More Pics, Up Teton Pass

(1) The men celebrating on top of Teton pass (sorry, the woman took their picture before I could get my camera ready; (2) Surveying the climb we just made overlooking Jackson; (3) The road ahead before our climb (yessir, the testosterone was flowing today)

Best Day Yet

(1) Saskia attacking the roads paralleling the Tetons.  (2) Maso and I on the Continental Divide.  (3) Scott, Natalie, and me at a gorgeous lake on Togwotee Pass; (4) Back in the mountains again!!!

Huge two days today and yesterday, both will rank in my top 10 at the end of the summer (for those who don't know me very well, I rank just about everything).  We climbed two passes - Togwotee and Teton Pass - in successive days with about 3,000 feet gains apiece.  Thus, we are all pretty exhausted tonight, but very content with what we completed.  Both days in description:

July 29, Dubois to Jackson

We woke up at 5 AM facing 85 miles with temps in the 40s and a climb early.  I was channeling the energy that got me so jacked up before our failed ride to Mount Vernon in Iowa.  I had to remind myself to pace myself because the climb would last until about mile 30.  Around mile 15-20 we started gaining noticeable elevation into the Absaroka Mountains.  It was so great being back in the mountains after being away for so long.  I used my acclimatization to altitude to make my way up the pass quicker than I thought, and before I knew it Scott, Maso, and I were at the top.  We took some pictures at the Continental Divide sign (9,658 feet) and then started our descent.  Amazingly, no construction interruptions yet.  Unfortunately, that changed pretty quickly.  We were tripped up by an 8-mile stretch and they had to shuttle us to the end of the road work.  Of course it sucked, but because EFI was already done it didn't bother me as much as the previous interruption.  Just another stretch to add to the list that I have to do to complete the trip in the future.  

The rest of the day more than made up for the construction.  Just a mile after lunch we came over a hill and saw the Tetons in the distance.  It was so beautiful.  We spent the next hour approaching the range, which seem to explode out of relatively flat ground surrounding them.  They just dominate the landscape.  We spent $12 and entered the park for the afternoon.  I've camped there before, so it was really cool to see some of that stuff again.  Most of the group hadn't seen the Tetons before, however, so they were very excited.  At the end of the day, most of the people claimed that it was their absolute favorite day of the year.  Pictures don't do those mountains any justice.  The ride was great as well, with a slight tailwind and a small downhill most of the afternoon into Jackson.  We even got to cruise on a winding bike path at about 20-25 mph; probably a little dangerous but a lot of fun.

July 30- Jackson to Ashton, ID 

I loved the ride to Jackson, but it was nothing compared to today's ride this morning.  The ride up Togwotee Pass was fun but it was honestly too short and shallow.  I felt like if we were crossing the Continental Divide, we needed something hardcore to make our efforts worthy of the accomplishment.  Today's climb up Teton Pass took care of that.  

Two things: Natalie was driving the van today, so she woke up really early this morning, unbeknownst to all of us, and did the climb around 4 or 5 AM.  While we were getting ready, somebody noticed that she was missing and her bike was gone.  Remember, she's doing this with a broke wrist and she can't shift out of her second ring or brake with her front hand because of it.  That didn't stop her from wanting to get in on the action.  It set a great tone for the day.

Second really cool tone-setter: Shawn is slowly healing from his car run-in, but he's still nursing a sprained knee and has no bike to ride.  Making the best of the situation, he resolved to carry his busted bike, the one he built on his own, up the pass by walking it while we rode. Again, a great message to the rest of us.  

We left early amidst really cool temps (probably low 40s), but we would quickly shed the Under Armor and limb warmers when we started climbing.  One of my favorite pictures of the day is of us in front of a sign warning of a steep climb at 10% grades (up 10 feet for every 100 feet forward).  It was straight up almost from the very start.  I got into my lowest gear and just cranked for about 40 minutes.  There were some incredible views on the way up, but I didn't want to stop and lose momentum.  I just trusted the view from the top would be worth it.  I did have to stop to remove my Under Armor and pee, but I tried to jump back on the bike asap.  Didn't want my legs to tighten up.  Anyway, after a few switchbacks, I finally saw a sign at the top of the hill warning of a sharp descent in the other direction.  That gave me the last bit of energy I needed and I reached the top on sheer adrenaline.  Jake and Tino were up there waiting, and we shared a bunch of whoops, yells, hugs, and pictures while we waited for the rest of the group.  

