The Long and Short of It

2007-07-21T12:42:00.000-05:00

Day 54 – And Then There Was One!

This is it the morning of the final day and it was kind of like we didn’t want the day to start for fear of what was at the end. It could have been the home and the comfort that it brought but after enjoying a fabulous breakfast and fun with family we finally got on the bikes at 9:00. This is nearly the latest that we have left all trip. The day called for rain and even before we started it had begun. With the rain, the short day planned, and temperature outside, I decided not to take the monkey that usually rides on my back. The CamelBak would not be taken. I also decided not to take any liquid fuel but only a water bottle filled with water. It was nice and appreciated not carrying around the extra weight that would only get heavier as it got soaked with rain.
I have watched a lot of sports and listened to many interviews after games and there is usually one question that drives me nuts when they ask it, “How did you feel about . . .?” First of all, the player in the excitement or devastation of the can remember how they felt during the game. Secondly, it is painfully or joyfully obvious how they feel at the moment of the interview. It is just the first question in the “Interviewing For Dummies” book that reports read and seems to break the ice the best. With all of that said I decided to answer this very question since I did slow my mind down enough during the ride to think about and answer this very question and I am not sure that you would understand how I felt during the final day of the trip (maybe you don’t even care but here it is anyways!).

75 MILES TO GO – Pictures must be taken of every part of this day so the beginning is important. We didn’t end up taking too many pictures along the way though because it was raining when we left and when we ended the day and never stopped or seemed to let up anywhere in between.
70 MILES TO GO – We came through the cities of Lacey and Olympia, WA. We followed the bike paths that seemed to come and go. Like the men painting the lines and determining the widths of the roads were trying to keep us on our toes. It worked and the drivers were generally nice and moved over to get around us.

The capital building was nice even through the rain that filled the air.

The boats that filled the harbor spoke of the favorite past time for many of the inhabitants of the city.

The round-abouts are a bit tricky and takes a little bit to get used to them. Thankfully mapquest.com gave us fantastic and easy to follow instructions!
65 MILES TO GO – The junction Old Olympic Hwy and US8 brought a little bit of fear. What will the shoulders be like on this divided highway? Will traffic be kind if the shoulders are small? Will the rain ever stop? We knew the answer to that one unfortunately and the other two were quickly answered. As we turned on to the road we saw a 10 foot shoulder that was as smooth as glass. With my little amount of faith, I thought that it would not last long but it basically lasted all the way to the coast! WOW! I then noticed my cyclometer. I knew that we were excited about the end coming but I did not expect to be able to sustain the speeds that we were going up the hills. I decided it was a good tailwind and I was right. Whatever it take to make good time is fine with me!
50 MILES TO GO – McCleary, WA gave us an opportunity to stop but we had only gone 25 miles so we decided to go to the next city of Elma, WA only a few more miles farther. The rain continued as well as the wonderful shoulder! It was a fine trade off especially with the wind.
43 MILES TO GO – Elma, WA gave me an opportunity to call the girls and tell them that they could leave to come meet us at the coast. It is hard to pull a phone out of a soaking wet cycling jersey that is under a wet and dirty rain jacket and then take it out of its plastic bag to take or make a phone call. We got our first cup of hot chocolate of the day and told the girls that they could leave to meet us. They were almost ready and would be on the road soon. The desire to get warmed back up pushed us back on the bike. That desire outweighed the desire for rest, which was great. We did get warm soon enough and enjoyed more tailwind!

20 MILES TO GO – We entered Aberdeen, WA and said goodbye to a good friend. US12 has been a good road to us and we finally came to its end.

The parting was such sweet sorrow. We crossed over an old nonfunctioning drawbridge and found another convenience store where we got our second and final cup of hot chocolate. We contacted the girls and they were quite near so we waited for them. Dad was beginning to get chilled and shake so as soon as the girls arrived he got his jacket on and we hit the road to get the blood flowing again. This is when the sentimentality really began for me.

17 MILES TO GO – Before leaving today we counted up the days that we had faced inclement weather and came up with 6 days. To me this is phenomenal! We have been riding for so long and covered a lot of country and to have faced this few days of rain is amazing and another testament to the LORD’s goodness and grace. There was another fact that hit me. Before we left I was telling people that we needed to have a flexible schedule along the way because one of us was bound to take a fall, get hit or something else that would cause physical injury. The LORD, and Him alone, has kept us safe and upright for the entire trip! I am so thankful for this answer to prayer! So many days I stood amazed at the tailwinds, good roads, and health because I am so undeserving. Then one day the LORD reminded me of a verse from Matthew that says, “how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” The LORD not only gives when we ask but He also gives because He loves us and enjoys giving His children good things! What a good God I serve and love!
15 MILES TO GO – Life is about people!! If you miss opportunities you can never get them back and so must take Paul’s advice and “REDEEM THE TIME”! We must “Seize the day”! There have been many people along the way that have kept me encouraged and motivated to keep my legs going around in circles. Jim and Nancy Korteway have been a constant source of encouragement from our church. I cannot get back to share with them the blessing that they have been face-to-face! Don and Katrina Hines are friends from college and every time I see their little faces in the comment box, the memories of time spent together come flooding back! Pictured Rocks rock because of you guys! My family also provides loving comments! Thanks Carrie for being the most faithful and frequent comment leaver! Thanks Joe, Joy, Beth, Laurie, and Jolene! Often there would be days that I would need to talk to someone and there would be a message from my good friend Luke! You are the man and love the talks that we have had! Jim Troxel and all those from Fab Masters, I can’t wait to see you again! Thank you all for reading and responding!
10 MILES TO GO – After spending time with someone for almost 2 months straight, you learn much about people, even those that watched you grow up. Mom, you have made so many sacrifices and have done so much for us! Thank you for putting up with our loud, rowdy, and different family! Thanks for the carb friendly meal schedule, setting up the camper each night so that we could just come it and not have to do it when we arrived, and driving back on several occasions to bring us watermelon and drinks! May the LORD bless you for it. Hope when you get home you enjoy sitting and cross stitching since we kept you from it so often this summer.
8 MILES TO GO – It is a good thing that the LORD brought the wife along that he did! I fell head-over-heels for a dark haired dark eyed beautiful girl when I was in college and married her as soon as I could. The LORD knew what I needed even before I did and am glad that He has all things planned! My wife has willingly and honorably waited on my hand and foot and did it with a joyful attitude. She has kept the children in line while I was of having fun. She had to just look at pictures on my camera of the wonderful things that she was not able to stop and look at and enjoy herself. She rubbed my sore neck, back and arms. She set up the air mattress bed each night. She let the dog out 95% of the time in the rain, shine, and mosquito infested forests! She deserves so much better than what she married and I thankfully fooled her long enough to marry her before she realized who I really was! She is the best!
6 MILES TO GO – Joshua and Annamarie have grown up before our very eyes this summer. Joshua is learning to ride his bike without training wheels. Annamarie is beginning to help her mother more and more and is such a good mother to her baby! I thank the LORD for you guys too!

3 MILES TO GO – It isn’t often that people have or take the opportunity to do something this monumental and they certainly don’t often get to do it with quite possibly the best friend that the LORD has ever given me, MY FATHER! Our relationship has changes with each passing day as he has seen my flaws and doesn’t laugh at me for them for which I am grateful! He has put up with my stubbornness and graciously keeps it to himself when he is right and I am wrong. He has joyfully paid for all expenses and has never once brought it up as something to make me do things his way because of it. I will tell one thing at this point that I was very surprised about. A few days before we left Dad and I went out on a 30 mile ride. It was windy and hot. By the end of the ride he was worn out and as I rode home I commented to Abigail that I would just have to resign myself to going much slower than I would like to on the trip. All day today, Dad was in the lead and set a very nice and challenging speed. My fear of feeling frustrated with his slow pace never came to fruition and he is truly a man of steel! 60 years old and pushing me to my limit sometimes! Great job Dad and thanks for making me feel good by saying that you had to keep up with me when often it was the other way around! Thank you Dad for everything!
1 MILE TO GO – It is almost over and though I am not sure I want the trip to end, I do want this day to end so that I can get DRY!!

We arrived at West Haven State Park and found our way down to the beach and took the final picture of our ride!

The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming! 3945.1 miles of biking! Not bad!

2007-07-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

Day 53 – In a Real House At Last!!

The day was filled with excitement because I would be sleeping in a real bed tonight. This may seem trivial to most but after 53 days of sleeping on an air mattress this is anything but a small thing to look forward to. We needed this motivation today to get all the way there. The sky was slightly cloudy and the forecast called for rain so I figured that it was only a matter of time before the sky opened up and unleashed it fury upon us.

We enjoyed the countryside that was now even greener with the recent precipitation. The forest seemed to be in its summer velvet just like the deer that live among them.

We followed the back roads that paralleled I-5 giving us the most direct route north. Still dry!

We came across this very funny barn in the middle of some guy’s field. I am not sure if it was a joke or if he really found a cure for it. It sure would be nice but is probably too good to be true! Just kidding all!

As we took the picture a dog scared me as he came running up to us. He was a nice dog and the pepper spray stayed nicely in its pouch. As we took off the dog really wanted to run and followed us for about 1/4 of a mile. I hope he made it back home safely! Still dry!!

This small house stood on the side of the road and was not only a residence for a Jackson family but it served as a court house, stop for western frontier travelers, and now a historical site. We ate a quick snack at a gas station and quickly got back on the road. Still Dry!!!
The roads that we took leading up to lunch were wonderful, quaint and great for riding but Logan Mill Rd. gave us a bit of a challenge. It had some pretty aggressive rollers and one very nice downhill that I was very thankful was not an uphill! We rounded a corner, came through a stop sign and then waamm there it was in front of us. From a distance we could see that his hill went up and then the top seemed to go much steeper than the rest but we had no idea.

As I began to climb the hill my legs felt good and was able to stay in a decent gear and maintain a good speed but then I came to the final part of the hill and I stood up to attack it and fell off backwards because it was so steep. I looked to the side of the road and there was a towrope like those on the bunny hill at a ski area and a red button to push to get to the top with a little sign that read, “Bikers push here”. When I woke up from my wishful daydream, except for the falling part, my heart was pounding out of my chest and I was not even near to the top. My speed was falling faster than an anchor of a large ship in the harbor and I was already standing on my pedlas. I finally got to the top with an opinion that this little hill had the steepest grade that we have faced on the trip. It was by no means long but it was steep and if it were much longer I may have needed to walk my bike to the top. Still dry!!!!

Centralia, WA came and along with it lunch. The news of the few miles left to go to Lacey, WA overshadowed the news that they didn’t serve lunch at that shop.

We did find a fine café where we ate and enjoyed looking at antiques for a moment. We hit the road with a bit more urgency than before because once we stepped outside we could see the storm clouds coming and hoped that we could make the 20 miles home and still stay dry.

Tenino, WA came quickly and according to the map Lacey, WA should have been right around the corner. Not so! Before we made our second turn (out of 6 to be made) the clouds, who had been holding back just for us, opened and soaked us within moments. It would have been nice had we been hot before but the day was already a little chilly and this added a little discomfort on the temperature side. The main roads did come that I remembered from when I was here last summer, and we pulled into Aunt Jolene’s house looking more like drowned rats on wheels than any human life form. It did feel nice to be there and get dry again.
The evening was filled with catching up, playing with the dogs, going on a walk (I needed the exercise), and watching a movie. It was nice to be in a home! Houses are one thing but Jolene has such a nice inviting and warm home for us to stay for the next week!
Tomorrow will be a day of excitement and bittersweet feeling. I am not quite sure how I am going to feel when it is all done. I will have to wait and see.

2007-07-20T09:21:00.000-05:00

Day 52 – The Northwest Tradition Pours All Day

The pitter-patter of raindrops plunking on our house on wheels gave us warning that our two wheeled house on wheels were going to be wet all day. We hooked up the trailer in the rain just to get us used to being wet and were off. We had a wonderful soggy ride into Troutdale, OR since it was downhill for almost 10 miles and ate breakfast at Shari’s Restaurant. We were wet and upon entering the restaurant we got very cold so hot chocolate was in order and a nice warm breakfast got us ready for the road. We headed along the river and came upon this neighborhood.

I was not sure that I would like to live. No grass, no loud cars next door, and no property taxes. What more could a person want. Actually Uncle Sam undoubtedly got his cut from those people too just in some other creative way.
The city of Portland, OR was teeming with people going to work and riding their bikes (the rain doesn’t deter them around here since they get raid so often).

As we came down Ainsworth Street we came to this rose park.

It was meticulously maintained and Dad was in his hay day. Farther down the street there was this house that looked like the flower deliver truck tipped over and all the flowers went in the ground.

I didn’t see a lawn to mow through all of the flowers. We crossed to the other side of the river on the St. John Bridge and took US30 through many cities. We enjoyed the up and down of the roadway (mainly the down) and the miles seemed to go by very quickly. We came to Scapoose, OR and took one more opportunity to get some hot chocolate at the gas station. I was not too cold but hot chocolate on a rainy day just sounds so good.
The shoulders on the roads were very nice and the surface was very smooth. We entered the final city that we would be in OR, Ranier, and now would turn north for a few a day and then due west to the coast!!!! We still had this major obstacle called the Columbia River in our way. There was a bridge so we didn’t have to swim but from other cyclists experience on the bridge it is probably much safer to swim. With all of the logging done in the area, as the trucks cross the bridge in the wind, much bark flies off and accumulates in the shoulder creating no room for anyone to really even walk let along bike. The other issue was the visibility. On this rainy of a day people would be hard pressed to see us and they they would have to decide whether or not to avoid us. I didn’t want to put people in the place where they would have to make that decision. What to do!?!
Dad and I stood there discussing it and decided that we were not going to ride. The risk was not worth the reward so we were going to head across the street to the gas station and try to hitch a ride with some willing person in a pick-up truck. As I was getting on my bike to ride across a Les Schwab service truck pulled up to the light and I flagged him down and asked him if he was going across the bridge, which he was, and he told us he would love to give us a ride. The bed of his truck had only a few tires in it and it was perfect to hold our bikes in place as we went across.

Ron was a very nice guy and told us that we were smart (the first time I was have been accused of that on this trip) for getting a ride with someone because the bridge was truly a nightmare for bikes. He gave us perfect and simple directions to our campground as we unloaded our bikes from his truck and he sent us on our way.
We crossed the Allen Street Bridge and soon arrived at the campground. The girls were at McDonalds so we waited for them to arrive, we ate lunch and we went to Mt. St. Helens. We saw the video about what happened, which was very interesting but then the screen went up, the curtain was pulled away and the huge windows revealed a fluffy blanket of clouds where a mountain once stood. IT WAS GONE!!! Not really the clouds were just hiding it. Kind of anticlimactic. This is why we have no pictures of the mountain or any of the surrounding area. We couldn’t see anything! Sorry about that.
We went to bed hoping that the LORD would hold off the rain tomorrow. Being wet is not the end of the world but it makes the day a little more pleasant!

2007-07-19T00:14:00.000-05:00

Day 51 – Lancaster’s Beautiful Historic Columbia River Highway Creation

“On starting the survey’s our first business was to find the beauty spots, or those points where the most beautiful things along the line mught be seen in the best advantage, and if possible to locate the road in such a way as to reach them.” Samuel C. Lancaster said this of the Columbia River Highway before or during its construction. He was resoundingly successful in his endeavor. To quote the ACA map, “The Historic Columbia River Highway extends along the south side of the river for about 75 miles, from The Dalles to Troutdale, OR. The first modern highway constructed in the Pacific Northwest, it was also the first scenic highway ever built in the United States.” It was built in 1913!
I was awakened to the wind taunting me. It whistled through the trees and seemed to say, “Come on Ben! I’m out here waiting for you. Come see how fast you can go.” This created little enthusiasm to hop on the bike and start riding. I did though. We rode to breakfast in Biggs, OR after crossing the river on a narrow bridge. The art museum, built by Sam Hill for his wife and daughter, was clearly seen across the river at the top of the hill.

It was a spectacular sight and wondered what it would be like to have a view like that. The wind that was taunting me earlier was now hitting me right in the face with gusts up to what seemed like 100 mph. I know it wasn’t even close to this but when I saw our speed go from 14 to 10 in one gust of wind I knew it was very strong.

We plowed our way to The Dalles, OR for 10.5 miles on I-84. This was not my favorite part of the trip but necessary to be able to see the nice scenery later on in the day. This is the second of the five dams on the Columbia River. We then began to climb.
Just outside the city of Rowena, OR we climbed to the top of the second most spectacular view of the day.

Winding roads with less than 5% grade made it a pleasant ride to the top of Rowena Crest.

What goes up must come down and we after going off track and climbing a very steep gravel road hill and getting back on the right path we sailed down the hill into Hood River, OR. On the way down we passed through these two tunnels.

They are appropriately called the Twin Tunnels. This morning before leaving we noticed that Dad’s front wheel was flat and we didn’t want to change it so we just swapped it out with the spare. The spare was put on the back shelf for a reason. It was Dad’s original tire and had about 4,000 miles on it and had bulges so we decided in Hood River we would look for a bike shop. We found one with a nice restaurant next door and we ate while it was replaced. For the first time in my life I had a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich. It was awesome and I don’t know why I waited so long to try one. I won’t wait so long for my second.
I dreaded leaving since we had to get back on I-84 for another 13 miles. We had not gone 1 mile when I heard the distinct sound of a tire being punctured and then loosing all of its air.

Dad had blown a tire. This was the first one since Boone, CO almost 1,000 miles ago. Praise the LORD! Because of this we were a little rusty at changing and we were a little slow. We did finally get it changed and rode furiously to our exit to get off the highway. By this time the LORD had allowed the winds to die down a bit.
We then got on a beautiful stretch of the old highway that was now off limits to automobiles.

The change of scenery was great and at one point I asked Dad if we were in a rain forest. It was beautiful with the different ferns and the moss growing on the trees. The original stone wall barriers still line the way and then this. How do they expect us to get our bikes up stairs?

Oh, that was nice of them they put little grooves next to the steps to put our tires in. That made it a little easier.
After the last stretch of Interstate for the day, we came to the most scenic stretch of the route. It took us by a series of 4 falls. The day was getting late so we only stopped at Horse Tail Falls

and Multnomah Falls.

As we left we looked at the map and decided that we had about 13 miles left. Dad told me, after looking at the profile, that there was a 500 foot climb and when we got to the top we would have 2 miles to the campground. I have never looked forward to climbing a hill more this whole trip than this one. The best view of the day was saved for the end of the day.

At the top Lancaster built a Vista House for people to sit, look and enjoy all of the beautiful scenery.

He spared no expense with marble floors, an outside second story balcony, a basement and stained glass windows surrounding the main floor. Amazing! As if he didn’t have enough things to build. I’m not sure how he built this road in one lifetime let alone this house on top of it!
This was our longest day on the bike and were glad to see our little house on wheels! We showered and enjoyed supper at the Olive Garden. It was awesome and hit the spot. The clouds were rolling in foreshadowing what northwest tradition would greet us in the morning.

2007-07-17T23:59:00.000-05:00

Day 50 – Following the Windy Columbia Gorge

The alarm went off early signaling the start of the final week of the trip. Tires were checked, fuel drink was made, and sunscreen was applied. There will only be 4 more times that these things will need to be done.

We had scoped out a café last night, so we rode the 7 miles there and had a wonderful breakfast. The cichlids in the fish tank gave us something to talk about and enjoy watching.
The morning was not getting any earlier so we left. The McNary Dam was the first of the dams that we would see today.

We then crossed the river on a nice bicycle path and half way across we came to this sign. It would almost seem as if we are lost and don’t know where we are goin gor don’t know how to read the maps that we are carrying with us.

Not really the road that we are following leads us from one side of the river to the other for the next few days. I am not sure that Lewis and Clark cross and recrossed this often but we are just following the signs on the road. Maybe it is just a sick joke. Okay maybe not.

The river and road ran lazily side-by-side like an older couple out on a Sunday afternoon walk. The river was in no hurry to flow through the dam and the road well it wasn’t going anywhere. The people driving on the road were more than courteous, which is a nice surprise since a man whom we met on the road a few weeks back warned us that OR truck drivers seemed to go out of their way to hit cyclists. We have found just the opposite to be true and we have felt safe the entire time we have been in OR.

Our first break of the day was at the base of this hill with this unique house perched at the top. No town meant a less than 4.5 minute rest. Research has shown that lactic acid seems to have a great effect if you stop longer than this and is nearly nonexistent if you stop for less than this. It really seems to hold true for us. Good research guys!
I have noticed that at about 9:30 the wind really picks up and last for the rest of the day. Right on queue the wind picked up the pace and try as we might we just could not keep the nice pace that we had set earlier. I had to keep reminding myself that we have had headwinds on other days and we have made it to the end so no matter how slow it feels we are going, we would eventually reach the campground.
The second stop of the day was in Roosevelt, WA at a little diner where we got our daily allotment of ice cream and Gatorade. We did not stop long and it was a good thing. We had not been back on the road long and the girls passed us. They pulled over and we got to see them and make final plans for the evening. I love seeing those guys no matter for how little of time it may be. We again returned to the road and Dad noticed a soft ticking sound coming from his bike. We stopped and noticed that his wheel had a few spokes that had come loose. We decided to ask the girls to come back and switch out wheels, which they graciously agreed, and we would fix it tonight. We only had 30 miles to go but it ended up taking us just over 2 hours to complete.
About 5 miles from the end, we ascended the longest and steepest hill of the day. The climb was good and challenging and gave us a spectacular view of the John Day Dam.

We turned on Stonehenge Rd and came by a neat War Memorial that we all came back to visit later and continued to Mary Hill State Park. What a beautiful park with trees galore and beautiful green grass. The city of Maryhill, WA is not much of a town but is more of an area.

The area is filled with orchards, vineyards, and other beautiful green irrigated land surrounded by what would appear to be desert. The soil must be able to support any fruit or vegetation but the key is WATER!! It is nice for them to be on the river and draw from it to grow fine fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
After naps we went to see the Stonehenge War Memorial. It has a full scale replica of the Stonehenge that can be seen in England as it was originally constructed. It was nice and I decided to save myself time and money and not feel the pressure to go to see the original.

Mary Hill, for whom the city was named, was not as famous as her husband Sam Hill.

