Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Pictures!!
To view my pictures from the trip you can go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/100050767607740450516/BikeTheUSForMS?authkey=Gv1sRgCLfb8Z3WkbjGvQE#
And also:
https://picasaweb.google.com/100050767607740450516/BikeTheUSForMSPart2#
Hope you all enjoy!!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Thank You!!
I want to Thank everyone who so generously donated to the cause!! As a result of all of your donations $181,000 thus far this year has been raised to help find better treatments and hopefully a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. It is because of these types of programs that treatments for MS have been changed. I ask that you continue to support this cause and many others in order to help improve the lives of others. It was truly inspirational to meet many very special individuals who suffer from MS and to hear their stories and how treatments have been improved over the years.
Robin one of the women we heard speak in Pittsburg, KS was one of the most inspirational women that I have heard speak when she had spoke about how she was diagnosed with MS 30 years ago and it had robbed her of her many senses. She could no longer smell, taste, hear, see, walk or barely move on her own. Due to much research and many medications she can now walk with a walker, smell, taste and still has trouble hearing. She spoke that her only dream was to be able to hold her grandchildren someday and at that time knew that she wouldn’t be able to. Due to better treatments she can now do as she dreamed and hold her grandchildren!!
I recognize how incredibly blessed that I am to be able to have this opportunity and want to Thank everyone who followed me and supported me through this wonderful journey!! I am a very fortunate person to be able to come home to a wonderful job at The James Cancer Hospital as a Nurse and will approach this with as much enthusiasm and passion as I did this ride. I hope to be a better nurse because of my experiences on this journey!!
I cannot tell you how many MS patients told me THANK YOU along with the many friends and family members of people who suffer from MS. Really the ones to thank are all of you because of the funds and support that you have provided. Once again, THANK YOU for the hope that you give to all of these people!!
Also Thank You to all of you who have followed my journey and blogs. I truly enjoyed waking up every morning to read the comments that everyone had posted!!
Robin one of the women we heard speak in Pittsburg, KS was one of the most inspirational women that I have heard speak when she had spoke about how she was diagnosed with MS 30 years ago and it had robbed her of her many senses. She could no longer smell, taste, hear, see, walk or barely move on her own. Due to much research and many medications she can now walk with a walker, smell, taste and still has trouble hearing. She spoke that her only dream was to be able to hold her grandchildren someday and at that time knew that she wouldn’t be able to. Due to better treatments she can now do as she dreamed and hold her grandchildren!!
I recognize how incredibly blessed that I am to be able to have this opportunity and want to Thank everyone who followed me and supported me through this wonderful journey!! I am a very fortunate person to be able to come home to a wonderful job at The James Cancer Hospital as a Nurse and will approach this with as much enthusiasm and passion as I did this ride. I hope to be a better nurse because of my experiences on this journey!!
I cannot tell you how many MS patients told me THANK YOU along with the many friends and family members of people who suffer from MS. Really the ones to thank are all of you because of the funds and support that you have provided. Once again, THANK YOU for the hope that you give to all of these people!!
Also Thank You to all of you who have followed my journey and blogs. I truly enjoyed waking up every morning to read the comments that everyone had posted!!
The End!!
4,000 miles, 9 states, 4 time zones, 20 people, 6 flat tires, 5 service projects and one cause…Multiple Sclerosis. All in all I spent 28 nights sleeping indoors in either a church, gym, hostel, mission or motel/hotel. Out of all of the days there were 12 days that I didn’t get a real shower and 50 days that I did get to shower. So I will now answer some of the many questions that many people ask me.
What was the best part about the trip? I would have to say being able to eat anything and everything that I wanted. I realize that I don’t think that I will ever be able to eat like this again. Also the level of stress was nonexistent. Everyone was so laid back and there really were not any worries throughout the day. It was also exciting to see all of the different scenery and how it changed as I rode on. Also especially out west it was really cool to stop at the top of big climbs look down at the winding road and think to yourself wow, I cannot believe that I just rode through all of that and climbed all of that.
What was the worst part of the trip? I would have to say not being able to shower and possibly doing laundry and or grocery shopping.
How have I changed? I would for sure say that my thighs are much stronger. Also I think maybe I have learned how to be a little bit more simplistic as out in the nature you really don’t need a whole lot.
What have I learned? I think that I have learned a lot of patience and compromise. When you are with a group of this size and in the situations that we were in you really had to learn to be patient and compromise with everyone.
Any other questions feel free to post on here!!
What was the best part about the trip? I would have to say being able to eat anything and everything that I wanted. I realize that I don’t think that I will ever be able to eat like this again. Also the level of stress was nonexistent. Everyone was so laid back and there really were not any worries throughout the day. It was also exciting to see all of the different scenery and how it changed as I rode on. Also especially out west it was really cool to stop at the top of big climbs look down at the winding road and think to yourself wow, I cannot believe that I just rode through all of that and climbed all of that.
What was the worst part of the trip? I would have to say not being able to shower and possibly doing laundry and or grocery shopping.
How have I changed? I would for sure say that my thighs are much stronger. Also I think maybe I have learned how to be a little bit more simplistic as out in the nature you really don’t need a whole lot.
What have I learned? I think that I have learned a lot of patience and compromise. When you are with a group of this size and in the situations that we were in you really had to learn to be patient and compromise with everyone.
Any other questions feel free to post on here!!
August 1-2nd - San Francisco, CA
Mileage: 15ish miles
Terrain: Riding around San Francisco. It is very hilly with streets that go straight up and ones that go straight down.
Temperature: Not sure but it was cold!!
Woke up at the youth mission this morning. It was nice to not have to blow my matt up for a change due to bunk beds that they had to sleep on. Got everything packed up. The night before I had removed everything from the trailer to try to get somewhat organized and get everything into two bags that I brought. After throwing away my pillow and towel along with a few miscellaneous things the bags finally shut. I had decided to go in on a hotel room with three of the other riders that were not flying out until the 2nd as well. The hotel was one of the cheapest in town and if you know anything about San Francisco hotels are not cheap. It was located about 5 blocks from the youth mission that we stayed at which had tons of homeless people outside of. I think there was a soup kitchen across the street or something. However, in this area of the city there are homeless everywhere. It really is sad! So at about 7:30 am I drug my over packed, stuffed to the top, very heavy bags to the hotel to store there until the afternoon. We then walked back to the youth mission where I got on my bike and rode it 2 blocks to a breakfast place. We had to sit by the window to watch our bikes so they wouldn’t get stolen. This is rather common to have to keep a close eye on them as we have found out that cable locks really aren’t a deterrent. We then hopped on our bikes and rode a few miles to Crissy Fields which is at the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge. However, as I was looking up directions to Crissy Fields I realized that we were going to be going down Lombard Street which is known as the curviest street in San Fran so we stopped at the bottom and took some pictures!! It was not an easy task getting to Crissy Fields as San Fran is VERY hilly with streets that go straight up and straight down, probably some of the steepest climbs on the trip however, they were very short!! Got to the water and took some pictures and chilled out then we did the official dipping of our front wheel!! We then got on our bikes and headed up to the access to ride across the bridge. However, there were tons of pedestrians and others people on rental bikes so it was slow and difficult to cross on our bikes however I am glad that I had done so!! Came back across the bridge and hung out by the trailer, saw many off and said some sad goodbyes!! I am going to miss these people SOOOOOOOO MUCH!! The trailer then drove off. I then rode with two other riders to a bike shop to get my bike boxed and shipped back to Ohio. We stopped to eat on our way to the shop. Then took a cab to the hotel. Got into the room to realize that there wasn’t a shower or toilet in the room, thought it was odd but decided to just go with it. There was a toilet and a shower down the hall both in basically closets. Before this trip if I would have had to stay at a hotel like this one I would have probably thrown a fit and wouldn’t have done it. However, after having the experiences and staying at some of the places we did just decided to go with it realizing that everything would be fine and work out fine. Chilled out at the hotel for awhile, took a nap and then went to dinner with two of the others staying in the room. Came back and chilled out at the hotel room for awhile finally went to bed and got up at 3:45 this morning west coast time.
Got the shuttle to the airport and went to check my bag which weighed 61 pounds. Found out that this was too much and it had to be 50 pounds or less otherwise there would be a $100 charge. Started going through my bad threw out all of my liquids and put some things in my carryon bag in order to get it to 50 pounds. Got on the plane to Chicago. Slept most of the way there as I feel like now I can sleep anywhere and through anything!! Then got my next plane to Columbus where my sister, Renee picked me up. The whole thing is so surreal as it still doesn’t seem that I rode my bike across the entire country!
Terrain: Riding around San Francisco. It is very hilly with streets that go straight up and ones that go straight down.
Temperature: Not sure but it was cold!!
Woke up at the youth mission this morning. It was nice to not have to blow my matt up for a change due to bunk beds that they had to sleep on. Got everything packed up. The night before I had removed everything from the trailer to try to get somewhat organized and get everything into two bags that I brought. After throwing away my pillow and towel along with a few miscellaneous things the bags finally shut. I had decided to go in on a hotel room with three of the other riders that were not flying out until the 2nd as well. The hotel was one of the cheapest in town and if you know anything about San Francisco hotels are not cheap. It was located about 5 blocks from the youth mission that we stayed at which had tons of homeless people outside of. I think there was a soup kitchen across the street or something. However, in this area of the city there are homeless everywhere. It really is sad! So at about 7:30 am I drug my over packed, stuffed to the top, very heavy bags to the hotel to store there until the afternoon. We then walked back to the youth mission where I got on my bike and rode it 2 blocks to a breakfast place. We had to sit by the window to watch our bikes so they wouldn’t get stolen. This is rather common to have to keep a close eye on them as we have found out that cable locks really aren’t a deterrent. We then hopped on our bikes and rode a few miles to Crissy Fields which is at the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge. However, as I was looking up directions to Crissy Fields I realized that we were going to be going down Lombard Street which is known as the curviest street in San Fran so we stopped at the bottom and took some pictures!! It was not an easy task getting to Crissy Fields as San Fran is VERY hilly with streets that go straight up and straight down, probably some of the steepest climbs on the trip however, they were very short!! Got to the water and took some pictures and chilled out then we did the official dipping of our front wheel!! We then got on our bikes and headed up to the access to ride across the bridge. However, there were tons of pedestrians and others people on rental bikes so it was slow and difficult to cross on our bikes however I am glad that I had done so!! Came back across the bridge and hung out by the trailer, saw many off and said some sad goodbyes!! I am going to miss these people SOOOOOOOO MUCH!! The trailer then drove off. I then rode with two other riders to a bike shop to get my bike boxed and shipped back to Ohio. We stopped to eat on our way to the shop. Then took a cab to the hotel. Got into the room to realize that there wasn’t a shower or toilet in the room, thought it was odd but decided to just go with it. There was a toilet and a shower down the hall both in basically closets. Before this trip if I would have had to stay at a hotel like this one I would have probably thrown a fit and wouldn’t have done it. However, after having the experiences and staying at some of the places we did just decided to go with it realizing that everything would be fine and work out fine. Chilled out at the hotel for awhile, took a nap and then went to dinner with two of the others staying in the room. Came back and chilled out at the hotel room for awhile finally went to bed and got up at 3:45 this morning west coast time.
Got the shuttle to the airport and went to check my bag which weighed 61 pounds. Found out that this was too much and it had to be 50 pounds or less otherwise there would be a $100 charge. Started going through my bad threw out all of my liquids and put some things in my carryon bag in order to get it to 50 pounds. Got on the plane to Chicago. Slept most of the way there as I feel like now I can sleep anywhere and through anything!! Then got my next plane to Columbus where my sister, Renee picked me up. The whole thing is so surreal as it still doesn’t seem that I rode my bike across the entire country!
Monday, August 1, 2011
July 29-31 - Silver Lake, CA to Folsom, CA to Davis, CA to San Francisco, CA
Mileage: 83 miles, 42 miles, 65 miles
Terrain: Climbing and descending
Temperature: 90ish degrees
On the 29th we knew that we were going to be doing a lot of descending. However, it was a little bit more work that what was expected. The terrain was descending but it went up and then down so there was some climbing. The scenery was beautiful!! We stopped for breakfast and I had some delicious chocolate chip pancakes. The riding was really fast rolling. There were many flats of the day however none were mine thankfully. About 20 miles out from Folsom in a town called Placerville we stopped for some great Mexican food!! We then rode into town after a very hot day of riding and went to the Courtyard by Marriot which was by far the nicest hotel that we stayed at!! We were supposed to stay at a campground outside of town however it was full due to it being the weekend.
Got up and got on the road at 8 am even though the trailer wasn’t pulling out until 9 am. We met one of Shannon’s friends Whit who lives in Sacramento and owns a bike/welding shop. He rode with us for about 20-30 miles and then we had breakfast. Almost all of the riding this day was on a beautiful bike path. We then went back to his shop and hung out there for the rest of the afternoon. Then got word that while in Sacramento one of our fellow riders’ very expensive bikes had been stolen. He had it locked right by the trailer however the thief had cut the cable lock. In Sacramento bike theft is HUGE!! It was a very enjoyable day hanging out with the girls. We then decided to head the rest of the 12 miles into Davis to the Motel 6 where we stayed the night we left Sac about 5:30 in order to be to Davis by 7 due to a reminiscing session that we had at the hotel. We all hung out by the pool and shared stories and talked about all of the good memories we made on the trip. Went to be and was exhausted. We did stop short of mileage due to the campground in Winter being full so that means we had to make up the mileage today on the 31st which was supposed to be 40 miles and ended up being 65 miles.
Got up this morning and the trailer left at 7 so that’s when we headed out of town. We were told to be to Vallejo by 2 when they would hand out the ferry tickets for the 3:30 pm ferry to take us to San Francisco. So we made two very short stops in order to get to Vallejo early and grab a bite to eat. The winds turned out to be ferocious and slowed us down along with a few small hills. Everyone was rather quiet as it was the last official day of riding. We arrived in Vallejo at about 1:15 pm and got some great breakfast food at a place called Good Day Café. Made our way the next block to the ferry and hung out with the other riders and took some pictures. Finally got on the ferry with all of our bikes and rode over to San Fran. The ride was about 45 minutes long and when we got off we hung out with the other riders and some friends and family of them as well. We then walked over to Sinbads a restaurant on the bay and ate there along with MS patients and Copaxone reps as well. Chilled out for awhile and then at about 8 pm we rode about a mile or so to the youth mission where we are staying tonight. Tomorrow there is more planned with dipping our wheel and crossing the golden gate bridge along with transportation and much more!! It is hard to believe that this journey is coming to a quick end
Terrain: Climbing and descending
Temperature: 90ish degrees
On the 29th we knew that we were going to be doing a lot of descending. However, it was a little bit more work that what was expected. The terrain was descending but it went up and then down so there was some climbing. The scenery was beautiful!! We stopped for breakfast and I had some delicious chocolate chip pancakes. The riding was really fast rolling. There were many flats of the day however none were mine thankfully. About 20 miles out from Folsom in a town called Placerville we stopped for some great Mexican food!! We then rode into town after a very hot day of riding and went to the Courtyard by Marriot which was by far the nicest hotel that we stayed at!! We were supposed to stay at a campground outside of town however it was full due to it being the weekend.
Got up and got on the road at 8 am even though the trailer wasn’t pulling out until 9 am. We met one of Shannon’s friends Whit who lives in Sacramento and owns a bike/welding shop. He rode with us for about 20-30 miles and then we had breakfast. Almost all of the riding this day was on a beautiful bike path. We then went back to his shop and hung out there for the rest of the afternoon. Then got word that while in Sacramento one of our fellow riders’ very expensive bikes had been stolen. He had it locked right by the trailer however the thief had cut the cable lock. In Sacramento bike theft is HUGE!! It was a very enjoyable day hanging out with the girls. We then decided to head the rest of the 12 miles into Davis to the Motel 6 where we stayed the night we left Sac about 5:30 in order to be to Davis by 7 due to a reminiscing session that we had at the hotel. We all hung out by the pool and shared stories and talked about all of the good memories we made on the trip. Went to be and was exhausted. We did stop short of mileage due to the campground in Winter being full so that means we had to make up the mileage today on the 31st which was supposed to be 40 miles and ended up being 65 miles.
