us to a new state, our fifth state.

I noticed several things today. It was the first day since eastern Idaho where there was not a place where I could not see a house. If you have trouble with all the "nots", it means that we are back in "civilization". There are frequent towns, and farms between the towns. I even noticed "outskirts" to Worthington. Also, everything looks green here. Being surrounded by green vegetation has a profound effect on how I feel while riding. I noticed the other day that when I looked at a brown wheat field to my right, I felt hot and thirsty. If I looked at the lush corn field to my left, I immediately felt cooler. I don't care if it is all in my mind, because my mind runs my body. Finally, there were a lot of large windmills visible from miles away at several locations. These appeared to be about 200 feet high, and were silently turning the abundant wind energy into electricity. I thought they looked very nice among the fields, kind of like (extra)large flowers. A lot nicer than a smoke-belching coal-fired plant.

Today the winds were our main foe. When we were headed at all northward, we fought the winds gusting to over 20 mph. I had more problems with being blown around by crosswinds. At one point I was blown clear off the road by a gust. The gravel shoulder was not firmly packed, and my tire dug in. When this happens, you lose steering. I managed to get my foot down before falling over, as I would have acquired a gravel-rash badge of courage like a few of our other riders. To clarify some other blog accounts, there was no other traffic involved.

After the SAG stop, I caught up with Larry, the new recumbent rider. As it turns out, his bike had a broken support to the seat, which explained the rattling noise he had been wondering about for several miles. We combined Larry's allen wrench with my Duck brand duct tape, and fashioned a great splint. It held over the next 30 miles and we pulled into the motel in time for Larry to call in an order for a new seat to be shipped tomorrow. In the meantime, mechanic Tom modified the broken strut to make it useable again, so Larry can ride tomorrow instead of SAGging or riding a spare bike.

It never got hot today. I had fogotten what "cool" felt like. Also, my replacement camera, ordered over a week ago, has arrived at our next destination. Thanks Mom!

Hard-Fought Rest Day in Sioux Falls

2006-07-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

On paper, it looked like it could be a repeat of yesterday's easy ride to Mitchell. The weather forecast had other ideas, however, and the threat of 110 degree heat and 30 mph winds caused us to get an earlier start than originally planned.

I ate a quick breakfast at Bonanza, which had opened especially for us. They do not usually do breakfast, but had fixed a nice spread for us. We hit the road soon after sunrise, and immediately felt the wind working against is, either as a crosswind or headwind as we maneuvered east and south toward our rest-day destination of Sioux Falls.
Scenes from the road:

Here is one of Kent zinging along nicely.

Again, here is the problem for cyclists hoping for some sign of towns. This sign says that in 4 miles, I should be in Sioux Falls. Only problem, all you can see are farms. I actually made it 3 more miles before I started seeing signs that I was approaching a large town.

The heat never reached the dire predictions, but still exceeded 100. The motels have been really great with providing us with cold treats upon our arrival, and the Super 8 had cold drinks and what we used to call Dreamsicles, the orange sherbet, vanilla ice cream bars. A perfect welcome. Off to a nearby sports bar for lunch and big screens showing the Tour de France, then back to the hotel to try to write this blog. I fell asleep. When I woke up, I walked over to the near by mall and got a haircut. My hair was just the right length to make quite a Mohawk when I removed my helmet. It is much better now, but I have the telltale tanless areas. At route rap we met one of our new riders, Larry Schwartz. As luck would have it, her rides a recumbent, so Mike's departure will not leave me the sole practitioner of recumbency after all. Dinner was at a buffet restaurant. I ate too much.

Fast Ride to a Corn-y Town

2006-07-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days just made for recumbents. The route was mostly flat, with small rises and dips. I started off easy after a quick breakfast of pancakes and "rocket fuel" (oatmeal with brown sugar). I caught this picture of the sunrise over a grain elevator. I also am including last night's sunset over the bridge across the Missouri River south of Chamberlain.

Here was what the terrain looked like at the beginning.

I took this one as I rode. The terrain flattened out after the initial climb out of town.

My bike and my legs both demanded to be allowed to run free today, so I obliged. The faster I went, the better I felt. After the first big hill, and some quick conversations with other riders, I pulled out all the stops and motored out at 25-28 mph, taking advantage of a light tailwind. Altogether I had my fastest ride of the tour so far. I got into Mitchell by 10 a.m., checked in, shopped for some necessities at K-Mart, helped unload the luggage, watched the end of the Tour de France stage, and then took a quick nap. I woke up at noon, and set off to find where everyone else was. They had all gone to the Corn Palace, Mitchell's claim to tourist-y fame.
The Corn Palace is a concrete building about the size of the Mosque in Richmond. Each year they cover the exterior and parts of the interior with naturally colored corn using some theme, this year the rodeo.

I went inside and ran into some of the other riders. Some of them had already eaten lunch, but Stu and Abe hadn't, so we went across the street to a Mexican restaurant, Los Sombreros. This picture explains the name.

This little girl named Destiny, was our hostess. She was the daughter of the owner, and was quite precocious.

Later, we hit DQ, and the hung around enjoying some unencumbered time for a change. Dinner for me was a real flashback. I spent some 10 years as an cook or manager at Bonanza in Harrisonburg and Richmond VA, and enjoyed some nostalgic moments here at the Big B, as we used to call it.

We have another fairly short day tomorrow, and it will lead into a rest day, so we are all looking forward to that. Unfortunately, we lose a large group of riders, whom we will all miss as they head home, done for now with their portion of the tour. Some were finishing up their coast-to-coast tour started years ago, others did the portion their schedule allowed, and hope to finish at another time. I will especially miss "Recumbent Mike", who shared with me the notoriety of riding a weird bike. I hope to cross paths again with Mike, and the others who are leaving. Our tour is full of people who previously rode together. Bon Voyage!

Halfway Day!

2006-07-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today was our halfway day! At about 8 this morning, we crossed the halfway line that the ABBike staffers had drawn on the road. What a milestone! This also is the 25th day of our venture, so it also represents half of our tour has passed time-wise.

We were a battered group today after our epic battle with the elements and the distance yesterday. Almost to a person, the riders agreed that it was the toughest of the ride. Several riders had taken falls on gravel at SAG stops or along the shoulder of the road,and were wearing their battle scars today.

Fortunately, the weather was much more pleasant, with the remnants of a thunderstorm creating a cool start, and the clouds postponing the inevitable heat.

I rode for a good part of the day with Mike. He will leave the tour in Sioux Falls, and from then on, I will be the sole voice of recumbency on the ride.

At one point today, we were on the same route as another bike tour which was riding the return route of Lewis and Clark. One of them was on a Easy Racers Gold Rush, which is almost like mine, but with a lighter frame. We chatted briefly, but he didn;t seem to be in a very good mood, so we got a picture and rode off.