They slowly started coming in: Maso, then Trevor, then Jonathan, then Lauren.  For each of them we were yelling like crazy people; the drivers on top of the mountain probably thought we were nuts.  The excitement that we had basically conquered the Rockies sent us over the edge of sanity.  After about half the group made it up, Jake and I were so jacked that we decided to do part of the climb again.  We dropped our camelbacks and started descending.  We made it about 3/4 to 1 mile before turning around and whipping back up.  However, about halfway up we approached Shawn, who was almost to the top while carrying his bike the whole time.  Jake came up with the idea that we should dismount and carry our bikes with him in a show of solidarity.  What was really cool was that other people had the same idea: Eileen, Peter, and Isabel all came tooling down and joined us.  A few more people saw us and joined as well; by the time we reached the top we had about 10 people carrying our bikes, with Shawn in front, in a total replay of Cool Runnings.  It was so awesome (and organic).  

We spent another hour on the hill taking pictures and doing a dance party, and then we descended.  Teton Pass has a mean descent, and it caused some nerves among a few of us, but everybody made it in one piece.  (Tino hit 56 mph, a new group record.)  We took a few pictures by the Idaho stateline sign before moving on.  The rest of the day was pretty ho-hum with about 25 miles of flats and 25 miles of hills before we reached Ashton.  The climb itself made today my favorite day of the trip so far.  What a rush!

Big Day Tomorrow

Hey gang, tonight is going to be a quick entry b/c we have a big day tomorrow: approaching the Tetons with 85 miles, our biggest mountain pass yet (over 9,800 feet, up 3,000 from where we are at now), rainy weather, 58 degree high predicted, and road construction at the summit.  Tomorrow is going to make Roscoe look like child's play.  Needless to say, we are all pretty excited.  I'm a little worried that our ride along the highway paralleling the Tetons will be obstructed, but we'll deal.  Tomorrow is going to be a hell of a day.   

Today was a great ride, about 75 miles from Lander to DuBois, WY.  We had our best scenery of the trip thus far, coming up on numerous mountain views and crossing Wind River multiple times amidst great backdrops.  Just gorgeous.  I rode with Maso again most of the day, which was a treat.  She's quite fast and makes me work to keep up.  She's a great conversationalist as well.  

We had a strange experience today coming across a Christian missionary who was walking across the country.  Originally I thought this was really neat and wanted to chat, but she made James Dobson and Focus on the Family look like a bunch of Al Sharptons.  This woman was so far off the reservation that I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing/cringing/yelling.  Apparently there are two types of people living today: missionaries for Christ and partying sinners.  No gray area with this person, so I just kept my mouth shut and moved on.  She said some other pretty interesting stuff that probably isn't fit for print.  We also ran into a more docile pair of bikers who were going across the country in the opposite direction.  It was much more fun talking to them.  

We ended the evening with a little square dancing at a local bar in DuBois, which was a blast.  Very few of us knew what we were doing, but we had a great time making fools of ourselves.  We actually started to get the hang of it towards the end.  Also, I got a Fat Tire for the first time in several years; like a little taste of home.

Other than that, both Lander and DuBois have made my list of favorite towns in the United States.  Very neat places to spend time, and lots of hiking and recreational activities to do.  Anyway, hope you all are doing well and I'll talk to you soon.  Big day tomorrow!

Great Build Day

Hey group, hope all is well with you.  Lots of events over the last few days:

(1) We had a big scare a few days ago when Shawn was hit by a car about 10 miles outside of Lusk, WY early in the morning.  He is okay, sustaining minor bruises and some scrapes.  Thankfully no broken bones or major traumas.  The ambulance came and we were all pretty worried, but he was joking around before leaving the scene and we were pretty sure he was okay.  His bike, on the other hand, suffered major damage.  Shawn put a lot of time and effort into his bike, particularly his frame (he welded the steel together himself), so that was really disappointing.  Better the bike than him though.  He's in the van for the next few days until he heals and we figure out how to get him a new bike.  He's in good spirits though, so that's great.  As for the woman who hit him, I didn't see the accident, but apparently she just didn't see him as she was turning left into an intersection.  I guess she was pretty shaken up about it.  In the end, no long-term damage done.

(2) We came into Casper, WY yesterday after a nice 60-mile day.  We had a 10-mile detour to a natural rock bridge formation that we really enjoyed, with some great scenery to make the ride go quickly.  The best part of the day, however, was pulling into the Casper Best Western for a two-night stay at a hotel.  The Casper Habitat chapter apparently swung some discounts and put us up for the weekend in these rooms.  We are all very happy to be sleeping in beds for 2 nights.  

(3) The build day today was quite fruitful.  We moved two already build sheds into permanent position behind two houses, laid sod in the backyard, and began installing fencing around the house.  Normally we complete tasks too quickly for these chapters to keep 32 people busy for the full day, but we were moving around for most of the day with something to do.  That was really nice.  Certainly my favorite build day so far.  

Otherwise, just pedaling and pedaling.  I got to talk to Aaron yesterday and Schirmer today, great to hear their voices.  Hopefully I can hit up some more friends soon.  Thanks to Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, and Claire for the mail drop letters and goodies the other day, I really enjoyed reading/eating them.  Talk to you guys soon!