Got up this morning and the trailer left at 7 so that’s when we headed out of town. We were told to be to Vallejo by 2 when they would hand out the ferry tickets for the 3:30 pm ferry to take us to San Francisco. So we made two very short stops in order to get to Vallejo early and grab a bite to eat. The winds turned out to be ferocious and slowed us down along with a few small hills. Everyone was rather quiet as it was the last official day of riding. We arrived in Vallejo at about 1:15 pm and got some great breakfast food at a place called Good Day Café. Made our way the next block to the ferry and hung out with the other riders and took some pictures. Finally got on the ferry with all of our bikes and rode over to San Fran. The ride was about 45 minutes long and when we got off we hung out with the other riders and some friends and family of them as well. We then walked over to Sinbads a restaurant on the bay and ate there along with MS patients and Copaxone reps as well. Chilled out for awhile and then at about 8 pm we rode about a mile or so to the youth mission where we are staying tonight. Tomorrow there is more planned with dipping our wheel and crossing the golden gate bridge along with transportation and much more!! It is hard to believe that this journey is coming to a quick end
July 27-28 - Fallon, NV to Carson City, NV to Silver Lake, CA
Mileage: 62 miles, 58 miles
Terrain: 27: Flat with two small gradual inclines 28: Climbing last big climb of the trip
Temperature: 90ish degrees
Woke up at the hotel and it didn’t take long to get everything ready to go due to staying at the motel. Had myself a bagel buffet for breakfast on the fold out couch at the motel. Hopped on the bike and then rode down the street to a breakfast place that many others were eating at and just had coffee. It was a fairly easy day and mostly flat, winds were not bad as well. Rode the first 30ish miles filled up on water had a snack and moved on. It was a different day because one of the route leaders who always drives the mini van got to ride with us. Came upon the second water stop 20 miles later and decided to quickly move on as we had googled a Dairy Queen and there was one coming into Carson City. So we decided we could go another 10 miles to the DQ where I enjoyed a large Georgia Mud Fudge with peanut butter. I am hooked on these!! You all must try one they are heavenly!! Sat and chilled as more than half of our group stopped at the DQ. We got to the DQ at 2:00 pm. We joke around that 2 is milkshake/ice cream time every day…lol. We finally decided to head out about 3:30ish because we were told to be at camp by 4 due to a news paper reporter being there. We also have a rider with MS that is joining us for the California portion of the trip so he was at camp as well. Got to the Camp-N-Town which was a pretty nice campground with really nice grass to set up our tents on and really nice restrooms and showers very close to the camping area. They also had laundry right there as well so we did one more load which will hopefully hold us out for the rest of the trip. Some of the riders then decided to go to the theater across the street and watch Pirates of the Caribbean, however, this didn’t interest me so I decided to go to dinner with some of the others and then to the Nugget, a casino in town. I played a dollar in one of the slots and then 5 dollars on black jack and went up about 15 then down and got a black jack one hand so won an extra 2.50. So I stopped before I went in the hole and then played another dollar on a slot. So all in all I came out 50 cents ahead. I know big spender….lol. One of the other guys with us however decided to start with 200 dollars on the black jack table and was doing really well. He was up 250 dollars when he decided to cash out. Once he cashed out he asked what time is it? It was like 9:30 or something and he contemplated going back to the table to try to win more. I was like NO, don’t do it, stop while your ahead, if you go back you will lose money. So we left and went back to camp.
Woke up this morning and got everything put away etc. and then went to breakfast in town. Got on the road at about 9 am and the first 25 miles were fairly flat to the border of Nevada and California. Wow am I excited to be out of Nevada. It is a very boring state, not a lot to look at or do there. California is gorgeous and kind of reminds me of Colorado. After the border crossing we started climbing. It was the last big climb of the trip. We went up to about 8,500 feet and went up about 3,500 feet today. The road went up and down so we really did more climbing than that. We had about 25 miles of climbing and then a 10 mile descent to camp. 5 miles from camp we stopped at a restaurant and ate and then went to the campground set up my tent and am now hiding out from the mosquitos. Unfortunately no showers tonight. The scenery today was beautiful with lakes to look at and trees and beautiful mountain sides. Also there are small towns and things that we go by. We are no longer in the desert!! Tomorrow we have about a 5 mile climb and then descend down to almost sea level. That’s a lot of descending. I am sure it will be very gradual though. However, it will be fun because it is what we have worked all day for!! I will be in San Francisco before I know it!!
Terrain: 27: Flat with two small gradual inclines 28: Climbing last big climb of the trip
Temperature: 90ish degrees
Woke up at the hotel and it didn’t take long to get everything ready to go due to staying at the motel. Had myself a bagel buffet for breakfast on the fold out couch at the motel. Hopped on the bike and then rode down the street to a breakfast place that many others were eating at and just had coffee. It was a fairly easy day and mostly flat, winds were not bad as well. Rode the first 30ish miles filled up on water had a snack and moved on. It was a different day because one of the route leaders who always drives the mini van got to ride with us. Came upon the second water stop 20 miles later and decided to quickly move on as we had googled a Dairy Queen and there was one coming into Carson City. So we decided we could go another 10 miles to the DQ where I enjoyed a large Georgia Mud Fudge with peanut butter. I am hooked on these!! You all must try one they are heavenly!! Sat and chilled as more than half of our group stopped at the DQ. We got to the DQ at 2:00 pm. We joke around that 2 is milkshake/ice cream time every day…lol. We finally decided to head out about 3:30ish because we were told to be at camp by 4 due to a news paper reporter being there. We also have a rider with MS that is joining us for the California portion of the trip so he was at camp as well. Got to the Camp-N-Town which was a pretty nice campground with really nice grass to set up our tents on and really nice restrooms and showers very close to the camping area. They also had laundry right there as well so we did one more load which will hopefully hold us out for the rest of the trip. Some of the riders then decided to go to the theater across the street and watch Pirates of the Caribbean, however, this didn’t interest me so I decided to go to dinner with some of the others and then to the Nugget, a casino in town. I played a dollar in one of the slots and then 5 dollars on black jack and went up about 15 then down and got a black jack one hand so won an extra 2.50. So I stopped before I went in the hole and then played another dollar on a slot. So all in all I came out 50 cents ahead. I know big spender….lol. One of the other guys with us however decided to start with 200 dollars on the black jack table and was doing really well. He was up 250 dollars when he decided to cash out. Once he cashed out he asked what time is it? It was like 9:30 or something and he contemplated going back to the table to try to win more. I was like NO, don’t do it, stop while your ahead, if you go back you will lose money. So we left and went back to camp.
Woke up this morning and got everything put away etc. and then went to breakfast in town. Got on the road at about 9 am and the first 25 miles were fairly flat to the border of Nevada and California. Wow am I excited to be out of Nevada. It is a very boring state, not a lot to look at or do there. California is gorgeous and kind of reminds me of Colorado. After the border crossing we started climbing. It was the last big climb of the trip. We went up to about 8,500 feet and went up about 3,500 feet today. The road went up and down so we really did more climbing than that. We had about 25 miles of climbing and then a 10 mile descent to camp. 5 miles from camp we stopped at a restaurant and ate and then went to the campground set up my tent and am now hiding out from the mosquitos. Unfortunately no showers tonight. The scenery today was beautiful with lakes to look at and trees and beautiful mountain sides. Also there are small towns and things that we go by. We are no longer in the desert!! Tomorrow we have about a 5 mile climb and then descend down to almost sea level. That’s a lot of descending. I am sure it will be very gradual though. However, it will be fun because it is what we have worked all day for!! I will be in San Francisco before I know it!!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
July 26 - Middlegate, NV to Fallon, NV
Mileage: 48 miles
Terrains: Flat with two climbs
Temperature: 80ish degrees
Woke up this morning in Middlegate in my tent. Slept well even though I didn’t get to bed until 11:00 pm due to a late night swim in an above ground pool that they had where we were camping. The water was super warm from the sun during the day and we played in the pool and did a whirlpool where everyone walk around the outside churning the water, it was tons of fun!! Got up at 6:00 am due to the trailer leaving at 7 am so that we would have some time in Fallon because it is a bigger town with a population of about 7,500. I got breakfast at the bar and then we left the very small I guess what you would call town and headed for Fallon. We rode and it was fairly flat with two small climbs and then came to the rest stop. Filled up with water and moved on. Made it into town by noon where we went straight to the Dairy Queen where I had a delicious Georgia Mud Slide with peanut butter. MMMMMMMMMMMM was it GOOD!!! We then rode a short distance to the Value Inn where we are staying tonight. The idea behind today was that it was going to be a short day of riding and somewhat like a rest day where we could all get caught up on sleep, laundry and groceries. So that is what we did! Got to the Value Inn took a nap, showered, went to the Laundromat, got subway to eat for dinner and then went to the grocery for probably the last time on the trip. Came back to the motel and put everything away got everything ready for tomorrow’s ride which is about 62ish miles and according to the elevation profile fairly flat. I cannot believe that there is only 5 more ridding days it is hard to believe that we are in the west and have ridden this far. This trip has gone by sooo fast!
Terrains: Flat with two climbs
Temperature: 80ish degrees
Woke up this morning in Middlegate in my tent. Slept well even though I didn’t get to bed until 11:00 pm due to a late night swim in an above ground pool that they had where we were camping. The water was super warm from the sun during the day and we played in the pool and did a whirlpool where everyone walk around the outside churning the water, it was tons of fun!! Got up at 6:00 am due to the trailer leaving at 7 am so that we would have some time in Fallon because it is a bigger town with a population of about 7,500. I got breakfast at the bar and then we left the very small I guess what you would call town and headed for Fallon. We rode and it was fairly flat with two small climbs and then came to the rest stop. Filled up with water and moved on. Made it into town by noon where we went straight to the Dairy Queen where I had a delicious Georgia Mud Slide with peanut butter. MMMMMMMMMMMM was it GOOD!!! We then rode a short distance to the Value Inn where we are staying tonight. The idea behind today was that it was going to be a short day of riding and somewhat like a rest day where we could all get caught up on sleep, laundry and groceries. So that is what we did! Got to the Value Inn took a nap, showered, went to the Laundromat, got subway to eat for dinner and then went to the grocery for probably the last time on the trip. Came back to the motel and put everything away got everything ready for tomorrow’s ride which is about 62ish miles and according to the elevation profile fairly flat. I cannot believe that there is only 5 more ridding days it is hard to believe that we are in the west and have ridden this far. This trip has gone by sooo fast!
Monday, July 25, 2011
July 23-25 - Ely, NV to Eureka, NV to Bob Scott Campground (Austin), NV to Middlegate, NV (Population 16)
Mileage: 80 miles, 65 miles,72 miles
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs with very strong winds
Temperature: 85-100 ish degrees
Woke up at the KOA campground and tried to get an early start since it was a longer day and it was going to be hot. We stopped at the gas station on our way out of town and didn’t end up leaving there until 8:00 am. We rode through the water stops at 20, 40 and 60 miles. Shannon has titled herself as the water police and makes sure that we are drinking enough water as we ride. It is very easy to become dehydrated out here in the desert. So we have been trying to drink about 1 bottle every 10 miles leaving us two bottles for 20 miles which is how far every rest stop is. So we know that we are drinking enough due to having to pee while riding. So that means we have to stop to pee often. There is nothing to duck behind out here in the desert except sage brush so we usually try to find the biggest bush and pee behind them. We watch out for cars out here but there really aren’t many. We have been riding on highway 50 for the last few days and they have titled it the loneliest road in America. There were 3 climbs for the day, the second being the largest but along with climbs come descents!! However, it is rather windy out here. I think more so rather than Kansas. It seems that we fight head and cross winds all day long making it so that you still have to pedal downhill. Finally got to camp in Eureka which we camped at the town park. They allowed us to shower at the pool for $1 which we had to ride a few block to. We then went to the Owl Club to celebrate one of the riders birthdays. As we were hanging out at the park and had our tents set up the sprinklers went off. We quickly figured out how to turn them off thankfully. Slept well as we were very tired!!
Got up and were still tired so went and got coffee. Had about 5 cups and finally got on the bikes to ride. Got to the first rest stop and then moved on to the second. I would have to say that Nevada isn’t our favorite state. Every day the scenery looks just the same as the last here in Nevada. It is hot and there are about 1-3 climbs a day. At the end of the day there was about a 7 or so mile climb up to the campground that we stayed at. Unfortunately there were no showers however there was a spigot that we washed off in. Some of the group decided to ride the extra 6 miles into Austin and get motel rooms so it left only about 15 of us at the campground. Even though there were not showers it was a beautiful campground on the summit of one of the Sierra Nevada Mountains!! We all decided to get a pizza order ready and they took the minivan into town to pick it up. Have not had pizza but a few times on this trip. Chilled out at the campground. Was exhausted from the climbing and headwinds when we arrived there. Went to bed in my tent. In this case I was glad that I was in my tent. I have my own space in my tent and I am sure in the small town of Austin that the motel wasn’t exactly a 5 star. It was a beautiful night and when I woke up to pee in the middle of the night which I usually do I heard a bunch of coyotes howling. It sounded as if they were very close. Very cool!! Got up this morning and it was determined that there were two different routes for the day. One was on route 50 and the other on old route 50. The old route 50 had a big climb however was supposed to be more scenic. So the people that stayed at the campground took the old route 50 (alternate route) with the climb and the motelers took route 50 without the climb. The head and cross winds were not exactly ideal on either route. We got to the second rest stop at the summit of the climbs and our route leaders George and Amanda were kind enough to make us grilled cheese…mmmm. We then descended about 10 miles and then had to pedal the last 10ish due to the winds into Middlegate where we are staying behind a bar. But hey they have showers for $3!! Tomorrow is going to be a shorter day of only 48 miles. We really need one of these. We have had 70-80 mile days for quite a few now with ferocious head and cross winds with climbs and heat along with it.
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs with very strong winds
Temperature: 85-100 ish degrees
Woke up at the KOA campground and tried to get an early start since it was a longer day and it was going to be hot. We stopped at the gas station on our way out of town and didn’t end up leaving there until 8:00 am. We rode through the water stops at 20, 40 and 60 miles. Shannon has titled herself as the water police and makes sure that we are drinking enough water as we ride. It is very easy to become dehydrated out here in the desert. So we have been trying to drink about 1 bottle every 10 miles leaving us two bottles for 20 miles which is how far every rest stop is. So we know that we are drinking enough due to having to pee while riding. So that means we have to stop to pee often. There is nothing to duck behind out here in the desert except sage brush so we usually try to find the biggest bush and pee behind them. We watch out for cars out here but there really aren’t many. We have been riding on highway 50 for the last few days and they have titled it the loneliest road in America. There were 3 climbs for the day, the second being the largest but along with climbs come descents!! However, it is rather windy out here. I think more so rather than Kansas. It seems that we fight head and cross winds all day long making it so that you still have to pedal downhill. Finally got to camp in Eureka which we camped at the town park. They allowed us to shower at the pool for $1 which we had to ride a few block to. We then went to the Owl Club to celebrate one of the riders birthdays. As we were hanging out at the park and had our tents set up the sprinklers went off. We quickly figured out how to turn them off thankfully. Slept well as we were very tired!!
Got up and were still tired so went and got coffee. Had about 5 cups and finally got on the bikes to ride. Got to the first rest stop and then moved on to the second. I would have to say that Nevada isn’t our favorite state. Every day the scenery looks just the same as the last here in Nevada. It is hot and there are about 1-3 climbs a day. At the end of the day there was about a 7 or so mile climb up to the campground that we stayed at. Unfortunately there were no showers however there was a spigot that we washed off in. Some of the group decided to ride the extra 6 miles into Austin and get motel rooms so it left only about 15 of us at the campground. Even though there were not showers it was a beautiful campground on the summit of one of the Sierra Nevada Mountains!! We all decided to get a pizza order ready and they took the minivan into town to pick it up. Have not had pizza but a few times on this trip. Chilled out at the campground. Was exhausted from the climbing and headwinds when we arrived there. Went to bed in my tent. In this case I was glad that I was in my tent. I have my own space in my tent and I am sure in the small town of Austin that the motel wasn’t exactly a 5 star. It was a beautiful night and when I woke up to pee in the middle of the night which I usually do I heard a bunch of coyotes howling. It sounded as if they were very close. Very cool!! Got up this morning and it was determined that there were two different routes for the day. One was on route 50 and the other on old route 50. The old route 50 had a big climb however was supposed to be more scenic. So the people that stayed at the campground took the old route 50 (alternate route) with the climb and the motelers took route 50 without the climb. The head and cross winds were not exactly ideal on either route. We got to the second rest stop at the summit of the climbs and our route leaders George and Amanda were kind enough to make us grilled cheese…mmmm. We then descended about 10 miles and then had to pedal the last 10ish due to the winds into Middlegate where we are staying behind a bar. But hey they have showers for $3!! Tomorrow is going to be a shorter day of only 48 miles. We really need one of these. We have had 70-80 mile days for quite a few now with ferocious head and cross winds with climbs and heat along with it.
