What a Day...

 
 
 
 

Wow! What a day. We started in sun and a gentle tailwind up a 6 mile climb. It wasn't long until clouds gathered and at 25 miles in, we were riding in snow. Zach & Tim had on regular shorts and could have lost there legs to frostbite if we hadn't met our support vehicle at 32 miles. Most people would have called that good and waited for better weather, but not us! After warming up and changing clothing, we hit the road again and were quickly rewarded. The skies improved and the tailwind got stronger. At a viewpoint looking into a large canyon, we got a tip from some travelers to stop at Mom's European Deli in Soap Lake (that's really the name of the town), our next scheduled break.

What a sweet lady! Her name is Nadesha Koslov, she is from The Ukraine and has been in business for 3 years. These 6 smelly bikers walk in and immediately she gave each of us a sample of beef salami. It was excellent...and then we sampled some sweet bread. We were sold and bought swiss cheese while we were at it and that was lunch. This is no joke...best sandwich I've ever had. She brought pickles, beef & pork bologna and offered to make tea. She called a family member to come and entertain us as if we were long lost family. So hospitable...what a blessing she was. We dropped over $100. and she still gave us free cookies. If you are ever within 100 miles of Soap Lake, go find Mom and you won't be disappointed.

After lunch, we ripped down a lonely road at 24mph and going through Moses Lake, Ron spotted a Starbucks (this guy pees coffee) and we stopped for a quick break. From there, within 10 miles we had 4 flats. A nail had stabbed my tire and went clean through on one of them.

KOBI TV will air an interview tonight and the link is http://localnewscomesfirst.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=431&task=videodirectlink&id=4847

Pulling into a Walmart parking lot in Othello, we could smell our dinner a block away. Dad had his trailer set up, with Rich's help, and our meal just about ready. Our mileage today was 112...What a Day!

It's For Real Now!

 
 
 
 

The day began at 4:45. We ate breakfast, packed and rolled out by 6:15. Everyone admired the route we would later pedal from the comfort of Dad's truck. All six riders discussed a variety of details: Weather, climbs, equipment, food, breaks and more. By the time we reached the border, the anticipation of actually riding was maxed out. Look how jazzed everyone is....

The ride from the Canada border crossing to Bridgeport State Park was 82 miles. We went fast, too fast for a ride this long, averaging 17.5 mph. The temperature was 54 degrees at the start and we had a perfect tailwind. When we stopped for a snack at 44 miles, our average speed was 19 mph. The wind was the big factor today with it changing directions, even hitting us straight on, slowing us to 11 on the flats.

When we pulled up to our campsite, the trailer was set up and the spaghetti was almost ready to eat. After a long, hot shower, I felt great. All in all, everyone had a good start to this ride across the country.

A Mountain to Climb

 
 

I'm going to keep this one brief. We are in Yakima, WA in a non-descript RV park, but we just need a little sleep and drive another 5 hours tomorrow to the start.

This is one of my favorite places on the planet...Half Dome in Yosemite. I like the climb up the cables, the smooth granite rock and the incredible view from the top. You will rarely see this view at the cables. Usually there are people and a lot of them.

Tuesday May 5 is the beginning of our mountain we will 'climb'. Everybody is ready to pedal...the sooner the better!

KOBI interview promoting The Protector's

 
 
Yesterday morning I received a call from KOBI TV requesting an interview about our ride from border to border. All morning long I was ruminating over what I would say...they wanted five minutes for the Newsmakers segment, which is a long time for a half hour news broadcast. I was a bundle of nerves leading up to the conversation with the reporter, but once we began filming, things calmed down. He gave me some 'softball' questions, which made it easy to just converse and forget about the cameras. If you have ever seen one of these local yocals talk about how they grow flax and why they love to blend it in a smoothie, then they look around aimlessly...well now I know why they do that. There is a lot of cool stuff to look at! The sets, lights, cameras and green wall. The reporter was great; he kept the tone very positive and showed interest in what we were doing, as well as highlighting the problem of bullying in schools. The segment will air Tuesday or Wednesday @ 5:00 next week. I will post a link after it airs, because I'll likely be riding when it's broadcast.

