Big Sky

Yep, Montana is Big Sky country. And long ride country.

In yesterday's blog, I mentioned our Warm Showers and Adventure Cycling hosts, Arlen Hall and his wife Shawn. One thing I neglected to mention was diet. When you are burning 5000+ calories a day, there is no diet big enough to stop the crew from eating. So we tried out the Big Dipper, which Arlen said has been named one of the top 10 ice cream stores in America. So, we all got double scoops in waffle cones! And look ... we're still all skinny!

Then this morning, we had a humongous and delicious breakfast prepared by Shawn, and we almost made it out the door by 7:00 am, which would have been 6:00 am just a few miles west of where we were. But we had a good reason for setting off 10 minutes late. Could you pick out your own bike in this garage?

Of course you've heard the bike aficionado's answer to the question, "How many bikes do you need?" The answer:  "One more than I have right now." For Arlen and Shawn, there was a bike for all occasions. My favorite ... when Arlen travels to trade shows or planning sessions, he puts his clothes in a carry-on backpack, and checks his Bike Friday folding bike as luggage. At the destination, he unpacks the bike, puts his backpack in the extra-rugged suitcase, and drags it behind the bike to wherever he has to go. An all-in-one solution for luggage, bicycle, and ground transportation. And since he's the director of tours for Adventure Cycling, I'll be he knows all the good routes. He said they did something like 109 tours last year (he didn't ride all of them, but helped organize them).

Anyway, by 7:10 am, we did manage to roll down the street, through a maze of bike paths in Missoula, then up Highway 200, which will be our companion for the next several days. Today, we did 80.6 miles with 2601.7 feet of ascending. Tomorrow, we do something like 96 miles, including crossing the Continental Divide via Rodgers Pass (in the first 18 miles out of Lincoln, Montana, where we are being graciously hosted by the American Legion), then a long and gradual descent, ending at Great Falls, Montana.

We are doing a fundraiser for Operation Comfort Warriors, so the Commander and Adjutant of Montana Post 9 in Lincoln presented us with a check for $200 to help on our way to our goal of $10,000. And tomorrow morning, they will host us for a quick breakfast before we head up the mountain for another long day!

Time Zones and Mountains

After being out of range of phone service the past two days, I feel like so much has happened that I have to relate, and yet there is nothing … just some amazing country, some great rides, and great people!

To start with, I need to thank Pat Wollner, our support driver. She is a cyclist herself, and would love to be out riding with us at times, but she is instead exhausting herself (sometimes, at least) supporting the four of us who are riding. It is rather a thankless task (thank you anyway, Pat … without you, this wouldn’t be happening), and yesterday, with the high heat at Powell Campground, myself and the other three bike riders went up to Lochsa Lodge and stayed in the air conditioned room to use their very weak Internet signal. When we got back to the campsite, there was Pat practically passed out from the stifling heat, with her head wrapped in a towel trying to stay cool. I suggested she dip her feet in the river, but it was too far away. We finally settled on a good way to cool her down … the wet towel around the head, and a bucket of cold water for her feet. So, you can see below our Pat air conditioner at work. After a couple of hours, she was revived, and went to spend a cool evening by herself in the nearby lodge while I stayed behind to supervise the boys. Pat got all her communicating with boys' parents and with friends, then returned to camp to allow the boys a bit of free time. They took the truck up to the lodge, played pool, then returned to camp and were in bed by around 9:30 pm ... still daylight.

We got up early, had some Samurai cereal for breakfast, packed up the car, then got on our bikes and started up Lolo Pass. From our campsite to the summit of the pass, we climbed nearly 2000 feet, and that was during the first 12 miles of the day. I was far behind the three boys, who climbed the hill like mountain goats on bikes, but I finally caught up with them at the top of the pass, where there was a very comprehensive visitor center, free WiFi (at least on the Montana side of the building … that’s a joke, by the way), and free coffee. The picture shows the three boys getting ready for the long climb up the hill, most of it at around 8% grade. 

The picture below is a map in the visitor center showing how mountainous the area is. On the left of the picture is the valley where Missoula is located, and we have just traveled from right to left following the river valley that shows near the middle of the map moving from right to left.

Anyway, we got to Missoula in good time, and are spending the night with Arlen Hall, who works at Adventure Cycling, and his wife Shawn ... both avid cyclists. Shawn cycled with us to the Adventure Cycling headquarters, which is practically a shrine to American cycle touring. The company was started with the BikeCentennial in 1976, and has been supporting cycle tourism in America ever since. I'll post one picture just to give a small taste of what the office looks like ... decorated with bicycles from famous bike tours, each with its own story. The two couples who founded Adventure Cycling had the idea while riding from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America, documented in the May 1973 National Geographic.

