Day 19: Yellowstone to Cody to Worland

44 miles

So Mom rode our first and our last day with us, and today was an easy and mostly stress-free last day. We rode from our campground about 4 miles outside of Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming. It was smooth-ish roads, a wide shoulder, favorable breezes and a lot of downhill. It felt like all downhill to Dad and me but Mom informed us that there were a couple of hills. It was a great ride with beautiful scenery, although we didn't have our usual luck with animals. Guess we used up our quota yesterday with the numerous bison and lone elk, because all we saw today was an eagle.

I hadn't realized just how much of a routine Dad and I established over the last couple weeks until we added Mom to the mix. I just get his body language and signals, he doesn't have to say anything for me to understand what's going on. The same can't necessarily be said for Mom. For example, we saw this share the road sign and decided to stop for a photo. We had ridden past it, and when we decided to take a picture Dad and I kept going, planning to turn around when there was a break in the traffic while Mom stops dead in her tracks. Being behind her this was a bit of an issue for me. I very nearly hit her and just squeaked by between her and guardrail. You don't just stop and turn around on busy roads, you don't want to spook the drivers. There was one really dicey area where we had to go through a series of tunnels and our shoulder just completely disappeared. It was kind of freaky, I'd never ridden through a tunnel before. We stopped first to wait for a break in cars and turn on our flashers. I was riding on the far right so they could see mine while Dad was in the center of the lane preventing cars from passing, which would not have turned out good. Luckily it was downhill, so we were moving pretty fast, but Mom, who has no flasher and was sandwiched between us, wanted to see around me and went into the center of the lane. I had to start yelling at her to get over, she can't block Dad, but she just doesn't instinctively know these things yet. Dad's decided he wants to take the northern route cross country later with Mom, but she'll have to learn biker etiquette first. She's got the legs, she just needs the street smarts.
Overall it was a great last day. It was fun having Mom so she could see a little of what we've experienced the last couple weeks. She brought her bike all the way from Oregon, she had to use it, right? Tomorrow we part ways with Jim and the dogs :( and head home. Not exactly sure what the route will look like yet.

Oh, if any one's wondering, we came to Worland 1. So that Dad could visit his Uncle Clayton's grave (he died about 1 year ago) and 2. So that Dad could get this salsa they make here in Wyoming that he is apparently quite addicted to. He'd been exchanging emails with the salsa maker and everything. Our original plan was to ride all the way to Worland, but that would have required an extra day or two and we need to get home to our dogs before the 4th. Besides, we rode six days in a row and need a rest day.

Day 18: Palisades to Yellowstone

46 miles
2027 feet of elevation gain

So today we made it into Wyoming. We started out with a bit of a climb and a head wind, and combined with our tiredness made for a slow ride, but about 25 miles in, when Grandma and Mom showed up, the wind disappeared and we had a beautiful ride into West Yellowstone. We actually ended up driving from there, which is why we had such a short ride. We decided riding our bikes in Yellowstone was not a good idea. It’s not the bison or bears we were nervous about, but the tourists. Nobody watches the roads in Yellowstone, they watch the landscape for animals, and are liable to slam on their breaks at the slightest movement. It just isn’t safe. Don’t worry, we are going to do a ride tomorrow in Wyoming to make up for it. I told everyone we’re riding to Wyoming so we can’t just stop 3 miles shy of the border; we have to do something in Wyoming.

The plan was to go back to Yellowstone on our return trip to see stuff, but being the week before 4th of July it was just a madhouse. I don’t think it would be enjoyable to return, no matter how much I’d like to see the sulfur pools. That’ll have to be another trip. We did stop to see the Yellowstone Grand Canyon, which was spectacular, so that was good. Now we’re planning our alternate trip back.

Day 17: Twin Bridges to Palisades Recreational Area (Campground)

70 miles
3445 feet of elevation gain
1000+ miles of riding

Yesterday must have been much harder than it felt, because today I was moving slow. We essentially did 33 miles of uphill today, although the first bit wasn’t that steep, and I could feel it with every pedal. Today was hard. We did ride through a couple cute towns, Nevada City and Virginia City, which are definitely tourist locations as they are set up just like an old western town. Virginia City has a great candy shop with excellent fudge. The last 4 miles were especially gruesome because it was HOT. We were just dripping sweat but we were panting too hard to drink much. Needed to maintain the steady oxygen flow to get us over that last leg.

After the 33 mile climb we had a great 6 mile descent during which we went down about 2000 feet. There’d been a reasonable amount of traffic, but when we were going down we didn’t have to deal with any vehicles passing us at high speeds. What luck. When we got down to the flats we encountered an antelope who decided to race us. Dad was going like 25 mph and really started pushing it since the antelope was practically right next to us, but it still pulled ahead and beat us to the field. Those animals can move seriously flat. That was about the high point of the day. We started out tired, even Dad said his legs felt like molasses, and it just got worse.