Friday, July 22, 2011
July 22 - Baker, NV to Ely, NV
Mileage: 65 miles
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs
Temperature: 95 ish degrees
Got up this morning and woke up extremely early due to the time change so went back to bed for an hour or so. Didn’t sleep too well the night before due to it being somewhat windy and not staking down my tent because I had set it up on pavement due to very tall weeds. Started the ride off with a 7 mile descent then started climbing. There were two climbs for the day. The scenery in Nevada isn’t too interesting. There is nothing really to look at. Its desert and the brush is sage green for miles. Half way up the second climb there was a bar that we stopped had and had a drink and a snickers. They didn’t serve food and this was the only thing along the entire route today. The lady working was interesting and told us stories of people who came by. She told us of a man who was trying to go across America on a horse also of a man who was trying to go across carrying a 40 foot cross. Finished climbing the hill and it was 4 miles to the top. The rest of the ride was somewhat downhill to the KOA campground. I was excited to find out that we were staying at the KOA campground because they always have showers and laundry along with wifi. Nice lawn to set your tent on as well. The last couple of days we have also ran into a few other cross country riders as well who are on a similar track to what we are. There are three guys in there 20s who are doing it self contained and then also 5 guys who are supported who are 16ish and are staying in hotels every night. They all have some very good and interesting stories to tell as well as we do. It is just very interesting to see the different ways in order to go cross country. I think that each way provides a very different experience!! Well, I am exhausted as the heat just takes it right out of you. Nite!!
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs
Temperature: 95 ish degrees
Got up this morning and woke up extremely early due to the time change so went back to bed for an hour or so. Didn’t sleep too well the night before due to it being somewhat windy and not staking down my tent because I had set it up on pavement due to very tall weeds. Started the ride off with a 7 mile descent then started climbing. There were two climbs for the day. The scenery in Nevada isn’t too interesting. There is nothing really to look at. Its desert and the brush is sage green for miles. Half way up the second climb there was a bar that we stopped had and had a drink and a snickers. They didn’t serve food and this was the only thing along the entire route today. The lady working was interesting and told us stories of people who came by. She told us of a man who was trying to go across America on a horse also of a man who was trying to go across carrying a 40 foot cross. Finished climbing the hill and it was 4 miles to the top. The rest of the ride was somewhat downhill to the KOA campground. I was excited to find out that we were staying at the KOA campground because they always have showers and laundry along with wifi. Nice lawn to set your tent on as well. The last couple of days we have also ran into a few other cross country riders as well who are on a similar track to what we are. There are three guys in there 20s who are doing it self contained and then also 5 guys who are supported who are 16ish and are staying in hotels every night. They all have some very good and interesting stories to tell as well as we do. It is just very interesting to see the different ways in order to go cross country. I think that each way provides a very different experience!! Well, I am exhausted as the heat just takes it right out of you. Nite!!
July 20-21 - Cedar City, UT to Milford, UT to Baker, NV
Mileage: 63 miles, 85 miles
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
So the night in Cedar City was very interesting to say the least. It was about 11:00 or so until I got to bed. Was excited because the grass on the ball field was very soft and it seemed to b e a good place to sleep in a tent. However, we were wrong. There had been sprinklers that went off earlier in the evening and we figured that they were finished however decided to put the fly on my tent just in case they were to go off again in the middle of the night. Well it was a good thing that I did!! At about 4 in the morning on came the sprinklers. They weren’t little sprinklers they were full force. I didn’t know what to do so after one of the rounds that they went over my tent I jumped out. Realized that just a couple of the others didn’t put there flies on their tents and they were wet. Felt bad for them however, didn’t know what to do so waited for the sprinklers to go past again and then jumped back into my tent. Thought to myself please hurry up!! It was almost like a pouring rain shower that came on and off. They were hard on and I was glad that my tent held up through it. Someone even started taking pictures. It was as if it was storming with the sprinklers and then the flashes of light from the camera imitating lightening. Was awake for over an hour and got up at 7 the next morning due to the trailer leaving at 8. We were all very tired!! Went to The Great Harvest Bread Company for breakfast had lots of coffee and wonderful bread!! Decided to finally start riding for the day. Rode about 20 miles to the first rest stop filled up on water ate and then decided to ride back about 1 mile and then off route about 2.5 miles in order to see some petro glyphs. Only did this because for this portion it was fairly flat. Saw some very interesting pictures carved in the rocks and then rolled on. Came to a town at about mile 40 had some ice cream and snacks chilled out at the gas station/snack shop for awhile and decided to ride the last miles to Milford where we stayed at the town park/ high school. Hung out for awhile under the pavilion and just as I got my tent out we found out that it was optional to stay inside the HS and that there were showers there. I was all about air conditioning and showers and put my tent right away. Got a shower and then the Lions Club made dinner for us at 7 pm. They had a salad bar which was delicious and nutritious. We don’t get many fresh vegetables and were very excited about it. Went to bed at about 9:30 and got up at about 7 this morning.
Had breakfast, mmmmm bagels. Left Milford at about 8:30 am for a very long day of riding. We had about 85 miles and absolutely no towns or houses. No services what so ever for the entire ride. Rest stops were provided at miles 20, 40, and 60. There were 3 climbs for the day and none of them were too terrible. You can see for miles upon miles out here, it’s crazy!! Had a nice ride, chatted with the girls, listened to some music and squired each other with squirt guns. At about 7 miles from Baker was the Nevada border which was fun and exciting. It was also a time zone change as well. Got into Baker and wanted ice cream however, it didn’t seem that any place in this very small town had any so we got ice cream bars from the convenience store. Come to find out that Trish one of the riders had found ice cream at a place across the street. So we decided to go there for milkshakes after the ice cream bar. Mmmmmmm peanut butter milkshakes!! We were informed earlier in the day that the campsite that we were staying at was 5 miles off route and a very steep uphill to get there so they shuttled us here with the vans. Unfortunately there are no showers so I tried to clean up in the small stream by the campsite however, the water was EXTREMELLY cold so therefore I used wet wipes. Out west here everything is so dry so you don’t even know that you are sweating except for the crystallized salt all over your skin and shorts. Many days I will have white on my shorts from the salt and sweat however not even realize that I am sweating. Tomorrow I am sure will be another interesting day out here in the desert with 65+ miles with no services as well. However, we do get to start out with a descent, the one they drove us up to camp.
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs
Temperature: 90 ish degrees
So the night in Cedar City was very interesting to say the least. It was about 11:00 or so until I got to bed. Was excited because the grass on the ball field was very soft and it seemed to b e a good place to sleep in a tent. However, we were wrong. There had been sprinklers that went off earlier in the evening and we figured that they were finished however decided to put the fly on my tent just in case they were to go off again in the middle of the night. Well it was a good thing that I did!! At about 4 in the morning on came the sprinklers. They weren’t little sprinklers they were full force. I didn’t know what to do so after one of the rounds that they went over my tent I jumped out. Realized that just a couple of the others didn’t put there flies on their tents and they were wet. Felt bad for them however, didn’t know what to do so waited for the sprinklers to go past again and then jumped back into my tent. Thought to myself please hurry up!! It was almost like a pouring rain shower that came on and off. They were hard on and I was glad that my tent held up through it. Someone even started taking pictures. It was as if it was storming with the sprinklers and then the flashes of light from the camera imitating lightening. Was awake for over an hour and got up at 7 the next morning due to the trailer leaving at 8. We were all very tired!! Went to The Great Harvest Bread Company for breakfast had lots of coffee and wonderful bread!! Decided to finally start riding for the day. Rode about 20 miles to the first rest stop filled up on water ate and then decided to ride back about 1 mile and then off route about 2.5 miles in order to see some petro glyphs. Only did this because for this portion it was fairly flat. Saw some very interesting pictures carved in the rocks and then rolled on. Came to a town at about mile 40 had some ice cream and snacks chilled out at the gas station/snack shop for awhile and decided to ride the last miles to Milford where we stayed at the town park/ high school. Hung out for awhile under the pavilion and just as I got my tent out we found out that it was optional to stay inside the HS and that there were showers there. I was all about air conditioning and showers and put my tent right away. Got a shower and then the Lions Club made dinner for us at 7 pm. They had a salad bar which was delicious and nutritious. We don’t get many fresh vegetables and were very excited about it. Went to bed at about 9:30 and got up at about 7 this morning.
Had breakfast, mmmmm bagels. Left Milford at about 8:30 am for a very long day of riding. We had about 85 miles and absolutely no towns or houses. No services what so ever for the entire ride. Rest stops were provided at miles 20, 40, and 60. There were 3 climbs for the day and none of them were too terrible. You can see for miles upon miles out here, it’s crazy!! Had a nice ride, chatted with the girls, listened to some music and squired each other with squirt guns. At about 7 miles from Baker was the Nevada border which was fun and exciting. It was also a time zone change as well. Got into Baker and wanted ice cream however, it didn’t seem that any place in this very small town had any so we got ice cream bars from the convenience store. Come to find out that Trish one of the riders had found ice cream at a place across the street. So we decided to go there for milkshakes after the ice cream bar. Mmmmmmm peanut butter milkshakes!! We were informed earlier in the day that the campsite that we were staying at was 5 miles off route and a very steep uphill to get there so they shuttled us here with the vans. Unfortunately there are no showers so I tried to clean up in the small stream by the campsite however, the water was EXTREMELLY cold so therefore I used wet wipes. Out west here everything is so dry so you don’t even know that you are sweating except for the crystallized salt all over your skin and shorts. Many days I will have white on my shorts from the salt and sweat however not even realize that I am sweating. Tomorrow I am sure will be another interesting day out here in the desert with 65+ miles with no services as well. However, we do get to start out with a descent, the one they drove us up to camp.
July 19 - Red Canyon Campground, UT to Cedar City, UT
Mileage: 70 miles
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs
Temperature: 90 ish degrees (temperature varied on the elevations)
Wow, what a long fun day!! Woke up this morning in the campground. Got up and got dressed. Decided to wear the same jersey as I had the day before. I figured I had washed it in the stream 20 miles back yesterday. I am fresh out of laundry and all of my riding clothes etc are dirty. I had washed a pair of riding shorts by hand last night and laid them on my bike to dry over night. They were mostly dry this morning and I used the hand dryer in the restroom this morning to dry them. On this trip anything goes. You can wear the same jersey for a week and no one will care and many do. For breakfast I decided to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some cheese and crackers……..mmmmmmmmmmm. Got on the road and started out descending for about 10 miles. Just a few yards ahead of me were Shannon and Brittany and I saw them swerving all over the road and pointing I thought to myself, what are they doing? There was a rattle snake curled up in the middle of the road!! Got a picture and moved on. The first 10 miles of today’s ride was descending and then it went up from there. Rode about 20 more miles of mostly climbing but fairly gradual some parts steeper than others and came to our first rest stop. We were wondering where everyone was and who had already been though and were informed that some of our fellow riders stopped at the first town for breakfast which was only 10 miles out from camp. Was told that they were going to be there awhile because Spider (rider) had taken on a challenge to eat three huge pancakes at a breakfast place and that only one person had succeeded in eating it all before. If he could finish it he would get a free t-shirt. The three pancakes took 1 gallon of batter to make. Found out later that they were there until almost noon and he had finished them and then as they were leaving threw up. Since we knew that they were going to be awhile we decide to have breakfast at a neat little diner on a lake along the route. After a delicious breakfast we decided to roll on and only had about 16 miles to the summit. That makes for about 36 miles of climbing total. Got to the summit stopped at the water stop and filled up and began out descent which was about 24 miles. It sure was a quick one. Got stopped for some construction with a one way and had to wait for about 15 minutes. Finally got into Cedar City quickly changed clothes due to a service project that we were doing. We had to move some big pieces of wood onto trailers for a play like thing and then they fed us. After that we decided that we really needed to do laundry and the Laundromat is 2 miles away so we decided the next best option was to sneak into a hotel about a quarter mile away and use their washing machines. I decided to stay with the laundry while the other girls are at wal-mart stocking up. I gave them my grocery list. It is currently 9:50 pm, way past my bedtime and I don’t even have my tent set up. Just too much to do in one day!! We don’t get to big towns like Cedar City very often so when we do we are very busy getting groceries and doing laundry etc. Hopefully this laundry finishes quickly so I can get some sleep!!
Terrains: Very Gradual Long Climbs
Temperature: 90 ish degrees (temperature varied on the elevations)
Wow, what a long fun day!! Woke up this morning in the campground. Got up and got dressed. Decided to wear the same jersey as I had the day before. I figured I had washed it in the stream 20 miles back yesterday. I am fresh out of laundry and all of my riding clothes etc are dirty. I had washed a pair of riding shorts by hand last night and laid them on my bike to dry over night. They were mostly dry this morning and I used the hand dryer in the restroom this morning to dry them. On this trip anything goes. You can wear the same jersey for a week and no one will care and many do. For breakfast I decided to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some cheese and crackers……..mmmmmmmmmmm. Got on the road and started out descending for about 10 miles. Just a few yards ahead of me were Shannon and Brittany and I saw them swerving all over the road and pointing I thought to myself, what are they doing? There was a rattle snake curled up in the middle of the road!! Got a picture and moved on. The first 10 miles of today’s ride was descending and then it went up from there. Rode about 20 more miles of mostly climbing but fairly gradual some parts steeper than others and came to our first rest stop. We were wondering where everyone was and who had already been though and were informed that some of our fellow riders stopped at the first town for breakfast which was only 10 miles out from camp. Was told that they were going to be there awhile because Spider (rider) had taken on a challenge to eat three huge pancakes at a breakfast place and that only one person had succeeded in eating it all before. If he could finish it he would get a free t-shirt. The three pancakes took 1 gallon of batter to make. Found out later that they were there until almost noon and he had finished them and then as they were leaving threw up. Since we knew that they were going to be awhile we decide to have breakfast at a neat little diner on a lake along the route. After a delicious breakfast we decided to roll on and only had about 16 miles to the summit. That makes for about 36 miles of climbing total. Got to the summit stopped at the water stop and filled up and began out descent which was about 24 miles. It sure was a quick one. Got stopped for some construction with a one way and had to wait for about 15 minutes. Finally got into Cedar City quickly changed clothes due to a service project that we were doing. We had to move some big pieces of wood onto trailers for a play like thing and then they fed us. After that we decided that we really needed to do laundry and the Laundromat is 2 miles away so we decided the next best option was to sneak into a hotel about a quarter mile away and use their washing machines. I decided to stay with the laundry while the other girls are at wal-mart stocking up. I gave them my grocery list. It is currently 9:50 pm, way past my bedtime and I don’t even have my tent set up. Just too much to do in one day!! We don’t get to big towns like Cedar City very often so when we do we are very busy getting groceries and doing laundry etc. Hopefully this laundry finishes quickly so I can get some sleep!!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
July 16-18 - Hanksville, UT to Oak Creek Campground, UT to Escalante, UT to Red Canyon Campground, UT
Mileage: 67 miles, 46 miles, 56 miles
Terrains: Very Gradual Climbs
Temperature: 85 ish degrees, 90ish degrees, 85ish degrees
Woke up in Hanksville at the motel. Got on the road and the scenery had quickly began to change. Things were turning a lot more beige rather than red. Still tall canyons and rocks. The ride began with an ever so slight uphill and then a very gradual downhill. We were informed that about 20 or so miles out that there was a place that you could pick fruit. We saw this and were informed that apricots were in season however never ended up stopping to get any. I think that we thought there would be more ahead, however, there were not. Also along the route there were petro glyphs. So we stopped to take pictures of these as well. It was rather hot throughout the day so we decided to take advantage of our squirt guns and spray each other while riding. These were a great investment and provide us with a lot of entertainment. We usually are armed with our squirt guns most of the time throughout the day. We decided to go 1 mile off of route about 40 miles out to a town called Torrey in order to get some food to eat and ice cream. I however didn’t get any ice cream as my stomach was feeling rather upset and I knew that we had only 20 miles left however, it was all uphill. There were even two parts with 10% grades up. We knew this because once we made it up them we would turn around and there would be a downhill truck sign facing the other direction. This ended up being quite the climb!! We also had a very strong headwind going up this hill. I know it seems weird to have a head wind when you are climbing a hill because you would think that the hill would be blocking the wind however this was not the case. The wind was blowing us all over the road. However, once we got to camp there was a beautiful campsite with trees everywhere. There was even a fire pit which was exciting to have a campfire which we haven’t had but 1 or 2. We sat around the campfire and then also watched the dance video that we made in Colorado. It is on youtube.com. Search Dance Video Colorado by Biketheusforms. It is a great video!! So we were also informed that at this campsite there was the possibility of bears and not to spill any food etc. I accidentally poured my water from my easy mac made with a camp stove on the ground. I was worried it would attract bears however no bears showed up to our knowledge. I don’t think I was the only one that did this. Unfortunately the only bad thing about this campsite was there were no showers and only a pit toilet. So I used wipes and cleaned up.
