8/17 - Newmarket, NH – Gloucester, MA - Day
The theme for today is: "All good things must come to an end"
8/16 Freyeburg,MA – Newmarket,NH - Day
need to update here
8/15 - Littleton, NH to Freyeburg, ME - Day 61
The theme for today is: "The Four "H's; Hot, Humid, Hills and Headwinds".
I'll have to fill this out later.
Swift River Bridge in Conway NH
http://alder.stonemarche.org/covered_bridges/cb47.htm
8-14 - Stowe VT to Littleton, NH - Day 60
link for the Fisher Bridge
http://www.virtualvermont.com/coveredbridge/fisher.html
Link to other Vermont Covered Bridge Sites:
http://www.virtualvermont.com/coveredbridge/index.html
8-13 - Burlington, VT to Stowe VT - Day 59
8/12 - Lake Placid, NY to Burlington, VT - Day 58
The theme for today is: "onward to New England". It’s starting to sink in today that the summer long trip across America is finally winding down. One more week and we’ll be at the Atlantic Ocean. Today we took a short ride into Vermont. We left the Northwoods Inn by 6:40 to find an expresso. Since we stayed in town and not with the rest of the group at the fair grounds, we were on our own for breakfast. The plan was to have an coffee and muffin in Lake Placid and to have a more complete breakfast down the road.
We pick up latte and muffins at a shop and then watched the sunrise over Mirror Lake. A wonderful way to start the day! We were on the road by 7:15 heading toward Whiteface Mountain.
The sky was clear and the air cool enough to be wearing jackets. It started to warm up by the 10 mile mark at the ski area. We stopped at 8:30 at the Country Bear for a breakfast of French toast. We were back on the road and at the 15 mile mark by 9AM.
Since the total number of miles for the day was scheduled to be 48 miles, we were already a quarter done for the day and it was still early.
The roads were starting to look more and more like New England roads, two lanes, shady, winding and hilly. At the 27 mile mark the road climbed very steeply for a brief time. The route sheet claimed that the grade was 21%. That means for every 100 feet you went forward, the road climbed 21 feet! That would make it the steepest that we’ve encountered during the entire trip!!! Thankfully the steep section was short and behind us quickly.
Before we knew it, we were at the picnic stop. It was about 11 AM. The number of people for the tour this week has grown to over 120 people, including the riders going coast to coast, the weekly riders and the Cycle America staff. There were a lot of new faces a the picnic stop.
We took a ferry from Port Kent, NY across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont. We got on the 12:25 ferry and it was about an hour long. So we got to Burlington about 1:30 and went directly to the downtown pedestrian mall and found a Ben and Jerry’s for some Ice Cream. I understand that the factory is on the route tomorrow. I think that a tour of the factory is in order.
I’m now trying to catch up on the past six days of logs. The towns that we’ve been in for the past week have been so small, that access to update my log and access e-mail has not been possible.
8/11 - lake Placid, NY - duff day - Day 57
The theme for today is: "Let’s rack up them tourist points". Today is the weekly duff day. We had a chance to get the clothes washed last night so the goal today was see the tourist sights. We started off with a trip to the Olimpic Bob Sleds. A quick taxi ride took us 7 mile out of town to the actual bob sled run used in the ’80 Olimpics. During the summer you can take a ride down it. The driver and the breakman are supplied and you go along for the ride. It was great!!! They claim that we reached 55 miles per hour. Later, we headed out to see the ski jumping venue.
8/10 Star Lake to Lake Placid, NY - Day 7/10
The theme for today is: "onward to the Olympics". The ride today was 72 miles to the town of the ’32 and ’80 Olympics, Lake Placid, NY. We started out by 7:30. We’re getting very casual about our schedule lately. As a group we’re riding fairly quickly. If we were to just ride through without taking alots of breaks, we would be in camp by noontime. Of course we didn’t come this far to just hang out at the end of the day. So by 9AM we stopped for coffee at the Stone Manor. The views today were huge green mountains. Maybe we haven’t seen mountains like these since Wyoming.
The picnic stop was a Tupper Lake. A radio controlled airplane compition was being held close by as we ate our lunch on the shore of the lake. We were back on the road by 12:20 heading toward Saranac Lake. We spent some time in Saranac Lake looking at some art by local artists. On the way out of town we hit a ice cream stand. Then it was the final ten miles into Lake Placid.
Cycle America was staying at the fair grounds two miles from town. Many of the riders, myself included, decided to stay in town at the St Mortiz and the Northwoods Inn.
By time we go into town, it was still sunny about 78 degrees, just a perfect day!
8/9 - Dexter to Star Lake, NY - Day 55
7/9 - Fulton to Dexter,NY - Day 54
7/7 - Sodus,NY to Fulton, NY - Day 53
7/6 - Alblon, NY to Sodus, NY
The theme for today is: “Don’t let a couple of clouds ruin your day”. Today was scheduled to be 84 miles. We woke up to the coolest temperatures of the tour. Not cold but cool enough to wear a jacket. We left the school under very overcast skies at 7:10. No telling if it was going to rain or not. The wind was pretty strong as well; unfortunately the direction was going our way. The winds were mostly head and cross winds, but we were all looking forward to the ride.
Part of the main attraction for today was the Erie Canal Trail. We got on the path at mile 18 and road it for a major portion of the day. I didn’t realize how extensive the canal was. It pretty much runs the width of New York State. From Lake Erie to the Hudson River (http://bhw.buffnet.net/erie-canal/ ). It connects to several other Canals as well.
By 9AM we reached the first of several stops today. At the 22 mile mark we stopped in the town of Spencerport looking for a good cup of espresso. After stopping someone on the street, we were directed to Java John’s Coffee and Pastry. It was just the place we were looking for, great coffee and pastries. I ordered the imperial size latte. The inside was warm and attractive, just what we needed.
We consulted our daily routing sheet and decided to stop at Pittsford at the 41 mile mark because we heard that a place called Bill Wahl’s had great Ice Cream. It didn’t matter that it was only 11:30 in the morning or that the picnic stop was only 5 more miles up the path.
It seems that as the trip is coming to an end, we’re trying to make each day of riding last as long as possible, stopping for almost any excuse and trying to stay out on the road as long as possible. I feel the same way as I did in high school as the summer started to wind down and the beginning of school approached.
The picnic stop was great as usual with Ben making a pasta salad. Following lunch, we returned to the bike path for about another 10 miles.
At the 62 mile mark we were in the village of Ontario, NY. Following directions of a local, we ended up at a place call the Roof Cellar Café. We had coffee and snacks. The café sold natural foods and supplements as well. A real nice break. By 3:30 we were back on the road.
We had only 20 more miles to go, should only take about an hour and 30 minutes. Only 12 more miles we came across a town called Polneyville where they had a place call Polneyville Pickle Compay. Several bikes were out in front and guess what? We stopped again! Then in was on to the high school in Sodus.
7/5 - Niagara, ON to Albion NY - Day 51
I found this on a calendar on the wall of a coffee shop in Youngstown today; “Always use the word impossible with the greatest amount of caution."
The theme for the day is: “It’s a great day, let’s go biking”. The breakfast this morning was a special treat. It was at the top of the Minolta tower overlooking the Niagara Falls (http://discoverniagara.com/attract/quik_facs.html?id=790 ). It was great. Good breakfast, great views!!!
We left from the tower at 7:30. The sky was clear blue and temperature was a bit warm for the time of day. The morning route took us down by the falls. When we arrived in Niagara Saturday evening, we went to see the falls at night. It was not the quite peaceful experience that I had expected.
However, this morning the masses of people were gone and you could really stand and feel the power of the rushing water. Then it was on to the cross to the US via the whirlpool bridge. Presto, we were back on American soil. The total mileage for the day was only 73 miles. If you plan on traveling 10 miles an hour and you start at 7:30, the ride can be completed by 2:30. No Problem. So with such a nice day, lets stop for coffee in the town of Youngstown for Lattes. The Youngstown Coffee Company must have had 30 to 40 riders sitting outside enjoying the sun before I got there. We hung out for about and hour sitting and relaxing. As we started heading east, we picked up a very nice tail wind. In no time, we were moving along at 21 MPH. Very Nice.. At the 29 mile mark, we stopped at a roadside stand for some fresh Peaches. Very sweet.
The Picnic Stop was at mile 49 at Golden Hill. The site was next to Lake Ontario. It was so nice to be sitting on a stone wall, looking out at passing boats and eating my salad and sandwiches.
The rest of the ride was only 24 miles to the town of Albion, NY ( http://www.ohwy.com/ny/a/albion.htm ). I’m in the local library just finishing up today’s log and will be heading out for an Ice Cream. Life is good, very very good.