Tomorrow, we ride towards the Continental Divide, which we expect to cross sometime in the next few days. Hopefully, the air at closer to 6000 feet will be a bit cooler, and we can start to out-race the stagnant high pressure area that is causing a record hot spell in these parts.

Oh, and the two pictures that I promised yesterday, of the boys "swimming in the river, and me emerging from the river after doing the laundry with my clothes on my back.

Water World

Surprise! I found a Wi-Fi hotspot at the Lochsa Lodge, near our campground by Lolo pass. Tomorrow, we have to climb to the top of the pass, cross the Idaho-Montana border, then zoom down into Missoula. Looking forward to meeting the folks from Adventure Cycling, who are practically the patron saints of cross-country bicycle touring.

The theme for the past couple of days seems to be water! We beat the heat by leaving early in the morning, reaching our campsite at the Wilderness Gateway campground by lunch time, then we went swimming in the cold Clearwater river. “Swimming is an exaggeration. We got wet, and cooled off. And I used up a good bit “camp soap” (biodegradable soap) scrubbing my bicycling outfit, my hair, and anything else that was exposed. It took about 10 minutes for everything to dry. If I can get past this very slow Internet connection, I’ll post pictures. Looks like I'll have to post pictures tomorrow when we get to Missoula. 

Earlier in the day, we ran into about a dozen boy scouts riding from Washington to North Carolina raising funds for an unrelated charity. They all wore identical outfits, rode identical bikes, and carried identical gear. I realized how rag-tag we must look to them, so I told the ride leader that we were the Astoria Irregulars. Ironically, Bryce, who organized our entire ride, had initially been inspired when he met up with the same crew (but a different bunch of scouts) two years earlier, and rode with them for 15 miles near Astoria. Now here we were crossing paths on the road. We get to talk to lots of folks out touring on their bicycles. Amazing how popular it has begun. Anyway, we may meet up with the other group of scouts sometime within the next few days, since our paths are similar for awhile.

Then today, since we only had to ride around 40 miles, we scheduled a stop at the Weir Creek trail and hiked a quarter of a mile to a hot springs. None of the boys had ever been to a hot spring, so it was a big adventure for them. For me, it was a chance to slip into 115 degree water and soak my tired muscles for a few minutes. None of the boys made it all the way into the water … too hot for them, but to me, it felt great! No pictures of the hot springs, because we all left our cameras behind except for Ryan, and he dropped his cellphone, putting him temporarily out of service with a cracked screen and an experiment in drying out the cell phone in a bag of couscous. Soon, hopefully, the phone will be “hot to Trott.”

We’ve been told by a couple of people to avoid Highway 12, but we’ve seen more cyclists than motorists, and it’s been a gorgeous ride so far. We crest the Bitterroot Mountains tomorrow, then start our ascent of the Rockies. Everyone will have tired legs before we get there, but everyone is riding strongly, so I’m sure we’ll make it with flying colors. 

Grampa Don and HOT HOT Weather

Something different today on our Bike Trip America journey. And something similar. Something old, something new, nothing borrowed, something very blue.

To start with, we rolled down a long steep hill from where we stayed last night, right through the middle of Lewiston, across a bridge, then we headed east toward our first stop, Orofino, the site of an enormous dam. It would have been a very pleasant ride, except that the temperature quickly climbed above 100 degrees, and stayed there for several hours. When we rolled through Orofino on the way to our end destination, we saw a time and temperature sign that read 104. Happy to report that everyone was drinking constantly, and there were no signs of anyone bonking. The only riding problem was a tire blowout on Bryce’s bike. He had to climb on top of the GMC Suburban and retrieve one of his spare tires.

At lunch, in a slightly forlorn looking park at the beginning of Orofino, I checked my phone messages, and discovered, much to my delight, that I had become a grandfather. We agreed beforehand that I would use the Welsh name for Grandpa, so from now on, I’m Taidie to our newest crew member, “little” Owen. He wasn’t in his bassinette for more than a couple of hours before he grabbed the side and pulled himself over. By the end of our bike trip, maybe Owen will be strong enough to get on a bike and come join us!

When we finally got to Kamiah (pronounced Kam-ee-aiy), we found small town America! We called the local contact for the American Legion got directions to the Legion Hall, where we were staying. It was a huge, nicely maintained but nearly empty building. The one nice thing about it, it stayed relatively cool in spite of the 100 degree temperatures outside. There were no more than a handful of active legionnaires in the town, and most of them could be accounted for on one hand. There was only one couple in town, the local commander, Ron and his wife Maryanne Funnemark, who took us to their house on the edge of town … the house where he had grown up … and provided a barbeque picnic, while the boys and Maryanne entertained each other with a game of “Lawn Yahtzee,” with 6 inch dice tossed from a milk pail.

