Jack's Bicycle Tour Across America 2006

Day 48 & 49

2006-08-09T09:49:00.000-06:00

Day 48 & 49
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Gettysburg to Clarksburg, MD - 50 miles

Clarksburg to Washington, DC - 53 miles

We did it! After 3,427 miles we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The last two days were shorter miles but both had around 4,000 feet of climbing. We all gathered about 3 miles from the memorial and then rode in together to meet about 60 family and friends waiting to greet us. Thanks to a retired writer for Business Week, Bill Cook, there were both TV and newspaper coverage.

We spent the afternoon and evening partying and saying our goodbyes. When I reflect back on the trip it was not about the miles or how hard the ride was but it was about the friends you make and the people I met along the way.

Would I ever go on a trip like this again? Absolutely, bicycling is the greatest way to see the world. You are moving fast enough to feel like you are getting somewhere but slow enough to totally interact with your surroundings.

On a seven-week bicycle trip across the United States, we all learned a lot about ourselves, our situations, and our colleagues. Here's what our homespun Texas philosopher, cattle man, rodeo rider, and family doctor David Ramsey says he learned.

1 The smoother the pavement, the shorter the distance you'll be on it.

2 Don't try to talk during climbs, especially to women, unless you want to be embarrassed.

3 In July, nothing ever really dries out in the Midwest.

4 When you live out of a dufflebag, the things you really need are always on the bottom.

5 Age is a relatively minor feature compared to mindset.

6 Physical appearances have little to do with physical abilities.

7 You don't have to have ice in your water when you are really thirsty.

8 Real friends help you even when you say you don't need it.

8 First impressions of people are often wrong, though not always.

9 Things hurt a lot worse when you focus on them.

10 You can go to sleep while sweating profusely.

11 Awfully big projects can be accomplished by just daily working at the goal.

Day 47

2006-08-06T19:22:00.000-06:00

Gettysburg - rest day

This was a much needed rest day. I have rode for 13 days without a full day off. I got a hotel room here and it was like heaven. I spent some time seeing the town and all of the battlefield things but mainly just rested. I also had to do all of my domestic chores for the last time.

The next two days are around 50 miles each so not to hard. Tomorrow we will have our final dinner together at a restaurant. It will be fun to look back over the last 48 days and remember all of the fun and challenges.

I am looking forward to being home with everyone but am also thinking about my next trip.

Flight 93

2006-08-06T07:47:00.000-06:00

Flight 93
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Flight 93 Memorial

Day 42 to 46

2006-08-06T07:32:00.000-06:00

Day 42 to 46
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Burton to Waterford - 68 miles

Salem to Washington, PA - 63 miles

Washington to Confluence - 92 miles

Confluence to Bedford - 82 miles

Bedford to Gettysburg - 101 miles

We had one last day of riding in Ohio and then finally into the Pennsylvania mountains. There were a lot more hills to climb but not so much corn! On the day into Confluence we rode 52 miles on a rails to trail. The trail surface was crushed limestone which is smother than most of the roads we have been riding on in the last three states. The next day we started out with 31 miles on the Allegheny Highlands Trail. It was raining in the morning so that made for some messy riding.

During our ride to Bedford we stopped at the Flight 93 Memorial. I found it very moving to see the site and all of the personal things that family members have placed there. It sure brought back all of my memories of 911.

Our day into Gettysburg was great and hard. We had 101 miles with over 9,000 feet of climbing. Some of the grades were 12 to 16 percent. Most of the climbing came in the first 50 miles.

Another flat again yesterday. That is now 5. My rear tire has been replaced twice, once for wear and once for a glass cut. It is now booted because of a LARGE nail.

Today is a rest day in Gettysburg.... Only two ride days left to DC! Our groug has become a family. It will be hard to leave them and re-enter the real world.

The pictures I have uploaded are of the Flight 93 site.