Today's route was along the mighty Missouri River, and through a Indian reservation.

Although the route was 85 miles today, I treated it as a "rolling rest day" and didn't push it. I felt quite good at the end, and finished at around 1 p.m. I ate lunch at a restaurant near the motel, reputed to have one of the best cheeseburgers as rated by readers digest and some other publications. It was pretty good, but they ran out of homemade rhubarb pie right before I placed my order!!! I better get some soon, before I suffer withdrawal symptoms.

My health is great, I am riding strong, have only a few "wear spots", and am managing my food and water intake well. The bike is working like a champ, and other riders keep checking to see "where the motor is".

Into the Oven: A Double Triple

2006-07-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

You know it is going to be tough day when the temperature is into 3 digits, and the mileage for the day is higher than the temp. Today, the temp in Pierre was 105 according to one bank thermometer. It was 117 miles from Wall to Pierre. The stage was set for the toughest day so far.

I knew it was going to be a really hard day when I went out into the “cool” dawn and found it to already be quite warm, and the sun was not yet up. Sunrise brought a prehistoric scene, with a full-sized brontosaurus replica lending a surreal start to the ride.

The heat only got worse. I found it uncomfortable by 8:30, and almost intolerable by 10. I didn’t feel like stopping for many photos, but I did manage to capture the exquisite pleasure of a shady SAG stop.

These horses looked entirely comfortable with the heat. I really lilked the little gray colt.

Here is "The Little Brown Church on the Prarie", a small Methodist church in the middle of nowhere.

I also saw this little snake on the shoulder of the road. I think it was dead, but decided not to mess with it.

The ABBike staff did a fantastic job of SAG today, both with choosing great locations in the midst of nothingness, and also keeping close tabs on all the riders. It seems there was always a SAG vehicle coming or going, with the constant questions “How are you feeling? How much water do you have? Do you need anything?

At about 25 miles from Pierre, pronounced “peer”, I was passed by the one SAG van, and Christine asked my status. I told her I had over one gallon of water on board. I used every drop of that making it to the motel. I had one water bottle of Gatorade, two bottles of Propel fitness water, one water bottle of ice water for cooling, and my hydration pack with 1.4 liters of water as a reserve. I kept expecting each uphill to be the last, based on the route profile. As I crested the top, I would inevitably see another rise beyond, with nothing but sun-toasted wheat fields in view.

What continues to surprise me is the total lack of “outskirts” of any of these western towns. I got to within an indicated 3 miles of the motel before I saw any sign that there was a town nearby.

The last stretch was allegedly downhill, but I NEVER was able to coast for the last 40 miles. In effect, it was the longest hill of the ride.

I eased across the bridge over the Missouri River, and into the motel parking lot at 2:30 Mountain time, or 3:30 Central time. We are now just an hour different from home in Richmnd.

Route Rap took place at 6:15, and we had dinner at China Buffet next door. I am really tired now, but I can’t feel sorry for myself, Stu just got in at about 8:30. He is doing fine with the heat, just taking his time, and encouraging some of the other riders. Hats off to all the riders, whether they finished on their own, or Sagged in. There is no shame in making the decision to flag down the van, especially when it may make it possible to ride better the next day.

Tomorrow’s route is “only” 83 miles, although the heat should be pretty bad. I need some sleep.

Welcome to the Tar Pits

2006-07-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Note: I tried a different way to put the pictures in this entry, and it worked only on my computer. I will fix them soon. Stay "Tuned"

Today should have been an easy day, but road construction made for one of the more miserable days on the road. Just out of Rapid City, a service road we were supposed to use was closed about 3 miles up the road for bridge construction. I missed the first group that got turned around because I had ducked into a truck stop to get some band-aids, and saw nobody on the road when I came out. I got to the bridge, and was turned around by the construction crew, forced to retrace my path to where Susan was redirecting riders onto the interstate. Once I got onto the interstate I cranked up the speed to about 30 and made up a lot of the ground I lost. After the first (and only) SAG stop we rode rolling terrain for several miles, then transitioned back to the interstate.

The worst part came just before the last climb up to Wall. They were repaving, and we were catching up to the messy part. At first there was nice new pavement, with pylons separating us from the traffic. Then it got much softer, and finally we were waved off the new pavement onto the old, in one lane with all the traffic. This was also coated with new tar, and the drivers were not too happy with our presence, but we did our best. We made it through and pulled into Wall. Ilkka, Kent and I went into the famous Wall Drug and had a bite to eat. Afterward we went to the motel where most of the riders were cleaning the tar off of their tires and bikes. The State Police were also there to complain about the riders on the interstate, and after that the ABBike staff had to SAG a number of riders from the La Walla Tar Pits. It was really hot, and miserable , messing with the tar. I am going to keep my bike out on the 2nd floor deck, and let the road clean off my tires.

Leaving Rapid City
Kent, Ilkka and Me at Wall Drug
Cleaning the Bikes
In the afternoon, four of our group hired one of the off-duty motel workers to take us the few miles to the Badlands National Park. We felt it would be a shame to have come so close and not seen them. I got some good pictures and really enjoyed the bizarre landscapes.
Me at the first overlook
The eroded landscape
Some idiots trying to prove something
A furry friend

Black Hills or Bust!

2006-07-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

Every day at Route Rap we get a sheet with our route for the next day on one side, and a vertical profile map on the other side. The vertical exxageration is automatic, so that the elevation range takes up the same real estate on the page. What this means is that on a gentle day, the terrain map looks just as bad as on a climbing day. Yesterday, the map looked like it would be pretty bad, and it ended up being quite realilstic. We had numerous climbs, some not too bad, but others long and fairly steep. The Black Hills were definately a worthy opponent.

After riding in the rain a good portion of yesterday, I looked forward to a dry ride, but encountered just enough rain for me to make several stops to put on or remove rain gear. It started off nice enough, with lots of clouds. We headed up into the Black Hills, first entering the Wind Cave National Park. In this park, there are many free-ranging Bison, and signs warned to look out for them. I saw one bison, slowly strolling along a ridge. I got some video of him, and then he went out of sight behind some trees. I rode on, and found the SAG van at the next overlook. Susan (ABBike staff) was trying to get a picture of a prarie dog in the foreground, with cyclists in the background. I think I interfered with the process by startling the prarie dog. I told Susan that the bison was heading our way, and sure enough, it appeared on the skyline right where I had predicted. I caught more video of him, as well as the reluctant prarie dog.