7/4 - Niagara, ON - Duff Day
Today is the time to get my laundry cleaned and see some of the local sites. Slept in until 8 then gathered up my clothes and bring them to the cleaners. After dropping them off I headed to the a internet café to get caught up trip log. Then it’s off to Niagara-on-the-Lake (http://www.niagaraonthelake.com ). I took my bicycle cause I was told that I was only 10 miles. It turns out that it was a bit more distant at 18 miles. The town is a tourist shopping village. With some nice restaurants, shops and cafes. I had some lunch and nap and poked around some of the shops. Before I knew it, it was getting close to 2PM. Time to head back and I had really planned on seen three sites; the Butterfly Conservatory, The Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and the power plant. I only had time for one in order to get back to the school in time for dinner. Guess which one I did? Of course the power plant!!!
Then dinner was at an Italian restaurant. Followed by a tour briefing. This week we’re picking up a large number of new riders. We expect that by the time we hit New England next week, that the total number of riders will be close to 120. Quite a change from 50 or so in South Dakota!
http://www.city.niagarafalls.on.ca/ - Official Website of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada
7/3 - Port Dover, ON to Niagara Falls, ON - Day 49
The theme for today is: “The best things in life are not things”. Today is the last day of the riding for the week. We pretty much set out trying to milk the riding today, trying to make it last as long as possible. It’s only scheduled to be 69 miles ending in Niagara Falls Ontario ( http://www.city.niagarafalls.on.ca/ ) . We left from breakfast at about 7:15 and headed out. The weather was perfect, with a slight tail wind. By 9AM we rolled into the town of Selkirk for coffee. The distance was only 16 miles, but we weren’t trying to make time. By mile 23, the temperature was warming up to 83 degrees and a slight headwind. By mile 32 we stopped in the town of Dunville at a Tim Hortion’s for coffee and donuts. We finally wondered into the picnic stop at noontime and were back on the road by 1PM. We had a small ferry crossing at mile 59. Following the ferry ride, it took about 1 minute to cross, we had only 10 more miles to go. On the far side was a bar called Kncklehead’s. Now we don’t normally have a drink before the end of a ride, but with a name like Knckleshead’s, we just had to stop for a cold one. Then it was on to the school. I think that we came rolling into the school about 4PM. It was a fun ride. As a group, I think that we’re really getting into trying to enjoy the ride, enjoy the scenery and not try to rush though the day.
7/2 - West Lorne, ON to Port Dover, ON - Day 48
The theme of the day was: "What a great day to ride!". It was a pretty high mileage day, 94 miles. But it turned out to be one of the nicest days on the tour. We left breakfast at 7:10. The skies were overcast and temperatures for this early in the morning were on the warm side. The ride was mostly in farm lands while following the shore of Lake Erie. Most of the farms were corn but as we went on, we saw a lot of tobacco being grown. We also passed where they cured the tobacco. The building were called tobacco kilns. Two or three story retangular buildings with no windows. Many farms had rows of these buildings.
By 8:50 we had traveled 28 miles and stopped in the town of Port Stanley at the Bridge Restaurant and Tavern for morning coffee and muffins. By 9:40 we were back on the road. We had a nice tailwind that was pushing us along and the road was flat. Perfect conditions!
A second theme of the day could have been: "gee they grow a lot of different stuff here". As we rode on, close to the 40 mile mark, we came across farms growing peaches, apples, potatoes, tomatoes and onions.
We reached the lunch stop at 11AM having traveled 52 miles since breakfast. The picnic stop was on a beach overlooking lake Erie. I can't get over how much the lake reminds me of the ocean. A wooden lighthouse was even nearby. After getting a bite to eat, we waded into the Lake then left the picnic stop by noon.
On the way out of town we stopped at the lighthouse. Which is the oldest one on lake Erie.
Following lunch, the number of addition crops increased, there were cucumbers, asparagus, soybeans, cherries, barley, green peppers, wheat, apples and blue berries. The roads were mostly 2 lane county roads with good surfaces and the winds were to our backs. At times, I think that the tailwinds must have be greater that 15 mph.
With ten more miles to go, we stopped in the town of Normandale for ice cream.
The remaining road was fairly hilly but went quickly.
8/1 - Richmond, MI to West Lorne Canada - Day 47
The theme for the day is: "the crossing". Today is the day that the trip leaves the US and heads into Canada. We finish the week in Niagara Falls, ON. The boarder crossing occurred about 20 miles into the ride today. We left the school at about 7:30 after breakfast. The skies were clear and sunny. The temperature was about 70. By 16 miles in we could start to feel the temperature warming up. We reached the town of Marine City by 8:45 and had cool drinks before boarding the ferry. This ferry, unlike the SS Badger, was small. It held a couple of trucks, cars and our bicycles. The river we crossed was about a mile and we were in Canada in less than 15 minutes.
We got on our bikes and headed out. To get to our destination (about 51 miles further) we only had to make a couple of turns, but we were too busy talking a missed the second turn. Jim noticed after 4 miles that he had not seen any arrows on the ground for a while (Cycle America paints arrows on the ground for us to follow). After asking a road construction worker if we had seen any bicycles today (his answer was no) we turned around and found the correct route after 4 miles.
I guess since this was the first time that we got side tracked the entire summer that it's to be expected.
As the day worn on we started to feel the heat. We reached the picnic stop at noontime. Had a bite to eat and headed out at 12:45.
The remaining 30 miles was a search for something cold to eat or drink. However there were lots of farms, but very few towns. In the town of Newberry we were able get a cold drink at the Firehall Cafe. By now it felt as if it was 100 degrees out side.
Outside of West Lorne ( http://www.library.elgin-county.on.ca/wlorne/ ) we finally found a gas station that sold ice cream. A ice cream sunday later we were back on the rode for the remaing mile to the school.
The schedule shows a 98 mile ride tomorrow. I hope that it's going to be cooler and that wind is to our back.
7/31 - Frankenmuth to Richmond, MI - Day 46
The theme for the day was: "go fast... go far". Woke up at 5:45 this morning to a heavily clouded sunrise. The red rays were peaking out between the clouds. Maybe rain, maybe not. Washed up, pack the bags and took the tent down by 6:30. We headed off to breakfast and ended up at a McDonald's because of a mix up. We were on the road by 7:30 AM. The skies had cleared. It was about mid 60's, sunny and clear. The roads were in good shape, fast and smooth. By 9AM we stopped in a small town of Fastoria. The only place that was open was a country convenience store. We were back on the road within 20 minutes after a quick drink of soda.
Like yesterday, I got into a pace line with Joe, Vivian and Erika and for a while Tom. We were cooking!! The winds were helping as well. We were getting an assist from a wind that was coming from the northwest and we were on roads that were either heading east or south. By going in either direction we were getting a "push". We took advantage of the push and at times were hitting 25 to 27 MPH. We were flying.
We stopped for coffee at a pizza shop in North Branch at 10 AM and only had eleven more miles to go to lunch. We continued the pace up until lunch. After 45 minutes we were on our way again. By now the temperature had risen to the mid 80's. It was still sunny, but like yesterday, the afternoon clouds were building. We had about 40 more miles to the end of the day.
We had one stop planned in the town of Armanda ( http://www.hometownusa.com/mi/Armada.html ). A sign as you entered town claimed that it was "the home of the motor home". According to the information that we received during the ride briefing yesterday, a shop boasting of "Hand Made Pies" was on the route. We bought a pie and took it into town to Lick's Ice Cream Shoppe. Where it was shared with lots of hungry bikers. Everyone digging into the pie and ice cream with forks. OOhhhh it was soooo much fun. With only 9 miles to go, the rest of the trip to Richmond ( http://www.ci.richmond.mi.us/ ) went quickly.
We finished up the ride before 3PM in 91 degrees temperature. Tomorrow we head into Canada and onward to the east coast. I just can't wait.
7/30 - Farwell – Frankenmuth - Day 45
The theme for the day was: "All Smiles to Frankenmuth". As we woke up this morning the skies were clear and blue. All the rain from yesterday was gone. We were heading southeast about ninety miles to Michigan's Little Bavaria" ( http://www.frankenmuth.org/ ). Following breakfast, we were on the road by 7:15. The sun was shining and must have been in the lower 70's. The route included a wonderful bike path for about twenty four miles. The bike path is a converted railroad bed. These types of bike paths are called "Rails to Trails" ( http://www.railstotrails.org ). They make use of the right of ways of old railroad tracks that are no longer used. The paths are usually flat and mostly straight. Perfect for bikes. The trails are paved and usually have restrooms along side of the path as well. I would love to see more of them.