Great Day, Finally Into the West

I had my parents bring my computer to Chadron for their visit, so I now have more access to the 'net.  I want to make sure it doesn't consume me, but at least I have more consistent access in case I need it.  Anyway...

I wanted to write about today because it was one of my favorite of the trip thus far.  We had a fantastic ride from Chadron, NE to Lusk, WY.  We are now officially in the west; I feel like I'm home.  It started with the parents coming to see us off, which was nice.  I enjoyed how a fair amount of the riders were genuinely interested in meeting them.  That was really cool and spoke to the character of the people I'm riding with.

We had great weather from the start and used that to set a quick pace, about 15-17 mph for the first hour plus.  I spent most of the morning riding with Eileen, and then we caught up with Susanna and rode into Harrison together.  Outside of Harrison was Fort Robinson, a key army outpost operational from the 1860s until after WW2.  Susanna and I ventured into the Fort Robinson Museum while a bunch of other folks took in the Geological museum across the street.  The museum's depiction of the Army-Native American relationship was a little shady, but I enjoyed reading about how the fort was used to house German POWs during WW2.  

Right after Fort Robinson we had a steady 3-4 mile hill to climb that put us on top of a butte.  We had a great view once on top of the climb and took some neat pictures (which I'll upload eventually).  From there we had an easy coast to lunch, where donated Subway and pulled pork sandwiches greeted us (Ballah!!!).

The afternoon was just as eventful, mostly due to a very impressive rock formation that about 25 of us climbed in our cycling cleats (that was a bit of a challenge) and then the Wyoming state line.  Our final approach to Lusk was relaxing and beautiful; no cars and good roads.

As I was climbing a small hill this afternoon, I realized that in the east and the midwest, you know what type of scene you are going to face when you crest a hill: rolling hills and farmland. In the west, you have no idea.  Sure enough, right on top of that hill we had our first mountains in the distance.  I had to pump my fist when I saw that. 

We have a big week coming up after our build day in Casper.  Teton Pass is looming... 

Some pics

Some pics over the last week...

(1) A great decent near Lake Andes, SD

(2) Beth towing Natalie after Nat's broken wrist

(3) Our version of Mt. Rushmore (Scott, Elizabeth, Ali, and Chris)

(4) An 11-person paceline moving out of Sioux City, IA

From a nice, cushy hotel room...

Well, not exactly cushy, but the Super 8 aint terrible.

Mom and Dad came up to Chadron this afternoon to rendezvous with us for our off-day.  It's great to see them, of course, so we are going to enjoy a few days together.  There are a few state/national parks and forests in the area that we will check out, and I'm sure we'll catch up over some meals (as if we weren't being fed well enough on this trip).  They met us on the road today about 3-4 miles outside town and took some videos of me and a few other riders.  They recognized some members of the group, mostly people who have been in pictures or who write blogs.  The group thought that was pretty funny.

As for the bike, we are all very much looking forward to our day off.  You can ask any of the 32 of us and we'll tell you the Carroll, IA to Chadron, NE week was the toughest of the trip so far.  We had a major century yesterday from Winner to Martin (105 miles).  The night before a bunch of us went to a drive-in movie theater in Winner to see the sixth Harry Potter movie.  I've never seen or read Harry Potter, but I've also never been to a drive-in so I had to check it.  Luckily, Isabelle and Eileen sat on both sides of me and explained some of the story.  Cool experience.  

However, it didn't start to 9:30 and didn't end until after midnight.  Thus, I didn't to sleep until 1 AM, as did many others.  Thus, we were all exhausted to being with.  Maso and I were on sweep (meaning we were the last to leave and last to arrive to make sure everybody got there); we had great conversation throughout the day, which was pleasant since I haven't ridden much one-on-one with her.  However, we had trouble from the start and it made for a very long day. Lauren caught a flat and we came across some bum patches in our attempt to fix the tube.  We eventually used one of my tubes, but 45 minutes later, we were all a little jaded.  

From there, the mercury kept rising throughout the rest of the day.  That made for a lot of problems for some people, and as sweep we helped bring in a few of the strugglers.  We didn't get into Martin until 7:45 PM, just over 12 hours after we'd left.  It was a ridiculously tough mental day for all of us.  As I've started calling them, "Survive and Advance" days.  On the bright side, I started seeing signs of how close to Colorado we are; we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone, I saw my first Colorado license plate of the trip, and I saw a guy in Martin riding a horse and wearing a Brian Griese Broncos jersey (quite humorous).