Woke up to the sound of the stream and the birds chirping. Knew that we had a short day of only 46 miles. We had lots of climbing up and then great descents down. On one of the descents I even hit 46.7 mph. I think that this was a 14% grade going down. It was a blast. We stopped at a great restaurant about 20 miles down the road had a great breakfast and a wonderful chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and then moved on. We kept riding and rode Hells Backbone. It was a section of road that was up high and there was a cliff on each side of the road. It was amazing riding it being able to look down at the canyons on both sides of the road!! Rode on and came across Kiva Koffehouse out in the middle of nowhere. Had a frappe and sat and looked around and relaxed for awhile and then decided to move on. Had some climbing and then rode into Escalante where we stayed at a campground that was next to a reservoir. We decided to swim/wade in the reservoir and then hung out at camp. We as in Brittany, Shannon and myself decided to have our own dance party in the trailer as it started to rain briefly. We choreographed a dance that we are going to attempt to do on our bikes and have them video. It should be interesting. We all danced by the trailer as the trailer has a radio and sound system. We chilled out and met another cycling group that is riding cross country for cancer. Same type of thing however, still very different from our trip. Well by the time I got a shower it was about 9:00 pm and Shannon still hadn’t put up her tent and wasn’t really feeling like it so we decided to share a tent as I had already put mine up and it is a two person tent.
Woke up this morning and knew that it was going to be a fun day. We started riding and it was up and down hill a lot. We stopped at the first water stop and then moved on as we knew the next water stop was going to be at Bryce Canyon. So we rode on. We were getting hungry so stopped in a small town and got lunch and then rode about 5 more miles up the road to Bryce Canyon. Changed into tennis shoes and started hiking the trail about a half mile to see part of the canyon. It was gorgeous. There was a stream all along the trail that we decided we needed to take a dip in. It was rather cold. So we first sat in it and then got all the way in it. It was very shallow about a foot deep and deeper in some places but had a strong current. It was crystal clean and clear as well. There was a waterfall so we hiked down to the bottom and stood under it and played in the water. The water fall was supper strong!! I felt like I was being beaten standing under it and couldn’t even stand under the strongest part as it would have pushed me down. Rode on and the cool water on our cycling clothes kept us cool until we got to camp. There was a really nice bike path and a rock you could drive through on the last leg of the ride. Beautiful scenery. Got to the campground at Red Rock Canyon which is really nice got a really nice shower which I had to pay $2 for and then set up my tent. Was informed that rattle snakes are present here and that the park ranger got about 5 in the last few days. So we were told where to not camp and also that in the morning we are supposed to look outside of our tent to make sure that they aren’t outside of it as they like to go where warmth is. I cannot believe that there is only 2 weeks left. I hope that I have many more adventure to write about and that I can enjoy every minute of it!!
Terrains: Very Gradual Climbs
Temperature: 85 ish degrees, 90ish degrees, 85ish degrees
Woke up in Hanksville at the motel. Got on the road and the scenery had quickly began to change. Things were turning a lot more beige rather than red. Still tall canyons and rocks. The ride began with an ever so slight uphill and then a very gradual downhill. We were informed that about 20 or so miles out that there was a place that you could pick fruit. We saw this and were informed that apricots were in season however never ended up stopping to get any. I think that we thought there would be more ahead, however, there were not. Also along the route there were petro glyphs. So we stopped to take pictures of these as well. It was rather hot throughout the day so we decided to take advantage of our squirt guns and spray each other while riding. These were a great investment and provide us with a lot of entertainment. We usually are armed with our squirt guns most of the time throughout the day. We decided to go 1 mile off of route about 40 miles out to a town called Torrey in order to get some food to eat and ice cream. I however didn’t get any ice cream as my stomach was feeling rather upset and I knew that we had only 20 miles left however, it was all uphill. There were even two parts with 10% grades up. We knew this because once we made it up them we would turn around and there would be a downhill truck sign facing the other direction. This ended up being quite the climb!! We also had a very strong headwind going up this hill. I know it seems weird to have a head wind when you are climbing a hill because you would think that the hill would be blocking the wind however this was not the case. The wind was blowing us all over the road. However, once we got to camp there was a beautiful campsite with trees everywhere. There was even a fire pit which was exciting to have a campfire which we haven’t had but 1 or 2. We sat around the campfire and then also watched the dance video that we made in Colorado. It is on youtube.com. Search Dance Video Colorado by Biketheusforms. It is a great video!! So we were also informed that at this campsite there was the possibility of bears and not to spill any food etc. I accidentally poured my water from my easy mac made with a camp stove on the ground. I was worried it would attract bears however no bears showed up to our knowledge. I don’t think I was the only one that did this. Unfortunately the only bad thing about this campsite was there were no showers and only a pit toilet. So I used wipes and cleaned up.
Woke up to the sound of the stream and the birds chirping. Knew that we had a short day of only 46 miles. We had lots of climbing up and then great descents down. On one of the descents I even hit 46.7 mph. I think that this was a 14% grade going down. It was a blast. We stopped at a great restaurant about 20 miles down the road had a great breakfast and a wonderful chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and then moved on. We kept riding and rode Hells Backbone. It was a section of road that was up high and there was a cliff on each side of the road. It was amazing riding it being able to look down at the canyons on both sides of the road!! Rode on and came across Kiva Koffehouse out in the middle of nowhere. Had a frappe and sat and looked around and relaxed for awhile and then decided to move on. Had some climbing and then rode into Escalante where we stayed at a campground that was next to a reservoir. We decided to swim/wade in the reservoir and then hung out at camp. We as in Brittany, Shannon and myself decided to have our own dance party in the trailer as it started to rain briefly. We choreographed a dance that we are going to attempt to do on our bikes and have them video. It should be interesting. We all danced by the trailer as the trailer has a radio and sound system. We chilled out and met another cycling group that is riding cross country for cancer. Same type of thing however, still very different from our trip. Well by the time I got a shower it was about 9:00 pm and Shannon still hadn’t put up her tent and wasn’t really feeling like it so we decided to share a tent as I had already put mine up and it is a two person tent.
Woke up this morning and knew that it was going to be a fun day. We started riding and it was up and down hill a lot. We stopped at the first water stop and then moved on as we knew the next water stop was going to be at Bryce Canyon. So we rode on. We were getting hungry so stopped in a small town and got lunch and then rode about 5 more miles up the road to Bryce Canyon. Changed into tennis shoes and started hiking the trail about a half mile to see part of the canyon. It was gorgeous. There was a stream all along the trail that we decided we needed to take a dip in. It was rather cold. So we first sat in it and then got all the way in it. It was very shallow about a foot deep and deeper in some places but had a strong current. It was crystal clean and clear as well. There was a waterfall so we hiked down to the bottom and stood under it and played in the water. The water fall was supper strong!! I felt like I was being beaten standing under it and couldn’t even stand under the strongest part as it would have pushed me down. Rode on and the cool water on our cycling clothes kept us cool until we got to camp. There was a really nice bike path and a rock you could drive through on the last leg of the ride. Beautiful scenery. Got to the campground at Red Rock Canyon which is really nice got a really nice shower which I had to pay $2 for and then set up my tent. Was informed that rattle snakes are present here and that the park ranger got about 5 in the last few days. So we were told where to not camp and also that in the morning we are supposed to look outside of our tent to make sure that they aren’t outside of it as they like to go where warmth is. I cannot believe that there is only 2 weeks left. I hope that I have many more adventure to write about and that I can enjoy every minute of it!!
Friday, July 15, 2011
July 14-15 - Blanding, UT to Lake Powell, UT (Hite Recreation Area) to Hanksville, UT
Mileage: 78 miles, 52 miles
Terrains: Very Gradual Climbs
Temperature: 90ish degrees, 95ish degrees
The ride from Blanding, UT to Lake Powell was beautiful. I got up in Blanding at the campground, packed up my tent and we were on the road by 8:20 am. Stopped at the gas station going out of town and got a Gatorade as I was feeling kind of dry and dehydrated. Everything is much dryer out west here! We rode about 20ish miles out and there was our first rest stop. The scenery is much different in Utah. It is a lot of red rocks and canyons. We stopped at the second rest stop for an hour or so and walked out and sat on a rock and looked down into a canyon and ate. The canyons and red rock are so beautiful. We ride up and around them and the roads curve through them. We then stopped at the final, third rest stop for water. There was nothing for 75 miles so it was important for us to make sure that we made it to each of the rest stops provided for us in order to get water. I thought that there was nothing in Kansas, well there really is NOTHING out here. We didn’t pass a single building for 75 miles and right before the campground that we stayed at there was a small lodge. The campground was rather deserted however, there was a Lake Powell right by our campground. There was maybe 5 houses coming into the campground and I think that the park ranger and people that run the welcome center live there. So I got to the campground which was kind of down in a canyon and there was rock surrounding the campsite. There was also a huge boat dock to dock into Lake Powell which is just the bottom of a canyon which is about 135 miles long. The campsite was beautiful however, there was nowhere to find shade besides the restroom and the trailer. So we pulled a picnic table up along side of the trailer to sit on. I sat up my tent and didn’t have to use my fly as it was very dry and hot out. After I set up my tent which I had to use rocks to hold down due to the ground being hard as rock and not being able to get my stakes in I debated on how to get a “Shower.” So there were no real showers so these were my options. A. Wash in the sink in the restroom. B. Wash in Lake Powell which was murky and full of debris from a storm. C. Use the fish cleaning station beside the restroom which had hose like devices where some others were cleaning fish. D. Use wet wipes to clean up. So what I ended up doing was using my natural biodegradable/ environmentally friendly soap and scrubbed up in the lake in order to get the thick many layers of sunscreen off and sweat and then went to the restroom and washed up in the sink and also used some wet wipes. You learn to become very resourceful on a trip like this. I was really debating using the fish cleaning station which looked like a great shower, only if there weren’t people cleaning fish at the time. However, I did wait forever for them to leave but it was just taking them too long. I then went to sleep in my tent which you could see the sky very well without the fly. I didn’t see any starts however, the moon was sooo bright.
Woke up this morning with the sun rising and shinning in the canyon. Realized, OMG, I am literally in the middle of nowhere. Have not had any phone service whatsoever in a day or so now. Left the campsite at about 8:30ish and started down the road to our first and only rest stop at 25ish miles. It was a very very gradual uphill for some of this time. Stayed at the rest stop for an hour or so, ate and had a squirt gun fight. We all have squirt guns now and play with them all the time like 12 year old boys. We ride with them and squirt each other while riding and pretend to shoot birds and other things and make noise while doing it. It really is a blast. We then took off for the last 25 miles of the day which was a very gradual downhill. The roads here in Utah thus far are very deserted. We will go for miles and not see a car. Even more deserted than Kansas was. Oh, and today I also learned how to ride with no hands. Its lots of fun!!! So once we got into Hanksville, UT we stopped at the first restaurant/gas station coming into town because we were informed by the person working at the campground store that they had really good milkshakes. So I had a delicious Reese milkshake. It came close to the milkshake in Sebree, KY but it still wasn’t as good. We then rode down the street to Hanksville Inn where we are staying tonight. It is just a cheap motel but hey, it has air conditioning!! It is VERY hot out now. So somehow three of us girls ended up in a room with two beds so we drew twizlers for the single bed. I drew a short twizler so get to share a bed. Oh well, at least it’s a real bed. So I am now sitting on the hotel bed and its only 5:15 and I could take a nap!! I think I might!!
Terrains: Very Gradual Climbs
Temperature: 90ish degrees, 95ish degrees
The ride from Blanding, UT to Lake Powell was beautiful. I got up in Blanding at the campground, packed up my tent and we were on the road by 8:20 am. Stopped at the gas station going out of town and got a Gatorade as I was feeling kind of dry and dehydrated. Everything is much dryer out west here! We rode about 20ish miles out and there was our first rest stop. The scenery is much different in Utah. It is a lot of red rocks and canyons. We stopped at the second rest stop for an hour or so and walked out and sat on a rock and looked down into a canyon and ate. The canyons and red rock are so beautiful. We ride up and around them and the roads curve through them. We then stopped at the final, third rest stop for water. There was nothing for 75 miles so it was important for us to make sure that we made it to each of the rest stops provided for us in order to get water. I thought that there was nothing in Kansas, well there really is NOTHING out here. We didn’t pass a single building for 75 miles and right before the campground that we stayed at there was a small lodge. The campground was rather deserted however, there was a Lake Powell right by our campground. There was maybe 5 houses coming into the campground and I think that the park ranger and people that run the welcome center live there. So I got to the campground which was kind of down in a canyon and there was rock surrounding the campsite. There was also a huge boat dock to dock into Lake Powell which is just the bottom of a canyon which is about 135 miles long. The campsite was beautiful however, there was nowhere to find shade besides the restroom and the trailer. So we pulled a picnic table up along side of the trailer to sit on. I sat up my tent and didn’t have to use my fly as it was very dry and hot out. After I set up my tent which I had to use rocks to hold down due to the ground being hard as rock and not being able to get my stakes in I debated on how to get a “Shower.” So there were no real showers so these were my options. A. Wash in the sink in the restroom. B. Wash in Lake Powell which was murky and full of debris from a storm. C. Use the fish cleaning station beside the restroom which had hose like devices where some others were cleaning fish. D. Use wet wipes to clean up. So what I ended up doing was using my natural biodegradable/ environmentally friendly soap and scrubbed up in the lake in order to get the thick many layers of sunscreen off and sweat and then went to the restroom and washed up in the sink and also used some wet wipes. You learn to become very resourceful on a trip like this. I was really debating using the fish cleaning station which looked like a great shower, only if there weren’t people cleaning fish at the time. However, I did wait forever for them to leave but it was just taking them too long. I then went to sleep in my tent which you could see the sky very well without the fly. I didn’t see any starts however, the moon was sooo bright.
Woke up this morning with the sun rising and shinning in the canyon. Realized, OMG, I am literally in the middle of nowhere. Have not had any phone service whatsoever in a day or so now. Left the campsite at about 8:30ish and started down the road to our first and only rest stop at 25ish miles. It was a very very gradual uphill for some of this time. Stayed at the rest stop for an hour or so, ate and had a squirt gun fight. We all have squirt guns now and play with them all the time like 12 year old boys. We ride with them and squirt each other while riding and pretend to shoot birds and other things and make noise while doing it. It really is a blast. We then took off for the last 25 miles of the day which was a very gradual downhill. The roads here in Utah thus far are very deserted. We will go for miles and not see a car. Even more deserted than Kansas was. Oh, and today I also learned how to ride with no hands. Its lots of fun!!! So once we got into Hanksville, UT we stopped at the first restaurant/gas station coming into town because we were informed by the person working at the campground store that they had really good milkshakes. So I had a delicious Reese milkshake. It came close to the milkshake in Sebree, KY but it still wasn’t as good. We then rode down the street to Hanksville Inn where we are staying tonight. It is just a cheap motel but hey, it has air conditioning!! It is VERY hot out now. So somehow three of us girls ended up in a room with two beds so we drew twizlers for the single bed. I drew a short twizler so get to share a bed. Oh well, at least it’s a real bed. So I am now sitting on the hotel bed and its only 5:15 and I could take a nap!! I think I might!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
July 12-13 - Telluride, CO to Dolores, CO to Blanding, UT
Mileage: 62 miles, 82 miles
Terrains: Long Rolling Hills
Temperature: 60ish degrees, 84ish degrees
So on our day off I went to the coffee shop and caught up on some things there and then walked around town, went to some of the bike shops there and shopped around. Then I went back to our campsite got my swimsuit on and got ready to go white water rafting. Three other girls and I went. A bunch of the guys rented mountain bikes and took the gondola up to the top of the mountain and went down different trails that they had. I walked back into town about a half mile to the place to go rafting. They shuttled us about 20 minute to get on the raft and then we rode the rapids for about an hour and a half. The class of some of the rapids was class three. It was a blast. We did get poured on while we were rafting, it made us feel hard core…lol. We had blue wetsuit type things that we wore to keep us a little bit warmer. The water coming off of the mountains in the river was freezing cold and we weren’t supposed to get in because you can get hypothermia very quickly. We were instructed on what to do if we did get flipped out of the raft. Thankfully no one did! We also saw Wilsons peak which is on the Coors light bottle/can on our way rafting. Elevation of 14,000 ft. We got back from rafting at about 5:00 and then got our stuff together and walked over to the church in town to get a shower. Ike one of the riders found us a place to stay at the church where they had a free warm shower!! Many choose to keep camping however once I showered there I decided to tear my tent down and sleep in the basement of the church. It was remodeled last year so it was really nice!! So after the shower we got pizza at a pizza place in Telluride and then went back to the campsite where we all hid in the trailer to surprise our route leader for his birthday. We had tons of silly string and the other route leader pretended to have trouble with the lock on the trailer. So once the doors opened we ambushed him!! It was hilarious! We also had cupcakes to celebrate his birthday!
The next morning I woke up in the church basement and it was rather cold outside so dressed in my cold weather cycling clothes. Ran some stuff back to the trailer at the campground and then myself and two of the other girls rode our bikes over to the free gondola which took us up and over one of the hills/mountains where we then got back on the route. It was really fun riding this as we got to see up and over everything and even brought our bikes on the gondola where they hung outside!! We only had a small climb then after we got off of the gondola and then the rest of the day was a very gradual downhill. After about 10 miles down we pulled off on the side of the road to take a dip in a natural hot springs that our raft leader told us about. It was not publicized and back off of a dirt road. It was so warm!! We then road into Rico, CO where we had a bite to eat at a small restaurant. We finally left when we realized that it had started raining and was going to rain all day long. It was rather cold out being around 60 degrees and we had been poured on! We kept riding as we knew that being wet if we stopped that we would only get colder. We were originally supposed to camp out but Ike who always leaves early found us a place to stay at the HS gym in Dolores where it was warm dry and there were warm showers. We got showers and then went to a microbrewery where I had a delicious Calzone. Came back to the gym and slept in the warm.