Day 41

2006-08-01T05:51:00.000-06:00

Burton - rest day

I am still very sick today. I rode about 25 miles down tomorrows route to find a hotel in hopes that it might be more comfortable than the tent. I hope this gets over soon as it is really hard to ride since I have not eaten much in two days.

Burton is a small town of about 1,400 people. On Sunday evening they had an old tractor pull. It was fun to watch the 1920's tractors trying to pull much compared to the modern ones. This is the smallest town that we have had a rest day in and the first we did not have a dorm room to stay in.

Day 34 - 40

2006-07-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

Day 34 - 40
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Madinson to Belvidere, IL - 84 miles

Belvidere to Coal City - 107 miles

Coal City to La Porte, IN - 104 miles

La Porte to Kendallville - 91 miles

Kendallville to Napoleon, OH - 72 miles

Napoleon to Sandusky - 94 miles

Sandusky to Burton - 92 miles

Four states in seven days! Most of the riding was rural dairyland with Amish farms, corn, more corn, lakes, more corn, heat, humidity and mosquitos. This is not an area I would ever bike through again. If you stop for anything the mosquitos find you in about 10 seconds and their buddies show up a few seconds later. The temp has been in the 90's with the heat index around 110.

I managed to get the flu again the night before the ride to Sandusky. I am writing this on our day off in Burton and I am still a little sick. I am finally able to eat today so hopefully I will regain some strength.

There is a large amusement park in Sandusky so everyone got an early start that day to leave time for the park in the afternoon. We stayed in a city park that evening and it was really noisy until 2am.

The last day we move away from Lake Erie and into the hills. We also rode through downtown Cleveland but it was Sunday so the traffic was not bad. I believe this is the biggest city that we have been through.

2006-07-23T17:59:00.000-06:00

Madison - rest day

I believe this was our best rest day so far. The dorms are air conditioned and close to all of the stores. The lake is about 4 blocks away and a great place to hang out.

Some of the group went to the Trek factory. I opted out since I have been to a number of them. I just did my normal domestic chores and then relaxed. I did buy a new pair of shoes and had to set up the cleats on them. My right foot has spread even wider this year and my custom shoes have been bugging me.

Tomorrow we start seven days of cycling before our next rest day. This is our longest ride sequence for the trip. Well it is 7pm and time for bed.....

Day 32

2006-07-23T08:43:00.000-06:00

Viroqua to Madison - 107 miles

Today was more of the same, hills, dairy farms and horse buggies. After Richland Center, about 40 miles in, things flattened some and we cruised through some large valleys.

As we approached Madison I started seeing other local riders and found Carol to ride with for about the last 20 miles. She was interested in our trip and told me all about the local ridding. It turned out we were on part of the course used by the Wisconsin Ironman race. The race is next month so people were out training.

Tonight we are staying at the University of Wisconsin in a dorm. Tomorrow will be a much needed rest day......

Day 31

2006-07-23T08:36:00.000-06:00

Day 31
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Winona to Viroqua, WI - 73 miles

We crossed the Mississippi River to enter Wisconsin, state number 7. Today we had some of the steepest climbing that we have had since the beginning. This area was never affected by the glaciers so all of the bumps are still there.

About mid day we were in Amish country with all of there farms, horse buggies and road apples. I spent some time talking with one Amish, John, who was loading a silo by hand. He explained the whole process of creating feed for his cows. His wife was out mowing their front lawn in a dress, bonnet and bare feet with a push mower.

I also stopped at a creamerie today and went through their tour. It was one that processed most of the local mike produced by the Amish farms.

We camped at a fair grounds in Viroqua and a local bike shop came out around 7pm. I think he was still working on bikes at 11pm!

Day 30

2006-07-20T16:03:00.000-06:00

Owatonna to Winona - 93 miles

Today started out nice and sunny, a lot different than yesterday. A group of us chose to begin the ride on the old route and change to the new route in Rochester. The old route was on highway 14 but the early morning traffic was not bad and the shoulders were wide and smooth.