As we prepped for the ride today, most of us just wanted to get through the day.  However, lots of really cool stuff happened that made today one of my favorite of the trip thus far.  Natalie, one of our leaders, has been itching to get back on the road despite her broken wrist.  Earlier this week she bought (at a discount) a trailer that parents usually carry their kids around on the back of their bike.  We've had people fighting over the opportunity to attach the trailer to our bikes.  I got my first chance today, and I carried Nats for 6 miles early on.  With the parents coming, I decided to make some tracks after that, so I used some excellent tailwinds to speed to first lunch.  Then Trevor and I pounded out the 30+ miles to second lunch with more tailwinds, so that was a blast.  After weeks (seemingly) of headwinds, it was a welcome treat.  We caught some rough cross/headwinds on the final 20 miles, but we narrowly missed a storm that looked like it was bearing down on us and coasted into town with sunny skies.  Overall, it was a great day.

I'm looking forward to Wyoming over the next week.  We hit the Tetons pretty soon, which will be a major challenge.  The group is slightly nervous about the climbs, but this is a pretty tough and competitive group.  We'll be just fine.  

At long last...

Well, lots to update since my last post. We haven't had much Internet, so forgive me.

As expected, things got much better after the disappointment out of Clinton last week. One thing that I forgot to mention about Mount Vernon, IA: it was the site where Barack Obama, as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, announced his national service plan in December of '07 before the Iowa Caucuses the next month. It was pretty cool to walk around the place where he did that.

On that topic, a woman in Carroll, IA saw my book and started talking about her experiences with the caucuses. The church we stayed at in Carroll was one of four caucus sites that night and she said it was packed to the gills with over 200 people in their fellowship hall. After staying there, I have no idea how they fit that many people in there. She was an Obama precinct captain so she talked about how exciting it was that night when they won. I was curious if I'd come across any Iowa electoral politics as we passed through the state.

My narrative is going to be scattershot and out of order, so bear with me. Yesterday, we had a monster 110 miler from Carroll to Sioux City, IA. Behind Gambier, I felt it was the second most challening ride of the trip thus far. We experienced oodles throughout the day, from a 2 mile stretch of sandy gravel that wore all of us out right away to a beautiful bike path that ran alongside a nature preserve to first lunch on Blackhawk Lake in Lake View, IA (all before 9:30 AM). We had a major headwind coming across IA-175 for the entire 30 miles we were on the road, and only pacelining got most of us through the endeavor. I had a great time riding with Ashley, Erika, Beth, Eileen, and Isabel on that stretch.

After our second lunch, I attacked a very hilly (but incredibly scenic) stretch on my own before I caught up with Trevor. Western Iowa is incredible (but exhausting on a bike). Trevor and I would converse on the downhills but neither of us had any breath while we climbed. The day ended when I caught up with Shawn, Tino, and Jake, and the four of us trucked into Sioux City. Those guys are pretty fast, so I had a great time trying to keep up with them. Of course, I was paying for it later...

Today's ride had more of the same: headwinds, headwinds, headwinds. As I write this now (about 7:40 PM), half our group isn't into the host site yet (Yankton, SD). We had a brutal 20 mile stretch on Hwy 50 where the wind was blowing a good 20 mph right in our face, making for a very difficult ride. We also had a 15 mile detour due to road construction that made a 67 mile day an 85 mile day. I struggled more today because I don't do well with wind; it was one of the more mentally exhausting rides we've had. However, we did cross into another state today and crossed the halfway mark in mileage for the entire trip (hard to believe that happened in South Dakota). I rode the entire afternoon alone, which was very therapeutic (not sure why I've been wanting to do that so much lately). The rest of the group stopped for donated pizza along the route, and I'd had too much lunch, so I just kept moving and ended up getting to the host site first. These folks in Yankton are very friendly, so I've enjoyed my conversation with them thus far.

Otherwise, nothing too major to report. Natalie broke her wrist the other day when a dog darted out in front of her on the bike and caused her to crash. (Sidenote: I liked dogs before this trip, but man, they can really wreak havoc on cyclists; I almost had to kick one the other day because he was about to bite me. The only thing that stopped me were two little kids that were watching the whole thing.)

The build day in Carroll was okay, we put up siding on part of the house and constructed the frame of a shed. A few people helped lay concrete for the garage floor as well. We didn't get much done with 32 people, however, because they didn't have enough work to go around. Kind of frustrating standing around most of the day, but I suppose that happens.

The team was really excited about a scavenger hunt we did on the Ames day. With only 40 miles to bike, a few people put together a list of 54 things to see/experience/do on the route that day. Pictures would document the lists. Some of the groups got really into it (Erika, Ariela, Beth, and Suzanne were especially impressive in their finds). Examples of things we needed to do/find: ride a lawnmoor, dance for 1 minute with a random stranger, play tic-tac-toe with a stranger, collect 36 business cards, build a bike out of nontraditional bike materials, take a creative picture with you and your bike in the cornfields, play a prank on another team, see a scarecrow, power your bike with something other than your legs, place a star on top of an evergreen tree, play a hole of golf, and many others. My team of Maggie, Scott, and Saskia had a good time for much of the day trying to get some of these things done, but a few groups just blew us out of the water. I imagine my lack of creativity had something to do with that. I enjoyed riding with them though.

