Bob's Big Ride

Saturday 8-11 Day 48

2007-11-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

Start: Clarksburg, MD
End: Washington, DC
Scheduled Miles: 53
Actual Miles: Never even checked!

Woke up this morning and checked to see if anyone was chucking their tents, this was the last that many of us would be needing them.

After breakfast it was an easy ride. Soft rolling hills and good weather. It was all good. As we got closer to DC there were many other riders out. I assume doing local club rides. At one point this guy goes zooming past Jodi, Greg and Trish, and myself downhill! I just thought to myself......Oh no you do not! I just got done riding 3,400 miles across the country and no weekend warrior is going to pass me up! So as I'm taking off to catch this guy, I can hear Jodi going, Go Bob Go, get'em! So I catch up to him half way up the next hill, and just before pulling along side of him, I slow for just a second or so to catch my breath. Than as I pull up next to him I go "So, how ya doing?" He answerer's rather breathlessly, "Not bad, gotta another 10 miles to go, but I'll make it" So I says, "well, make 'em strong" and I take off leaving him climbing that hill in my dust! Oh that felt sooooo gooood.

Coming into DC proper we are on a multi use trail, and is it crowded. These must be the beautiful people of the city, all out jogging and running and biking. What struck me is the joggers and runners all had little containers of Guu and sports gels in bandelaros around their wasts. They looked like sweaty super hero's. But we zigged and zagged around them. It was the most congested traffic we had all trip.

In the heart of downtown DC we all gathered for lunch at the old National Postal Building. The Greek Restaurant in the mall their is owned by a former Big Rider, and lunch was on him. After posing for a group picture on the grand staircase we headed out in groups of 2's and 3's for the mall and the finish line. I went with Dan Scott and he had on his cheese and sausage necklace. The line was drawn in chalk on the sidewalk near the Vietnam Memorial.

It was such a cool thing to go through the crowd. Then I spotted my family; my wife, kids, sisters and friends! I gave such a big hug to my wife. For the most part I was able to keep my emotions under control until Marc came up to me wearing a T-shirt that had my brother Martin's picture on it. I gave him a hug, then I lost it and started crying. It was done. I had ridden Martins bike from Seattle, Washington to Washington D.C. And I couldn't have done it without the people who were now surrounding me.

So we spent some time in the park with all kinds of treats and then headed to the hotel to unload the truck one last time.

Friday 8-10 Day 47

2007-11-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

Start: Gettysburg, PA
End: Clarksburg, MD
Scheduled Miles: 49.6
Actual Miles: 53.8

You would think with such a light day ahead of us we would sleep in, but nooooo. It's up at 5 am as usual. We are in such a routine!

This is a $5 dollar morning, and the collage kids, Helen and I go to Earnies in town for breakfast. I am introduced to scrapple with my eggs. Similar to spam in being a mystery meat, but tastes quite a bit like fresh fried liver sausage, so you know I liked it.

Heading through town we form a neat little line, going around turns, reminds me of coverage of the tour de France, but in slo mo. on the outskirts of town, we pass the visitors center, not having gotten there yesterday, I peel off to see it today. It is full of artifacts and information about those historic three days that set the course for our nation. The highlight of which was a large topographical map 30' x 30' set with LED lights. With seating in risers around in they give you an aireal view of the battles and troop movements. Seeing the battlefields yesterday, and now this,really brought it all together.

The roads are rolling hills and the scenery is easy on the eyes which makes it a very easy day. (that and only 50 miles) At about the halfway point while riding with Jodi, Greg and Trish we stop at the battle of Monocacy. Another significant fight in the civil war, which was a holding action that more than likely saved the Capitol from being captured by the South.

Just outside of camp, we stop at a local deli to rehydrate, (read local barley malt beverages) The final push into camp is with Mary, Margo and Adam. In camp the usual, set up tent and shower. Then we are bussed to the local Applebys for our last dinner together. It is very nice, the oldest, Bob Sr, and the youngest, Liz both get up and give a little speech. It is coming to an end.

Thursday 8-09 Day 46

2007-11-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

Rest day; Gettysburg, PA
No Scheduled miles

In was hot in the school last night I did not sleep too well, in the middle of the night I got up and turned on my little battery operated fan and that helped a lot. (thank you Sully)

For Breakfast, I went for a coffee and paper with Liz and Anne. Anne had had a tough day yesterday but was feeling a bit better this morning. After the coffee, I went to the local library and logged onto my blog just to gave a brief update on the happenings the past week.

Then it was tourist time. I hopped on one of the tour buses and took a two hour tour of the battlefields in, and surrounding Gettysburg. The tour was complete with an "audio dramatization" which was actually kind of nice. It rained most of the tour, so it was nice to be in the bus. Simply amazing how many men died here, and the number of monuments raised in their honor.

Afterward it was domestic stuff, laundry, banking, and cleaning the bike. For dinner we had a nice meal in one of the hotels, Brack Sr. and Jean Anne were in town and acted as hosts. Brack is still using crutches, but you can tell he is getting better. Than a bit more of walking around downtown Gettysburg, judging by the number of psychic and haunted tours available after dark, Gettysburg has got to be the most alive ghost town in the world.

Than back to the school and hit the sack. David our mechanic has decided for some reason to set up the bike stand at the foot of my bed roll, and he and Toronto David are working on bikes! Oh well, tomorrow is only 50 some miles!

This is an area I would very much love to come back and explore a little more in depth. I think to take the same route as the tour bus, but only by bike would be outstanding. I'm sure it would take a whole day, but it would be very moving.

Wenesday 8-08 Day 45

2007-11-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

Start: Bedford, PA
End: Gettysburg, PA
Scheduled Miles: 100.4
Actual Miles: 103.65

The day starts out like any other day on the ride. David from Toronto and I head out together and with some big hills we are pretty evenly matched, he's a better climber, but I am quicker on the downhill, the extra 50 pounds I have over him probably explains that. The terrain is fairly hilly and with a bit of light rain, we do the descents a little more cautiously. Then the weather clears up and we make great time, and catch up to Iron Mike, Jerome and Rodney.

Due to the length and challenge of the day I make sure that every hour I am downing a power bar or something else nutritious. Sometimes I stop for this, sometimes I eat while rolling. I also make sure I drink plenty of sports drink. I have had a lot of the Gatorade on this trip, but I always drink it at half strenght, otherwise it is just too sweet. I do the same with any of the juices that I pick up at the connivance stores too.

We are rolling along real nice and for the first time in a while, we are at the front of the pack. So, I gotta have some fun! I spot a dead opossum on the road side, a few yards away, someone has dumped their beer bottles. I quickly get off the bike and set up a little tableau with the 'possem and beer bottles put caption on it with my trusty chalk and we have a public service announcement. David, thinks I'm off my rocker, but in camp that night many riders tell me they had a good laugh.

We are getting to some history rich areas, and David (being the hobby historian that he is)and I stop at a lot of the places to read up on them.

Just before a water stop in the Cowan state park, I find an unusual merry-go-round. Four beams project from a central axis and on the end of each is a bench seat. Soon I have Tom, Kari, and Alison joining me for some great fun.

The middle third of the ride becomes relatively flat and I am now riding with David the younger. Most of our riding today has been on great roads on some very well thought out routes, all set up by the PA Department of Transportation. They are well marked which makes it so easy to follow; Thank you Governor Tom Ridge!

The last 10 miles into Gettysburg is downhill, nothing to steep, but it still goes very quickly. At first you come across one of the battlefields, then you enter a section that is very new, before getting into the city proper which has changed very little since the war. You kind of get whiplash from the seaming time travel.

Camp is at the Gettysburg Middle school just a block from the main drag of town. I find a hallway to call home for the next two days. Most of the riders have found hotel rooms to spend the next two nights, there are plenty of them! Tonight is $10 night and I have dinner with Iron Mike and Rodney, followed by some walking around and then an Ice Cream. I have the strawberry phosphate. That's living.

Tuesday 8-07 Day 44

2007-11-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

Start: Confluence, PA
End: Bedford, PA

Scheduled Miles: 81.3
Actual Miles: 81.5

This morning I wake up early for KP duty, It is still dark as I break camp and pack everything into the truck. My little headlamp really comes in handy. After breakfast it is another 31 miles of the fine gravel trail. After spending most of the day yesterday on the trail it is more of the same and dare I say, somewhat boring. We do go over some high bridges that cross the valleys, which is the only scenic views.

Our first rest stop is in Meyersdale, at a little train museum. They open up just for us, and they are just about done with a major renovation. they have added a lot of graphics some of which are backlit. The museum lady is really proud of this latest technology. They also have a small gift shop with the old fashioned wooden train whistles. I buy one with the intention to annoy my fellow campers at night, when they are trying to sleep. (What a great grinchy trick that would be)

Taking off from the musuem, Jodi and I ride togehter for a spell, than we come to some steep hills, and we loose each other. The terrian here reminds me a lot of WI with the hardwood forests and farm fields, but the hills are more severe, not having had glaciers beat them down. Our route takes us to the crash site of Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9-11. We have a water/rest stop in the parking lot. There are a lot of memorials that people have sent in, stone, T-shirts, crosses and other pieces of personal possisions. Some of them are a little too self-promoting in my mind and after hearing about the obsticles to putting up a dignified permament memorial, I leave with a bad feeling and heavy heart.

From there we have more climbing to do. There is one "staircase" climb in particular that goes from 2,400 feet in elevation to 2,900 feet in seven miles. Once you creast that though it is downhill for 6 miles. At times I hit 40 MPH and have to break for turns that have a 25 MPH speed limit. Yee Haw!!!!

We are at a commercial camp tonight, and there is free ice cream at the camp general store. Life is good! We have a pizza dinner with all the fixins tonight and there is way too much food! Most of the riders go to the Cannondale factory for a tour which is right next to our camp. I stay behind to clean up after dinner. Tomorrow is the ride into Gettysburg, 100 plus miles and lots of hills. This is to be our final "exam". I also set up a little repair shop to change the cleats on my shoes, glue some cracks in the foam of Alisons helmut and glue Seans sunglass back together. The ride is almost over and he doesn't want to have to buy new ones.

It's dark our now and I'm in the tent writing this all down. About this time, the folks who took the tour are just getting back. It's a "late" night for them and it's not even 9:00!

Monday 8-06 Day 43

2007-11-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

Start: Washington, PA
End: Confluence, PA
Scheduled Miles: 88.4
Actual Miles: 89.3

Well it did rain hard last night and I only had a little water come in. Note to self, make sure both zipper pulls are at the top of the door, that's where the water came in! So we break camp packing all our gear wet, not the best thing to do, but we have to be on the road.
This morning I head out with Jodi and young David. It is very foggy and misty and the road is pretty heavily trafficked, so I have my lights on. We go through a bunch of quaint little towns, some of the places do look a bit rundown, and even abandoned. We do some really steep climbs, 15% grade at times. We gain 400 feet in two miles. Almost wish I had a triple crank. After a bit we turn onto the Youghiagheny Trail(YRT) (spelling?). This is a rails to trail path that is paved with crushed stone. It is not a bad surface even for my tires, but with the rain and dampness, I do get a build up between the frame and tire that I have to stop and clean out occasionally. The path as befits a a railroad bed is flat, but we are climbing. A total of 600 feet in 52 miles. There is no coasting here and the pace never changes, so we have to change up the speed and effort consciously. The trail is deep in hardwoods forest and all you see is a green tunnel effect in front of you. We are riding alongside the Youghiagheny River but almost never see it because of the dense foliage. Lunch today is provided by Fred, a past rider. He has put out a spread of sub sandwich's, chips, fruit and birch beer. Delicious and Generous! After lunch, it is more of the same trail. We pass by an old rail station, that has been coverted to a store, I stop but it's pretty rustic inside and nothing strikes my fancy. Getting back on the bike I realize the back tire is going flat. So, at a nice picnic spot, I stop and replace the tube and tire. The tire is the one I replaced back in South Dakota, before heading up to Mt Rushmore, so it has served me well. As I getting back on the trail, Alison, Tom and Scott go by, so I hook up with them for a while. They are so funny, Because of the storms, there are a number of trees that have fallen across the path, some I had "portaged" over, but these two guys have been stopping and clearing many of them as they go. So I join in.

After a while, I pull over and walk down a set of stairs on the side of the path that leads down to the river. After only catching glimpses of the river I decide it is time to see it and soak my feet. On the side I'm on there is what I presume to be a fishing guide, teaching a father and son to fly fish. On the other bank is a group of High School kids, being taught to kayak. I find a nice rock and take it all in. The water is like ice cold, but it is nice to sit and soak it all in. Putting my shoes back on, I turn around and can't see the stairs! It takes me 15 minutes to find it, boy do I feel dopey!. I find my way all across the country, but can't find a set of stairs that's less the 20 yards away!

Rolling into Confluence, we are at a state park. The area we can camp is very limited in size and to make matters worse, the area is covered in goose poop! Yeech! There are some areas which has very little poop, but the park rangers are adamant, that we cannot set up there, which is very frustrating. Also, we are camping beneath a huge "earthen" dam. We are below a huge pile of what is called rip rap when used for shore erosion. It looks like it is just piled there, and you know that there is a giant wall of water behind it, just wanting to wash over us. I would feel a lot better if there were some concrete in the thing. Also, because we are in a valley cell phone reception is very bad. It takes me walking around the park to get even a weak signal, so my conversation with Barbara is very short. "Hello, hello, done with the day, call you tomorrow."

Sunday 8-05 Day 42

2007-09-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

Start: New Waterford, OH
End: Washington, PA
Scheduled Miles: 66
Actual Miles: 58

It is completely dark when I wake up. It is still dark as a get dressed and take down the tent. This morning along with breakfast I have a double hot cocoa as it is a bit chilly.