The last 30 miles we had the worst head/side wind I’ve ever ridden against. We were going to stop in Cameron, which was 15 miles in, but the entire town, which is essentially the campground, had been shut down, so we had no option but to keep going. It took us 1.5 hours to do the last 15 miles. We were going between 7-11 mph, and only hit 11/12 mph on a downhill. It was unbelievable. What do you do when you’re pedaling as hard as possible and only going 8 mph? We not only had to fight the wind, but we had to keep our bikes on the shoulder and keep from being blown into the traffic. It was so much to the side that I couldn’t really draft. I rode with a bit of my front wheel directly to the left of Dad’s back wheel, but I had to be really careful when a big gust hit and keep out of his way. I’ve never been this tired after a ride before in my life. My body is just exhausted. Today was definitely the hardest day of the trip.

So the wind just kept getting worse as the night progressed. We had 60+ mph gusts which just rocked the RV and blew down several tents around us. It was pretty intense. Luckily we weren’t in danger of getting blown over because Dad found The Rock. He thought this rock was just beautiful and decided he must have it, so he dug it out of the ground. It turned out to be a bit bigger than expected, only a sliver was above ground, and weighs about 40 pounds. It was our ballast.

Day 16: Jackson to Twin Bridges

80 miles
2238 feet of elevation gain

Sorry, we haven’t had internet for awhile.
Technically it only took us 78.5 miles to get to Twin Bridges fairgrounds, where we’re parked for the night, but Dad and I decided we wanted to make 80 so we rode from one end of the town to the other to make our goal. We just weren’t tired enough after 78 miles.

We started to a chilly mosquito almost-free morning and right off were headed up our first peak. We had two, both over 7000 feet, but we hadn’t come down that far so they weren’t to strenuous. After our first peak we tried to stop for a snack, but had to eat on the bike in order to stay away from the mosquitoes. Luckily we encounter these annoying bugs near the end of our trip when we’re comfortable enough to do that and aren’t at risk of toppling over or running into something. We had excellent downhills today. Smooth roads, minimal traffic. After our big hill yesterday Dad said I’d ruined his fun since he had to wait for me, so today I couldn’t disappoint him. We just flew down those hills, and both of us hit our top speeds for the trip, which I’ll refrain from mentioning since I don’t want Mom to freak out on me.

(Dad was showing off that he can photograph me while still riding ahead of me - it was early and I was moving slow up that hill)

It was 50 miles from Jackson to Dillon, where we met Jim for lunch, and we made it pretty quickly, mostly because we couldn’t stop for breaks without being eaten alive. From there we had 28 miles to Twin Bridges, and if we thought we were fast before, that was nothing. We made the trip 1 hour and 20 minutes. We had the most incredible tail wind in the world. We were going uphill sometimes at 23-24 mph, and probably averaged the whole trip in 19-20 mph. Good thing we were going fast because the sun had come out and we were roasting. At this high an elevation the son is really powerful, and I could practically feel it burning my arms. Without that tail wind the ride probably would have been slow and miserable. I just can’t function well in the heat, never have been able to.

So in conclusion, today was one of my favorite days so far. We had great hills, beautiful scenery, and the best tailwind I’ve ever experienced. Of course tomorrow we head south instead of north, so if this wind continuous we could be in real trouble. Well, can’t worry about things I can’t control, and weather patterns are an excellent example of that.

We are staying at the Twin Bridges fairgrounds, and below is one of the swarms of mosquitoes which surround our RV. They seem to be drawn to it.

Day 15: Sula to Jackson

62 miles
3764 feet of elevation gain

So we started this morning with 2.25 hours of climbing. It took us that long to go the 16 miles up to Chief Joseph Pass, our first pass in the Rockies and a part of the Continental Divide. Dad and Jim restrained themselves from peeing, lucky me, mostly because they weren't sure exactly where to pee. The pass wasn't really any steeper than others we've done, but it was longer, which made it hard. But we did it, and we only have 3 more to go. It's kind of sad. I'm going to miss the mountains. I like just getting into my zone and going, it is relaxing.




After the pass we had just a little bit of a down hill, not to much since we're still at like 6400 feet tonight, but it was great. It was the first real downhill without wind to disrupt things that we've had in awhile. It was through the woods and then we emerged out into the open and it was just beautiful. We had mountains on three sides and farm/ranch land all around, so no ugly buildings to disrupt the view. Then we stopped to take a photo. The mosquitos were instantly on us. They were everywhere, biting through our spandex and double layers. We stopped at Wisdom for lunch at a homemade pizza place/bar and they had formed some sort of vortex around Jim's RV, they were everywhere.

Pictures Jim took around Wisdom

I discovered a very important thing today. Nothing motivates me quite like the thought of being eaten alive. My adrenaline kicked in and we took the last 18 miles really fast. There were a couple small hills and rather than following Dad up them I was pushing him to go faster because when we slowed to under 15 mph the mosquitos emerged. It was awful. I got a bloody nose and stopped to get my emergency kleenex and they were everywhere. I couldn't just sit there, so I held my bag of kleenex and rode while taking care of my nose. The plus side to traveling with Dad is that mosquitos seem to prefer him to anyone else, so I get fewer bites, but I still think I have at least a dozen.