In Rochester we rode past the Mayo Clinic as we went through the middle of town. A lot of old restored buildings and we also looked at the Ronald McDonald house which is next to the clinic.

At about 70 miles into the ride I stopped at a campground for water. The owner asked if I was interested in seeing her collection. It turned out to be 11 restored horse buggies and coaches from the late 1800 hundreds. They were all original and a story to go with each.

Our overnight is at the dorms of Winona State University. It was a nice surprise to have a dorm stay in the middle of our ride week.

Day 29

2006-07-20T15:59:00.000-06:00

New Ulm to Owatonna - 95 miles

Have you ever ridden in a thunder storm so dark that it literally looked like midnight, we did.... The storm came in at about 8:30am from behind me. In about 5 minutes time it went from full light to total darkness. I was out front by myself so I found shelter in a church just before it hit. For about 2 hours we had constant lighting and hard rain and hail. At about 9am a lady showed up at the church and offered me coffee. We had a nice time watching the storm and chatting.

The rain continued on and off for the rest of the day making it fun and a little cold to ride. About 20 of the miles were on a bike path which was a nice change.

In Owatonna we stayed at the fair grounds and since it was raining they let us use the indoor beer garden to camp in. No beer but at least it was dry.

Day 27

2006-07-17T13:47:00.000-06:00

Tyler to New Ulm - 93 miles

Today was our first day using an ACA route. Up tell now we have been following maps prepared by the American Lung Association for their Big Ride. The Big Ride maps kept us on major highways that are very busy. Because of all of our complaints ACA has looked at the route and made some changes that will move us to more rural roads. It was nice today to not have all of the traffic.

More corn.... Today reminded me of the RAGBRI ride in Iowa. Corn, soybeans, peas and pigs.... One of the towns we traveled through was named Sleepy Eye. I tried to find out where the name came from but none of the locals seemed to know. They did have a great Dairy Queen which was a nice break at 75 miles.

We ended the ride at Martin Luther College where we will have a rest day tomorrow. New Ulm is a very "German" town with a lot of German restaurants and brew pubs. I am looking forward to exploring it tomorrow.

Day 26

2006-07-17T13:26:00.000-06:00

De Smet to Tyler, MN - 79 miles

Another state gone..... Today we rode into Minnesota. The landscape has changed to corn and soybean fields. I was the first out of camp today and no one caught me so I spent the day thinking about life by myself. It was kind of a nice change. The weather is still hot but the winds were gentle so I cruised along.

Today we stayed at the Danebod Folk School in Tyler. This is a Danish school and Lutheran Church that was started in 1888. The school was originally started in the Danish tradition to further educate adults. It has since become a meeting place to keep up their heritage in the US. I spent three hours with the pastor listening about the history and looking at all of the buildings. He seem to really enjoy having someone to tell the story of their heritage to. Since today was Sunday I went to their church meeting in the evening.

Day 25

2006-07-17T13:05:00.000-06:00

Miller to De Smet - 77 miles

Another day of rolling farm land. The weather is still hot, 107 degrees. I have been leaving camp just as the sun starts to lighten the eastern sky to try and beat some of the heat. It is a littler hard to see or be seen but it is worth it. The further east we go the landscape is getting greener with more crops. We passed through a lot of little towns and one larger one, Huron on the James River.

We ended the day in De Smet where Laura Ingalles Wilder, the author of the "Little House" books lived. They were having a pageant in honor of her. I walked around the town and seen where she had lived and went to school. We also had to make our pilgrimage to the Dairy Queen for a daily dose of ice cream.

It only got down to 89 degrees at night so it was hard to sleep. I am not looking forward to the nights further east where we will have heat and humidity.

Day 24

2006-07-14T13:26:00.000-06:00

Pierre to Miller - 73 miles

Short nice day... I got up early and was on the rode before sunrise. Today was totally flat once you climbed out of the river valley and you could see forever. The sunrise was great as I was ridding directly east into it. My average speed today was 21 MPH.