Ron was trying to be helpful with our planning for the next day’s route, and called the next door neighbor to help him decide. “How far is it to Wilderness Campground?” “A fur piece, I reckon.” “Will it be hot?” “Seems likely.” After awhile, the neighbor came by to help us more seriously, and provided a lot of good advice for the journey. As a result, we will leave early to beat the heat, and will end at milepost 122 … or was that 3 miles past Fish Crick, which is milepost 138 … We’ll find our way, don’t worry. And maybe we’ll have Owen come navigate for us!

The Legion Hall has two interesting features. A disco ball hanging from the ceiling, and a jukebox. The boys managed to get both working, which made for an entertaining evening, what with Ryan’s strobing flashlight, a large empty building, etc. Now, off to bed so we can depart in a timely fashion!

Not sure when this will get posted, since we are low on options for Internet usage the next couple of days. If worse comes to worse, this will get posted in Missoula on Monday.

Triple Century?

I spoke before about a nested century ride ... anytime you ride a 100 miles, there is a metric century, a hundred kilometers, embedded within it. In other words, you can't get to 100 miles without first riding for at least 62.5 miles. So two century rides today, both in one day. And actually, we could make that a dozen, because there were four of us on the ride, and we are a team.

We started from near Astoria with four riders, and we were taking bets on who would be the first to surrender to the reality of how tough it is to live on the road. My bets are on ... nobody dropping out! Everyone is riding so well, I'm starting to think we could well reach NYC in mid-August with the entire team intact.

How tough was today? From our summer-long itinerary, we had only two century days planned, but a slight change in course made today into a century as well. So it will have been the third longest ride of the summer. The day also included 4000 feet of climbing (and 200 feet more of descending), so we ended at a slightly lower altitude ... going from Walla Walla, Washington to Lewiston, Idaho. We will start correcting that altitude change tomorrow when we venture into the Rockies, headed eventually for Lolo Pass in three or four days. So, the third longest ride, the climbing-est ride of the entire trip, and temperatures climbing toward 100 (see, there's the third century). And we still averaged nearly 15 mph for the day!

Only one thing could make up for that ... a real bed, a hot shower, a home-cooked meal, all provided by the Legion Commander in Lewiston, Ivan Ulmer and his wife Shelly, along with their two young dachsunds, Beanie and Frankie. They have been extraordinarily generous, making the tiredness of a long hot hundred-mile day melt away, and making us anticipate the bliss of a good night's sleep before rolling down the hill in the morning to ride a slow, steady climb towards Kamiah.

My cell phone, while not really broken, found itself doing weird things as it was stashed in the back pocket of my cycling jersey, along with some road snacks. First, the phone posted something to Facebook, giving me the status of "Ooo." I didn't type that. Ignore it. I'm not in pain. But also, the phone's screen went so dim that I couldn't see it, and therefore, took no pictures.

What would the pictures have been? Ryan with a flat tire (first one on the road for the entire trip!!!). A large and vicious dog trying to chase me until I told it to "Go Home!" The dog put its tail between its legs, then chased from a safer distance of about 20 yards. Having lunch in the cemetery entering Pomeroy. And taking a rest break at the top of Alpowa Summit, on the Lewis and Clark Trail, before plunging down towards the Snake River, and the twin cities of Clarkston and Lewiston. You'll have to imagine those pictures, because, for the most part, they were not saved for posterity.

Alas, what is one to do? Guess we'll just have to keep riding, and hope the weather isn't as hot as the weatherman is predicting.

Old Fashioned Travel

Tomorrow we head into the hills and several days of anticipated high temps, combined with 90 miles and over 4000 feet of climbing. We end the day with a fast descent into Lewiston Idaho.

How do you like our new support convoy?

Actually, there's  a Model A Ford gathering in Walla Walla, so there are dozens of these beautifully restored antiques...sort of like me! And our real support car now has real AC, reliable breakz, and a happy driver!

The next 4 or 5 days may be thin on Internet connections, so it will be tricky doing updates. But of course I will try.

Here's a final shot of our other bit of antique transportation, not quite fully restored.

Air Conditioning (Please)

We learned yesterday that early is good in these hotter climes. We only had 54 miles to go from Umatilla to Walla Walla, but still decided to set off at 6:30 after a good breakfast. One rider wanted to ride more slowly than yesterday, so I led out at an easy pace. After a few miles, we again picked up a tailwind, and clipped along at a good pace, getting to the Washington border (22 miles from Umatilla) within an hour. We lollygagged along at about 16 mph, taking a break to get some ice water at a mini-mart, and were approaching Walla Walla by around 10:00 am. Easy riding, but we could see the start of the mountains to the east. After a day's rest, we will be heading into Idaho.