So we're staying in Jackson, which has just as many mosquitos as Wisdom. I'm so glad Jim's here because we met an older couple headed for Virginia on the same route we are, and they have to sleep outside on the grass. Yuck. We're staying in the Jackson Hot Springs lodge area, and went into the springs to soak this afternoon. It was really hot, and we couldn't stay in too long, but my muscles are nice and relaxed now. I'm ready for our last few days of riding. Physically at least, emotionally I'm ready to just keep at it until we hit Virginia. Too bad Dad has to work.

Day 14: Lolo to Sula

72.5 miles - that feels like a short ride these days
2350 feet of elevation gain

Today was much like a few days ago when it was all uphill, but most the time just slightly uphill. And like a few days ago we powered through. It was nice to leave the city behind again and head out to where there is traffic, but not congestion. We started today with 18 miles on a BIKE PATH, which was a first for this trip and absolutely fabulous. I love not needing to think or worry about the cars passing me by. Most of the rest of the time we were on a wide shoulder on Highway 93, a little gravely but wide enough to make up for that. We're back in the country (SW Montanan forests are pretty sparse) and tomorrow we will finally tackle the Rockies. I feel ready. 72 miles today was easier than 40 miles 3 weeks ago.

Who's Snoring?

That snoring did in fact come from Mazie. She's a 14 pound dog but she some how manages to out-snore Dad.

Day 13: Missoula, Montana

Well, today is rest day #2. Not a lot is going on. We hit all the local thrift stores (didn't find any popcorn poppers), went to lunch at the local brew pub and restocked our kitchen. Laundry and rest make up the rest of the agenda. Five days of riding until we hit Yellowstone, after that we're playing it by ear.

Day 12: Powell to Missoula

59 miles
2060 feet of elevation gain

Well, today started easy and got harder. The easy part, believe it or not, was the 13 mile 1.5 hour climb up Lolo Pass. We got out there early and avoided most of the traffic (3 cars in 70 minutes), so it was just a matter of pedaling up and Dad and I are now climbing masters.


There was a gorgeous field at the top of Lolo just full of purple camas flowers. We were in luck, it only blooms from late June to early July. Lolo is also the dividing point between Idaho and Montana.

For some reason all the tailwinds we've been promised have not materialized, and instead we're stuck with headwinds. We had a headwind down the pass and for the next 35 miles. It was awful. Dad seemed energized though because he just plowed through the wind and I got to stick behind him and draft. Jim told us after our last big headwind down a hill that he got better gas mileage going uphill than with the headwinds. It was pretty exhausting, so it's a good thing today was relatively short.

The wind let up around Lolo, but I almost would have prefered it. For the next 12 miles into Missoula we had awful traffic. There was a big shoulder, but it was gravely and the ride was just hot and miserable. Missoula has like 30,000 fewer people than Hillsboro, but at around 1:30/2 there traffic was a whole lot worse. I'd never riden in such congested circumstances before. Now I'm ready for a rest day. However, no matter how excited I am not to ride tomorrow, it's much better than last week when I HAD TO HAVE a rest day. I couldn't have ridden anymore, and we rode 6 days instead of 5 this week. The fitness level is definately improving.

Day 11: Lowell to Powell National Campground

66 miles
2385 feet of elevation gain

Today was sort of monotonous, not a lot happened, but it was much more enjoyable than the last couple days. We started out with about 18 miles of construction on the road, so it was bumpy, and we had two stops. At one stop they asked us to put our bikes in the pilot car and take a little ride down the road, so I guess we got a bit of a sag, but not by choice. The construction turned out to be a really good thing. Once we got out of the zone we would have moments where lots of cars rushed past, and then a good chunk of time with nothing. It was really nice. Traffic was much less and once out of the construction zone the road was much smoother. We rode along the river the whole time, so it was beautiful scenery although at time deafening and it was hard to hear approaching vehicles. It was a really nice ride. The only downside was that the entire thing was uphill. Slightly uphill, but still uphill. I guess we're in pretty good shape though, because while we weren't going too fast, usually only around 14 mph away, but I reminded him that we'd have to get down the mountain as well, so you've got to add a whole lot more than 14 miles to the grand total.

You can add coyote, buzzard and prairie dog to our list of animals. Houston really wants to chase the prairie dogs (they are all over the camp) and runs after them, or at least to the end of his expandable leash. He might not be so "buff" by the end of our trip.

That night I decided I really needed a smore, so Dad made a fire for me. This fire, for some odd reason, required that he first chop a wet log with a hatchet since apparently the dry sticks we found weren't enough. It made for a very hilarious escapade and a very smoky fire since he was ultimately successful. To make it worth the effort Dad even decided he should eat a couple marshmallows.

June 22nd - the guy and his dog, my perspective.