After we left the bike path, we returned to the road. The roads today were in great shape as well. It was only a matter of time until several of us started to pick up the pace all the way to the picnic stop in at the 57 mile mark. Joe's cyclometer indicated that our average was 19.9 MPH. Pretty fast for us.
After lunch we had only about 30 miles to go. The temperature had been creeping up and must have been in the low to mid 80's. The sky was now filling up with big white puffy clouds. Not really threating rain, but maybe a warning for this evening.
We are mostly camping on this trip. When we get to the evening's destination (usually a school) we set up our tents. Someone pointed out last night that we are typically spending only 3 hours or so in doors each day. I guess he's correct. About the only time we're inside is to eat or to go to the bathroom. The rest of the time, we're on our bikes or sleeping.
We hit the town of Frankenmuth by 3:15. Had an ice cream cone and now I'm in the local library writing up the logs for the day. Now it's off the Frankenmuth High School to put up the tent and get ready for dinner a 5:30. Talk about a structured day!
7/29 - Scottville, MI – Farwell - Day 44
The theme of the day must have been "we don't care if it's raining, we're going to bicycle there anyway". Woke up this morning under very cloudy skies. By looking, you could see that it was going to start to rain very soon. Packed my bags and tent and loaded them on the luggage truck. The rain started shortly afterwards while we were inside at breakfast. After breakfast, we hung out waiting for a break in the rain. By 7:15 we headed out in a heavy drizzle.
Riding in the rain is never as much fun as when it's sunny, but most of us are here to cycle all the way across America and we're scheduled to be in Farwell this evening, so it either get on the bike or ride in the van. I think that all were on the cycles by 8AM. The rain was mostly a strong drizzle. It was the summer kind of rain, mostly warm for the most part. With our rain gear on, keeping warm wasn't a concern.
The route allowed us to see the changing scenery. At the beginning there were small family farms. I had expected to see them all across the state. However, several times the route took us on the back roads through pine forests and small towns and around lakes.
By the time we got to lunch the rain had stopped.
Following lunch the would sporadically start again. The ride was over 95 miles and of course, by the time we got to the High School in Farwell, the skies began to clear. Oh well, may be the weather will be better tomorrow.
7/28 - Day off in Scottsville
Today was our day off from riding. Cycle America uses it as a day to drop off riders leaving the tour and pick up new riders from various airports. We use the day to wash clothes, sight see and to rest. After doing my weekly wash and having breakfast, some of us headed back to were the ferry dropped us off last evening since not much was in Scottsville. We got back on to the bikes and headed 8 miles east to Ludington. We pretty much spent the day enjoying the day. We had lunch, ice cream, walked to the lighthouse and expresso. As I headed back to Scottsville I stopped at a WalMart to pick up a new luggage bag. One of my two bags was starting to wear and needed to be replaced.
7/27 - Menasha – Manitowoc, WI - Day 42
The theme for the day is: "gee this really is a BIG lake". This morning the breakfast was a the Darbay Family Restaurant about 5 miles from the school where we were staying.
( http://www.ssbadger.com )
ooops I'm getting kicked out of the library. I'll have to finish this later
7/26 - Osseo to Wisconsin Rapids - Day 40
The theme for today is: "the land still changes". I was awakened last night to the sound of rain hitting my tent. It wasn't hard rain, but rain just the same. By the time I had to get up, the rain had stopped. The skies were overcast, but with some blue sky poking through. I packed my rain gear in my bike bag just in case. The route today was mostly flat and mostly on well paved roads. By 9AM we had covered 23 miles. The distance was going to be a bit long at 88 miles. At the 27 mile mark we pulled into the town of Merrillan. We had coffee, cinnamon rolls, some pie and even some ice cream before leaving at 9:45. The picnic stop was at 41 miles. We arrived at 10:50 and were back on the road by 11:30. At 54 miles the rain started. Not very hard but more than a drizzle for about 10 miles. We stopped, put on our rain jackets and continued. The town of Pitsville was about 68 miles into the ride and guess what? We found a cafe called Laura's Corner Cafe, had coffee and pie with ice cream. What a surprise! The trip has pretty much boiled down to keeping our decisions down to, when to stop and what to snack on. I think that all vacations should be so simple. The rain pretty much stopped by the 70 mile mark. By this time the pine forests were pretty frequent and we even pass some Christmas Tree farms. So many small Christmas Trees all growing in neat rows. The sight of cranberry bogs are more frequent as well. I can't say that I was expecting to see either Christmas Tree farms or cranberry bogs in Wisconsin but now I know. I coasted into Wisconsin Rapids by 3:30, the temperature was 77 degrees and stopped at a coffee shop called Centralla Coffee for a latte and cranberry muffin. Life is good!!!
7/24 - Pepin,WI to Osseo - Day 39
Theme for the day is: "Gee there are alot of rolling hills out here". We started the day at 7:15 following breakfast under cool overcast skies. At mile seven we encountered the first of many hills that we would have to climb. Though not very high, some we fairly steep. It seems that each day we're noting the changing landscape. We noticed some pine forests today. The land is becoming more and more green and you can really see that the family farms are alive and well. From the best that I can tell, they are growing corn, soy and dairy. Were in South Dakota, the farms were measured in square miles, here Barns are located less than a mile between them. The farms remind me of farms you might see in New Hampshire or Vermont, with a farm house, garage, red barn and a couple of silos. We encountered many white wooden churches as well. Most of them Lutheran and almost all with grave yards dating back to the 1880s. Walking through the grave yards you could note that many were born as early as 1820's. These folks were truly pioneers in a new country. In the town of Mondovi we stopped for lattes at a shop called Grains and Goodies. We weren't in a hurry to leave 'cause the picnic stop was only another mile down the road and it was only slightly after 10AM. We did reach the picnic stop by 10:50, had lunch and was back on the road by 11:30. The total mileage for the day was 61 miles and we only had 28 more miles to go. So in typical fashion, when we entered the town of Strun fifteen miles later, it was time for root beer floats!!! Gee I love this bicycling!!! We stopped at the Coffee Cup Cafe after getting directed there by some kids. By now it was pretty sunny and 81 degrees. We reached the town of Osseo six miles later.
7/23 - Northfield, MN to Pepin, WI
The theme for today is: "Day to play". Today was fairly short, only 74 miles. The heat that has been dogging us for the past weeks has broken. As we left Northfield at 7AM the temperature was reading 57 degrees, almost chilly. The breakfast was being served 21 miles down the road in the town of Cannon Falls. The road to Cannon Falls was mostly back country roads with one or two rolling hills. We arrived for breakfast by 9AM. The temperature was still only 62. Cannon Falls is also the headquarters for Cycle America. After breakfast, the route followed the nicest bike path that I've ever ridden. The path was formally a railroad track that has been converted into a bike path. Good hard smooth surface and tree covered for most of the twenty mile length. No cars, no traffic light for twenty miles. The picnic stop was at the 45 mile mark and we reached ti by 11AM. Following lunch we traveled through the town of Red Wing (famous for its shoes and pottery http://www.redwing.net/). We then crossed the Mississippi River into the state of Wisconsin.
ohhhh no!! I'm getting booted off the machine and I haven't talked about Bay City and the expressos of Stockholm and the root beer floats. ...... Gee does it sound as if all we do is sleep, bicycle, eat? Well yea that's what we do..... I'll finish this up later.
7/22 - Northfield - duff day
Gee it's that time of the week again that we have a day off of the bike and can clean our clothes, have the photos processed and get a hair cut. I also had the chance to catch up on the trip log for the week. This evening we had dinner at an Indian restaurant. I haven't seen the route for tomarrow yet, but I'm all rested up and ready to go.
7/21 - Hutchinson to Northfield - Day 36
The theme of today was: “gee is that what a tailwind feels like?”. We were on the road by 7:15 today. We passed a Wal-Mart and Target on the way out of town. The roads were well paved, smooth and flat. The best part was that the winds were very light and mostly cross or slightly from the rear. The best wind conditions that we’ve had in over a week. I’m still blown away by the number and size of the crop fields that we’ve been passing. The fields seem to be incredibly productive. We were really moving when compared to yesterday. Today by 9AM we had traveled 27 miles, 10 more miles than yesterday. By the time we hit the 30 mile mark we must have had a good tailwind because we were moving in the range of 17 to 19 MPH. The picnic stop was at 44 miles near the town of Belle Plaine. After lunch we stopped in town for some coffee at a coffee shop call Duets. By the time we got back on the road it was about noon. Luckily the wind was still on our side, I was pushing it a bit and on the some of the small rolling hills I was climbing them at 21 to 28 MPH. Oooooh it was sooooo much funnnnnn. The route sheet indicated that there was Ice Cream in the town of Lonsdale. At one point there must have been fifteen of us sitting outside of the store under a shade tree. The shakes and cones tasted great! At this point we were only thirteen miles from the destination of Northfield ( http://www.ohwy.com/mn/n/northfie.htm ). Northfield is a college town. It the home to Carlton College and St. Olaf. Both colleges have beautiful campuses (
http://www.carleton.edu/ , http://www.stolaf.edu/ ). We’ll rest up tomorrow and than be on our way Tuesday.