Woke up this morning and it was a little bit warmer out. We rode about 20 miles to the first rest stop with long rolling hills and then another 8 miles to the Colorado Utah border. We then rode about 10 more to Dove Creek where I had a wonderful Panini!! The scenery is changing a lot as there are not as many trees around. Still some large hills though but gradual. We then rode on to the next water stop, got some ice cream. About 3 miles from the water stop I had realized that my rear tire was very low and it had a gash in it. So decided to put a new tube in it and boot the gash in the tire. Rode on and about 20 miles later realized that it was getting low again. Low enough to ride to the last water stop and then realized that there was a stone in the tire. So took the tire off again, put yet another boot in the tire as there is still a lot of miles left in this tire which I put on back in Kansas. Found the tiny hole in the tube and patched it as I only have 2 tubes left. They have others for us as well, just trying to conserve. So maybe I will be in the running of winning the most patches yet, however, I will have to get a few more patchable flats in order to win. Rode on and then did the last 20 miles which were mostly downhill with some climbing. Got poured on again and once even during a descent. It really hurts when rain is pelting you at 35-40 mph. It is crazy how comfortable you become with your bike and know what your limits are and aren’t. Got to camp at a campground at about 5:30 and had a big agenda which most of got done. Laundry, cleaned bike, chain cleaning on bike, grocery shopped, post cards written, showered, wiped out tent and other misc things. Just so you know things such as laundry and groceries are more difficult than you think without a car etc. However, we are in a great location so were able to walk to these a little ways. Now I am exhausted. Nite!!
Terrains: Long Rolling Hills
Temperature: 60ish degrees, 84ish degrees
So on our day off I went to the coffee shop and caught up on some things there and then walked around town, went to some of the bike shops there and shopped around. Then I went back to our campsite got my swimsuit on and got ready to go white water rafting. Three other girls and I went. A bunch of the guys rented mountain bikes and took the gondola up to the top of the mountain and went down different trails that they had. I walked back into town about a half mile to the place to go rafting. They shuttled us about 20 minute to get on the raft and then we rode the rapids for about an hour and a half. The class of some of the rapids was class three. It was a blast. We did get poured on while we were rafting, it made us feel hard core…lol. We had blue wetsuit type things that we wore to keep us a little bit warmer. The water coming off of the mountains in the river was freezing cold and we weren’t supposed to get in because you can get hypothermia very quickly. We were instructed on what to do if we did get flipped out of the raft. Thankfully no one did! We also saw Wilsons peak which is on the Coors light bottle/can on our way rafting. Elevation of 14,000 ft. We got back from rafting at about 5:00 and then got our stuff together and walked over to the church in town to get a shower. Ike one of the riders found us a place to stay at the church where they had a free warm shower!! Many choose to keep camping however once I showered there I decided to tear my tent down and sleep in the basement of the church. It was remodeled last year so it was really nice!! So after the shower we got pizza at a pizza place in Telluride and then went back to the campsite where we all hid in the trailer to surprise our route leader for his birthday. We had tons of silly string and the other route leader pretended to have trouble with the lock on the trailer. So once the doors opened we ambushed him!! It was hilarious! We also had cupcakes to celebrate his birthday!
The next morning I woke up in the church basement and it was rather cold outside so dressed in my cold weather cycling clothes. Ran some stuff back to the trailer at the campground and then myself and two of the other girls rode our bikes over to the free gondola which took us up and over one of the hills/mountains where we then got back on the route. It was really fun riding this as we got to see up and over everything and even brought our bikes on the gondola where they hung outside!! We only had a small climb then after we got off of the gondola and then the rest of the day was a very gradual downhill. After about 10 miles down we pulled off on the side of the road to take a dip in a natural hot springs that our raft leader told us about. It was not publicized and back off of a dirt road. It was so warm!! We then road into Rico, CO where we had a bite to eat at a small restaurant. We finally left when we realized that it had started raining and was going to rain all day long. It was rather cold out being around 60 degrees and we had been poured on! We kept riding as we knew that being wet if we stopped that we would only get colder. We were originally supposed to camp out but Ike who always leaves early found us a place to stay at the HS gym in Dolores where it was warm dry and there were warm showers. We got showers and then went to a microbrewery where I had a delicious Calzone. Came back to the gym and slept in the warm.
Woke up this morning and it was a little bit warmer out. We rode about 20 miles to the first rest stop with long rolling hills and then another 8 miles to the Colorado Utah border. We then rode about 10 more to Dove Creek where I had a wonderful Panini!! The scenery is changing a lot as there are not as many trees around. Still some large hills though but gradual. We then rode on to the next water stop, got some ice cream. About 3 miles from the water stop I had realized that my rear tire was very low and it had a gash in it. So decided to put a new tube in it and boot the gash in the tire. Rode on and about 20 miles later realized that it was getting low again. Low enough to ride to the last water stop and then realized that there was a stone in the tire. So took the tire off again, put yet another boot in the tire as there is still a lot of miles left in this tire which I put on back in Kansas. Found the tiny hole in the tube and patched it as I only have 2 tubes left. They have others for us as well, just trying to conserve. So maybe I will be in the running of winning the most patches yet, however, I will have to get a few more patchable flats in order to win. Rode on and then did the last 20 miles which were mostly downhill with some climbing. Got poured on again and once even during a descent. It really hurts when rain is pelting you at 35-40 mph. It is crazy how comfortable you become with your bike and know what your limits are and aren’t. Got to camp at a campground at about 5:30 and had a big agenda which most of got done. Laundry, cleaned bike, chain cleaning on bike, grocery shopped, post cards written, showered, wiped out tent and other misc things. Just so you know things such as laundry and groceries are more difficult than you think without a car etc. However, we are in a great location so were able to walk to these a little ways. Now I am exhausted. Nite!!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
July 9-11 - Gunnison, CO to Montrose, CO to Telluride, CO and Rest Day
Mileage: 70 miles, 70 miles
Terrains: Climbing up and down the Rocky Mountains, Gradual long climbs and descents
Temperature: 75-80 degrees, temperature changes with elevation
On July 9th we got at the KOA camp ground and had two smaller climbs and then descended most of the day. The rocky mountains really are AMAZING. We are seeing so many neat things, for example as we were riding along in the morning some of our group and van were stopped along the road and there were big horn sheep walking on the side of a cliff. It was truly amazing. One of our route leaders Pepper who was driving the van and trailer said that when he got there they were crossing the road and the mom sheep were basically forcing the baby sheep up the side of this cliff. I have never seen anything like them before. I have no idea how they stayed on the side of the mountains. There were rocks falling from the mountains and all. We rode by a huge beautiful body of water, some reservoir I think. Most of the day was descending very gradually, however there was a head wind from the west so we still had to pedal. There was a climb that was about 6 or so miles uphill at mile 40ish and then the rest was a descent so we descended into Montrose and then went to a microbrewery once we got into Montrose. It had been a beautiful day of riding. We then rode to the Motel 6 where we were staying at. We were rather excited to have a motel as it for me was only the 4th motel of the trip. It actually turned out to be a rather nice hotel. They had an indoor hot tub and pool that we decided to take advantage of. There were 5 of us in a room so I choose to sleep on my mat on the floor. Slept really well as it was temperature controlled!!
Got up on the morning of the 10th and the previous night we had met a couple at the microbrewery who thought that what we were doing to raise funds and awareness for MS was neat so they offered to make breakfast for us. We took them up on the offer. They made us Elk Burritos. They were delicious. We then rode out of Montrose knowing that most of the day was going to be climbing. It actually turned out that the climbing wasn’t as bad as what I had originally anticipated. It was fairly gradual for quite some time then it started to go up. There were two major climbs of the day. The first rest stop of the day was in Ridgeway, CO so I ate a big lunch and started up the first climb of the day which was 9 miles up. However, at the rest stop I had drank a HUGE bottle of chocolate milk. Bad idea, I started feeling like it was going to come up about half way through the climb. However, I made it to the top!! I will make sure to not do that again!! We then had about a 12 mile descent to our second stop of the day. It was just glorious! Stopped by the river sat and chilled for awhile and then moved on to ride the last 16 miles of the day. It was all uphill into Telluride. However, it wasn’t as steep as anticipated and I hesitate to use the word steep because none of the hills here in the Rocky Mountains are steep compared to the mountains in Virginia. Then the last three miles we hopped on the bike path into Telluride. It apparently is required to use the path and illegal to ride on the road through this section. As we were riding into Telluride we saw this white thing coming down the mountain. Weren’t sure what it was and as we got closer realized that it is a very long water fall with water from the snow coming down the mountain. Telluride is 3 miles off of the route, however, it is just such a cool little town that we had to stay here. There are soooo many bikes and bikers here!! We are staying at the park/ campground right by downtown and last night we went out in town to celebrate our route leaders’ birthday. Had some wonderful Mexican food as well. I got a shower at the park and you have to pay $3 for a 5 minute warm shower. Which I did, cold showers are free and some of the people in our group did this and basically said that the water felt like it came straight off of the mountain. While we were out downtown some of the other riders blew up balloons and filled up Peppers tent for his birthday. So when we got back he got in his tent to find balloons filling it. It was pretty funny!! Slept in this morning until about 8:45 am got up had some peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. Sat around for a little while and then decided to come into town. Today’s agenda is to go white water rafting at 1:30, do some laundry and possibly stop at some of the bike shops here in town. I am debating buying a different saddle for my bike as my butt is hurting while riding. However, I am not sure at this point if a different saddle will make a difference when you are putting this much time in the saddle. We are all very excited to be in such a neat town and to have a true rest day with no service project AKA yard makeover.
Terrains: Climbing up and down the Rocky Mountains, Gradual long climbs and descents
Temperature: 75-80 degrees, temperature changes with elevation
On July 9th we got at the KOA camp ground and had two smaller climbs and then descended most of the day. The rocky mountains really are AMAZING. We are seeing so many neat things, for example as we were riding along in the morning some of our group and van were stopped along the road and there were big horn sheep walking on the side of a cliff. It was truly amazing. One of our route leaders Pepper who was driving the van and trailer said that when he got there they were crossing the road and the mom sheep were basically forcing the baby sheep up the side of this cliff. I have never seen anything like them before. I have no idea how they stayed on the side of the mountains. There were rocks falling from the mountains and all. We rode by a huge beautiful body of water, some reservoir I think. Most of the day was descending very gradually, however there was a head wind from the west so we still had to pedal. There was a climb that was about 6 or so miles uphill at mile 40ish and then the rest was a descent so we descended into Montrose and then went to a microbrewery once we got into Montrose. It had been a beautiful day of riding. We then rode to the Motel 6 where we were staying at. We were rather excited to have a motel as it for me was only the 4th motel of the trip. It actually turned out to be a rather nice hotel. They had an indoor hot tub and pool that we decided to take advantage of. There were 5 of us in a room so I choose to sleep on my mat on the floor. Slept really well as it was temperature controlled!!
Got up on the morning of the 10th and the previous night we had met a couple at the microbrewery who thought that what we were doing to raise funds and awareness for MS was neat so they offered to make breakfast for us. We took them up on the offer. They made us Elk Burritos. They were delicious. We then rode out of Montrose knowing that most of the day was going to be climbing. It actually turned out that the climbing wasn’t as bad as what I had originally anticipated. It was fairly gradual for quite some time then it started to go up. There were two major climbs of the day. The first rest stop of the day was in Ridgeway, CO so I ate a big lunch and started up the first climb of the day which was 9 miles up. However, at the rest stop I had drank a HUGE bottle of chocolate milk. Bad idea, I started feeling like it was going to come up about half way through the climb. However, I made it to the top!! I will make sure to not do that again!! We then had about a 12 mile descent to our second stop of the day. It was just glorious! Stopped by the river sat and chilled for awhile and then moved on to ride the last 16 miles of the day. It was all uphill into Telluride. However, it wasn’t as steep as anticipated and I hesitate to use the word steep because none of the hills here in the Rocky Mountains are steep compared to the mountains in Virginia. Then the last three miles we hopped on the bike path into Telluride. It apparently is required to use the path and illegal to ride on the road through this section. As we were riding into Telluride we saw this white thing coming down the mountain. Weren’t sure what it was and as we got closer realized that it is a very long water fall with water from the snow coming down the mountain. Telluride is 3 miles off of the route, however, it is just such a cool little town that we had to stay here. There are soooo many bikes and bikers here!! We are staying at the park/ campground right by downtown and last night we went out in town to celebrate our route leaders’ birthday. Had some wonderful Mexican food as well. I got a shower at the park and you have to pay $3 for a 5 minute warm shower. Which I did, cold showers are free and some of the people in our group did this and basically said that the water felt like it came straight off of the mountain. While we were out downtown some of the other riders blew up balloons and filled up Peppers tent for his birthday. So when we got back he got in his tent to find balloons filling it. It was pretty funny!! Slept in this morning until about 8:45 am got up had some peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. Sat around for a little while and then decided to come into town. Today’s agenda is to go white water rafting at 1:30, do some laundry and possibly stop at some of the bike shops here in town. I am debating buying a different saddle for my bike as my butt is hurting while riding. However, I am not sure at this point if a different saddle will make a difference when you are putting this much time in the saddle. We are all very excited to be in such a neat town and to have a true rest day with no service project AKA yard makeover.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Mountain Goats!! AMAZING!!
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Friday, July 8, 2011
July 6-8 - Pueblo, CO to Westcliffe, CO to Garfield, CO to Gunnison, CO
Mileage: 59 miles, 66 miles, 49 miles
Terrains: Climbing up and down the Rocky Mountains, Gradual long climbs and descents
Temperature: 85 degrees
On the morning of July 8th we rode out of Pueblo and the terrain was fairly flat for about 10 or so miles, and then it started to go uphill. Pueblo is at about 5000 ft of elevation above sea level. We then started gradually climbing. However, I was still in my lowest gear during a lot of this climbing. It is MUCH more gradual and long than the mountains we climbed in Virginia. It seems that the mountains in Virginia you go up and over the peaks and in Colorado you somewhat go through the mountains. There are more passes rather than going up to the highest points. We did a fair amount of climbing and climbed up to about 9000 ft and then descended to about 8000 ft to where we stayed at in Westcliffe, CO. We stayed about 2 miles out of town at a RV park with really nice showers!! We had a great view of the Rocky Mountains, just gorgeous, and all I could think was OMG, we are going to climb those tomorrow!! It was a really nice privately owned campground out in the middle of nowhere. There weren’t many trees around and it was pretty bare all around the campground.
On the morning of the 7th we got up and started descending for most of the day. We were descending for most of the day, very gradually. We stopped in a really neat town about 20 miles outside of Garfield, CO and ate. It was called Salida and it was along a river and very touristy. So many cute shops and great food. We walked around and looked at shops and even got ice cream. We joked about how we have turned into ice cream snobs because we were recommended a place that had ice cream and got there and they only had soft serve. We were like, we need the real deal!! So we found a different place and had Gelato there!! Mmmmmmmmm!! We knew that we had about 20 miles of climbing once we left town so we fueled up!! Saldia is located at about 8000ft. We rode out of town and things started to go up!! I threw it in my lowest gear and was there for about 2-3 hours. I could tell as we got higher and higher that the oxygen was becoming less and less and I was breathing harder and harder. We were taking Monarch Pass through the mountains. We climbed all but 3 miles from the top and stayed in Garfield at 10,000ft. It became very cold as we climbed and by the time we got to the top it was VERY cold. Got to the campsite tucked back in the woods. There were lots of trees and only a restroom there with no running water. That means no showers. I quickly washed up with wet wipes and put on warm clothes as I was freezing!! Set up my tent as the mosquito’s were attacking me and went straight to bed!! I took all of my blankets consisting of my sleeping bag, blanket and sheet and bundled up including all of my warm clothes. I even used hand warmers in my bed to keep warm. I slept well until about 4:00 am when I woke up and had to go pee. It was about 45 degrees last night. I tried to go back to sleep and make it go away however I wasn’t falling back asleep so I figured I should do something about it. So I put on my head lamp and peaked out of my tent. Crawled out and walked up by the van and trailer and considered taking a nature pee at the restrooms were only a compost toilet in a shack. I looked over across and down the gravel path at the restroom and all around. I was scared that I was going to have an encounter with a bear or some other animal. Debated nature peeing again and figured I would end up peeing on my foot or something. Then I sprinted for the shack. Went pee and then peaked out of the bathroom door looked around and make a sprint for my tent. Whew was I out of breath from this short sprint. I could tell that the oxygen concentration was low!! Fell right back to sleep and Brittany shook my tent at about 8:00 am as the trailer was leaving at 9:00 am. She wakes me most mornings thankfully!! I got up and put on my warm weather clothes and started climbing the last 3 miles to the top of Monarch Pass at 11,312 ft. Rode at about 4-5 mph all the way to the top. Got to the top shopped at the store there and then decided to take the lift up to the top where you cannot get to by car. It was about 12,000ft. It was sooo windy up there and there was even snow!! You could look out over all of the peaks it was AWESOME!! You could even see the road that we rode in on!! We hung around at the top of Monarch pass for awhile and then took the descent down. It was very long which was awesome, however, the wind was blowing strong from the west which slowed us down quite a bit however, the pedaling was still fairly easy. We were gradually descending most of the day. Had one more rest stop about 12 miles from where we were staying and then rode on into the town where we were staying. Had some Mexican food and then stopped at the grocery and then went to the KOA campground where we are staying. Got a wonderful shower!! Did some laundry and am now getting ready for bed. Cannot wait for tomorrow. I am really enjoying the Rocky mountains!! They are gorgeous and the views are spectacular!!
