6/30 Boise, ID Rest Day

 

“One of the things I discovered, and you're discovering too, is that you don't need to be a bicyclist to ride across America. You need to be an adventurer. The bicycle is just the tool.” - Dick Dexheimer, one of my Wednesday AARP Ride buddies who rode across America several years ago.

Some people only have the time to do part of the ride across America and ABB provides ride by segments. Eighteen people are doing one or more, but not all segments; so there are people who we haven’t met yet – maybe someone will join us tomorrow. Segment one ended yesterday and we said goodbye to DeLynn and Sally, both from Anchorage, Alaska.

Discussing this as dinner last night, I learned that Doug and Cindy Sage  from Tucson signed up for the ride only 5 weeks before it started. Originally, Cindy was only going to do only one leg. She said “I’d really be bummed out if I had to leave now; I’m glad I signed up for the whole thing.”

One of the hassles to bike touring, even the luxury tour like we’re doing, is laundry. I’ve been washing my cycle clothes by hand every day after I get in. But you still need a good machine wash with hot water (to kill the bacteria). So that’s a good thing to do on your off day. The problem here at the Ramada, however, is they only have one washer and one dryer. So I got my laundry done at 5:00 a.m. today. By 6:00, there was a line.

In I’m planning a short ride today on the greenbelt along the Boise River. Also planning a stop at Starbucks (went to Lucy’s instead – great cappuccino); ‘haven’t been to a coffee bar in a week. I’ll also give the bike a good cleaning and polish and lube the drive train.

“Boise”, the state capital (see photo), is French for “wooded” – Boise is thus the City of Trees. There is an extensive system of bike paths, known as the Greenbelt; however, I’ve never experienced bike paths so rough. Every ten yards there’s a major bump, mostly caused by freezing I assume. You can’t go very fast at all, and you’ll surely get pinch flats if you tires aren’t properly inflated. We leave on one of these rough paths tomorrow; no one will be happy about that.

Segment two of the tour, which we begin tomorrow, is the longest in terms of days (9 days before a rest).

Day 9, 18 miles, 92 feet, 1.5 hrs

41 days to go, 651 miles so far, 3,017 miles to go

6/29 Ontario, OR to Boise, ID

 

From yesterday’s blog I had comments from “Jake” – I have no idea who Jake is. He suggested I ride 16 miles on my off-day to make up for the 8 missed today. Why 16? Eight should be sufficient.

This morning’s temperature was much warmer that previous (all in the 40’s except for yesterday in the 50’s). Today is was in the 60’s so, for the first time, no knee warmers, no jacket or vest. It got into the 90’s at our destination of Boise, but I think everyone arrived early so the heat wasn’t a problem.

ABB protocol is for everyone to wear the ABB jersey the day before a rest day. So that was today and we were a colorful lot.

                        

Pictured above is Chuck, a home builder from Maryland. When Chuck arrived in Astoria he did not own a bike jersey; so the ABB jersey is his only one – he wears it every day. Another unusual thing about him is that he doesn’t spend his vacations cycling, he spends (three vacations per year) at the horse races. But he can really ride; he’s usually one of the first ones in – sometimes he’s in and had a couple of beers before the fast riders arrive!

          

We finally leave Oregon and enter Idaho. The roads were much better today than the previous week’s roads. Let’s hope this continues.

Tonight we have a bar-b-q at the Marriot where we’re staying. Tomorrow is a rest day in Boise.

Day 8, 65 miles, 1,012 feet climbed, 4.7 hrs

641 miles so far, 3,017 miles to go, 42 days to go

6/28 Baker City to Ontario, Or.

 

Last night at dinner I sat with Patricia, who has the only touring bike and the neatest bike here, and six guys. None of the guys knew ANYTHING about their gears. “What does 39, 15 mean?” “Do you have a triple? – I don’t know.” “Is the big gear on the front the low gear?” I mean they knew nothing! This just blew my mind. And then today, when we were loading the bikes on the van, a guy with a custom titanium bike (by Davidson out of Seattle) couldn’t get his front wheel off.