He built a mansion on top of the hill for his wife and daughter and after they shunned it and never stepped foot in it he turned into a fine art museum. He also may very well be the brunt of the saying “What in the Sam Hill is that?” He was a friend of Queen Marie of Romania during World War I and is kind of like the patron saint of this region in the Columbia River Gorge. I think the name of the bridge here crossing the river is the Sam Hill Bridge.
My day ended with a very happy stomach. We bought fresh peaches, apricots, and blackberries and had them on a glaze over ice cream. It was nice and will be good stored calories to be burned up tomorrow!

2007-07-17T23:58:00.000-05:00

Day 49 – The LORD’s Day! Given to Us to Rest!

This day was a day to relax and rest and set it aside to focus on the LORD and all that He has done for us! We went to a lively church in Hermiston, OR and appreciated the fellowship with the believers there. The lunch at the Chinese Buffet was a nice preparation for our naps. We slept for hours and had a fun evening together scouting out the route for tomorrow, eating hamburgers and ice cream and playing games. Dad beat us all, which made us all ready for bed. We hope to leave by 6:00 tomorrow morning so the bed called earlier than normal.

2007-07-17T23:45:00.000-05:00

Day 48 – A First on our Earliest Day

The air was cool and the breeze was from a favorable direction this morning and we enjoyed a nice quick ride to the city of Waitsburg, WA where we were served a fine breakfast. This morning it truly was fast and quite enjoyable. This breakfast place seemed to be the local gathering for the men before they head out to the fields to work.

The dogs sit in the trucks and wait patiently for their owners to get all caught up on went on the night before in the town and what should be done that day. The food was great and gave us good strength for the rest of the day.

The wind that had been favorable must have been envious of us since he had missed his breakfast so he decided to switch directions and pay us back. The cool air took the day off and was replaced by warmer more humid air.
Neither change was to our advantage but we knew that the pedals needed to go around no matter what since it was only going to get worse. The road on the other hand was less than a year old and very smooth and worked to our advantage. I assume the roads are nice and new because the bicycle hating road crews had not gotten the work order to lay fresh chip seal yet. Okay I am sure they don’t hate cyclists but the chip seal sure is disagreeable with my posterior.
The road between Waitsburg, WA and Walla Walla, WA was filled with more brown fields from the fresh dirt that had recently been disked and tan fields from the wheat that was soon to be harvested. When we came to the city limits, US12 turned into a limited access road (short for NO BICYCLES!) and we saw a bike trail following the road so we got off and took the trail. At the west end of town we returned to US12 and continued for most of the rest of the day on it.
Continuing west we came to the small city of Touchet, WA where to took our first break since breakfast. Here we received a phone call from Abigail that the trailer had a completely flat tire. She also said that she and Mom were taking turns with my bicycle air pump putting air in the tire. I was very impressed since yesterday I had to bring the tire up from 20 lbs to 35 lbs and I was winded. They got the pressure to 28 lbs and deservedly called it quits. Later, they did make it to Walla Walla, WA and a Les Schwab Tire shop where they had 4 new tires put on the trailer. This was a good decision considering the miles that are yet to be put on it.

Outside of town, we came across a field of those same wind generators that we saw yesterday. This time it was not just a handful of them but what looked like a forest of them. My guess is that we saw nearly 500 of them today. This means that the wind in this area of the country is strong and predominantly from one direction, the west! Hurray! I was very thankful to the LORD that He kept the wind down to and gentle breeze in order to make it not too demoralizing for us and to allow us to make it to the campground at a decent time. The wind around here is notorious. My brother, who lives in WA and travels east and west a lot, says that the fuel economy improves 5 mpg going east than going west. Hurray some more!

We finally came to a view that made us leap for joy, not quite as much as Lewis and Clark did since they were now able to float instead of walk, but nonetheless we were happy!

The Columbia River could now be seen and we will follow it for the next few days. This means not much climbing and a lot of good scenery. We saw interesting rock formations and the riverbanks themselves were awesome.

The river also provides a good way to transport all of those tan fields that we have been seeing to the coast where they are distributed elsewhere. Soon after we began to follow the Columbia River we crossed the border into OR!!

This will be our last new state! The feelings of accomplishment are good but the idea that the trip is nearing completion brings feelings of sadness.

If there was a way that I could earn a living touring on my bicycle I would but I haven’t heard of too many people offering to pay other people to ride their bike for fun so the trip must eventually come to an end.
The first that we had today was being the first to the campground from our group. I know it was a little unfair since the girls had to wait for trailer maintenance but it was still fun to beat them there. We arrived at the campground at 12:40. It was nice to have 1.5 rest days before the final week of biking. I haven’t told you the name of the campground for a reason. No there is no riddle this time but there is a picture and a question.
As the Lewis and Clark expedition team came floating down the river they saw this rock in the distance and immediately named it this because of what it resembles. Can you figure out what they named it? Don’t think too hard!

2007-07-14T23:12:00.000-05:00

Day 47 – A Short Windy Ride Gives Way to a Relaxing Afternoon!

The newspaper on the picnic table this morning predicted that the temperature would rise to 111°! Since we didn’t want to become cooked road kill for the turkey buzzards to eat, we left early again. Breakfast certainly did not live up to the last part of the word but it did taste good. The road was quite quiet before people were on their way to work. The road left the river and with it went the beautiful sights and sounds that come along with it. They will be missed. Following a river assures that there are no major climbs and sure enough only a few miles after leaving the comforts of the riverbanks came a nice long steep hill.

Alpowa Summit was where Lewis & Clark crossed the ridge also. It has been neat feeling a little like I am a part of history following the Lewis & Clark Trail. They crossed in May when the Camas was in full bloom. Their sharp blue flowers served to break up the monotonous brown and green landscape. I wish that they were in bloom. I could have gone completely color blind and not known it until I saw my children’s coloring book pages that they are so excited to show me at the end of each day. The brown and green have a beauty all its own and since it provides much of the country with its wheat, I should be very thankful for it regardless of the monotony!

The wind was very kind and it blew us the 10 miles to Pomeroy, WA in no time. We stopped for a snack and in the short time that we were inside the wind changed from going with us to going against us. This slowed the pace considerably, but with the two of us taking turns in the front and the other drafting, we were able to keep up a decent pace. After Pomeroy, WA there was nothing until Dayton, WA except wheat fields and hills.

The road we have been riding on is of some interest. US12, if we stay on it long enough, will lead us right to the Pacific Ocean. If followed the other way, US12 will lead us to within less than 1 mile from my parent’s house and a little while later within 20 miles of my house.
The wind, although antagonistic to westbound cyclists, is a good way to produce electric.

These giant wind generators could be seen clearly from the road we were on even though they were miles away. I learned that they have impellers and not propellers since they are not propelling anything. I learn something new every day!

Climbing hills is hard enough, but with the wind blowing as it was, the normally slow pace of climbing hills nearly came to a grinding halt with the combination of them together. The day ended with two long and much steeper hills than this morning. When we got to the top of the first we could see the top of the second, so it was not so long, but it was just the fact that we would descent for 1 minute so that we could ascend for 15 more that was not a nice prospect. We finally made it to the top and pedaled down the hill since it was still into the wind into the town of Dayton, WA.

It is a nice little town with a historic train depot.

My family came back later and enjoyed looking at the depot and the caboose! One plaque next to the depot told a very amazing fact about the building itself. It was first built at another location and used there for many years. The railroad was then sold to another company and they moved this very building across the river to this location with roller logs and a winch. This feat is difficult enough with today’s technology and heavy equipment; I couldn’t imagine the amount of work and effort it took then without the aid of diesel or gasoline. The main street was made a little more elegant with this simple yet fine courthouse.

We stayed the night at Lewis & Clark State Park.

It had some beautiful roses and we enjoyed getting the only full hook up site in the entire park. Lucky us!! We arrived here at 1:00 and enjoyed a nap and some reading from books we have picked up along the way. It was so nice to be able to do this that we will do the same tomorrow. Our 70 miles jaunt will begin at 6:30 so we can, LORD willing, get to our destination early enough to beat the heat and relax for a few hours! We praise the LORD for another day of safety and glorify Him, since He alone could grant such a request!

2007-07-13T00:12:00.000-05:00

Day 46 – We Fought the Heat and the Heat Won!

The talks of the hot weather that was supposed to hit ID caused us to find a café and what time it opened. We decided to get up at 6:30 and eat at 7:00. Morning came and I was up by 5:50 because of the time change. We hooked up the trailer, dressed and were ready for the day by 6:30 so we decided to hit the road and eat breakfast 25 miles down the road. This worked out well and although outside of the normal routine, we loved getting some miles out of the way. We enjoyed this driveway that we passed along the road.

Parking on one side of the river and riding a cable trolley across the river to your house sounds romantic but Dad and I decided it would get old after a while. It obviously was a necessity for this person.

We entered the Nez Perse Indian Reservation, where we spent most of the day, and ate in the city of Kooskia, ID.

The Rivers Café had good food and had a bulletin board with pictures showing the destruction of the local wolf packs. They killed a bull moose and elk but rather than eating all of it like most animals they just eat the head and the ham meats and leave the rest. The locals obviously want to be able to shoot the wolves to get them under control but they are on the endangered list and so this would be illegal.

We got back on the road and continued down stream to the city of Kamiah, ID where we had a huge decision to make. There were two routes to our destination city of Clarkston, WA. The one would be hotter, 20 miles longer, and a lot of traffic. It would have better roads though. The other would be 65 miles of winding roads with little to no shoulder (with friendly concrete barriers providing no way of escape if someone did try to run us over) and heavy traffic, which would include log trucks with no regard for human life let alone those on bicycles who are detaining them from their all important deadlines. Decision, decisions. We chose the road more traveled and it truly made all the difference. Robert Frost would not be very pleased with our decision.
We paused for a moment and asked the LORD to grant us safety according and jumped on highway 12 and followed the Clearwater River all the way to Clarkston, WA. It was a very busy and winding road. We tanked up with water in Orofino, ID.

People discovered gold in the hills around this city and gave the city its name. It comes from two Spanish words, “oro” meaning gold, and “fino” meaning fine! Am I right Senora Behrends?
The day was getting hotter and we needed more and more water. The sun was beating down on our backs. The water that we carry on our backs stayed relatively cool while our hoses carrying the water to our mouths stayed sterile since it didn’t take long for it to boil in the sun. This made it unpleasant to drink and required a conscious decision to drink in order to stay hydrated. It paid off and we kept our body temps down long enough to get us to Spaulding, ID. We met the girls there for lunch and while we were in the car eating, the thermometer telling the outside temp read 121°. It was probably not this hot out in actuality but it felt like it. We were going here to visit another Nez Perse National Museum.

It was neat to see the artifacts and to hear more of their background (even though I slept through some of the movie).
We dragged ourselves back to our bikes and finished the final 11 miles with a deliberately relaxed pace. No need to be in a hurry in this heat.

We passed through the city of Lewiston, ID and then crossed the Snake River into Clarkston, WA.

What unique names. Where did they come up with them? At the end of the day everyone needed something cold to drink, even the dog! Good job Annamarie!

The evening cooled to about 80° by 11:00 when I curled into my nice cool bed with air conditioning. Roughing it is so nice! Thank the LORD for the little things and the big things. We paused at the end of the day and praised the LORD for the safety that he so graciously granted us this day. I often pray for safety so I need to also and as often thank Him when He does so faithfully give me what I ask for.

2007-07-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

Day 45 – 77 miles? Really?

Despite spending the night in Missoula, we needed to get on a road in Lolo, MT so instead of riding down the same road we took Monday, the wonderful girls dropped us off there. It saved us 13 miles that by the end of the day we would be thankful we did. Remember we were combining two days into one so that we didn’t get another day behind? 55 + 58 = 113. This would be a long day so it was nice to save those few miles.

This day would consist of following two rivers. We followed the Bitterroot River on the way up the Lolo Pass and the Lochsa River on the way down. The top of Lolo Pass was about 30 miles into the. We passed through te city of Lolo Hot Springs where we had a very enjoyable dish of huckleberry ice cream. As we came into town (and I use that term loosely), this rock was sitting in the middle of the river. It appeared to be levitating.

I looked all around or Yoda but he was no where to be seen. I guessed some scientist would try to give me a load of malarkey by telling me that the rock has been slowly eroding away for almost 5 million years but I know how it really happened. I believe God wants to do three things. 1. He wants to show us that He does things that are nearly humanly impossible to explain, 2. He gives us all things to enjoy and this was another one and 3. He want to cause all men to worship the Creator and not the creation! God is good!

Off we pedaled to the top of Lolo Pass and with it came the ID border and along with it the last time change (we are now 3 hours behind MI)! The 11th state of the trip! The mandatory picture was taken and then began the descent!

This was no ordinary descent though, it was a descent that went on for 77 miles!?!

When I first passed the sign I thought it too good to be true so I didn’t take a picture (besides by that point I was going about 35 mph and couldn’t stop without squeezing the brakes so hard I become like Jack and break my crown). Later the sign said 65 miles and then 45 and so on until we got to the bottom. So this picture was at the bottom and yes when it says 77 miles it means just that. We went DOWNHILL for 77 miles!! Incredible! Believe it or not.
A few miles from the summit of Lolo Pass we came upon the girls. They had stopped for lunch because there was nothing in those aforementioned 77 miles for bikers to hardly get water let alone lunch. They stopped in a perfect place where the children and Abby were able to enjoy the enormous cedar trees, which were estimated to be about 3,000 years old at the oldest, and dip their feet in the river.

When I arrived Joshua and Annamarie were so excited to take me on the trail and show me all the wonderful things. Even Mom got her feet wet as she bravely made her way out to sit on this rock!

As we pulled away I saw this tree with a bird’s nest at the top. Now that is a house with a view. Bummer of a driveway but a nice view!

The remainder of the afternoon was filled with sounds of rippling rapids, screeching birds, and the ripple of side streams going under the road feeding the Lochsa River with water.

Speaking of water, we had covered about half of the distance down the hill when I totally ran out of water. With the temperature reaching for and grabbing triple digits, I was in big trouble. Shortly down the road the LORD sent a campground with a RV dump station. There are two hoses. One to clean out the soiled pipes that drain the black water tanks and another to add fresh water to the holding tanks in the RVs.

It was like finding gold in the river! I turned it on and used it like a shower. The water was fresh, cold and clean! It was a perfect gift from the LORD.
We traveled down the hill about 15 more miles and made our final stop. As Dad made his way to the river to take a picture, our beautiful trail angels showed up again in the Yukon. They came bearing gifts of Gatorade and ice. This made the final 10 miles so much more enjoyable.

We stayed at a beautiful campground in Lowel, ID where two rivers meet and form the Clearwater River. Tomorrow we will follow this all the way to our destination.

I know I don’t often share what we ate for supper but tonight I will. One of the Hyink favorites is spaghetti pie. It sounds interesting to those who have never tried it and children think they are eating dessert for the meal, but it is my favorite. I had 4 helpings! This will also come in handy tomorrow. The sky was clear and did not take long for the temperature to drop enough for us to open up the windows and sleep in nice cool weather!

2007-07-11T21:26:00.000-05:00

Day 44 – Rest Day in Missoula! (The Answer to the Riddle)

There is not much to report about today except for a tune up on the bikes and the end of the day DU! Dad and Mom had gone out for groceries only to return and tell us all that we were going on a DU. Now for those of you who are unsure what a DU is, let me inform you. When the Hyink children were young, Dad and Mom would periodically tell us that we were going somewhere and they would then not tell us where. DU stands for Destination Unknown. Our parents would know but none of the children would have a clue. The best DU our family ever went on was to Toronto. Dad and Mom actually got us out of school for half a day and we drove to Flint, MI where we hopped on a train. After spending the day touring the city of Toronto, Dad and Mom told us to dress nicely because we were going to somewhere special. They took all of us to Phantom of the Opera! It was awesome and an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Other DUs were not as elaborate but they were no less exciting and adventuresome. So when we were told we were going on a DU we all got excited! We piled in the car and drove away. They took us to a carrousel, but it was not just any ordinary carrousel, all of the horses and gargoyles were wooden and hand carved. It was one of the first completely hand carved carrousels made since the Great Depression.

It was great and very beautiful. The detail showed that the master craftsman loved and took great pride in his work.
There was one other thing that happened earlier in the day. We were going to the bike shops to find a certain brand of tire for Dad’s bike and outside of one of the shops we found a bicycle gondola. Not one that goes in water but on land. Joshua gave me a guided tour around town! He will take a good nap this afternoon!

This was not originally a planned day off, so tomorrow we will combine two days into one and will give us 110 miles to ride. It was early to bed because it will be early to rise!

2007-07-10T23:27:00.000-05:00

Day 43 – Down, Down, Down!

There once was a young man who had an equally young sister since they were actually twins. Their first names are not important but the rift between them is. You see when the two were younger he picked on her very badly. So badly that she changed her last name, but just a little since she loved her parents so. Her brother settled in Montana and gave the city his last name of Sula. His sister settled about 90 miles away and gave it her whole name, but not her first that would be too personal, only her title and her last. If you can come up with the name of this city, you will not only know where we stayed tonight but will also receive a prize! The first person to leave a comment with the name of the city will receive this prize!

We began the day and left this beautiful campground behind. It was for sale and there was a huge part of me that wishes that I had $3.5 million to buy the joint but I don’t so we biked away (if there is anyone out there with $3.5 mil to burn send it my way so I could go buy this place!).

We followed the East Fork of the Bitterroot River until it joined the Bitterroot River later on in the day.

Coming out of the mountains gave us many spectacular views and wonderful sounds. We ate up many miles in a short period of time since we were going downhill.

This beautiful mountain named Trapper Peak was the most spectacular mountain peak that we saw all day and could be seen for most of the day. We enjoyed lunch with the girls in Hamilton, MT. We continued through the towns of Stevensville, Florence, and Lolo, MT before we came to our final destination. The weather was perfect and the LORD for the 43rd day straight graciously granted us safe travel.

The end of the day was capped off very nicely with a visit to the ACA (Adventure Cycling Association). Each of those cycling across America gets their picture taken and it is put on a board. We did this and saw many of those whom we have seen along the way. It was neat.

The KOA where we stayed is more like a city than a campground. It has permanent residents surrounding the grounds with 300 RV sites, about 30 tent sites, and maybe 10 cabins. This meets everyone’s needs who may come through. A fantastic day of biking and a nice place for a rest day tomorrow!

2007-07-10T23:17:00.000-05:00

Day 42 – The LORD’s Day! A Moving Day!

There have been few things that have moved my emotions and have stuck like I was moved today. I was a sophmore in college and visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and have been affected ever since, I met my wife 9 years ago this August and have not been the same ever since, and this afternoon we visited the site where the Battle of the Big Hole was fought. The movie at the museum, the story that was told in the self guided tour pamphlet, and the pictures that I saw moved me greatly.
The Battle of the Big Hole was fought just west of the city of Wisdom, MT in the Big Hole Valley. The US Army had been chasing the Nez Perse Indians for months and caught up to them. They sneaked up to their camp at night and in the morning attacked leaving women, children, and some men dead in their beds. The Indians rallied and fought the army back and pinned them down long enough to allow the remaining women and children to flee. In the end, the army was held for an entire day by two Indian snippers until they took off to follow their people.

This dark event in American history, still speaks with 50 remaining tipi frames and monuments commemorating bravery and courage. It was a moving, restful, and relaxing day!

2007-07-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

Day 41 – Three Climbs Gets Us Almost Nowhere!

For the second day in a row we departed the campground at 6:30 for breakfast as we anticipated a long day in the heat. It certainly would not be the hottest or the longest but everyone liked the idea of us leaving early. Dad and I wanted to get on the road early and the girls and children wanted to sleep in. They deserve it for all the work that they do or us on a day-to-day basis! We were all happy with the decision!

Sparky’s Garage gave us excellent service before we got on the road. No we did not get our bikes worked on or the Yukon, but rather the restaurant where we ate had this name. The decor was neat and it had obviously at one time been an automotive garage.
We followed the winding streets along I-15 to the road that would take us to MT-278 where we would be most of the day. There were three large climbs on the docket for the day and the 12 miles before the first one started gave us plenty of time to warm up our legs for the last day of the week. Badger Pass was the first and took us to 6,760 ft. The top provided us with an opportunity to do a little rock climbing.

Little is the operative word since climbing in cycling shoes is kind of like putting a horse on ice skates and expecting him to play a game of hockey. Dad and I both fell once trying to get to the top of this rock.
Down the other side of the hill we went. We followed the road along the base of the mountains so it wasn’t the straightest way but it certainly was beautiful. The horses greeted us from behind the fence, the cows looked suspiciously at us as we rode by thinking that we were the strangest looking cows that they had ever seen, the prairie dogs scurried off the road to their holes, and we even saw hawks sitting in their nest a top of a telephone pole. Strange things go through my mind throughout the day and this is the strangest one that I will share with you from today. Hawks have such good eyesight that they could read a newspaper from 100 ft. With this superb vision, when we rode by at a mere 50 ft did we appear like giants to the bird? How does he see things up close? Are they huge to him also? I told you it was a strange thought.
The second hill began gradually and we got some of the hill out of the way before we really began climbing the steep part of the hill. The animals watched us go out of sight and probably laughed at us knowing what lay ahead. I knew I was in for a long haul when I passed a pull off area designated for trucks to put the chains on their tires when the roads are snowy. I was right. The hill was long and just when I thought I could see the top I came around what I assumed and wished was the last corner another peak lay in front of me. I was not going to let this hill get the best of me so I grabbed a few more gears, stood up and powered my way to the top. While I was waiting at the top, a man came in his truck from a side street that led to the peak of another mountain. He was from MN and was on his annual wandering in the MT wilderness. He fills his truck with everything he needs including two spare tires (one full size and one donut), about 50 gallons of drinkable water, a truck repair kit, and protection from the bears. He was a nice man and quite impressed with the trek that we were going on. He took my picture and told me that it was going in his family photo album. We talked for a while and he continued on to his next stop! Dad and I thanked him for serving in the Vietnam War and he left.

When I reached the top the view was not all that spectacular but as we descended I the horizon revealed a beautiful range of snowcapped mountains. The wind was picking up and acted as my brakes so that I didn’t go to fast down the hill. I still reached almost 40 mph and would not have like the wind to stop blowing. The bottom of the hill gave us a very humorous sound. I pulled off to take a picture of the mountains with a large herd of cows in the foreground when the cows began to sing. I don’t know what spurred on the song but it was quite funny. One would start and another would harmonize then a few more would sing the second verse until all were lowing together and sounded a little like a choir.