As I rolled into the first rest stop I had to wake up Bill our support person at the stop. It was just a very quiet morning with birds, pheasants and deer.

Miller is the typical small (850 population) town in South Dakota. I stopped at a lemonade stand some kinds had set up and spent about an hour talking about the town and their families. They all seemed to have multiple generations of family in the area.

Today marks about the half way point of our ride, 1,621 miles. It seems like we just started........

Day 23

2006-07-14T13:08:00.000-06:00

Kadoka to Pierre - 96 miles

Much better day today. We went through a lot of small towns with 20 to maybe 50 people each. There are still hills with a rolling road. Nothing much special to look at today just hill after hill after hill.... The end of the day we rode into Pierre on the Miissouri River. This is a large city and the capital of South Dakota.

We stayed in a park along the Missouri. It was a great place and only one block away from all of the stores and restaurants. Close is good after a long biking day.

We switched into the central time zone today. That means sunrise will be about one hour later tomorrow. Today is a "ten dollar day" which means they do not provide dinner and just turn us loose on the town. A few of us went to a Chinese Restaurant. I was having withdrawal symptoms since this is the first Chinese food since the beginning of the trip.

Day 22

2006-07-14T12:42:00.000-06:00

Rapid City to Kadoka - 102 miles

This was one of our hardest days. On top of everything else I woke up in the middle of the night with the flu. I was not able to keep anything down all day. The temp reached 112 degrees and we had 20-25 mph head winds.

We went through Badlands National Park and a lot of rolling grass lands. The highlight of the day was the Worlds Largest Prairie Dog. This is the area that Dances With Wolves was filmed.

Cheryl and Tom finally caught me and helped pull me in as the flu was taking its toll. About 10 people sagged in because of the heat.

Our camp was in the city park with dead grass and very little shade. In the middle of the night we had a thunder storm complete with tornado warning sirens. Welcome to South Dakota.....

South Dakota !!!

2006-07-11T18:49:00.000-06:00

South Dakota !!!
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Day 21

2006-07-11T15:24:00.000-06:00

Rapid City - rest day

We left the dorms at 8am for a bus ride to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. The Monument was awesome. It is hard to believe that you can carve a statue out of a mountain. Crazy Horse is still under construction. Crazy Horse will be much larger than the presidents. Only the face is completed at this time.

Back to the dorms at noon to do my domestic chores. Cleaning the bike, washing clothes and doing any needed shopping.

Our next set of rides days is 6 days long. We start out across the bad lands of South Dakota. Jorie in our group though that they were named that because the bad cowboys hid out there.... Actually they are named that because nothing grows there.

It will be early to bed and early, 4:30am, to rise to beat the heat tomorrow.

Day 20

2006-07-10T20:34:00.000-06:00

Newcastle to Rapid City, SD - 82 miles

Another state gone and we are now in South Dakota. We spent about two thirds of the day in the Black Hills. This rates right up there as one of the best days. A group of us spent some time in the town of Custer looking at the sights and drinking coffee. We rode by the turn to Mount Rushmore where we will go tomorrow via bus. The road to Mount Rushmore is very dangerous to ride and it would have added 60 miles to the day.

We had two cattleguard crossings today. Not a big thing to us in Colorado but a lot of our riders had never seen one. Most walked over them which is harder than riding...

As we rode close to Rapid City the terrain became open grass land. I believe that is what we have to look forward to for the next couple of ride days.

Tonight we are staying at the South Dakota School of Mines and we have a rest day tomorrow. With all of the construction we passed through it will take me two hours to clean up the bike tomorrow.

Day 19

2006-07-09T19:59:00.000-06:00

Gillette to Newcastle - 76 miles

Today we passed within site of Devil's Tower. The area is covered with open pit coal mines and methane wells.

We had a train track beside us most of the day with 2 mile long trains every 10 mins. There was an 8 mile long construction zone again today, uk. I belive today was the flattest day so far but we did have 20 mph head winds.