As we exited the park, things got pretty touristy, but I would really love to come back here and spend some more time just in the Black Hills. Our first SAG was a few hills before the Crazy Horse monument, and as I rode through the hilly terrain I marvelled at the rock formations at every road cut. I took many pictures that will be useful for Earth Science classes.

A group of us turned into the Crazy Horse monument area, and went through the museum and got lots of pictures. It was extremely interesting and humbling to see the work done by a crew made up mostly of the sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski and eventually most of his 10 children. The work is progressing very slowly, since it is not federally funded. He put up with a lot of technical challenges in the early days, but now his family is carrying on with more advanced tools and techniques. He died in 1982, but the work goes on.

Then it was on to Mt Rushmore, a much smaller piece of sculpture if you can believe it. The approach is from the back of the mountain, and the route included some of the biggest climbs. The first sign is a pullout in the road where you can see George Washington's face in profile.

We got the other obligatory shots as well once we made it to the park proper.

Pictured with me here are Dale Crockatt, Jeff and Julie Blake. Jeff was having too much fun, and didn't make a very serious Roosevelt.

The second SAG was in the touristy town of Keystone. I ate in a local restaurant and had a buffalo burger and some delilcious rhubarb crisp with ice cream.

After lunch, I decided to finish the ride fairly quickly, and only stopped to get pictures of the plains, just visible on the horizon, and the town of Rapid City. Coming down from the hills to the plains was quite a rush. It was a great reward for all the climbing we had done.

I got in at 3:30, much later than usual, but still a good time for the amount of climbing and stopping for pictures. This was probably the most jam-packed day we have had, and what a place for it!

Rainy Welcome to South Dakota

2006-07-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today we finally awoke to our first rainy day. We had faced the threat on several occasions, and some riders had been caught in scattered showers, but this was the first general rainfall, and was somewhat unexpected. Yesterday the weather services called for about a 30% chance of scattered showers, with a high of 92. What we got was widespread rain with most of the day in the mid 60's.

I left my camera in my luggage, since it is not weatherproof, so I took no pictures today. I found this one as a substitute.

It is not altogether unpleasant to ride in the rain, but it is another story when you mix in traffic, especially big trucks. Thankfully it was a Sunday morning, and the traffic was light. Here are Ilkka and Kent finishing up.

I rode alone most of the day, since it is a lot safer than riding too close to another rider and risking collision. In the dry, you have traction to maneuver out of trouble. In the wet, there is more chance of both riders going down. I entered South Dakota about mid-morning, which is a guess since I wasn't wearing my watch. I know that I got to Hot Springs by about 1:30. Ilkka, Kent, and a few others were already eating at a cafe called Sturdley'e Family Eating. I joined them and had a cheeseburger. It really hit the spot. Here is a map of the Black Hills around Hot Springs.

I will try to get some pix of my own later on today, and may add them today or tomorrow.

Addendum: After dinner, Mike (recumbent rider) and I walked a mile to the Mammoth Site, which is a fossil area that was found when excavation was being started for an apartment building. They began to dig up fossilized remains of wooly mammoths and other ice-age animals. The site was a large sinkhole with a hot spring after the last Ice Age. Animals would go into the water to drink or bathe, and then become trapped when the crumbly shale sides gave way. Most of them were thought to have died of exhaustion of drowning. We barely made it to the place in time, but had about half an hour to walk through the site, which is now enclosed. The pictures show some of the remains, as well as a hut made of tusks, which might have been used by any humans finding mammoth bones.

On the walk back to the hotel, we went through a very nice part of Hot Springs, and saw many nice houses like the one seen here at the top of the hill.

On The Road Again!

2006-07-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Last night after I had gone to bed, there was a fireworks display at the minor league ball park just behind the motel. I woke up and took a couple pix before trying to get back to sleep.

We had another early start after our rest day Friday. Today's ride was 106 miles to the small crossroads town of Lusk, Wyoming. Lusk seems to be known primarily as the home of "The Legend of Rawhide", which just happens to be taking place tonight.

Today was a matter of "same ole, same ole" Same scenery, same gentle grades, same lack of places to eat. I did manage to set another personal best or a century ride. At 100 miles, I beat my old time by 15 seconds. I'll take it. I now have done 3 century rides faster than the goal I had set of 6 hours. I have also done this while riding from the back to the front, which allows me to have a relaxing early ride while visiting with all of the interesting riders on the tour, and then crank up the speed by the second SAG stop, finishing as usual with Ilkka and Kent. No matter how we shake it up, we tend to always come out of the mix together.

One landmark seen today was the second sign for Wall Drug that I have noticed so far. I understand that they will become more numerous as we get closer to Wall.

Here is a picture of Ilkka, Kent, and myself at the second SAG stop.

We also passed through a ghost town, just listing a name and altitude, and this one, with a population of one. We made it three.

At one point I was riding with "recumbent Mike" and we went past this drag race track where cars were competing. There were a wide variety of cars, from stock appearing to fully tricked out. Here is a really good-sounding Mustang.

This seems to represent the main industry of the area.

The rest of the scenery looked pretty much lilke this.

We arrived in Lusk at about 1:30. We ate lunch and got back in time to see another great little small-town parade. This one was part of the "Legend of Rawhide" event happening today. At one point the Indians on horses charged through the crowd, rather quickly, I might add. One horse put its hoof down just inches from my foot. My ride flashed before my eyes, so to speak.

Casper: Rest Day!

2006-07-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today was a well-deserved rest day here in Casper. We all needed to recover from our epic push of 122 miles yesterday. I slept in late- until about 7 a.m. My first order of business was breakfast with the boys, Stu, Ilkka, Kent, and Abe. We made plans to meet for lunch at a Mexican restaurant, then went our own separate ways. One thing I had been waiting for was to take a box of items no longer needed to the post office to send home. This was mainly papers, books, cold-weather gear, and some souvenirs.

I also went to the local bike shops to get some chain degreaser and lube, and then spent an hour making my bike presentable again. I also went over the working condition of the bike, finding a small thorn in my rear tire. It looked like it had been bent trying in a vain attempt to make it through the kevlar belt, but I will keep an eye on it.

Lunch was pretty good, but not up to the standard of some other places we have eaten. My sister Judy has commented that we should call the trip "Jim's Pie (or Ice Cream) Trip Across the Country. Maybe it should be "Jim's Cross-Country Trip to Find the Best Mexican Food" Note: Mexican Restaurants only have pasta on their Kid's Menus. The rest is safe.

I tried to nap during the afternoon, but kept waking up thinking about things I hadn't yet dealt with, like this blog. I finally gave up and watched TV, then went out to dinner at a nearby steakhouse with mostly the Rails-to Trails group, great dinner company. I had to avoid the usual group because I was laughing too much to eat. I almost broke a rib at dinner last night from our discussion and critique of the day's events.