Terrains: Climbing up and down the Rocky Mountains, Gradual long climbs and descents
Temperature: 85 degrees
On the morning of July 8th we rode out of Pueblo and the terrain was fairly flat for about 10 or so miles, and then it started to go uphill. Pueblo is at about 5000 ft of elevation above sea level. We then started gradually climbing. However, I was still in my lowest gear during a lot of this climbing. It is MUCH more gradual and long than the mountains we climbed in Virginia. It seems that the mountains in Virginia you go up and over the peaks and in Colorado you somewhat go through the mountains. There are more passes rather than going up to the highest points. We did a fair amount of climbing and climbed up to about 9000 ft and then descended to about 8000 ft to where we stayed at in Westcliffe, CO. We stayed about 2 miles out of town at a RV park with really nice showers!! We had a great view of the Rocky Mountains, just gorgeous, and all I could think was OMG, we are going to climb those tomorrow!! It was a really nice privately owned campground out in the middle of nowhere. There weren’t many trees around and it was pretty bare all around the campground.
On the morning of the 7th we got up and started descending for most of the day. We were descending for most of the day, very gradually. We stopped in a really neat town about 20 miles outside of Garfield, CO and ate. It was called Salida and it was along a river and very touristy. So many cute shops and great food. We walked around and looked at shops and even got ice cream. We joked about how we have turned into ice cream snobs because we were recommended a place that had ice cream and got there and they only had soft serve. We were like, we need the real deal!! So we found a different place and had Gelato there!! Mmmmmmmmm!! We knew that we had about 20 miles of climbing once we left town so we fueled up!! Saldia is located at about 8000ft. We rode out of town and things started to go up!! I threw it in my lowest gear and was there for about 2-3 hours. I could tell as we got higher and higher that the oxygen was becoming less and less and I was breathing harder and harder. We were taking Monarch Pass through the mountains. We climbed all but 3 miles from the top and stayed in Garfield at 10,000ft. It became very cold as we climbed and by the time we got to the top it was VERY cold. Got to the campsite tucked back in the woods. There were lots of trees and only a restroom there with no running water. That means no showers. I quickly washed up with wet wipes and put on warm clothes as I was freezing!! Set up my tent as the mosquito’s were attacking me and went straight to bed!! I took all of my blankets consisting of my sleeping bag, blanket and sheet and bundled up including all of my warm clothes. I even used hand warmers in my bed to keep warm. I slept well until about 4:00 am when I woke up and had to go pee. It was about 45 degrees last night. I tried to go back to sleep and make it go away however I wasn’t falling back asleep so I figured I should do something about it. So I put on my head lamp and peaked out of my tent. Crawled out and walked up by the van and trailer and considered taking a nature pee at the restrooms were only a compost toilet in a shack. I looked over across and down the gravel path at the restroom and all around. I was scared that I was going to have an encounter with a bear or some other animal. Debated nature peeing again and figured I would end up peeing on my foot or something. Then I sprinted for the shack. Went pee and then peaked out of the bathroom door looked around and make a sprint for my tent. Whew was I out of breath from this short sprint. I could tell that the oxygen concentration was low!! Fell right back to sleep and Brittany shook my tent at about 8:00 am as the trailer was leaving at 9:00 am. She wakes me most mornings thankfully!! I got up and put on my warm weather clothes and started climbing the last 3 miles to the top of Monarch Pass at 11,312 ft. Rode at about 4-5 mph all the way to the top. Got to the top shopped at the store there and then decided to take the lift up to the top where you cannot get to by car. It was about 12,000ft. It was sooo windy up there and there was even snow!! You could look out over all of the peaks it was AWESOME!! You could even see the road that we rode in on!! We hung around at the top of Monarch pass for awhile and then took the descent down. It was very long which was awesome, however, the wind was blowing strong from the west which slowed us down quite a bit however, the pedaling was still fairly easy. We were gradually descending most of the day. Had one more rest stop about 12 miles from where we were staying and then rode on into the town where we were staying. Had some Mexican food and then stopped at the grocery and then went to the KOA campground where we are staying. Got a wonderful shower!! Did some laundry and am now getting ready for bed. Cannot wait for tomorrow. I am really enjoying the Rocky mountains!! They are gorgeous and the views are spectacular!!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
July 4-5 - Ordway, CO to Pueblo, CO and No Ride Day
Mileage: 50 miles
Terrains: Flat
Temperature: 97 degrees
Woke up on the 4th at Ordway’s HS gym, there was no ac but I didn’t mind as I didn’t have to set up my tent and there were no bugs! I slept great! But, for some strange reason every time I moved on my mat, it squeaked on the gym floor. I was worried I was keeping everyone awake but I think they were all too tired to care. It was a rather slow start to the morning as we only had 50 flat miles to go and all day to do it in. Rode about 30 easy miles, took my time and enjoyed my music on my ipod. Then came to the first rest stop. There was a small convenience store where I hydrated on some gatorade. We noticed that the scenery was changing a bit as there was more green in the pastures. The cows blended in with the green as the plants were much taller- in Kansas the cows stood out as the pastures weren’t very tall.
In Kentucky we saw a lot of tobacco fields and corn fields, in Illinois it was more wooded and we didn’t see as many crops, in Missouri there was corn and some beans. In Kansas there was lots of wheat, corn, and beans and we even saw a few fields where they had burned the wheat, we’re not sure why. There were also a lot of the big irrigation arms there; I learned later that some of the riders would get off their bikes and stand under these to cool off; I was concerned that there might be pesticides in them so I never did, but gosh, that would have made riding in the heat so much more tolerable! Kansas also had lot of big open fields of pasture where there were lots of cattle. Also, in Kansas and Colorado (thus far) we saw three or four cattle distribution centers that smelled horrible. There were acres and acres packed full of cattle – about twenty times as big as my dad’s farm all packed full of cows. One of the guys pointed out that all the cows stared at us when we passed them (this was all the cows, not just the distribution centers.)
After the next rest stop we moved on, Brittany and I were riding along just listening to music when this van pulled up making all this noise. I was thinking, what’s going on, who are these people? And then I realized it was my family. So I pulled over and talked to them for a little while, told them how bad my butt hurt, boy do I have some saddle sores going on. Everybody agrees that Kansas wasn’t good on our hinies.
So we got into Pueblo and are staying at Guest House Inn. I am just thrilled to sleep on a real mattress and I have my own bed and air conditioning!
My family brought me a pair of jean shorts and they fit like always, which was really good news. I was worried I was gaining; I’m not sure why I would think that but it might have something to do with the mass amounts of food I consume. My family also brought my heart rate monitor, which tracks calories used, and on one of the long rides I’ll report back on that.
Today (July 5) I took my bike to the bike shop here to have some work done. We also did another project for a woman who has MS. The girls all cleaned the inside of the house, and the guys cleaned out the garage and trimmed the yard up, cleaned out spoutings, etc. We are fortunate that we are able to do these things and it is nice to know that we made someone’s home a little more comfortable for them.
Afterward, my sisters took a bunch of us to Walmart in the rental van; it was a nice treat to be able to go there and get some supplies for our pantries, etc. Also, I got my Mohawk put on my helmet; I was so glad to get this!
We are leaving now to go get Mexican down by the river. Tomorrow they are going to let us sleep in again so the van isn’t leaving until about 10 a.m.
Terrains: Flat
Temperature: 97 degrees
Woke up on the 4th at Ordway’s HS gym, there was no ac but I didn’t mind as I didn’t have to set up my tent and there were no bugs! I slept great! But, for some strange reason every time I moved on my mat, it squeaked on the gym floor. I was worried I was keeping everyone awake but I think they were all too tired to care. It was a rather slow start to the morning as we only had 50 flat miles to go and all day to do it in. Rode about 30 easy miles, took my time and enjoyed my music on my ipod. Then came to the first rest stop. There was a small convenience store where I hydrated on some gatorade. We noticed that the scenery was changing a bit as there was more green in the pastures. The cows blended in with the green as the plants were much taller- in Kansas the cows stood out as the pastures weren’t very tall.
In Kentucky we saw a lot of tobacco fields and corn fields, in Illinois it was more wooded and we didn’t see as many crops, in Missouri there was corn and some beans. In Kansas there was lots of wheat, corn, and beans and we even saw a few fields where they had burned the wheat, we’re not sure why. There were also a lot of the big irrigation arms there; I learned later that some of the riders would get off their bikes and stand under these to cool off; I was concerned that there might be pesticides in them so I never did, but gosh, that would have made riding in the heat so much more tolerable! Kansas also had lot of big open fields of pasture where there were lots of cattle. Also, in Kansas and Colorado (thus far) we saw three or four cattle distribution centers that smelled horrible. There were acres and acres packed full of cattle – about twenty times as big as my dad’s farm all packed full of cows. One of the guys pointed out that all the cows stared at us when we passed them (this was all the cows, not just the distribution centers.)
After the next rest stop we moved on, Brittany and I were riding along just listening to music when this van pulled up making all this noise. I was thinking, what’s going on, who are these people? And then I realized it was my family. So I pulled over and talked to them for a little while, told them how bad my butt hurt, boy do I have some saddle sores going on. Everybody agrees that Kansas wasn’t good on our hinies.
So we got into Pueblo and are staying at Guest House Inn. I am just thrilled to sleep on a real mattress and I have my own bed and air conditioning!
My family brought me a pair of jean shorts and they fit like always, which was really good news. I was worried I was gaining; I’m not sure why I would think that but it might have something to do with the mass amounts of food I consume. My family also brought my heart rate monitor, which tracks calories used, and on one of the long rides I’ll report back on that.
Today (July 5) I took my bike to the bike shop here to have some work done. We also did another project for a woman who has MS. The girls all cleaned the inside of the house, and the guys cleaned out the garage and trimmed the yard up, cleaned out spoutings, etc. We are fortunate that we are able to do these things and it is nice to know that we made someone’s home a little more comfortable for them.
Afterward, my sisters took a bunch of us to Walmart in the rental van; it was a nice treat to be able to go there and get some supplies for our pantries, etc. Also, I got my Mohawk put on my helmet; I was so glad to get this!
We are leaving now to go get Mexican down by the river. Tomorrow they are going to let us sleep in again so the van isn’t leaving until about 10 a.m.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
July 1-3rd - Larned, KS to Ness City, KS to Eads, CO to Ordway, CO
Mileage: 65 miles, 160 miles, 60 miles
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 106 degrees, 97 degrees, 96 degrees
So on July 1st, Friday, I got up at 4:20 am in order to get an early start for a long hot day. Was on the road with some others by 5:20am and it was dark. We had headlights etc. and were trying to get as many miles in before the heat of the day. We were supposed to ride 94 miles and the high was 107 degrees. The winds in the morning weren’t too bad however as the day went on we ended up with a very strong wind 20 mph or something from the south to southwest. It was really neat to see the sunrise as we rode. We got to the first water stop at 30 some miles had a quick bite to eat and refilled on water and kept on. As we rode the wind started to get stronger and stronger however, I managed to battle it out until the next town which was Ness City at 65 miles. The winds were pretty strong however, living in Ohio I have experienced winds just as bad if not worse. However, when trucks would pass you on the other side of the road it was like a wall of wind that would smack you as they went past. It sometimes would slow you down to like 6 mph. I was going about 12 mph while battling this headwind. So at the second stop which was at 65 miles we decided to stop there for the night instead of going on to finish the 94 miles. They were calling for wind from the east so tailwinds on July 2nd so we figured we could do the next 30 miles in half the time rather than having the cross/tail winds. It also worked out in our favor because the place that we camped was a park that had a swimming pool right by it that we swam at and also showers there and there were not showers or anything at the place 30 miles up the road. So in Kansas you can always pretty much count on a pool being by any park. So we were done riding for the day by 10:30 am due to the very early start so we hung out in town for a while went to the pool got showers and then got ice cream and more food and then went back to the park and set up my tent. So at the park there were lots of what they call goat thorns lying in the grass and everyone was getting flats. There were probably about 20 or so flats between all of the riders. And when I got up the next morning I had a rear flat that I had to change. I was exhausted as I had gotten up very early. I laid down in my tent at 8:00 pm and laid there for probably about 2 hours sweating it was miserably hot out. There was also a ball game going on at the park until about 11:00 pm and it was very loud along with fireworks for the fourth so it was very hard to sleep.
The next day we got up and got a late start of 7:00 am which we were planning on leaving at 6:00 am due to being very sleepy. We knew that we had 102 miles due to making up the mileage from the day before. Once we got on the road we were making really good time with a tailwind straight from the eas going 20+ mph. We were cruzin!! Went about 30 or so miles stopped for a great breakfast at some diner and kept moving on. Stopped at the second rest stop and filled up on water and moved on to make the hundred that we were doing. Found out that the route leaders had decided that we were going to do 130 miles due to the great tailwinds. Finished the first 100 miles in 5 hours and 10 minutes!! Record timing!! The route leaders however gave us the option to stay in the town at 100 miles to go swimming and finish the last 30 miles after the heat of the day to where they were to stay at a church. However, two of the older guys wanted to push on and do 160 miles and get a hotel. I was feeling good after the first hundred miles and figured that it is on my bucket list to ride 150 miles and well we already had to go 130 miles, what is 20 more. Well we couldn’t only go 20 more due to no place to stay. So two of the older guys took off for the 160. We had previously research places to stay in Eads, CO and there was only one, Travelers Lodge Motel. It was $60 a night they had told me to get them a room if we decided to come. So myself and 5 others decided to take off and go for the 160. We left after the 100 miles to do the next 60 at about 4:00 pm and at about mile 110 I started feeling nauseated. This went on for about 10 miles, I think that it was the heat as it was VERY hot at this time. We got to the Kansas/ Colorado border at mile 117 and I felt like I could throw up. At this point I was seriously considering staying back with the other half of the group and stopping at mile 130. So we got some pictures at the Colorado sign and I battled it out. As we were riding along at about mile 120 we saw that it was raining up ahead so we put everything away that couldn’t get wet such as my ipod and kept on riding. Finally, we got to it and it wasn’t raining terribly hard however, it was hailing. It kind of hurt as you rode through it. You could also hear it go ping ping on my bike and helmet. It felt great due to the temperature cooling down. I started to feel a lot better and was getting my third wind. So right before the gas station at mile 130 I slowed down and realized that I had just gotten a flat so I walked it to the gas station where I took the tire off, pulled the wire out of the tire and realized that there were quite a few pin holes in the tire. We debated about putting something inside of the tire to kind of protect the tube or to call the support van and get a new tire. Well just as we were debating the van and trailer pulled up!! How convenient!! So we quickly changed out the tire and by this time I was feeling much better so decided to go for the last 30 of 160 miles. Got on the road and well the wind had switched after the first 100 miles so we had defiantly slowed down but kept on moving. So at about mile 145 the winds really started to pick up. They were right in our face and VERY strong. There was one point in time where I thought I was going to blow away with my bike. We made a slight turn and the wind was blowing strong and whipping me and my bike all over. I contemplated laying down in the ditch however, I kept plowing along with my head down knowing that we only had about 10 miles left and the sun was starting to go down. There was no other option at this point in time but to keep on going. I put my head down and plowed into the wind. This wind slowed us down about an hour or so. Finally, after 9 hours and 30 minutes in the saddle we arrived at the motel. We were expecting a dump of a hotel however, when were got there it wasn’t as bad as what we though, not a 5 star hotel or anything near but at least the mattresses weren’t on the floor…lol. There were defiantly doubts throughout this 160 miles, just if I could really do it, was I physically fit enough, did I really have it in me. Sometimes I think that the only thing that kept me going was my mental strength. I knew that 160 miles wasn’t going to be easy and that I was going to have to work for it, but I concurred it!! This was probably one of the hardest things I have done physically ever! So we slept well in the hotel which was only the 2nd real bed that I have slept in over a month. It was wonderful!! So in order to go on without the van and trailer we had to pack clothes to wear in our handlebar bags. I packed a shirt and shorts and a comb, toothbrush and conditioner. One of the guys brought toothpaste and one of the girls brought deodorant and the other brought shampoo so we were set!!