We rode through some small towns and they look like you are back in the 40's. I don't think anything has changed in this area for years including the people.

Last night Amy, one of the twins, dislocated her shoulder on the water slide. She will be off of the bike for a few days.

One more day of riding tomorrow and then a rest day in Rapid City.

Day 18

2006-07-09T19:30:00.000-06:00

Sheridan to Gillette - 113 miles

The longest day yet... Very gradual climbs and no wind made this a great day. There were deer and antelope everywhere. I had an antelope actually run along side me and smell my arm. I was not sure if he did not want to bite me at first. I am kind of gun shy after all of the dogs.

The only services we had was a bar at mile 71 called the Spotted Horse. The people there were TOTALLY local. They thought we had to be nuts to be riding a bike at all let alone riding to DC.

There was 11 miles of construction today from hard pack to loose sand. Some chose to take a car ride across it but I was not willing to get in a car.... Now the bike needs a major cleaning.

We camped at a recreation center next to a skate park. Lots of noise all night. In the morning we found that they had locked the bathrooms, just part of the adventure.

I started late so that I could see the other end of the ride. Had a lot of fun talking and passing by everyone.

Computer Problems

2006-07-09T16:12:00.000-06:00

I am having problems with my PDA so I can not upload pictures at this point. I will try to resolve it on our next rest day....

Day 17

2006-07-09T16:05:00.000-06:00

Hardin to Sheridan, WY - 84 miles

Today we finally left Montana. That is one big state. The first 60 miles were up hill into a head wind, what fun....

As we traveled towards Sheridan we crossed the Crow Indian Reservation. I think the conditions there are worse than some third world countries. We also found that everyone had at least two dogs that were not fenced in and seemed to be very hungry. We spent most of the morning either out running the dogs or squirting them with water bottles.

We also travel past Custer's Last Stand battlefield. This seems to have turned into a tourist trap.

We have some unique bikes as well as riders on the trip. One bike has a box fairing behind the seat that he thinks makes him go faster. He has been nicknamed "Fast ass". The level of bikes is also a big spread, from about $300 to $10,000.

Day 16

2006-07-09T16:01:00.000-06:00

Billings to Hardin - 59 miles

We had a very nice climb out of Billings through a valley. There were a few dogs this morning that gave chase. One was on our heels and Tom decided to mace it. We were moving quite slowly and he forgot to check the wind direction. The next thing I heard was coughing, he had maced himself.

Past the climb we had a lot of open space with rolling hills. We also had a nice detour to cross in loose gravel. It was about 1 mile and most walked their bikes. I found it rideable with a little mountain bike skills needed.

Our overnight was at a KOA campground which has everything. Some of us took a taxi into Hardin to check out the town. While shopping we ran into a local lady that has lived there all of her life. She had a lot of stories and her family is involved in all of the town functions. She asked if she could drive us back to the KOA and even stopped at the local store on the way back.

Long day tomorrow so I am going to bed at 7:30....

Day 15

2006-07-05T19:47:00.000-06:00

Billings - Rest Day

Spent the day doing NOTHING. Actually did the normal things like wash clothes, clean and lube the bike and stock up on food items. Cheryl, Tom and myself had a very leisurely lunch and then I took a nap. Sound exciting????

Tomorrow will be a short day, 58 miles, but there is nothing out there to look at. I tried taking a nap on the bike but it didn't work our so well. Sometimes you do kind of daze off. We have no services after leaving Billings until we reach camp so I hope our staff sets up rest stops.

As I mention earlier we have quite a spread in age. The youngest rider is 18 and the oldest is 73. Which do you think is faster, yes the 73 year old... The 18 year old is part of a mother - daughter team. They are the last out of camp, the slowest and probably having the most fun. They always seem really happy even when they don't make it to camp on their own power.

Day 14

2006-07-05T08:02:00.000-06:00

Harlowton to Billings - 93 miles

Another long mileage day but much easier. Everyone was at the dorms by 3pm. We had a lot of interesting scenery along the Musselshell River where Chief Joseph led his band of Nez Perce.