7/20 - Montevideo, MN to Hutchinson, MN - Day 35
The theme for today is: "Rain rain go away, come back another day". Woke up to the sound of raindrops on my tent at 5AM this morning. So far in this trip we've been luck and haven't had any rain. Today the rain caught up with us. By the time I finished packing my bags, it was pouring outside. I dragged my bags to the baggage truck and went inside the school building for breakfast. No use in taking down the tent in the pouring rain. By the time breakfast was done, the rain subsided enough for us to get ready to leave. I took the tent down and several of us took off in the heavy drizzle at 7:45. At least the temperature was cooler that yesterday. The headwinds were not as kind. We were heading directly into the winds, which kept our speed down. By 9AM we pulled into the town of Clara City. We had covered only 17 miles. We almost an hour sipping coffee and eating cinnamon rolls at a café. The café was filled with the locals who wanted to know what we were up to. Shortly after the coffee stop, it started to clear but the headwinds was still working against us. The picnic stop was at 38 miles. We hit it by 11:30 and by then the sun had come out. After lunch we encountered more incredible crosswinds. At times we were leaning the bikes into the wind to just keep going straight down the road. Late in the afternoon we came across a Dairy Queen and just had to stop. During the final miles into Hutchinson, the road bent and curved and sometimes we could catch a tailwind. By the time we got into town it was 95 degrees. It's a bit strange, but while you're on the bicycle and moving, the heat is ok, but as soon as you stop you can feel how hot it really is. The national tractor pull was being held only a couple of blocks away at the fair grounds, I did make it but I know some folks that did. Maybe I should have gone. I've never seen huge specially made machines trying to drag heavy weighted sleds across the ground before. By 10PM it was so hot that the lifeguards at the pool came back and opened it up just of us. After splashing around for 30 minutes or so, we were cooled off enough to get a sound sleep. Thanks lifeguards.
7/19 - Watertown, SD to Montevideo, MN - Day 34
The theme for the day is "so long Pacific Ocean - hello Atlantic Ocean". The quote of the day was "it's been six days of headwinds if you don't count the day off". South Dakota has been tough for us so far, it's another day of strong headwinds and cross winds. The landscape is very green with huge fields of corn, soy beans and other crops. The corn is up to 7 feet tall. The only break we get from the constant wind is from the trees and from the tallest corn. All the riders were surprised at the forty one mile mark when we crossed the South Dakota / Minnesota State line. We can upon a huge group of riders taking pictures and laying on the road. We didn't figure out what was up until we got closer. Cycle America had painted a large signs on the road indicating the half way mark across America. So Long Pacific Ocean - Hello Atlantic Ocean! The picnic stop followed shortly.
After lunch, we peddled twenty-four miles to the town of Dawson where we stopped for sodas. On the way out of town we passed a restored gas station from the 30's era. We stopped and started to take photos of us trying to "gas-up" our bikes when a local asked us were we were from and where we were going. He got a bit excited and asked us to wait until he returned with a reporter from the local paper. He was back in less than 5 minutes with a reporter from the Western Guard. She interviewed us and took our pictures and then we were off. On this trip, we've been interviewed a number of times for local papers and some folks have been interview for the radio as well.
I've come up with the idea that we're like the circus. Each day we travel from town to town, we put up our tents and often we are the attraction!
The town for the evening was Montevideo, a wonderful town with a downtown of several blocks long. After dinner we headed to a coffee shop called Java River, where a live band was playing in an outdoor garden.
7/18 - De Smet to Watertown - Day 33
The theme for the day must have been; “you can’t outwit the wind”. For the past several days, we have been battling the southeast winds as we’ve been traveling east. The route for today called for us to head north. In theory the winds that we have been fighting should have been helping us. BUT Noooooo that was not to be. We woke up in time for breakfast at 6:30 and on the road by 7AM. The winds were calm, the sky was heavy with clouds. Rain was clearly a possibility today. As we got underway we could see a weather front was moving south from the north, just the direction we were heading. By the 10-mile mark, the wind really started to kick up. I’m not sure how hard it was blowing, but it sure slowed our group down to a crawl!! At least the temperature was cooler than other days, maybe in the low 80’s. We were about four mile out from the first water stop in the town of Bryant when much to our surprise, a white car pulled along side of us and shouted through an open window, that the women driver was with the nursing home in Bryant and she invited us in for coffee and cookies. She then sped off. The word was passed up and down the pace line. We didn’t know what to expect but sure enough there was a nursing home and a bunch of us pulled in. We were welcomed warmly and we all had cookies, tea and coffee and visited a bit with the staff and patients. It seems that for the past couple of years, this nursing home has been playing host to the cyclists. Each year Cycle America has passed by the Parkview Care Center on a Thursday about this time in the month. See we were expected! After a short visit we were off. By now the sky was more threatening than ever and cooler as well. It seems the front was going to bring welcomed cooler temperatures. We continued on almost twenty more miles to lunch, arriving by 10AM. We left by 11AM and headed north, only 20 more miles for the day. Less than five miles out, the rain that had been threatening, hit us. We had a chance to get our jackets and get back on the road before the brief down poor hit. It must have been over within five to ten minutes. For the rest of the ride, the wind shifted and became a cross to tailwind. Nice way to end a ride. We arrived in Watertown by 1PM and found a nice restaurant with lattes and hot buns. Tomorrow we leave South Dakota and enter Minnesota. We’ll end up in the city of Montevideo. We’ll see how the winds treat us.
7/17 - Miller to De Smet SD - Day 32
The theme for today was: “A Little Ride on the Prairie”. The destination for today is De
Smet which is the home town of Laura Ingalls who wrote the stories in the "Little House"
book series ( http://www.ingallshomestead.com ). Plans were made last night to get up
earlier that usual in order try to get in before the heat becomes too hot! I was up by
4:45AM and in the school having breakfast by 5:30AM. They were nice enough to have
the breakfast early today. Erika, Jim, Lauri and me headed out by 6AM. The sun wasn’t
even up yet! When it did rise it was a bright red ball, almost worth getting up for. The
road was great, smooth, fast and very little traffic. As we’re heading east, we’re going to
be starting to hit more towns. The first one is in fifteen miles (Wessingtion). We told
that a nifty shop called “ABCraft ‘n Things” would be open for us. We were there
shortly after 7AM. It turns out the shop had great expresso, the first that I’ve had in a
while. Many other bikers soon arrived and we visited with them and the local residents
for almost an hour before getting on the road again. By 9AM we had traveled thirty two
miles. The land has started to become more and more flat. No significant climbs. You
can spot the upcoming towns miles away, by spotting the water towers or grain silos.
We hit the picnic stop a bit after 10AM and were out within an hour. By the time we left
lunch we could really feel the heat coming on. The crosswinds from the south had
picked up as well. By now we had five folks in the group, Erika, Tom, Jim, Lauri and me
all taking turns at the head of the pace line. We had thirty more miles to go and wanted
to get them out of the way. Again, like yesterday, the water stops were critical in keeping
us going. Then we entered the very small town of Iroquois. A cozy cafe called the
Checkered Apron looked very inviting. We had sodas, floats, malts and pie. Nice break.
We got back on the bikes with the toughest ten miles remaining. The road to De Smet
was slightly uphill, not much normally, but with the heat it was a lot of work. Coming
into De Smet we found Wards V Store that had great Iced drinks and internet access. I’m
haply typing away, with an Iced Latte in an air conditioned building. I think that I’m in
heaven!!! Tomorrow we’re heading north to Watertown. We hope that the winds from
the south that we’ve been fighting for the past couple of days will push us all sixty miles.
If so, we’ll all be happy campers!
7/16 - Pierre, SD - Miller
The theme for today is: "Boy it really is Hot and Windy in South Dakota!!" After a nice
of rest in Pierre it was great to get back on the road. The ride started off by following the
Missouri River south for about 20 miles. Since crossing the Missouri river on Sunday,
the scenery has started to become more green. You could look across the Missouri and
see the brown field and look either side of the road we were on and see green fields. By
the 23 mile mark, we came across a piece of modern art in installed in a while open field.