The parents are coming to Chadron, NE next week, so I'm really looking forward to spending some time with them. Can't wait to see you guys!

And finally, thanks for all the kind comments that you guys have been leaving. I love reading them. I really appreciated your support after the EFI day.

Talk to you soon!

Post coming soon

It's early in Sioux City, IA and we are waiting for a storm to pass, so I have a few minutes. Just wanted to say that I'm going to update this as soon as I find a computer. We've been in pretty sparse territory lately. I haven't forgotten about this thing. Talk to you soon!

First big disappointment; EFI D-U-N

I've stolen away in the corner of the student union building on the campus of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA (not to be confused with Cornell University in Ithaca) to clear my head with a journal entry that will double as a blog post. I've been writing longhand in my journal separately from this every night, but I need to punch some keys so this will double as the July 10 entry and my next post. If you'll indulge me...

Today we woke up to a 79-mile day from Clinton to Mount Vernon. From the very get-go, the nice folks in the Clinton YMCA were telling us to expect a morning full of thunderstorms. It started around 7 AM, right around the time we were getting ready to leave. With lightning flashing once in awhile, the leaders wisely decided to delay our departure. We relaxed until about 10 AM and even caught some live Tour de France coverage when word came that the storm had passed. However, there was another storm on the way. We gathered for a quick meeting, where we decided that those who wanted to bike would ride ASAP and the rest would go in the van and a bus offered up by the Y (very kind of them). The stipulation: we had to be at the church by 5 PM, giving us about 6-6.5 hours to do 80 miles, no mean feat and faster than we've gone all trip.

Anyway, with the group splitting, it was assumed the van would drop their half of the riders off as soon as the storm passed and they would ride into Mount Vernon, and those riding the full way would just seek shelter when the storm hit. 15 of us decided to ride it out. I can't tell you how jacked we were. There was this huge adrenaline rush as we moved to get our gear in order and move out as soon as possible to beat the weather and the deadline. We'd be responsible for our own lunch too, so we were scrounging rations like we were soldiers going into battle. It was going to be us against the elements. I've always dreamed of playing in a meaningful sporting event and never achieved it, so I cherish moments like this, however small, when you can test your physical capabilities and mental toughness.

We shoved off at 10:25 and set a torrid pace. We had a very slight crosswind/headwind, and the flat stretches of Indiana and Illinois were gone, replaced by gentle rolling hills. I cranked out 20 miles in the first hour, feeling great about the pace we'd set (we needed to do around 13 mph, and including stops, we normally average 10). I felt like I was on steriods. However, after making a turn west, I saw lightning crack from the next storm in the distance. Four of us (Shawn, Isabel, Maso, and myself) pulled up and decided to seek shelter in a barn we'd just passed. As we got permission from the owner the rest of the group caught up, so we prepared to hunker down until danger passed. At that moment, the bus caught up with us.

I wasn't opposed to going on the bus. I rationalized that I could do the distance the bus drove us once we got to Mount Vernon that afternoon to square our mileage. Yet we kept driving and driving. Only when we were about 20 miles away from the city did it come to light that we weren't going halfway; we were going to Mount Vernon and skipping the day of riding. As Caroline would say, "Depression."

Sidebar: Entering this trip, my first goal was to complete the trip from Providence to Seattle. My second was to do it all by bike, not spending a moment in the van. During orientation, the phrase "Every F'in Inch," or EFI, came to light, and I adopted the slogan. I even named my bike Efi. I've had this goal of biking across the United States for quite some time (5-6 years perhaps), so it has become very important to me to actually bike the whole way. At orientation they warned us that EFI probably wouldn't be possible because things happen that are outside your control (injuries, bike malfunctions, and grrr, weather), but I still adopted the slogan anyway.

Safe to say, I'm been in a lousy mood since we got into Mount Vernon because EFI crashed and burned. I'm not blaming the leaders for their decision; they made the safe choice to get us out of the lightning. I would have liked to have done the halfway thing since the storm stopped well before town and it's a beautiful day now, but that would have required a lot of coordination and extra driving on their part. Understandable. I'm just angry at the circumstances and needing to write/vent about it.

To many of you, this probably doesn't seem like a big deal. "So what if they have to ride in the van one day? It's just a bike ride." For whatever reason, that's not how I click. If I'm going to do it, I want to do it fully. I'll be excited to be back on the bike tomorrow and ready to go. I just reserve the right to be angry this afternoon.

I've thought about adding the 60 remaining miles to my rides over the next few days, but it still doesn't get me back the patch of land between Clinton and Mount Vernon. There's a big gap in my chain, and I feel like I cheated today.