I wish pictures could also relay sound but you will have to trust me on the singing part.

We pulled in to the city of Jackson, MT and had our normal ice cream and Gatorade. This town is centered around one place of lodging. In the middle of this place there is a hot spring. It attracts many people to stay there and also has created kind of a center of entertainment for the surrounding cities. Our blessed wives pulled in and we decided to eat lunch all together in the next town, Wisdom, MT. Dad and I both felt great and made the 18 miles through the Big Hole Valley (also known as the land of 10,000 haystacks) in 45 minutes!

It was a nice little town and the only bit of wisdom that I received from this town was this. When offered a place to sit in a restaurant out of the line of sight from the waitress, DON”T TAKE IT! If they can’t see you, they won’t serve you! Okay, enough about that.
We had 32 miles left to our final destination tonight. As we pulled out of town, we were met with rain clouds.

They did not produce much on top of us but the winds made riding fast less than easy. Then I looked up and peaking over the ridge was a thunderstorm. I have never heard thunder that was not preceded by lightning so my nerves were heightened when I saw lightning coming out of the clouds. To put it mildly, I was a bit nervous about the present situation but I saw a window of opportunity. If I kicked it into gear, I thought we could bet past the storm if we could just go a little faster. Dad was up to the challenge and the LORD allowed us get past before the lightning caught up to us. The speeds we were going allowed the time to go past quickly and we were at the base of Chief Joseph’s Pass in no time.

The pass was long and seemed to wind on for more miles than my cyclometer told me I was. Maybe it is broken. Probably not. The top gave us a sense of relief since the remaining 6 miles to the campground would be downhill. We came to the final intersection and I looked for traffic to the left and saw the Idaho state line. We were this close and didn’t go. I took a picture anyways!

The campground came soon and we enjoyed a cool night that a quick rain shower brought in. The day of rest will be nice.
Some of you may be wondering about the title. The day began in Dillon, MT at which is at about 5770 ft of elevation and we ended the day at 5805 ft of elevation. We climbed 4700 feet today in three passes and ended up at almost the same elevation as we started. I guess that is the way it goes as one goes west toward the Pacific. It should be all down hill from here!!

2007-07-06T21:47:00.000-05:00

Day 40 – Beating the Heat to Climb the Pass

I woke up and thought that it was quite early to be leaving but I knew that later I would be thankful for the decision that was made. When I came outside I saw that the man from Australia, who was also riding across the country, had already packed up his tent and was on the road. I guess we weren’t leaving so early after all. For the first time on the trip, I kissed my sleeping kids and wife goodbye, dressed, and got on the bike to go have breakfast in town.
The eggs, bacon, and pancake at the Ennis Café were just what I would need to make it up the hill that faced us about 4 miles out of town. 4 miles didn’t give us enough time to warm up so I climbed a little slower than normal and my surgically repaired knee, really for the first time, felt a little stiff and painful. No worries I got sufficiently warmed up not too far up the hill. The hill was about 8 miles long and gave us both vague recollections of the steep hills that we climbed in TN and GA. The view of the valley that we were climbing out of was a great bit of scenery.

Morning scenery, to me, is much more enjoyable than afternoon or even evening. The top came finally and we met and talked to a nice man who was riding east. We talked for a little while but since the goal was to get out of riding in the heat of the day we did not talk too long.
We zipped down the other side into Virginia City, MT, a historic gold mining town.

It was neat to see the old town preserved as it was about 100 years ago.

The old buildings, the narrow gauge railroad, and the dredge hills next to the river almost audibly spoke to us of past success and the booming days of the 1890s. The road followed the river down to the city of Nevada City, MT and then on to Alder, MT. We stopped for a little while to fuel up and make a few necessary phone calls and made a quick trip out of the 12 miles to Sheridan, MT (we made it in about 35 minutes!).
Dad had been looking forward to the cit of Sheridan, MT since he had done an externship there as a senior medical student.

Dr. Warren Swagger had been the doctor that Dad was with for two weeks, 34 years ago, and as we found out was still living in town in the same house as he did when Dad was there. A nice man on a four wheeler led us to the house and we approached the front door. No answer. We heard some noise out back but it was only the caretaker. He informed us that the Swaggers were in KS attending a family function. It was quite disappointing to Dad but he left them a note and we rode to town to meet the girls.
We needed water. The morning though early was hot and I had consumed 1.5 liters of water. My CamelBak was empty. We got ice and a refreshing Gatorade, filled up on water from the car, and got ready to go. We were just getting on our bikes and we noticed a biker readying to leave also. I talked to her for a moment. Then her other two riding mates came up and we talked about our trips together for a while. They were going east and I had to break the bad news to them about the long steep hill that loomed on the horizon for them. They were troopers and didn’t seem too discouraged by the news. Check out the link to their website on the right. It is called “Two Grads and a Dad”. A quick picture and we were on our way.

Twin Bridges, MT came only 9 miles later and left 28 to go and nothing between here and where we were staying the night. It was 11:45. Do we eat lunch or push on to our destination? This was the question. We have both gotten pretty used to eating lunch so we did stop and got a quick bite to eat at the local grocery store. It reminded me a little bit of eating lunch in Marcellus, MI, when I would ride with Chad and get a sandwich at the Marcellus Market (Hey Chad! How’s the 351?). The sun was hot and we were now turning into the wind. The wind was not much but it was just enough to slow us down and require a little more effort from our legs.
We trudged through the first 14 of the 28 and came to Beaverhead Rock.

This was a point of reference for the Lewis and Clark expedition team. It stick up out of the ground with nothing else within miles of it. The Beaverhead River was also there and we didn’t know which got its name first since the rock did not in any way, shape or form resemble a beaver’s head. I guess it is like discussing whether the chicken came first or the egg, neither really matters. It is what it is!

The next 14 seemed to go faster and we pulled into the KOA at about 2:30. I was able to get a very refreshing nap and an even more refreshing dip in the pool to follow. It was nice to arrive early because I was able to spend more quality time with the children. We went down to the playground together and just had a good time. Pizza Hut was on the docket for supper, which has become our once a week tradition. The bed is calling my name and I will answer the call soon.

Thank you to the family members who have left comments on the blog!! What about the rest of you though? Is there anyone besides family reading this? If so let me know!!

2007-07-05T23:59:00.001-05:00

Day 39 – A Lazy Ride Down the Madison River

After a day of riding in the car and doing very little in the way of exercise, our legs were more stiff than after a normal rest day. So we drove back into town to where we had been picked up on Tuesday so we didn’t have to backtrack, the children said goodbye to their friend Sweetie,

they also got a picture in front of this bus that captivated their attention each time they saw it yesterday,

we got back on our bikes and began our ride. The stiffness and soreness was gone about a quickly as it take for a cockroach to scurry into the darkness, which made for a quite pleasant (even after that quite unpleasant analogy). We said goodbye to West Yellowstone, MT, the last bit of the Park, and said hello to the Madison River.

The Hebgen Dam created the Hebgen Lake which then continues the Madison River. Hebgen Lake is a beautiful lake at the base of the mountains and besides beautiful land for rental cabins it also provides many people with good fishing. We saw many fishermen during the day. The Madison River is one of the premier fly fishing rivers in the US.
As we came to one of the informational signs on the side of the road we met David, from England, and Elizabeth, from Holland.

Dad made a valiant effort at greeting Elizabeth in Dutch (my Hyink family came over from the Netherlands). She actually understood him and responded with a much more rapid and complex response hoping that he would understand. He didn’t. The fact that she understood was quite remarkable considering that we had a German exchange student when I was in Jr. High and Dad tried to break out his German that he had learned in 3 years of high school 33 years earlier, our exchange student looked at him thinking that he was speaking Yiddish or something. They were quite interesting people. They toured YNP for a few days and we were quite jealous to hear that they had seen 5 bear and moose. We saw none of either. They were traveling self-supported so we were able to pass them not too far up the road.
We rejoined the Madison River again and this time we came not to a man manufactured lake but to a God made lake. In 1959, an earthquake caused the side of a mountain to fall off and dam up the river causing road damage, trapping people near the rising water, and killing the trees that got trapped under the water.

Quake Lake was formed and was a neat sight to see. While we were looking, Dad noticed a bald eagle sitting on a tree branch. I stealthily approached and got a few good shots of him. He even smiled for the last one. Can you tell?

The rest of the day was now downhill and we enjoyed the relaxation that this afforded us. We pulled off to eat at a very well advertised restaurant, at least on the billboards, and it was CLOSED (only open from 4-9:00pm). That is worse than banker’s hours, or like a post office being closed an hour for lunch (when people might be off for lunch to do their mailing), or even like being closed every Monday (as we have found in the past). The one thing this place gave us was a funny picture. Check this new use for a camera tripod!!

Oh well, we were not too tired so we drank a few swigs of our bottled fuel, ate a few fig newtons that Dad keeps in his CamelBak for just times like this, washed it all down with water and set off for Cameron, MT, which was the next town with a place to eat. It was 30 more miles. Down the hill we went enjoying the sights of the river all the way.

Cameron, MT was there and the restaurant was open!! Our lunch gave us just what we needed to make the final 11 miles to Ennis, MT.

70 miles by 4:00. Not too bad! Very little effort expended too! What a great day! The LORD gave us good weather, a safe ride, and the health and strength to make it another day. Blessed be the name of the LORD!
Today I received great news after I got showered and was able to check my email! The owner of Fab Masters, the aluminum fabricating factory where I worked before I left, emailed me and told me that he had a job for me when I returned! What a huge answer to prayer! So those of you at Fab Masters who are reading this, I hope you aren’t too disappointed. I guess you could try to change his mind before I actually come back. Just don’t tell Brian Nielson. He might just do it! I’ll see you guys soon!
The weather forecast for tomorrow calls for record highs in temperature so we got Dairy Queen after supper to give us the energy to leave the campground at 6:30 to beat the heat. It is off to bed for me!

2007-07-05T23:40:00.000-05:00

Day 38 – Enjoying Our Nations Greatest Attraction!

The day began with a great breakfast at a West Yellowstone, MT restaurant. We were on our way to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and breakfast at camp would only serve to slow our departure. I forgot the binoculars at the camper so I went back to get them. While I was gone Joshua and Annamarie had made a new friend. Her name was Sweetie. Throughout the city there were plastic painted Bison and my children had befriended the one outside of the restaurant where we had eaten. They are afraid of talking to anyone, regardless of age, but turn them into plastic and paint them and my children will flock to them. Simple minds, simple pleasures!
I will not bore you too much with every minute detail of the day but instead I will allow the pictures to speak for themselves! They are much more descriptive than this simple minded finite human being could ever dream to be.
We enjoyed the many elk that we saw including these beautiful male specimen.

Joshua and Annamarie were enthralled with the many Geysers that we walked around.

Old Faithful must be one of our nations most watched natural occurrence. We all waited patiently as this amazing spectacle waited to show its beauty.

There were many opportunities to see waterfalls throughout the YNP. One might think that if a person has seen one waterfall they have seen them all. I found this to be far from true, and I never tired taking pictures of them.

This is the stone for which YNP gets it name!

The petrified tree is an amazing phenomenon! There used to be three trees but vandals have left only one. It may be amazing that this one still remains.

The Mammoth Hot Springs evoked awe and wonder. To think that in a few years the roads will probably need to be moved as the mountains of minerals overtake them.

By the end of the day we were all tired and finally got supper at about 8:30.

It was a great day and renewed our love and respect for our Creator! God is good to give us all of these things to enjoy. There is no one like him in creativity, diversity, beauty and splendor!

2007-07-05T18:51:00.000-05:00

Day 37 – From Teton to Yellowstone! Who Can Ask For Anything More?

The morning began in long sleeves for only the second time on the trip. The first time was going over Hosier Pass but today anticipating the elevation of the entire day I figured I would need them. I did!! All day! The day did not begin until 9:15, which is a little later than I would have hopped but there are just some things that you cannot hurry nor avoid.
The beauty of the Tetons at night transformed into the immense beauty of the sun shining on them in the morning. They were awe inspiring and called for a picture around each bend.

We often obliged them! I did wonder what I was going to do with about 500 pictures of the mountains and surrounding scenery but then I decided that all of them would jar my memory bank of a trip I once took when I am old and senile and cannot even remember what I ate for breakfast!

We wound through the GTNP (Grand Teton National Park) and often thought, with as much as people were stopping we would not be the slowest traffic going through the park. People stop so often to take pictures and it is faster for me to dismount my bike to take pictures than it is for them to get out of their cars to take pictures. We were passed by the same vehicles over and over. They probably got sick of slowing to pass those same bikers.
In 1988 a forest fire devastated much of the park so we saw many hill sides with dead trees surrounded with new growth.

It is kind of funny to hear the rangers talk and say that forest fires are actually good for the forest in the long run. It allows for new growth and resupplies the soil with nutrients. I chuckle on the inside since God allows and plans the fires for the best of the forest! He is the best, constant and most knowledgeable rejuvenator of life. It is sort of hard to understand when all you think is that “nature” is just following its course, instead of an all knowing God is planning the course!
We eventually came to Yellowstone National Park!

It was another checkpoint in the journey today and one that gave us a sense of satisfaction. The Snake River greeted us as we entered and we followed it down below in this canyon.

As I was climbing the hills I saw a familiar flagged recumbent tricycle! It was Merle Knotts again!!

The first and lowest Continental Divide soon came and we looked forward to crossing it twice more still today.

Soon after, the second and tallest.

I was looking for a place to put the camera down to take it self-timed when this man from across the street came and offered to take our picture. I returned the favor for he and his family also. I guess there are still nice people in this world after all! Then Craig’s Pass, and the final crossing of the Continental Divide today, stood in our path.

This one was exciting because it meant that the rest of the day would be downhill, since we would be following the Firehole River and then the Madison River.
We crossed it and came down the other side to Old Faithful. We would be back tomorrow. We then came to a place where lots of people were gathered and decided to pull in. I am glad that I did.

The Firehole River offered a perfect opportunity for me to cool off (I was still in long sleeves). It was quite refreshing!
The last 30 miles of the day were, just as we thought, downhill and very nice. We passed through Madison Junction. The road there took us to West Yellowstone. As we came in to town we passed the state line sign and got a picture.

I have lost track of the number of states this makes but it seems like it is about 10. I felt quite welcome to Montana!
That night we enjoyed a family favorite, glorietta!! It is the best and brought back memories of Mrs. Herline making the same thing for hot lunch at my elementary school.
I decided it was date night, so Abigail and I ate ice cream and enjoyed watching Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in “You’ve Got Mail”. It was nice. We hit the air mattress late that night eagerly anticipating a wonderful day in Yellowstone National Park!

2007-07-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

Day 36 – The Glorious Tetons!!

There is a certain amount of mental preparation that goes into each day. Today’s was easy preparation, assuming that I have a mind to prepare. The reason it was easy was that we only had about 50 miles to go and the Grand Tetons were awaiting us near the end.
We pulled out of the KOA and said goodbye to the very nice little town of Dubois, WY. Dad and I took it quite easy today and enjoyed both the ride and the scenery. We enjoyed much side-by-side riding and it was good on the quiet road to have good conversation with Dad.

The real-estate, though very expensive, would be the choice of almost anyone with the beautiful mountains in the background and I began dreaming of how I would move the mountains to MI so that I could enjoy them in the greatest state in the union. I decided that many things could be moved but mountains are not one of them.

I guess I can still dream.
The dilemma began when the construction came into view. The state of WY is widening the road that goes over the mountain at Togwotee Pass. This is not the normal quick fix resurfacing that is often done. This involves tearing up all of the asphalt, bringing in semi load after semi load of gravel to stabilize the road, smooth, bring in more dirt till the road is at the right level, and then finally lay the asphalt. When the project was started, they estimated that the entire thing would take 9 years. 12 miles are about as much as can be done in a year since they can only start after the snow and frost is gone. This makes for a lengthy process. Herein lies the dilemma!

When the asphalt is all torn away and only gravel is left they do not allow bicyclers to ride up the hill and hold up traffic for that long. They forced us to ride in a vehicle till the construction was done. 6 miles in all would be ridden in a car. Is this cheating??? You might say that 3994 miles out of about 4000 is close enough. I resigned myself to the fact that I was not riding out of fatigue but I was riding because I was not allowed by the state of WY to ride on the road. What do you think?
We did get past the construction and back on our bikes and continued to Togwotee Pass. It was only 9658 ft above sea level and was nothing compared to Hosier Pass at 11,542 ft, but nonetheless it was a nice climb and gave us quite a workout. We enjoyed a picture together.

There are many creative ways to use the self-timer.

This time the camera was placed on top of a metal pole with a circle reflector on it. We continued up the hill and came across the first Continental Divide sign of the week. At the top of the hill we encountered a couple sag vehicles from Cycle America. They seem like a fantastic organized group of volunteers running this ride. They supply three meals a day and also set up the tents for the riders at nights. What a deal! It almost sounds like they are getting the treatment that we are, but not quite. I think our sag team is the best that money can buy!

We descended until all of a sudden the Grand Teton Mountains came shooting out of the ground. They are the most spectacular mountains that can be seen in the Rockies and possibly the entire world. We soaked in the view while talking to a Vietnam War vet. He was a neat man and held on the good memories of the celebration that finally took place for him just last year ago. What underappreciated men for such bravery and courage that they all displayed!
A short and fast ride down the rest of the hill to the Grand Tetons RV Park gave us the rest of the afternoon and evening to enjoy Jackson, WY and part of the Grand Teton National Park.

Everyone loaded up the Yukon and headed to the National Park. The Wildlife Art Museum was a stellar building. It was too expensive so we did not take the tour.

The Grand Teton Visitor Center was one of a kind with an entire herd of stuffed elk inside.

The man at the counter told us the two places that we needed to go in the Park before our dinner reservations, so off we went. The first was Jenny Lake.

Tucked behind a small rise in the landscape was this crystal clear and not too cool lake. It was enormous and magnificent. Much bigger than I expected a snow water fed mountain lake to be.
The second place was the Signal Mountain Lookout.

I felt like an eagle soaring above everything, awestruck at the beauty of the mountains from this different point of view. The campground atop of this mountain was calling our names but knew that not all in our party would feel the same way.
Supper reservations were not too far off, so we traveled the short distance to the Jackson Lake Lodge.

The sunset created the perfect atmosphere for supper. We enjoyed buffalo, prime rib, and an assortment of cheese. It was all very good and I thought that our waiter was the best and most knowledgeable that I have ever encountered. He lived on an island right near to where we are ending our trip so he was excited to hear about the trip and especially where we were ending up. If any of you ever eat in the Mural Room at the Jackson Lake Lodge, ask for Rich to serve you. He made our enjoyable night much more enjoyable.
We made the short trip to our RV and slept well. Tomorrow will be 100 miles in the mountains so we will need every ounce of sleep that we can get!

2007-07-02T08:19:00.000-05:00

Day 35 – A Much Needed Relaxing LORD’s Day

The day began with a much missed and equally enjoyed café mocha! The Bear Square made just what hit the spot for my coffee fix. I came back and we got ready for church.

We attended the Wilderness Baptist Church and enjoyed the people who see lots and lots of visitors but still truly seemed interested in having us there even if it was for once and possibly never again. The church is between pastors so they had one of their elders preach. He spoke on anxiety and the fact that it is not that simple, but it is a lack of trust in our loving and gracious God in heaven. It was a greatly needed reminder for me!
We ate lunch and went home for our traditional Sunday afternoon naps. It was great to get a nap!

We enjoyed time again together at the river and when we came back we got to watch the Tigers BEAT the Twins on ESPN. What a great cap to the day.

This is how a little boy walks with wet shorts who is cold as well!

It was a perfect rest day before more mountains. This week we will be in the mountains, so stay tuned for more beautiful scenery from the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park.

2007-07-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

Day 34 – The View that Makes the Whole Trip Worth It!

Because of the heat and lateness of the day yesterday, we decided to leave early today. We also wanted to arrive early to ave a relaxing afternoon. As we pulled out, we heard the church bells striking 8. It was nice to be on the road this early. We rode through the beautiful downtown of Lander, WY and enjoyed the nice buildings and smooth road and light morning traffic. As we got out of town we began to feel what every biker loves, a tailwind! Unlike yesterday with my struggles with gratitude, this was an easy thing to be thankful for!
We spent most of the day in the Wind River Indian Reservation and the roads, once we got out of town, were not very smooth. We spent much of the day slaloming between the gaps in the rumble strips from the road and the shoulder. The road was the typical chip seal that we have been riding on but the shoulder was not so smooth. My theory is that they ran out of good help so they went down to the elementary schools and told them that they were going on a field trip for art class. They gave each of the students a bucket of asphalt and a toy bulldozer and told them to spread it and smooth it with their toys. This created a very bumpy road and more than uncomfortable bottom.
We made our only stop in the city of Fort Washakie, WY and got Gatorade and a candy bar. It was just what we needed! The winds continued in our favor so we quickly got back on the bikes to make the best use of it that we could. We had just gotten out of town when we saw an interesting double flagged bicycle in the distance going up a very steep hill. It was a recumbent tricycle and since they are much more difficult to power up hills we caught him in no time.

Merle Knotts is a 68 year old man who has Multiple Sclerosis. He lives in Marietta, GA and is riding his bike 1) to raise money to find a cure for MS and 2) to attend his 50 year high school graduation in Oak Harbor, WA. We rode up the hill with him and enjoyed talking with him. He was a man with a neat sense of humor and a quick mind. He told us that because of his disease his feet would often hurt very badly. He then told us that his sandals were water cooled. He took his water bottle and squirted water on them. I got a chuckle about that later because I didn’t get it right away. We got our picture together and wished each other a good ride and left. I told him as we left that I would put a link to his website on mine, which I have, and I decided to put a plug in for his cause. I am asking that you would consider going to his website and donate to his cause. He was a nice man and I think that he has a worthy cause. Let each person do what they think is best!!
We continued through the reservation and saw the Sandstone Butte with the Bighorn Ridge in the background.

We crossed the Wind River and enjoyed the beauty that it provided.

The Crowheart Butte had just come into view when we again saw that white Tahoe parked in a pull off.

Even though we were not hot or tired, watermelon tasted very good and refreshing. The few amount of miles remaining, and the relaxation that the end would bring sent us back to the road and we finished the final 35 miles with a certain amount of ease. The ease can be greatly attributed to the amazing and ever changing scenery.