You gotta see this thing. It looked as if the Wright Brothers crashed into a telephone
pole..... several times!!!!! I'll see if I can upload a photo to the site.
The road became bumpy until the picnic stop. The lunch was about half way through the
ride at forty five miles. The ride was re-routed to bypass the bumpy road. A benefit was
that the next leg head north. The direction gave us a tailwind. For the next nineteen
miles, the tailwind allowed me to average about 20 MPH. I think that at times, I peaked
at 29 MPH, that’s traveling!!
When I reached Highmore I discovered the Frosty Freeze and had their special flavor of
the day, Orange sherbet. By this time it was really starting to cook. It turns out the
almost all of the riders had stopped at Frosty Freeze as well. The last twenty two miles
was really hot and the direction had changed so that the great tailwind had now become a
strong crosswind. Good thing that there were enough water stops along the way. As I
entered town, a Dairy Queen beckoned to me. I could here it say to me..... root beer
float.... root beer float..... root beer float. I gave in and stopped. Guess what I had? A
root beer float!!! Andy was already at the DQ and Marc soon joined us.
After setting up my tent I headed into town with Marc to find something to drink. We
walked into a saloon that had the Weather Channel on. The map on the screen was a
contour map of temperature, showing where the hottest point in the country was. It turns
out we where the hot point!!! Guess I feel good that we made it!!
7/14 - Philip – Pierre, SD - Day 29
The theme for today is: "Boy is it windy in South Dakota". We left the high school this morning head east. The a water stop was at mile 20 and by 9 AM we were having a morning snack at the 25 mile mark. As we left the convenience store, a breeze from the south was starting to kick up. Since we were traveling east, this made for a crosswind on our right hand side. The road soon turned north and the wind became a tail wind for us. When you have a tail wind, you really can't feel it, but you can see the effects of it. In no time, we were moving along at 20 to 25 miles an hour. Even the rolling uphills were easy. At the 47 mile mark, we had to turn east again and now the tail wind became a cross wind again and we began to feel how strong it had become. We hit the picnic stop by 11 AM. I was hungry but some folks seemed to be affected by the increasing heat and weren't very hungry. On a hot day like today, water becomes very important. Cycle America is great on making sure that we have enough water and sport drink to keep us going. Today they had block of ice in the coolers to supply us with cold drinking water. The crosswind was so strong, that we rode side by side to block the wind. Sometimes the group was as large as six. Every mile or so, we would rotate the group on position clockwise. When we would rotate, it felt as if we were the "Blue Angels" ( http://www.navy.com/blueangels/ ) flying in formation. Kinda neat way of keeping your mind off of the work of fighting the wind.
7/13 - Interior – Philip - Day 28
The theme for the day: "gee I guess I see why they call it the badlands". This morning we woke up a little early to get an early start on the day. We expect today will be pretty hot. We also had to bike back to the restaurant for breakfast. We then took off through the Badlands. If go to the following URL you can follow our path from the "city" of Interior to Wall through the Badlands: ( http://www.nps.gov/badl/ppmaps/badlmap1%2Epdf ). The twenty eight miles through the badlands was filled with climbs, drops and unbelievable views. Some parts were almost as if they were movie sets of Mars. Just add some more red colors, some astronauts and... Presto!! Mars!! By 9 AM I was at 28 miles into the ride and the heat of the day was already being felt. Lance, one of the trip routers (the guys who go out the day before us in a car to mark out the route for the bikes each day) had mentioned to me a couple of days ago that it was amazing that when we looked out as far as we could see on the horizon, that we will be traveling under our own power to the horizon and beyond. Today was one of the days that you could really feel the horizon. Kinda strange, but true. At the end the badlands, the town of Wall awaited us. If you ever been within 300 miles of Wall you've likely seen the roadside billboards of Wall Drug (http://www.walldrug.com ). Wall Drug is the hub of the town and today was the town's birthday from what I understand. There was a parade dancing in the street, but what I'll remember is a church ice cream social. It was held in the basement of the Lutheran church. All the ice cream was homemade and with cycle America in town, well attended. After Wall, we rode the remaining thirty three miles to the town of Philip. When we arrived it was 3:15 and 103 degrees. The town consisted of four square blocks and at least four bars. Several of us heading into one and had sodas. Finally on to the High School to set up the tents and to have dinner.
7/12 - Rapid City – Interior - Day 27
Today we left the black hills. The area of great beauty and suprise for me. The destination is a location is called Interior. When asked if Interior was a city, the reply was, "well yes, technically". The theme for today was "gee it's hot out here, but it could be worse". Breakfast was at the Alex Johnson Hotel ( http://www.rapidcitycvb.com/items/hotels/Alex%20Johnson%20Hotel ) then it was onward to the "Bad Lands". For the past couple of days the locals were warning us about the "Bad Lands". As we traveled, we could see the land become more dry and brown. The Black Hills began to face into the distance while the open prairie stared to envelope us. Lunch was at a town called Scenic. That consited of a gas station, bar and store. I had to take a photo of the sign over the bar that said "Indians Allowed". After lunch we entered the National Grasslands ( http://www.fs.fed.us/grasslands/ ) that had no grass and then the Badlands National Park ( http://www.nps.gov/badl/ ). Within a couple of miles, we were out of the park. Tomarrow we'll be traveling through the park more.
By mile 80 arrived in Interior. It consist of a restaurant, couple of gas stations and a bar. We found out that the bar opened at 2 and it was about 2:30 so we headed on over to the Wagon Wheel to have a couple of cool ones. Then finally onward to the KOA campgrounds. That evening we were shuttled back to town to the restaurant. The food was great!!
7/11 - Custer – Rapid City - Day 26
The theme for today must have been "Hey they didn't tell us about that". The briefing last night outlined today's ride, but the amount of climbing was emphasized or how spectacular the views were going to be. I left breakfast at 7:15 and the temperature was cool at 59 degrees. At mile 2 we started climbing some very steep 2 lane tree lined roads. At the 9 mile a tunnel carved into the mountain awaited us. It was soooo cool.... The tunnel was only wide enough for a single car to pass through at a time and when you got through it was easy to spot the vertical rocks that gave the Needle Highway ( http://home.nc.rr.com/flanaganpage/custerpark.htm ) it's name. The views were certainly the most picturesque of the entire trip. When I discovered that we were traveling though South Dakota I wasn't expecting to see these views!! Because of all the uphill and the stopping for pictures, our progress by 9 AM was really slow. By 9 we had only traveled 17 miles!! As we dropped lower, the overcast skys really kept us very chilly. At twenty six miles we found a general store that had coffee and snacks. Then more hills followed and then more and then more. You getting the point??? The next set of climbs terminated with a view of Mt Rushmore as you exited the tunnel. More pictures were taken and finally a drop down through what they call pig tails. Pig tails are more single wide tunnels where the exit side of the tunnel road wraps around an under like a curly pig tail. The ride provided an option to ride up two steep miles to see the "faces" of Rushmore up close. Heck I've be cycling all day, whats another 2 miles??? The Mount Rushmore National Memorial ( http://www.nps.gov/moru/ ) is very impressive and inspiring. I then left Rushmore and coasted down to the town of Keystone where the picnic stop was. When I got there at 2 PM it was really late for lunch, but I wasn't the last one. There were several more even later than me. By the time I left the picnic stop, only 14 miles remained. How hard could it be??? Remember the theme of the day, "Hey they didn't tell us about that". There was more hill and more hills. Fortunately the temperature was still fairly cool some head winds and it was sunny. We stayed at the Southwest Middle school and took a cab into the city of Rapid City in the evening.