Tonight we are staying at Montana State College in the dorms. Tomorrow will be a needed rest day. We had a catered barbecue this evening.

Unfortunately there are a few issues in the group with expectations for the level of service. These issues are not being addressed very well by Adventure Cycling so they are continuing to build. It is only a small group of around 6 riders but it is starting to separate the group and causing the leaders additional grief.

We have started a duffus award for each day. It is some red, white, and blue ribbons that you must ware on your helmet. You can win this award for doing good or for doing something totally stupid. I am not sure if I want to win this but if I do I am sure it will be for something stupid.

I am looking forward to a sleep in day tomorrow...

Day 13

2006-07-05T07:55:00.000-06:00

Townsend to Harlowton - 101 miles

We spent a lot of the day on what Montana calls the High Plains. The 2,000 ft climb up to the plain was through a narrow, heavily treed canyon. Once on the plains there were a lot of long rolling hills where you could see for miles ahead. The last 40 miles was a gradual decent into Harlowton but with a strong head wind it took a lot of work to get there.

Harlow was celebrating the 4th on July 3rd with a parade and a rodeo. Around 4pm we had a major thunder storm that dumped about 6ins. of rain. The town was totally flooded but within an hour everything was dried out and the party continued.

This was a hard day for some and some got caught out in the rain. We were staying at a high school and most decided to sleep indoors incase it rained again. I slept in my tent where it was nice and quiet (and dry).

The group has separated into the fast early risers and the slow late out of camp group. Some how we need to switch these traits so that we are not stretched out for 40 miles on the route.

Day 12

2006-07-05T07:45:00.000-06:00

Day 12
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Avon to Townsend - 61 miles

Today was a short day in miles but a lot more climbing. We crossed the Continental Divide at MacDonald Pass. This is highest point of our trip at 6,356 feet.

We rode through Helena, the state capital of Montana. I spend some time there looking at the old buildings and churches in the area. I also had to stop at the local coffee shop. This is a required daily event.

After Helena the terrain became flat and dry. It was nice to have a shorter day to beat the heat with an early finish. After setting up camp it rained. This is the first rain we have had on the trip.

We have a group of four support people on the trip. Three of them drive the two vans and the luggage truck. The fourth gets to ride there bike with us. They switch off the ridding each day.

Day 11

2006-07-05T07:35:00.000-06:00

Day 11
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Missoula to Avon - 99 miles

The roads today were a lot better than our ride into Missoula. The area is very remote with very little services for the entire day.

We started out on the Clark Fork River and then road along the Blackfoot River. We went off route to Garret, a real ghost town. It has not changed since everyone left in the 20's.

Avon consists of five houses and one restaurant. The restaurant catered our dinner at our camp site. Their speciality is pie!!!

Our overnight was at a Christian camp where we had a cabin to sleep in. I shared one with Tom and Cheryl and ours was the only cabin with a bathroom. It is funny how the little things begin to mean a lot.

Today was long but one of the nicest so far.

Day 10

2006-06-30T21:41:00.000-06:00

Missoula - rest day

Had a nice slow day today. Did some shopping, updated this blog and hung out.

They are just starting a short summer session at the college. It was kind of crazy with new students trying to find things and asking me where things were as if I would know. The campus was started in the late 1800's. Turner hall that were are staying in was built in 1937. It has some great old architecture that you just do not see in the newer buildings. The dorms are not air conditioned so it was a little warm today.

We had Adventure Cycling's 30th birthday party today. About 140 people attended. It was fun to talk with a few of the riders that had done the cross country trip in 1976. I think they believe we are whimps for doing it as a support ride as they did it self contained. We sure could not do 85 miles a day average with a loaded bike. Most self contained rides across the US are in the 60+ day range.

You will see a change in day numbering on the blog. I started with day 1 as our first ride day and actually it was the official second day of the trip. (The first day was just a meeting in Seattle)I will start tomorrow with the correct day numbering off of our cue sheets.