After dinner tonight I saw that there would be a great sunset, so I hurried back to he Holiday Inn, got my camera, and went back to the bridge over the North Platte River. I took these shots of the river and the motel during a few fleeting moments when a more distant cloud finaly relented and let the light from the sun shine under the clouds you see here, giving that great Western Sunset look. The camera made it look kind of dark for some, and light for others. I need to find the manual and learn how to better control the exposure.

Tomorrow: Up at 5:30, Load at 6, breakfast at 6:30. A 106 mile ride with headwinds expected. So far we have been pretty fortunate.

Day 18 Riverton to Casper

2006-07-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

4:30 AM. The alarm clock yanks us from our dreams of Dairy Queen Blizzards back to the reality of our longest day on the tour: 120 miles of wasteland in the hot sun. We want to start as early as possible to make sure everyone can complete the grueling grind before dark. We were supposed to ride a mile down the road (in the opposite direction to our route) to a restaurant ready to serve us breakfast at 5:15. The continental breakfast at our motel was not supposed to be ready until 6. When I took my bags down to "Box" to load up, I saw that most of our riders were eating breakfast, which the staff had decided to open early. I went ahead and rode to the restaurant, and helped myself to the buffet they had set up. I felt really bad for the crew there since they had set up early especially for us, and only a few showed up. Having been in the business, I know they must have been pissed, but they were very nice about it. Pancakes and eggs, the standard breakfast for me these days.

I hit the road at about 6, and rode briskly as I warmed up. The sunrise did not disappoint me today, with a varied display of clouds, subtle hues of rose and orange playing off the sandstone buttes, and a chilly breeze to hurry me along.

I caught a few riders just as we passed by the huge Boysen Reservoir, with its shallow water lapping against exposed sandstone bluffs.

The route took us through desert wasteland of the sort where one picture could suffice for pretty much the whole day.

Fortunately there were some breaks in the monotony, like this big tank, that I imagine was bound for an oil or gas facility nearby. We passed many oil wells along the route.

The highlight for me was a deep canyon feature known as Hell's Half Acre. I am not sure how they got the half acre part, but it was definately a tortured landscape, apparently put to use by Indians as a buffalo trap. They would drive buffalo over the edge, and they could basically just finish them off at the bottom, unless they were directly killed by the fall. It is a great example of badlands formation. Most of the strata are so loosely consolidated that the term "rock" really doesn't apply to them.

I arrived in Casper after my fastest century ride (100 miles) ever. I had set a goal of breaking a 6 hour time for 100 miles, and easily surpassed this at 5 hours and 36 minutes. Overall I averaged almost 18 mph for the 122 mile ride. I am feeling very strong, and am most pleased by my ability to recover quickly after extended periods of high exertion levels. This gives me the freedom to ride my ride, and not have to make concessions to pamper my body so I can make the destination. I especially like to be able to stop often for good pictures, and still be able to catch up to whoever I have been riding with.

Speaking of pictures, I have now lost all the pictures from my "road record" camera for the past three days. I am therefore bringing an end to that portion of my project, unless I can find someone willing to buy a replacement for that specific camera. Any benefactors out there?

Day 17 Dubois to Riverton

2006-07-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's blog was entered mostly today since internet access was very intermittent at the motel in Dubois. As far as my continuous record of the road, I took pictures all day long today, making sure to keep the camera running from beginning to end. When I went to get them out, they were all gone once again. I will try again tomorrow, but if the same result occurs, I will end that phase of the project, and focus more on other aspects of the ride, including riding itself.

We had another early breakfast, this time at a small restaurant just down the street from the motel. There were apparently only two waitresses out on the floor, an two cooks, but with the able help of ABBike staffer Andy as host, they managed to serve all 60 or so of us in reasonable time, without losing their cool. Kudos to the staff at the Cowboy Cafe!

This was a mostly downhill day, much like the ride from Baker City to Ontario, Oregon. I rode the first part with a geologist's eye, spotting many excellent examples of bedding of rock strata. I took lots of pix for use in the classroom.

I rode to the first SAG either alone, or with Kent, who also shared my fascination with the geology textbook laid open before us. At the second SAG, about 54 miles into the ride, I left slightly before Kent, and rode alone for the remainder of the route. I passed the National Weather Service facility with a large Doppler Radar installation.

At one point, I noticed that my average speed was around 20 mph, and began to attempt to make this speed stick for the rest of the route. A couple of long slopes threatened my goal, and the stoplights in town just about ruined everything, but in the end, I prevailed with an average speed of 20.0 mph for almost 80 miles while riding. This is my fastest average ever, and I will proudly take it even with all the downhill stretches. I will certainly not attempt this tomorrow. We have our longest day facing us, and it will not be subdued easily.

Here are some random pix, showing daily life.

Ilkka and Jim (staffer) unloading the truck, affectionately known as "Box"

Some pasta Stu cooked up for dinner.

Day 16 Jackson to Dubois

2006-07-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today we loaded early, then headed up the road to a restaurant for a "supplemental breakfast" Apparently nobody felt the complimentary breakfast at the Days Inn would be adequate for a fairly long day, including a long climb. We bagan the ride by heading out through what has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of road anywhere, up along the Tetons. I had to keep stopping to get pictures.

Each time I took one, I was sure that there wouldn't be a better shot later, and that I could actually start riding to get somewhere. The problem was, I always found that better shot, and it was everything I could do to finally make the turn that took us out of the valley, and toward the climb to the continental divide. I can't get enough of big mountains. I feel like I belong here, and am out of my element elsewhere. These are especially imposing mountains, ramparts rising over a mile above the flat floodplains of the Snake river.

The climb up to the continental divide was not quite as steep as yesterday's ride over Teton Pass, but it was much longer, and kept teasing us with false hints that the climb was almost over. I had the advantage of having an altimeter, and used it to keep track of our progress. We would almost be at maximum altutude, thn we would go down briefly into a new nook of the river valley, and then have to gain elevation all over again. At least there was a lot to look at on the way up, like the stunning alpine valleys, full of wildflowers and the occasional deer.

I had been riding mostly alone on the climb, but found a group at the top, waiting to get pictures at the sign. In the group picture, I am the second from the right. I am barely recognizeable because I was on the low end of the slope, and I am wearing a Doo-rag. (Allison, stop laughing!)

After elation and celebration, I reluctantly began my descent back to the desert. I very much enjoyed my brief time in the mountains. I really want to come back here with the whole family and do some hiking and camping. Julie, get out the calendar for next year.