I woke up well rested today, possibly because I had a glass of wine last night – the first in 6 days!

Although we start on a beautiful “Old Highway 30”, today we will get our first taste of riding on an interstate highway. Mike, the leader, says “I like riding on interstates. The trucks pull you along 2 to 3 miles faster than you’d normally go.” I think he’s crazy.

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. - Charles Kuralt

In some states, particularly out West, it is legal for bikes to ride on the interstate (shoulder). But if there is construction and the shoulder is blocked, then you can’t ride on it. And that is the situation we faced today. So we had to be shuttled about 8 miles past the construction. Which poses a dilemma for me.

I’ve had a motto, or a goal, for this ride. It’s reflected on the front of my rear view mirror: “REFI” or “Ride Every F___ing Inch”. This means no sag and no walking. But I was forced to ride the sag today to get past the construction. So did I blew it? Missed my goal? Do I need to re-label the goal “REAI” – Ride Every Allowed Inch? What do you think?

          

The last 25 miles of so are along the Snake River. Terrain here is fairly flat (it’s been downhill most of the day) and there are a lot of farms, probably irrigated from the river. Ontario is the “onion capital” of Oregon. - During this part of the ride I had my first flat tire.

         

         

         

We’re achieved a goal of sorts today, moving from Pacific time to Mountain time.

Day 7, 76 miles, 1,394 feet of climbing, 5.3 hrs

576 miles total, 3,079 miles to go, 43 days to go

6/27 John Day to Baker City, Or.

Six days and still in Oregon; a day and a half more and we’re in Idaho.

This is going to be a difficult day, especially after yesterday. There are three climbs, all steeper than the two yesterday. It’s “only” 80 miles, but many riders probably haven’t recovered from yesterday.

Once again the weather is great, 40’s to 80’s and not a cloud in the sky.

By the first stop, we’re back in the forest in Malheur National Forest. We stay in the forest until close to Baker City. Also at the first rest stop we finally turn off highway 26 and on to highway 7, a much better cycling road.

          

Anne’s knee is still bothering her; Nick has stomach problems (but still rode) and I believe someone else was in the van. I saw two guys walking the first hill, and it was the easiest. Most of today’s climbing was 4 to 5%, although there was some 6% going to Dixie Mt. Summit, 7 % to Tipton Mt. Summit and 9 % to Snall Summit. I did not use the granny gear at all, but maybe I should have.

         

In six days of cycling I think maybe 5 or 6 dogs have barked at me; none gave chase.

I’ve basically been riding alone. Every time I think I’ve found someone who rides at my speed, either I drop them or, more likely, he/they drop me. But riding alone doesn’t bother me.

           

Unlike yesterday, I was tired today. The last twenty miles were difficult. My hands hurt, my arms hurt, my shoulders hurt and my butt sure did hurt. Legs were tired and quads tight. ‘Got some sunburn on my legs. Tomorrow is supposedly an easier day and I need it.

Day 6, 81 miles, 4,272 feet climbed, 6.6 hrs

500 miles so far, 3,162 miles to go, 44 days to go

“In previous wanderings through America I often wondered why I seldom saw truckers reading newspapers when they stopped for meals and now I know the answer. The highway is a cocoon and life beyond it does not seem too much matter, The highway has its own rhythms, its own inhabitants, its own code of behavior. It is a world into itself, egalitarian and isolated, and to be a citizen of it one has to have only the need to keep moving.” -- OVER THE HILLS by David Lamb

6/26 Prineville to John Day, Or.

 

Beautiful but cold (low 40’s) today. Part of the time we’re in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Later in the day, we’re in what appears to be a canyon; the sign says Picture Gorge.

The entire 116 mile ride is on, once again, highway 26. The shoulder varies from good and wide, to fair but covered with gravel to narrow and non-existent.