7/10 - Newcastle – Custer, SD - Day 25
Each day ought to have a theme. If so, todays theme is "To Be A tourist". The schedule ride is only fourty miles, but if you go to see Crazy Horse, then it's fifty four. The two tourist stops along the way and short enough mileage allowed me to have time to enjoy them. Plus we're heading East and entering South Dakota. We've been in Wyoming since Jackson Hole ( eight days ) longer than any other state! The road typically was hilly and luckily the wind was still with us. We hit some larger climbs and descents at mile 20. After a couple of miles, the road was similar to something that I would envision would be in Appalachia. Narrow winding with dense trees on either side. We now in the black hills and the hills were name for it's forests not it's rocks. The picnic stop was at the Jewel caves ( http://www.nps.gov/jeca/ ). The Jewel Cave was the first tourist stop as well. The cave was very interesting. It was the first cave that I've seen that had an elevator as an entrance!! After the cave, the town of Custer ( http://www.custer-sd.com/ )was only thirteen more miles further. From the town of Custer, both Rick an I headed up to the Crazy Horse Moument ( http://www.crazyhorse.org/ ). This site is hugh!!! When completed it will be an achievement. It's been a work in progress for over fifty years. Who knows, it may take another fifty years to complete!! On the way to the moument, Rick and I had a green sports car zoom by us beeping it's horn and stopping shortly in front of us. The driver jumped out of the car and started to walk in our direction. We couldn't figure out what his problem was. It turned out that he was the publisher of the "News Letter Journal" ( http://www.trib.com) in Newcastle, where we started our day. He found out about us after we had left town and spent the day tracking down bicyclists in order to get a story. He took a shot of Rick and Me in front of Crazy Horse asked us some questions and was on his way. I don't know if we ever made it into the paper. When I returned to Custer I came across Jim, Laurie and Erika sharing bread, cheese and wine outside an expresso shop. After relaxing for 30 minutes or so, I needed go to the campsite to get ready for dinner. It was so nice to sit out in the sun after a ride. It would be nice if all days could be so relaxing.
7/9 - Devils Tower, WY – Newcastle - Day 24
Today is going to lots of climbing, but is only about 75 miles. We were hoping to be heading directly east, but according to the map, we're heading almost directly south. One more day in Wyoming. Leaving the park we had about 7 miles of climbing before heading to Sundance. The road was mostly quiet with occasional timber trucks or RVs. By the 20 mile mark we reached a plateau with rolling hills. At the 27 mile mark we started to receive a good stiff breeze. The tailwind with the fairly nice temperatures of 80's made for a great ride. I was making such great time that I was going 25-27 MPH. I was sorry to see the picnic stop show up at the 43 mile mark. I'm not sure what time it was, but it may have been as early as 10AM. I wanted to take advantage of the tailwinds and was back on road within 30 minutes. The rest of the ride had more climbs but the tailwinds had a positive affect on both my speed and attitude. I had a chance to ride with Paul. Paul is new to the ride this week and currently lives in Colorado. He grew up in the town of Newcastle, our destination for this evening. He showed me a shortcut to the school where we're staying this evening. He went to the school as a kid. Must be neat to return home on a bicycle I guess. The dinner was held at a Senior Center where we were serenaded by a local musical group. They included some Elvis songs, a first for the trip!! We also saw a movie at the theatre and turned in for the evening.
7/8 - Duff day at Devils Tower, WY
Gee... Even on my day off I'm waking up at 6:30. I think that it must be the sun hitting my tent and heating it up. Anyway, showered and went up to the KOA cafe for pancakes. Did my wash and then borrowed Rick's computer to update my computer logs. In the afternoon met with some of the other bikers under the shade of the village store's porch and just talked and had a couple of beers. Dinner was at 5:30 in the middle of a windstorm.
7/ 7 - Gillette – Devils Tower, WY - day 22
Fairly short day today; 68 miles. First stopped at Albertson's Market for Starbucks Coffee before heading to the Golden Corral for breakfast. Ever since leaving Washington State, It's been a real treat to find exprsso on the road. All of the Albertson Markets have had Starbuck in the stores and so I keep my eye out for the market. I was on the road by 7:25. A couple of turns and a steep uphill at the 10 mile mark. The fun part of the ride was about to start. The Sunday morning traffic was light, the roads were well maintained and we may have even had a slight tail wind. Pretty soon I was in the middle of a gaggle of bike riders. There must of been ten of us just chatting, peddling and enjoying the ride. So different from the Interstate shoulder of yesterday's ride. The road was flat and fast. Wish more of the riding could be like this. The picnic stop was about 1/2 to Devils Tower at the 35 mile mark in Moorcroft. After lunch the road turned North. The hills returned and the afternoon temperature returned. Two water stops later we were about to enter the Devils Tower monument when we stopped at a small white building. Inside was an Ice Cream fountain. Just what we needed!! After cooling off and relaxing a bit, we headed on to the Tower (http://www.nps.gov/deto/). If you saw the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" you will recognize the huge tree stump shaped volcanic rock. It's all that remains of a huge extinct volcano that erosion has exposed the core. We camped at the very base of the moument at KOA campground. The move was shown at the campground outside in the evening. It was a bit weird watching the movie with the huge chunk of rock looming overhead. It's hard to describe the rock, but there was ever something that had mistic powers, then this rock would have it.
7/6 - Buffalo – Gillette - Day 21
Despite the storm last night, everything was dry in the morning. The tent wasn't even damp. Had breakfast at the Occidental Hotel and was on the road by 7:15. The route today was; get on Interstate I-90 and ride the shoulder until Gilette and get off. The total of 72 miles. The interstate could have been worse, I guess, but the traffic was extremely light. The inclines lasted for miles. The wind was mostly crosswinds to slight headwinds all day. The reason that we took the interstate was that was the only road that took us in the direction that we wanted to go. No frontage road , no back roads. Upon getting to Gillette (in case you're wondering, Gillette was not named for the company, it was named for the original surveyor of the town) I set up my tent and the clouds became very threating. Big heavy storm clouds, lighting and heavy winds. but within no time, it all cleared up for a beautiful clear evening. Most everyone was tired from the day. Some said that the ride was boring, but I think that they were tired from the day before.
7/5 - Worland to Buffalo
The plan was simple. Get up early, climb high and escape the heat. According to the staff, today is the most challenging day of the entire tour. We start at 4000 feet and end at 4700 feet with a climb to the Powder River Pass summit of 9666 feet in between. Breakfast was an hour early this morning (5:30). I woke at 4:30 in order to wash, dress and pack up. Biked to breakfast that the Big Horn Cafe. Had a quick breakfast and was on the road by 6AM. Boy has this trip warped my sense of time and distance!!! The first 20 miles were cool and pleasant with rolling hills. By 8:15 we had traveled 27 miles to Ten Sleep. Ten Sleep was a location name by the Indians. It was ten sleeps (10 days) between here and two other locations. Today Ten Sleep is a nifty little town with coffee shops, cafes and stores. The expresso shop quickly became a gathering spot for the all the riders on the tour. When our large group descends shop it's always a shock to the storekeepers to have soo much business. A couple of weeks ago when we ended up at an small express shop, the owner was overheard to say "Well I don't need to stay open for the rest of the day. I've just had all the business that normally have all day". We stayed at Ten Sleep only long enough to have the coffee. We realized that most of the climbing was still ahead of us. The serious climbing started at mile thirty three (33) through some beautiful canyons. I took some picture but I'm sure that I couldn't capture the true beauty of the scene. The road was a series of switchbacks on the canyon walls. The road would climb, tune and climb again. It was exhausting but at each turn i brought a new view to be enjoyed. By the fourty mile mark, you could stand at the top of the canyon and view it from the top. The climbing for the day wasn't close to being done however. The picnic stop was at mile 48 with lots of uphill. I made it there by 11:30. The summit of the pass was still higher at mile 58. The road was a series of rolling climbs. We had figured that by the time we were to the top, the rest was going to be all downhill. Boy were we wrong!! The backside of the summit was a series of more rolling hills. We would drop for a mile or so then climb for the next mile. It seemed to go on FOREVER!!! By now we were getting pretty tired and as we were dropping in altitude the temperature was rising. We were all watching the odometer wishing that the ride would be over. We finally arrived in Buffalo and followed the directions to the school only to find the steepest climb of the day was still in front of us. One block later we were at the school. It was 4:30 and I was done for the day.
7/4 - Riverton to Worland
need to update
7/3 - Dubois, WY to Rivertion, WY
This morning was not as chilly as yesterday, but in the 50's. The ride is scheduled to be out 77 miles and fairly flat when compared to yesterdays' ride. We had breakfast and I was on the road by a bit after 7AM. Much to the surprise of everyone the tailwind that pushed us into town was still with us this morning. This time pushing us out of town! The road tended to be downhill as we road though beautiful red sand canyons. The water stop was at the 20 mile mark and I hit it by 8:20, so I was averaging close to 20 miles and hour! Mighty fast when compared to other days. The temperature was kept from getting too hot because of the overcast sky, which was welcomed since 100 degree temperatures were predicted to today. We were moving so fast that we hit the Picnic Stop by 9:45. Not wanting to lose the great conditions, I was back on the road by 10:30. The wind kept pushing me along until about ten miles from Riverton, where the some hill slowed my progress and the tail winds shifted to headwinds. The clouds started to part and the sun started to heat thinks up. I was able to make it to the high school by 12:30 and then went in search of the public library. Now it’s off to the Dairy Queen for something cool then back to the high school to put up the tent and take a shower. It would be great if all day’s were this easy.