Since we're resting and relaxing, naturally I went for a lazy bike ride into town (we're staying in the Walla Walla Assembly of God church school, which is out of session at the moment ... a gym, air conditioning, everything to boys could want. So anyway, as I said, a lazy bike ride into town, to the Starbucks on the corner of Main and 3rd. I believe I had a cup of coffee in the same Starbucks the day it first opened, which would have been about 15 years ago! I started talking to a couple of men who were admiring my bike, and it turned out that one of them, Mike Harting, had been an avid cyclist until he broke his leg in a cycling accident. He had just gotten the rod removed from his leg, and was proudly showing it off. He now does oil work in North Dakota, so we may encounter him later during ourtrip. You never know.

Mike's buddy, a Basque named Cesareo Texidor, wore a Special Forces badge on his cap. He had been a medic in the Special Forces, twice wounded. Just the sort of person who could benefit from the charity that we are fundraising for. Of course I told them about the blog, and about the group of us riding across the country, and our cause, Operation Comfort Warriors.

You can read more about our bike ride, and help us reach our $10,000 goal by following the "Donate" link on the Bike Trip America site at the link above.

Meanwhile, back to the subject at hand. Air conditioning. We are hoping for good weather all the way ... not too hot, not too cold, not to rainy, not too many mosquitoes. Not too many real early mornings. And for Pat's sake (Pat is our support driver), hopefully the shop in Walla Walla will be able to fix the car air conditioning once and for all. That way, maybe we can all reach the east coast in comfort, knowing that "comfort" is rather a relative term, both for those of us riding bicycles (approximately 1,056,300 turns of the crank), and for Pat, who has to handle the GMC Suburban on the blue roads of America (all those smaller roads that will lead us through the hinterlands).

Lost and Found

We zoomed through the Columbia River Gorge so fast, I hardly knew it was there! After a rustic night camping outside the Legion Hall in Carson, Washington, we had a hot and hilly ride to Maryhill State Park, near Goldendale. Among the highlights, we stopped for lunch at Horsethief Lake park, and hiked down the hill to the near the river's edge, where there are hundreds of wonderful petroglyphs. Missed the cutoff to the lake and ended up at the wrong parking lot, so we had to do a small backtrack to where Pat had already set out our lunch. Let is suffice to say that every mistake we make on the road becomes a learning experience.

The last 20 miles to the campsite were almost unbearable long and hot, except for the finish, a high-speed descent, and the showers at the end of the ride. Here's a picture that Pat took of me enjoying an "adult beverage" while the boys were off having their showers:

The campsite was right on the Columbia River. I was able to post a Facebook update, but we had no Internet, so no blog. 

First thing in the morning (we originally planned to get up by 4 am, out by 5 am, but weary bones need a bit more sleep, so first thing in the morning happened at 6:30 rather than 5), we left camp and started up the hill that we had descended at over 35 mph the day before. By the time we had completed half an hour of riding, we had already climbed over 800 feet, and actually saw the sunrise peaking through stones at Maryhill's full-sized replica of Stonehenge. Then we had another superfast downhill ride, followed by a quick-paced ride out of the Columbia Gorge and into the desert area farther up the Columbia River. It was a long ride, and we knew it would be hot again, so we stoked our inner furnaces, and for awhile, averaged around 25 mph. Over the course of the entire ride, we averaged better than 15 mph. Unfortunately, the Strava app on my cell phone stopped working because the location services would not work in the middle of nowhere, but I have accurate numbers from the day on my Garmin bike computer.

Had an early lunch because we needed to break up the ride into smaller segments, and everyone appreciated the shade of the car, since there were no trees in sight.

Judging strictly by the mileage, we anticipated arriving in Umatilla (pronounce "you" matilla) as early as noon, but the heat started taking its toll, and we had more frequent breaks. Here are the three boys chugging along on a hot stretch of pavement:

Everyone is starting to ride more strongly, and throughout the day, each one of us had our moments of strength, and our moments of fading. But eventually, we found our way across the highway bridge and into Umatilla. Unfortunately, the church where we are staying for the night is on Columbia street, and the GPS maps don't work very well in Umatilla. The map neglected to tell us that there were two Columbia streets, several miles away from each other, and both of them up a tough hill. So what was supposed to be a ride of just over 80 miles turned into a ride of 90 miles and lasting nearly 6 hours. The good news ... riding from the east end of Umatilla cuts off several miles on tomorrow's journey to Walla Walla, where we get to spend two nights! Looking forward to a day of rest and recovery. 

The Garmin says we covered 90.3 miles in 5:54:52 at an average speed of 15.27 mph, with a top speed of 35.26 mph. We burned approximately 5,389 calories today, and ascended a total of 2821.5 feet, partially negated by the 2460.6 feet of descending. And we are approximately 305 miles into our 3521 mile journey. We will sleep well in the air conditioned church hall at the Umatilla Baptist Church, have a good breakfast cooked on a real stove, then cycle through the vineyards and farmlands towards Walla Walla. It sounds so romantic, so French. But we know this ... it will be hot. Voila Voila! (Just teasing a few "Whitties" who follow my blog).