“Never in a car had I been aware whether a road had a shoulder, and now having that extra lane was about the most important thing in my life. There probably wasn’t another person within five hundred miles who thought a good road shoulder had anything to do with happiness, but a simple truth had become evident to me the past few days: It is the little things over which we have no control that often carry the most weight in making a day a pleasure or a burden.” –OVER THE HILLS by David Lamb

       

America By Bicycle calls this a “signature day” because of the 117 miles with almost 5,000 feet of climbing. (My GPS never shows as much climbing as their document predicts.) But the weather is a big factor in dictating how difficult a given ride is. We may someday have a much lesser ride, but with rain and headwind, which could be much more difficult. And today, the weather gods were with us. It warmed quickly, eventually getting to the 80’s. But the dry air and slight wind cools you fast so we never felt hot, even in full sun. The real bonus, however, as the tailwind the last 30 miles. So here I was, near the end of a very long ride, spinning along at 20 mph and feeling GREAT. No aches, no pain; I didn’t even feel tired. ‘Had a big smile on my face.

                                  

Well, I do have a very strange pain. When I lift/bend my arms, particularly the right, as if to scratch my ear, my tricep hurts. I’ve never experienced this before. ‘Guess I should have taken Jim’s weight exercises more seriously.

Day 5, 116 miles, 4,203 feet climbing, 8.3 hrs

419 miles so far, 3,243 miles to go, 45 days to go

6/25 KahNeeTa to Prineville, Or.

 

It’s a beautiful morning here on the Indian reservation (see photo at left from my patio), a bit cool (60 degrees) in the shade but quite warm in the sun. Our schedule is a little different today; instead of loading the luggage starting at 5:45 a.m., today it’s at 7:30. They want us to take it easy today to save up for tomorrow, which is possibly the most difficult ride of the entire tour. But how will we take it easy when almost all of the first 45 miles is uphill?

                          

I read in another rider’s blog that we’re already over the cascades! Gee, and I only used my granny gear for a short time yesterday. (For non-cyclists: My bicycle has 30 gear combinations, made possible by 10 gears in the rear and 3 in the front. The lowest gear up front is called the granny gear, “a gear so low my granny can climb this hill”.)

I talked to Anne “coast-to-coast mommy” at breakfast and her knee is so swollen she’s not riding today.

         

           

After the second rest stop yesterday, the shoulder on highway 26 got quite narrow and we soon learned that the drivers give us no slack. Even when nothing is coming in the opposite direction, they don’t move over an inch. A large RV came so close to me (downhill; I was going 30) it felt like I was being sucked into his wheel. We turned off 26 to go to the Kah-Nee-Ta reservation and found light traffic, but chipped seal roads. Much of this morning’s ride, when not on 26, was on good roads with not too much traffic. After the town of Madras, we turned south on 26 and it became much more of a country road – a deserted road except for traffic – no buildings in site for 30 miles. This is what I expected crossing the country. (Photo to right)

We’re in Prineville tonight. 25 miles SSE of here is the geographic center of Oregon. So tomorrow we’ll leave central Oregon and be in the eastern part. Friends Gary & Rita say the eastern part is very beautiful.

I guess I didn’t “take it easy” as we were supposed to today; I was the 6th person at the hotel.

Day 4, 60 miles, 2,674 feet climbing, 4.6 hours

303 miles so far, 3,360 miles to go, 46 days to go

6/24 Welches to KahNeeTa, Or.

 

Since the cafe can’t handle all of us for breakfast, we eat in two shifts, slow riders first and fast riders last. Believe it or not, I’m in the fast group. That’s a first. Anyone who arrived in time to unload the luggage the first two days is a “fast rider”. I’m probably one of the slower, fast riders. Today will be a test; we start with a 12.5 mile climb of almost 3,000 feet. Overall climbing is supposed to be 5,000 feet. And we’ll quickly move from one ecosystem (essentially a rain forest with large fir trees) to a high desert with red rocks.