Day 8

2006-06-30T10:29:00.000-06:00

Thompson Falls to Missoula - 101 miles

Our cue sheets were wrong, today was ONLY 101 instead of 121 miles. It was a great day riding along the Clark Fork River. The entire day was beside the river with one exception to avoid a gorge. The river is 100+ feet across in most places with heavy flow this time of year.

Cheryl decided not to ride today with her road rash and went into Missoula via car to get it looked at. I hope nothing like that happens to me as I would like to ride the entire distance.

We are staying at a dorm tonight as tomorrow is a rest day. Adventure Cycling is have a 30 year birthday party tomorrow night and we are the featured event. Their headquarters is located here. The campus is full of people so I should find plenty to talk to tomorrow. I am also planning on visiting the Adventure Cycling office.

Day 7

2006-06-30T10:22:00.000-06:00

Day 7
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Sandpoint to Thompson Falls, MT - 88 miles

Today was a constant up and down day. We ended up only 400ft higher than the start but with 5,600 ft of climbing. I saw a lot of white tailed deer and almost got ran over by one. It came within 5 ft of hitting me in the side. I came across a little fawn about 2 ft tall on the rode and shooed him off so he would not get ran over.

Today I spent some time riding with Jorie, a 22 year old college student, and her father. She has been doing bicycle trips since she was 14 and road a 4,000+ mile trip last year.

My other riding partners, Cheryl and Tom, had a little problem today. Tom cut to close to Cheryl's front wheel and caused her to crash. She lost some skin but otherwise is ok.

We were staying at a highschool again and I got to talk with some of the girls that were in a basket ball tournament. It is really neat to hear some of the small town issues compared to our big city things. I can sure see why some of these kids have a hard time adapting to a big university environment.

Day 6

2006-06-30T10:15:00.000-06:00

Day 6
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Spokane to Sandpoint, ID - 77 miles

The air had finally cooled off as we rode out of town. It had been very warm in the dorms and hard to sleep. We are now riding through pine forests and passing a number of lakes. Today we crossed the border into Idaho, ya our first state line crossing....

I arrived in Sandpoint early at 11am. Cheryl, Tom and myself got cleaned up and spent the rest of the afternoon in Sandpoint. The town is on Lake Pend Oreille. There is a waterfront with shops and restaurants. There is also a great beach to cool off at. The lake itself is over 1,000 feet deep in places and there is a US submarine base located on it.

The area is big on mountain biking with 4 bike shops to service 5,000 people. They have a bar with bike seats for stools.....

We were camping at a highschool and they locked up the building at 9pm. Made for an interesting morning with no facilities.

Day 5

2006-06-26T14:40:00.000-06:00

Day 5
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Spokane - rest day

Got up really late this morning at 6:30am. My usual rise time is 5:00am to be on the road by 6:15.

After my usual trip to Starbucks I went for a short ride along the Spokane River waterfront. There is a large falls in the middle of town. The picture is of the top of the falls area. This last weekend they had a national basket ball tournament, Hoops Fest, here with around 100,000 extra people in town.

The waterfront was really nice and quiet after everyone left town. I hung out people watching and enjoying the sights for about 2 hours. The collage campus where we are staying is also very quiet for the summer.

If you notice any misspelled words on the blog please ignore it.... I have a very limited spell checker on my PDA.

Tomorrow we are back at it. Day 8 is a 121 mile day, uk...

Day 4

2006-06-26T08:34:00.000-06:00

Odessa to Spokane - 75 miles

Another beautiful start of a day. Unfortunately a 20 mph head wind start about 1 hour into the ride. This continued for the entire day slowing everyone down.

We traveled from the open farm land to the pine forests of the Spokane area. I used a lot of water today with the temperature in the 90's today. Tomorrow will be our first rest day to explore Spokane.