As Laura mentioned, we saw a guy at the historical stop who was acting very erratic. He had a very nice dog that he yelled at quite a bit both at the dog and in general. I was not only concerned about him being on the road behind us, I was concerned about his dog. When we saw the wreck I wanted to stop and ask the police how his dog was, unfortunately there was no sign of it and the police were busy. Riding by the wreck was a very sobering moment, makes me wonder if there wasn't something more we could have done.

Day 10: White Bird to Lowell

67 miles
3700 feet of elevation gain

So this morning we might have cheated a little bit. Last night we stayed at a campground down by the river. It was a little off the road (you had to travel via gravel road) so this morning Jim was going to drive us up through town to where we start. Technically we probably should have ridden through town since that's where we stopped yesterday, but we wanted to avoid the crowded narrow roads. We thought we'd cut about 1/2 a mile off, but in fact it was more like 2 miles of hill we skipped out on. Too bad, that meant we only had 7.5 miles left to climb. What a shame :) So we started this morning with a nice, big mountain. It took us 1.3 hours to get all the way up, and along the way we had a great view of the valley, as you can see in Jim's photos below. We also got to look at historical monuments on the Nez Perce war, which was interesting.

During this climb, rather than getting warmer as we went up we got colder. As you can see in my photo we were riding up through and then above the clouds, and it was freezing. During the downhill especially I thought my fingers were going to fall off. From now on, no matter how big a climb we start out with, I'm layering up better. These mountains are cold! On a good note, we started early enough that there wasn't too much traffic on 95 this morning, and the shoulder was much wider and we had two lanes going our direction, so the ride was much better today. Apparently we were supposed to use a different route going on Old 95 to some other random road, but we read the map wrong. Oh well, we got there.

So at one of the Nez Perce memorials were we stopped to rest this guy drove up with a pickup dragging a huge trailer. He was swearing and shouting at his poor dog, and stumbling all over the place. We watched carefully for him so we could get over, and when he finally passed us he was taking the corners wide and swerving on the road. Dad and I though he might be drunk. When we rode up to Grangersville there was his pickup, all smashed up and his trailer was turned on its side. Gotta be careful about drivers like that. We think we saw him locked in the back of a police car, but we don't know what happened to his cute black dog.

Following the climb we turned off on to Highway 13 and then in Kuskia Highway 12. These are windy roads through the woods and it's pretty, but they aren't always smooth and traffic's not fantastic. According to our map traffic, especially of big trucks, has picked up a lot since the routed the trans-am route, but trucks are actually my favorite vehicles right now. They give us lots of space.

Today was much better than yesterday. We had some nice descents and it really wasn't too hard, but my knee hurts a bit, probably from the rough roads and starting out cold on a mountain. We're at the Three Rivers RV "Resort" so I'll go soak in the hot tub ;) Tomorrow will be all rolling hills then Wednesday we're doing Lolo Pass.

P.S. Dad wants to petition the government to use stimulus money to build a bike path across the country. Anyone want to sign?

Day 9: Council to White Bird

88 miles
2500 feet of elevation gain

I wrote this on 6/21 but couldn’t post it since we had no internet.
Today started bad and it didn’t get any better. We left the RV this morning just as the rain started to fall. It then proceeded to pour for about 20 miles, and this wasn’t warm rain like 2 days ago, it was very cold and Dad and I were very cold. We probably hit the equilibrium point about 3 miles in, and by the time we caught up with Jim in New Meadows we couldn’t feel our feet. It took us a good half hour in the RV, after changing clothes, to warm up. If Jim hadn’t been around Dad and I probably would have gone to the nearest hotel and checked in for the night and then drank copious amounts of hot chocolate. That was only 25 miles into the ride.

I don’t recommend anyone ever tries to bike Idaho 95. Maybe it was worse because of Father’s Day weekend, but the traffic was horrendous. 85% of Idahoans drive huge vehicles and pull some contraption behind them. That was in addition to the trucks. After our warm-up break the weather was a little better, but the roads got worse. There was the traffic, and then there was the fact that there was either a ridiculously narrow shoulder, no shoulder, or a very rough shoulder. It was not a pleasant day and a big part of that can be attributed to the fact that the roads were so awful. It was a very stressful ride.

In addition to the traffic, rain and rough roads, Dad and I got hit by a humongous headwind part way through the day. It was so windy that we were pedaling like crazy downhill and only going about 20 mph. On the flats we were working really hard but only going about 12 mph. It was so frustrating, and we couldn’t just concentrate on pedaling because we had to be constantly alert for large vehicles or two-way traffic. AHHH!

There were a couple high points today. We saw a black bear during our uphill rain battle. That was really cool, even though we couldn’t see its face since it was headed into the woods. We also saw a baby fawn drinking from its mother. Another positive is that most of the truckers are really polite and give us lots of space. The same can’t be said for the motor homes and other vehicles, but the trucks were okay, and we would get a back draft off of them. In 3 days we’ll be in Montana.

Chris’s update – does anyone in Idaho drive a small vehicle? While most of the large vehicles were nice, some didn’t seem to notice that there were bikes on the side of the road. And nearly everyone was pulling something, boats, horse trailers, flatbed trailers, really trailers that contained who knows what, etc. With this said, I won’t ride hwy 95 across Idaho again, too many narrow roads in the mountains and too much traffic. When I get ready to ride cross country I’ll take the northern route.