We quickly plummeted down the eastern slopes, heading for lunch at a small roadside cafe we had been told to look for. At this point my day went downhill as fast as my bike. I had been careful at every stop to keep my stupid camera running. I had found this technique seemed to work to keep the camera from erasing the pictures when it shut down. When we stopped, I was ready to turn the camera off manually, but found that I was parked by the wrong building. I moved my bike, and lost my train of thought. I forgot to shut the camera off, and it erased all 500 or so pictures that I had taken of the route so far today. That included the whole Teton valley, the climb, and descent. Fortunately I am now using my new camera for snapshots of important stuff, but my route movie project is basically more than my poor main camera can handle. I think I will continue to get what I can, but the demands of keeping the camera running is just too much for me to keep track of, and I feel very defeated. I wanted to be the first to document the entire road from coast to coast, and now I have many, many holes in my coverage. Bummer.

Still mortally frustrated, I continued on down to the town of Dubois. My brother Doug (a native French speaker) would be horrified to find that it is pronounced "Do-Boys". On the way I passed this great road cut showing lots of complex rock strata.

I pulled onto Main Street only to find myself incorporated into a 4th of July Parade, complete with fire trucks spraying the kids with their hoses.

I pulled into the motel parking lot just as the fire trucks were approaching. There was a little boy and his sister by the road whose anticipation of the immenent spraying was evident in their faces and their jumping around. I caught this picture of the little girl just as the incredible shower from the fire hose was arcing her way. I got soaked, and so did she, but it was worth it to see her utter joy at such a simple thing, right when I was feeling so sorry for myself at the loss of my pictures. It pretty much took me out of my funk.

Dinner was, you guessed it, pasta. I am so sick of pasta, and always look forward to getting something else, like the bbq chicken we had back in Blackfoot, Idaho. Stu, Ilkka, Abe and I went over to the drugstore later and had ice cream. We met some of the locals, including one nice young man getting ready to trade in Wyoming for NYC. He was accepted at the Julliard in drama, and has worked in his Mom's dinner theater back in Jackson. He was in Dubois with a group of guests from the dude ranch where he works. He was taking them square dancing at the place we had dinner.

Day 15 Blackfoot ID to Jackson WY

2006-07-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

Today's Blog will be more picture intensive than usual, because there were a lot more things to see today than we experienced in the farmlands of Idaho. It was probably the toughest day of the tour for most of us. The distance was fairly long at 88 miles, but the climbing was the biggest factor. We had to climb out of the Idahoh flats and gain the foothills of the Tetons. After a good climb to 6750 feet to get things started,we went downhill for 5 miles, then began our real test for the day, the climb to Teton Pass at 8431 feet. This is the highest pass yet, but tomorrow we have an even higher one when we cross the continental divide.

During the morning, the scenery was fabulous as we ascended along the Snake River, our constant companion for the past five days or so.

Before the second big climb, we entered Wyoming, the third state we have traveled through. We also hit our 1000 mile mark at some point today!!!!!

I felt great on the climbs, although the heat was pretty intense due to bright sunlight and a tailwind, which I hate when I am climbing. I much prefer a good headwind to keep me cool and less fragrant. At the top of the second climb,we could see out over the Jackson area. We had our pictures taken at the sign for the pass.

alt="" />

After an extremely fast descent, We were in the valley we had seen from above. The Tetons are quite impressive, and I would like to spend some more time here, maybe in the winter.

Day 14 Blackfoot to Idaho Falls

2006-07-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today was both a good and bad day. At 34 miles (planned) it was to be our shortest day of the tour. We also got to sleep in late (6:30) and eat a more leisurely breakfast. Too bad the menu was limited to cold cereal and english muffins.

Once on the road, we were in more of a parade mode, with speed not a necessity. We got lost about twice, but quickly found our way back on course. The highlight for me was passing a truck stop and noticing the sign "Frontier Pies". I quickly made a U-turn and waited at the turnoff until several others including Stu and Ilkka noticed me and decided to join me for PIE. Most of us had a most delicious rhubarb pie, heated to perfection and served with vanilla ice cream. Delish!

After our pie break, we finished our short ride, only to find that one of our riders had gone down on an angled railroad crossing and had gone to the hospital to be checked out. As it turned out, she was uninjured, but her helmet had done its job.

The mishap dampened our enthusiasm for awhile until she returned mostly unscathed.

My day went downhill when I found out that my camera was acting up again and had lost all my pictures for today, including one really great one of some pelicans on a stump in the Snake River. The camera will take pictures, but once it turns off for any reason, the pictures go away. I don't think I can keep it running, and have no way to get the pictures out to the computer. I also felt the need to have a camera for snapshots, even if the continuous photo log of the route doesn't work out. That decided, I went out to Wal-Mart and bought another camera. I have no deciced whether to continue the photo log, but might try manual triggering with the camera mounted tommorow. I did manage to get these pix of Idaho Falls before my other camera died.

Idaho Falls is the last town in Idaho for us, and we head up into the Rockies tomorrow. You can see some of the mountains we will have to climb in the wider angle picture. Our route will take us over two ridges and into Wyoming. I am really looking forward to getting some elevation tomorrow. I am tired of the flat terrain.

Day 13 Burley to Blackfoot

2006-07-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

The sunrise was as beautiful today as it has been so many other times lately.

We were up at 5 a.m. to get an early start for a long 110 mile day. After a good, but quick breakfast I headed out, riding with several groupings of riders until I found my pace-mates, Ilkka and Kent.

All the riders tend to group together with those of similar riding style or pace. I have mentioned the wolfpack already, but other groups include "the Three Amigos", "Rails to Trails", and the "High Rollers". I can't remember who is in each, but it is easier to keep track of everyone when you know who they ride with.

The morning ride took us along back roads to American Falls, where the big dam regulates the flow of the Snake River from a huge reservoir. I took some pix there but they all were corrupted by the camera gremlins.

We had lunch in Aberdeen at the Country Kitchen, where we had excellent burgers, but missed the ice cream we had been anticipating.

Dan (one of the Rails to Trails group) had high-tailed it out of the restaurant upon hearing that there was no ice cream. He re-appeared outside the window with a huge bowl of ice cream in his hand, proceeding to savor it sensuously in full sight of those of us eating burgers inside. We figured we would wait for ice cream until we arrived at our destination, which was a mistake. There is no ice cream in Blackfoot. What a drag!

We had a great picnic supper at the motel, perhaps the best meal we have had yet. I really enjoyed the BBQ chicken as a change of pace from the ubiquitous pasta.

Tomorrow is a short day, which is good because the next day we hit the mountains going into Jackson. Today we finally saw our first hint of the Rockies, so we know our real work is about to begin!

Day 12 Mountain Home to Burley

2006-06-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after posting my blog, I went down the street to dinner, and then walked over to the gorge to get some pix and see if it had gotten any cooler. I was able to get someone to take a picture of me by the rail above the gorge.