Like I said, I'll be rearing and ready to go tomorrow. I won't allow this to taint the rest of the experience, as we still have 2,000 miles to bike and many wonderful places to see. I also need to still be a positive voice for the rest of the group (a job which I haven't done well this afternoon). I just had to type away my frustration this evening before accepting it and moving on.

There. That's done. Circumstances out of my control have taken over and this helped me make my peace with it. Time to move on. I'm very, very much looking forward to tomorrow.

Across the Mississippi

Today was a war of attrition. When it was all said and done, we had 7 riders take a total of 9 spills, quite an astounding total. Nothing too major, however, as most suffered only minor scraps to skin and bruised egos. The 90 miles from Peru, IL to Clinton, IA was a long but eventful ride, capped off with us crossing the Mighty Mississippi this afternoon right before getting into Clinton. Very exciting, of course. We are now into our 8th state and we should be crossing the halfway mark in mileage within the next week. There has been some early whispers in conversation of how quickly this summer has moved, and some people are beginning to fret the final days coming into Seattle because of how much fun we are having. I guess it's a good sign when nobody wants the summer to end.

Highlight of the day: Beth dared Danny and Natalie to ride their bikes headfirst into a cornfield. She wisely filmed the scene, and we now have on tape an event that will probably go down as one of the funniest of our trip. Natalie's bike caught mud two or three cornrows in and all we saw amidst the 4-5 high cornstalks was her head go down and her backwheel flip up. Highest of high comedy. She was covered in mud the rest of the day. I imagine the video will find its way to YouTube.

The previous couple of days were a lot of fun. My grandparents drove 6 hours on Tuesday to see me in Pontiac, IL, and we had a great time. We ate at a solid Italian restaurant and crossed the street for ice cream (how else to end a meal?) that night. I got to hear some good stories about my mom and her family that I hadn't heard before. That age group truly is the "Greatest Generation." They stayed in town that night and saw us off the next morning, meeting us on the road. They waved at every rider as they passed, prompting a lot of my teammates to comment about the "random nice old couple on the side of the ride." Only later did they find out they were my grandparents. Very cool. It was great to see them and I'm really happy they came down.

It rained in the afternoon, as the sorcerer Natalie again conjured up a tempest to intimate her displeasure with driving the van. We've figured out that every time Natalie is driving the van (one of the four leaders has to drive it every day), it rains. She drove in Roscoe, West Lafayette, Tallmadge, and now Peru. Uncanny. In her words: "When I'm not happy, noboby's happy." However, we thwarted her efforts to spoil our day and still enjoyed our 62 mile ride into Peru. We caught some fantastic tailwinds that enabled us to motor into town after only about 5 hours on the road; at one point I clocked four miles in 9 minutes, 53 seconds. Loads of fun. We stayed in a gym at a parocial middle school and 8 of us ran a little full-court basketball for an hour, followed by a round of free throws (with a little volleyball for Chong sprinkled in). Any day with basketball is a good day. The school then set up a blow-up projector and screened Remember the Titans that evening, sandwiched between a marvelous dinner and a great breakfast. All in all, Peru was a great host (for cooking and friendliness).

I finally succeeded in obtaining a book I've been looking for since mid-June as well. Richard Wolffe of Newsweek just published the first reputable review of Obama's campaign (titled Renegade), so I sprinted over to a bookstore in Peru while the rest of the gang stopped at a bike shop. So far the book is fantastic, so that has kept me entertained over the last two evenings as well.

Anyway, we've got some long days ahead of us. Hope all is well with you!

First Off Day

Hey gang, we just arrived in Pontiac, IL, about a 90 minute drive to Chicago up north.

My legs were really tired this morning, likely because of the 210 miles we pedaled a few days ago. Yesterday we had a 70 miler that felt like cake, which was nice. I went about as slow as I have all trip, taking my time seeing the sites (or lack thereof) and enjoy conversation with my comrades. Maintaining our football stadium kick, Kyle and I decided to bike over to the Purdue football stadium early Sunday morning, so Trevor, Suzanne, Jake, and Chris tagged along. The stadium actually wasn't that impressive, and we didn't get inside. Oh well, they'll all pale in comparison to OSU if we see more this trip.

I also had a good conversation with Raj on the morning ride, talking about the economic crisis and other political issues. Raj is a finance major and is going to Stanford this fall to complete a Master's in Decision Sciences ("I'm going to grad school to become an engineer because that's what Obama told us to do," he tells us), so we had a really interesting discussion for about an hour. We joined up with Chris and Kyle and coasted to lunch in convo. Good times.