It seemed like around every bend in the road there was a new rock formation with new colors.

We came up one hill around a corner and while stopping for a picture we noticed that there was a herd of mule deer in the nicely irrigated field.

We pulled in the campground at 2:15 and enjoyed lunch, time with the family, and time at the river.

It was nice. Abby and I took some time to walk through the old west style downtown and enjoyed the shops.

We had a wonderful supper at the Cowboy Café.

Their pies were the high point of the meal. Joshua and I ordered the peach caramel crunch, finished it. Abby and Annamarie ordered the peanut butter cup cheesecake and we finished that one too. Mom ordered the same and Abby, we finished that one too. I will probably need a steel framed bike on Monday instead of aluminum.
The bed felt a little softer tonight than in other nights past. It was probably the 6 day week. I look forward to the day off tomorrow and meeting more of the LORD’s people in the LORD’s house on the LORD’s day!

2007-07-01T17:32:00.001-05:00

Day 33 – The Toughest Day of the Trip!!

The sun was the first to greet us as we began to ride this morning but rather than like a sweet morning kiss from my wife it was something more like a my father turning on the lights before I want to wake up on a school day. It was necessary but told of things to come that may be less than pleasant. It was nice to be able to ride in the car for the 19 miles we rode yesterday rather than starting in town. It was also a benefit that for the first 1:20 of the trip we had a tailwind that pushed us almost 30 miles! We felt great. We stopped at the Muddy River Café and tasted Gelato for the first time in our lives! It was great. I asked if they received it directly from Italy. They didn’t. The owner made it right in the back. Oh well, it still was good.
Both of us were much surprised to see that our watches read 11:30 so we quickly got back on the bikes. With 80 more miles we were going to have to ride rather than munch on Gelato. I led and was about to take the wrong road. I chose the road because it was going with the wind but then reality hit when Dad told me that we needed to take the other road. Too bad! It was going into the wind and the wind was getting stronger.
We had two stretches of about 40 miles to go so we buckled down and endured the headwind to a Historic Site called “Split Rock”. Since riding the bike was becoming a chore rather than a love today, I decided to climb the rock and feel accomplished!

The road was calling and the wind was laughing at us, but we needed to get to lunch, so we got back on the road. At 10-12 mph we would have lunch in about 3.5 hrs. It didn’t actually take us that long, even though it felt like it and enjoyed the sight of Jeffery City, WY as it drew closer on the horizon.

As the door swung open to the Split Rock Café, we were greeted with a nice young, and I mean young, man asking us if we needed anything. I asked for a Gatorade and he promptly brought us cold drinks! He offered us Italian or Chicken and Swiss sandwiches. We both chose the Chicken. He warmed them up for us. Brought us water with ice and we enjoyed the pleasant conversation with him for about a half hour.

The irony about this town for me was that on the counter sat a book named “The Ghost Towns of Wyoming”. The city that we were eating in was on the list. In the 80s, the uranium mine shut down and therefore the town did as well. The empty barracks for the workers were still there but no people to sleep in them.

The k-6 school teaches only 11 students but they are like family. When high school comes they must travel 60 miles one way to Lander, WY. It was sad so I loved sitting and conversing with the young man and his brother who came in later. The sister came in a little later and that made three young kids under the age of 12 running this restaurant. I am sure that they had an adult who owned the place but we didn’t see them during our lunch. So if any of you are traveling west on state route 287 in WY between Muddy River Junction and Lander, stop by and enjoy the lunch at the Split Rock Café and say “Hello” to my three newly made friends. You will not regret the company or the experience that awaits you! The café has been open for 70 years and they are the only business that has not shut its doors in 2007.
Our blustery day continued and we made bad time but we were making slow steady progress. We watched our cyclometers and they finally told us that we were 40 miles to go to Lander, WY. Soon after we pulled into the city of Sweetwater Junction, WY. The city received its name when the pioneers were traveling across the west they came to the river and began to drink. They all remarked that the water was so sweet. They then found that their donkey that was carrying the sugar had made his way into the river and the sugar was dissolving into the river and down stream to where the people were drinking. Hence, the Sweetwater River.

We trudged up the hills into the wind when I saw the most beautiful scenery of the day! You say, “You dummy! You should have gone ten more feet forward and get that stupid sign out of the way.” I would say that this sign was the best scenery that I saw all day!! At this point in the day I needed this to give my poor legs a little bit of a rest! We flew down the five miles and enjoyed every spin of the wheel!

With about 18 miles left we stopped, looked at the map, got some fuel and electrolytes, and strapped our endurance helmets on and set out for our final leg of our trip. We got 9 miles out of the way and about to go down another hill, when a very familiar white Yukon could be seen approaching. The girls had been very nicely communicating with us all day that they wanted to come and bring us some food and water since there had been nothing since 2:00 and it was now past 6:00. They had just gone to the store and bought some heaven on a rind and brought it to us. It was the most refreshing watermelon I have ever had and there was never a point in my life where I appreciated it more! We soaked in all of the hydration and rest that we could and with news that we had only 9 miles to go were a little encouraged especially since about 5 of them were down hill.

The emotional lift did not last long since we had to pedal for all we were worth just to maintain a medium speed while going downhill! It was terrible and I found myself not getting frustrated but getting angry. The LORD came in His soft and gracious way and reminded me that I had no reason to be angry and every reason to be thankful. I then decided to thank God for everything I could think of. The wind. The downhill. Safety. Health to do this everyday. I felt very bad and am glad that the LORD didn’t take all of those things away since I was displaying such ungratitude!
We got to the bottom of the hill and came to an intersection. Left would have taken us again directly into the wind and right would have taken us with the wind. We turned right!!!!! It was awesome and mentally I felt ready for tomorrows ride.

The highlight of the evening was the fresh cherry pie that Mom had made for us!

It was awesome and sent me to bed early with a very happy stomach. I was also looking forward to a light day and time with my wife and kids!!!

2007-06-30T23:35:00.000-05:00

Day 32 – The LORD Reminds us Whom We Depend Upon!

The morning began 15 miles further down the road since we covered them yesterday. We saw the same beautiful river this time with white pelicans and three elk drinking from it! It was another beautiful day with another reminder of the LORD’s creation! We took off and saw four bikers then another and then another. It must be the morning for biking, and they certainly got an earlier start than we did.

We got to the WY state line and took the mandatory picture. We got back on the bikes and had just worked the lactic acid out of our legs when I heard the fateful pssssssssssssst sound that we hate hearing so much. I guess at least I knew it went flat. Right?!?

There was no doubt what caused the flat. There was a stone that had gone directly into my tire. It was small but quite sharp. I extracted the rock menace and repaired the flat and was back on the road in about 5 minutes. Little things like this are seen as setbacks by those who do not trust the sovereignty of God but to those who see all as from our LORD understand that this was just another divine appointment from our gracious and merciful God! I needed this reminder since without many setbacks for days, even though we pray and thank Him for safety and speed, we often just go throughout the day without a thought that we are totally and utterly dependent upon God for EVERYTHING!!!
While we were changing the tire, we saw and heard the cowboys moving their cows from one pasture field to the next. It almost made me feel like I was in the old west. It was neat to see this part of what I thought of as the past, here in the present!

We were back on the road and enjoyed nice roads and fair winds. Then we came to a hill and I thought I would show you what a 7% grade looks like.

The hills are a little deceiving from this far back but you kind of get an idea of the steepness. This hill is about 2 miles long! It was a nice climb and a nice view from the top. When I got to the top I saw this wind station. On the wind station I noticed something that reminded me of my day s at Fab Masters. The antenna at the top that is running perpendicular to the rest of the large antenna is made at Fab Masters in Marcellus, MI!!! That was neat and I had a little moment of nostalgia. Not enough to wish I was back at work and cut my trip short.

The wind had changed and was now in our faces so we made a few more stops to make the trip seem a little shorter. We came across this field of bailed wheat and enjoyed the view.

We then came into the city of Riverside, WY and looked for a café or something for a snack. The city was filled with old cars and the remainder of the day they passed us on the road.

They were in a car club from CA and they trailered them to WY and were touring the state. I thought it was the second best way to tour the US. The bike being #1 because of the speed at which we are going doesn’t allow us to miss anything and the cars go only about 10mph faster than we. We got our bowl of ice cream and were back on the road.

We met these two riders going west to east on their first trans-con who were excited as we were about seeing and hearing from other bikers.
We fought a slight headwind all the way to Saratoga, WY where we enjoyed lunch at Mom’s Café.

They made the best burger that I have had on the entire trip. It was great and just the fuel I needed to get me the rest of the day. After lunch, I did my routine check of the tires and my rear was low again. We were a little frustrated but changed it. The diagnosis, I think, was that the stone puncture this morning was so big that it exposed some less than smooth parts of the tire and wore a hole in the tube again. We put two pieces of electrical tape over the hole on the inside to make it smooth and were off again. It held fine for the rest of the day.
The ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) maps routed us over I-80, only because it was the only road going from one city to the next, which made me a bit nervous.

Try as we might we did not ever see the speed limit but we did feel quite sage on the road with a nice wide shoulder and almost completely free of debris. The 13 miles of Interstate went quite quickly and I will not feel quite as nervous next time we have to do it.

We got off at Sinclair, which is a factory with a little city attached to it, and had only a few miles to go to our final destination of Rawlins, WY. The trip went quickly.
The fact that my tire was wearing the tube was a concern to me so I decided to look for a bike shop in town and buy a new tire. The bike shop could be seen from our road so we went and bought the tube and just like last night we decided to ride a few more miles to shorten tomorrows ride. Tomorrow had 124 miles planned through mountains and winds so anything we could do to shorten it was only to our own advantage. We called and asked the girls to leave in about 40 minutes to pick us up. In the hour it took for them to meet us we went 19+ miles, thanks to a slight tailwind, a 5 mile downhill, and lots of motivation!
The RV Park where we stayed had a nice mini golf range, so my family enjoyed a little time together before supper and then quickly to bed to prepare for a long day tomorrow.

2007-06-29T09:23:00.000-05:00

Day 31 – A Short and Enjoyable Day!

When looking at the map for today’s ride we, realized that the maps were sending us on a route that was 15 miles longer than another route on the map. The map makers tried very hard to route us on roads that have light traffic and good surfaces so it didn’t make a total lack of sense. We chose the shorter way. This way also had less climbing. All around it was a day to look forward to!!

We began on a very heavily traveled road and more than a few times I was nervous about how close a vehicle was to me. One in particular, there was a semi coming from behind and traffic coming from in front and with a very narrow road it didn’t leave much room or respect for the little biker on the side of the road. I literally could have reached out and touch the trailer as it passed. After the junction of another state highway the traffic did slow down a bit. We wound around the mountains till we came to the climb that would take us over the continental divide for the second time. At only 8772 feet, the Muddy Pass was barely a hill compared to the Hosier Pass but it was still a nice climb!

At the top there was a nice couple riding a very rare. In 1955, the Indian Motorcycle Company made their last motorcycles. Then in 1999 they decided to make a select number. It only lasted for about three years and now they no longer make any. Gus and Eunice purchased #394 of the 1,100 made in 1999.

We talked for a little while and then as I examined the bike I noticed a bell on his front wheel.

I was quite curious so I asked him. He informed me that there is a little superstition among motorcyclists about a mythical beasts called “gremlins”. They are said to attach themselves to the motorcycle and when they go over bumps in the road parts of the motorcycle fall off. He told me that each time the bell rings the “gremlins” fall off so that the bike stays in tact. For a moment I thought about getting one for my bike. Then I realized that with my luck the bell would get stuck in my front wheel and I would for the second time go face first into the pavement. My teeth probably would not stay in with another hit like the first so I will just have the trust that the “gremlins” are truly mythological and that they will not bother me!
We quickly descended down a hill where the girls were waiting for us for lunch and enjoyed lunch with them. It was much better than a restaurant. The people we ate with didn’t stare at us like we were freaks. They already know that we are!!
As we came out from lunch, the LORD gave us His wonderful creation to enjoy! We saw 2 elk and 1 deer running out of the brush and up into the hill. It was majestic to watch these huge animals doing what God has programmed them to do! RUN FOR THEIR LIVES!!!

We continued our day with a nice tail wind going through no towns. This was a day that we had a leaving city and then a arriving city and NOTHING in between!! That is why the girls decided to meet us for lunch. Besides the fact that they are the nicest girls you will ever meet. We spent most of the afternoon watching a storm in front of us (someone told us it was 65 miles to our north even though it looked to be threatening us) and watching another storm behind us that seemed to be chasing us to our destination. The afternoon dark clouds are typical for the area and will only sometimes produce rain. We stayed dry!

We enjoyed nice roads and nice climbs until the final 6 miles of the trip. We had just come off a nice climb and were coming down the hill when we began to experience bone jarring gaps in the pavement. They were about 15 ft apart and you could barely replace yourself back on your seat when another one would assault you. It was a painful experience and when the city finally came into view on the horizon I felt excitement that the pain was almost over.

We pulled into Walden, CO at about 2:30. Because of the early arrival today and the long days that we have planned for tomorrow and the next we decided to get some of the miles for tomorrow out of the way! The LORD had something awesome in store for us!
We took off and asked the girls to leave to pick us up in an hour and wherever we were they would pick us up and the day would be done. We fought the headwind for about 13 miles and then came to a hill then went down in the valley. The way down was not much fun since when we came out of the rocks we got slammed in the face with a strong cross wind. It made it hard to go straight when going 35 mph. We came to the bottom and stood in wonder of the North Platte River. I was in the middle of a comment to my Dad about the wind when I looked down and on the bank of the river I saw a bald eagle!! It was phenomenal. I hope the pictures come out so that you can enjoy it too!

The evening was very relaxing looking at scenery and trying to see moose and other wildlife. We did not see the large animals but we did see two foxes, one mule deer, and a few antelopes! The highlight of the evening for me was when we got back to the trailer I was able to watch Sportscenter for the first time since we left Michigan. It was nice to get caught up on what is going on in the world of sports. The LORD gives little blessings to little people like me! Thank you LORD!

2007-06-29T07:58:00.000-05:00

Day 30 – Beauty in the Beast

I woke up this morning with icicles hanging from my nose. The altitude and clear skies had brought us very cold temperatures. I thought I was going to have to shovel snow but not so.

This meant that the kids wore long everything when they went out to play in the morning and I did the same when I got on my bike. The sun was warm just standing in it but when the wind on the bike started I was glad that I had my leg warmers and long sleeves.

The first 6 miles of the day were on a nice paved bike path leading us from Fairplay, CO to Alma, CO.

This put us at the base of the Hosier Pass. The beauty of the day was enjoyed all day while the beast was 4 miles long.

The summit could not be seen from the bottom and I wondered if it would ever come but it did finally come. I was pleased that I never had to put the bike into the lowest gear so the grade was not too steep. I was able to average about 10 mph throughout the entire climb.
We finally made it to the top and felt a little like Rocky at the top of the steps that he climbed and did his dance. I did a little imitation of that dance except with my bike over my head instead!

I felt a great sense of accomplishment at 11,542 ft. above sea level! I was glad also that my family was able to experience this with me. Most often it is just me, and if it were not for my family this trip would be just a bike ride rather than the greatest vacation of my life.

Climbing hills is much more taxing on the legs but descending is much more taxing on the brakes and thus on my fragile and wimpy thrill seeking side. The climb up the mountain is much more emotionally relaxing than the hair raising flight down the mountain. The brakes held up and we made it to Breckenridge, CO in no time.

The town was amazing and the people who live there must never get tired of the beauty and majesty of the mountains. There is no wonder either that people come from all over the world to ski here. The slopes are abundant and long.

I would love to one day return and do a little skiing myself! When we arrived we met up with the girls. Abigail had just gotten a new contact from a local eye doctor. She had been given a package that did not contain a contact so the eye doctor gave her a free sample. We were very grateful. We took off our warm weather gear and continued.
The large cities of CO are very biker friendly and proactive in their attempt to keep people in shape and safe while doing it. Therefore, the cities of Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Dillon, and Vail are drizzled with a finely paved bike path. It was nice to be able to stay off the heavily traveled roads for almost 20 miles!!! With storm clouds and lightning rolling slowly in we decided to eat lunch and see if the storm would go away or dissipate. We sat and ate a nice lunch but the storm did not go away. It only dropped the temperature and lifted the winds. The temperature drop was a problem because with not biking I got cold and then to go out in the cold I began to shake. I must have been quite a site waiting at the stoplight and shaking like a leaf in the wind. I did finally get warm. The winds on the other hand were working only in our favor! They were not strong but definitely helped immensely. Because we were on the other side of the mountains, we had been looking forward to going down hill for the remainder of the day after Hosier Pass. In fact there was a stretch of about 5 miles where, because of the wind and decline, we did not see under 30 mph. It was awesome. The long and short of the afternoon, more short than long, was that we made a 37 mile ride take only 1 hour and 50 minutes (to put this in perspective in normal weather conditions, we expected this trip to take us about 2.5 hours). It was fun to go that fast for that long!

We arrived in Kremmling, CO at 3:40 and enjoyed a long night together. Most nights we arrive at between 5 and 6:00 and don’t have much time after showers and clean-up to spend together so tonight was a nice and well needed change!
Something that the LORD has been challenging me with recently is that my wife and kids are so precious and I only get one chance to invest and enjoy time with them! I can’t get to the end of my life and go back and spend more time with them. “Redeem the Time!!” This is the banner that I have been trying to follow! Thank you LORD for the beautiful family that You have entrusted to me!

Just Another Short But Priceless Clip!

2007-06-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

Las night I thought it was so cute to listen to my dearest Mother reading to our kids. She brought a book about Uncle Wiggliy's Adventures along. She was not sure how much the kids would enjoy it. WOW!! I think they read almost 2 stories out of it each day! They love it! Thanks Mom. You have done so much work for us along the way and the investment you are making into our children is priceless! I LOVE YOU!

2007-06-26T22:32:00.000-05:00

Day 29 – The Real Mountains Begin and Climbing Along with It!

This week had fewer miles planned but the days will be just as long since our speed will not be high as normal days like in KS and eastern CO. 67 miles were planned for today but with 6600 feet of climbing it would not be a short day.

In the first mile of the trip we came across this historic sign. This sign is not indicating the name of the road but is the name of a route. In 1976, to commemorate the bicentennial of our country a cross-country bike trip was planned. I believe there were around 3,000 riders. This is the first sign that I have seen like it. I assume that most people have taken them. I was even tempted to do the same. BUT I DIDN’T!!!

We started off climbing Gribble Mountain. The people at church last night told me that it would be steep. They were right! It was not probably the steepest that I saw all day. It was also the first 30 minutes of the day too so that may have made it feel worse. We survived and settled in for a long day of climbing.

We stopped by the side of the road to take pictures of these horses and a young Korean man rode up to us and so we talked for a while. It was hard to understand him and he had a hard time understanding us as well. I did catch that his name was Bong and that he was studying electrical engineering. I did not catch where he was studying but he was living in Eugene, OR. He was a nice young man. We encouraged him to stay at the Gorge and see it as well. I asked him for a picture and he said that he gives a pose anyone who asks. We wished him well and putted the rest of the way up the hill.

With one eye on the altimeter and one eye on the landscape we could see that the final major ascent of the day was in view. This meant a closer and better view of the snow covered mountains. It was breath taking to see them from this view. I know that it is only going to get better but this is the best so far. I want to take this chance apologize that pictures cannot amply show the wonder that we saw. Cameras just don’t capture the splendor of it all. Sorry!

We could also see the next peak that we would reach. The road wound around like a giant anaconda working its way through the water. We zoomed down the hill and again plodded our way to the top of the final peak. Then it was downhill to lunch n the city of Hartsel, CO. Just before entering town we spooked five antelopes. They ran away but I was able to zoom in and get a decent picture of these two mature bucks.

We ate at the only restaurant in town. I had a bacon cheeseburger and the very best sun tea that I have ever had. It was not sweet but it hardly needed any sweetening. As our waitress came to give me a refill, I asked her for a half order of nacho supreme. What was I thinking? I guess I thought it would truly be a half order. She came back with an order that would have fed an army. I did my best but couldn’t finish it all. I gave it a valiant effort though. As we left we saw the sign that told us that our final destination of Fairplay, CO was only 18 miles away. Only about an hour left!
The trip was harder than normal. The horizon did not appear to be higher but the speed and altimeter told us that we were climbing for the entire 18 miles that remained.

The final 4 miles gave us a view of the city with the huge climb that faced us in the morning in the background. We arrived and spent the rest of the evening playing with the kids and just enjoying each other company. I am humbled at the amazing wife and kids that the LORD has so graciously given me. I slept well with thoughts of Hosier Pass rolling through my mind. LORD please give me strength to make it to the top!

2007-06-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

Day 28 – The LORD’s Day with Very Friendly People!

The LORD gave us another spectacular day to set aside for Him! We have 6 days for our things so I think it our duty to give Him one day of the week to consecrate to Him. We decided on Community Baptist Church and based on the map we, okay I, thought it would be faster to take Skyline Drive. In 1918, the prisoners of the Canon City Jail carved a road out of the hillside. This road gives the best and most comprehensive view of the city. It most certainly was not a short cut. It took us at least 2x longer than it would have going through town. No matter how long it took us, we found the church with plenty of time before the service began. The pastor gave a fantastic salvation message and encouraged the believers to be more active in their witness to a lost and dying world. It was a great reminder and challenge. The people were genuinely glad to have us in their church and invited us back to their evening service.
We enjoyed naps and relaxation all afternoon! It was good preparation for the evening service and for the week of climbing the Rockies.
We attended the evening service where a Bible student, who also works with the youth in the summer, spoke on the holiness of God. He had a very appealing style and the message made it even more attractive. He did a fine job and I am impressed with that product of Baptist Bible College (Springfield, MO). Following the service was a meal of sandwiches, chips and fruit. The main attraction was the 4 types of homemade ice cream! They were wonderful! Probably the best homemade ice cream I have ever tasted! Just what I will need to energize me for the rest of the week! I hope that I make people who visit my home church as welcome as these genuine people did. It was not a show or a reputation they were trying to build, but it was from their heart.

2007-06-26T19:17:00.000-05:00

Day 27 – Visiting the Gorge!