When the cue sheets are handed out, Polly tells us the first page is completely wrong and she gives us verbal instructions to the first stop and assures us that Dan Henry's will be marking the way. Kathy is doing this and has already left to keep ahead of the riders. I start out the morning with Andy, Steve and young David. It rains a little bit, but nothing too hard. Part of the course takes us on a busy highway, but compared to I-90 in Washington, it is no big deal.

The terrain is rolling hills, and as we get into PA they get steeper and longer, just as it was foretold. We still have a slight rain but with temps in the mid 80's it is fine. We stop in Midland for breakfast at this cafe where a bunch of bikes are already crowding the front sidewalk. The daily special is 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon and 2 slices of toast for 2 bucks. Does life get any better? Just outside of town we cross the Ohio river and past two nuclear power plants. We were warned in town not to stop and take pictures of the facilities as they would stop us and confiscate our cameras. National security you know.

With the hills getting steeper, they get scarier, especially wet, so we take it easy. Lunch is in Burgetts town. I eat too much, but it is nice to be out of rain. Rolling into camp it is still raining, but there is a nice surprise. Nora, from our Pittsburgh office is there. We just missed each other by minutes in the badlands, so she came down to visit. We stand around and talk about the office and such and our adventures. A really nice visit. The rain lets up a bit, and she even helps me set up my tent. Both of my bags got wet from the rain, but the Big Ride bag is pretty water proof, and all my cloths are in Ziploc bags so they are OK. Some of my past maps and my atlas are soaking wet though.

After dinner, I pack it in fairly early to catch up on my journal, plus to keep an eye on the tent as it is still raining, and the forecast is for rain all night.

Saturday 8-04 Day 41

2007-09-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Start: Burton, OH
End: New Waterford, OH
Scheduled Miles: 58.6
Actual Miles: 60.16

We wake up fairly early this morning, and while I don't have to take down a tent, we still need to drive to camp from the hotel, and put John's bike together. Once we get to camp, John (He is joining me on the ride today to experience what it is like to spend a day on the road with this group)and I head over to Cogans for breakfast along with all the other riders. They advertise "Lousy food and bad service" but don't believe it! Their T-shirts are a hot item for the rest of the riders.

John and I head out and it is just like being in SE Wisconsin. Except the Amish buggies, and there seems to be a lot of them this morning. The roads are in good condition and we go from rural, to city to suburban very quickly. It is amazing how fast the settings change even at 17 miles per hour. We spend a lot of time, catching up and talking about the future of our kids. It is so good to ride with him again. We even take it easy on each other, rather than trying to out race the other. I think I have him talked into doing a ride like this in 15 or 20 years! (Hey if Bob Sr. can do do it at 76.....) John gets the full experience of the trip as he gets a flat, while we are at the second stop of the day in Canfield.

We are the first to pull into camp that day, but I suspect others are eating ice cream. At the same time Evelyn and Darin pull in to(in the SUV). So John and Darin get to help unload the truck too! The full experience! After a quick shower, John Evelyn and Darin take off back home to Milwaukee a nine hour drive. Hopefully they pull off somewhere along the way at a hotel overnight, but I suspect they won't. It was so great of him to come down and visit, he really missed being able to help out with dinner in Madison, WI. I am again reminded of what a great family I am blessed with.

Dinner was by Boston Market, and quantities ran a bit short, but I got enough to tide me over till morning, if not I can always have a Power Bar. After the mandatory call to Barbara, I am in bed by 8:30 and write in my journal with lights out at 9:00.

Friday 8-03, Day 40

2007-09-02T12:14:00.001-07:00

Start: Burton, OH
End: Burton, OH
Scheduled Miles: 0
Actual Miles: 0

Woke up in the room at 8:00, wow! I start out the day doing my laundry and having some breakfast. I do a bit of blogging on the hotel computer, but there is a line of people waiting to use it.

John and his family drop me off at camp as I have to do maintenance on the bike and fix my sunglasses. In the rain yesterday I broke them when my bike started to fall in the rain as we went from side to side around the outhouse. They are going to the Football Hall of fame as Darin has taken a great interest in becoming a kicker and is working very hard at it. So I spend the afternoon lubing and cleaning Martins bike, I glue the glasses back together with some 5 minute epoxy I have along, and reinforce the broken joint a bit with a piece of plastic from a water bottle.

When John, Evelyn and Darin get back we head out to a real nice little Italian resturaunt for dinner. One of the kitchen helpers is a young Amish girl. For dessert we had Brownie Sundaes that were huge! On the way back to the hotel, we stop at a football field so Darin can get his kicking in. It has been a few days of car travel for him and he is a bit rusty but he is determined! He shows me the proper kicking form and it is not much different from soccer.

We stay the night at the hotel, and Evelynn remarks she can tell I've been outside a bunch, cause I'm not using the furniture, but instead am sitting and sleeping on the floor.

Tomorrow, John will ride with me, as he brought his bike along just for the occasion.

Friday 8-03 Day 40

2007-09-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday 8-02 Day 39

2007-09-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

Start: Sandusky, OH
End: Burton, OH
Scheduled Miles: 92
Actual Miles: 94

This morning I helped the breakfast crew, as I am waiting on Steve and Andy. The three of us are going to the game and we decided to ride in together. Ane, Sean and Ben are going too, and have left already to so as to get a head start on us. The three of us head out with Andy doing most of the pulling, both of these guys are really strong, and even though Steve isn't feeling all that well, it is all I can do to hang on to their wheels. After a bit we pick up Jodi so we have a four person pace line going.
Going through Vermillion, OH, we stop at Granny Jo's. A nice little Ice cream parlor / Coffee shop. I have a cup of tea and a muffin. Which is very tasty. The building is one of the oldest in the area and at one time was a funeral parlor; Thus their motto, "Ice cream to die for” A few blocks away is group of people waiting for another bike ride to come through town. The "Ride for Hope" is group of people doing a trans ride too, as a fundraiser for the disabled. They ride in the morning and in the afternoon, visit and talk to community groups. They are doing some 4,000 miles and started June 11th.

At this point, Jodi drops out of our little pack and the three of us mush on. At the water stop, just outside of Cleveland we meet up with Ane, Ben and Sean and we head into to the city. The stadium as it turns out is visible from our route and is only 2 blocks off course. As we come into the plaza outside the stadium they are handing out free cupcakes to celebrate the "birthday' of their mascot. The boys eat up heartly. After checking with security guards, they let us put our bikes in a fenced in area in the parking structure that is only accessible by them, sweet! At this point, five other riders join us and we go in together. We stop for pictures and it is almost comical as we get two game day attendants to take our pictures. Each of us gives them a camera and between the two of them, they have 12 cameras dangling from them. The game is fun, and a guy sitting next to us is also a biker, so we had much to chat about during the game. I try to get him to sign up for next years ride.

After the game, we head out to the lakefront, past the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as we get to the airport, it starts to rain. We decide to continue, but soon it is a downpour with heavy winds. We take shelter under the eaves of a restroom building that is "closed for the season"! So, do they open it up in winter? The wind is constantly shifting and our little group is chased around the building as we try to stay out of the wind. After about an hour it finally lets up enough that we can ride. It is still raining, but at least we are moving and generating some body heat which was getting to be a problem at our "shelter". When the rain stops, we stop for a burrito and coffee at Querdoba's and Starbucks. After that the sun comes out and we finish a hilly ride into Burton. Once inside Burton, the kids and I are trying to decide whether to go in to camp and get set up or stay in town for dinner as it is 8:00 at this time. Our longest day on the road. Andy and Dave who where coming from camp convince us to go to camp first, which is the county fair grounds. As I roll into camp, there is Crickette, waving at me! John, Evelyn and Darin are here! They were in the area "looking at Collages" for Darin. So, rather than camping out they invite me to stay with them at their hotel, that was a no brainer choice. So we had a nice visit in the evening along with delivery pizza. I had a great laugh on seeing Crickette, John and Darin had rigged her up to a telephone post and with some wire and John's shoelaces could make her wave as they hid behind a bush. My family is a bit on the crazy side.

As it turns out, the Storm we were in dumped 4.75" of rain on the area in 1 1/2 hours and wind gusts up to 60mph were recorded! Glad we didn't try riding in that!

Wednesday 8-01 Day 38

2007-08-30T10:33:00.001-07:00

Start: Napolean, OH
End: Sandusky, OH
Scheduled Miles: 87.2
Actual Miles: 87.6

Didn't sleep so good last night, we were staying at the county fairgrounds, and there was a mockingbird up all night. Lots of different calls, and was he loud. We also had some local hot rodders buzzing by us an yelling as we were fairly close to a main street. Oh well. The night was a bit chilly and woke up a little more stiff than usual.

A good day to ride none the less. Started out with Iron Mike as usual, and then we caught up to Jerome and Rodney and rode with them a spell. Then about mile 27 we were going through Bowling Green, and Dan and I stopped for our 2nd breakfast at a little lunch counter. Eggs/bacon/toast and tea for $8 not bad, plus it gave me a chance to do some stretching on the ole back. Once Dan and I got back on the road again. Ye haa, we got us some tail winds, and pretty soon I get into the zone and start cruising about 22-25 mph. Does that feel good. Dan drops off and soon I'm on my own happy as a clam. Temps are getting pretty warm so I look for some shade to have my lunch and find it under a church(?) portico. After a nice peanut butter sandwich I get back on the road just as Jodi rides by. After a few miles together we stop at a little cafe; Knobbier Cafe for some water. I have a "Cows Tail" a long skinny piece of candy with Carmel on the outside and a white nougat on the inside. Down the road, and old riding buddy of Jodi meets us. I move on and let them ride together and visit. Coming into town, I meet up with young David. As we come into town, we stop for ice cream and see Dan there. Not sure when he got past me! Once in camp, I boil up 3 dozen eggs for breakfast the next day, than set up my tent, and have a few beers. Tonight is ten dollar night and there is a nice deli a few blocks from camp that most of us go to for sandwiches.

The terrain for the day started out hilly, but with the tail wind and clear skies it was no problem. Most of the ride was flat and through lots of corn and soybean fields. The roads have been of very good quality, but going through the farms and such they sometimes get really narrow, not sure how two cars could pass each other. On the plus side there was almost no traffic, so we had the roads pretty much to ourselves, almost like a paved bike path.

Tomorrow we head to Burton OH, and we go right through the city of Cleveland. Andy and Steve found out that there is an Indians/Rangers game starting at noon, so a bunch of us are planning on going. Should be fun, even though I don't care much for baseball.

Tuesday 7-31 Day 37

2007-08-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Start Kendalville, IN
End Napoleon, OH
Scheduled Miles: 70
Actual Miles: 71.6

Today started out the same as many others previous. Up at 5:00AM and get everything packed up and ready to go, then help clean up the breakfast "buffet".

Heading out of camp on My own, I immediately take a wrong turn, but so does Gerry in the Box truck and Mark in his car, so I don't feel too bad, and get back on track right quickly. The morning road brings some real pretty rollers and I catch up to David and Andy about mile 15, we ride together for a while, then at mile 22 I stop for a 2nd breakfast at McDonalds. I spot the collage kids going in and my back is knotting up again so it is a good time to get off the bike and stretch and refuel.

Liz and Ane are such fun, they got some tattoos and put them on in the McDonalds. Crossing over the Ohio state line, there was just a small road sign indicating the line, so our crew painted one on the road for us. We ride as group for a while then I move on and catch up with Margo, Lisa, Adam and Poppa Greg at mile 51 which is our second water stop of the day. We all then ride into camp together after stopping at an ice cream stand, I had the pistachio nut and it was delicious.

In Camp, which was the county fair grounds, dinner was catered and a local Ice Shop owner, brought over dessert when he heard we were in town!

The terrain has been a lot like south eastern Wisconsin. Lots of corn and soybean fields and nice rolling hills with lots of curves, so you can't always see that endless road ahead of you. The weather was clear and sunny, about the mid 90's with a slight headwind, but all in all very pleasant!

The Last Week: Readers Digest Version

2007-08-09T06:08:00.000-07:00

I am currently sitting in the library in historic Gettysburg, and I just wanted to give a quick update on events for the month of August.

It was such a great surprise and so much fun to be able to spend my "weekend" with John, Evelyn and Darin. Thus, no updating last weekend.

The road rash is healing and the back is getting a bit better day by day and I hope not to have to wear the back brace for the last two days.

By now the daily events are very routine. It has truly become: eat, ride, sleep.

For the most part the weather has been good, we have had rain, during the rides and while trying to set up camp one night and into that night. It has been getting more warmer and the humidity has really picked up, making all the difference. The roads have been very good for the most part, with some minor construction from time to time.

We spent a day and a half on the YRT trial which is a rails to trails path paved with crushed limestone. The grade was only .212% but it was a continuous uphill, so there was no coasting. There were some spectacular views from some of the old rail bridges, but the limestone did build up on the bike as the trail was still damp from the rains.

Yesterday, was supposed to be the hardest day, 100 miles into Gettysburg. There were some really tough climbs, with some wickedly fast curving descents. Temps hit 100 degrees, and the humidity felt really high, so it was "100 miles, 100 degrees and 100% humidity" (it did rain a bit) as Trish said after the ride.

Today is a rest day, and I will explore Gettysburg a bit and do the laundry. Tomorrow, Friday, is only 53 miles and we'll be having a nice last dinner together at a restaurant. Than Saturday, 50 miles, a last lunch together, and we roll into Henry Bacon Park, on the Mall in Washington DC just after Noon, and after over 3,300 miles.