This morning the first thing we did as we started out was to head down into the gorge for a look at Shoshone Falls. The falls is a couple miles upriver from the town of Twin Falls. It was an awesome spectacle, even with the water at a low level due to upstream diversion of water for irrigation and power.

After a delightful and cool half hour above the falls, we headed back up the winding road out of the gorge and once again onto the flat. The riding was easy, except for
keeping on route with many transitions aimed at keeping us off of dead-end roads. The pictures for today will mostly look like this. Featureless and flat.

Today was a much shorter day than normal. In order to get us booked into motels, they sometimes need to have use do a shorter or longer day than usual. The longs ones are really tough. The short ones like today are almost like a "rolling day off". I got in before noon and went to lunch at a Mexican Restaurant with Ilkka, Kent, and Annie. I am really sleepy now and better finish before I falllllllllllaaassssssllleeeepppppaatttttthhheeeekkkeeeyybbooooarrrrd..............

Day 11 Mountain Home to Twin Falls

2006-06-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I was finally able to get my blog up to date, and I had time to relax in the pool. I also had to waste some time because the A/C in our room was kaput, and the maintenance guy came by to replace the unit, which was right next to my bed.

This morning we woke to threatening skies. We could see rain falling from dark clouds fairly close by.

We hurried to load the truck and eat breakfast before the skies would open. Many of us took along some rain gear in case it turned out to be an all-day rain. In actuality, it merely provided the most beautiful sunrise, and we enjoyed the show with only a few drops on the road. Most of the rain evaporated before it hit the ground. You can see this "virga" in the pictures

I enjoyed the first part of the ride when I was passed by the 2/3 of a triple bike, with Lil and her son cranking out a serious rhythm. I latched on and we pulled the first leg rarely seeing the south side of 25 mph. I had an overall average of almost 20 mph up to the first sag.

I spent the next leg riding alone, and stopped for a snack at a small store. This gentleman, Ed and his two cute grandchildren stopped and asked all kinds of questions about the ride. They were quite interested in the ride, and especially the bike with all the gadgets. There is never a shortage of conversation with the locals. I wish all the places I ride could show this kind of hospitality and support.

Late in the morning I passed through a valley where many fossils are found. In the distant past, a large lava flow blocked the river and made a shallow lake where many zebra-like mammals came to get water. Many of them died in the vicinity and their bones were preserved in the mud, which hardened to rock over time.

I made it to Twin Falls by about 1:30, and even had time to stop at the scenic overlooks by the Snake River Canyon. This is where Evel Knievel attempted his jump of the canyon in a rocket "motorcycle" a number of years ago. I will try to get some more pictures to add to this post.

Tomorrow is a short day of only 38 miles. I can probably do it in my sleep!

Day 10 Boise to Mountain Home

2006-06-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

This morning we left the delighful Courtyard by Marriott and headed east on a bike path out of Boise.

Soon we ended up on the Interstate 84 again as there were no other suitable roads for us.

At Route Rap this evening, about 20 people indicated that they had experienced a flat during the interstate portion of the ride. The shoulder was really covered with tire debris, including fine wire fragments from truck tire blowouts. It was not quite as hot while we were riding due to the presence of CLOUDS! This was the first time since Mt Hood that we have even seen clouds during the day.

Mountain Home is not accurately named in my opinion. We can see mountains in the distance, but I don't feel their presence. Maybe Tomorrow?

Day 8 Ontario to Boise

2006-06-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Day 8. Today was just a short, level ride from Ontario to Boise.

We had no problems riding, and found our way quickly to the Courtyard by Marriot and began planning for our rest day.

The camera seems to be working now. We will see! We had a snack at a sandwich shop in an area called Hyde Park on the way in to Boise. It reminded me of the Fan area of Richmond. The heat was really starting to build as we rolled into the Marriot. They had split up our 3 Amigos situation to make doubles, so Ilkka and I roomed together, while Stu got a room of his on so he could better deal with his worsening throat/sinus condition.

Day 7 Baker City to Ontario

2006-06-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Day 7. Today was a downhill day. We had a short climb out of Baker City, and then a long, long descent down to Ontario, our last stop in Oregon. I was the last one out today, due to trying to figure out the camera problem. I rode for a while with Mike, but then Andy, a staff member came flying by on his light but ill-fitting borrowed bike. I just had to give chase, and we rode together for the longest stretch of fast riding I have ever experienced. We flew into the first SAG having averaged over 30 mph for quite a few miles.

After the SAG, It was a short, but excruciatingly hot stretch in to Ontario. Much of the riding was on interstate 84, since there were no other roads through that strertch. Interstate riding is not really that bad, except for the sharp road debris that can give you a flat tire in a jiffy. The heat had slowed many of the riders. I found that Kent, a rider from Madison in Virginia, had settled on the same pace as myself, and Ilkka and I rode with him for quite a while. Overall, I averaged 17.2 mph for 82 miles. This is my fastest day ever! We were so happy to find the motel, which was made difficult because they had changed the name without telling us. Because we were early, we found a Mexican restaurant and chilled there for an hour or so, just to get out of the triple-digit heat. Some of our riders were adversely affected by the heat, and were badly dehydrated. We will all watch our physical state better tomorrow.

All my pictures were erased again by the camera, so there are no pictures today. By trial and error, I have surmised that if I format the card in someone else’s camera, it will work in mine, and not erase. I will attempt again tomorrow, but I am not very optimistic. Tomorrow is a short day, followed by a rest day. Ye-haa!

Day 6 John Day to Baker City

2006-06-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

Day 6. Today we left John Day bound for Baker City. We had to begin with a good climb again today, and I arrived slightly head of the Wolfpack, who had left later. We all posed for a photo op at a really large covered wagon at an overlook a couple miles from the top of the climb.
After our pictures were taken, I again sat in on the back of the pack, and was able to hang with them to the top. I absolutely flew down the other side, my top speed only hampered by having to stop at a stoplight controlling traffic through a one-lane construction zone. I still hit 45.7 mph, and was first the SAG stop. I stopped in to the restaurant whose lot we were using, and found that thy had a really good blackberry cobbler. While I was eating, my camera did its power-down routine. When I went to restart it, all I could get were the choices to power-off or format the card. Neither one of these were satisfactory choices, so I decided to not take pix until I could get a new card. I missed all the miles over the next two climbs, but at the second SAG, the staffer, Susan had the same camera as mine, and loaned me one of her spare cards. I was able to make the camera work until I could get a new card.

Other than that, it was a nice, but hot day. When we were at altitude, it was pleasantly cool, but dropping down into the valleys took us into a treeless oven. Fortunately it was a shorter day of 80 miles, and I again was in early to the motel.