Day 8: Hells Canyon to Council, ID

63 miles
4024 feet of elevation gain

Well, we've officially left Oregon behind and are in Idaho. There won't be any photos today since I'm updating this from the Council Public Library. Council's a pretty small town, population 800 or something like that, but they're letting us park for free at their courthouse and we didn't feel like going any further, so here we are. It's actually pretty cute here and while Jim and Dad didn't find any popcorn poppers at the thrift store we did find some good deals on books both there and at the library. I love buying books. I really should stop, I have so many to read that I just didn't get through in the last four years, but when they're 25-99 cents per book how can you resist?

Today I felt rather wimpy. Don't know why. Yesterday was relatively easy and we got lots of rest last night (although Jim decided to switch to Idaho time a day early and was up cooking breakfast at like 5:30 Oregon time - Mazie was quite annoyed). We started the day riding up out of the canyon with a headwind. Great. We had like 3 breaks in the first 18 miles, one of which was for a second breakfast since Dad was really hungry. After second breakfast we hit the big hill. It was really big and steep and tiring. Everything today was tiring. We actually stopped about 20 miles before our original plan, and we'll just have to make those miles up tomorrow. Jim thinks we're trying to eat our way through Idaho, because we made a second stop for food at Cambridge after our downhill. Usually we just make a sandwich in the RV, and with all our snacks we're fine, but Dad really wanted a hamburger. It was a good hamburger, probably fresh beef from all of the ranches in the area. We kept getting passed by cow and horse trailers. Apparently no one in this area believes in buying small, fuel efficient vehicles.

We never really entered the main part of Hells Canyon, but we did ride along the snake for awhile and saw some wildlife. When we first started out there were deer just standing there watching us on the other side of the road. Then we saw a mountain sheep way up in the hills. I'd been watching for them, but was expecting something white and this one was brown. That brings the animal count to: butterflies, deer, mountain sheep, squirrels, birds, heron, giant grasshoppers, squished snakes, that's all I can think of right now.

Hopefully we'll be back up to speed tomorrow. I don't know what happened, I just didn't feel like riding long distance today, which is a problem since we still have a long ways and lots of hills to cover. I'll just have to get over it. It was a weird day and a good thing we stopped when we did or we would have been soaked again. Oh yeah, we also decided to stop because Dad had another flat. The count is 2 flats and 2 additional ruined tubes (all Dad) - we're going to have to restock tomorrow. Hope everyone at home is doing well.

Who's snoring?

Listen to this clip and vote on the side.

Day 7: Baker City to Hells Canyon

74 miles
2928 feet of elevation gain

So today, although long, was probably the easiest day we've had so far. Practically the first 40 miles was either downhill or we were riding along at 20-25 mph because of a fantastic tailwind. It was great. I think I need to discuss the merits of downhills since I've talked so much about all the uphills we've done. I really enjoy uphills because the downhill is like the reward. You work up to it and have something to look forward to. You earn the downhill. The only downhill I haven't enjoyed was the Santiam pass and that was because I was trying not to slip in the gravel or get hit by a motor home and just couldn't relax. Our first downhills today were like a special treat because we did nothing to earn them, we just got to enjoy them. I'm a pretty cautious downhill rider. I don't pull in and stream line, I ride my breaks and usually try to keep my speed around 30 mph, at which I feel pretty in control. However, when the road is straight and traffic and gravel free I'll just let go and it is absolutely exhilirating, like you're flying. I think I've topped out at 36 mph. Gravel free is important because if you hit a rock wrong at that speed you'll probably either be in a whole lot of pain or not be feeling anything at all :) That's why I'm careful.

We had one big climb today. It was really steep and took us longer than expected, especially since Dad got a flat at the very beginning. We had to stop a lot for Dad today. First he wanted to take his rain coat off, then put it back on, then take it off, then he got the flat, then he broke the valve stem on his tire, for once I wasn't the slow one.
We got hit with a big rain storm at the top of the pass. It had been sort of spitting on us all day but after lunch at the top it started raining in ernest. That meant I couldn't really enjoy the downhill because we couldn't see through the rain, the road was covered and a bit slippery, etc. I thought it didn't rain much in Eastern Oregon. By the time we got into camp about 25 miles later Dad and I had reached the equilibrium point - the point at which we were so wet we couldn't even feel or notice the rain anymore.
We're staying at the Hells Canyon RV Park which appearantly has free wireless. It stopped raining not long after we got in. Hopefully the mosquitos are in hibernation because of the rain. It's kind of nice being with Dad because they devour him and pretty much ignore Jim and me.