                 

In addition to varied terrain, we had varied temperatures today, from 45 to near 100 degrees. How do you handle this? Part of the answer is to layer. But what do you do with the layers you take off? I decided to use a small handlebar bag. In addition I have a small fanny-pack with passport, wallet and cell-phone. (Originally planned for the camera here but it needs to be more readily available so is in the front pocket of the handlebar bag.) At the start of the ride, with jacket on, the fanny-pack is in the handlebar bag. As it warms, I remove the sleeves from the jacket so it becomes a vest. The sleeves fit in the bag. When I later remove the vest and knee warmers, the fanny-pack comes out and the other stuff goes in. This has worked well so far. -- Other plans are for days with actual or expected rain. For this I have a Gore-Tex jacket, hood and pants plus shoe covers. This is all too big for the handlebar bag so on days with threatening rain, I’ll carry rain gear in a small backpack.

At mile 10 today I saw one of our riders walking up the (13 mile) hill. He may have a long 47 days ahead of him. ‘Also heard last night that one of the women didn’t come to dinner because she was treating her knee with ice.

           

I've been in the wittiness protection program. Because there are 4 John's, my name-tag says (or said) "Mac". But I had a hard time with that so changed it to "John Mc". So now I'm called, John, Mac and, occasionally, John Mc.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Lao-tzu

Day 3, 66 miles, 4,700 feet, 5.9 hrs

243 miles so far, 3,421 miles to go, 47 days to go

6/23 St. Helens to Welches, Or.

 

Today was pretty uneventful. As opposed to yesterday’s no turns, we had over 30 turns today, mostly getting through the outskirts of Portland.

Portland is recognized as the most bike-friendly city in the U.S. Dallas is recognized as one of the worst.

Today’s ride was three distinct rides. We started as we finished yesterday, going East on highway 30 with lots of traffic. However it seemed mostly downhill and with a slight tail wind so we made good time to the first rest stop at mile 28. The next leg was on bikeways through Portland, much of which was on the banks of the Columbia. The last third was more scenic, especially when we could see Mt. Hood, although highway 26 also had traffic. Many of us stopped at mile 57 for a great hamburger at Calamity Jane’s in the town of Sandy.

Like others I arrived at the resort hotel (really posh) at 1:45 but had to wait 45 minutes for our luggage because of congestion at the loading dock. (We finally gave up, unloaded it in the parking lot and carried it to the baggage room.)

6/22 Astoria to St. Helens, Or

 

The ride begins. At the orientation yesterday, Mike said “After this ride, you’ll have a different perspective on life and a different perspective on this country.” We’ll see.

Today’s route will be easy to follow: “Turn left from the Holiday Inn on to highway 30. 69 miles later, turn right into the Best Western.” Well, it’s not quite that easy because we have to find 2 rest stops and at least sign in so that the AABB staff can keep track of us. But still, it’s pretty easy (except for those two big hills) as we follow the Columbia River upstream. Did Lewis and Clark return this way? Or is this where they split up? I don’t remember. But their navigation would have been a bit more difficult; they didn’t have GPS.

            

After loading the luggage and breakfast, all done in 45 minutes, we have a group photo and are off. Adrenalin is running and the hammer-heads always sprint away, both of which can result in crashes. I want none of that so hang around until I think most everyone has left. I only see a few riders on the first leg and they all pass me. Five miles into the ride I see a gal with the first flat. At mile 12 the leader Mike passes me. Is he riding sweep and am I the last one on the road? When I check in at the first rest stop, mile 28, I see that about 3/4’s of the riders are ahead of me. On the second segment I ride with small groups but either I drop them or the drop me. At the second stop, mile 48, it looks like 1/2 of the riders are ahead of me. At the end of the ride, less then 1/4 are ahead of me. Since I haven’t passed dozens of riders, I’m not sure how this happened. But I arrive at the hotel at 1:15. Five minutes earlier and I’d be helping unload the luggage van.