It is hard to believe it is almost over. It sunk in yesterday as we were riding, that by golly we did it! We rode our bikes across the USA!

I will update this blog with daily entries as soon as possible, but it may not be for a week or so till I can get to a computer or time to do so.

I want to thank everyone who has followed along, and left notes or comments here or with my family with all the words of encouragement or said prayers for myself and my fellow riders.

I especially want to thank Barbara for allowing me to do the ride and putting up with all my training and being gone for 2 months, Mary and DJ for stepping up and helping while I was gone. I could not have done it with out you. To my Mom, sisters and brothers and extended family, you guys are the best, your support and enthusiasm made it so much easier in so many ways.

And a special shout out to my fellow workers: Thanks for your support, you'll probably have to retrain me all over again when I show up on the 15th.

See ya all real soon!

Bob

Monday 7-30 Day 36

2007-08-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

Start: Valapriso, IN
End: Kendalville, IN
Scheduled: 111.2
Actual: 115.88

The ride starts out like any other, make lunch, have breakfast and hit the road. I head out with Iron Mike, Jerome and Rodney. We take a nice little tour around the perimeter of the campus and end up where we started from! The cue sheets need to be updated a bit. Then it is out of the city and into rural Indiania.

The Terrian is much like WI, but a little flatter, lots of smaller farms, with wooded areas in between them. The roads have lots of twists and turns but are very well maintained and smooth, so they add a lot of character to the ride. Weather is good, sunny, and not to hot in the morning, we have been avoiding the oppresive heat and humidity that last years riders went through.

Our first rest stop has been set up by Larry, a former Big Rider. What a spread. Sweet rolls, melons, fruits, coffee, milk. A veritable bonquet. More than enough to feed a small army, which we have the appetite of. Larry is so enthusiastic about this ride yet! Plus we meet Kevin who is signed up to do the ride next year. We offer him lots of encouragment, and talk a bit about fund raising.

After the break, Mike, Jodi and I head out through Amish country. Lots of great scenery and I find out that we are much faster than horse and buggy. At least when they're just trotting. The kids even have they're own little carts pulled by ponies.

We switch from CST to EST about 10:30 so we loose an hour. We roll into camp about 5:45 and tonight we are making sandwichs in camp, so I had told Polly that if she got corn on the cob, I would cook it so we would have something warm, and also cause we had been seeing nothing but corn since MN and we should really try it. So I boiled about 6 dozen ears, and roasted 2 dozen. For those that tried it, it was a big hit, but we ended up throwing out a bunch, which made me feel bad. So by the time I did all this and got the cooking area cleaned it was 10:30!

Today I was wearing Brack's jersey. Since he was hurt and couldn't continue to ride, the rest of us riders have been taking turns wearing his and Jean Anne's jersey.

Tomorrow is only 70 miles, piece of cake, and we go into Ohio, so crickett will be coming along.

As I write my journal, fireflys are landing on the outside of my tent. perhaps attracted by my LED head lamp.

Sunday 7-29 Day 35

2007-07-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

Start: Valpariso, IL
End: Valpariso, IL
Scheduled Miles: 0
Actual Miles: 5

Having done laundry yesterday, I folded it this morning. Then a $5 breakfast at the school cafeteria which was good, and then the youth groups started piling in and it got real noisy agian. Much better that then some drunk idiots though.

A bunch of us went to the 8:30 service at the chapel on campus. This service was in the lower level and was very nice, the main chapel is gorgous. It reminded Iron Mike of the Air Force chapel.

After service I took Martins bike down to a courtyard and hung it up in a tree so I could work on it. Took both tires off, and the chain. Gave it a real good cleaning!
Then put the tires back on, and a new chain. I also installed a new computer/speedometer. The original one had stopped working. Then it was off for a test ride, through downtown Valpariso. Stopped for lunch at a cafe that looked interesting, and had very good onion rings with vegi pannini sandwich and of course local brew.

Back to the dorms and blogging. Now that this is done, I need to put away the cloths and get ready for bed.

Only 13 more days left of this grand adventure. This past week has been the toughest with 7 straight days of cycling, bad weather and lousy neighbors. Had not Barbara and my family been in Madison on Wednesday I may have cracked.

The next two weeks get easier as far as milage, and Riders are already talking about ending this ride and what happens afterward. Some are ready for it to end, and some talk about turning around and heading back. It should be interesting.

Saturday 7-28, Day 32

2007-07-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Start: Coal City, IL
End: Valprariso, IN
Scheduled: 81.1
Actual: 82

Once asleep last night, I slept pretty well dispite the ruckus. Some riders let the rude campers know exactly how they felt as they rode by at 6:30 in the morning.

For the first half of the day I pretty much biked on my own. Went through some urban areas, but mostly rural, mostly flat, mostly corn, mostly soybeans.

The Second half was back with Iron Mike and Dan Scott. Dan's front derraileur cable snapped and we zip tied the derraileur so he could use his middle chian ring to limp into camp. From here it was a lot of urban streets, we crossed the state line and there was no sign, so we made one on the street.

David Lamberts Mom, Dad, and sisters did a water stop for us, homemade treats and drinks. Yum

Coming into Valpariso, we stopped at a bike first for supplies. They knew we were coming but were very unhelpful. They could work on our bikes, but it would not be for 2 or 3 days, and they were closing in an hour and would not be open on Sunday. Very different from Gene and Margo in Nicolett South!

In Valpariso we are staying at Valpo U. I opt to spend 6 bucks and get the bed linens and towels. Dinner was nice but noisey! They have a gathering of catholic high school students for a conference, reminded me of the youth quakes I would go to with our church youth groups.

Tomorrow will be church and bike maintenance.

Friday 7-27 Day 33

2007-07-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

Start: Belvidere, IL
End: Coal City IL
Scheduled: 103.8
Actual: 125

Woke up in the middle of the night to a big thunderstorm, glad we are under the big roof, but you can't stake down a tent to concrete, so I was a bit worried when the winds picked up. Thankfully they did not get too strong.

Start out with David the elder agian, and it starts to rain again. I put on both head and taillights. Coming into Shabbona IL, I decide for another 2nd breakfast, cause I'm wet and cold and need something warm inside of me. I find this great little cafe, and when you open the door and it is very nearly filled, you know you're at a good spot. I sat down at the counter, and started talking to the guy across from me. He asked what I was up to, which I was more than happy to explain to him and then he told me a bit about himself, he does a lot of sailing and owns quite a few boats. Two cups of tea later, along with two "cakes" ans some sausage I was feeling much better.

The rain had stopped, but it was still over cast. IL has not impressed me, nothing to really take pictures of, it is all so the same. It is very flat, and there is just feild after field of soybeans and corn. Nothing on the horizon to give you a sense of direction or heading. The thing that did strike me, was how rural so much of it is, we were only 50 miles from Chicago, but you would never have guessed it.

Well, I missed a turn and ended up adding over 20 miles early in the ride. David the mechinac actually came looking for me, and helped get me back on track. The system they (ALAW) have does work. But at this time I was way behind everyone else. I continued on my own and got turned around again at "unmarked" intersections and was getting very frustrated! Finaly at route mile 73.5 (plus my extra 25 or so miles) I looked over my shoulder at a Subway shop and saw bikes! I go in and it's the collage kids. I give them each a big hug, I was soooo glad to see fellow riders! I told them I was not going to let them out of my sight, till we made camp. At that same time Floyd came up to us too, he had made some of the same mistakes I did, plus a flat tire.

The seven us then rode together the last 30 miles or so into camp. Kellie came in after us and there was much applause for her, as she had completed the course and had done her first Century Ride!

Camp was at the Coal City Area Club. Not such a good facility, the bathrooms were far away and there was only two showers for the men and only one of them had a shower head, the other was just a pipe sticking out of the wall. But that is just part of the adventure I guess, but when you've done over 125 miles, you get a little cranky. Dinner was pizza that had been ordered.

The worst part, was a group of campers next to us who did not beleive in quiet time. They were playing their music very loudly and shouting all night. Finally at 11:15 the cops where called and they came and quieted them down. There was to my knowledge no help from the operators of the camp. This very thing had happened last year too.

With not being able to sleep, I read the first three chapters of the New Harry Potter book. Scott had bought a copy and is cutting it up chapter by chapter as he reads it. I am #6 in line for it.

tomorrow is only 83 miles, so that should be a piece of cake.

Thursday 7-26 Day 32

2007-07-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Start: Madison, WI
End: Belvidere, IL
Scheduled: 82
Actual: 82

Woke up next to my wife, I've missed that! But the routine is still there, and Kathy drives us back to camp so I can keep riding.

Barbara and DJ have brought their bikes along and they ride with me for the first few miles into Oregon WI, where we stop for 2nd breakfast (yes I am related to the hobbits). We load up their bikes onto Kathy's van, and we say our last good byes. Next time I see them we'll be in DC! Still it is tough to say good bye.

The first part of the ride is fairly urban and not so nice, traffic and so-so roads. The second part becomes typical WI; rolling hills and small farms, I ride for a bit with the collage kids. We have a lunch stop in Beloit right at the border, the kids go to McDonalds across the street while I eat my peanut butter sandwich. Then Mike Yee, Mary and I take off and cross the border into IL. Almost immediately it starts to rain. The is some lightning and thunder and I think Mike is getting a little nervous. We roll into camp just as the rain stops, We set up our tents under a big canopy to ward off the bugs. I am feeling good enough to go for a swim at the pool. Haven't done that for a long time.

Dinner is catered by the camp and it is sub par. A small bowl of lettuce for a salad and a plate with some noodles and a couple of meat balls. No one is satisfied. Fortunately there are some funds left over and pizza's are ordered to supplement the dinner and that works out. I updated my journal for the past few days, and get to watch some MLS on the TV in the lounge area.

Wednesday 7-25 Day 31

2007-07-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Start: Viroqua, WI
End: Madison, WI
Scheduled: 109.1
Actual: 114.1

The morning starts out like any typical day, my back is very stiff, but doesn't hurt. Mike and I head out, it is cool with some clouds, a good day for riding. The area is very hilly with some great looking valleys. The fog and mist is settling in those valleys and it is so very pretty!

Mike and I both carry chalk and just into the ride we decide we need to leave a message. We decide on something inspirational: "Ride Long Ride Strong" Kathy our crew gal, gets into it also and does a heart further down the road.

After 15 miles I stop to stretch and Mike continues on. Between Viroqua and Richland Center the scenery is just so beautiful. Once pass Richland center, the terrain flattens out and becomes more cultivated. Corn is planted in plots with large paths of alfalfa in between to prevent erosion and some interested patterns
are developed.

Just outside of Madison in Mezo, our route takes us right past the The Shoe Box, which is advertised as the largest shoe store in the midwest. Well, I needed a new pair of sandals, so I stop in to look around and they got some pretty good prices. So I picked out a pair, and as a salesperson for the correct size. When he brings them out, he looks me over and asks if I'm in the middle of a ride. Well, if you're going open the door that wide, I'm coming in. I tell him the whole story about the ride and ALAW, while I try them on and by the time I'm through, he looks up and says, the sandals are free! Such a deal. Just another example of how good people really can be.

Coming into the Madison area, traffic picks up and it becomes more urban. I miss a few turns and get some bonus miles in, not good on a day when my wife and kids are waiting for me! Finally I do roll into camp to the cheers of family. It is great to see them again after more than 4 weeks away.

Dan Scott's Family and mine put on a dinner for us riders, like you would not believe! Brats, hotdogs, vegie burgers and chicken, along with fresh vegetables, fruit and potato salad. Also plenty of good local beers, and soda! Just perfect after a long day in the saddle. My sisters Mary Lynn and Kathy, along with my brothers Jim and Tom were their along with my nephew Ben and his two kids Rachel and Vince.

Kathy brought along a new wheel that we had made up in Milwaukee, to replace the bad one. I feel better about this now.

I spend the night at a hotel with my wife. I really needed that!

Tuesday 7-24 Day 30

2007-07-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Start: Winona, MN
End: Viroqua, WI
Scheduled Miles: 69
Actual Miles: 69

Had a nice night in the dorms, breakfast in the cafeteria was good too; eggs, waffles and fruit with yogurt.

Ride out with David the elder, he is a history buff and likes to stop at all the historic signs too. We wind our way south along the might Mississippi on the west bank.

Our first stop is in Dakota, MN put on by the Meyers family. They have been doing this for years, they get pictures of all the riders off of the web, and crop them into wallet size. Then they ask you to sign them, just like soccer stars! Most riders sign their names and numbers. They put out a great spread of vegis, fruit and drinks, How wonderful for us they do this year after year.

We cross the Mississippi at La Crosse. And take photos of the biggest six pack of beer. Soon the route becomes rural, with lots of wooded hills intermixed with the farms. Dan and I stop at a creamery in Chaseburg, and he talks them into giving us a quick impromptu tour. Then we have a huge climb! The last rest stop (Kathy's)is atop an earthen dam. The scene is so pretty and the chairs so comfortable, I may not leave. A bit in the distance is a boat landing and we can see that of the riders has gone swimming, we assume sans clothing, and are glad we are far enough away not to be able to tell.

I am still needing to stretch every 12 - 15 miles or so, but even that has become routine. (Before the spill I could easily pedal 25 to 35 miles with out having to stop)

Roll into cap about 2:00 and shower and clean up. I spend a lot of time cleaning the bike. Tomorrow is Madison and I get to see my Barbara, and everyone will be checking out Martins bike.