This morning, July 3rd we slept in until 7:00 am which was actually 8:00 am as on the 2nd we had crossed over yet another time zone. We knew that we only had 60 miles to ride as we had wiped out 30 miles the day before. Got up and walked over to the only restaurant in town and got breakfast and as we were sitting there the van and trailer showed up as this was the first stop. This was very convenient as I was able to get clean cycling clothes to change into for the day. We then got everything out of the trailer and they took off. We figured that we could hang out at the motel for awhile as we only had 60 miles so we laid in bed for awhile and finally decided to leave at about 10:45am. Winds were not strong whatsoever and riding today was easy and fun!! We made it to the first town about 23 miles out which had nothing in it but we did find a spigot to fill up with water have a snack and roll on. We had thought that the trailer had moved on as we had left very late compared to normal however as we were riding along the road we saw the trailer along side of the road at about mile 32. We stopped filled up on water and had a dance party!! The trailer has speakers in it so we cranked it up and were jamming out! It was a blast and we have it on video!! So through all of Kansas we followed the same road 96 and are still on it. It is very straight and flat, one mile is the same as the next however, it’s awesome because you cannot get lost!! So we rode on to the next town at mile 55 stopped had a gatorade sat around for a little while as we were informed that we were staying at an RV park with no showers. So we rode the last few miles to the RV park and am not sitting at the gas station/restaurant typing this blog. However, we just got word that they are going to let us stay at the high school gym which we are excited because there will be showers there!! So I am off to the HS gym!!
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 106 degrees, 97 degrees, 96 degrees
So on July 1st, Friday, I got up at 4:20 am in order to get an early start for a long hot day. Was on the road with some others by 5:20am and it was dark. We had headlights etc. and were trying to get as many miles in before the heat of the day. We were supposed to ride 94 miles and the high was 107 degrees. The winds in the morning weren’t too bad however as the day went on we ended up with a very strong wind 20 mph or something from the south to southwest. It was really neat to see the sunrise as we rode. We got to the first water stop at 30 some miles had a quick bite to eat and refilled on water and kept on. As we rode the wind started to get stronger and stronger however, I managed to battle it out until the next town which was Ness City at 65 miles. The winds were pretty strong however, living in Ohio I have experienced winds just as bad if not worse. However, when trucks would pass you on the other side of the road it was like a wall of wind that would smack you as they went past. It sometimes would slow you down to like 6 mph. I was going about 12 mph while battling this headwind. So at the second stop which was at 65 miles we decided to stop there for the night instead of going on to finish the 94 miles. They were calling for wind from the east so tailwinds on July 2nd so we figured we could do the next 30 miles in half the time rather than having the cross/tail winds. It also worked out in our favor because the place that we camped was a park that had a swimming pool right by it that we swam at and also showers there and there were not showers or anything at the place 30 miles up the road. So in Kansas you can always pretty much count on a pool being by any park. So we were done riding for the day by 10:30 am due to the very early start so we hung out in town for a while went to the pool got showers and then got ice cream and more food and then went back to the park and set up my tent. So at the park there were lots of what they call goat thorns lying in the grass and everyone was getting flats. There were probably about 20 or so flats between all of the riders. And when I got up the next morning I had a rear flat that I had to change. I was exhausted as I had gotten up very early. I laid down in my tent at 8:00 pm and laid there for probably about 2 hours sweating it was miserably hot out. There was also a ball game going on at the park until about 11:00 pm and it was very loud along with fireworks for the fourth so it was very hard to sleep.
The next day we got up and got a late start of 7:00 am which we were planning on leaving at 6:00 am due to being very sleepy. We knew that we had 102 miles due to making up the mileage from the day before. Once we got on the road we were making really good time with a tailwind straight from the eas going 20+ mph. We were cruzin!! Went about 30 or so miles stopped for a great breakfast at some diner and kept moving on. Stopped at the second rest stop and filled up on water and moved on to make the hundred that we were doing. Found out that the route leaders had decided that we were going to do 130 miles due to the great tailwinds. Finished the first 100 miles in 5 hours and 10 minutes!! Record timing!! The route leaders however gave us the option to stay in the town at 100 miles to go swimming and finish the last 30 miles after the heat of the day to where they were to stay at a church. However, two of the older guys wanted to push on and do 160 miles and get a hotel. I was feeling good after the first hundred miles and figured that it is on my bucket list to ride 150 miles and well we already had to go 130 miles, what is 20 more. Well we couldn’t only go 20 more due to no place to stay. So two of the older guys took off for the 160. We had previously research places to stay in Eads, CO and there was only one, Travelers Lodge Motel. It was $60 a night they had told me to get them a room if we decided to come. So myself and 5 others decided to take off and go for the 160. We left after the 100 miles to do the next 60 at about 4:00 pm and at about mile 110 I started feeling nauseated. This went on for about 10 miles, I think that it was the heat as it was VERY hot at this time. We got to the Kansas/ Colorado border at mile 117 and I felt like I could throw up. At this point I was seriously considering staying back with the other half of the group and stopping at mile 130. So we got some pictures at the Colorado sign and I battled it out. As we were riding along at about mile 120 we saw that it was raining up ahead so we put everything away that couldn’t get wet such as my ipod and kept on riding. Finally, we got to it and it wasn’t raining terribly hard however, it was hailing. It kind of hurt as you rode through it. You could also hear it go ping ping on my bike and helmet. It felt great due to the temperature cooling down. I started to feel a lot better and was getting my third wind. So right before the gas station at mile 130 I slowed down and realized that I had just gotten a flat so I walked it to the gas station where I took the tire off, pulled the wire out of the tire and realized that there were quite a few pin holes in the tire. We debated about putting something inside of the tire to kind of protect the tube or to call the support van and get a new tire. Well just as we were debating the van and trailer pulled up!! How convenient!! So we quickly changed out the tire and by this time I was feeling much better so decided to go for the last 30 of 160 miles. Got on the road and well the wind had switched after the first 100 miles so we had defiantly slowed down but kept on moving. So at about mile 145 the winds really started to pick up. They were right in our face and VERY strong. There was one point in time where I thought I was going to blow away with my bike. We made a slight turn and the wind was blowing strong and whipping me and my bike all over. I contemplated laying down in the ditch however, I kept plowing along with my head down knowing that we only had about 10 miles left and the sun was starting to go down. There was no other option at this point in time but to keep on going. I put my head down and plowed into the wind. This wind slowed us down about an hour or so. Finally, after 9 hours and 30 minutes in the saddle we arrived at the motel. We were expecting a dump of a hotel however, when were got there it wasn’t as bad as what we though, not a 5 star hotel or anything near but at least the mattresses weren’t on the floor…lol. There were defiantly doubts throughout this 160 miles, just if I could really do it, was I physically fit enough, did I really have it in me. Sometimes I think that the only thing that kept me going was my mental strength. I knew that 160 miles wasn’t going to be easy and that I was going to have to work for it, but I concurred it!! This was probably one of the hardest things I have done physically ever! So we slept well in the hotel which was only the 2nd real bed that I have slept in over a month. It was wonderful!! So in order to go on without the van and trailer we had to pack clothes to wear in our handlebar bags. I packed a shirt and shorts and a comb, toothbrush and conditioner. One of the guys brought toothpaste and one of the girls brought deodorant and the other brought shampoo so we were set!!
This morning, July 3rd we slept in until 7:00 am which was actually 8:00 am as on the 2nd we had crossed over yet another time zone. We knew that we only had 60 miles to ride as we had wiped out 30 miles the day before. Got up and walked over to the only restaurant in town and got breakfast and as we were sitting there the van and trailer showed up as this was the first stop. This was very convenient as I was able to get clean cycling clothes to change into for the day. We then got everything out of the trailer and they took off. We figured that we could hang out at the motel for awhile as we only had 60 miles so we laid in bed for awhile and finally decided to leave at about 10:45am. Winds were not strong whatsoever and riding today was easy and fun!! We made it to the first town about 23 miles out which had nothing in it but we did find a spigot to fill up with water have a snack and roll on. We had thought that the trailer had moved on as we had left very late compared to normal however as we were riding along the road we saw the trailer along side of the road at about mile 32. We stopped filled up on water and had a dance party!! The trailer has speakers in it so we cranked it up and were jamming out! It was a blast and we have it on video!! So through all of Kansas we followed the same road 96 and are still on it. It is very straight and flat, one mile is the same as the next however, it’s awesome because you cannot get lost!! So we rode on to the next town at mile 55 stopped had a gatorade sat around for a little while as we were informed that we were staying at an RV park with no showers. So we rode the last few miles to the RV park and am not sitting at the gas station/restaurant typing this blog. However, we just got word that they are going to let us stay at the high school gym which we are excited because there will be showers there!! So I am off to the HS gym!!
Will post this evening!!
Sorry i havent had a chance to post in the last two days. Lots of fun and exciting things going on!
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Thursday, June 30, 2011
June 30th - Nickerson, KS to Larned, KS
Mileage: 58 miles
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 105 degrees
Got up this morning and thankfully didn’t have to pack up my tent! Was on the road by 7:00 and we had 58 miles to ride. There were no services along the way and so they provided us with water stops every 20 miles. We hopped on one road and rode it west the entire way there!! The wind was from the south to southwest so it really wasn’t in our favor and we didn’t make that good of time. We didn’t really stop at the two rest stops long. We saw a lot of open pastures and as we were riding along in the distance saw a cow along the road out of the fence. Got my camera out and was getting ready to take a picture and as we got closer realized that it was a bull. I was scared; however, it didn’t do anything but look at us and keep eating the grass. I was rather bored so in a 20 mile stretch I decided to count cars and there were 27 total that went by us. We would look at trees ahead of us and guess how many miles it would be until we reached them. You can see for miles and miles. Finally, after a slow and hot 58 miles we arrived in Larned, KS where there was a swimming pool. Sat around at the park for awhile and then walked across the street to the pool, spent some time there and then got my laundry together because the van brought our laundry to the Laundromat and then we rode our bikes there to do it. We also had to take everything out of the trailer as they are going to sweep and clean it this afternoon. I think that I will probably go back to the pool later on and then maybe shower as I want to wait until it cools down. Thinking about going to the Sonic in a bit to get a delicious milkshake!!
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 105 degrees
Got up this morning and thankfully didn’t have to pack up my tent! Was on the road by 7:00 and we had 58 miles to ride. There were no services along the way and so they provided us with water stops every 20 miles. We hopped on one road and rode it west the entire way there!! The wind was from the south to southwest so it really wasn’t in our favor and we didn’t make that good of time. We didn’t really stop at the two rest stops long. We saw a lot of open pastures and as we were riding along in the distance saw a cow along the road out of the fence. Got my camera out and was getting ready to take a picture and as we got closer realized that it was a bull. I was scared; however, it didn’t do anything but look at us and keep eating the grass. I was rather bored so in a 20 mile stretch I decided to count cars and there were 27 total that went by us. We would look at trees ahead of us and guess how many miles it would be until we reached them. You can see for miles and miles. Finally, after a slow and hot 58 miles we arrived in Larned, KS where there was a swimming pool. Sat around at the park for awhile and then walked across the street to the pool, spent some time there and then got my laundry together because the van brought our laundry to the Laundromat and then we rode our bikes there to do it. We also had to take everything out of the trailer as they are going to sweep and clean it this afternoon. I think that I will probably go back to the pool later on and then maybe shower as I want to wait until it cools down. Thinking about going to the Sonic in a bit to get a delicious milkshake!!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Video!
Check out this video, one of the riders made!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcPB7vW-J3U&feature=share
June 29th - Cassoday, KS to Nickerson, KS
Mileage: 90 miles
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 103 degrees
Got up this morning and it was a slow start. I was feeling rather tired from the day before. Got on the road about 7:45 am and the winds were from the south to southeast which was a good thing because they were not headwinds!! Rode 38 miles to the first town where our first rest stop was in Newton, KS. We ate at a place called Karen’s Kitchen and sat and chilled out for awhile as by this time it was getting rather hot out. Then decided to pull our sleepy selves up and hit the road. However, when we finally convinced ourselves to get up some of the other riders showed up that were running behind due to a flat or something so we decided to stay awhile and socialize with them and get more to eat. So I decided to have a Frappe as I needed some caffeine. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to give up drinking soda pop and I have succeeded thus far, so I couldn’t resort to that for caffeine. Trust me there are many times on this trip where I have been tempted as it sounds rather refreshing!! So after hanging around for about three hours or so we decided to move on. The next stretch was about 30 miles and 10 miles out we had already stopped to fill up on water at a gas station along the way. There was also a water sprinkler here which some of the riders decided to soak themselves in as it was the heat of the day by this time. We then decided to move on to the next water stop which was a total of 70 miles out for the day. I however, stopped along side of the road about every 5 miles just to cool off with some others. What I would do was look for trees and ride until I got to them then stop for just a few minutes and then keep going again. It was so hot out that I felt like I was in an oven!! Oh yeah and by this time the winds had changed and were a slight headwind which slowed us down some. Finally got to the last water stop and found out that there was a pool in town. I was so excited as it was EXTERMELLY hot out!! So we grabbed our suits from the trailer and went for a swim. It was SOO refreshing. Oh yeah and I also showered at the pool as we were informed that there wasn’t going to be any showers again in the town we were staying in which was still about another 20 miles. We then grabbed a bite to eat from a small restaurant tucked away in Buhler, KS and then decided to make the last ride into Nickerson, KS. We were originally supposed to be camping however, one of the guys that had gotten to town early was talking to some locals and had gotten us a place to stay at the community center here where it is air conditioned!! We are all very thankful as it has been very hot out! And they even have a spicket out back!! So it was yet another interesting yet adventurous day. Really enjoying Kansas, you can see for miles!! They have tons of cattle as you ride and wide open spaces and fields full of corn and beans for as far as you can see. Everyone here is also very friendly!! Well, it is getting late. Short day of only 60 miles and a pool where we are staying. Going to try to leave early, trailer is leaving by 7:00am in order to beat the heat.
Oh yeah, one of these days I am going to do a food diary just to try to remember all of the food that I consume in one day!!
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 103 degrees
Got up this morning and it was a slow start. I was feeling rather tired from the day before. Got on the road about 7:45 am and the winds were from the south to southeast which was a good thing because they were not headwinds!! Rode 38 miles to the first town where our first rest stop was in Newton, KS. We ate at a place called Karen’s Kitchen and sat and chilled out for awhile as by this time it was getting rather hot out. Then decided to pull our sleepy selves up and hit the road. However, when we finally convinced ourselves to get up some of the other riders showed up that were running behind due to a flat or something so we decided to stay awhile and socialize with them and get more to eat. So I decided to have a Frappe as I needed some caffeine. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to give up drinking soda pop and I have succeeded thus far, so I couldn’t resort to that for caffeine. Trust me there are many times on this trip where I have been tempted as it sounds rather refreshing!! So after hanging around for about three hours or so we decided to move on. The next stretch was about 30 miles and 10 miles out we had already stopped to fill up on water at a gas station along the way. There was also a water sprinkler here which some of the riders decided to soak themselves in as it was the heat of the day by this time. We then decided to move on to the next water stop which was a total of 70 miles out for the day. I however, stopped along side of the road about every 5 miles just to cool off with some others. What I would do was look for trees and ride until I got to them then stop for just a few minutes and then keep going again. It was so hot out that I felt like I was in an oven!! Oh yeah and by this time the winds had changed and were a slight headwind which slowed us down some. Finally got to the last water stop and found out that there was a pool in town. I was so excited as it was EXTERMELLY hot out!! So we grabbed our suits from the trailer and went for a swim. It was SOO refreshing. Oh yeah and I also showered at the pool as we were informed that there wasn’t going to be any showers again in the town we were staying in which was still about another 20 miles. We then grabbed a bite to eat from a small restaurant tucked away in Buhler, KS and then decided to make the last ride into Nickerson, KS. We were originally supposed to be camping however, one of the guys that had gotten to town early was talking to some locals and had gotten us a place to stay at the community center here where it is air conditioned!! We are all very thankful as it has been very hot out! And they even have a spicket out back!! So it was yet another interesting yet adventurous day. Really enjoying Kansas, you can see for miles!! They have tons of cattle as you ride and wide open spaces and fields full of corn and beans for as far as you can see. Everyone here is also very friendly!! Well, it is getting late. Short day of only 60 miles and a pool where we are staying. Going to try to leave early, trailer is leaving by 7:00am in order to beat the heat.
Oh yeah, one of these days I am going to do a food diary just to try to remember all of the food that I consume in one day!!