After about two hours I was up front again. When I arrived in Spokane to check in to the dorm I was told we had an emergency on the road. Later I found out that one of our riders had been hit by a car and killed. The rider was hit on the shoulder by a car from the rear at 70+ mph. Apparently the driver was distracted and just drove onto the shoulder. We had a group meeting to discuss the issue but I am sure there are a lot of emotions that need dealt with.

Day 3

2006-06-26T08:11:00.000-06:00

Vantage to Odessa - 81 miles

Today started out with a big climb out of the Columbia river basin to the farming country of eastern Washington. We seen potatoes, wheat, soybeans and mustard for 70 miles. Odessa is a small town about 4 blocks long. The traffic is bad, about 3 cars per hour.

I rode with a lot of different people today. It was great to hear about them and why they are riding this crazy ride. I think at this point I have ridden with at least half of the people. Some of our riders have toured all over the world and other this is there first time.

We have twin ladies that are teachers in the Seattle area. Their last day of school was on our meeting day. This is the first tour for them and they seem to be having fun stopping at every sign or store.

I spent some time in town talking with the locals. I talked with one boy who told me his grandparents owned the bowling alley but his grandma burned it down for the insurance money. He was in 11th grade with a class of 39.

Day 2

2006-06-26T07:59:00.000-06:00

Day 2
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

We started the day riding through a beautiful valley towards Cle Elum. It was cool with just a little dew on the grass which reflected in the early morning sun. Cle Elum is finally recovering from being bypassed by the freeway so there were a few stores to visit for morning snacks. The ride today was mostly on two lane road with very little traffic. The ride took us from pine forests to sagebrush and volcanic rock by the Columbia River.

All of the group made it in today on their own. There was not as much climbing which helped. More people started earlier so I think that also helped.

I am starting to get to know some of the other riders. It is quite a varied group as you would suspect. One common theme seems to be that most are looking for a life changing experience.

We had dinner in a restaurant tonight, spaghetti, standard bike food... Camping was on a nice grassy area. The picture is of the power post next to my tent. I think the toothbrush makes it.

Day 1

2006-06-26T07:57:00.000-06:00

Day 1
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Denny Creek area as we went up the pass over the Cascades.

Day 1

2006-06-23T17:50:00.000-06:00

Seattle to Easton - 86 miles

This was a interesting day. We started out with about 60 turns to get out of the Seattle area, then a little freeway riding. Finially we move onto some great two lane with very little traffic.

Western Washington is very lush and green. As we rode accross the Cascades we moved into open pine country. The pass was just a little over 3,000 feet. Does'nt seem like much in Colorado terms but we started at 10 feet.

The group is very spread in age a ability. Age is from highschool to 60 +. Also a big spread in abilities. I was first in Easton by about an hour and I stoped a lot to look at things. Eight out of the fourty had to be saged.

Tomorrow is an easier day so hopefully everyone can finish on their own. I am looking forward to the next few days getting to know everyone. Tomorrow I will try to ride with the group insted of out in front.

We finished the evening with a salmon dinner and a map meeting to discuss the next days ride.

2 Weeks to Tour Start

2006-06-07T17:41:00.000-06:00

2 Weeks to Tour Start
Originally uploaded by boulderbikeman.

Only two weeks until we hit the road. Training is going well, mostly saddle time now with some hills. As you can see from the picture I have starting the packing process. The bike leaves for Seattle this Friday. With the tour being in the US it is much easier to purchase things so I don't need to pack for the entire trip. I have started to see EMAIL from the other members of the trip. The first email from a group member was concerning bringing power strips so that everyone could charge their laptops and phones. That sparked discussion from a number of the members. A few years ago this would have been very different.

The planning is almost finished. There are a few loose ends for the end of the trip in DC. Since it is so far out, August 8th, it will get finished on the road.

I will be leaving for Seattle on Saturday the 17th to spend a few days with my mom and sister prior to the start of the trip.

4 Weeks to tour start....

2006-05-24T17:30:00.000-06:00

3928 miles of training since January and still going....