Monday 7-23 Day 29

2007-07-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

Start: Owatonna, MN
End: Winona, MN
Scheduled Miles: 89.2
Actual: 89.3

Woke up and glad I opted to sleep indoors, it rained hard early this morning and some riders are bring their tents into the barn to fold them up and put them away.

On the road again, it is Mike, Dan and I. Some light rolling hills and the farms are a bit smaller, with lots of cornfields. The winds are still strong out of the south, so we get mostly crosswinds, with a some swirling headwinds now and then.

My back is tending to knot up, and I find that if I get off the bike every 12 - 15 miles and stretch and walk around it helps a lot. Going through Rochester, a bike shop owner opens just for us, normally he is closed on Mondays. I stop in as I need a new front wheel, Gene in New Ulm was able to straighten it, but recommended getting it replaced as it could fail due tot the extreme tension he put on the spokes to get it straight. Unfortunately he was not able to help me, but I know he helped some other riders.

Ane and Liz's family do an extra water stop. There is pie, fruit, melon, a bikers heaven! What great and warm people we meet on this trip.

As we get closer to Winona the terrain shifts, we get some very sharp descents and actual forested hills and cliffs. Very pretty, I take it easy, concerned about my front wheel, dang, it could have been fun going fast on those descents.

Tonight we stay at the Winona State University for one night. A rarity. Fresh linens and towels. O boy!

The cue sheets show a cumulative total of 1,999 miles, I have passed that, man, 2,000 miles in 29 days, pretty cool!

Sunday, 7-22 Day 28

2007-07-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Start: New Ulm, MN
End: Owatonna, MN
Scheduled Miles: 72.7
Actual Miles: 72.7

Slept on the floor last night as my back was starting to spasm. A delayed reaction to crashing. I get all my gear down to the truck one piece at a time and am walking slightly hunched over.

Dan joins Mike and I, for the start of the ride. Mike's wife was in New Ulm for the weekend and it was great to meet her. Today she is stalking us and taking photos as we roll. By mile 15 my back is really hurting and I'm not sure if I'm going to make the days mileage. Then I get an idea and stop at a Walmart we're passing by. I buy a weight lifting belt. I put it on as soon as I get outside, it is instant relief! It really helps to support my lower back. Now I can ride. Not as well, but I'm riding. The terrain is pretty flat and dare I say boring, but that is good considering my condition. Mike and Dan move on and I fight the headwinds on my own at my own pace. When we pull into the Owatonna Fair grounds, Vern's family is there to greet us with lots of homemade pies. I had a slice of wildberry pie that was just heavenly. We camp inside the beer barn, and not wanting to sleep on concrete I find an elevated ticket booth with a plywood floor. This is my room for the night!

It's $10 night so a bunch of us go out for Mexican, and a Margarita helps relax my back. Then its lights out.

Saturday 7-21 Day 27

2007-07-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Start: New Ulm, MN
End: New Ulm, MN
Scheduled Miles: 0
Actual Miles: 20.1

Slept in, did not get up till 6:30. Showered and re bandaged the wounds, then off for a ride.

I ride back to the "scene of the crime"for a few reasons; A: I don't want any gaps in the route I did not ride, B: Ya just gotta face it and get back on the horse, C: I needed to test the bike and myself to make sure I could still ride. After taking a few pics, of the various skid marks I left (I'll photo shop the circles and the arrows in later) I headed into downtown New Ulm. What a great little city. They were having their Bavarian Blast this weekend and many riders went and sampled the local cuisine.

I found a German bakery and bought a huge coffee cake to take back to campus to share. The rest of the day, I pretty much do nothing except watch other riders do bike maintenance. (I should be doing this too). I did go to church tonight, a Lutheran church. I biked there and when I came in the greeter looked at my helmet, and my bandaged arm and asked if the two were related. It was a nice service and the scripture was about the good Samaritan caring for the wounded traveler. Struck pretty close to home!

Tomorrow I will ride.

Friday 7-20 Day 26

2007-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Start: Tyler MN
End: New Ulm MN
Scheduled: 87.0
Actual: 80.

Slept good last night, I fell asleep as I was doing my journal. It's me and Mike on the road again, and that road is still E Hwy 14! We have heavy headwinds swirling to crosswinds, steady at 15 to 20 MPH. The scenery is all the same with very little change in the terrain.

About half way through we stop at a biker bar for a bit of lunch: The Ironhorse Saloon. We're on the wrong kind of bikes. We go in anyways and have a great burger.

We head out back on 14,it gets very narrow with almost no shoulder and the grain trucks are really cruising by both ways. We start talking about how an alternative route should have been taken, when it happens. Between the the heavy cross winds and the trucks going both ways, I get blown off the road into the gravel and go down hard onto the pavement. Mike rolls up onto my bike and goes down too. (John, think of the time I ran you over by the church up by your house) I end up with some serious road rash on my right side: knee, forearm, shoulder. Mike is ok, but my wheels are bent and twisted and unridable. I call Jerry for a SAG lift, and while waiting, use my first aid kit to clean and cover some of the cuts. Jerry picks me up and Mike finishes the ride. Dang, only 7 more miles to go! (for the day)

Getting in to New Ulm, Ann gives me the once over and recommends just cleaning everything real good in the shower and gets me some bandages and wrappings.

The first thing I did after getting cleaned up was to let Barbara know. Graciously she allowed me to continue the ride. I'm sure it was tough for her to do that. I love that woman!

I called up the only bike shop in New Ulm. The Nicolett South Bike shop. I explained my situation to them, and that I needed a new rear wheel, possible a derailleur too, along with getting the front wheel round again. These dear folks came and picked me up within 30 minute. Margo, drove the truck the 15 miles from her shop to the Martin Luther campus where we were staying at, then took me and the bike back to her shop, where her husband Gene and two others fixed my bike. Put a new rim on the rear wheel. straighted the derailleur hanger and derailleur, trued the front wheel and adjusted everything while I waited. It was awesome. Then, after a few test rides to make sure all was ok, Margo drove me back to the campus. did I mention that they gave me a free T shirt! Margo and Gene, you are my heroes of the week!!!!

Having been at the bike shop during diner, I walked downtown and had a nice one where I could finally relax a bit and sample one of the local brews: Sheller's

Thursday 7-19 Day 25

2007-07-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Start: De Smet
End: Tyler MN
Scheduled Miles: 78.4
Actual Miles: 79

Wake up a bit late this morning: 5:15AM but things have become so routine we still get on the rode by 6:30. Leaving camp we swing by the house that Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up in, just a few blocks from where we were staying.

The weather is cloudy and cool which is fine, and the crops are getting greener, more corn and soybean fields rather than golden wheat. We have some climbs and descents, but nothing too big. In Brookings the Souix River bike shop opens early and serves free ice cream to us riders. Life is good, eating free ice cream and watching the tour De France on screens around the shop!

Not much happens during the day, we stop for photo ops at the state line. We leave a sign on a fence using plastic that was blowing around. We also cross a wind farm. We get to see some of the big airfoils up close, they are huge!

Camp is at Danebod Folk school. It is a lovely campus of old buildings, the Main church has beautiful wood paneling on the inside and the building is 8 sided, with the bell tower in the middle. Very unusual. We camp outside and all is good.

Wednesday 7-18 Day 24

2007-07-29T13:10:00.001-07:00

Start: Miller SD
End: De Smet SD
Scheduled Miles: 76.7
Actual Miles: 80

Woke up to the usual routine. My team is on KP today, so after getting everything cleaned up we are the last to leave. I start out pedaling solo today which is fine. The weather is cloudy, overcast cool and our constant headwinds. We are traveling on E Hwy 14 the entire time. I catch up to Helen and we talk for a bit about the different jobs she's had and it is very interesting. Than as she travels a bit slower, I move on. There are a lot of wheat trucks whizzing by us as harvest is in full swing. The workers must get paid by the truckload, not hourly. The harvest this year is so big, they can't store it all in the silos, and they pile it up next to them. I have never seen such big piles of stuff before!(Note the semi in front of the pile) I go to get a closer picture and find a pile of wheat on the side of the road and take a sample, don't know what I'm going to do with it.

I catch up to Ben and ride with him a bit, than again move on, like a salmon going up stream.

Then I see a sherrifs car pulled over ahead of me, surrounded by a few other cars and some bikers. One of us has gone fallen. It is Brack Sr. He bumped wheels with Mike and hit the pavement hard. While there, an ambulance comes and takes him to be checked out, as he was unconcious for a moment or two. Jodi, goes with him to the hospital as she was right behing him when it happend. We look after our own. Mike is a bot shooken up and I ride with him to keep him company. We soon come to the half way point of the ride, marked in chalk and the rest stop. Some get creative with thier pictures. Sean lies on his back with his bike in the air as if seated on it. Yound David poses standing on his head. Ya gotta love'em!

As Mike and I head out it starts to rain pretty hard, which lasts about an hour, we get completely drenched. We stop at a gas station for some candy bars and David rolls up and joins us. It is still overcast and cool, and we are all hoping Brack is OK.

The scenery reminds me a lot of WI. Wheat fields, corn and hay are predominant. Lots of farmers are rolling the hay into these big rolls and we have seen them stacked in the fields, two and even three high. As we roll along, I spot a bunch of them stacked three high and yell at Mike and David, "wanna have some fun?" Not knowing they follow me as I ride my bike into the field up to the stacks and I start climbing. Halfway up I had Mike hand me my bike which I lifted over my head onto the top, and finished climbing. I then had them take my picture and in turn each of them got their picture up there too. The best posed shots of the trip I think! Plus it helped lightened the mood from Brack getting hurt.

Just before camp, we stop at DG for cheesburgers. Once in camp, we set up and do a bit of laundry at the local laundry mat and clean the bikes. Dinner was by the local church womens group and was delicious. Tomorrow is the MN state line, so cricket will go along.

Tuesday 7-17 Day 23

2007-07-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Start: Pierre, SD
End: Miller, SD
Scheduled miles: 72.9
Actual miles: 73.5

We are on the banks of the Missouri river and the sqeeters are coming out! we pack up our tents, grab some breakfast and we hit the road. It seems that it is just natural for Mike and I to ride together. We travel and the same speed and can put up with each other.

There is a long climb out of town and after that nothing but "amber waves of grain" and a constant head wind. It is getting to be so boring, we are looking for distractions. We see a combine crew by the roadside, and we swing in to talk to them about their jobs and how much the machines cost and we ask about how comfortable it is in the big machines. They cost About $200K and the cabs are not all that plush, I know cause they let me climb up into one. Some have GPS systems to help with the harvest.

Farther down the road, I spot a bucket and some cardboard: I yell "hey Mike, wanna have some fun?" So we gather up the stuff and make a face out of one of the Hay rolls by the road side. We are getting to be known as the practical jokers of the group. Go figure. But Steve and Scott strike back with "Bob & Mike break wind" written in chalk on the road. A double entendre for bikers.

We roll into camp at the Miller High School, Inside some of the rooms are air conditioned and we take advantage of it. I find a spot in the alcove leading to their auditorium.

With the short day, (relatively) I volunteer to do eggs for breakfast tomorrow morning. Which entails one of the staff buying 3 dozen eggs and then I boil them using a big kettle over a propane burner. Easy to do and a good source of protein in the morning when we don't have any one catering breakfast. They go pretty quickly.

Today was another tough day, with the temps in the high 90's and that CONSTANT HEADWIND it can really mess with your mind. Tomorrow promises to be more of the same.

Monday 7-16 Day 22

2007-07-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Start Kadoka, SD
End Pierre, SD
Scheduled 95.5
Actual 94.7

Today was the most boring day ever. Picture you bed quilt loosely placed over unmade sheets, and that should give you an idea of the type of terrain we are going through. Some rolling hills, but as I look from side to side, I see lots of gullies and valleys between the hills. Once again I am amazed that settlers traveled through here with wagons and horses. We have had engineers, cut off the tops of hills and used the hill tops to fill in the valleys to give us a relatively flat road that the settlers did not have. Lots of prairie grass lands and fields and fields of wheat yet.

We started out with a bit of cloud cover, but that dissipates quickly and then the temps go up. With temps getting hot, we stop at a grocery store, and I almost step on a rattle snake that was in the gravel. My foot could not have been more than 18" away from the little guy. We told the store owner who than went out and killed it. "Plenty more where that came from and we don't want any to get hurt".

The heat and head winds are really getting to people, Jodi, had to sag in the last two rest stops, and about 8 miles from the end, Greg D almost gets heat stroke. At this point, Kari, Alison, Mike and I ride in with the Dimmits, to keep an eye on each other. Tonight we camp on the east banks of the Missouri river, we are in Central Standard Time!

Today was a tough day again, the heat and the monotony almost get to me, but helping out others minimizes it.

Sunday, 7-15 Day 21

2007-07-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Start: Rapid City, SD
End: Kadoka, SD
Scheduled miles: 101.7
Actual miles: 103

A typical morning, wake up, shower and breakfast is at the school, eggs, bacon, french toast and fruit. Mike and I head out and the sky's to the back and side of us have dark thick clouds, but we head toward sunshine. The first 20 miles goes quickly and we are able to stay ahead of the rain. Than the wind changes to a cross wind and we start to feel the first rain drops. We enter a small section of the Badlands. The terrain, becomes very flat with with deep water carved gullies, there are also huge cliffs towering over some of the prairie. The soil looks like dried out grey clay. It is cloudy and cool with a smattering of rain drops, which is lucky for us as I've heard that it can be deadly hot in these parts.

Out of the badlands and into some grass lands. The prairie dogs here are numerous, and loud, like dog chew toys! It is so loud and goes on for so long, I yell at the top of my lungs for them to shut up!

Just before re-entering the badlands I see my only buffalo of the trip so far. A sorry looking specimen in a pen. I don't take any photos, it is just kinda sad.