Day 6: Baker City

Well, today was our first rest day, so we didn't do much except rest. We restocked up on food (Dad and I eat everything insight right now, I can't decided if I'm going to come back a blimp or actually need this many calories), Dad got his bike fixed and we went for massages. Scarlett Mary, our LMT, was a really interesting mix of New Age hippy who talks about stomach pressure points in the feet and small town redneck who thinks the Swine flu makes it too dangerous for me to go abroad right now. Hopefully I'll still have internet access over the next few days. We've been pretty lucky so far. Tomorrow we're planning on going another 80+ miles to Oxbow which is our last stop in Oregon. Until then...

thanks for the birthday wishes.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, what else could a guy ask for other then to spend 7+ hours on a bike on his 5oth birthday. As you will see in Laura's post the day started off a little rough, we discovered she needs caffeine in the AM to climb a hill... We stopped before the first big climb of the day and got her a bottle of pop and she recovered by the 2nd hill, pushing me up it.

If we hadn't had the strong head wind on the last 10 miles of our 90 mile ride it would have been a perfect ending to a very beautiful day. My buddy Jim made up for it, he took us out to dinner at a local brew pub in Baker City with great burgers and some very nice beers!

Chris

Day 5: Mount Vernon to Baker City

90 miles
5110 feet of elevation gain
7 hours in the saddle

A visual of our ride today.

Today was absolutely exhausting. My butt is incredibly sore. Originally the plan was to go to Oxbow and then take a rest day, but we've decided that 5 days is enough this week so we'll be spending tomorrow in Baker City resting/getting massages/ getting Dad's bike fixed. I'm so glad I'll get to stay in bed past 6 AM tomorrow morning!


Okay, so back to today. Today is Dad's 50th birthday and in celebration/out of necessity we had what is hopefully our longest ride of the trip. We wanted to make it to Baker City, and we did it, but now we're really tired and a bit delusional so sorry if this post is awkward.

The first part of today I was absolutely wiped. I went to all the effort of going off caffeine about a month ago so I wouldn't be dependent this trip, only to discover I really need it to get my tired legs moving in the morning. Dad finally had to tell me to draft so we could pick-up the pace. We had to stop to buy me a Pepsi before I could even attempt the first hill. The ride today had three big peaks. The first was the hardest. It was about 10 miles of intense climbing following 20 miles of slight climbing. And it was sunny and hot on that side of the mountain. It was really pretty though, with the hills and mountains all around. This was definitely cattle country and we had a cow serenade us for awhile (it took us awhile to get past his field since we were moving so slow). A couple of cows in the next field took up the call, but they weren't as persistent and stopped mooing before we were past.

Jim took a whole sequence of us riding up to what we thought was the top of the first peak of the day. It was a false top and we had another 4 miles to go. It was sad.

Peak 1

Peak 2 was much easier. It was a nice easy climb and only took us about 35 minutes vs. the hour+ we spent on peak 1.

Peak 2

Peak 3 was harder than the second. It had some really steep points and took us about 45 minutes. I was really disappointed that there wasn't a sign at the top. This (#6) is the first peak we haven't been able to photograph. Jim meets us at all of the peaks so we can eat and recoup before the next leg of the journey. We did pass a family on peak 2 and 3. The man was on a tandem with a kid of about 5/6 and the wife had most of the gear strapped to her bike. We passed them easily, they were really struggling up the hills. Dad and I said to each other how thankful we were to have Jim. Life would be much harder and the ride would be even more uncomfortable if we had to carry our possessions. We wouldn't be doing as many miles, that's for sure.

After the three climbs we had a nice downhill followed by what appears on the map to be a 25 mile continuous decline. Looks can be deceiving. At first it was great. We had a tailwind, saw some deer in the Elkhorn wildlife area. Just beautiful. Then, about 15 miles from Baker City when we're feeling a bit tired and ready to be done, we get hit by a major headwind. Oh my gosh. If Dad hadn't been there for me to draft off of I would have had some serious issues. It was just awful. I couldn't even enjoy the valley we were winding through or the nice little river, and I love water features in my landscapes.

Jim took us to dinner at a brew pub for Dad's birthday. They've been enjoying numerous post-ride glycogen boosters and are running low on supplies. After the dinner they decided they needed to buy a couple 2 quart "growlers" to get them through the next day. Jim miraculously got them to fit in the fridge.

Day 4: Mitchell to Mount Vernon

63 miles
2800 feet of elevation gain

Well, technically we're a few miles outside of Mount Vernon at the Clyde Holiday State Park, but that's too wordy for a title.

Today I felt much better than yesterday. Part of that could of course be contributed to the fact that after a major 6 mile climb at the beginning we had a glorious 30 mile downhill with at times a tailwind. It was so much fun, and it was beautiful We were following some little river most of the way so we had a great view of a green trees and water on one side and the rugged cliffs and rocks on the other. There was practically no traffic and we were on roads blasted through the cliffs so they were soaring above us. It was great. At one point there were a few deer (males with antlers) drinking out of the river and one of them decided to race us for a bit. Well, I said he was racing us. Dad thinks he was running away, but he was going the same direction so how does that make sense? After about a minute he decided to take a short cut over the hill. Lucky animal, I which it was as evortless for us to go over the mountains as he made it look.