Today I rode an hour with Zach, the young man who came up with this idea. He is always so calm and focused. Even with a minimal amount of training, he is determined to do this. By now, it is too late to cram for this test because it is only 3 days away.

My good friend, Rich, will be joining us to ride across Washington and perhaps beyond. Rich & I go way back and this is an adventure I'm thrilled we can share. Someday I want to stand on the top of Mt. Hood with him....

Fund Raising for The Protector's

One of my best friends, Paul Coughlin, travels around the country educating elementary to high school students about Bullying. He has developed a curriculum that educates kids about the power they have as a bystander. They alone, or preferably united with others, can say, "No...stop that...that's wrong!" and put the brakes on a bullies behavior.

The stories Paul shares are heartbreaking and they don't have to happen. By now, you have heard about teens committing suicide because they are mercilessly bullied, assaulted, demeaned and taunted...and grade school students bullied sexually. These poor kids are afraid to go to school to face another day, so much so that they feel living is not worth it. With cell phones, texting and Facebook or other social media, the harassment is 24/7. FBI statistics show 85% of school shooters were bullied. The problem is worse than you think.

I wanted this ride to be about more than achieving a personal goal. In a small way, we can bring awareness to this serious problem kids face. Please consider sponsoring one of us or contribute directly to: http://theprotectors.org/

Getting Ready!

 
 
You're onboard for a Saturday morning club ride. It's April and 40 degrees, so you dress for the weather and get going. This ride started with 11 riders and ended with 5; the tempo was medium fast for 65 miles @ an average speed of 19.5 mph. There were a few steady climbs, but nothing too hard and a ripping descent that turned into a race, more or less.

This is why I love cycling...look at the terrain over my shoulder. In Southern Oregon, it doesn't take long to be on a country road and most cars give you a wide berth. I like seeing snow-capped mountains and hearing the Rogue River from Lost Creek to Shady Cove. I like riding with fast guys who work hard and are willing to help each other. I like the smell of pine trees and the freedom the sport brings.

As of this post, THE RIDE is 3 weeks away. I sense the anticipation building from the other riders and myself for our journey. We're looking forward to riding new roads, accomplishing a huge goal, seeing sunsets, cementing stronger friendships and just disappearing for awhile. Sounds great to me!

Out Too Late

 


When training for an event like this, sometimes you just have to go when a window of opportunity presents itself. Such was the case last night when it finally stopped raining and the radar showed a gap in the precip before sunset. I called Ron (watch for an intro in two weeks) to see if he could join me for 30 fast miles and within 20 minutes we connected about 5 miles from our homes to ride to Gold Hill and back. The problem was it was 45 degrees and 6:15 when I left the house, 6:30 when we met and it started getting dark at our turn around point, approximately 7:15. Ron was the strongman, so I just sucked his wheel most of the way back and we ascended Old Stage Rd. faster than I believe I ever have. By 7:40 Ron put on his neon yellow jacket, turned on a taillight and we separated to head home. I had no lights, a non-reflective jacket, black tights, the temperature was 38 and when I arrived home @ 8:05, I knew I used poor judgement. When I see other cyclists riding in the dark with no lights, I call 'em an idiot. I won't make that same mistake again.

In preparation for a 1500 mile ride, I've been pedaling 50-75 miles on Saturday's at a 18-21 mph pace and logging around 150 miles per week. I feel good, but not great. Part of the training for this is mental too and I must admit, I'm not sure if I can really do this. THE RIDE itself will demand 100 miles a day, for two and a half weeks...there's no way I can train close to that.

At least I am trying, because with the kind of weather we have had here lately, it would be easy to skip a ride in the cold rain and go to a coffee shop instead.