For those who just can't get enough from my blog posts, I urge you to also follow along on Bryce's video journal at http://biketripamerica.com.

Trial By Fire

After two short days on the road, today (just the third day into our trip across America), we were tasked with riding from St. Helens, Oregon, through northern Portland and along the Columbia River gorge to Carson, which barely shows up on the map. It is 90 degrees (about 15 degrees warmer than the second day) and 84 miles distance, plus nearly 3000 feet of climbing, with another 2800 feet of descending. On paper, given that it is only our third day on the road, I think today may have been one of the toughest tests on the road.

We were up by 5:30 am, ready to roll at 6:30. We had a visitor, Cliff, who showed up on his recumbent. He had communicated with Bryce, and said he would have joined the ride if he had known about it earlier. He would have been an excellent addition to the team. Cliff lives in St. Helens, and was going to a cookout at his son's house, which was no more than 30 miles away from our destination. So five of us hit the road, again escorted by a local who knew all the best ways to get out of town, and through Portland.

We saw a dead deer beside the road, then three very alive deer as we zoomed along the highway between Scappoose and Portland, then we cut over the St. John's Bridge, and along a slough that branched off the Columbia River. That is where we stopped to take the picture below, which shows Mt. Hood rising like a ghost on the horizon, on a very clear day! Perfect way to start our ride, in spite of the early hour!

Cliff knew the best route through Northwest Portland, and soon we were on Marine Drive headed towards Governor's Island and our first State boundary, crossing from Oregon to Washington. But before we got there, I was in for a huge surprise.

Another biker asked if the fellow on the recumbent was John. I answered "No," but jokingly invited him along, because we were headed to New York. This was somewhere near the Portland airport. A minute later, a female rider pulled up beside me, and said, "I remember you have a three-letter name, and you're from Honolulu." I was wearing my Hawaii Bicycling League jersey, but still, it was quite a surprise. I looked over, and it was Deb, a girl who had ridden with us on our Monday and Thursday HBL rides a couple of months before. She had been in Hawaii for two weeks, and I think I had been on three rides with her. She was a good friend of John, another Portlander who had frequently challenged us with his fast riding pace. Anyway, for those of my HBL riding friends, who so faithfully helped me ride myself into shape for this coast-to-coast trip, here is a pic of me with Deb, posing where we parted ways as I headed for the Columbia River crossing on the 206 bridge:

We followed an OLD road along the Columbia River, and soon found ourselves being followed closely by a dark van with its lights on. I thought maybe the "men in black," or maybe the police were there to cite us for riding recklessly, but no ... it was the parents of Jonathan, our youngest rider. They followed us into Camas, Washington, where they met us for lunch. I had been to Camas before with my friends Sue and Bob, who coincidentally had seen us off in Fort Stevens State Park three days earlier. 

After lunch, we dropped Cliff, who had ridden with us all day long, then did some serious hill climbing along the Columbia gorge. If you haven't seen this part of the country, it is spectacular, and well worth a visit! Here is a picture I took from the Cape Horn lookout, looking in the direction we would be riding later in the day, towards Cascade Locks, and Carson.

When we reached the Bonneville Dam, we knew we were on the home stretch ... less than 20 miles until we reached our night's destination.

In Carson, one of the Legion members took the boys swimming in the Wind River. Probably not the hot springs they were hoping for, but they seem to have enjoyed it!

Tomorrow will be much different. For one thing, our support driver Pat decided that Annie, our black lab mascot, would not be happy on the trip, due to the stress of constantly changing locales, no guaranteed place to play, and a big daily worry for Pat. So, Annie has been dropped off at her favorite doggie daycare for the summer. Everyone on the Bike Trip America team will really miss her.

Tomorrow will also be the day that we find out how quickly the boys' legs recover from a hard ride! (And the old man's legs, needless to say). But the ride is "only" 57 miles through hot countryside, and we will pass by a forest fire that just started today on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Extra water, extra wet towels, extra sunscreen!

For another thing, it will be the summer solstice, and we will end the day at Maryhill, where the fantastic museum features a life-sized replica of the original Stonehenge! What a place to spend the solstice! Until later, I leave you with this image from the Maryhill museum website.

Long Story Short

We are going to be averaging about 60 miles a day on our trip across America, but we are starting off slowly. The first day, we rode as far as Clatskinie, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, and today we rode to St. Helens, a mere 35 miles.