Once we got into Baker City, I found a Bi-Mart, which is like a Wal-mart, and bought 2 camera cards, this time smaller ones, because someone told me that the 1Gb card I had been using was not designed for that camera. I thought the problem was solved, until I went out to take some sunset pictures, and the same message came through. Still a problem.

In Baker City there were bike races going on all day, and many other bikers were staying at the same motel. Most of us had problems getting online, although I was able to find one building where the wireless network actually worked, so I sat in a stairwell to write and send e-mail.

Day 5 Prineville to John Day

2006-06-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Day 5. We were now heading up into the mountain at the beginning of an epic day. This was the longest thus far at 117 miles. Not only that, it included two long, steep climbs that to some, resembled a pair of very large breasts. I headed out with the fast group, the ones I call the wolfpack. Ilkka had been riding with them for several days, and they really seemed to work well as a team in their paceline. I pulled in behind them and followed as they slowly warmed up, then increased the pace. I took a few token pulls at the front, since it is expected that every rider in a paceline take turn breaking the wind. They really don’t get much benefit from drafting behind a recumbent, but it was what riding etiquette demanded, and it was fun to lead such a fast group. I had to sprint past the group to take my turn, since they don’t want the recumbent in the line itself.

We were on a slight downgrade right before the first big climb. I always need a lot of speed at the start, so I sprinted ahead of the group and began to climb. It never turned our to be a very steep climb, just long. I fell into a really nice pace of what I call “six breathing”, where I breathe in for three pedal pushes, and breathe out for three. ONE-TWO-THREE four-five-six. When I really get cranking I do “four breathing”, which is ONE-TWO three-four. I was able to just flat out smoke up that 30 mile climb back into the cool forest air. I truly feel strongest at altitude, and know that the mountains are really my element. On the downhill I had switched from my still camera to my video camera to try to capture the thrill of descending at over 45 mph. Unfortunately the camcorder battery, which I had just charged, ran out in about 3 minutes. Bummer. Anyway I stopped, swapped back to the still camera, and kept going. Here is a picture from the descent.

The Wolfpack had careened by when I stopped, and I decided not to pursue, but instead rode the rest of the way to our destination with Mike, the other ‘bent rider. We had a good time chatting and comparing notes on the benefits of recumbents. I think one of the advantages was obvious to the staff member at a SAG stop at the top of a climb, where she pointed out that she could hear us talking all the way up, and that everyone else was just breathing hard. It is so nice to have NO PAIN while riding. We get a panoramic view of the spectacular scenery, and are in a better position for breathing efficiently.

We pulled into the town of John Day only to find that the rooms were not ready. Several of our riders were quite rude to the poor desk clerk, a high-school girl who had no resources with which to satisify their demands for an immediate room. It reminded me of our Greek Eclipse cruise, when many of the participants failed to realize that in certain situations, there is just no way that making a demand will help. It just puts some poor underpaid worker in an impossible situation, and actually slows down the process of handling the entire group. The desk clerk ended up leaving the desk to clean two rooms for the more insensitive of our group. I went in to talk to her afterwards and apologized on their behalf. I told her that I had spent 10 years in the service industry and knew what she was dealing with.

If you ever have a situation like this, try to remember that your issue is with the boss or owner, not necessarily the hired help.

We had dinner at a nice restaurant down the street, and traded stories about our longest day on the road. For many, today was their personal best distance. Way to go!

No internet access today, in spite of the sign advertising new wireless.

Day 4 Kah-nee-ta to Prineville

2006-06-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Day four. A nice short 60 mile day before experiencing the 117 mile grind for tomorrow. We left the Kah-nee-ta resort, immediately descending a steep hill back to the canyon floor. While at maximum speed, I heard the loud clatter of something falling to the road from my bike. I immediately surmised that it was my tire pump which I had removed from the frame to allow me to carry my loaded bike up four flights of stairs, since the elevators were too small (this is something that continues to be a problem. We have not yet been on the ground floor of any motel). Anyway, I stopped my headlong descent, slowly pedaled back up the hill, looking for the errant pump. I finally found it in the ravine beside the road, and managed to give my mountain-biking shoes a real trial by fire. They worked magnificently on the slope of volcanic rock scree. I now had to play catch-up, since the rest of the group had long since disappeared up the road. I caught most of the riders, and enjoyed a pleasant ride in the cool of the morning. We were hoping to exit the reservation at about the time that the Indian Museum opened, and we arrived just at the right time to be the first customers.

The museum had many displays showcasing typical Indian culture before the influence of westerners, and how they coped with the influx of Europeans. It was difficult to look at the pictures of Indian kids dressed up in neat little uniforms, being surgically removed from their heritage, and punished if they spoke their native tongue.

After the museum, we headed across the high desert toward our destination of Prineville. I was riding with Ilkka and Stu by now, and we made good time to Madras. We were so wrapped up in our little paceline that we missed a turn and actually took a shortcut to town, but encountered the traffic that our alternate route would have avoided. At our SAG, we could see a fence where people were making a memorial for one of their local soldiers who was one of the two who were kidnapped and killed in Iraq a couple days earlier.

The three of us set out again, looking for a Dairy Queen, which is Ilkka’s favorite post-ride destination. Not finding one in Madras, we figured there had to be one in Prineville, so we pressed on. We arrived after noon in Prineville, and found a DQ on the way in. I had a Heath Blizzard, my favorite. It was a great finish to a short, but hot day. Prineville had lots of good stores, so we stocked up on things we forgot or lost. The owner of a local laundromat offered to do our laundry for $ per bag, so we loaded up a bag with our stuff all mixed together and had it back in an hour. It was great to get a real wash, not just the sink treatment.

Day 3 Welches to Kah-nee-ta

2006-06-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

Day 3 began cold and cloudy. We had breakfast at the Whistle Stop restaurant just down the road. I had eggs, oatmeal, and French toast. I am trying to not overeat, but also not run out of fuel. It may be a tough balance. We will see if I get hungrier as we go.

The ride began with a monster climb of over 2500 feet in eleven miles. This was the first sustained climb, and I was not sure how I would handle it after having not ridden much the last week of school. It was about 40 degrees and clammy. We could not see Mt Hood due to the clouds, but toward the top it started peeking through. We were climbing one of the ridges leading away from the mountain itself, and reached an altitude of just over 4000 ft. We had a quick SAG at the top, but nobody hung around due to the chill. I descended quickly , only to be faced by another 1000 foot climb. Again it was cold, but the sun was coming out. The next miles were some of the most delightful I have ever done. The sun was out, Mt Hood appeared in my rear view mirror, and the temp was absolutely delightful in the low 60’s.