The original plan for today was to continue on to Fairplay, CO but we decided that since we are making this trip and yes the ultimate goal is to make it across the country, we also want to se the country also! From our campsite we could see the bridge that crossed the Royal Gorge. This bridge stands 1,053 ft above the Arkansas River. My family has never been to the Gorge so we decided to take the morning and see more of God’s majestic creation!

The Royal Gorge is the result of the flood recorded for us in the book of Genesis and not the millions of ears of corrosion that the park ranger told us. Men still rob God of His glory! May we never just look at something and just see it as beautiful and rob Him either!

We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the old western town that they had.

We loved the wildlife, petting zoo and Joshua and Annamarie even were able to ride a burro (Spanish for donkey). They loved it! I think I was more nervous about leading the dumb donkey around the trail than the kids were riding. There is a reason we say, “Stubborn as a mule!”

One thing that we did not do was the giant swing over the Gorge. I took pictures only for those who might think it was fun. I did watch one person go and they made no noise. I think I would have been the same way, only because I would have been rendered unconscious the moment I began the free fall. I am a big chicken and I will readily admit it. My mother even said that she would pay the fee and give me $100 to do it and I still wasn’t even tempted in the least little bit.

The afternoon plans required us to get back for lunch and naps. Abigail and I went for a short sightseeing adventure (sightseeing is used very loosely since we saw only one red rock formation).

We were a little rushed because of our planned excursion on the “Gold Belt Tour” Road.
We gathered everyone up and headed out. This was a real adventure. But before we could head out we needed to make a quick pit stop. It has been a few days since Dad and I have had a DQ fix so in case anything were to happen in the mountain pass we needed fuel to get us along until help could arrive. Okay that is nonsense! We just wanted ice cream, as if you didn't know that already!
There are three roads on this “Gold Belt Tour”. “The Wimpy Way” – This consists of all paved state highways. This is the longest but quickest way to get to Cripple Creek, CO. “The Adventuresome Way” – This consists of about 5 miles of paved road and the remainder of the 22 miles are unpaved. There is a warning that no vehicle longer than 25’ can go down this road. “The Extreme Way” – This consists of 10 miles of paved and 20 unpaved. The warning on this road is not a length restriction but a equipment requirement. Any vehicle entering should have 4wheel drive. There is no one monitoring the road but common sense would tell anyone smarter than a derelict that it is advisable to follow the warning.

We took “The Adventuresome Way” and it provided us with many things to see. People parked camping on the river, narrow passageways through solid granite mountains, two tunnels blasted out of the same granite, and frequent spectacular views of the snowcapped mountains.

It was wonderful! The 27 miles took us about 2.25 hours but it was well worth it.

We passed through the city of Victor, CO, which at one time was a booming gold mining town.

Time has its way with everything and it is now just a town with the remains of greatness and beauty but no substance. Just up the road we found another town. It was a town full of history but it has now been turned into a town of sin and greed. A few years ago they decided to bring a one casino. Today there are 19 casinos lining a main street of no more than 3 blocks. It was sad. We had wanted to come to this town to enjoy the historical side and went away with a bad taste in our mouths of the town’s present state.
We returned home on “The Wimpy Way” since it was dark and the fastest way to get in my nice warm bed. I had not been on the bike at all today but I was still quite tired and longed to be in bed. The morning came all too soon!

2007-06-26T17:09:00.000-05:00

Day 26 – Stocking up for the Duration

The plans for today include bike maintenance, getting quarters for laundry, car wash for the Yukon, and a quick check on the Yukon at the GMC dealer. Before these things could be done I needed to play with the kids. I haven’t had a lot of time and even though we have a 2 day weekend planned we needed to do this really cool thing together this morning. The KOA where we are staying has what is called a Jumping Pillow. It is like those inflatable castles that kids jump in at the fair. We went over there and jumped for a while and had a blast.

Dad and I then left for the bike shop and our other errands. We got the car washed. Got quarters for laundry. The Yukon checked out fine. The bike shop was fantastic and we were able to stock up on tubes and all the other stuff that we may need for the rest of the trip. It was great and the young man that helped us has ridden on the route that our maps are sending us and he told us another route that would save us 10 miles. This was great. Even though there are only 86 miles planned for today, when you leave at 2:00 it is good to save as many miles as possible.
We got back, hooked up the trailer, and went out for lunch. The day was getting hotter and we needed fuel. We drove back to the place where we were forced to stop yesterday and began biking. The day sure was hot but in the foreground we could see our chance to cool down. The heat of the day in CO creates rain storms as the day begins to cool down. Since we started late in the day we were beginning when the storms started to form. We biked along and it seemed for a fleeting moment that we were going to pass through two storms. Fleeting! We instead began to head right into the path of a storm that seemed not to be moving, or if it were it was moving very slowly as if to say, “Come on guys. If you are going to get to your destination you must first go through me.” The wind picked up and slowed us down incredibly. I think I remember snails passing on the side of the road. There were times that I thought I was going to get blown over. I estimate that the winds were in the upper 40s. Getting wet is not so bad, although it is not the most desirable things, is not the end of the world since we could see the sun shining on the other side of the storm and we knew that we would dry off soon with the sun on us, The worst thing was the lightning. Did you know that it is more likely for a person to get hit by lightning than to win the lottery? Since people win the lottery, I knew that people had to get hit by lightning. Our problem was compounded since we were still a few miles from stores. I was finally able to see a gas station down the road and with the lightning coming more frequently I cut through the wind like a hot knife through butter and ducked into the safety of Loaf ‘n Jug.

We waited for about 30 minutes and when I thought the lightning had sufficiently passed over we went out into the drizzle. The rain is not what got us wet but the vehicles that drive by with a sick sense of humor and think it is funny to drive as close to us as possible so as to spray us like a fire hydrant sprays a raging building. We made it past the storm line and a nice westerly wind kept us up with the city traffic of Pueblo, CO and rushed us the rest of the way to Canon City, CO. We drew closer to the snow capped mountains and we again rode in amazement of the marvelous creation that our Creator has given to us. He has given us such good things to enjoy! May I never cease to give Him the glory and honor for it all!!

The best was saved for last today. We rode through Canon City, CO and as we got the edge of town I realized that we still had 1,100 feet of climbing to do in 8 miles. It made for a very steep hill and not exactly a cherry on top of a short day. When we finally arrived at the top of the hill and found our campground, it was all worth it. The view that we had coming out of our camper each time was majestic and the mountains seemed to be different with each sunset and sunrise!

Our meals have been great with more than sufficient amounts of carbs, but Dad and I have both sensed the need to stock up on the weekends on protein and iron. This meant a steakhouse!!! The Wild West Steakhouse was the spot for steak and we enjoyed a nice steak dinner! A great end to a wonderful day!!! Oh yeah the other great end was that the Detroit Tigers defeated the Atlanta Braves on Kenny Rogers first game back this season!! GO TIGERS!!!

2007-06-24T15:36:00.000-05:00

Day 25 – DON’T STOP!

The day began with a little bit of a hectic start. We crossed over into the Mountain Standard Time Zone so we gained another hour. The days are getting hotter and hotter so we decided to get an earlier start than normal. This is made difficult when you have just crossed into another time zone. It is like getting up two hours earlier than normal. We did get on the road 1/2 hour earlier and our shadows were the longest that we have seen them since we have begun. The first 10 miles were nice and very little wind. It did not last long. The wind began an unlike yesterday when it was due south today it was a southwest wind. This slowed us down to not quite a snails pace but it felt like it when we are used to going much faster. We made it to Eades, CO and enjoyed a quick snack. It had to be quick since we were meeting the girls in Haswell, CO an hour from when we stopped and we had 22 miles to go. We didn’t make it on schedule to say the least.

When we did finally pull into Haswell, CO we were ready for lunch but had a great sense of accomplishment with 50 miles in before 11:00. PB&J, a peach, cheese stick and a Gatorade got us all ready for the difficult afternoon. We got back on the bikes and had barely broken all of the concrete off our legs that had formed during lunch when psssssssssssssssssst. Dad had blown a front tire. We could have fixed it but since the girls were so close we called them and they turned around, try that on roads barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass with a 27’ travel trailer, and brought back Dad’s spare wheel. Good thing too! DON’T STOP!!

While we waited Mom spotted a sign for the Nations Smallest Jail. We rode over to it and got a picture in front of it. It was built in 1918 and is 10’x12’! It truly was small! On the road again. The locals told us that there was nothing after Haswell, CO, as if there was thriving civilization before it, so we got water in our CamelBaks and prepared for the long 40 miles with no where to refuel. The day grew hotter and the road continued to turn southwest, directly into the wind, and the water turned from ice cold to outside temperature to a few degrees below boiling in the matter of an hour.
For the first time on the trip I actually would have quit had I been given the chance. The heat, the wind and then as the girls drove past us for the final time of the day I felt the motivation to keep going pour out of my body. Why? As the girls drove past, we could see them go up the road where normally they would have disappeared. Not this time. The road turned again so we could then see them for another mile or two. It took them what seemed like hours to finally disappear and to think that I had to ride my bike down that same road into the wind for a much longer period of time was almost more than I could bear. DON’T STOP!!

We finally made it to Arlington, CO (about half way). They had a nice picnic table to lay on and an adequate outhouse. We rested for a while in the shade and then mustered up the gumption to get back on the bikes and ride to Sugar Creek, CO. We had just crested a hill with about 8 miles to go when I caught glimpse of something that was the biggest shot in the arm since my brother’s phone call about Justin Verlander’s no-hitter. The Rocky Mountains were in full view!!! It was awesome. Riding mile after mile across KS and CO getting seemingly no where was finally all worth it when we saw that gorgeous sight! This is what I have been looking forward to the most!!!

We pulled into a small convenience store to get water and an ice cold Gatorade only to find out that he had just sold out of them that morning. What a bummer!! He did give us free purified water and told us that just 5 miles down the road was the town of Ordway, CO where we could find all that we would need.
Again we shouldn’t have stopped, because as I started to go I felt a little squishy under my arms. I looked down to examine my front tire and it was mostly flat. DON’T STOP!!

We stopped in the shade of the city park to change the tire. This may sound like another event of the day but it was quite monumental since we had now used our final tube that we had brought with us on the trip. We had long since used up our patch kit so this was it. Another flat and we were done for the day. This would not set us back too far since there was a nice bike shop in Pueblo, CO (where we were spending the night!) but it would shorten our day.
The LORD had graciously changed the wind so that we made the 5 mile trip to Ordway, CO in about 15 minutes. We came to the edge of town and saw a gas station where we stopped. I ate a very late, and not too nutritious snack, which consisted of a Chef Boyardee spaghetti bowl, Gatorade, and ice cream bar. It hit the spot!!

After another application of sun block, since the day was late and the sun was getting lower, we hit the road and made a quick 13 mile trip to Olney Springs, CO where we stopped. WHY? Okay nothing happened. We rode another 10 miles down the road where we stopped again and this time it was the final one of the day. As we got back going Dad’s rear tire was flat. DON’T STOP!!!
We called Mom and she came to pick us up. At the beginning of the day, we had anticipated 145 miles, but had now ended at mile 112. Not too bad but would make for a longer day tomorrow. No problem. Mom came and rescued us and brought us to a very nice KOA in Pueblo, CO. Our lesson to be learned today - DON'T STOP!! About 50% of the time it induces flat tires and stiff legs!! It isn't worth it!

We slept soundly with the beautiful and majestic Rockies in clear view. It was awesome. The LORD is good and His mercies endure forever.

2007-06-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

Day 24 – The Storms Change the Winds!

Change is a good thing! In fact, Rev. Charles Homsher, the founder of Neighborhood Bible Time, once told me that he any change is a vacation so he never needed to go anywhere for vacation. Today was no vacation, it was just the start o the stark reality that we are headed west and the winds are normally out of the southwest and not the east like they have been for the past few days. The LORD’s goodness and grace only allowed them to be so for the first three and a half weeks of the trip.

Our first scheduled stop was Scott City, KS where we found this odd structure on the way. An old grain silo? The old corner of an abandoned fort? A prison tower? A giant missile pointed and ready to destroy the moon? If you have any other “great” ideas please let me know! We trudged on to the first city and made decent time.
A while back Wendy’s had a slogan that made the top 10 of the Century, according to adage.com. Well, we found it! As we passed by one of te many cattle feed lots, the final stage before butchering them, the answer was given to all literate people who pass by. “Here’s the beef”. Sorry I couldn’t fit all of the cattle in with the barn but they wouldn’t stand still enough and I couldn’t get them to line up tallest to shortest.

Len Holmes, the man here with Dad, flagged us down to take our picture. Astoundingly, he left from San Francisco, CA on April 26th and will arrive on the banks of the St. Lawrence, Canada on September 10th. This is an amazing trip of many thousands of miles. He was quite jealous of our support team and the fact that we did not have to carry any of our stuff with us! What a nice guy and we would have stayed and talked had it not been for the many miles that still lay ahead of us.

It is said as a joke but I seriously wonder if it is true, that a person could take a tennis ball and roll it down the road starting in Denver, CO and it would roll all the way to St. Louis, MO. Yes it is a joke, BUT the fact that we can hardly ever see over the horizon and the slight hills seem to go on forever makes this a little more believable proposition. The hills that we continued to climb were not steep by any means but combining them with the wind, they became a little more difficult and challenging.
Now, if you have been following this journey from the beginning you will remember that we try to get a picture with every state line sign as we cross into a new state. Remember that KS did not have one on the back road that we took into the state, so today we took two state line pictures.

One with the KS sign as we left the state and one with the CO sign as we entered! This is not an uncommon problem (not having signs on the borders) among cross-country riders and many of them will do what we did!
Often I will try to find a rock to prop our cameras up on and use the self-timer, but this time as we pulled up to the KS sign a nice lady in a car was waiting just for us so that she could take pictures for us. Not really, she was really waiting for her daughter, who was riding alone, who left San Francisco, CA and was going to Yorktown, VA (the typical ACA – Adventure Cycling Association – ending point on the east coast). In talking to them we found out that they were from Holland, MI, which is not too far from where either of us live. She had planned to take this trip with two other friends but the day before they had planned to leave they both backed out so she was left alone. Her Mom and Dad were there to see her off and Mom decided to follow her the entire time. Good for them! What a trip!
We finished our trip to Sheridan Lake, CO on very bumpy roads, which at the end of a long day is quite hard on one’s derriere! We slept good and enjoyed the little old historical town of Sheridan Lake, CO in the clear blue sky of the CO night!

2007-06-21T22:32:00.000-05:00

Day 23 – The LORD Gives and the LORD Takes Away!

A hazy blanket of fog covered the Kansas landscape and provided us cover until 11:00. This was nice because the breeze was cool and the sun did not beat on us for a few hours at least!

We stopped 6 miles in at Fort Larned, “Guardian of the Santa Fe Trail”. The buildings that remained are made of sandstone.

The stones were so soft that when we pulled in and leaned our bike up against the walls the Ranger came and asked us not to since they were softer than your fingernail. It was neat but we did not stay longer than to take a few pictures and get back on the road.
For at least the third day straight, we enjoyed a tailwind that was strong enough to blow us to our first break in Rush Center, KS, which was 31 miles from where we started, in 1 hour and 25 minutes. This was great and took very little effort. I enjoyed cookies and a Gatorade for snack. I even took enough time to talk to Ed Durbin (my boss from Fab Masters in Marcellus!) for a few minutes. The road and the wind were calling to us so we got back on the road to go the next 30 miles to Hess City, KS.
We polished off 15 of the miles in less than an hour and decided to stop at a Rest Area/Historical Marker in Alexander, KS.

We got water and electrolytes and rested a little. As I was looking at the map in the building I came to a wonderful conclusion: This would be our fasted day on the bike in the whole trip. I never should have come to this conclusion, because we got on the bikes to go and as we got to the road Dad called to me: He had a flat tire. No problem, it should only take 5 minutes. Off with the old tire and tube and on with the new. The problem with the new is that it also had a hole in it. Off again and failing attempt to patch it. Twice. No good, we ended up throwing it away. We then decided to patch the one that had just gone flat. We found the hole and patched it. The tire was put back on and hands were washed. In the time that it took to wash hands and get back to the bikes the tire was flat. This was getting rather frustrating to say the least. We took the tire off one more time and patched it one more time, with our last patch, and put the tire back together. We put the tire back on the rim and pumped it up. Hand pumps that are carried on bikes can only bring tire pressure only to about 70 psi. We also carry CO2 cartridges that will put the pressure up to 110 psi, which is what we want. The only problem is since we had pumped our tires up so many times we were almost out of air. We used all the air we had left and hit the road with Dad having about half the pressure that he should have in his back tire. Elapsed time for the entire stop – 2 hours. This would not end of being the shortest day on the bike of the trip. Oh, well the LORD knew that we needed that much of a rest at that time of the day.
The next city had a tire shop where we got Dad a new bike. It really only felt that way since we were able to get his rear tire up to pressure and it no longer felt like he was riding through quicksand.

We made it to Ness City, KS and had “lunch”. It was only called this because it was our second meal of the day. It was 2:00 before we got our lunch. While we ate, two guys pulled up to eat at the same place who were going from Oregon to Virginia.

They were fully loaded and I often feel a little like “Underdog the Wimpy SuperHero” with nothing in tow. They are doing a real ride I am kind of just having fun. They were both professors at the University of Tennessee and had the summer off for such a trip.
The biking was great for the rest of the day with a southwesterly wind that grew stronger as we went west. The reason it was grew stronger was there was a large storm growing larger as we got closer our destination. I have never been fond of thunder since it is usually the result of lightning so to hear thunder above me for the final 5 miles made the final part of the trip less than enjoyable even though the speeds were fun.

We arrived at camp and quickly realized that the storm that had once been moving northwest was now moving southeast right towards where we were. Without even a chance to change clothes we were in the car and off in the opposite direction of the storm (none of us wanted to feel the inside of a tornado while in an RV. In an attempt to outrun the storm, we all now know that a 2001 Yukon XL will exceed 100 mph. We did outrun the storm (even though I have heard that it is not the best thing to do) went drove around until we thought the storm had sufficiently past Dighton, KS (where we were spending the night) and returned to find our RV in the same spot. We were actually a little surprised. There was a tornado that touched down just outside of town but nothing had affected the town. The kids enjoyed the puddles that had been created and believe it or not my clean freak of a wife (don't get me wrong it is more of a benefit than anything) allowed and even made the suggestion that they do so!

Today we learned that the LORD gives tailwinds, flat tires to force us to rest, and safety during a storm! The LORD also takes away the shortest day on the bike, all of our patches and tubes so that we would be reminded that our safety, security and dependence is in the LORD! I must learn to be thankful for whatever the LORD brings my way!

The LORD gave us this beautiful sunset to enjoy at the end of our exciting day. Another reminder of just who is in control!!!

2007-06-19T07:16:00.000-05:00

Day 21 – Father’s Day of Rest!

Being Father’s Day today, my family made their grandfather and me feel even more special than they do on a regular day. Cards were given with meaningful words and heartfelt sayings. We attended Newton Bible Church and had a wonderful message from God’s Word. The pastor did not fill his message with emotional stories of fathers or of quotes from or about fathers, but he went right to Scripture because that is the only place that has words that will never be outdated or overused. Revelation 14:13 says “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’”
The pastor challenged us that we will take deeds with us! So, what kind of deeds are we taking? The one most challenging phrase that he repeated seemingly just for me was, “Are you running the right race?” There are so many things for Christians to divert their focus towards, when glorifying Jesus Christ should be our only goal and prize in life. When our focus get on making money and being someone it is in the wrong place.
This was the very thing that I needed to hear and it reminded me of the ending of a song that says, “and the things life will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” The fact is this world and all of the things that we have will one day be burned, rust, or be outdated, but only what is done for Christ will last! This was a sobering reminder and just what I needed to hear!
For lunch, we went to Jacky Chen’s Super Buffet. It was quite nice. My wife and mother had a surprise up their sleeves so we were instructed not to fill up on dessert. After lunch, we drove to Dairy Queen, yes even on a rest day, and picked up this beautifully special order ice cream cake.

It was nice of them to do this for us and made us feel special on Father’s Day.
The afternoon was filled with rest and relaxation. Just what the doctor ordered after a 660 mile week!
I hope that all of you fathers had a wonderful day and trust that the LORD blessed you as he did me!

2007-06-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

Day 22 – The Big Adventure!

The Kansas sky was filled with a beautiful cover of clouds. The temperature was perfect for biking and the wind was out of the south, nice since we would be going west almost all day. The threat of rain was only 10% so we were not too worried about that even though at times it looked quite threatening and twice actually spit rain on us for a few moments but nothing really enough to mention.
A typical day is broken up into three groups of rides. The morning ride consists of about 40-50 miles. At the end of this we try to get a small snack (preferably Dairy Queen). The noon ride consists of about 25 more and at the end we eat lunch. This leaves about 35 miles left to finish the day off.

Today was no exception. We planned to ride 38 miles to the city of Nickerson, KS where there is a highly touted Sunshine Café. A few people in their cross-country journals have made mention that this place has wonderful pies. That was enough for Dad and I. This would be the place we stop for our morning snack. We set off and made good time. The roads were easy to find and they were mostly quiet good surfaces. We got more and more excited with anticipation of the pies. We pulled into town at 11:00. Perfect timing.

CLOSED MONDAYS!!! This is just the thing that we have been running into. For the second week in a row we have had an anti-climactic morning snack. So instead we had to be happy with a large muffin from a gas station. I felt like my wife, who reads everything, as I read the back of the package that the muffin came in and found that it cad 555 calories and 28 mg of cholesterol (this would come in handy later). Looking over the map brought us the sad realization that the next city where we would be able to get food was 55 miles away. This is a long time as the day is getting hotter and the clouds begin to evaporate. So the rest of the day we conserved our fuel drink, water and electrolyte tablets. I did buy a package of Fig Newtons, which would have to serve as our makeshift lunch.
The miles went by quickly and we even passed a man whom we assumed to be doing a self-supported cross-country ride. The miles almost became mundane and monotonous when we came across a sign that told us that the road was closed ahead.