That being said, we took a local's advice, and took a long way around, leaving the back door of Clatskinie, then winding around a gorgeous few miles of Oregon forest, past Beaver Falls Trail -- where Ryan and Jonathan did the half-mile hike to the falls -- then found our way to Highway 30, and a steep and fast hill into Ranier. Thanks to that hill, we averaged 15 miles per hour for the day's ride, in spite of over 1100 feet of climbing.

We had three firsts today. For about 15 minutes, we had our first (and hopefully last?) ride in the rain. Needed to wipe the bikes down after we reached St. Helens as a result, but other than that, no problems riding. Walking, though ... next time I go on a long ride, remind me before hand what poison oak looks like. 'Nuff said. It was either that, or a bee sting on my leg. A bit of anti-itch cream, and soon, I'll be fine. We had our first campground showers, as well. Wonderful! And a fourth first, if you will. Camping. We'll be camping across the country, so we've got to get used to it. I have a nice little REI one-man tent, which is too small to get both me and my gear inside at the same time, but it will have to do. It makes a great drying rack, and hopefully will get me well rested for tomorrow's 80+ miles to Carson, Washington. There, we will again be hosted by the American Legion.

A short ride, so a short post today. You can also pick up some of the flavor of our ride by following Bryce's video journal on Bike Trip America.

TaDa ... We're on the road!

No more teachers, no more school ... On the road again ... Yep, that's me, standing on the beach in Fort Stevens, west of Astoria, Oregon. We had a ceremonial sendoff from the park, with our American Legion and Boy Scout sponsors, our support vehicle, our wonderful support driver Pat Wollner, her mascot dog Annie, and four riders. Three of the riders are 16, and one is not. While two of the boys will celebrate their 17th birthdays on the road, I'll be celebrating the 53rd anniversary of my 17th birthday. Don't even do the math. Anyway, here's our crew and a couple of our sponsors standing by the American Legion truck that escorted us through Astoria.

And just so that you know that we really started all the way at the Pacific Ocean, here's a picture taken by our half-time Hawaii friend Sue, who came to see us start off.

That's Jonathan on the left, next to Ryan, then Bryce (who organized the trip), and yours truly, the friendly neighborhood blogger. I'm not wearing a wet suit...that's my bicycling outfit for the cold coastal Oregon weather.

We rode from Fort Stevens to Astoria, had lunch at the Legion hall, then rolled out of town accompanied by the escort truck shown above, our support vehicle shown in a recent blog, the vehicles of a couple of parents, and reporter / photographer crew who will try to drop in on us periodically to see how we're progressing. The legion is trying to set up a big welcome when we get to NYC, and have mentioned possibly getting us onto GMA, Fox News, etc. They are excited, mostly because 100% of the funds we raise on the trip go to help wounded veterans. We ended the day's ride in Clatskinie ... first two days are warm-ups for the longer days that are coming. Today, 48 miles, tomorrow 35, and the day after that, 84 miles with 3000+ feet of  climbing along the Columbia River Gorge, to Carson, Washington.

We are truly on the way. And if the Legion continues to feed us the way they did in Clatskinie (I promised I wouldn't say anything, but I'm not saying, just telling) we'll end up putting on 15-20 pounds by the time we reach NYC. Lasagna, salad, salad, salad, warm freshly baked buns, butter, Lasagna, salad, and salad. That should get us through 35 miles without too much problem.

And again, thank you to Sue Saville Lucas for the wonderful pictures featured in today's blog.

Counting Down - One Day Left

Tomorrow's the day! Everything is packed, and everyone is (hopefully) relaxing. We meet at the Astoria Legion Hall later this afternoon for pictures and last-minute briefings, then tomorrow morning, we congregate at Peter Iredale beach in Fort Stevens, dip our tires in the Pacific, and start rolling eastward.

Yesterday, I did a final 35 mile training ride from Gearhart, Oregon down the coast to Arch Cape ... 1800 feet of climbing, and 1800 feet of descending along the way. It was a great ride. And today, I've been packing my panniers for maximum efficiency, in other words, taking out anything I can do without.

One of the highlights of my days in Gearhart have been the morning and evening walks with Annie, our black lab mascot. In the mornings, we go along the beach and throw tennis balls. This morning, there was a special omen on the beach walk. The tide was way out, leaving almost a quarter of a mile of hard-packed but still wet sand. As we got closer to the edge of the ocean, there were sand dollars galore!

A pocketful of change to spend on the road

Not a pocketful of change, but miles of sand dollars, enough to create a good-sized bank account. That is a lot of good luck to bank for our bike trip! And there's Annie in the bottom left corner, tennis ball all slobbered up and ready to go!

Tomorrow morning, the fretting will be over. The ride starts for real. My next blog post will be from on-the road ... hopefully a post every day, but there are no guarantees once we hit the road. That is when serendipity takes over. Que sera, sera.