At this point, the sky's clear and the temps soar to the mid 90's, by the time we are done with the day it will have hit 101 degrees.

We enter the badlands just below Cedar Pass. We make a quick stop in at the gift shop, for liquid refreshments. It is at these "touristy" places we make the most contact with the public and get to explain our purpose and method. That is always a lot of fun. We than go up Cedar Pass, 200' of climbing in less than a mile. It seemed higher. Once on top the landscape changes to the surreal. Just too bizarre, the shapes that Ma nature has formed this landscape into. Large gray piles of muck that has been shaped by the wind and rain.

From there we head towards I-90 and use the frontage road for the next 20 miles. This section is straight as an arrow, no steering required. Just one long hill after another, up and down. I still have chalk so after a whole lot of these hills, Mike and I leave a "bob henry": ONE MORE HILL? are we mean or what? When we get into Kadota. The people of the town really open up for us. Literally. the grocery store owner opens the store just so Polly can shop for lunch's the next day, than gives her a discount, a donation, and drives her back to the city park we are camping in. Harry is the self appointed mayor of the town and he is waiting at the park to greet us and make sure we have what we need. He has the keys to the pool where we will be showering tonight and assures us he will keep it open as long as we need it.

Dinner is at the H & H restaurant in town. We start to walk there, and another townsmen; Tony shuttles us and others back and forth in his van. Dinner was great! All you can eat buffet.

Back to camp to catch up on the journal and sleep.

Saturday 7-14 Day 20

2007-07-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today is a rest day, woke up and watched the Tour de France. What a bunch of slackers! Yea right.

Took Martins bike over to a bike shop to have the bottom bracket looked at, and bought a new tire to replace the one I put on. The bottom bracket was making a tinking sound, so they took it apart and cleaned it up while I waited. It seems to have done the trick as when I was riding around Rapid City, (yes I ride, even on my off days) the noise seems to have gone away. We'll see tomorrow as we have another century to do.

So as typical, did the laundry and will need to clean up the bike a bit more tonight yet.

So the next postings should come on July 21 when we have a rest day in New Ulm, MN. Getting close to WI and Madison, can't wait!

Friday, 7-13 Day 19

2007-07-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

Start: Newcastle, WY
End: Rapid City, SD
Scheduled Miles: 80.8 (Official Route)
Actual Miles 83.5 (Our Route)

This is going to be a great day, five of us have decided to go off route to see the monuments; Andy, Ben, Kari, David and myself. We stock up on supplies and before leaving camp I check my tires. Good thing! I find a dime size patch of tread missing and I can see the core. I quickly replace the tire. (no it doesn't count as a flat)

We go along the same route as scheduled until the first check point. At that point we confirm with Kathy, that we are leaving and Rodney decides to come with bringing our party to six. Before leaving camp I had given our "flight plan" to Polly the ride leader, just for a comfort level for all parties.

It feels a little naughty almost to be doing this. We turn off of the route start north on Hwy 385/16 and immediately start a big climb. So this is what it is going to be like. We struggle up and we spread the word that everyone needs to stay in eye shot of each other. Still we get fairly spread out. Crazy Horse comes into view. Man that is huge, it is so far away it is hard to get a scale on it. I have been told that the hole in the mountain is 100 feet tall. That's big. We don't go into the monument, but instead continue to Mt Rushmore. Lots of big uphill climbs with a few short downhill runs. Sometimes if traffic allows, I go downhill in the traffic lanes. The road is smoothest where the tires have polished the road, and you can almost guarantee there will be no loose gravel, sand or debris there.

We turn off of Hwy 385 to Hwy 244. The road again goes immediately up and becomes narrow with no shoulders. Grades become very steep both up and down with lots of curving. Huge RV's with trailers and Tour buses become more than just a nuisance. But we are all seasoned at this time and can handle it. The scenery is more than spectacular! Big fir and pine trees with sheer granite cliffs and rock formations. Finally after much climbing. we come onto a huge parking complex, we're finally at he top, I'm looking around left, right and front,and I don't see anything. Finally look over my shoulder and there it is. Cool!

We go in to the toll booth to pay our way in and the park ranger directs us into the bus\RV lane and says we can just go around the gate, peddle up to the promenade and then walk our bikes up to the viewing area. Getting in for free: Bonus! So that is just what the six of us do, and boy do people stare! Some of them had passed us on the way up and can't believe we did it. 4 of us are wearing our Big Ride jerseys, so we get to explain to them what we're doing and why, we collect $20 in donations. We get people to take our pictures, and in turn we take theirs. This is just too much fun. We catch the movies, and look through the museum. Than it is Ice cream and refill our water bottles.

Coming down off Mt Rushmore was a 10% downhill grade. With Switchbacks! I got up to 41 MPH and put on the brakes. First time I ever broke a 35 MPH speed limit. The town of Keystone was very quaint at the bottom but we didn't have time to stop. Lots more climbing and some nice long down hills made for a very challenging but exhilarating day. With the hills and road conditions, I can see why they don't take this route. For some people it would be too challenging and perhaps with that, a bit dangerous.

When we pulled into the South Dakota School of Mining and Technology, we weren't even the last ones to finish! What a great day.

Riders Note: How we get from here to there

2007-07-14T15:07:00.001-07:00

Each morning we get a cue sheet. These are not given out until just before the staff is ready for us to leave. The cue sheets have a rather small scale map on them, along with an elevation profile, and then detailed right turn, left turn instructions with mile markers.

Now even with the best laid plans, they are not always 100% accurate. But they are good enough. and with everyones bike computer set just a tad bit different, you can get different results.

I clip these onto my handle bars and read them as I go.

Thursday 7-12 Day 18

2007-07-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Start: Gillette, WY
End: Newcastle, WY
Scheduled Miles: 76
Actual Miles: 77.2

Not to much different today than in past days. Today I rode with Jodi and Mike and I seemed a bit off. Perhaps the century we did yesterday took a little more out of me than I thought. It sure felt good while I was riding though.

Landscape and terrain is much the same, but as I said before, the combinations are always changing making it new again. Hard to describe, but am still in awe of the scenery. (maybe it is just heatstroke?)

Got into camp in good time, by 1:00 and that was stopping for lunch at place called the Hop, just your basic burger joint, but the owners live next door, not half a world away.

Tomorrow should be fun, we cross into South Dakota, and a few of us are planning on going off route to see Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore. 82 miles are schedule for tomorrow, but going off route and thus unsupported I am planning like it will be a century ride with lots of big hills to climb. Plan for the worst, and hope for the best. Thus despite the state change, Cricket will have to go with the luggage tomorrow, he will miss the state change, and the monuments, but he is an extra few pounds I don't want to have to carry. I'll show him the pictures just like everyone else.

Wednesday, 7-11 Day 17

2007-07-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

Start: Sheridan, WY
End: Gillette, WY
Scheduled Miles: 112.1
Actual Miles: 112.6

Dang! I overslept, we are camped at a KOA right next to the intersection of I-90 and Hwy 14, Lots of traffic noise so I used the earplugs I brought along for the first time. So I didn't hear the zipper alarms. (Everyone else waking up and zipping and unzipping their tents and luggage) By the time I got dressed and got my tent taken down and gear stowed away on the truck, all I could do was help clean up after breakfast. I should have been there an hour earlier to help set up and maintain. Boy do I feel bad. Also being late there was not much food left for breakfast, so I broke one of my rules (no chains) and stopped at McDonald's for my first Egg McMuffin in over three weeks. Well, maybe it was more of just a guideline?

This made me one of the last to get on the rode. At mile 8 we ran into some serious road construction. The next seven miles was nothing but gravel and sand. They were allowing vehicles to go through in caravans led by a "pilot" car. They put us bikers right behind the pilot car and then placed another pilot car right behind us with the rest of the motorized vehicles behind. So we cyclist set the pace for the whole caravan, and there were about 25 cars/trucks behind us as we threaded our way through the construction.

Getting out of the sand and gravel and back onto the pavement, I checked my tires and then took off on my own. This was my idea of perfect biking. I was by myself for 90% of the time. Setting my own pace, not having to watch someone else's wheel, just me, the road and the chirping birds. As close to bicycling perfection as I may ever get. I would come up on people I normally wouldn't see, ride along side of them for a minute or two, and then leave as I went back up to my speed. At one point I was on top of a hill and looking into the valley I could see a tow cloud shadows crossing the fields, and figured if I went just right downhill I could race into them on the other side and get a little break from the sun. Well, that turned out to be a lot like chasing rainbows, cause as soon as I got there they would disappear.

The landscape is just like the last past couple of days when you try to describe it in words, but in reality as you experience it, it was always changing and always a different combination of hills, background mountains and road conditions. A lot of the roads here are red. Red granite must be locally available, as that is what they use to chip coat the roads here. So a lot of them are this real pretty red/pink color. Much different than what I used to.

At mile 74 was the last commercial establishment we would have to buy anything for the next 50 miles; The Spotted Pony. I was feeling so strong and so good I went in and ordered a Coors light! Now typically I do not drink in the middle of a ride, especially one that is 112 miles long with little civilization, but Coors Light is as close to water as you can get, and still call it beer.

Coming into Gillette we see a big strip mining coal operation. the scale is huge. and it after all the natural beauty we have been seeing it is particularly ugly. The scale of the equipment used is cool, and they seem to be doing a better job of reclamation, but it is still a bit of a shock to see it.

So, I do the 112 miles in good time, just over 7 hours. I feel strong and confident. This really is soo much fun. Food for the day was a McMuffin in the morning, 1 peanut butter sandwich, some crackers, 4 power bars, the Coors Light and about 6-34oz bottles of water and sports drink. Dinner after the ride was a Mexican fast food, yes it was $10 night again.

A young local reporter spent most of the evening talking to us. See www.gillettenewsrecord.com/articles/2007/07/12/news/news04.txt

We spent the night in the city park and had to put up with young hooligans running through the camp and various times yelling their dang fool heads off.

Tuesday, 7-10 Day 16

2007-07-14T13:52:00.001-07:00

Start: Hardin, MT
End: Sheridan, WY
Scheduled: 83.7
Actual: 84

The morning starts out rather cool. The winds died very abruptly during the night, I awoke to find the tent not shaking as it felt very odd. At breakfast, the eggs I had done the night before, were a big hit. I am now known as the egg man Ku Ku kachoo. Mike gave me a riding vest this morning, his company sponsered him and had a lot of cycling kits made. When combined with arm warmers, it makes for a very versitle piece of clothing to help stay the right temperature when cycling.

Jodi rides with Mike and myself today, she is such a hoot! I don't think there is anything she is afraid to discuss or let you know about. The landscape is just what I had envisioned it to be, long rollers, scrub land, ranchs, (horse and cattle) and some farming. The Big Horn Mountians come into sight, and I'm glad we don't have to cross them, some still have snow on them.

Tonight is $10 dollar night again so I go out with a group. Seated around the table with me are a heart/lung transplant surgeon, a hotel manager from Jeruslem, a semi retired colonel from the army, and throw in a couple of lawyers! Pretty heady company, but not to over use the term they are real down to earth people.

(Note: $10 night is when the ALAW could not find someone to cater the meal, so they give us each $10 and we get to go into town and forage on our own.)

2007-07-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

Monday 7-09 Day 15

2007-07-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Start: Billing, MT
End: Hardin, MT
Scheduled Miles: 52.8
Actual Miles: 90.4 (read on)

Woke up at 5 this morning and the cue sheets were not being released till 8 so I helped Phil with the water jugs even though it wasn't my cook team. We made lunchs before breakfast, and while waiting for breakfast, ate my lunch, so I had to make another sandwich. It was a long climb up out of Billings, winding along various ridges and valleys. I've notice a real pattern here. All the early settlements were done in valleys, so as you come into them at the end of the day you typically have a nice down hill. The next day however, your ride inevitably starts with a climb.

Riding with Iron Mike today, the route took us on Hwy 87 for the day, lots of rolling hills, saw my first priare dog colony, and a herd of antelope. Going was easy and with only 50 miles to do, (onlty 50!) we are done by 11:30. Things weren't quite settled on the exact spot for us to set up our tents, so we couldn't unload the truck, so we went to lunch.

Back from lunch, the truck had been unloaded, so Andy L, Jerome and myself headed out to the Little Bighorn Battlefield, commonly knowns as Custers last stand. We paid the pedestrian rate of $5 to get in and went through the visitors center and listened to a 30 minute lecture the gathering of the tribes, the weaponry used by both sides and timeing of the various squirmeshes. From there we hopped on our bikes and rode along the roadway that was build on top of the ridge. From there you could see the white markers showing where the calvary troops had fallen and the red markers where the indians had fallen. It was very sobering. One thing I had not realized is how spread out the battle was. It was not just on one hill but along an entire ridge that was 4.5 miles long. It was also a long drawn out fight that took several days. the trip back to camp was tough as we were battling a head wind. Tonight was $10 night, so we got our ten bucks, and Rodney, Bill and I went out for dinner, broasted chicken and the 4 Aces Casino. Mmm Mmm good.

I also boiled two dozen eggs that night for breakfast the next morning, I was looking to break up the same breakfast we had been having so I opened my mouth and suggested eggs, so I had to follow through and do them.

Had to stake down the tent tonight, winds are really picking up.

Editors Note:

2007-07-08T21:38:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note, if you double click on the pictures you will get a larger version. My next off day from riding is July 14, so after that you can look for updates.

As I ride through the west like this I can't help but think how the pioneers did it over 150 years ago. It had to have been really rough. No roads, no cell phones and no computers. They must have gone for months without any outside communication. It is easy to take all this modern stuff for granted.