According to Dad, these type of road sign are almost entirely ignored by cross-country riders. As if we are some sort of gods. Not at all. Nonetheless, we pedaled on, maybe to our peril. Another warning sign was in the road but could be easily ridden around so we did. The thought began to cross my mind that we would have to go back these same miles if a 10 foot wide raging torrent of a river had washed out the road and was still carving a new river bottom to the great Mississippi River. The third “Road Closed Ahead” sign was passed with no trouble and we continued pressing on. Then up ahead we could see the final sign, but this time it had changed. It now read “ROAD CLOSED”. There was no longer an easy path between the signs but instead we had to go off the road to get around them, almost like those who put the signs there didn’t want us to go past this point. But we did!?! Then I could see the reason for all the signs. The flooding had washed all of the gravel away under the road around two 4 foot culverts and the 16 inch thick asphalt had given way and had created a 20 foot gap in the road with water so deep that we could not see the bottom. What now?
This was not as simple as climbing onto a train, loading our bikes on, climbing down and unloading the bikes again. There was no way around. We were in the middle of a 32,000 acre wetland that had just been flooded with weeks of rain that Kansas had just received in the first week of June. This is what is called, to put it mildly, a predicament. Normal people would have taken the loss, gone back the five miles and gone around, but not us. Thankfully for us, we were not the first ones to have gotten to this point and not wanted to backtrack.

Someone BEFORE WE GOT THERE (this is important to state since it might be illegal what they did), had taken the planks off the warning signs and had used them as a bridge to get across the culvert.
We dismounted our bikes, took off our shoes (they are not suitable for walking on flat ground let alone uneven ground that might give way and land you in who know how much water), threw them to the other side and Dad, who is much more adventuresome and fearless than I am, went across first. He made it and stayed dry. While Dad was making his way across the plank, the cows in the field decided to come and see the show. They must have had a good laugh. I then wheeled the bikes across the plank to where Dad could reach and he put the on the other side.

All of the stuff made it across dry. Then it was my turn to venture across the plank. I, who was a certified lifeguard in high school, can swim but I like to see the bottom of where I am swimming. I hated going across and it felt like a I was balancing on a piece of dental floss rather than a nice wide plank.

Everything made it across dry! Thank the LORD! This has now become the greatest adventure of the trip so far (and I shudder to think what could top this one)!
We continued to the destination stopping about every 10 miles for drink, electrolytes, and fig newtons. We decided to go 1 mile out of the way, each way, and stop in Seward, KS for something quick to eat. As we entered the town and the pavement stopped in every direction I doubted that we would find anything.

We were directed to Mom’s Bar and Grill where, as we pulled up we saw two trucks pulling off, leaving the parking lot empty. We then read the sign on the door, you guessed it, CLOSED ON MONDAY!

Thankfully one of the men in the trucks that was pulling away owned the joint. He had mercy on us and let us in to buy a Gatorade and Klondike Bar. It was just the thing we needed to get us home. We pulled into the campground and agreed that today was a great day! A quick dip in the pool was a nice end to our most adventuresome day yet!!!

2007-06-17T18:08:00.000-05:00

Day 20 – Last Day of the Week and Looking Forward to a Rest!!

The sun greeted us brightly but thankfully the humidity had slept in for at least for the morning hours! We began our day on another dangerous busy road. US 50 coming out of Emporia, KS was terrible. With as nice as the people are in this state the drivers this morning are rude and in a hurry. Trucks buzzed us like Tom Cruise did in Top Gun to the flight tower, birds flew out of cars like pigeons out of a barn, and cars made no effort at all to get around us. It was not a hard decision to get off this road and onto a less traveled road. We turned on the road of choice and were immediately happy with our decision. I say immediately because the pavement on which we rode was the same color as the gravel that was about to make drumming sounds on our frames.

The gravel seemed to go on and on till finally we got to Strong City, KS. We had no sooner gotten off our bikes but a nice older lady approached us with two school desks. She sat us down in them and gave us a quick history of every shop in sight. She was born and raised there so I trusted her implicitly. The one bit of information that interested us was the oldest functional courthouse in the US. We got out of our desks and got on the bikes and rode to the next city where sure enough we found this fabulous stone courthouse nestled in the center of town with cobblestone streets leading to it in a all directions.

It was another moment that made us feel like we were somewhere back in history (except for the digital camera in one pocket and cell phone in another).
Shortly outside of Cottonwood Falls, KS we climbed hills to this beautiful scenic overlook! Trust me, a little picture cannot do justice to the amazing view that we enjoyed for a few moments.

We battled a headwind for about 1.5 hours since we were going south, so at least there was a light at the end of the tunnel when we would go west and enjoy it partially to our backs. We came around this field that was completely lined with this stone fence then around the next curve was this awesome house with another fence. The time it took to build this fence must be immense!

Because of the nagging headwind, I was not enjoying the ride as much as I could have but about every 30 minutes we encountered a string of about 5-10 old cars that would sound their horns and bring a smile to my face and put me in a slightly better mood for a while! It was neat.

They all waved to us as if we were a long lost cousin! Great country we are in!

We pulled into Cassoday, KS (the Prairie Chicken Capital of the World) for lunch and enjoyed a lunch buffet of chicken tenders, beef and noodles, salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert! It was awesome and just the fuel to get us to the next city, which was 39 miles away, and nothing in between!!

We settled in for the long ride, passing field of cows after field of cows. I think in the entire 39 mile stretch we were passed by about 10 cars only had to stop 1 time for a stop sign. This is pretty desolate country. We had just passed the halfway point when a van passed us. This was not highly unusual except that they stopped on the side of the road and motioned for us to stop. The man, who was driving, poked his head out the window and told us that his house was 5 miles up the road and if we wanted to stop he would give us more water and a nice place to stop. Only in Kansas! We stopped!!!

Dave and Karen were two of the nicest people you will ever meet and they generously gave us each an ice cold Gatorade, filled our CamelPaks with water and sent us on our way with wishes for a great rest of the trip to Seattle, WA! Awesome people!! Again a reminder to take every opportunity to be kind to people! We can be angels for other people along the way.
The rest of the trip went well. We entered Newton, KS and visited where else, Dairy Queen, and got back on the road. Abby had called and told us of another route that would cut a few miles off our remaining 11 so we jumped at the opportunity. The final 8 miles seemed to take us about 15 minutes since the wind was in the same direction as the road. We averaged about 22-24 mph!!! This is nice to fly like this at the end of the day! We entered the campground at 4:15! This was a great day in more than just a quick biking sense!
The day was topped off with a fantastic supper engagement. About 20 miles from our campground lives a friend that used to be the administrator at the small Christian school in Cadillac, MI. It was nice to see Rick and Susan Roberts again and renew a friendship with them. We had a great supper and time of fellowship! He is a wonderful godly man and there is no wonder that the LORD has used him for so long! LORD, help me to be this kind of man of God!

2007-06-17T17:09:00.000-05:00

Day 19 – Good Roads and Winds make for a Good Day

Warming-up is the key to having a good day of biking. The park we stayed at last night was down on a lake so this morning we had to climb up out of the lake area. This made it hard for a warm-up right away. We soon got to the smoother flatter region and were able to warm-up sufficiently. We passed through the little town of La Cyene, KS and as we did we came upon a man sweeping something out of the road. When we got closer he motioned us off the side and said “watch out for the glass”. Oh great! This is not too good. It seemed to be fine until we got about 2 miles out of town and my rear tire was flat. The first in more than a week. We hadn’t forgotten how to change the tube though and were back on the road in about 5 minutes.

The roads were great and the wind was almost directly to our backs. This made for great conversation and enjoyable side-by-side riding!
Speaking of conversation, the people of KS are great and looking for people to carry on a conversation with. I was kind of wondering about the people of a state who don’t even put a sign up welcoming us to their state but I couldn’t have been more wrong about them. We had just finished a stop in Garnett, KS at our favorite spot (Dairy Queen) and had gotten back on the road, which had just been resurfaced less than 3 months ago, when we saw a cool stone fence going around this man’s field where he had a horse and a cow.

Dad signaled that we were going to stop and take a picture so I followed his lead. As we were stopping I saw a man coming out from his barn. He come right to the end of his fence and began talking to us about what we were doing. He had passed us earlier in the day while driving his fuel truck. We told him that we were riding across the country and he was genuinely excited for us! He would have held us there all afternoon and talked to us had we not needed to get going. It is nice seeing people who truly care about people enough to stop what they are doing and talk. Note to self – Don’t be so busy that I forget to talk to people and show interest in them!

We continued on the fresh asphalt through the city of Harris, KS and finally came to Waverly, KS where we stopped for lunch at The Lunch Box Café! I regret that I did not get a picture of this nice little place but you can’t expect my brain to work all the time, can you?!? We had burgers and fries and topped it all off with a warm piece of pecan pie.
Dad and I had almost become so relaxed that I was wondering if we would ever muster up the gumption to even get back on the bikes to pedal out of town let alone the 36 remaining miles to the campground. We dragged our sorry carcasses outside, that are now almost completely stiff from the lactic acid build up, and got on the bikes. We began pedaling and got on a very nice road, again!! Thank the LORD! We worked out the lactic acid and then the food must have really hit the blood stream because we both began to pound the pedals! We polished off the first 20 miles in just over an hour. We came to a point in the road that our good road turned north and actually became a part of Interstate 35. We do not ride on Interstates so we decided to follow the road that continued straight. Bad idea! The road was terrible and our pace was cut in half. That is not the way I wanted to finish the day so I got on the phone with Abigail, who has become a fantastic navigator with the county map in front of her, and she gave us an alternate route to the campground. The road had an even better surface than before and we again felt like low flying aircraft (even though an aircraft flying at our speed would fall out of the sky and crash and burn)!
We came upon this Bike Museum. I talked earlier in the trip about paradoxical signs, well, here is another one. I thought that the place looked very inviting and nicely kept up so I flagged Dad down, we turned around and went back. Bikers and dogs, as I have mentioned before, do not mix at all!

Needless to say, we did not brave the dog, whether it was there or not, and so we simply took a few pictures and finished the trip without incident. I did consider trading in my bike for this one but it was attached to the ground so I passed!

The LORD brought a nice shower and knocked the humidity out of the air. This should make for a fantastic day of biking tomorrow! Again, this cannot be said enough, especially after a day like today, PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

2007-06-16T06:52:00.000-05:00

Day 18 – Kissing Katy Goodbye!

The alarm went off earlier than normal since there is a person on our trip that has not had a bath since the beginning and has never needed it worse than today. The Katy Trail was nice to my Dad and I because it was flat but it was quite unkind to our bikes. They have been gathering dust and grime for the past two days and this morning we were going to bathe them!! They deserved it! This is a process that includes taking both wheels off and the chain off, using paper towel to wipe down the entire frame, soaking the chain in mineral spirits, and putting everything back together. All in all a 1.5 hour process. It was worth it. Before I could hear and feel every pedal revolution but now it just flows silently and with ease!

We said goodbye to the State Fairgrounds at about 8:30 and hit the road running. I think the bikes were just glad to be on the asphalt instead of the dust and grime of the Katy Trail. I did find one thing to be remarkable and disconcerting. My hill legs were gone. We have been riding on a trail with no more than a 2% grade (that his the max for a train) for so long that it was like my legs forgot how to do anything but churn forward. The first hills were like learning to drive on the right side of the road after spending two weeks driving in England. I guess I can just be glad that we are not in the Rockies just yet.
We were motoring along and up ahead I saw huge clouds of dust. I never imagined that it could be coming from our road since they were paved, but the closer that we go it was clear that a clean bikes nightmare had indeed come true (and the cleaners)! FRESH CHIP SEAL!!! This means that the tar underneath is still a little wet and will stick to the tires and get flung toward the frame, chain, and derailleur. It was a mess! So as you can see from the picture we decided since there was only one lane that had been finished we would ride in the other lane until traffic came towards us. This worked fine but the continuous pinging of little rocks off of my frame was like the constant scratching of fingernail on the chalkboard.

We did finally get past the construction and came to a small town where we did something that we have not done all trip. We went to a different place other than Dairy Queen for refreshment! We went to Sonic and got one of their fruit smoothies! It was awesome and truly refreshing!!! On the way out of town we did see the Dairy Queen and our bikes tried to turn in but with much fighting we did get past.

The roads of western MO are much like I would have expected in KS and CO. If they were to be any straighter they would have to have built them with a ruler. They are straight and go for as far as you can see. It was quite nice and it makes for pretty easy biking.
Our second to last stop for the day took us to this small town with the first almost exciting but probably not historical looking barn. It was picture worthy.

Patty’s Place served great Gatorade and supplied us with fine ice water. The people were very nice and friendly and seemed interested in what we were doing. Our last stop was not that way.

The city of Adrian and the people had seemingly never seen anything like us before. We pulled into the gas station and the stares began. You would have thought we were from outerspace. I understand that we look kind of funny but to stare at someone out of the corner of your eye kind of like they have a strange bodily deforming disease. It was weird and so we did not stay long, let alone try to explain what we were doing.

This sight was a good bit of comic relief in the final 10 miles of the trip! We chugged along and anticipated one last picture with the Kansas state line picture. As we came around the bend where it should have been there was nothing. We looked back and saw the Missouri one but nothing for Kansas. The only “welcome” that we go was this hug power plant.

The girls as always had a wonderful supper planned for us and we ate it and enjoyed a little family time and then it was time to hit the sack. Another century is planned and anxiously awaits us tomorrow!

Just An Added Tid Bit!

2007-06-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

Children are naturally creatures of habit and routine. Camping in a different spot each night, having nap time a different times each day, and eating supper anywhere from 5:30-9:30pm is not exactly the three defining points of a regular routine. In the midst of all these changes I have been watching and listening to my two children, who are gifts from God, grow up in front of my eyes. Almost daily I can see changes in them. They were just babies when we left on this trip and now look at them.
About a week ago we were camping in Benton, IL and we decided to have a campfire and cook marshmallows. As I came biking in after our latest day on the bike, here were my two children sitting in their chairs holding sticks in their "campfire" cooking marshmallows! It was so cute to see their creativity and desire to imitate the adults that they see the most (kind of scary huh?!?).

I just thought you would like seeing pictures other than the road and me in ridiculous (to the uneducated reader which you are not!) biking cloths!

2007-06-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

Day 17 – Katy Trail from Start to Finish (This means lots of pictures)

The morning began on a very sad note, my very trusty, helpful, and accurate cyclometer stopped working during the night. There was no seeming reason, but this makes it a very song day of riding for someone like me. I am the kind of person who sets goals while I am riding. I know that in “x” number of miles another town is coming, so I check what mile my cyclometer says and I know when the town is supposed to be. I also like to know what my heart rate is doing, whether I am pushing it too hard and would not possibly be able to sustain that kind of effort all day or whether the heart rate is too low and I am slipping backwards in my conditioning. All this in a stupid computer, you might ask. YES! I am pretty attached.
While I was trying to get my cyclometer to work, or even just turn on, Dad was repairing the crank on the trailer. The tensioning pin had fallen out or had sheered off, this made it so that the trailer at the tongue would not go up or down. This would not be a bad thing except that it would be impossible for the trailer to get off the Suburban. A quick fix with a piece of a coat hanger and we could finally get on the road!
Thankfully, for my little mind, the Katy Trail is marked every mile with a post! The day began at #110 and would end at #229. So the day was broken up into smaller chunks.
The first item of interest that we encountered was this “Mysterious Standing Rock”.

This is mysterious because no one knows where it came from since it is sand stone and not harder rock like the bluffs above. It is also mysterious since no one knows who carved 7 dates in it. These seven dates correspond with the 7 major floods of the Missouri River. This is incredible since this rock is more than a mile from the banks of the river during non-flood time. We came to the rock just as an older couple were leaving. We stopped and talked to them for a moment and inquired shortly about their bike (a tandem). They took off before we did but we would see them again.
While we got going again, both of us kind of bummed out, because of the cyclometer and the trailer, Dad received a voicemail, so we stopped to listen to it. It was my brother Joseph. I know it verbatim because it was so awesome and I got one a little later as soon as I got reception. He said, “Dad, Justin Verlander just threw a no hitter.” No superlatives or excitement in his voice but it was just he pick-me-up that we both needed! It gave us something else to talk about and concentrate on beside the mile posts going by one at a time (I know novel concept).
A little while later we were riding along and heard the honk of a very familiar vehicle. It was our families! We stopped in the next “stopping area” (I use this because the word city really doesn’t fit) and talked for a little while. It was nice to see them but we needed to make some miles so we hit the trail again.
Our first scheduled stop was Jefferson City. It was about 26 miles from where we started and so it was a nice first break for the day. As we came in view of the city I pedaled in awe of the amazing capital building. It was magnificient!

We stopped and were able to talk a second time with the nice couple with the tandem.

They have done a trans-con but had to do it in two blocks. Each block was separated by a year of recovery. The man said that they were in the first week of their trip in OR and they blew a front tire (this was the result of the manufacturer not putting something on properly). He did his best to hold the bike straight but was unable and they went down. He broke is shoulder and she broke her elbow. End of trip. A year later they picked up in the city where they had their accident and finished! They were neat and an inspiration to get a tandem for Abby and I.

Hartsburg, MO was the next planned stop and we hoped to get lunch there. The sign in Jefferson City said that the restaurant did not take credit card so Dad and I both thought that they would at least have an ATM. We got to the city and found the café and sure enough they did not take the card. There was also no ATM. This was bad since Dad only had $6 for the both of us to have lunch. We decided to split the cheese burger and fries meal for $4.95. This would not go far for two hungry men. Then I remembered that I had some money in my little camera bag under my seat. $12 in all! We ate like kings!
The day was getting late. It was 2:00 and we still had 80 miles to go. Not real encouraging. So the plan was to get more water and fuel in another city 22 miles up the trail. The sights of these bluffs were almost enough to make us forget about the mileage that was being gained so slowly.

We got to the city, and just like one other day in the not so recent past, it was CLOSED!

Only on Wednesdays though! Great. Well, off we went through this beautiful tunnel to the city where the Missouri is crossed, Boonville, MO.

We arrived and I fueled up with chocolate milk, Gatorade, and a Fastbreak Bar (best one ever made). We put much needed ice in our CamelPaks and were off again. There were 30 miles to go. I was wondering if the day would ever end just like you are wondering if this blog entry will ever end.
The trail had been about a C+ up to that point and allowed us only moderate to slow speeds but between Boonville and Sedalia, our final destination, it was a A+!!! It was awesome. Packed smooth with no stones on top.

We both pushed the speed (only because the LORD allowed a beautiful canopy of trees to shelter us from the heat of the sun! All Praise to Him!)and finally arrived in Sedalia, MO at about 7:30. We were gone for 11 hours. Not all biking but it still made for a long day. We ate supper at Pizza Hut and quickly returned to go to bed. Tomorrow is the shortest day of the week at 93 planned miles.
This was a long day with a long blog entry to match. I hope the blog doesn’t tire you out as much as the day did me!

2007-06-15T06:58:00.000-05:00

Day 16 – Into the West

This day was exciting because we got to ride on the nice paved and trafficless trails and also looked forward to crossing the Mississippi River. The trail began about .5 mile from our KOA so we were on it in no time. We followed the river to the Clark Bridge in Alton, IL.

The bridge had a special lane for bicycles so we stopped and got pictures and could take our time not worrying about being run over by any crazy motorists. The bridge took us to West Alton, MO, which put us in our 7th state.

Thank the LORD, from whom all blessings flow, we enjoyed another tailwind that significantly aided us to the city of St. Charles, MO where we visited the Dairy Queen for lunch (try the chocolate covered strawberry waffle bowl, it is great) and then joined the Katy Trail!

The Katy Trail is a former railroad bed. The railroad was shut down in 1987 and has since been turned into a biking and hiking trail. The surface was a little suspect before we actually got to it but when we arrived it was more than sufficient. The smoothness of the surface is important when riding on such small (25mm across) road bike tires. The surface is crushed limestone and has been packed down quite well to mirror concrete with a coating of sand and fine pebbles on the top. It is nice but dirty.

This trail gave us lots of opportunities for pictures. The cool tunnels and overpasses that were built for the railroad that still are there were nothing short of picturesque and almost made us feel apart of history. The old and restored train stations were great too! Another benefit of the trail is the natural canopy of trees. The sun has been getting hotter and it was nice to ride under the protection of this canopy.

Dad and I were moving right along when we came to a place where the park system put up a small shelter to post the map and some points of interest along the way, and we saw a huge group of riders wearing the same shirts sitting and eating lunch by their sag vehicle. Come to find out they were riding across the country too and were stopping in various cities to help build affordable housing for people. They had all raised $4000 for the trip and donated it to this charity group. We had a good time talking and sharing stories but needed to get going. I sometimes wish we didn’t have so many miles planned for each day so that we could stop longer and talk to such neat and interesting people like this more. As we pulled away, a young man named Jon asked to join us. We love having more than just two in our pace line so he joined us. We really pushed it for about an hour and got him to his destination, Marthasville, MO.
Our campground was still 40 miles down the trail so we needed to keep going but we had pushed it so hard for the past hour that we slowed down considerably. We passed through one small quiet town after another until we arrived in Blufton, MO, our destination was Steamboat Junction Campground. The LORD knew that just before we arrived that we needed some comic relief. Dad and I were wearily pedaling along when we saw a huge black thing in the trail. Bikers are always leery of dogs so I was about to reach for my dog spray when I noticed that it was not running like a dog. It was indeed heading our way and as we got closer we saw that it was a cow!!! By this time it had stopped and was looking at us with a very curious and suspicious eye. It was time for action. Dad came up with a plan sooner than I did. He decided to flail his arms, holler at the top of his lungs, and make a real scene all while pedaling toward the cow. The cow was quite frightened and turned and ran right into the barbed wire fence. Ouch! I guess it is better him than us though.
The campground where we stayed had 4 lots. The people run it basically for people on the trail and do not want to advertise in order to expand. It was nice. This bath house, though simple and unassuming, may have been the nicest shower that we have had on the entire trip!! There was no reason to walk anywhere in the campground since the mosquitoes were kind of like tow trucks, if you stood too long they carried you away. Oh well, at least we didn’t have to sleep outside!

2007-06-15T06:47:00.000-05:00

Day 15 – Our Longest Day Brings Us to the Gateway to the West

On Monday morning, Rend Lake was covered with a nice blanket of clouds making biking almost ideal! The terperature was mild and I was really looking forward to this day. Because we stayed in a KOA instead of Wayne Fitzgerald State Park, like originally planned, we needed to go a few extra miles to get back on the planned route. These two pictures show that there was no doubt that we were biking in Illinois.

The maps that were used to plan the route were very helpful because we had all nice roads with great surfaces. When we left this morning we made plans to stop in Oakdale, IL because it was about 50 miles into the trip. We were both getting hungry and in need of fuel so when we pulled into town and saw a sign for the Country Kitchen we were happy, since it was quite a small town.