I have finally begun to feel strong, and was able to really roll up the mountain grades today. My favorite thing is being able to push hard, and then recover. Thanks again to all my randonneuring practice rides. It gives me the absolute confidence that I will not run out of steam as long as I have eaten well and keep well hydrated.

A long descent brought me out onto the high desert, and onto the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. A final corkscrew dive into a box canyon brought me to the gambling resort of Kah-nee-ta. A steep little climb took us to the lodge overlooking the canyons. The resort was plush, but I had a little problem with our room. I am one of a few triple occupancy groups, and we should have gotten the largest rooms. I had been in one of the other riders’ rooms and had seen the size. When our room was finally ready, I noticed that it was about 4 feet smaller in each dimension, and clearly too small for the three of us , a cot, and our bikes. I asked the desk clerk if we could switch, and she said that the rooms were all the same size. I went back to the other guy’s room, and saw that there were clearly 4 feet more between the end of the bed and the wall than our room provided, so I headed back up to the desk, and again plead my case. She finally relented, and switched our room to one of the double occupancy groups that had not yet arrived. I never knew why it was such an issue, nor why they had not right away given us a larger room, but we spent a restful night in our larger room.

Our routine: Ilkka usually arrives to the motels first and checks in. I arrive next, bring my luggage to the room, and take a shower right away. It is really important not to hang around in riding clothes any longer that necessary so as not to get skin infections, etc. We try to wash out our riding clothes in the sink and hang them out to dry. It is nice if the room has a balcony with a railing, and Kah-nee-ta is so equipped, with desert-dry air for good measure.

Day 2 St Helens to Welches

2006-06-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Day 2 started out clear and brisk. The temps were in the upper 50’s, and there was a fresh breeze from the NW. We had a really flat morning, and made good speed down to the outskirts of Portland. The first big adventure was to cross the Columbia River on an older bridge. The only path for cyclists was a walkway along the rail. It was not too bad by itself, but at the towers, the sidewalk circled around the huge columns to the outside, and there was not a lot of extra room. I managed the first without putting my foot down, but chose to at least unclip my shoe for the second one, just in case. I made it without undue difficulty.

The first SAG for the day was at a nice park in North Portland, and I had my usual banana and granola bar. I don’t hang around the stops for very long, for I have learned the value of short, quick stops from my randonneuring rides. We next left the roads for a bike trail, except the trail kept feeding back out to the roads for brief distances. The trail finally ended east of Portland’s smaller airport. (we had already passed Portland International) We headed South, and uphill from the Columbia toward the town of Welches, near Mt. Hood. I mainly rode with Sara, who has the distinction of keeping the best blog, and Mike, who also rides a recumbent. Along the way some of us stopped at a hamburger place called Calamity Jane’s. I had a huge “pizza burger” that was so big, I couldn’t even come close to finishing it. After lunch, we quickly made it to the Resort at the Mountain on the foothills of Mt Hood. I lost about 200 pictures that covered the stretch from the bike trail to Calamity Jane’s, but the rest turned out. The GPS worked well.

We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant near the resort, and then turned in for an early start.

Day 1 Astoria to St. Helens

2006-06-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

We began the day at the Holiday Inn Express, right under the end of the big bridge that crosses the Columbia River from Astoria. We had spent the night there after spending the Sunday afternoon attending several sessions for meeting the other ride participants, learning the logistics of group riding, and safety considerations. We also took a short 25 mile ride to the coast for a “wheel dipping” ceremony. My roommates are John Stuart from New Jersey, and Ilkka Suvanto from Massachusetts.

I think my bike survived the salt water OK. At last we were actually in the Pacific proper, as opposed to just the Columbia River.

Our first official duty was to line up for a group photo with the big bridge in the background.

We rode out in a long string of riders, all wearing the America By Bicycle (referred to from now on as ABBike) Jerseys. The weather was very cool and cloudy during the morning. The route was mostly flat to rolling with a few steeper climbs that I had noticed as I drove to Astoria from Portland a day earlier. I was really slow going up a the longest hill, but recovered quickly. I was taking a picture every couple hundred meters with my camera mounted on my bike, but had to trigger each one manually since I could not get to a Radio Shack for a few needed parts for the remote trigger.

Our first SAG stop was at a nice park overlooking the Columbia River. I had a banana and a granola bar, stocked up on Gatorade, slathered some more sunblock, and headed out again. The best surprise for the day was reaching the top of the next-to-last hill and realizing it had been the last and biggest hill we would have to ride. I topped 45 mph going down the other side to the next SAG.

After some easy flat miles, we reached our first destination, the town of St. Helens. We were too early to check in, so we swamped the sandwich shop next door. I ordered a French Dip sandwich, but they were out of roast beef, so I had ham instead. After checking in, I walked down the road to a Radio Shack, where I bought the small switch I needed for my camera trigger. I quickly soldered it into my system, and presto, I had a way to trigger my camera without letting go of the handlebar. I had decided to not use the timer, since that had resulted in a rather artificial selection of route photos. It was much more effective to manually trigger them as needed, and it had become second nature. I don’t have to even think in order to do it.

Dinner was at a restaurant just up the road. Pasta, potatoes, etc. Pretty much standard fare for a buffet.

Riding for Science

2006-06-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the web account of my Coast to Coast bicycle ride! My name is Jim Lehman, and I am a physics teacher from Richmond Virginia. This blog will let you follow my adventure as I ride my recumbent bicycle across the United States. I am doing this for several reasons:

I am riding as a challenge to myself as I celebrate my 50th birthday
I am compiling data on a daily basis which I will use as the focal point of classroom lessons in physics and GIS, two of the subjects that I teach at Mills Godwin High School
I have restless leg syndrome, and this seemed like a good way to treat it! Really, I just like to ride, especially long distances
I missed out on a coast-to-coast ride back in my youth, and never got over it

Each day, you will find an narrative account of the day's ride, some pictures, and some mapping information based on data from my GPS. One innovative element is my intent to capture images every 15 seconds of my journey, and assemble them into a movie, which has never been done yet according to internet searches.

Here is a picture of my "cockpit" showing my GPS, digital camera, and controls.

My equipment includes:

Bicycle: Easy Racers Tour Easy recumbent; 27 speeds, set up for hills rather than speed
GPS: Garmin GPSMap 76CS color display, barometric altimeter, mapping software, using MotionBased data service for analysis of each ride segment
Camera: Olympus Stylus 410 digital. The only waterproof digital camera with remote control and external power capabilities. Camera is powered by 4 "D" nickel metal hydride batteries so it can run all day. 1GB XD memory card to hold up to 1000 pictures per day. shutter rigged to trigger every 15 seconds using a home-built timing circuit. (See " Hacking your Digital Camera")