We'll talk to you then, and remember, no news is good news.

Bob

Sunday 7-8 Day 14

2007-07-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

Start: Billings, MT
End: Billings, MT
Scheduled miles: 0
Actual miles: 0 (a lot of walking though!)

Today is a rest day and slept in till 6. Showered and even shaved. Went to lunch at the local hospital's cafeteria, which was supposed to be a good deal. Not so good for me. Still cost me 7 bucks.

There was a Lutheran Church right behind the University, so Mike, Dan and I went. Lutheran churchs don't change much from state to state it seems. Had a nice time and had a lot of thank you's to say.

After church was some grocery shopping, had to stock up on power bars, and other essentials. Also bought a bagel and some cold cuts to make a sandwich for a light lunch, for dinner I'll be going out with Greg and Trish. Also got some cardboard mailers to mail home my picture CD's. Staying at universities we get access to thier computers, so it is fairly easy to acquire a blank CD and burn all the pictures in the camera to it and mail it home. Once I know for sure the pictures are safe I can delete them from the camera and have room for more.

The afternoon was then spent catching up on my site here and cleaning my bike. Tonight we are going to discuss getting to Custers last stand perhaps, and Mt Rushmore.

Tommorrow should be an easy day only 54 miles. I hope there is something to do in Hardin MT. It will be our last day in Montana. Yippee. Then three days in Wyoming, six days in South Dakota, and five days in Minnesota, before we get to beautiful Wisconsin!

Saturday 7-7 Day 13

2007-07-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

Start: Harlowton, MT
End: Billings, MT
Scheduled miles: 90.1
Acutal miles: 90.9

This was a strange morning. In the Kiwanis building was a kitchen,so the breakfast crew, decided to do breakfast indoors, a good idea. Well, when one of them got up to start the water for the coffee and oatmeal at 4 AM he turned on the lights. Now most people on this trip don't wear watches, especially when sleeping. So when the lights went on some people started getting up. And when you're in one big room If a few get up, the rest of us follow like lemmings cause it must be time, right?

So breakfast was scheduled from 5:30 to 6:00 so while it opened up early it had to stay open till 6:00. So with Mike being on KP that morning we were one of the last to leave.

There was not a lot to see on this day, so we pretty much just hammered it. It was mostly cloudy for the morning, and we had a tail wind for, I think, the first time. This is the Montana I had envisioned, mostly flat and the roads straight. At one point you could see the Comanche Grain elevator from eight miles away. and it just took forever to get there.

The highlight of the ride if you want to call it that, was in Ryegate. See above photo. This was our first checkpoint and we went in for coffee. The owner could not find any Styrofoam cups for us so he gave us some rather nice plastic mugs with the festivals name on it for 2 bucks. Coffee included. (no I did not have any, yeeuuw!)

The view over looking Billings was pretty interesting. It sits in a valley and we approached from the "Rimrock" side. I didn't take any pictures as aside from the height we were at, it looked just like any other mid western town. Complete with Malls and such. We pull into Montana State University before noon. Our actual riding time was 4 hours and 44 minutes for an average speed of 19.1 miles per hour. Along with the tail wind, did I mention it was mostly down hill? There were some rollers, and for the most part it was pretty desolate with only a few ranch homes here and there.

Everything has a price, and once again, we are one of the first to get in, so we help to unload the truck.

After a quick shower we went and grabbed a bit to eat then back to the room to do laundry.

The catered dinner was awesome. They rolled in their barbecue trailer and did chicken, vegie stuffed peppers, fryed tofu, and grilled swordfish steaks, along with pasta and lentel salads. I had my first swordfish steak and I'll order it again any chance I get. I went back to try the stuffed peppers, those were just as delectable! Dessert was bowls of Huckleberry ice cream. They sure do a lot of things out of Huckleberry in these parts.

Tonight Billings had its worst thunderstorms in years. Over 2 1/2 inches fell in two hours and wind gusts were recorded up to 85 mph! According to the papers, they were over 500 lighting strikes. Tonight was a great night to be sleeping in dorm rooms! As we watched the three different storm systems roll through all of us riders were thinking how lucky we were and wondering if our tents would have stood up to this!

Tonight I get a private room. When we checked in Mike and I were going to bunk together, when we tried using our keys, his wouldn't work, cause it was so bent, so they gave him a separate room. It is a nice bit of privacy that I have not had the past two weeks. Spent most of the evening just sitting around the lounge areas chatting and watching the storms.

Friday 7-6 Day 12

2007-07-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Start: Townsend
End: Harlowton
Scheduled Miles: 100.4
Actual miles 99.8

Last night I changed the batteries for the bike computer, so I had to reset all the parameters. So that is why the mileage may be a tad off. But I'm not going to quibble about a few tenths of a mile. I am an estimator, right?

Sleep was a bit difficult last night, lots of toss and turning. Not sure why. Had oatmeal and a cupcake for breakfast. It was Ane's birthday last night and her mom made arrangements to have them delivered for dinner. Leftovers are typically served for breakfast.

Early in the ride we run into road construction, 5 miles of loose gravel and no pavement. Not easy to navigate with skinny road tires, but I do OK, experience really pays off. A few riders did go down, but nothing too serious a few cuts and bruises. The construction crew, actually gave some riders, lifts through the area, which was very nice.

Riding with Mike again, we really seem to mesh together as we have about the same bike speed and strength. The first 40 miles goes real well, then we head up through Deep Creek Canyon. 1,200 feet of climb in 12 miles. Again nothing to bad at first, with the road winding its way through the canyon. Along side is a stream running downhill (duh) as we get closer and closer to the top it is noticeably getting smaller and smaller. As in the day before the last 3 miles are really steep. It is fortunate that the traffic on these roads is very light. It was very noticeable that a fire had gone through the canyon within the past 4 years or so, lots of burnt dead trees. Our first rest stop is at the 24 mile mark. At his Point Mike and I are number 4 and 5 to go through. But then we come to the city of Sulphur Springs, and Dori's Cafe. We stop for breakfast. 2 eggs, hash browns toast and 4 slices of bacon and a big glass of O.J. Now we're ready to finish the century.

We're back on the high plains again with cattle and horse ranches and not much else. no stores or gas stations for the next 40 miles. We are making good time, but it is getting hot. Due to the heat, I just couldn't get myself to eat my peanut butter sandwich's. Instead it is power bars and a couple of pieces of fruit, oh and Dori's breakfast that get me through the day.

We end the day riding with Scott, Tom, Andy, Alison, Kari and Rodney and about 2:00 pull into the first Ice cream stand as we get into Townsend. We still finish in the top ten, so we get to unload the support truck for the first time.

The heat and century has taken its toll on some of the riders but I am feeling strong and nothing is bothering me that didn't bother me before I started this craziness. As you may imagine, I feel like I'm almost getting better each day.

Tonight we stay indoors at a Kiwanis youth center, we all pack in for what turns out to be a very hot rather muggy night. Dinner is catered in and it is a rolling barbecue. Pork and beef ribs, salads and Chipwiches for dessert. The beef ribs were huge. I split one with a fellow rider. The same group is doing tomorrow nights dinner, I can't wait.

Thursday 7-5 Day 11

2007-07-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Start: Avon, MT.
End: Townsend, MT
Scheduled Miles: 60.8
Actual Miles: 60 .8

After my usual breakfast of oatmeal and juice we started out with a nice 11 mile climb. The first 7 miles weren't too bad but the last 4 were very steep, as we started to climb to the continental divide at McDonald pass. Those last four miles took all of 45 minutes to do. It was tough. But I kept thinking that if I could do Tony's record setting 46 minute climb spin session, I could do this. So if you were in his class that day, you can do this too! At the top of the pass was a sign proclaiming the divide and elevation 6325 feet above sea level! So we had to take the typical photos of course. Next was a 12 miles all down hill. The first six I did at speeds over 35 mph. Yee Haw! No pedaling. I've never gone that fast for that far before. (Which is just about what Tour de France riders do in the flats during team time trials.)

The rest of the 36 miles was somewhat uphill with headwinds, very tough. Scenery range from coming down off the mountains to rolling hills, with cattle ranches on either side. We're still in a "valley" but the mountain ranges are slowly spreading apart.

Rolled into Townsend and stopped in town for my first cheeseburger of the trip (at a local cafe, so far no chains) and a few supplies.

Tonight we stayed at the high school and with temps in the high 90's many opted to "camp" in the gym including myself. Dinner was put on by a local Lutheran Church, steamed vegies, salads and CHICKEN CORDON BLEU! Desserts were typically Lutheran, and I introduced a fellow rider to rhubarb crisp and pineapple pistachio fluff. Good Eats!

Tonight it will be early to bed, we have a 101 mile day tomorrow and temps are expected to be over 100 degrees. We should be on the road by 6AM to avoid as much of the daytime heat as possible.

Wednesday 7-4 Day 10

2007-07-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Start: Missola
End: Avon
Scheduled: 98.6
Actual: Yea, that sounds about right

This morning we are on breakfast and lunch duty, half the team does breakfast, cereal, Hot oatmeal, juice, and coffee, while the other half puts out the sandwich fixens: Bread, wheat and white, peanut butter and jams and jellies, Little snacker packs and clementines. After everybody has had breakfast and made their lunches, we clean up and then get to leave ourselves. This morning it is Kari, Ben, Sean and myself. Going out of town we see a sideways Sunrise. As we round a bend the sun comes into view from around the side of a mountain. Very cool. Kari drops out for a bit, but us boys don't even slow down, cause we know she is fast and will catch up with us eventually. At the first water stop we catch up with Mike, Liz and Ane. And take off with them so we have a nice herd of 6. When it was Ane's turn to pull at the front she surged ahead and picked up speed. Too fast for me and I had to yell at her to slow it down a bit. Soon Ben and Mike went ahead and it was just Ane, Liz, Sean and me. It was nice riding two x two and conversing, these kids have got their whole lives ahead of them which is just so exciting.

The route today was Hwy 200 to Hwy 141, and traffic was light with good road surfaces. The scenery ranged from following large rivers hemmed in by mountains on either side to open ranch lands with the mountains still on either side but further out. Cattle country, but we did not see very large herds like I thought I might. According to the locals the cattle were up in the mountains rather than on the plains. The high plains that is, which is what we were going through.

We kept seeing these unusual wood structures (see photo) These are called beaver slides and they are used to make large stacks of loose hay in the fields, just like in the movie "Oklahoma" The lift the hey up the slide using ropes and pulleys to stack the hay way tall. Most farmers don't use this anymore and are going with the hay rolls. It's amazing what you can learn if you stop to ask people.

As it was getting very hot we discussed stopping and dipping our feet in a stream we were following. Which is exactly what a group in front of us had done, so we joined them. Aaaawww, nice cold water!

Soon Liz and Sean sped away and then after a while riding with Anne, I too went forward eventually, and Ane then rode with Greg and Trish(They're doing this on a tandem). The last 25 miles was all scrub land, with a few hay fields. The last three miles were the toughest. Hot, tired, and uphill. Finally we pull into the Echo Valley campground.

Had my first mechanical failure today, the post holding the computer to the areo bars came loose. The allen wrenchs I had weren't long enough, so using what I had on hand, I used a pair of band aids to hold it on till I got to a rest stop, where I used what else, Duct tape. After dinner I fixed it proper like and cleaned off the gummy residue left by the tape.

Dinner was catered by the Avon Cafe, which was probably the best spaghetti ever. (Except for Barbara's) and O did they have some good pies! (Except for Barbara's)

9:15 and I'm in bed.

Tuesday, 7-3 Day 9

2007-07-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

Rest Day in Missoula
Scheduled: 0
Actual: 10

This Morning Kari took my picture as I was rider number 9 and today is the ninth day. (By the way, Kari says hi to her Dad and Melinda.) Spent a good bit of the morning catching up on the blogs and doing laundry. Rode my bike into town and just kind of bummed around. Had breakfast, got a haircut cleaned the bike. Not too much exciting. Tomorrow my cook team (team #2) has both breakfast and lunch duties, so Scott, Kari and I filled all the big water jugs the support crews use, in the evening before calling it a day.

Everything is ready to go. Nice to rest up for a bit.

Monday 7-2 Day 8

2007-07-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Start Point: Thompson Falls, MT
End Point: Missoula, MT
Scheduled miles: 101.1
Actual miles: 100.9

This morning we had breakfast at the Elks Lodge. This was put on my a Friend of one of the riders. Thank you Freddie!! Got to have my first taste of biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Delicious!

Decided to go on my own today, with the schedule being 100 miles. Which when you think about it is only 10 or 12 miles more than what we have been doing. No big deal.

Ben from the Mocha express joined me and we spent the morning pretty much going at our own pace, stopping for photos and historic signs and such. Much easier to stop for these types of things at 17 miles an hour rather than wizzing by them at 70 MPH.

Another thing I just had to do, which is probably all me, but I just had to stop and look closely and touch the drill marks left behind from when they blasted the rock formations to make room for the road. Those holes they drilled are about 2 inches in diameter, and could be up to 20' long/deep The sides are very smooth, I thought that the drill bits may have left some machining marks, but if they did the weather has erased them. When you go up and touch that hard rock it really gives you a better understanding of what those workers had to do to make the roads we tend to take for granted. Being on a bike with no suspension and skinny tires you really learn to appreciate good road building and good surfaces.

The terrain was varied, some forest, some scrublands, it unfortunately is really all starting to blend together. Still had some spectacular views, I am going to miss the mountains. After lunch Ben went back to the Mocha express, and I went on my own again. We went through some pretty impressive passes and the Flat Head Indian reservation. Stopped at a road side truck vendor and picked up some buffalo and elk jerky.