We pulled our bikes onto the porch where the front door was we noticed a sign that made our stomachs growl a little bit more. They were closed on Mondays! What kind of an establishment is this. I guess in small town USA you can decide what days to be open and what days to be closed and two bikers just passing through are at the mercy of your schedule!

We looked and saw up the street that there was a convenience mart where we satisfied our growls with a sandwich and some very satisfying cold chocolate milk!! It was awesome!! Well, the campground wasn’t coming to us so we were quickly back on the bikes and on to the next cities. Even though it was the longest day of our trip the day was quite uneventful and without incident, thank the LORD! We just pedaled past flat mile after flat mile. It was nice to have flat. The excitement of the day began just outside of the city of Summerville, IL.
Having gotten off track before, we are much more conscientious with the maps and if we think there is even a possibility of getting off track we ask someone where we are. We pulled into a driveway where there was a silver Taurus and a maroon Tahoe parked. We thought they would be able to get us on the right track. Dad walked up to passenger side window as I stood and held his bike. The passenger motioned him o the other side of the car. The two drivers of the vehicles were talking and Dad was an obvious nuisance to them. They did not want Dad there and were quick to get us on our way. Dad noticed that one of them was wearing a flack jacket and had a Sherrif badge. They did not look like the kind of guys that would be wearing them so he was quick to get on his way too. As we pedaled away we were hoping that they did not drive up behind us and run us over or shoot us. We were convinced that they were up to no good and that dirty cop activity was going on. Okay, we have probably watched too many bad cop shows out of Hollywood. They passed us a little later without any incident. We soon came into the town of Summerville and got our treats to get us the rest of the way. We were sitting enjoying them and those same two vehicles drove by again and stopped in front of a house down the street. Two of the men went to the front and two went to the back. As they stood there a white car went by and two of the men jumped into the Tahoe and sped after the white car and made the arrest. The silver car left and then we saw them pull up on a side street. Another different white truck pulled by and the silver car pulled in behind and arrested both of the drivers in that vehicle too! So, instead of disrupting dirty cop activity, we were actually interrupting the plans for the raid. OOPS!
As we pulled into Madison County, we joined the MCT (Madison County Transit), a former railroad bed that had been turned into a paved bicycle path.

It made the final 13 miles to the campsite wonderful!! The path afforded us a beautiful view of the St. Louis Arch and then we were at our campsite.

Supper tonight was enjoyed with a distant cousin of my mother and we ate at a very nice Italian restaurant. Very good food and great preparation for the next day of biking!

2007-06-12T06:54:00.000-05:00

Day 14 - The LORD's Day and Seeing a Friend Again

Our Lord's Day service was a refreshing one and one that I will not soon forget. I have a friend in Dunbar, WI (where I attended college for 5 years) who lived in Carterville, IL for many years. I called her up and she told me that her son was still down here and that he would love to see us again in church. They attend First Baptist Church of Herrin, IL. We showed up very early since we underestimated the time it would take us to get there, and sat for a while. Soon he Cody came and greeted us before church. It was nice to see him and he is growing up to be a young man who loves the LORD and is passionate about sharing Him with others. It was nice to see him again.

The church service was fantastic! The pastor preached a wonderful sermon on Abraham and then the covenant that the LORD has made with His children today! We have been bought with a price, the blood of Christ, and He made that sacrifice once and for all! He died so that all who receive His payment would most assuredly be able to spend eternity in the presence our of Almighty and Loving Savior, JESUS CHRIST!!
After the sermon was over they went right into a wonderful ceremony of uniting two people in marriage. These people had both been married before and had both lost their mate. The LORD had brought them together and desired to be married no matter that they were both about 70 years old!! It was wonderful to see and be able to share in this wonderful day!!
The rest of the day was very relaxing and needfully so because tomorrow is going to be a long day! Always remember that the LORD is GOOD all the time and all the time God is GOOD!!

Hey everyone!! Keep the comments coming it is an awesome encouragement to hear that I am writing and someone is reading!

2007-06-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

Day 13 – A Day of Automotive Rest

Sleeping in has taken on a whole new meaning these days. 7:00 came and we were all awake and getting ready for breakfast. Dad and Mom were taking the bikes to be tuned up and checked out and had a little shopping to do, while my family stayed here with plans to swim, laundry and sleep. Laundry was getting done as the kids and I played some video games. They then found the pool table and zoomed the cue ball around, because it is the only that you do not have to pay for! Then I noticed the TV with cable hooked up to it. I was able to catch up on some ESPN. It was nice to know what is going on in the world of sports (I know for some of you that is just as boring as watching paint dry but I am used to watching it each morning during breakfast).
After lunch we went swimming.

I was hoping it would be a relaxing time in the pool but instead we nearly had to push the floating ice chunks out of the way to even get in. I know it wasn’t that bad but it was not exactly the relaxing warm temperature that I was looking for so naptime came sooner than planned. This was just fine with me and an hour nap was a nice boost to my system. Supper soon came and I grilled hamburgers out on the grill! It is nice to eat outside.
The post-supper time activities were the most anticipated of the day for Joshua, Dad, and I. Every 2nd Saturday of the month there is a car show in downtown Benton, IL. So we packed everyone up, the girls pretended to be excited, and went to the downtown square. I cannot possibly explain every car that we saw but I will tell you the highlight for each person.

Annamarie loved the pink Mercury (1952) simply and most importantly because it was pink!

Abigail loved the 1952 Ford. It was also pink with pink interior.

Joshua fell in love with this yellow Charger Super Bee.

My personal favorite was this fully restored 1968 Ford Mustang GT 350. We saw him drive up and it didn’t look like he was apart of the show but they we saw him backing into the spot. Probably because of my love for Mustangs I loved this car but also it was the beautiful job that this man did on restoring this from a rust bucket to a show car.

After seeing all of the cars we drove past Rend Lake and saw a beautiful sunset and then back to the campground for a nice bonfire and the kids got to enjoy their first roasted marshmallows! It was a fun day and we were ready for bed!

2007-06-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

Day 12 – Out of the hills and into Illinois

The day began with the report of rain, and then the report went away and we just had rain. We kind of scrambled around all morning checking weather reports and making reservations at campgrounds. The rain continued for about 1.5 hours and so time was past reading books, napping, waiting and wishing that we could be on the bike getting closer to our destination for the evening. The rain, and more importantly the lightning, finally ceased and by 10:45 we were on the road. Just outside of town we saw the sign welcoming us to IL.

Just up the road four dogs decided to chase us down the road for a while. The horn only seemed to spur them on but thankfully they did not pursue for long. The roads continued to go up and down and we were forced to swerve around debris that had been spread across many of the roads from the rain. In the middle of one of the roads we found a turtle. Bikers etiquette says that we need to stop and make sure they make it safely to the side of the road. When this is done we are called Trail Angels. A quick stop brought this lucky turtle to safety and we were quickly on our way.

Up and down we went. Often when we crest a hill or go speeding down one, we will scare the horses or cows and they will run with us. This group of horses were not quite sure of what to think of us as we rode by.

The final major ascent of the day brought us to the Garden of the Gods National Park where we turned in and saw this interesting rock formation.

I was again saddened as I read the sign and see they attributed the rock formations to millions of years of weather and nature rather than a gracious, wonderful, and creative God who created all these things for us to enjoy.
We quickly descended out of the mountains and as we came to Equality, IL we left the hills of GA, AL, KY and now IL behind for good. This is an interesting dilemma for me. A flat road is easier to maintain speeds on and to get a consistent average but the hilly country is much prettier and gives time to rest on the downs. Whatever the answer, the change is nice! I do think I will be more than ready for the Rockies to begin!!!
Eldorado, IL was to be the meeting place for lunch but because of the late start and our stop at the Garden of the Gods we were not able to meet the girls. Instead, we found an awesome buffet of pizza, salad, nachos, and dessert. The schedule change (leaving at 10:45 instead of 8:00) had thrown everything off and so we were both hungry and unusually tired after only going 45 miles. The buffet was awesome and had a nice conversation with Betty Sue, the owner of the restaurant.

She, who is very familiar with the area since she owned another pizza place in the city where we are going tonight, gave us the best bit of news that we could have heard. She said that the campground where we were headed was only 35 miles up the road. When you are anticipating more like 45-50 this is music to your ears!!! The roads were nice while the wind had changed directions from yesterday but we motored on from city to city, through Galatia, (I don’t think Paul preached here though) and then to Thompsonville and then to our final destination of Benton, IL.

As we left the city of Galatia and I saw this field, I was reminded of Christ's words in John 4:35!

We made it to the campground at about 5:30 (better than 7:00 like I had thought when we left this morning) where I was finally able to update my blog, showered and went to Applebee’s for supper.
All in all a great day. It was challenging and relaxing all in the same and I am more than ready for the 2 day weekend that is ahead!!

2007-06-08T21:48:00.000-05:00

Day 11 – Wind Advisory

As I walked to the shower house last night I kind of saw, but it must not have registered in my tired brain after a day of biking, that there would be a wind advisory and I remember it saying that people should stake anything and everything down. We woke up and left, again having to walk to the entrance of the camp as to not spook the horses. Wimpy horses (I think I said that before; Oh well it is still true)! A quick warm up, which is sped up by hills, and we were at the main highway that cuts straight through the Land Between the Lakes National Park. That is when we began to notice the wind.

Now, I know that there are what’s called prevailing winds and they come out of the west, even though when I would tell people about our trip and the direction that we were going they would inform me of the wind directions as if they were the first ones to let me know. This is the kind of wind that comes only the day before a storm. ALL DAY we enjoyed about a 10-15 mph TAILWIND!!! It was wonderful. In fact at one point in the middle of a wide open stretch I saw 29.8 mph with just slightly more than normal effort.
We came into the city of Grand Rivers, KY and crossed a bridge over the canal connecting the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River. I had a fleeting thought of jumping off the bridge for a little dip in the river but it was only fleeting.

At the gas station where we filled up with ice and water, the man told us that we would have a great view of the Kentucky Dam a little ways down the road, and he was very right. What an amazing sight.

The wind then blew us through Smithland, KY where we crossed the Cumberland River on a very narrow bridge.

Had a car been coming behind us and in front of us there would not have been enough room for the little bike trying to make it across as fast as he could. Thank the LORD there was not car that came behind us! We flew to Birdsville, KY and got more ice water and enjoyed a Klondike Bar and a talk with the man who owned a beautiful RV Park on the Ohio River.

(Notice how the wind is blowing this poor little tree)

Then off to cities like Carrsville and Bayou (where we saw some cows standing cooling in the water.)

I had to take this picture of the city of Joy because of my little sister Joy!! Love you Joy!

The miles flew by and we quickly arrived to the only way across the Ohio, a ferry ride. We waited for the ferry to come to our side and drop off the cars and we got on and rode to the other side. The amazing thing to me about the whole idea of the ferry is that it is FREE!! It is run by the state of KY.

(This picture works for our state line picture since the river is the state line!)

The ferry brought us to Cave in Rock, IL. We have now entered our 6th state of our trip.

You may be interested in the name of the city. After supper we walked down to the riverfront and saw the cave in the rock. Many years ago, pirates lived in the cave and had a small maneuverable boat. They would wait for an unsuspecting steamship to come by and they would speed out and rob them of all they had. Eventually they were caught and brought to justice.

I hope that this update finds you all well and walking in the blessing of the LORD!!! I miss and can’t wait to see you all!

2007-06-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

Day 10 – Short and sweet

Only 80 miles planned for today was a welcome change from yesterday’s 123 mile day (it was supposed to only be 90). When we have a short day, it takes the pressure off to leave at the crack of dawn, so today we left by 9:00. Shortly out of town Dad gave me a scare. We were cruising right along when a German Shepherd jumped off his front porch and decided to chase us. Dad was lagging a bit behind so the dog didn’t pay me much mind, but Dad needed his new horn to stop the dog dead in his tracks. I turned back around and continued down the hill. I checked to see if Dad was catching up, but he wasn’t there and he didn’t come and didn’t come. I had waited long enough and decided to turn around. I stood on my pedals hard and got back just in time to see Dad on the side of the road talking on the phone. THANKS A LOT DAD!
The roads were quiet and supper last night was excellent fuel for the fire this morning. With a slight tailwind and, according to Dad, a slight downhill we averaged between 21 and 23 for about 45 minutes with only an average amount of energy spent. After a quick stop for ice in our Camelbaks and a candybar, the hills began. Up and down for pretty much the rest of the day. We followed the lazy Yellow Creek (this is pronounced like chick except replacing the “h” with and “r”) and about 15 miles later it opened up into the backwaters of a dam.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (started by FDR in the 30s) built a series of dams, which has allowed them to use the power from the water. Dad says that it is probably the only lingering successful program from FDR’s presidency. As we followed through a tiny town we came across this odd looking stone structure.

Come to find out it is a furnace, and one of the originals at that. It was pretty neat so we took a picture. This area must have iron ore because later in the day we got a picture in front of this one closer to our camp. The girls drove past us as I was taking the first picture so they pulled over and we had lunch together. After lunch we past through the last town of Dover, TN and had an ice cream (not at Dairy Queen, it hardly tastes the same). A nice long hill took us out of town and we turned off for the final 25 miles of this day. Many steep hills at the beginning but toward the end they were less steep but closer together (pick your poison). Just before reaching our campground, we crossed into the fifth state of the trip, Kentucky.

We pulled into our very nice campground (as you can see in the picture is a campground for people with horses) and had to walk the last final distance because our bikes could spook the horses. Wimpy horses.

After a short nap, shower, and arrangement of the trailer we went to supper. We walked down to the park’s restaurant, made a quick look at the menu and Dad began to order. The boy took and the girl, who had to cook all the food, listened. Her jaw hit the floor as Dad listed off all the food that he was going to have. She probably thought he was ordering for the entire family. Before she fainted with shock Abby told her that we had just biked 80 miles and needed to replace the 4-5,000 calories that we had burned. She began laughing and cooked us up a very nice meal. It will come in handy on the ride tomorrow morning!

2007-06-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

Day 9 – “Momma said there would be days like this”

Another day broke with the beautiful sun shining down on us and made for a beautiful morning of biking. As we left we met 6 deer crossing the road and enjoyed seeing them bound away. The beginning of the ride supplied us with a good warm up. It is important to not do too much climbing right away to allow our legs to get under us and ready for the rest of the day. We came to a point on our map where it looked like a nice road greeted us. We took to the road and were able to go at a good speed because of the surface and wind (it was not in our face like yesterday). We were looking for a street name at a certain mile point on our cyclometer and that came and went. Then we saw signs for Tullahoma, TN and were slightly encouraged. We saw a road that we recognized on our map and turned on it. We didn’t know exactly where we were so we flagged someone down and they “tried” to give us help. They were more concerned with getting us where we wanted to go rather than where we were on the map. We have our route planned, so to get different directions to our destination and be able to remember them the rest of the day is impossible. We continued down the road and were looking for certain other roads. We didn’t find them so Dad waited till we had gotten to the bottom of a hill to decide to turn around and go back and ask someone else for directions. When we got to the top of the hill we found someone else who basically told us to go to town and buy a better map. Not much help either. We decided to just go down the road, and eventually we would come to where our map would intersect. So back down the hill we went, and got on the phone with Abby to help us find out where we were according to the county maps that are in the car. We found that we had gone out of the way about 15 miles. We got back on track by about lunch. We had lunch at Dairy Queen (this is number 4) and got back on the road to make up for lost time and miles. We stayed on track for most of the rest of the day.
We saw a lot of nice country and livestock around the TN countryside. Being from Marcellus, MI, we see a lot of pigs, but outside of the county there really are not many; but here in TN there is a field of goats seemingly over every hill, which are plentiful. I even saw a goat sitting on a front porch like a watchdog, but we were going so quickly and had such good momentum that I decided not to stop and take a picture. Sorry! It would have been very funny and now I wish I had stopped.
Throughout our ride today, we have come across many run down and abandoned barns and houses. I can’t figure out why since they are in prime locations and had they been kept up they would be beautiful houses.

As we wound our way through the hilly region we followed roads like Johnson’s Hollow and Mobley’s Cut. Somewhere along the way we followed the wrong road, which again took us to the bottom of a long hill. This time we found a man who knew the area and gave us directions back to our route. The day was getting late and the Natchez Trail was a nice path to follow and then to the road that would take us “home”. This was a nice feeling to see the final road of the day until we talked to someone and they said that we had about 25 more miles till we reached the town of Dickon, TN. This is where all of your mental training comes into play and you just put your mind in hammer mode and make as many miles as quickly as possible.
I had been noticing a big dark rain cloud making its way in our direction for the past 30 minutes. Our road going west and the cloud coming east only made our meeting more imminent. The winds started to pick up and then LIGHTNING! I remember being asked by my awesome co-workers at Fab Masters (hey guys hope you are all doing great) what I was going to do in case of rain, and I said that we would just ride, but they were not just asking about rain but about severe weather. Well, here is the plan. Bike to the closest house and hope that the people that live there are nice enough to let you take shelter. That is what we did. The people who lived there never even knew we took shelter under their carport.

The storm past quickly and we were off again. Since we had been hot when we stopped and now we had cooled down, the rain made it down-right cold. It took a few miles for me to warm up again, but I finally did. We made our way to our final destination of Dickson, TN, down very nice roads with wide shoulders. Over the final hill we caught a glimpse of the RV Park where we would be staying, and I finally began to relax with relief flowing through my veins. As we pulled up to the traffic light and the road that would lead us to the park, Dad ran over a piece of metal and got a rear flat. This was the cherry on top of a day where nothing seemed to go the way it was planned.

So we walked the rest of the way. Dad informed me that this was not cheating and that many have walked part of the way in the past and more probably will in the future.

2007-06-08T18:18:00.000-05:00

Day 8 – The Three State Climb

We said goodbye to our home for three days with butterflies in my stomach. We were facing 3 significant descents today and it makes me nervous flying down the hills on 23mm of rubber and needing to call upon 4, 2 inch brake pads to bring me to a screeching halt whenever I ask them to. This is not my idea of fun and we have three of them. We did make it to the bottom and the old saying was never more true, which says, “what comes down must . . ..” Well, you get the picture! We had a long climb to the top and then were off to the AL border.

We had been in AL no longer than 2 minutes and the dogs started to come out from seemingly every house. We did not waste any pepper spray though because those bikers that we talked to on Saturday told us about another trick, an air horn that boats have. This is amazingly effective! The high pitch horn stops them dead in their tracks. Not too much later we crossed into TN and the dogs kept coming.

Another quick descent and we were on the Tennessee River and after crossing it we stopped in Dixie Dairy and got one of the best shakes that we had ever gotten. We were going to need it.

This is the bridge crossing the Tennessee River!

The locals looked at us like we are crazy wherever we go, but this time they looked at us like a parent looks at their child when they give them a lemon for the first time. When we told them the direction that we were headed and the road we were taking their faces got all tensed up and they seemed to want to laugh at us for the torture (and for possibly being completely stupid) we were about to put ourselves through. Well, we both realized why. The hill on Saturday out of Menlo, GA seemed like the bunny hill where beginners learn to ski and we had now graduated to the black diamond. This was a climb that would make those in the Tour de France proud. It went on for three miles and was about a 12-15% grade. Good thing it was morning and we had just gotten a shot of sugar in our systems. We did eventually make it to the top and took a much needed rest. We rode through Franklin Marian State Forest (a wilderness road with little traffic) and then came to the University of the South. This signaled the final descent of the day. The wind had picked up much more in the afternoon and so, THANK THE LORD, I did not need to use my brakes too much on the way down. We turned a corner at the bottom, to avoid riding on a very busy road, and saw a cross at the top of this hill.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful but rather difficult because of the headwind that had joined us. We made it through Winchester, TN and made the rest of the 7 miles to Tims Ford State Park in good time.

As we came in the campground we came across this street sign that both Dad and I got a good laugh out of! We both thought that the hill should be pointing in up since we love short downhills and wish to be warned about the torturous uphills.

A quick shower and change and we were off to Shoneys for supper. It was nice. Afterwards, the Best Western Inn very kindly allowed us to sit in their lobby and use their wireless internet. I am sure this will not be the last time we use the lobby of a hotel for internet this trip!

2007-06-08T18:12:00.000-05:00

Day 7 – The LORD’s Day

“And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.” (Genesis 2:3) With this in mind we have determined and set aside every Sunday to be dedicated and set apart to the LORD. Both to hear His Word preached in church and to admire His creation when He gives us opportunity.

Sunday morning came and the beauty of the LORD’s day was amazing! Sun shining and birds singing. We had decided to go to church in Trenton, GA and would leave at 9:30. We left and the clock said 9:30. That truly is amazing. We zoomed down the hill to town and found First Baptist Church and saw that church did not start for another 45 minutes. We decided to save time after church and took a run to Wal-Mart. The list was divied-up among the four adults and were back to church with 15 minutes to spare before church started. The service started with two adults being baptized! Praise the LORD!! The songs were uplifting and brought us all into the mood for the preaching service. Pastor Todd Gaddis spoke from Psalm 100.

“Shout for joy to the LOD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with Thanksgiving
And His courts with praise;
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

We were encouraged to KNOW, APPROACH, WORSHIP, and TRUST God. This was a great reminder. God is worthy of our praise and worship and this is only done through a personal relationship with Him.
After church we ate at a wonderful Chinese buffet and went home for a wonderful afternoon nap! Our naps were cut short to hear the noise of children crying. We had put them in the tent to sleep and I was in the RV sleeping and Abigail was at the bathhouse. A storm has brewed up very quickly and it was raining very hard. We brought them inside as quickly as we could and we all finished our naps. Now this may sound like another paradox but it was nice to see the rain beating down on our clean cloths on the line, but the people in this area are in such need of rain that it was nice to see!!

Saturday morning when I walked to the canyons edge to look at the valley with Joshua, there were 4 bikers from the area who were resting from their ride up the mountain. We talked for a while and in our conversation they asked if we were going to go or if we had already gone to Rock City. They said that it was a must see and that we would not regret going. They did not tell us much about it and I know now that words cannot adequately explain what this place is like, so here are some pictures of what we saw!