7/2 - Jackson WY to DuBois WY
Today was a tough day, especially for the folks who joined us yesterday. It was a total of one hundred four miles (104) while climbing a nine thousand six hundred fifty eight feet (9,659) summit. We started out from the campground at 6:30 AM. Breakfast was scheduled to be at the 19 mile mark. But boy was it cold when we started out. Some folks had frost on their tents this morning. After a quick stop at the Albertson’s, I had a latte at Starbuck’s and then off to breakfast. As the neared the breakfast location, the Teton’s got closer. I must of blown at least an entire roll of film on the mountain’s today. Breakfast was outdoors with pancakes, eggs and bacon. As we left breakfast, we entered Yellowstone. Again more pictures. By 11:30 we were out of the park and starting up the hill to the summit. Lunch was at the 64-mile mark and boy was it tiring to get there!! I think that the attitude had a lot to do with it. After lunch, it was still ten more miles to the summit / continental divide (9,658 feet). The dropping down the summit into Debois was worth the effort. First the incline was long and gentle for about 10 miles, then as the road started to flatten out we picked up a wonderful tailwind started to push us along. At one point, I was on flat ground going 40 MPH. I had to slowdown going through a town to keep from getting a speeding ticket!! A first for me!
7/1 - Jackson WY - Duff Day
Today is a duff day. No biking today. It's the day when some folks will leave the tour and some folks will join us. This morning I had a chance to say goodbye to Dan who is planning on continuing the tour next year for another week. I also said goodbye to John who may be re-joining us in New York for the final two weeks of the tour. Paul also left. He was here to train for the "Death Ride" in California. Five mountain passes and one hundred twenty miles in one day! We all wish him the best. He should have been given some kind of determination award. After making the four mile climb from Nevada City, he dropped one half the way to Ennis and turned around climbed back to the top, returned to Nevada City then back up the 4 mile climb again!!! Before finally dropping all the way down to Ennis for dinner. The rest of us felt once was enough! We hope that he does well. He too may be joining us by the end of the tour.
Today I went into Jackson to eat at the Bunnry then on to the library to catch up on my e-mail. I was able to get an hour session, but still it wasn’t long enough to get caught-up. I’ve dropped off two rolls of film to be developed and I’m now at Java Joe’s relaxing with an Iced Latte. It’s great to be able to have a bit of time to myself before rejoining circus this evening.
6/30 - Ashton, ID to Jackson WY
This trip though only scheduled to be 68 miles, promises to be very challenging. A ten percent grade at the end of the day will see to that.
As we left the town of Ashton we could see the Tetons looming in the distance. By the end of the day we will cross over the mountains to Jackson WY. The air was cool and calm. A welcome change to the hot windy conditions that greeted us in Ashton the evening before. The roads were twisty curvey with some uphills. At mile ten we had a chance at a "practice hill". By the end of the day, we will have had all the hills that we could stand. At the 30 mile mark, we stopped at a gas station for a break and for something to drink. Up until now, there were farms, farms and more farms, but no place to stop... Unless you count the Beef Jerky place.
The Picnic Stop was nine miles further along in the town of Driggs. As usual the picnic stop was welcome. I think that most people were reluctant to start attack the upcomming hill, as so lunch ran a bit longer than usual. By the time we got back on the road, the winds started to pick up. Not unexpected but surely not very welcome. The winds came mostly from the south west, just in the direction we were heading! An eight mile bike path connected Driggs to Victor. In Victor they had an old time soda fountain were they could mix up the flavor soda you wanted. It reminded me of my Father's store that he had while I was growing up. I had a cherry soda and we were off again. Just five more miles and we left Idaho and entered Wyoming. We took pictues at the state line and brace ourselves for the upcomming climb. I don't think that I've ever climbed a 10 percent grade before (10 percent grade means for every 100 feet you go forward, you rise 10 feet). By this time, I was riding with at least 8 other folks as well. All of them better at climbing that me, but the seven miles to the top was going to be tough on everyone. The headwinds that we were battling had started to shift to tail winds and the temperatures we not too hot. The routine was get into your smallest gear and start peddling... Don't look up... After a couple of stops and more than an hour later were all were to the top, thaking photos and looking at the views. It was great!! It seems that everyone had a different game to getting there, some had songs playing in their heads, some concentrating on their breating, but for me I saw everyone in front of me cranking away and I just keep doing what I had to do to reach the top. The descent into "the hole" was as steep as the ascent. We needed to stop several times just to cool off the brakes on the bikes. At the base of the descent, we all stopped at the coffee shop for a round of drinks before moving on to the camp grounds.
6/29 - West Yellowstone to Ashton ID
Today promises to be lots of fun if only the winds don't kick up. Fifty Six miles and moderate climbing. We started out from the Lionshead campground after a great breakfast at Alice's Restaurant. As soon as we left the campground we started a 1.5 mile climb that ended as we left Montana and re-entered Idaho. We dropped down for about a 4 mile hill out onto RT 20. Where the headwind was building. At the 21 Mile mark we stopped at the Pond's Lodge for coffee. Riders just kept coming and coming. At one point we must of had a dozen riders lounging in the sun sipping coffee. We were there for over and hour for just a coffee stop!!
Everyone was leaving and I was the last one getting on my bike when one of the staff members rolled up. I asked if you was there for a cup of coffee and he said that he was the sweep rider for the day, in charge of making sure that no one was left behind. Then if occurred to me, I was the last rider of the entire group! We got on the road and after a while I caught up and over took some other riders.
The ride included a scenic loop that includes the view of two waterfalls. The Upper Mesa Falls was spectacular and I have the photos to prove it. The Picnic Stop was located at the Lower Mesa Falls and as always we were ready for it.
I left lunch with Jim and Laurie Young and a mile down the road, my odometer turned over 1000 miles for the coast to coast tour and one mile later so did Jim's.
The roads became twisty with lots of ups and downs. Finally climbing up to a platitude where the wind was blowing at least 30 miles and hour right into our faces. What a headwind. On either side of the road were fields of potatoes and canola. I had no idea that canola was such a bright yellow. The fields were tremendous.
The remaining ride into town was an effort just to move forward. But in the end a cold ice drink awaited.
6/28 - Ennis to West Yellowstone MT
Today turned out to be 82 Miles total, we took the "B" route around the quake lake.
again .. gotta get off the machine. Will fill this out later.
6/27 - Dillon to Ennis, MT
Today's scheduled to be 73 miles... I'm about to get kicked off the machine at the Library. I'll have to fill this log out later
6/26 - Jackson to Dillon MT
This day has been a short ride, only 48 miles. The picnic stop that is normally mid ride has been put to the end of the ride in Dillon. The breakfast in the lodge was great and since the day was going to be short, it didn’t start till 7AM instead of the typical 6:30. At the nine-mile mark, the road started a climb for the next two miles. Followed by a drop into a valley. The surprise was that we found ourselves in the middle of a cattle drive! Really!! Cattle were everywhere, on the road to the left and the right and cowboys driving them on. It was too cool to be peddling along and have the cattle part for us. Following the cattle experience, we started new five-mile climb. We finally ended up in Dillon were the picnic stop waited for us. It was about 11AM, the earliest day we’ve had. I hung out for about an hour or so, chatting and just enjoying the warm weather. Later I made it down to the Library to update the trip log. They limited me to only 30 minutes, so I didn’t have a chance to email anyone. After getting kicked off the machine I wandered down to the sports store and finally to the Dairy Queen. It’s the first one that I’ve come across. The Blizzard drinks tasted great. Then it was on to the KOA campground to put up the tent and to catch a lift to the 4H club for dinner.