There was a long gradual uphill climb toward the end of the day, visually it was hard to discern the slope, but your legs felt it. it was about 20 miles of continuous climbing and the shoulders were narrow with lots of gravel. Cars and trucks were going by at 70 mph so this was my least favorite section so far. But we did get a nice fast downhill which really raised the adrenaline level. Yee Haw!!

Coming into Missoula, I stopped at the airport to see their Mountain Aviation Museum. Missoula is the headquarters and training center for the smoke jumpers. The guys who parachute in to fight forest fires. They had some great planes on display including a DC-3. I didn't ask but it looked like it could still fly, as the entire museum was in a hanger.

Staying tonight at the University of Montana. No bunk beds thankfully. After dinner in the cafeteria, we played a little Frisbee, and then went to have, what else, a few beers.

Tomorrow is a rest day, so it will be laundry, clean the bike update the blogs and relax. There is a huge hill behind the University with a big "M" on it, some riders are hiking up it today, but that sounds like more work than I want to do.

Our next rest day is July 8, so look for new posts then.

Sunday 7-1 Day 7

2007-07-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Starting point: Sandpoint ID
Finish point: Thompson Falls, MT
Scheduled miles: 87.6
Actual Miles: 90.4

Breakfast was at the Sandpoint High School were we stayed. Started off with the Mocha express as usual. First stop came at a little espresso shop that was squeezed between the road and a bluff. While taking pictures of the bluff I noticed a little waterfall coming from a boarded up opening. According to the gal making our coffee, it was an abandoned silver mine. The tunnel went clean through to the other side. A few years back some lady was living/squatting in the tunnel and they had to evict her.

The next stop was at a one man lumber mill. The guy operating it was all by himself. He let us get pretty close to the whole operation. The Saw moved on a 40 foot carriage, and had two 36" diameter blades. One was set horizontal and the other vertical. Using that combo, he could get get any size board or timber out of log. Thus making the best use of the tree.

There is a lot of beautiful scenery here, lakes, rivers, and mountains. The route is on Hwy 2. The area is forested with lots of pine and Douglas fir trees. Roads are in great shape. Today we crossed into Montana. Stopped at the sign for more photos. Cricket came along today, but tomorrow is a century ride, so he will be back with the baggage. (side note: Cricket is doing double duty, when he is stuffed into my Umbro back sack, he makes a very nice pillow at night)

I dropped out of the Mocha express for the afternoon and just traveled on my own with no company. It was a nice change and thoroughly enjoyed it. Many times I could not see another rider as we get so spread out over the course of the day. Toward the end of the day I spotted a boat landing on the Clark Fork river with a boat landing. It felt really great to take off the shoes and socks and soak my feet in it.

Camping tonight at Thompson Falls High School. This is bear country, so no food in the tents, or outside on the bikes. The school will be open during the night, so almost all of the riders are sleeping inside in the school hallways. The picture is at the high school overlooking the athletic fields.

Everybody is developing strange tan lines. Our upper arms and thighs are getting striped as we wear different length sleeves and shorts.

Saturday 6-30; Day 6

2007-07-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

Start: Spokane WA

had a great breakfast at the University cafeteria. This one would give Whitewater a run for its money. The Mocha express headed out with big pack. The route meandered through Spokane, until we came to Hwy 2. Hwy 2 was fairly busy, but it had nice clean wide shoulders, we could ride 2-3 abreast and still be on the right side of the fog line. When you ride single file close together it is called a paceline. Sometimes you can have two lines running next to each other which is called a double echelon. Then if you have a large group riding together it is a peloton. When you have a large group riding together without any teams or structure, we call it a herd.

We crossed into Idaho, our first new state. Stopped and poised in front of the welcome to Idaho sign. The Terrain in the area reminds me a lot of WI only bigger. the hills are bigger as are the valleys and rivers. And did I mention the mountains as a backdrop? It seems every bend we come around there is some brillian new piece of scenery. I am getting good at taking pics while I'm rolling. I keep my camera in my back right pocket with the wrist strap hanging out. When I want to take a pic, I slip my hand into the wrist strap and then pull it out of my pocket, from there i can do everything one handed, including handling the bike.

There are a lot of raptors in this area, hawks, eagles and ospreys. Plenty of food for them with the river, forests and the occasional meadow.

The Mocha express pulled into Sandpoint by 12:30, I decided to go into town and look around. Came a across a farmers/craft market but it was just closing done. Farther into town I came across the main drag which was a lot like downtown Eagle River, WI. I had a Huckleberry shake at one spot and a Portabella Sandwich at another. The mushrooms where sauteed and served with caramelized onions, grilled red peppers and fresh spinach. This was washed down with a nut Brown ale, that was brewed right in the restaurant.

Huckleberries are very big in this area. They only grow wild, as no one has been able to domesticate them. People in these parts have been known to keep secret where they harvest them from. (The bears don't like this either)

Dinner (salad and spaghetti)was at the high school where we are camping out.

This should really be called the Tour de Eats. Seriously, I think I am gaining weight!

Tried to find a church with Sat. eve services but no luck. Will have to say my thank yous for safe travels, good weather and scenery in a "natural chapel" along the way.

I am in bed by 9:15, it is still light out! This is unnatural.

End point: Sandpoint, ID
Schedule miles: 76.1
Actual Miles; 75.8 (Don't ask, I swear I didn't take any short cuts.

Friday 6-29 Day 5

2007-07-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is a rest day, but I still woke up at 5:30AM. Walked around campus for bit than settled into Starbucks with a coffee and read the paper for the first in 6 days. Was able to update the site with the first couple of days, but had some issues with saving, plus we are limited to only 1 hour at a time.

The university itself is very pretty, but a lot smaller than what I had expected. Lovely landscaping and a river runs through it.

Cleaned and and lubed the bike and checked the tires, found two minor cuts in the tire and removed a small piece of glass that had not worked its way in very far. Tomorrow I will carry a spare tire as well as spare tubes. Martins bike is working out just great!

Had lunch at Davids pizza with Mary and Karrie, a local pizza shop, Mary knew the owner who is a big cyclist himself and he came and sat down with us and we talked about different rides around the country we all had been in.

Lunch was so good I went back for dinner with a larger group of riders and had a calzone. It was so huge it could have fed at least three hungry bikers. Roamed around the area a bit, pretty much your typical strip streets with 7-11's and small restaurants.

Called it a night and went to bed.

Scheduled miles: 0
Actual Miles: 0 (but a whole lot of walking around)

Thursday 6-28: Day 4

2007-07-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

Start: Odessa, WA

Woke up at 3:30 this morning to the sound of yipping coyotes, off in the distance. Just a bit alarming on so many levels.

I started the day with the tandem team; Greg and Trish, and the Mocha Express as we've started to call ourselves. We had to take a detour from the regular route due to road construction and this had to be the most scenic detour I have ever taken. It really should become part of the main course, lots of long rollers. The scenery changed from scrub brush to farmland, in someplace the fields are plowed and planted for as far as the eye can see, Which out here is quite some distance. After stopping for our usual coffee/mocha, we started the sprints. Iron Mike won one, Sean won three and I managed to get 1(Leading the line on a long down hill and just built up a big gap that Sean couldn't bridge) This was our fourth day of riding and my quads were starting to feel it. While they didn't hurt with "normal" pedaling, if I pushed it on those sprints, or climbing up a hill too fast, they seemed to be just on the verge of pulling or cramping, so I would back off, and then they would be fine.

Coming into Spokane was a bit tricky with some last minute route changes. There was a long steep descent into town and we were hoping it was the right way, cause the climb back would have been very difficult. We are staying at Gonzaga University. Alma Matter of Bing Crosby and John McGlocken. Dinner at the Student diner was good and plentiful, but UW-Whitewater had them beat at the MS150 rides. After dinner, went for a walk and them met up with some of the other riders for a beer or two. Tomorrow is a non-riding day, so will clean and lube bike, and will update the blog with the first few days

Schedule miles: 78.1
Actual miles: 85

Wed 6-27

2007-06-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great breakfast put on by the restaurant where we where camping. I've had my first complaint that I snore too loudly. Ripstop nylon doesn't block too much sound, which they reminded us of when making cell phone calls and complaining about anything or anyone back home.

We left Vantage and got onto I-90 to cross the Columbia river. The view were great and we went right into a 1.8 mile long climb. At the top of the bluff their are 12 gigantic iron horse statues. They're huge. We did not spend the time or energy to go all the way up to see them.

I started riding with a group, Iron Mike, Liz, Ben and Sean. Liz Ben and Sean's age don't even add up to Mikes, and you all know how old I am. But it is a really good group and we are very evenly matched. I have been teaching them the basics of riding single file to make it easier. Showing them how to peel off the front and the proper etiquette when riding a line. We went through a lot of farm fields. Most are marked; Potatoes, Carrot Seed Corn Alfalfa, etc etc. the terrain is a lot of rolling hills, and unless the land is cultivated it is all scrub land with lots of sagebrush, just what you think of when you imagine the old west. Temps according to Mikes bike computer hit 97.8 degrees, but it didn't seem hot. Must be a dry heat. Taught the group the "look". They caught on real quick. As we were coming into Odessa to camp at the school I looked back to see where they were, and both boys thought I was giving them the look and they sprinted past me in nothing flat. Dang!

After setting up the tent, we went into town and had a few beers. (Doing my best to help the local economy) Seems like a lot of the small towns are having a tough go of it. Had dinner at the school and with out much else to do went for another round. This time we took Dave the mechanic to treat him, we want to be on good terms with him.

Back at camp, I completed my handwritten journal and told Ben and Sean about sprinting for speed limit signs and county line signs. We'll see how that goes. I may want to bite my tongue with this type of thing.

One thing you do when your in a line is the last guy keeps an eye out for traffic. When a car is coming you yell "car back" to let the others in front know so they can pull over to the side if need be. We (Based on Sully's suggestion) started calling out "Car back in 10" and then counting down to see if the car passes us in 10 seconds. We are getting pretty good.

Gotta go the library is closing

Happy Trails

Scheduled miles: 81.0
Actual miles: 82.6

2007-06-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 6-26

Woke up at 4:00AM. I could see my breath! it was only 35 degrees. My lunch crew set out breakfast, oatmeal and hot water, cereal and milk and a few bagels. After everyone had their breakfast, we cleaned up and filled all the water jugs with sports drink and plain water.

Heading out, I had on leg and arm warmers, a hat and my jacket, and was still cold, took about 8 miles before I started to warm up. My toes were the worst. We came down out the mountains and into the scrub lands. For lunch I happen to be riding with Mary and we came to a truck stop kinda place with all the chain fast food places, I looked at her and said I'd prefer no chains. We stopped at the "Matterhorn Inn", weren't even sure if it was open. As we're looking in the owner comes out and says he knew he should've put bike racks in. Turns out they are having the grand opening the upcoming Friday and they only have a limited menu but come on in.

The menu was great, I had a Thai chicken burger with peanut sauce and julienne veges on a bun and Mary had Chicken melt served on Foicesia bread(spelling?) topped with battered and deep fried artichoke hearts. To die for. The fries were dipped in a beer batter tempura and then deep fried. Heaven. So he asked and we told him about the ride and the ALA, and before we had finished dinner he came out with a $50 check for the ALA! WE got to meet him Mom and Dad, and all the staff, it was a lot of fun. For future big riders, you have to stop at Wings Central Road House Grill just outside of Ellensworth. Hopefully the sign will be changed by next year.

The last half was a long uphill climb against the wind. Nothing but scrubbrush on either side and a wind farm on the hills on the horizon. Once over the top we had a downhill that we had to pedal due to the headwinds.

Stopped at petrified forest park, but decided not to walk the three miles to see a stone tree trunk. Temps had to be close to 90 degrees by end of the day, but it is so dry it is hard for me to tell.

We also stopped at an old mill, there was a nicely landscaped interpetive walk with graphic boars along the way. Didn't get to see the inside though, that would have been nice. Took some pics for john that I will share when I get home.

That night camp was in Vantage WA at a commercial camp site. And the spaghetti dinner was at a restaurant. Slowly learning the names of my fellow riders.

Scheduled miles: 70.7
Actual miles: 72.7

2007-06-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

Monday 6-25

Woke up at 3:30AM, am I a kid or what? Stayed in the sleeping bag till 5 or so dozing off now and again. The whole house was up at five and had our gear packed and ready by 5:30. After a quick breakfast we rode our bikes to the start line. As we come up to Lake Washington, 2 bald eagles swooped in from the lake, and proceeded to fly along the lake front parallel to us, no more then 30 feet away, a good omen.

Mary Lynn met us at the start line where we milled around and chatted to other bikers and supporters. I told Mary Lynn, that in this group, I was "normal". They had a little ceremony where we passed a big check for $350,000 to the head of the ALA of Washington. We loaded up the truck and the ride started. We went along the lake and up through some residential areas and over the lake on a floating bridge. After a while we were on I-90. Yes it is an expressway, but it had very wide shoulders. (which had a lot of debris on. Bits of tire chains, tire pieces bolts, yuck!) We did some pretty good climbing on I-90 then got off and went up Denny Creek pass. That was cool! Lots of switch backs and at some points you could see riders farther down the hill. The scenery was spectacular. Shear cliffs, mountain views, deep forest and an amazing waterfall, a real wide range. Lakes along the road. long rides up and long rides down. Unbelievable. We had former Big Riders guiding us and I got to meet Sully from last year and ride with him. He gave me some great tips on staying hydrated, as in where all the local brew pubs where throughout the route.