2007-06-04T19:14:00.000-05:00

Day 6 - "Rest" Day

The night before I went to bed with a relieved feeling that I did not have to get up early and get right on the bike. We stayed in Cloudland Canyon State Park and is one of the most beautiful places that any person could imagine. My family took the opportunity to hike to a near waterfall and enjoyed just being together. Not every person in our family has been biking each day so each of us were experienced different stages of fatigue. One with shaking legs and others with the desire to be finished and voiced that desire on each of the 574 steps that we climbed. It is fantastic to know that God has given us all things to enjoy and this was truly enjoyable (the scenery, not the climb). We came back for lunch and enjoyed the last meal with my sister and her kids and my brother and his family. We said goodbye to them shortly after lunch and were soon brought back to Menlo, GA. Refer to yesterday to why we needed to start here.

I have been racking my brain (it takes a while to even find it) how to put in perspective to all of you who are reading, the hill that we climbed today. Technically - We climbed 1586 ft. up in less than 3 miles. This means about 500 ft per mile. This further means a 10% grade. This would be like riding to the top of the Sears tower. It seems like it is straight up but it is only slightly slanted. Hope this helps. In easy words - IT IS THE STEEPEST HILL I HAVE EVERY BIKED UP!!!
It took us about 20 minutes to climb to the three miles. We usually go 1 mile in 3.5 minutes. We finally got to the top and were ready to take on the rest of the 28 miles. They seemed like a breeze compared to the first three. It took us just over 2 hours and it was nice to get back and rest for the remainder of the day. Truly a restful day!

2007-06-03T17:01:00.000-05:00

Day 5 – A bit of a late start makes for a late end!

Because we did not bike to the campsite the night before someone had to bring us back to where we finished the night before (otherwise we could not say that we truly biked the entire way across the country). This does not allow us to start as early as we need to. The 20 miles that we had to make up from the night before were the most treacherous and scary that we have experienced yet. The roads we have ridden on have been divided highways and allow traffic to go way around us in the other lane. Today they are changed to two lanes and lots of hills. GA has attempted to make a bicycling path but it consists of road to white line to rumble strips to 2 feet of cycling space. This 2 feet is an average and can be as small as 1 ft. This in writing sounds more than sufficient but all along the way I have to swerve for rocks, bolts, lug nuts, sticks and even road kill. Dad and I ride about 50 yards apart on the downhills and it was good because at one point we were flying down a hill (30 mph) and he began to flap his right arm very violently (this means look out there is something in the road). I scanned my eyes forward and all of a sudden saw a 40 lb raccoon that had been hit probably the night before. He died in a very inconvenient place. He only afforded us about 5 inches of precious road left before a pretty steep ravine. Dad said he closed his eyes and hoped that he missed it. I did almost the same and we both missed it and thankfully both stayed on the road. We finally got off this section of road and began to wind our way through some quaint lazy city streets. Up ahead we saw a train and came to a stop. But unfortunately so did the train. It stopped right in the way.

What do you do when a train is in the way and is stopped? I decided to look to see if we could see the end and carry our bikes around the end then back to the road and continue on our way. The end was much too far to walk around! The only other option was to go over. We would never do anything so dangerous would we?!? YES! And it is a good thing that we did because that train may still be sitting there today for all I know. It did not move for as long as we could see.

We turned on another road and began flying down a hill (I love doing that) and then Dad, for the first time, pulled off to the side with a pinch flat. A pinch flat results when you run over a large rock or ride through a hole at enough speed and force as to force the tire to touch the rim. This forces the air pressure to spike too far and blows a hole in the tube. Unfortunately we are getting good at changing tubes but this fortunately allowed us to get back on the road in about 5 minutes.

Like yesterday when I hopefully didn’t bore you too much with the background about the dogs, today I am going to try to enlighten you about road conditions. There are three different types of road that we have ridden on. 1) Asphalt – Blacktop. This is the most enjoyable road surface. At normal effort on a flat road we can average about 19-20 mph. (Right side of top picture) 2) Chip Seal – Tar is sprayed over the road and then crushed limestone (to the size of about a pea) is spread carefully over top. I believe normal traffic is used as a steamroller to smooth out the road. At normal effort on a flat road we can average about 17-18 mph. (Not pictured) 3) Cheap Seal – I don’t know the right name but it is the worst surface that we have faced. It is the same process as chip seal but instead of using small crushed limestone, they used the larger rocks that would not crush smaller than jagged golf balls. At normal effort on a flat road we can average about 15-16 mph. (Left side of top picture and close up in bottom picture!) Again, I hope this is not too boring, just information about our trip.

After getting off this road we made good time into the city of Rockmart, GA where the girls were patiently waiting to give us our fuel for the afternoon! (FUEL – a drink that gives us 200 calories per hour enabling us to stay on the bike and not have to stop and get off to eat something) We did eat a sandwich at Subway and again aggressively decided to try to make it the rest of the way to the campsite without requiring the girls to come back to pick us up. This would be 85 miles. It was 3:30. At 15 mph average we would drag our sorry carcasses into the Park at 9:15 PM. Lights were retrieved and nerves of steel were purchased as we considered doing this. 20 miles later we were in Rome, GA and then we entered maybe the most beautiful section of our trip so far. We were able to do mostly side-by-side riding in winding mountainous terrain. All a person can do is stand in awe of the amazing Creator who has given us all these things to enjoy. I am saddened to think that some would take the credit away from our loving Savior to think that it all came to be by a bit of random chance. “IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED . . . “

Cloudland Canyon State Park was not reached before dark nor after dark but Mom came and picked us up in Menlo, GA at about 8:15. Not too bad we were only 30 miles away. We have now made up all but 30 miles. On our way out of Menlo, GA there was . . .

Stay tuned for tomorrows ride!!! Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave comments and let me know that you are following along!

2007-06-03T16:16:00.000-05:00

Day 4 – Make-up Day

86 miles was the original plan for today but because of the shortened day yesterday we needed to put the pedal to the metal and go a good bit more than the original plan. We got off to our earliest start (7:30) which was great because it allowed us to get many miles out of the way before the heat really set in. We saw many orchards including peaches, which I expected to see, but this one of pecans was especially interesting (okay interesting may be a strong word for a bunch of trees in rows).

About 20 miles in we met our second opportunity to see if our pepper spray really worked. First let me give you a little background. When I first got into biking I had the idea, and told people many times, that “if a dog can run 20 mph he deserves to catch me. What an ignoramus I was. Dogs are fast. Territorial dogs are faster! Mean territorial dogs are fastest of all and will seemingly stop at nothing (not even 20 mph) to snack upon a tasty morsel of human leg. Okay enough background. I have still not trained myself to grab for my pepper spray first instead of pedaling like a mad man to get away (that probably makes them laugh inside while they sized me up to decide which part to eat first). We had just finished a moderate hill when the deep bark of a large dog came from behind this house. We both, a little out of breath, turned to see a large dog coming after us. I stepped on the gas to go while Dad wisely grabbed his pepper spray (we were not going to out this dog and as I had already gotten a head start on Dad he was not going to out run me). I turned back just in time to see the dog putting all four legs in front of him and stiff as boards to avoid a steady stream of pepper spray. Dad and I decided that he must have been sprayed before because we were not sure that Dad had actually gotten him with the spray.
LESSON LEARNED – It is much better to give than receive, meaning, it is better give spray than to be on the receiving end of a dogs teeth!!

We made a quick stop for an ice cream bar and were quickly back on the road. We both felt great and the sun was behind the clouds for much of the rest of the morning. We have not seen any effects of the fires except for smoke, as you can see in this hazy picture.

Lunch time was planned and the girls met us in Thomaston, GA at the, you guessed it, Dairy Queen (yes this makes 3 days out of 4) and had an ice cold lemonade, peanut butter sandwich, and ice cream (for the kids).

After a quick fill of the Camelbaks with ice and water we were back on the road. We thought about doing 85 more which would put us at 140 for the day. Maybe a little aggressive but off we went nonetheless. Greenville, GA provided us with these nice pictures of a court house and old plantation.

My brother Joseph and family are planning to join us tonight and stay for two nights. 85 miles after lunch ended up in deed being too much so we cut it back to 55, which brought the days total to 115. This only brought us about 20 miles short of our campsite so the girls again very graciously waited for us and drove us to the campsite. A fantastic day and we should be caught up by the end of the week!

There are many paradoxes in life that we use in our everyday speech like “Good grief” and others. Well, as we came through the town of Newnan, GA I saw maybe the most paradoxical bit of English I had ever seen in my life in the name of this restaurant. Enjoy!!

2007-06-02T19:20:00.000-05:00

Day 3 - An Unplanned Short Day

Well, with the way I felt the night before, We decided to make this day a bit shorter. We established that 60 miles would be enough. However, this would require us to make up the 65 other ones planned for this day on the other days of the week. Off we went nonetheless!
A short way out of town we came across this house with very interesting lawn fixtures (I use this word because I don't know what the proper name is).

The day was nice with calm winds, low and polite traffic, and short distances between cities (this means frequent stops!) We made our 2nd breakfast stop at DQ (yes for the second day straight!) and made our way to the next city where we crossed the Little Ocmulgee River for the final time and so we decided to take a picture of it.

I found this sign and was quite relieved to find out where this horribly vengeful man lives!!!

For the first three days we have been passed over and over by these trucks carrying long pine logs. We have not seen where they were coming or where they were going until today. They are making what seems like telephone poles and there were thousands of them waiting to be made and even more thousands already made. This was neat to see.

We reached Perry, GA at about 2:30 and took a dip cool refreshing dip in the pool. We consumed (painfully still) some roasted chickens and rice and then embarked on a frustrating journey. I needed to return my broken camera to Best Buy. It didn't take as long as I had imagined and but were to the Park much too late to afford any blogging time (SORRY!). I was still running a fever so again early to bed because we needed to make some miles tomorrow!

2007-06-02T19:13:00.000-05:00

Day 2 – HOT HOT HOT!!!!!

The nature’s radiator must have gotten a hole in it and it began to overheat. My training has been done in 60s and 70s and I have been very content to do so. Well the south does not see temperatures like that except at night and in the dead of winter. Needless to say I am not exactly used to riding in the heat of the south and it made for a miserable day.

We came across this cemetery with these names. Hope this will not happen to me if I do this!

We rode down quite nice roads and it afforded us many miles of side-by-side riding. We had a slight dog issue but nothing which required a nasty spray to the face. We came across a field of nicely growing corn (another benefit of the many 90 degree days). We then started to get really warm and then warm turned to down right hot. We were following our maps and started to see that none of the cross streets were paved and we needed to turn on one coming up. Sure enough it was not paved which makes my 23mm tires useless. We did not ride on the dirt but had to continue on the road which led us a little out of the way (this is not so bad in a car but on a bike it is totally unenjoyable. We found a nice mail lady who gave us directions to the proper road and we were not too far off. Both of us were running out of water and getting hotter with each pedal revolution and then I noticed that I had another flat front tire. It seemed like one thing after another. Well the LORD has a plan! As I was noticing that my tire was going flat we came around a corner and there was a great convenience store where we changed the flat and got back on the road.

We had made plans earlier in the day to meet in the town of Hazelhurst, GA and my watch told me that we needed to be pedaling instead of sitting so off we went. We pulled into town after riding on some pretty down right badly surfaced roads (Watch out of Coffee County roads!) and started looking for the girls. We never found them but Dad did find a Dairy Queen (he has a helmet equipped with radar (okay it only seems that way). We found out later that the girls had waited at the very same DQ and we had only missed them by about 30 minutes. The AC was a very welcome feeling to the heater we had been in for the past few hours. We left feeling very refreshed and motivated with the news of only having about 24 miles left. We zoomed most of the way to the next city (almost all down hill!) and got more water and then pushed the rest of the way to Little Ocmulgee State Park. It was a very nice place for the night. While the kids slept, I decided to take a snooze myself. I woke up feeling anything but rested because I was running a 102 degree temperature. To accompany my fever, my throat felt like it had exploded and made every swallow painful and nearly unbearable. Not much supper. Early to bed. We will see if there will be biking tomorrow.

Day1 - Nature's Radiator

2007-05-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

The radiator in a vehicle is to cool the engine so it does not overheat. Nature sent its radiator on our first day and it was only to our advantage and benefit. We dipped our tire in the Atlantic (a must for anyone riding their bikes across America) at about 9:00 and set off into a rainy overcast day. It rained for the first 25 miles of the trip. This helped us later in the day when it got hot and we needed the water and calorie drinks that we had not used in the cool rainy morning. About 15 miles in my front tire went flat and so a quick change and we were back on the road.

We took back roads, which is nice because it gives us good memories of talking together that we do not get on busier state highways where we are often just trying not to get run over by drivers who think that their appointment is more important than my life. We met a nice man who offered us drinks and different directions since our route was going to lead us on a dirt road. His family had moved from PA and had no intentions of going back.

The clouds broke soon afternoon and we crossed the FL-GA border (and took another mandatory picture) and enjoyed almost 2.5 hours of tailwind which allowed us to make up good time that we lost going around the dirt roads. We arrived about 3:50 with nearly 90 miles under our belt. I jumped in the pool and was much relieved after my quick dip.
The LORD has given us a great first day and we look forward to more to follow! Thank you for your prayers and hope to hear from more of you soon!!

And We're Off . . . Kind Of!

2007-05-27T06:20:00.000-05:00

Well the day finally came. I kind of felt like a child eagerly awaits on Christmas Eve for the next day when he can open his presents. But when I went to open my gifts I found a lump of coal, because even though we have left for our trip we have been sitting in the Yukon for about 15 hours so far and we still have about 7 more hours today. I guess it is part of the whole excitement of the trip, right?!?
We left Friday night and arrived in Lima, OH at 1:30 AM Saturday. After a quick nap and then a less than nutritious.exciting motel breakfast, we were off to Spartanburg, SC.

We were all tired, but since the parents have the camera there are only pictures of the kids!

We landed at our destination at 7:30 ate a fabulous supper with our brother and his family and went right to bed. You might consider me a wimp (and I would not disagree) but I need every ounce of sleep I can get when anticipating the start of our ride in two days!
God has graciously blessed us with wonderful days of travel and we thank yo for your prayers and ask you for them to continue!

The Old Rugged Cross

2007-05-12T07:50:00.000-05:00

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

Yesterday, May 11th, I took a 52 mile ride to the Old Rugged Cross Church in Pokagon, MI. I did it to put this picture on my blog and also to get a good ride in. George Bernard is the author of this wonderful song in 1912 and it has touched the hearts of inumerable Chrsitians since. I thank the LORD for the cross of suffering and shame because it is because of that, I have the assurance of eternal life! Thanks be to the LORD for His wonderful gift of life everlasting!

Calvin's Challenge

2007-05-08T20:12:00.000-05:00

I guess it is far past time to tell you about this past weekend's race in Dayton, OH. My dad and I left Friday and took dad's facorite way, backroads! (My least favorite) We checked in to our hotel and visited the Wal-Mart right across the street to buy water (which has always seemed like something no America should have to do) and some Airborne to fend off a potential cold for us bother. One can never be too careful when anticipating a 12 hour bike ride the next day. We then went and ate at the best carb place I could think of, Olive Garden. We both ate enough pasta, breadsticks, and salad to sufficiently pack away enough fuel for the next day. Then it was off to check in. We drove the short 10 miles to the Hampton Inn, registered and then surveyed the start of the race. I am glad we did since East Possum Rd just doesn't seem like a good road for a bike race to begin since many of those rodents have probably lost their lives on that very road. Okay maybe a little dramatic. After a tune-up on both bikes back at the hotel and then a little hockey to calm us down it was time for bed. 5:45 would be here soon.
The morning came and brought with it overcast skies and 68 degrees. Perfectly calm as far as wind goes and we were set. Race time was 7:30 and we heard the people call for 10 minutes to race time before we knew it.

The race began with much excitement and we were soon settled in to a nice pace. The first hour went by the slowest but we were picked up by a 8 person pace line about 7 miles from the 25 mile check point. The pace line is extremely significant! Dad and I, who had agreed to stay together, could average about 16-18 mph. The pace line can and does average between 18-20 mph. This is huge when riding 12 hours. We made the first 50 mile loop in 2 hrs 45 min!! This was a great start! We fueled up and got right back on the road. We also shed our top shell since the threat of rain was only that. The second loop started great but our group was now 5 altogether so it put more strain on each person because we pulled (the person in the front of the line so that others can draft off him) more often. About 17 miles into the second loop I had just finished pulling for the group when I felt like I was riding down an old log bridge. I thought something was horribly wrong with my rear tire. I was assured by Dad that it was fine and continued with the group. It was hard to tell what was the poor quality of the Ohio roads and if in fact there was something wrong until we all heard the unmistakable sound of my tire exploding. It sounds like a .22 going off and is as sickening a feeling as shooting yourself with one in the foot. So it was time to change a tire. It went very quickly but we found a 2 inch tear in my tire and two other about .5 inch tears. This the end of a good day when your tires are pumped to 110 psi. "I know what we will do" says Dad. I know he is an amazing person but what does he have up his sleeve now? THE LORD had miraculously allowed him to put a role of electrical tape in his bag and we used it to wrap and repair my tire. IT ACTUALLY WORKED!!! It got me 8 miles to the next check point where we anticipated another layer of tape. While we did this a man, who was the support crew for his wife and daughter, offered us an extra rear wheel. It was the right size, gearset and brand to perfectly fit my bike! Thank the LORD! He knew that the tape just needed to get me 8 miles.

Thanks to this man for loaning me a wheel. I caught up with him after the race to thank him profusely!!

We made it to the end of 100 miles under 6.5 hours and were quite thankful for this good time! We went to the car to fuel up again and change out wheel sets and were off again but the day only got better!! As were were at the car the earlier predicted rain came with a vengance. Once we were drenched it was not really that bad! It stopped for a while and then came again with one more furious flury! After it stopped again we reached the 25 mile point and wished for rain again because after the rain came the the WIND! This is demoralizing when you can only go about 11 mph. We pushed our pedals around and around until finally we got to the finishline and took a much needed rest. We liked the rest so much we decided to call it a day.

After we warmed up we felt good about the day and content with 153 miles in less than 10 hours! We also thanked the LORD for all that He taught us! WE CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT HIM AND HE HAD ALL UNDER HIS CONTROL AND GUIDANCE!!!

My Equipment

2007-04-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

My Bike - In 2005 I purchased a Cannondale R700. It is an aluminum bike with a carbon fiber fork and seatpost. I decided to go with a double chainring front cog and a 9 gear rear cassette. I am beginning to wonder if I should have gone with the optional triple gear front cog for the much needed lower gears when we get to the Rockies. Colorado malls have steeper and longer speed bumps than the steepest hills here in southwest Michigan. We will see since I have no plans of changing it.
I carry a small bag under my seat which contains an extra tube for my tires, since changing the entire tube is much more time effective than patching a tube. It is much better in the long run too because I keep my front tire at 100psi and my rear tire at 110psi and I am not sure that a patch would handle such pressure.

Just a plug for those looking for a new bike, Cannondale will not disappoint anyone no matter what kind of bike you are looking for, whether a mountain bike or a road/racing bike or anything in between.

My Cyclometer - Last year, I received the greatest cyclometer ever made. The Garmin Trek 305 (with the optional heart rate monitor and cadence sensor). This cyclometer will measure anything imaginable for a person just trying hard to get in shape or a seriour cyclist training for a triathlon or any other endurance on event on a bicycle. It measures the essentials while on the bike like time elapsed, distance traveled, heart rate, cadence (more on this in a moment), and speed. You can then take it inside and plug it into your computer and download information like calories consumed, average heart rate, average speed, max speed, max heart rate, total ascent, total decent, average speed, max cadence and average cadence. Because this unit is a GPS also it will also show your route on a map with elevation. I love this and is one of the best birthday gifts I have ever received.

One very useful but often annoying feature is the speed alarm. Whenever my speed goes under 10mph it beeps and says "Speed Up". It is helpful when I get lazy but frustrating when my legs are about to fall off going up a steep hill and it begins to beep.
The Heart Rate Monitor (worn around your chest)

Cadence (like an automobiles rpms) is important because I have found that my most efficient and powerful pedaling is when I spin between 90 and 100 times per minute. I was told to just keep in mind to spin faster but this sensor makes it easier.

My Protection - I wear a helmet each time I ride, not that I have that much to protect, but I want to live to ride another day.

I also wear Oakley M Frame with a Sweep lens. I carry three lenses: black polarized for very sunny days; amber polarized for partly sunny and cloudy days; and yellow for those dreaded but inevitable rainy days.

My Fuel - I am finding out how important this final piece of equiment really is - my CamelBak!! I carry 1.5 litres of water with me. It is convenient, quick, and easy to get water while pedaling.

Are You Crazy?

2007-04-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

I grew up in a home where a vacation consisted of packing up everyone's bicycles and ride the Kal-Haven Trail (a 34 mile formerrailroad bed turned into a bicycle trail) and then the next day riding it back the other way. And another time we rode as a family across the state of Michigan in 5 days. When I was young, I did not see this as odd or different, but as I got older I saw that my friends and classmates went with their families to Florida or to some other exotic and equally expensive place. I can honestly say the I was never jealous of my friends vacations.
This summer I will be taking, in my estimation, the most amazing and unforgetable (and by far the longest) vaction that I will ever go on. My father and I will be riding our bicycles from Florida (the Atlantic Ocean) to Washington (the Pacific Ocean). My wonderful wife, children and mother will be our support team.
Now I can see some of you looking in your Webster's Dictionary for the definition for the word vacation and not considering a transcontinental bike ride as something that would qualify as such. While some would consider a feat like this borderline insane, I see it as not only something that I will obviously not forget but a great opportunity to spend 54 straight days with my father and getting to know a great man of God and also a great friend!
So call me crazy or insane, but whatever one it may be I hope you will read this journal and see how this is a vacation for each person involved in this trip!

What's with the Title?

2007-01-14T13:10:00.000-05:00

This is the first post of the Hyink's Blog. I think that the title of our blog calls for a little clarification. I have a job that requires me to take long pieces of aluminum and cut them down to short pieces so that they can then be fabricated into useful parts for our various customers. For example, we have taken a job from the US Military to build 92,000 window frames for their existing Humvies in Afganistan. This has not been the most eternally rewarding job but if there is one thing that the LORD has taught me and is still teaching me, it is this: Ministry is people and people everywhere! The people that I work with are in dire spiritual need and I have been given the privilege to provide my co-workers with the light of Jesus Christ who is the only answer to life's real questions. So my job is to make long things short and the LORD has been making all of life and ministry very short! (SDG)