Counting Down - Three Days to Go

We got the van (Chevy Suburban) loaded during our packing party yesterday afternoon, with duffel bags in place where they can be easily gotten out at the end of the day, and tents in a waterproof bag under a bungee net on the roof, since tents won't be required on many nights. Once everyone was gone, we decided that the truck with all the gear should go into the garage. There are still a few things to go into the roof rack, but as it is there is only one inch of clearance, so the roof gets packed after the truck is out of the garage!

Then, near disaster! Pat drove the truck and stopped just shy of the garage door, then turned off the engine and handed me the keys so I could unlock the door. I was going to stand outside and ensure that there was clearance on top. The door was open, and Pat turned the key to start the truck. Tck tck tck. We could hear the solenoid, but the engine wouldn't turn over. After several tries, the starter finally kicked in, and we successfully moved the truck into the garage. One last try, just to make sure that the truck would start in the morning, so we could take it to the garage for a battery check. Tck tck tck. Tck tck tck. Tck tck tck.

One nice thing about the Gearhart / Seaside area, the garage makes house calls. At 9:00 am, they pulled up, and the mechanic immediately confirmed that it was the starter that was failing, not the battery. He pulled out his little silver hammer (we had to look it up, but it really is the name of a Beatles song), crawled under the truck, and pounded on the starter motor while his wife turned the key. Eventually the truck started, and they drove off towards the garage in Seaside. Two hours later, the truck was parked back in front of the house with a new starter, and a gratis top-up of all the fluids, plus a check of the electrical system. That wind blowing out of Gearhart today is being created by a big sigh of relief. The truck is ready. The bikes are ready. No more tck tck. Instead, you might hear "Check. Check."

Another serendipitous find came from an article on my FaceBook feed. The article was about great bike rides where the wind is usually at your back. And in the article, they mentioned Wind Mapper (http://windmapper.com), a site that shows the current and forecast wind speed and direction, along with detailed weather forecasts for the road ahead. Wind Mapper will certainly become a regular part of our evening preview of the next day's ride. Not only can we have a good idea of when the wind might pick up or change direction during the day, but we will be able to see approximately when we can start anticipating the possibility of rain and lightening, if at all, and when the temperatures will reach an unbearable level. A great tool for plotting our road strategy for the next day ... something we will be doing nearly every evening for the next 59 days.

What would a long bike ride be, if there weren't a little bit of adventure along the way? And out of our first small adventure, we now have the assurance that our support vehicle is ready to go. Now, come Thursday morning, I just hope that all of us are as ready to get started as the Suburban is.

Counting Down - Four Days to Go

The excitement is palpable. The dining room table where I'm staying until the ride starts is now stacked with cookies, water bottles, snacks ... there's a large route map on the wall, and a donation jar is out, anticipating the generosity of those who come to our open house "packing" party today. In addition to the riders and their parents, there will be folks from the neighborhood wandering by to wish us well, and to meet the riders (they want to see who all is foolhardy enough to venture out on a 3521 mile bicycle journey).

All the riders will bring their duffel bags to be stowed in the support wagon, and last minute needs will be noted. The plan is to have everything packed in such a way that there is good visibility out the back window for Pat, who will driving along with us as we ride. And in a pinch, there has to be room for up to four cyclists, four bicycles, plus all the gear and the dog. "A pinch" means bad weather, an unavoidable road hazard (such as a washed out bridge), or exhausted riders who need an extra day to recover while we keep to our already-arranged tight schedule.

Yesterday, I spent some time going over the mechanics of the boys' bicycles, and checking off the gear they will be carrying with them, either on their bikes (spare tubes, patch kits, rain coats, etc.) or in the car (a floor pump, a spare tire, chain oil, spare bike parts, etc.). I think everyone is realizing that we'll be on our own as far as bike mechanics are concerned, and as Pat keeps reminding everyone, it is not one epic ride, but 59 one-day bike rides, and we have to be ready for each day's ride, come heat or cold, come smooth roads or rough roads.

At Bikes and Beyond yesterday, I ran into a handful of riders who were going to dip their tires in the Pacific today, and will be leaving Astoria tomorrow on a fully-supported bike ride...motels and all...headed towards Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Maybe we'll see them on the road sometime in the next few weeks.

We are looking forward to a big send-off. Hopefully some of the riders who couldn't sign on for the entire Bike Trip America will be able to join us. And I heard from Hawaii friends Sue and Bob, part year Portland residents. They have a B&B in Astoria the night before we leave, and they plan on being at the beach waving a Hawaii flag as we begin our first of 59 one-day rides. At lunch in Astoria, I'm hoping that my cousin Ken can join us for another send-off.

Four days to go!