June 27-28th - Pittsburg, KS to Chanute, KS to Cassoday, KS
Mileage: 60 miles, 100 miles
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 95 degrees
So woke up and found out that the winds were coming from the east until about noon so got on the road and sailed to our first rest stop. Didn’t stay there long as we wanted to take advantage of the tailwinds and we were making really good time! The day went really fast as far as ridding and we made it to Chanute by 12:30. There were some people there who had made us lunch. Tacos mmmmmmmm. So we rode about a mile down from the park we were staying at and had lunch. We then were in dire need of doing laundry so we road about another mile or so to the Laundromat where we washed our clothes. By this time we were thinking a milkshake was sounding quite tasty so we stopped by the sonic on our way to Wal-Mart which was on our way to the park. I got some bread and apples for at rest stops and then we headed to the park. I got a shower, made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which I sometimes eat for breakfast and lunch and then got a shower. Then rode my bike back down to where we had lunch as they had also made hot dogs for us for dinner. By this time is was getting late so I headed back to camp and was in bed at 8:00 pm as I needed to catch up on my sleep. I slept very well!!
Woke up this morning and knew that we had one hundred miles to ride. Wasn’t too concerned because it was going to be flat!! So Kansas being flat. I am still convinced that riding around Columbus, Ohio it is flatter not that Kansas isn’t flat. Kansas is flat however, there are some slight gradual inclines and declines. We will see what it turns out like as we get further into the state. So this morning was informed that there were 10 to 15 mph headwinds from the east!! I was soo grateful as fighting headwinds all day would have gotten very old. We were told that it was fine to take our time as there was nothing to do in the town that we are staying in, Cassoday, and that the only thing here is a pit AKA whole in the ground for a restroom. That means no showers also. So that we did, we took our time. We went to McDonalds for breakfast where I had a delicious orange juice and then began riding for the day. About 15 miles out one of the girls I was riding with was like um I think I am getting a flat, so we pulled over and yep, her tire was flat. We got the tools out and started changing it as the mini van one of our support vehicles stopped asked if we were okay we said yep and she kept going. Were still changing the flat when the van and trailer drove by and we waved them on. Well finally we got a new tube and the same tire on the rim and pumped up and it looked funny, the tires bead was not catching on the rim and it was raised up off of the rim. The tired wasn’t even completely inflated. So as we were contemplating what to do two of the guys in our group rode up and we decided that we should stop them and ask them what to do. So one of them had the great idea to take the tire off again and move the spot where it was raising up to a different part of the wheel as it was right by the presta valve so we did. And it still didn’t solve the problem, the tire was still rising off of the rim. So we decided that maybe if she just rode really slow that we could get to the first rest stop so rode not even a half a mile and it was thumping and the spot where the tire was raised off of the rim was starting to bulge. So we had to call the van and they had to bring us a new tire. Waited along the road for awhile until the van came and then changed the tire and rode on. We were rather behind and were very thankful for the tailwinds as otherwise it would have been a very long day. Missed the first rest stop however, stopped at a small carry out/ restaurant had some lunch and then moved on and made the second rest stop about 45 miles out. Stopped there, socialized with everyone, had some ice cream and kept on riding. Rode about 30 more easy miles and stopped in a small town where there was a very small restaurant had a small bite to eat, charged our phones and decided to make the part of our ride. Saw many cattle along the ride. Finally, came into Cassoday at about 7 pm sat around and then decided to make the journey over to the gas station next door where they were kind enough to let us use their hose as a shower. Rinsed off and now I am lying in my tent getting very sleepy. I hear a train blowing its horn and think to myself OMG, please don’t go through the night!! Three of the riders in our group did decided to take advantage of the tailwinds today and head on to the next town which is about 38 miles away and got a hotel room. Needless to say, I might be a little jealous of them!! I am sure they would have gone further however, I saw on the map that after the next town it says 58 miles no services so there would have been no where for them to stay and no water stops for them as well as these will be very important for us to make tomorrow as today there were some places along route for us to stop and fill up on water. Well that concludes my day! Nite!
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 95 degrees
So woke up and found out that the winds were coming from the east until about noon so got on the road and sailed to our first rest stop. Didn’t stay there long as we wanted to take advantage of the tailwinds and we were making really good time! The day went really fast as far as ridding and we made it to Chanute by 12:30. There were some people there who had made us lunch. Tacos mmmmmmmm. So we rode about a mile down from the park we were staying at and had lunch. We then were in dire need of doing laundry so we road about another mile or so to the Laundromat where we washed our clothes. By this time we were thinking a milkshake was sounding quite tasty so we stopped by the sonic on our way to Wal-Mart which was on our way to the park. I got some bread and apples for at rest stops and then we headed to the park. I got a shower, made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which I sometimes eat for breakfast and lunch and then got a shower. Then rode my bike back down to where we had lunch as they had also made hot dogs for us for dinner. By this time is was getting late so I headed back to camp and was in bed at 8:00 pm as I needed to catch up on my sleep. I slept very well!!
Woke up this morning and knew that we had one hundred miles to ride. Wasn’t too concerned because it was going to be flat!! So Kansas being flat. I am still convinced that riding around Columbus, Ohio it is flatter not that Kansas isn’t flat. Kansas is flat however, there are some slight gradual inclines and declines. We will see what it turns out like as we get further into the state. So this morning was informed that there were 10 to 15 mph headwinds from the east!! I was soo grateful as fighting headwinds all day would have gotten very old. We were told that it was fine to take our time as there was nothing to do in the town that we are staying in, Cassoday, and that the only thing here is a pit AKA whole in the ground for a restroom. That means no showers also. So that we did, we took our time. We went to McDonalds for breakfast where I had a delicious orange juice and then began riding for the day. About 15 miles out one of the girls I was riding with was like um I think I am getting a flat, so we pulled over and yep, her tire was flat. We got the tools out and started changing it as the mini van one of our support vehicles stopped asked if we were okay we said yep and she kept going. Were still changing the flat when the van and trailer drove by and we waved them on. Well finally we got a new tube and the same tire on the rim and pumped up and it looked funny, the tires bead was not catching on the rim and it was raised up off of the rim. The tired wasn’t even completely inflated. So as we were contemplating what to do two of the guys in our group rode up and we decided that we should stop them and ask them what to do. So one of them had the great idea to take the tire off again and move the spot where it was raising up to a different part of the wheel as it was right by the presta valve so we did. And it still didn’t solve the problem, the tire was still rising off of the rim. So we decided that maybe if she just rode really slow that we could get to the first rest stop so rode not even a half a mile and it was thumping and the spot where the tire was raised off of the rim was starting to bulge. So we had to call the van and they had to bring us a new tire. Waited along the road for awhile until the van came and then changed the tire and rode on. We were rather behind and were very thankful for the tailwinds as otherwise it would have been a very long day. Missed the first rest stop however, stopped at a small carry out/ restaurant had some lunch and then moved on and made the second rest stop about 45 miles out. Stopped there, socialized with everyone, had some ice cream and kept on riding. Rode about 30 more easy miles and stopped in a small town where there was a very small restaurant had a small bite to eat, charged our phones and decided to make the part of our ride. Saw many cattle along the ride. Finally, came into Cassoday at about 7 pm sat around and then decided to make the journey over to the gas station next door where they were kind enough to let us use their hose as a shower. Rinsed off and now I am lying in my tent getting very sleepy. I hear a train blowing its horn and think to myself OMG, please don’t go through the night!! Three of the riders in our group did decided to take advantage of the tailwinds today and head on to the next town which is about 38 miles away and got a hotel room. Needless to say, I might be a little jealous of them!! I am sure they would have gone further however, I saw on the map that after the next town it says 58 miles no services so there would have been no where for them to stay and no water stops for them as well as these will be very important for us to make tomorrow as today there were some places along route for us to stop and fill up on water. Well that concludes my day! Nite!
Monday, June 27, 2011
June 25-26th - Hartville, MO to Ash Grove, MO to Pittsburg, KS
Mileage: 76 miles, 70 miles
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Temperature: 90 degrees, 95 degrees
Wow, I am finding this very hard to write as it is hard for me to exactly remember yesterday as all the days are running together. So in Hartville, MO I woke up in my tent in front of the court house. We started riding and just cruising along. The hills were starting to flatten out and we were starting to like it!! First stop was in Marshfield, MO where we ate at a breakfast. I had this delicious stuffed French toast with strawberries on top. Best French toast EVER!! We then road on and had our second water stop of the day at about mile 50 and then kept moving on. For some reason toward the end of the ride there were some really steep hills coming into Ash Grove, MO and I think most of us were pretty tired by this time and well, not expecting them. Finally, we got into Ash Grove and were very excited that we were staying right by a pool as it was very hot out!! We all decided to cool off in the pool and then get showers. The church had a small hall/house (empty) right by the pool/park where they were having a BBQ dinner that they invited all of us to eat with them. So that we did. Once the dinner was over, they allowed us to sleep on the floor in the house which we were very thankful of as it was air conditioned and there were no bugs!! Slept well and woke up this morning well rested.
Got up and on the road at about 7:45 am and were informed previously that in Pittsburg, KS that there was a pizza place that was going to serve us lunch for free at 2:00 pm so we had to watch the clock and keep moving. We got on the road and things were getting even flatter so we were able to make good time. About 4 miles out from our first rest stop we made a turn heading north and well the wind was from the south so this was a very quick fast rolling 4 miles. However, about two miles out myself and one of the other girls that I was riding with saw 3 of the guys that are in our group sitting in the ditch and asked if they needed anything and they had said that they called the van so we figured everything was okay and kept rolling on. Once we got to the rest stop we had found out that the three of them were riding a pace line and for those of you that don’t know what this is, it is when you ride very close behind the person in front of you to get a draft off of them. Well with the tailwind they were going about 30+ mph and the second person hit the wheel of the person in front and he went down. The person in the back managed to avoid the wreck. This really can happen to anyone in a pace line and it is kind of one of those things that is like “at your own risk.” He was pretty shook up, so they took him to the ER and it turns out that all that he had as a lot of road rash. This person is actually one of the route leaders so he only gets to ride every other day and will be taking a few days off now.
After about 35 miles came to our first rest stop in some little town where a small restaurant had great pie!! Our leader Pepper had eaten here last year and had told us about it so I had to try some. By this time I was quite hungry so I decided to have a piece of peach and a piece of banana pie as well and he was correct, they were delicious!! Waited here for about 1.5 hours as we had thought a storm was rolling in. This was setting us back. Finally got word that it was going to pass and it was okay to ride on. The last 33 miles went by fairly fast as well. There were some cross winds that slowed us down a bit however, not too much. Finally, about 3 miles out from Pittsburg, KS we came to the Kansas border and had to stop to take some pictures with the Kansas sign!! Many of the riders were there and we were informed that there were some waiting at an intersection in town for the rest of us as there was news media at this pizza place that was giving us lunch. So we all road in together. The pizza was wonderful and we all socialized with everyone and some people with MS as well. There is a lady that they know from town here named Gina who has MS who arranged all of this for us. She also arranged for us to go a few blocks down the street then to a different place who gave us frozen custard for free. It was good as well!! And so much more she did for us. There was a pool hall in this same area that allowed us to play pool in the late afternoon for free, so some of us went there to hang out and stay cool in the air conditioning. We then rode about a mile or two to the high school and got showers and then Gina had arranged for dinner for us as well. It was so kind of her and also for us to stay in the gym, where there is air conditioning!! She is just so appreciative because she knows that without the money for research for medication she would not have medication to take for her MS. She also arranged for a woman to speak who has MS as well. The woman did a wonderful job speaking and spoke about her experience with MS. She stated that she was 57 years old was diagnosed at 21 years old and how she had lost vision at one time, hearing and is now deaf, couldn’t walk, couldn’t smell, couldn’t taste or even move. She stated how medication has turned her life around and now she is just thankful that she can stand. She still has many symptoms and has had to have many surgeries on her back. She stated how she used to be a nurse manager on a unit and how MS affected her career. It was wonderful to hear her speak because it really made all of us remember why we are doing this and why we raised the funds. She stated that many people today who are diagnosed with MS will not have to go through what she has gone through due to testing and research which evolves from the funds raised. It was very inspirational and we have truly had the opportunity to meet some really great people along the way!! So it has been a very busy and eventful day!! At this time it is 11:00 pm and I am surprised that almost everyone is still up, but its wayyyyyyyyyy past my bedtime. Good thing we have hopefully what will be a short and easy day of 60ish flat miles, that is if the wind decides to cooperate with us!!
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Temperature: 90 degrees, 95 degrees
Wow, I am finding this very hard to write as it is hard for me to exactly remember yesterday as all the days are running together. So in Hartville, MO I woke up in my tent in front of the court house. We started riding and just cruising along. The hills were starting to flatten out and we were starting to like it!! First stop was in Marshfield, MO where we ate at a breakfast. I had this delicious stuffed French toast with strawberries on top. Best French toast EVER!! We then road on and had our second water stop of the day at about mile 50 and then kept moving on. For some reason toward the end of the ride there were some really steep hills coming into Ash Grove, MO and I think most of us were pretty tired by this time and well, not expecting them. Finally, we got into Ash Grove and were very excited that we were staying right by a pool as it was very hot out!! We all decided to cool off in the pool and then get showers. The church had a small hall/house (empty) right by the pool/park where they were having a BBQ dinner that they invited all of us to eat with them. So that we did. Once the dinner was over, they allowed us to sleep on the floor in the house which we were very thankful of as it was air conditioned and there were no bugs!! Slept well and woke up this morning well rested.
Got up and on the road at about 7:45 am and were informed previously that in Pittsburg, KS that there was a pizza place that was going to serve us lunch for free at 2:00 pm so we had to watch the clock and keep moving. We got on the road and things were getting even flatter so we were able to make good time. About 4 miles out from our first rest stop we made a turn heading north and well the wind was from the south so this was a very quick fast rolling 4 miles. However, about two miles out myself and one of the other girls that I was riding with saw 3 of the guys that are in our group sitting in the ditch and asked if they needed anything and they had said that they called the van so we figured everything was okay and kept rolling on. Once we got to the rest stop we had found out that the three of them were riding a pace line and for those of you that don’t know what this is, it is when you ride very close behind the person in front of you to get a draft off of them. Well with the tailwind they were going about 30+ mph and the second person hit the wheel of the person in front and he went down. The person in the back managed to avoid the wreck. This really can happen to anyone in a pace line and it is kind of one of those things that is like “at your own risk.” He was pretty shook up, so they took him to the ER and it turns out that all that he had as a lot of road rash. This person is actually one of the route leaders so he only gets to ride every other day and will be taking a few days off now.
After about 35 miles came to our first rest stop in some little town where a small restaurant had great pie!! Our leader Pepper had eaten here last year and had told us about it so I had to try some. By this time I was quite hungry so I decided to have a piece of peach and a piece of banana pie as well and he was correct, they were delicious!! Waited here for about 1.5 hours as we had thought a storm was rolling in. This was setting us back. Finally got word that it was going to pass and it was okay to ride on. The last 33 miles went by fairly fast as well. There were some cross winds that slowed us down a bit however, not too much. Finally, about 3 miles out from Pittsburg, KS we came to the Kansas border and had to stop to take some pictures with the Kansas sign!! Many of the riders were there and we were informed that there were some waiting at an intersection in town for the rest of us as there was news media at this pizza place that was giving us lunch. So we all road in together. The pizza was wonderful and we all socialized with everyone and some people with MS as well. There is a lady that they know from town here named Gina who has MS who arranged all of this for us. She also arranged for us to go a few blocks down the street then to a different place who gave us frozen custard for free. It was good as well!! And so much more she did for us. There was a pool hall in this same area that allowed us to play pool in the late afternoon for free, so some of us went there to hang out and stay cool in the air conditioning. We then rode about a mile or two to the high school and got showers and then Gina had arranged for dinner for us as well. It was so kind of her and also for us to stay in the gym, where there is air conditioning!! She is just so appreciative because she knows that without the money for research for medication she would not have medication to take for her MS. She also arranged for a woman to speak who has MS as well. The woman did a wonderful job speaking and spoke about her experience with MS. She stated that she was 57 years old was diagnosed at 21 years old and how she had lost vision at one time, hearing and is now deaf, couldn’t walk, couldn’t smell, couldn’t taste or even move. She stated how medication has turned her life around and now she is just thankful that she can stand. She still has many symptoms and has had to have many surgeries on her back. She stated how she used to be a nurse manager on a unit and how MS affected her career. It was wonderful to hear her speak because it really made all of us remember why we are doing this and why we raised the funds. She stated that many people today who are diagnosed with MS will not have to go through what she has gone through due to testing and research which evolves from the funds raised. It was very inspirational and we have truly had the opportunity to meet some really great people along the way!! So it has been a very busy and eventful day!! At this time it is 11:00 pm and I am surprised that almost everyone is still up, but its wayyyyyyyyyy past my bedtime. Good thing we have hopefully what will be a short and easy day of 60ish flat miles, that is if the wind decides to cooperate with us!!
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