The afternoon was pretty ho-hum, although I enjoyed talking with Eileen, Saskia, Beth, and a few other folks in a big group (check out the Bike and Build site for pictures and bios to go with these names if you haven't already). Towards the end of the day, I started feeling pretty lethargic because of the slow pace, so Kyle, Eileen, and I pacelined in to the church in Gilman. Overall, it was a great sunny day, with few headwinds and no hills. We were definitely out in the middle of the nowhere, however, so I didn't get a chance to hit a bookstore to gain some reading material. Dinner was fantastic however, with probably the best pulled pork I've ever tasted (sorry Mr. McCree) and some scrumptious cheese potatoes. Trevor and I have an agreement to watch what each other eats to control our portions, but it's very difficult when we keep having all this incredible thrown in front of our faces.

We have an off day tomorrow, so today's ride was a short one into Pontiac, only 42 miles. We got off to a very late start (I didn't hit the saddle until 9:55), but we trucked it throughout the day. Danny, Eileen, and I made great time in the morning, coming into lunch at mile 23 at about 11:20. It was the longest stretch I've pedaled this trip without getting off my bike for any break. We did the same in the afternoon, as I pedaled hard trying to catch the lead group (Shawn, Tino, Peter, and Scott). Battling a stiff headwind and probably the hottest temps we've had thus far, we averaged about 17 mph over the last 19 miles. We got in around 1:20 PM, giving me 42 miles in about 3 hours, 25 minutes, with a 45 minute lunch break. It was a very quick day.

Tomorrow, some of the gang is thinking about going to Chicago for our off day, but I'll probably stay in town. My grandparents are coming down, and I'm very much looking forward to catching up on sleep (haven't had more than 7 hours in several weeks). Gotta do some bike maintenance as well.

Also, just a quick Happy Birthday to Becks! I'm looking forward to hearing about your prelminary plans for our next B2 reunion if you've started thinking about it. And not to be forgotten, Happy B-Day to Schirmer on the 8th!

5% of the country done in 2 days

We had a crazy stretch over the past two days. On Friday we did an incredible 118 miles, partially because of a 16-mile detour. We didn't get into Hartford City, IN until about 8 PM, but everybody was so stoked to have completed our first century (and probably drunk with adrenaline) that we really didn't mind. I had a great time pacelining with some folks, so we were able to cut through some rough headwinds across Indiana's country routes while saving some energy. (A paceline is where cyclists line up single-file really close together - about 9-12 inches between tires - and draft off each other.) Overall, I was impressed with how well the entire team made a negative (the detour early in the day and a difficult route change late in the day when we confronted some gravel roads) into a positive. This group has a bunch of impressive individuals by themselves, but when we we are together as a team I feel like we feed off each other's enthusiasm and create a lot of positivity.

We rallied today with 96 more miles, about 2/3's of which came in the rain. It was challenging day, but once you are wet you basically have to accept it and just keep going. I was feeling the solo ride for much of the day, but towards the end of the day I had a good conversation with Erika that passed much of the time. We rode into a church with a really friendly welcoming party waiting for us, so dinner was a treat. We also got to watch the fireworks being shot on the Purdue campus, which helped make the 4th of July seem a little more legit. I was certainly missing my hot dogs though.

We are done in Indiana tomorrow after only two days. I'm still keeping an eye out for a big red barn with a rusty old basketball hoop in a cornfield so I can take a picture as if I'm in the movie Hoosiers (no luck yet...). I'm very tired tonight, but that happens every night and I always wake up with enough energy to pedal another chunk of mileage. Also talked to the parents tonight, thanks for your comments as always!

Talk to you guys soon!

Finishing up in Ohio

(1) At the top of a monstrous 13% hill

(2) A great picture on OSU's field.

(3) Me in the Horseshoe, home of the Buckeyes

(4) A group of us at the OH state line.


Onto riding updates for the last few days...

The June 29 ride from Tallmadge to Gambier was a challenging one, but I'll look back on it as one of my favorite of the trip thus far. We had 80 miles to do, and after a slow start (I didn't get out until 9 AM), we hit a somewhat hilly stretch between about miles 10-30 with significant headwinds. Trevor, Danny, and I pacelined for awhile and that helped, but we were pretty tired heading into lunch. I tagged along with a big group in the afternoon, but the hills got bigger and bigger as we marched through the Ohio countryside. As many blogs have discussed, the scenery was beautiful and the experiences were rich; many people stopped at an Amish market for some fruit, and Scott had a race with a couple of young Amish boys in a horse-drawn carriage down a hill. However, as we hit Nashville, OH, the hills weren't disappating and the afternoon was getting long. We'd been stopping at the top of a lot of hills, but as the group stopped at the top of what had to be a 12% grade hill in Nashville, I decided I had to keep going to get the day done with.

I biked alone for the remainder of the day, about 30 miles, in grueling but gorgeous hills. OH-514 will always hold a love-hate relationship with me. I'd feel great cresting one hill only to be crestfallen when I saw the next one looming. It was a day defined by mental willpower. Unfortunately, it claimed a few casualties physically, as 7 people either started or finished the day in the van due to various injuries (a few already existing, of course). However, coasting in Gambier I felt a real sense of joy. I gladly accepted congratulatory hugs from Isabel, Eileen, and Shawn and totally flopped on the grass.