Dad part way up the hill - it was shorter but steeper than Santiam

Views from the descent - Jim took the last two photos

After the great descent we road through the Painted Valley to Dayville for lunch. From there the last 23 miles were not exactly hills, but definitely upward grade. We were tired and hot (I'm burnt again - tomorrow 3+ applications of sunscreen) and moving pretty slow, but we made it in and are staying at a state park so I get to make samores tonight. One worrisome factor is that Dad's bike seems to be having issues. We are having a purgatory-esk day tomorrow, 86 miles with 3 big hills, but at that point we should be in Baker City so Dad can look for a bike shop and we can take our rest day 1 day early.

P.S If I don't survive tomorrow I will everything to Andrea :)

Photos from Day 3

Small town life - beer and bonnets
& Ford pickups

Jim and Dad after a couple beers as they fix the bikes - funny how there's still problems today

Jim and his wife have 4 wiener dogs and 1 Mazie - they bought the motor home for traveling from North Carolina to Oregon with their dogs

Day 3: Redmond to Mitchell

68 miles
around 2100 feet of elevation gain

Today was way hard. Not because of the mileage or hill climbs, but because my body is tired and my butt really, really, really hurts. Rather than taking snack breaks today we had to stop for butt rests because Dad and I are both hurting just a bit.

We are officially into eastern Oregon now. We came over the Ochoco Pass and suddenly everything was brown. It's also a bit warmer and sunnier and parts of me are a bit pink. Not burnt, but not used to the sun. I have one issue I can't figure out how to surmount. My arms are already getting brown and there's the start of a very noticeable tan line in which my hands are pure white. It's worse than the arm or leg tan lines, it's like I'm wearing gloves even when I'm not wearing gloves :(

We get to start are day tomorrow with an 8 mile climb that is really steep and supposedly more intense than the Santiam Pass. Great.

So we have no cell phone service and are hijacking an Internet signal right now, so I'm not sure when I'll next be in contact. I'll have more photos next time.

Day 2: McKenzie Bridge to Redmond

76 miles
5148 feet of elevation gain

Today was the longest I've ever ridden in my life. Not only that, but we went of the Santiam pass. The origional plan was to go over the Old McKenzie Highway, which we thought would be closed to cars but open to bikes at this point. It was open, but only half-way so since we needed to get over inorder to continue on to Wyoming, that really wasn't an option ;) The Santiam pass was not fun. The hill climb wouldn't have been so bad except we were hit with so much traffic. Constant, non-stop traffic. Yuck. I seriously think every other vehicle to go past us was a moterhome or trailer or camper. This is a bit hypocritical of me, since I'm staying in one, but I really hate those huge road hoggers. They made for a seriously stressful ride. Oh well, we made it and we had a really nice tailwind from Sisters to Redmond so we were going along about 20+ mph. That was great.

Dad and I at the summit after 30 miles of climbing.

So I guess there is a first time for everything. We wanted to park tonight at this beautiful little park we passed right outside of Redmond, but they didn't allow camping, so instead we are in a Walmart parking lot. Who would have figured? Not me.

Houston (1 of Jim's dogs)- His eyes really look like that

A couple photos

Mom didn't know how to use my camera, but this is Dad and I riding up the road. For the same reason a picture of Jim will have to come later.


This is me, Mom and Dad in McKenzie Bridge right after we finished. We were a bit hot and tired at that point.

These photos are a bit boring, hopefully I'll have some photos of what we are seeing sometime soon.

Day 1: Eugene to McKenzie Bridge

64 Miles
1924 feet of Elevation Gain

So good news is I survived day 1. Bad news, my legs might be a bit tired tomorrow when we go over the McKenzie pass. Oh well, I'll just have to deal with that then.

So today Dad, Mom and I left my grandparents house to a cloudy day, rode down the hill to Eugene central and were immediately hit with a turrential downpour. We were absolutely soaked, from our heads to our socks, and the socks didn't dry out all day :( Luckily we only had about 5 miles of rain and the rest of the weather was great, not too hot but not really all that cold either.

Once we got out of Eugene we had about 15 miles incredible miles on the beautiful backroads. Little traffic and a freshly paved, smooth road made for a great ride. Technically almost the entire ride was uphill, but it was such a small tilt and nice smooth roads that we didn't really notice. At about mile 25 we turned onto hw 126, which while still smooth had a ton of traffic and at first incredibly narrow bike lane. Luckily no one became truck fodder and as we went further the shoulder got wider and the traffic died down. Besides, we were riding through the woods besides the river and it was beautiful. I definitely think the fishermen were out in force, and quite a few boats passed us. Dad and Jim (Jim's a friend of Dad's from college and he came out from North Carolina with 2 of his 5 dogs to drive our "support vehicle" and cook us dinner) both brought their fishing poles and think they'll be catching us dinner, but I'm skeptical about that.

About mile 55 Mom decided she'd had enough, but she didn't train at all so 55 miles was pretty good. It's probably a good thing that Mom isn't coming the whole trip. I don't want to start every morning with Mom pacing and yelling at Dad to get up and get moving, to which Dad replies that this is his vacation. I'm a bit more low key than my mother, and not such a morning person so we'll get going when we want to.