Counting Down - Six Days to Go

We are getting close to the day we dip our bike tires in the Pacific Ocean in Fort Stevens State Park, west of Astoria. The theme, as we get ready, seems to be list making, and checking off, and making a new list to keep track of where everything got put during the previous list. Organizing a long bike ride is like creating an enormous Mandelbrot tapestry. Thank heavens our support driver, Pat, had a career as an Operating Room nurse, where organization was paramount! Forceps, please.

The lists include (in no particular order, and some lists may be nested in others):

• Food (and menus)
• Lodging 
• On-the-road contacts
• First Aid 
• Routes and maps
• Bicycles 
• Bicycle clothing (cold and hot weather) 
• Spare parts to carry on the road every day 
• Spare parts to leave in the support vehicle 
• Camping gear 
• Personal clothing for when we are off the road 
• Hydration strategies 
• Dog stuff for our black lab mascot Annie 
• Lotions and potions and ointments 
• Diaries (Bryce gave each member of the team a diary ... thank you, Bryce!) 
• Books, balls, music, and other personal entertainment accessories 
• Computer stuff 
• Emergency contact information 
• Fund-raising materials (tee shirts, banners, business cards)
• Spreadsheets and ledgers
• Car maintenance manuals 
• Bike maintenance manuals 
• Ways to charge everyone's bike computers, cell phones, cameras, etc. 
• Communication devices (Ham Radio, walkie talkies, NOA radio) 
• Things we forgot to pack 
• Things we can do without, and can leave at home or ship home, or ship ahead
• Things to do today 
• Things to do tomorrow (including mechanical checks of all the bikes) 
• Things to do Sunday, when we have a support vehicle packing party and "Meet the Crew" fundraiser
• List of where we packed everything on each of the previous lists
• A non-list of all the serendipity and adventure that will inevitably be part of our 59-day journey 

And then, we think of a better way to pack, and we repack. The countdown has begun. On June 18th, at 10:00 am, we begin to discover how we should have packed, what we should have brought along, what to do different next time (if only). Six more days. Not many more chances for training rides. The proof will be in the pudding. (Now, where did we pack the pudding?)

Goonie Birds and Bicyclists

I never saw the movie "The Goonies," but apparently it is a cult classic, filmed in Astoria, and released in theaters 30 years ago tomorrow, which is Goonie Day hereabouts. I'll get back to that in a minute, even though it is almost completely off the topic of this blog ... but not entirely.

On a completely different topic, however, let's talk about the Goonie bird (GB). The GB is an albatross that lives in the middle of the Pacific, as do I. The albatross is famous for its ability to stay aloft for weeks at a time, ranging across vast expanses of ocean. In that way, I'm hoping to be like an albatross, able to cross great expanses of territory effortlessly. Technically the GB is a specific breed of albatross, but the one I'm familiar with is the Laysan albatross that nests on the northwest tip of the island of Oahu in a bird sanctuary called Kaena Point, among other places. As long as you stay in designated areas, you can watch the birds in their nesting and mating habitat. While watching from a safe distance, I once showed a friend my interpretive dance that imitated the male GB during mating season ... something like a very exaggerated "walk like an Egyptian." I must have done it right, because one of the GBs took a liking to me and returned the favor of a dance, and started following us. I think that is about the time we decided to exit stage right.

Anyway, no GBs today, but I got to ride with the rest of the Bike Trip America crew today for our first official ride as a team.

Here's the boys, Bryce, Jonathan, and Ryan on one of the trails through Fort Stevens State Park.

We left Astoria at around 9:00 am and headed across the bridge to Warrenton. On the way, we saw dozens of blue herons, who I presume are migrating through here. Some were floating, some standing in the mud flats, and some in flight. Spectacular to see so many in one place! We then followed bike trails, and meandered past a pre-planned photo shoot from one of the local newspapers, then on into Fort Stevens State Park, from which we will be departing on June 18, less than two weeks from now. We scouted beaches where we could dip our tires in Pacific Ocean before embarking on our albatrossian jouney.

One of our sponsors, the Astoria Co-op Grocery, wanted a photo of the entire crew with Co-op tee shirts on. So here we all are, including the boys, our support driver Pat, our mascot Annie, and of course me.

The patch on my forehead is actually a small mirror attached to my glasses ... I wasn't attacked by an albatross or anything dramatic like that. And the beach is the one where we will dip our tires in the Pacific 12 days from now. The beach is the beach where you can find the wreck of the Peter Iredale, which foundered in a storm in October of 1906.

So, how does all that relate to the movie "The Goonies"? Well, according to the on-line synopsis (I haven't seen the movie), kids are trying to save their house from foreclosure by searching for a sunken pirate treasure. Do you think we could help them? They could look in the buried hull of the Peter Iredale, maybe. If you have any hints, we'll be back at the shipwreck site on June 18 at 10:00 am to launch our coast-to-coast journey. Perhaps we could search for buried treasure before we set off. And yes, I really did say "albatrossian" journey earlier.