6/25 - Darby to Jackson
The Darby to Jackson was to be a new experience to for us. About 15 miles out of town the highway was having major construction work being performed. The road was closed to bicycles for 8 miles. Cycle America needed to arrange a set of shuttles to transport the bicycles across the construction. The routine was to get to the start of the shuttle, load the bikes on the van, drive across the gravel construction road and at the end, resume the ride. At that point we still had 8 miles to the first summit of 6995 then 7241 feet to the summit of the Chief Joseph Pass. A quick down ride downhill ended at the picnic stop for lunch. I think that we arrived there by 10:30. After a long lunch we headed down to the Big Hole Battlefield Visitor’s Center. Of course we had to stop in to get some education (http://www.nps.gov/biho/). The mosquitoes were starting to bite as we walked to the visitor center building. As I left the battlefield I came across someone else on the tour running around while trying to put on his jacket and long bike pants. Of course I offered help by he said unless I had bug repellent, I couldn’t help. The mosquitoes where swarming around him!! By this time it must have been over 90 degrees out!! I stopped in the very small dusty town of Wisdom for a root beer float with along with Bill and Carole from Maryland. Inside the café was a at least 8 other riders also having something cool and refreshing. After 30 minutes or so, it was time to hit the road. Even though we were warned that there might be strong headwinds, we were lucky enough to have a very light wind to slow us down the remaining 18 miles to Jackson. Jackson is one of the small towns that Johnny Carson would joke about ( the town is so small that the you are entering and you are leaving are posted on the same pole). Jackson is also home of the Jackson Hot Spring Lodge. It’s a big lodge that was a welcome sight. The lobby is two stories tall. A bar to the right, the hot springs pool on the left up the stairs and trophy animals all around. The dinner was good and everyone seemed to just gather and chat all evening. The general store across the street had hard ice cream and Huckleberry was the most ordered. Tomorrow’s ride is scheduled to be only 48 miles, but with two hills on the way.
6/24 - Missoula to Darby
I need to fully describe this day, but currently don't have enough time.
For now I can say it was the Expresso, Ice Cream and Beer Day.
Started off with a coffee stop at twenty miles, Lunch, Root Beer Foat at the 3/4 mark and Beer after dinner.
6/23 - Missoula MT (Day Off)
Today was our first full day off the road. Woke up at 8AM and after reorganizing my bags I headed into town for breakfast. Missoula is a wonderful little town. Brick faced buildings and clean streets. I picked up the local paper and started to read about the upcoming events surrounding the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
After that, a quick trip to Kinko’s to pick up my e-mail. After strolling the city for a while I headed back to the High School for a shower before dinner. After dinner a ride briefing was held for the upcoming day’s ride.
6/22 - Thompson Falls to Missoula Montana
Last ride of the first week. One hundred miles into Missoula. Since it was going to be a long day, I got up early enough to have wash and have everything packed in time for breakfast at the Elks by 6:30. Started the ride by 7AM. Clear and cool condtions. The first water stop was placed at the 20 mile marker. A total of four water stops with the picnic stop was planned for the day. We made to to Plains by 9AM and saw the a cafe. Perfect time for coffee. To our supprise we ran into a large group that left Thompson Falls earlier than everyone else and they were just finishing up breakfast. While we were there, the local paper ask for an interview an took photos. We must be famous now I guess. The promised to send a copy of the article to Cycle America. I took so many photos today, I'll need to pick up a couple more panoramic disposable camera. The lunch located at the 57 mile point in the town of Dixon. The lunch was was good as usual. Somehow the lunch staff has figured out how to cook pizza over a propane burner. After lunch the heat was starting to increase. Not at all like I expect that we will hit in the midwest, but it felt pretty warm anyway. The road started to climb. From about the 60 mile mark to the 86 mile mark the road keep climbing. It took me a stop at a convenience
store (for ice cream), a water stop and another convenience store (for root beer) to finally get to the top. My altimeter indicted 3950 feet, not quite as high as Stevens Pass, but close. The reminding miles to into Missoula was mostly downhill. I was able to pick up some good speed in places. We arrived at the Sacred Heart High School by about 4:30. Put up our tents and went into town and had dinner at a restaurant call "The Bridge" followed by ice cream.
Tomorrow (Sunday) is a day off. Time to sleep in, get the clothes washed and prepare for another great week on the road. We will be saying good bye to some folks a welcoming some new folks who will be joining us this week. I just can't wait
6/21 - Sand Point, ID to Thompson Falls Montana
As I write this note (10:30PM) the sun is slowly setting. This is because it's the longest day of the year and also 'cause when we crossed in to Montana we chaged our watches to Mountain Standard Time. So we're on the far western edge of the time zone at the longest day of the year. The day today had simiar riding terrain as yesterday. Rolling hills not much overall change in attitude. The ride length was about 89 miles and the heat increased. By the time I rode into Thompson Falls, the thermometer on bank building was reading 92 degrees! I'm sure that there's more of that to come this summer. The ride took us mostly along route 200, which is designated as a scenic highway. We travled along the huge lake called Pend Oreille (http://www.usgennet.org/usa/wa/county/pendoreille/ ). Eagles, Osprays, Moose and other wildlife was spotted.
The evening briefing covered tomarrow's ride which is expected to be over 100 miles. Everyone is planing on an early start. The next day, Sunday, will be our day off. Time to find laundromat and get ready for next week.
6/20 - Spokan, Wa to Sandpoint, ID
Gee it was great to sleep in a bed last night. We stayed in the dorms at Gonzaga University last night. I found out that Bing Crosby graduated from there. I understand that his Oscar for "Going My Way" is there. The ride was scheduled for 82 Miles, the actual was closer to 85. I guess that I took a couple of detours. The weather has been very good. The highs are in the upper 70's, the winds light and after the morning overcast burns off, the days are clear with clouds building in the afternoon. Typically I leave right after breakfast, about 7AM. I don't schedule who I going to ride with, just whoever is leaving at the sametime. It really doesn't matter much, cause as the day progresses, the riding partners tend to change. Today there weren't many big climbs like the last couple of days. The attitude was typically 2000 feet. The rolling hills accumulated about 2200 feet total for the day. We stopped at a small town in Washington called Newport. We had a latte at a small cafe then pushed on to Idaho. At the boarder of Idaho and Washington we took photos at the state sign. The landscape of Idaho is different from Washington. On this trip I really have seen "amber waves of grain" and now in Idaho, the "purple mountains majesty". The day's ride end in Sand Point, which is a very pretty town with several main block making up the town's center(http://www.sandpoint.com/). After dinner at the high school we headed to town for a couple of drinks. Back to the High school by 10 for the next day to Montana.
6/19 - Electric City - Spokane
Today was scheduled to be almost as long as yesterday (92 miles vs 94). Just out of the town of Electric City (great name for a town at the foot of the Grand Coulee Dam - http://www.grandcouleedam.com/). The climb out of town was 13 miles today, wish I knew how many feet. We eventually connected back to route 2 and headed east toward Spokane. We were luckly again today as the wind gave us some assistance. Lunch today was at a gazebo in the center of a small town. I had my first Huckleberry milk shake there. After lunch we still had 43 miles to go. We rolled into Spakane by 4:45. Just in time for dinner. We'er staying in the dormitories at Gonzaga University ( http://www.gonzaga.edu/ ), which is a very pretty place.
6/18 - Wenatchee - Electric City
They warned us that today was going to be a long day, 94 miles. We took a pretty bike path to a several a long incline. By 9AM we were had travel 20 miles since the start of the day and still climbing. Gee... Somedays 9AM would be my first meeting, but today I was traveling from coast to coast.
The big climb was followed by a huge downhill. Whatever speed we hit yesterday, we surpassed today. At the bottom of the downhill we were hit by a crosswind that forced us to lean the bike just to keep straight. Of course every downhill is followed by a uphill. The landscape sort of looked like some areas of the Californa desert with high vertial walls. The climb took a while but topped out again on a plateau with rolling hills. The road was straight and luckly the wind was to our back. With the combination of the winds and the hills, I broke 45 miles an hour!!! Some folks climed 54 miles an hour!!!
It was still a long day though, by the time we hit camp we covered 94 miles.
6/17 - Skykomish - East Wenatchee
Woke up at 5:30 to get ready to takle Steven's pass. The pass was just over 4000 feet and we were at just over 1000. We had to climb 16 miles to make it. Of course we
all took photos at the top. It was slow going but the views were breath taking. The back side was a blast. we fired down the other side. To the lunch stop. With the amount of food that Cycle America feeds us, I don't expect to lose any weight on the trip.
We stopped for coffee at a small town called for coffee. We finally got into the high school in East Wenatchee by 5PM and had just enough time to catch a shower before dinner.
Everett, WA - Skykomish
We started out the morning with dipping the bike's tire in the pacific before heading east. When we get to the Alantic we dip the front tires.
The day was overcast as we headed out of Everett. We road
through beautiful countyside and farmlands. On a bike trip like this you can feel, see, and smell the country.
As the day progressed we started the climb up the Cascades mountains. With all the waterfalls filled from winter runoff you can really see why the mountains are called the Cascades.
We stayed at a school in a small town of Skykomish. The total number of students in the entire school (1st through high school) is 75. Last year's graduating class was 4.
The ride was a good warm-up at 62 miles.
Still Lots more to do to get ready