              

The ride up the Columbia River Gorge was not the best ride I’ve been on. We’re on highway 30 all day and traffic, particularly truck traffic, is constant. There is a shoulder but it’s sometimes very narrow. You can guarantee that 18-wheelers will pass you (very close) when you’re on the narrow stretches. Fortunately, the entire ride will not be like this.

Day 1, 70 Miles, 2800 Feet, 5.0 Hrs.

70 Miles so far, 3560 Miles to go, 49 Days to go

"There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it."-- Charles Dudley Warner

6/21 Astoria

 

Yesterday afternoon those of us eager-beavers assembled our bikes. This was an event scheduled for today. A few, like me, did it totally myself; most let an ABB mechanic do it for them (see photo). I passed the bike inspection and helmet inspection with flying colors. ‘Learned that Jeanie, the lady who we gave a ride to yesterday, does not know how to change a flat tire. Apparently, she’s not alone because ABB has tire-changing workshops scheduled.

It seems fitting to begin the ride where Lewis and Clark ended their Westward exploration. They had traveled 4,132 miles in 554 days and learned first hand about weather West of the Cascades: in the winter of 1805, it rained on them 52 out of 57 days they were here. Weather looks good here today although there is 40% chance of participation. Tomorrow’s forecast is better and in only three days we’ll be over the cascades and into the high desert where the average rainfall is 12 inches.

            

An hour after writing the last paragraph “weather looks good”, I’m on the bike heading toward the Pacific Ocean – in the rain. Oh well, it’s a light rain. The sun comes out momentarily when I reach the coast. I run into 5 other ABB riders so have someone to take my picture at the ocean.

Astoria/Warrentown is the oldest American settlement west of the Mississippi. American is the key word here; I’m sure San Antonio is much older.

             

Today from 3:00 to 6:00 we met as a group for the first time for an orientation. There are 51 riders going all the way and another 20 doing a segment (8 or 9 days). There are three riders from England, one from Tasmania, Australia and two from Trinidad, West Indies. Although most of us are newbie's, one guy has ridden cross-country three times. The average age is 58. I am the only rider from Texas and there are none from the adjacent states (NM, Ok, LA, AK). Twelve of the 50 are females which is a much lower percent than usual. From the brief introductions, it seems like a really neat group with great sense of humors*. The most interesting was a short, small guy from New Jersey, an 80-year old former professor and concert violinist who sang a little song for us. Photo above in red jacket.  It will be fun getting to know him.

* Sample humor: One guy said, "Today I dipped my wheel in the Pacific. All I have to do now is dip it in the Atlantic. 'Appears I'm half-way done." - or - "For the first time in 10 years, my wife isn't here to tell me where to go. So I'll probably be lost most of the time." I wonder who said that.

Texas to Oregon

 

I spend most of Thursday packing, which reserved Friday for “things that must get done before I go”: replacing a light switch and some light bulbs, making a repair to the sprinkler system, taking Brenda to breakfast at her favorite coffee bar, getting a (short) hair cut, putting stabilizer in the motorcycle gas, etc. I enjoyed the .etc most of all.

On Friday night friends from the Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts (DATES) met at an art gallery for the opening of an exhibit “The Art of the Bicycle” and then adjourned to Vickery Pub for libations and a final toast to my ride.

 

 

 

 

I fly to Portland and are met at the airport by John and Sara Blakeslee of Tacoma, Washington who have come to take me to Astoria and see me off. We met the Blakeslee’s ten years ago on a bike tour in Provence, France. John grew up in Portland and we had lunch at one of his old haunts, Pal’s Shanty.

We also gave a ride to Astoria to another AAB rider, Jennifer from Portsmouth, NH.

Also today (1 pm Pacific time), DATES friends Pat and Charlie Jenkins  begin their cross-country tour as part of RAM (the Race Across America). Pat and Charlie are part of 8 tandems who will ride as a relay team, riding 24 hours a day and hoping to complete their ride in less than 6 days (compared with my 7 weeks). Check out their web site http://teamjdrf.colourprep.com/ and you’ll see how you can follow their progress in Twitter.