Overnight was in the state park in Easton Washington. Nice campground located just 100 yards from I-90, ya couldn't see the traffic, but you could hear it.

That night as is tradition, last years riders made us dinner around the campfire. It was a great BBQ. Most riders were in their tents by 8:00 but I was feeling really strong and not sore at all so I didn't hit the sleeping bag till 10:00. Spent the time wisely, talking with Sully and hydrating.

Schedule miles: 78.1
Actual miles: 90.0 (we rode to the start and did make one or two wrong turns)

6-23,24 Weekend travel

2007-06-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: All of the following is based on my memory and as such may contain minor inaccuracies. But if you know me, that shouldn't be a surprise.

Sat 6-23

Barbara and the kids took me to the airport with the bike and gear. Check was real easy and they hung around for a bit then it was hugs all around we said our good byes.

On the flight out spent a lot of time watching the terrain out the window. Them mountians and hillsdon't look so big. The couple I was sitting with was on thier way to Seattle to start an Alaskan Cruise. So we chatted about our trips and as we taxied to the terminal they made a donation! So cool!

Hannah picked me up from the airport and drove me over to our host's home, they were away for the weekend but offered their place and there would be 8 riders and the mechinic staying there. Once we got there we met the riders that were there, and then I put my bike together while Hannah went out "exploring" In the eveing Hannah and Dan and I went to a Sounders soccer game. Sounders lost oh well, but I had my first foot long bratwurst. I'm from WI and I didn't even know they made them that big.

Sunday morning I woke up about 4:00 local time and went for 1 1/2 hour walk. The hills in Seattle are steep and some are quite long. I saw Bill Gates' house across the lake. I stopped for some fruit and OJ and went back to the house. The hills in Seattle scared me, I was second guessing my decision not to swap out the dual crank for a triple crank, so I went out for a ride to test the bike and my legs. Warmed up a bit in a residential area then found the biggest hill on 34th street by the Aboretum. It must have been a 1/4 mile climb at 20% grade. Made it up and at the top was a hospital with the urgent care entrance right there, was that planning or what. I almost went in for oxygen. Then cruised around the Arboretum and back to the house. The legs felt good and my confidence came baek. The weather went from cool and cloudy, to rain to sunny to warm and back to cool all in an hour. Kinda like WI only fast forward.

Sunday evening was oreintation and meeting my fellow riders. Mary Lynn was along and helped with driving people. It was at a fabulous house of a ride supporter who put on a great feast for us. And we got our jerseys, Thanks to Lisa who coordinated the jersey deal. Then back to the house for the final packing, and trying to get some sleep. Tomorrow we finaly ride.

2007-06-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is the last weekend at home for me. All that is left to
do is carbo-load and pack. I peaked with my training two weeks ago,
hitting 300 miles in one week. . Last week I started to taper down, and
only did about 200 and this coming week will be even less. The plan is
to commute to work on Monday and Tuesday, then Wed do a spin at the Y
in the morning and evening ( DJ and Mary C will join Barbara for the
evening spin) then just a morning spin on Thursday and Friday, Kinda of like a last lap around the spin instructors.

I have everything gathered in piles about the house and I have to get
organized and pack it into two bags, which can weigh a maximum of 35
pounds each. That should be an interesting trick. Martins bike is at
the bike shop so they can disassemble it and box it for the airline
flight out to Seattle. I was going to use his original wheels that he
had on the bike, but at the last moment decided other wise and had the
bike shop make up a pair custom wheels for me. Much stronger, and not
that much heavier. They should be able to take whatever the road can
dish out, and I won't have to worry about it. I think I'm ready, now I
am starting to get nervous/anxious

Not too much new as far as training rides, Pretty much just putting in
miles. I did have a very nice ride with a friend. We went out for a little afternoon ride before the High School Jazz Cafe night. He is a strong, fast rider and caught me off guard a bit. We did about 30 miles in an hour and a half.
Next time I ride with him I'll have to make sure I haven't already done
30 miles earlier in the day!

Today, fathers day, Barbara, Mary C, DJ and I all rode our bike to
church. We went up along the lakefront and then down Oklahoma. A very
pleasant ride. When we got home there was a nice sculpture sitting on
our lawn. My dear Sister had some fun and put it together and made sure
I would be away when she delivered it. "Cricket" is a crocheted orange
and blue cricket she created some 35 years ago who would always end up
in strange places around the house staring at you. The bike he is on
comes complete with cards in the spokes to get that motorcycle sound, a
bottle of beer in the bottle rack and a tow rope.

This will be the last email I will be sending out. I have set up a blog
page that I will try to update every few days while on the rode. The
address is

bobsbigride.blogspot.com

I should be able to upload pictures and write and entry every four or
five days or so when we have a day off. If yo want you can also leave
messages for me there also.

I want to thank everybody for all their support, financially, morally
and spiritually. It should be all over except the riding.

Take care and have a great summer everybody.

Bob

Second Update

2007-06-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well I think I said I was going to to this every couple of weeks. So if you know me this shouldn't surprise you that I'm just now getting around to the second installment.

As of May 7, the time of this writing, only 49 days left to train and gather the rest of my equipment.

First off the training. This has been going very well. I started out in January doing indoor spin sessions of an hour 2 to 3 times a week, eventually I worked up to to doing that 8 times a week, and taking Sundays off as a recovery day. Fairly early on in that regiment I did an endurance spin of 3 1/2 hr. which went well.

Then the weather starting getting tolerable to ride out doors and I started commuting which is about an hour each way. In addition to that, in the morning I would stop at the downtown Y and do a spin class so I was getting in a two hour workout in the morning and an hour in the evening. Derse has been very accommodating for me, They allowed me to adjust my daily work hours so I could get in the full two hours in the morning when I'm fresher, so instead of working from 7 to 4, I work 8 to 5.

Three weeks ago I took Martins bike out for the first ride. I rode from home to the downtown Y, did a spin class, then went north along the lake front up through Fox Point and Whitefish Bay and made my way over to Brown Deer park to watch some bike races. I knew some of the racers from spinning and from work. From there, I stopped over at Mom Dumke's for a nice visit. After that it was homeward bound. A nice round trip of I think about 60 miles. At that point I still hadn't figured out how to use the computer on Martins bike!

During the week I found a new route to work that takes me an hour and a half, so I skip the morning spin and that becomes my light work out. It is about 22 miles long each way.

I figure I have been averaging about 40 miles per day for the past three weeks.

Two weeks ago I rode down to Jim and Sue's, a nice round trip of 60 miles. Most of the way against a head wind

This past weekend was the test. I had picked this weekend when I first started training to measure how the training was going with a little less than two months to go. I was going to ride to Madison, visit with Mary C and then ride home the next day.
Saturday started out cold, drizzly and windy. Good thing the wind was in my favor. With the wind pushing me, I made it in 6 1/2 hours and I felt like I was flying! I have never kept up that speed for that long. I was almost giddy. The route ended up being 93 miles. A half hour rest stop for lunch was not part of that 6 1/2 hours. Now, I was really happy with that time, then I thought of Martin and the century ride that he did. He did 100 miles in 5 1/2 hours!!!!! That humbles me.

Sunday was a pain in the face. The way back was nothing but head winds coming at me from just a bit off the starboard bow. (from the right) I felt like I was riding in molasses. I said many a prayer of thanks for every farmer who ever planted a tree line next to the road, cause that was my only break.

At mile 36 as I pulled into Johnson Creek, I quit, I was drained. The head winds where just too much. I got a Badger Bus Schedule and the next bus was due in 2 hours. So I sat down to wait. As I waited I justified what I had done; this was a training ride to see how the conditioning was coming along. Heck, did 93 miles the day before, my biggest single day total in 7 years, and did another 36 today against the wind. That's almost 140 miles in two days. No sense in hurting myself right? Then I thought, hold it, that's not even a Scenic Shore 150 ride. That thought led to the memory of the year that Mary C came with me as did two of her friends. Now one was a cross country runner, but the other, Allison was not what you would call athletic. And with almost no training she did the 150!
I got back on the bike.

I completed the ride home, it only took me and extra hour over the day before, but it seemed longer. As the day progressed I seemed to get stronger, so either the wind was dying down, or I couldn't feel my legs, or maybe I was getting stronger. Sundays ride ended up at 95 miles so a two day total of 188 miles. ( John, your two day record of 250 total miles is safe.......for now)

I will be ready.

Fund raising has been phenomenal, Thanks to all who have contributed. My total stands at $7,500 and I am thinking that $8,000 might be doable. Yeee Haaw!

The logistics of the ride are all falling into place, airfare has been purchased for the start and end of the ride. I have been buying the necessary equipment needed for camping and the riding. This weekend I will take Martins bike in for a complete overhaul. While I know without a doubt he took great care of that bike, I am having all the cables, the brakes, chain and tires replaced and all the bearings repacked so it will be just like new for the start of the ride, and I'll have a good base line for future maintenance.

A bit about Martins bike. IT IS FAST! I have ridden a few bikes in my life span, but nothing like this bike. It is light, it is quick, it handles like a charm. Just nothing not to like about it and it looks cool. OK except for the seat. I put my own on. I darn near giggle when ever I ride it. While many are saying that it is not set up for touring and may not be able to withstand the constant riding, after the past couple of weekends I think it will. It is a great bike and if I have to work a little harder to get up those hills cause it doesn't have that third chain ring, so be it. I am sure that other people have done more on lesser equipment.

I hope to figure out how I can keep you all updated during the ride. Could be a blog or a website, we'll have to see what is the easiest to upload info to, cause right now I am clueless. So look for that in future postings.

Take care everybody, and thank you for your support.

Bob

__0
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( ) ( )
Ride XUSA '07

First Update

2007-06-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Yes I have started a countdown.

For those of you who may not know, this summer I am participating in a fundraiser for the American Lung Association of Washington. In an effort to raise funds and awareness for this program I will be riding my bicycle across the United States of America, starting in Seattle, WA and ending in Washington D.C. A distance of 3,300 miles in 48 days. In addition to getting in shape for this ride, I have also pledged to raise $6,000.

First off, I would like to thank everyone for the tremendous support I have already gotten so far; it has been in a word, overwhelming. There is no way I could have even contemplated going on a ride of this magnitude without your help and encouragement. Therefore, I thought that I would start to do a weekly or so update to let you know how the training and preparations are coming along.

I had wanted to start "serious" training the first of the year, seemed like a good New Years Resolution. Unfortunately, I came done with a serious head cold, go figure. So, training started off the second week of the year. I did a spin cycling class at the downtown YMCA Monday evening. For those of you have never done this you sit it a room with a bunch of other people (5-25 or so) on stationary bikes and are lead by an instructor who will tell you to up the resistance on the bike or sprint or stretch for 45 minutes to an hour. All this is accompanied by music, some arranged very carefully so the tempo matches the work out, whither your sprinting (fast techno or jazz) or your climbing (slower tempo) or warming up or down.

Tuesday night Barbara and I take dance lessons at the South Shore Y. We are learning Salsa and swing dance. This is to prepare us for the Cudahy High School Jazz Cafe night that the student Jazz band puts on. It is a lot of fun, and Barbara and I get to spend time together, and I consider it "cross-training".

Wednesday nights are spin classes at the downtown Y. This session is lead by a gentlemen who is a tri-athelete. He has done over a dozen of them with the latest being last October in Hawaii for the original Ironman. Each workout session is like a bike race. He will pick a stage of some race perhaps the tour de France and we will mimic the terrain and sprints during the course of an hour. He also plays the baritone in a brass band. And did I mention he's 54!

Thursday and Friday have been rest days, Gotta leave some time to get the domestic stuff done.

Saturday mornings are another spin class at the downtown Y at 6:30 am! Tony is the instructor and a very personable fellow. He has three adult children and has pretty much been a bike racer his entire adult life. He has lots of stories to tell. He has been very helpful in recommending a work out regiment for me to get me ready for riding every day.

That has been my schedule for the past two weeks, starting this week I will start doing spin classes 5 days a week for two more weeks and than bump it up to 6 times a week, with a couple of double sessions thrown in.

This should get me in pretty good shape so I can put in some serious mileage on the bike once the weather becomes nice enough to go outside.

The organizers of the ride recommend that we riders try to get in 2,000 miles on our bikes between the first of the year and the start of the ride. Here in Wisconsin, that might be a bit difficult. Therefore, I will just do as much indoors as possible.

I have started serious fund raising this week, I have handed out many appeal letters at the Wave games, and on Sunday, I got up in front of our congregation and spoke a bit about the ride and why I was going on it. (Boy was I nervous!) Then for the coffee hour, we being good Lutherans, I set up a little display. I had brought my big map 30” x 48” along that I had stuck pushpins into at each of our nightly stops to show the route. In addition, for a good visual, I had Martins bike with me and displayed it on the PVC stand he had made. I handed out many sponsorship packages and received almost $400 in checks and cash right then and there! Many people promised money in the future, and one lady gave me $20 and said I could expect $20 each month until I leave! I had not even considered offering people an installment plan.

If you have not received a letter yet, it is because I have just been handing them out to people as I see them.. This week I hope to do a large mailing, so it should be coming to a mailbox near you soon!

If you would like to get more information on the ride, you can go to www.bigride.org and follow the links to the Big Ride Across America. There you can learn about a typical day in the ride, look over the route and itinerary and learn about some of the programs that we are raising money for.

So, that is what has been happening the past two weeks. I have put together this email list and if you’re on it and would rather not hear or bear witness to my insanity, email me and I will take you off the list. Conversely, if you know of anyone who might be interested let me know and I can add them just as easily.

Thank You and Ride ON!

Bob

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Ride XUSA '07