One neat thing about Gambier that I had no clue about: it houses Kenyon College, one of the finest schools in the country and the alma mater of my closest childhood friend, Mike Dash (his sister Becca went there as well). I had no idea until that morning that we'd be staying there. The school is incredibly beautiful and it was a treat to see.

The Gambier to Columbus day was a direct contrast to the day before. It contains what may be my favorite moment of the trip thus far. It was short, incredibly flat, and held a huge treat at the end of the ride (2 treats, actually). Natalie is from Columbus so she mapped out a great ride on some really cool bike paths leading into the city that kept us off busy roads. The bike paths were a lot of fun to ride, as the wound around gorgeous parks and had many friendly users that we passed along the way. I also enjoyed a really neat paceline with Eileen (who taught most of us how to paceline well), Susanna, Trevor, Kristie, and Elizabeth that knocked out about 15 miles like it was nothing early in the day.

Coming into Columbus, home of The Ohio State University, Kyle and I really wanted to see the "Horseshoe," or Ohio Stadium, where OSU plays football games. The Shoe holds upwards of 107,000 people (I believe), one of the 3-4 largest stadiums in the country. Kyle and I vowed to get inside. The large group we rode with came to the stadium around 2 in the afternoon and it seemed closed, but Kyle and I started biking around looking for an entrance just in case. Fortunately, we came across an open door. We popped our heads inside and asked some equipment managers if it was cool to go in. They agreed, and we like a couple of giddy 1st graders, we basically skipped into the stadium. The rest of the group found another way inside as well, so 15 of us got to run around the stadium and jump on the field for about an hour just fooling around. It was so cool to think about playing in front of so many fans just surrounding you. We have some great pictures of the crew lined up in a football formation, tackling Kyle, on the midfield O, and all sorts of other poses. Just a ton of fun. Highlight of the trip so far.

We also got to stay at a really nice athletic club that took care of us (thanks to Natalie's connections, once again). Columbus is a neat town and I enjoyed walking around to a few bars and sampling some of their ice cream (Jenni's... yummy!) Overall, a great stay in Columbus, one of my favorite of the trip.

The next day to Dayton started off a little rough, as I had to ride "sweep," meaning I would have to be the last person on the route the whole day to make sure everyone gets in safe, and it was raining. However, the rain ended early and Shawn and I had some good conversations (Shawn is definitely one of the most interesting individuals on the trip, besides being our best cyclist). I also enjoyed the company of Maso, Lauren, and Caroline, who regaled us with stories about crew and different road games. We got into Dayton kind of late, but it was a good day.

Staying in Dayton has been fun, and Sinclair Coommunity has really rolled out the welcome mat for us. We have had some great food, a productive build day today, and a neat tour of the Wright Brothers airplane and bicycle national park site where they produced the world's first airplane. While they flew it in Kittyhawk, NC for the first time, they did their research in Dayton, something the locals are very proud of. It was a neat experience. 10 of us also played some mega games of basketball tonight since we are staying on a gym floor, so we cleared out the air mattresses and ran up and down the floor for about 2 hours (Chong, Beth, Natalie, Eileen, Kyle, Tino, Lauren, Isabel, and Ashley). I had to take a double shower, but it was well worth it. Plus, I got some free throw shooting in, so my mind is right heading into the next phase of the trip.

Tomorrow we have another state-line day, this time to Indiana. Next week, we have our first off day, and my grandparents are coming down from Wisconsin for dinner. I'm looking forward seeing them! We are also crossing 1,000 miles tomorrow (I think). Thus, it's time to get to bed. Excuse the long post.

Quick, Self-Indulgent Post

Hey group, I'm going to do a quick 5 minute post instead of waiting in line for breakfast, so hopefully I'll be back with more info later today. We are doing a build day in Dayton today and they have a whole bunch of activities planned, but I think I'll get some time later tonight to describe the last 3-4 days, which have been exciting and eventful.

First, some big personal news... I had been working furiously every afternoon to gain computer access to do AmeriCorps applications for post-Bike & Build, but I decided a few days ago to withdraw my applications for a few months until after I'm done with this trip. I'm still intent on doing VISTA this fall/winter, but I do not have the time and resources to devote my attention to the applications like I should. I was spending too much time worrying about my next chance at Internet access instead of enjoying the rides each day.

The people on this trip are so great and our adventure is once-in-a-lifetime, so I'm willing to sacrifice a couple of months of inactivity after B&B to fully appreciate my time here. Fortunately, my parents are gracious enough to welcome home their boomerang child. I'm very much looking forward to spending more time with them in September and October. (Plus, it's been about 3-4 years since I've been able to watch Bronco games on Sunday. That's the real reason...)

Talk to you later this afternoon!