Nutrition

 

Nutrition and hydration are critical for long, multiple-day rides. Most of your fuel comes from carbohydrates.

• Before the day's ride, you need high-carbohydrate, low glycemic foods and beverages.
• During the ride you need a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. You need 100-300 calories of carbo-rich food per hour and 8 ounces of fluid (best to use both water and sports drinks) every 15 to 20 minutes.
• For recovery, immediately after the ride you need (1) recovery fluids and (2) high-carbohydrate, high glycemic food and beverages. You also need protein, sodium and potassium. An hour later you need more.

My plan:

Before the ride, to use breakfast and possibly a sports drink. For instance, a bagel with peanut-butter and/or jelly (Why not both?) and a banana will provide 85 grams (425 calories) of carbohydrates.

During the ride

• On the bike, Gatorade, Water and Power Bars on a regular basis. Since I don’t remember to drink, I have my bike computer programmed to beep at me every 20 minutes.
• I’ll also visit America by Bicycle’s “sag” vehicle for additional sports drink, fruit and cookies or whatever they have.
• For lunch, I’ll look for sandwiches, veggie pizza, V-8 juice, yogurt, etc. However, hamburgers are my favorite. Which small town on my route has the best hamburger? The best cinnamon roll? These are important issues I must investigate.

After the ride I’ll try to find a convenience store for my recovery supplement of chocolate milk, a bagel, yogurt, pretzels, bean burrito or whatever I can find.

I’m sure our dinners will be high in carbohydrates, either from pasta, potato or rice along with whole grain breads or rolls.

Friends who have ridden across America tell me that by the end, you’ll eat every thing you can find, and you’ll loose 5 to 10 pounds.

Training

 

Although I’ve been a “serious” cyclist for 38 years, it’s all been about causal riding. I’ve never been competitive or even tried to ride hard. But with the thought of riding across the country – 80 miles per day for 45 days – I decided I needed to “train”. My objectives were (1) to be able to do the ride in relative comfort, (2) to lose weight (which helps in climbing hills) and (3) to increase my speed. On an 80 mile day, if you increase your speed from 13 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour, you reduce your ride time from 6:15 to 5:30 – which gives you more time to recover – or drink beer.

I enlisted the help of a physical trainer (on bike in photo) and cyclist friend Jim Erickson of Winthrop, Washington as my coach.

Part 1 of the training program, November thru February consisted of (1) “boot camp”, with Brenda and Beverly, 2 to 3 times a week, (2) Jim’s “circuit” 2 to 3 times a week, (3) “spin class” 2 to 3 times a week and (4) cycling as weather permitted. Jim’s circuit (with weights and a stability ball) had three phases which focused on (1) stability and endurance, (2) strength and endurance, and (3) power. At least that was the theory.

 

Part 2, March thru mid-June focused primarily on cycling. There’s nothing better than time in the saddle. Jim was with us at Texas Hell Week, March 14 thru 21 which gave him a chance to assess my “progress”. I rode 527 miles in those 8 days. The remainder of the training was supposed to consist of:

         

Later March and first 3 weeks of April: Cycling a couple of “easy” weeks (200 miles), two “moderate” weeks (300-350 miles) and three “hard” weeks (500 miles). Because of weather and work, I wasn’t able to do as much of this as I wanted. In fact I didn’t get in any “hard” weeks.

Then in late April and May we went on two tours: “Napa & Sonoma Valleys” and “Roll on Columbia”. Both of these, and the Columbia in particular, will give me opportunities to ride much bigger hills than we have in most of Texas.

So I’ve exercised 2.4 hours per day mid-November through May, ridden 5,000 miles in 2009 and lost about 20 pounds. Am I ready? We'll soon find out.

Photos: Coach Jim on bike, Brenda doing curls, Beverly with the Ball Pike, me a Ball Hams exercise and Spin Class at Richardson Bike Mart.