So thoughts after day 1. This was the longest ride I've done in years, my longest training ride was 48, and I didn't really get tired until about 10 miles before we stopped. That's good, and so long as we can go slow and leisurely I can make it. Well, I say that now, but the real test is tomorrow and Monday when I'm sore.

That's all for now. I'll try to put a couple of photos on.

We Leave on Saturday

Less than a week. I should be scared, but instead I'm resolved. I'm resolved to endure many slow and painful miles since I'm not in good enough shape. I'm resolved to experience something most people think I'm crazy for doing, and I'm resolved to have an incredible and memorable trip!

supplies for our ride - work in progress

6 tubes (I have these)
2 patch kits (I have these)
2 extra wheels (I have these)
1 bottle electrolite pills - need to order
1 giant bottle of advil - need to buy from Costco
1 case hammer head beer to replenish our glycogens - need to buy
maps - have these
1 tub of gatorade mix (if Costco still carries it) - need to look for this
What ever works best for saddle sores. - need to find this
bug dope - will leave this to Laura
1 pair of pants - trip to the Columbia employee store
2 pair of shorts - have these
3 pair of bike shorts

This weeks riding plans

Looks like the rest of the week will be sunny and nice (today is Wed) so family and work allowing, I'm going to try and ride four days in a row, partially to test out the new shorts that are arriving today but also to test my legs. I might just get 20 miles two of the days but I want at least one 60+ and one 40+ day. 23 days and counting!

Mileage

5/8 - 12 miles
5/9 - 48 miles
5/12 - 17 miles
5/15 - 17 miles
5/16 - 10 miles
5/19 - 22 miles

It's not nearly as much as Dad is doing, but with classes, work, etc my schedules pretty full. It's still something, and I'm riding consistently and feeling stronger. A couple more 50+ milers and I think I'll be as ready as I can be.

28 days to go! Today's lesson

Rode two longer days this past weekend in the sun and felt like crap even after drinking tons of water on Sunday night. I was starting to worry about 3 weeks in the sun (assuming we are lucky enough to get dry weather) and after talking with my roofer brother today he reminded me of the importance of electrolytes. I happened to have some pills from Hammer nutrition to boost your electrolyte levels. After a day plus of feeling run down I was back to my normal energy level and had a great work out at the gym.

Wind

10-15 mile an hour headwind + rain = hill simulation

I guess I should be thankful for the headwind this morning. I don't have real mountains to train on so I have to improvise. Wind is fine now, I just really hope we have a nice tailwind come June.

I've decided it isn't my legs that concern me, it is my ....

I realized on Sunday (after my first 80+ mile ride for the year), that it isn't my legs that concern me, it is my posterior/shorts. Our legs will get stronger during the ride but if I can't sit on my seat comfortably, this is going to be a tough three weeks. My goal over the next couple of weeks will be to find shorts that fit me properly so that I can enjoy the rest of the ride...

Laura did great on Sat, she rode 45 miles and still went for a hike on Sunday. All I need to do is keep her hydrated and fed and she will keep me going.

Chris

Rain, rain go Away

One thing I really worry about is my ability to train pre-ride. We did the Oregon Bicycle Ride about eight years ago, which is a week long bike tour, but we spent the entire summer training for that ride. Right now I'm busy, I'm a graduating senior, and I'm not willing to spend all my free time training. I'm getting in about two 15-25 mile rides per week (I'm planning to up the mileage soon), so hopefully that will give me enough of a base to work off of. I think the first week will just be painful, it's inevitable. However, days like Saturday and today are really throwing me off. It is pouring out, and as I lack both rain jacket and fenders riding is not pleasant. I got up and went for 15 Saturday, today I called me friends who ride with me and didn't even get out of bed. How am I supposed to motivate myself to train more when the weather is so discouraging? This is the rain we should have had all winter (we had an oddly dry winter) so that when spring rolls around and we want to be outside it's sunny and warm.

Up and Over the Rockies... On a Bike

So this is a big year. I'm graduating from college (great timing, isn't it) and my dad's turning 50. These life events require some sort of recognition, so in commemoration we're heading out on a big bicycle trip starting in Eugene, and going up and over the Rocky Mountains to Wyoming. Approximately 1300 miles in 3 weeks. Most people think we're crazy, and this isn't exactly their first choice for a celebratory trip, but Dad and I have spent years talking about a cross country trip. We don't have time to go east to west, so instead we're doing west to Wyoming. It'll be difficult and probably painful at times, but it'll be exciting and memorable as well. Dad's friend Jim will be accompanying us with his mini-motor home and 2 of his 5 dogs, so at least we won't have to pedal our stuff over the passes. We aren't that crazy.
We're leaving in June for our trip, but we thought we'd start this blog now as an opportunity to give training updates and express pre-trip jitters and or excitement. Mostly it's for us, but for those of you who want to read, enjoy.