John and Amy's Page

July 22, Day 52

2008-07-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

July 22, Day 52 THE END!!
Manchester to Portsmouth, NH
Mileage: 64
Weather: Great, but WHO CARES!!

Dear All,

Our last day. Unbelievable.

But before we get to today, we need to tell you about last night. After arriving in Manchester, the final dinner was scheduled as a farewell event. It was quite special. Many of the riders had family there which added both to the festivities and the sense of finality. Awards were presented to each rider but not the type you would expect. There was no“best rider” or “most improved rider” or anything of that nature. Rather the awards were all fun things determined by the staff. In prior reports we forgot to mention that Amy was always looking for Fritos at every SAG stop. As a result she was awarded a large can of the stuff. Because Amy grew to be such a strong rider over the course of the ride and would sometimes be seen riding in front of John, John was awarded bungee cords that could be attached to Amy's bike and John's bike so that Amy could pull John along. It was all in great fun, with every rider getting up and saying a few words about the trip.

The overwhelming comments dealt not with the ride or the challenge or the difficulty of some days or the beauty of the landscape. Rather the comments all focused on the friendships that were made and the way that everyone looked out for everyone else. Amy noted that every good thing must come to end and now was the time for this to end. She told everyone that she was glad she and John could experience this adventure together and she ended by saying”I love you all and you will all have a very special place in my heart”. John noted that while lawyers are known to be wordy he would not be tonight and simply commented “I have ridden across the country with my very best friend, Amy, but have gained 40+ new friends. What could be better.” Tears were shed. Strobes from the cameras were flashing all evening. It was a late night. We didn't get to bed until 9:15. As Amy said, “heck this is usually the time I get up for the first time after going to bed to go the bathroom”.

This morning everyone appeared for breakfast at 6:00 although many arrived early. We're guessing that given that it was the last day many wanted to make the day even longer. We did. All the riders were wearing their America by Bicycle jerseys and created quite a sight in the breakfast area of the motel. We loaded the van at 6:45 and headed out.

The first part of the plan for the day was to ride about 54 miles or so and then gather at a local high school in Portsmouth for a group photo. We rolled out and most of the riders were in no hurry so a bunch of us (probably 12 or 15) just mosied along at a comfortable 16 or 17 mph enjoying each other's company and the fact that we were on a bicycle. We moved up and back in the group so that we could talk to as many of the riders as possible.

We arrived at the high school at about 11:00 and by 11:45 all the riders were there. We lined up for a group photo and then a local police officer arrived to lead us, with lights flashing, to the beach, about 4 miles away. We had nominated Sarge, from Trinidad, and Steve, from Tasmania, to lead us to the beach. Jose, from LA, and John, from Seattle, joined Sarge and Steve in the first line. We were in the second line with George, from Frisco, CO, and Larry, from Estes Park, CO.

And so, off we rode. People on the side of the road applauded as we rode by and from time to time the police car sounded its siren. As we rounded a bend in the road, the Atlantic appeared on our right. John can't speak for others but the sight of the ocean sent shivers up his spine. There was a spontaneous shout from all the riders. We rode along the ocean boulevard with incredible homes on our left and the ocean on our right. You can not imagine the sense of accomplishment and joy we experienced knowing that we were about to complete a transamerican bicycle ride.

We rolled into the parking lot of Wallis Sands beach to the applause of many and then headed across the beach to dip our wheels. The realization of what we had done hit Amy as she rolled her bike into the Atlantic and a tear appeared in her eye.

Photographs were taken while curious sunbathers looked on and asked what all the fuss was about. When told, many of them couldn't believe it. John filled the plastic tube with water from the Atlantic to go along with the tube holding water from the Pacific.

We all wandered about shaking hand and giving hugs. What we said to each other differed for each but one memorable comment came from Forest, from Maryland, who whispered to Amy after a hug and a peck on the cheek, “you're my hero”. It was surreal.

We left the beach and headed over to the car rental, picked up the car and headed to Madison, CT to see Fred (Amy's brother) and his lovely wife, Margaret, and Susan (Amy's sister) had her terrific husband, Clint. We had a wonderful get together and a delightful dinner. All four of them were so enthusiastic and so willing to listen to our stories. They are terrific!!!

In the next couple of days we'll try to publish one final blog with some technical information concerning the adventure so from time to time you might want to check in.

Well everyone, the adventure is over. Well, not really. We will relive it over and over in our thoughts and memory. The friends we have made will, we hope, remain friends forever and over the years we hope to see many of them from time to time.

We know that the money contributed by many of you for Nardin and Child and Family Services will be put to very good use.

And you, our dear family and friends, will always be remembered. Your enthusiasm prior to the trip was wonderful. Despite the fact that some of you thought we were truly nuts, you always provided support and without that support we probably would have thought twice before proceeding.
During the trip your continuing interest in the blog, your comments and your excitement made many of the days that were really tough that much better. We knew your were the wind at our backs and the umbrellas over our heads when the weather gods decided that they had to assert their dominance despite your prayers.

We wish you all the very best and WE SEND ALL OF YOU OUR GOOD VIBES!!!

Love, Amy and John

July 21, Day 51

2008-07-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

July 21, Day 51
Brattleboro, VT to Manchester NH
Mileage:88
Weather: Wet but warm

Dear All,

Well, today was everything that was advertised. Tough. Really tough. But, as advertised, we were ready for it with 46 days of riding in our legs.

The day started innocently enough. We loaded early (6:30) because the staff knew it was going to be a dandy. We were on the road by 7:00 and within a mile the hills began. Unlike Vermont, these hills were both long and steep.

Within the first mile of the day we entered our 12th state, NH. We looked at each other and simply said “we can't believe it, 12 states”.
For the first 17 miles the hills were doable without using every gear known to man. The riders who have a Garmin GPS and who were riding with us told us that the grade varied between 7% and 9%. Tough but, as we say, doable.

We rolled into the cute little town of Keene, NH and after slowly riding down Winchester St. we turned onto Old Concord Road. Then the fun began. That road kicked up to about 12% and went on for a little over 1.5 miles. We thought, “hey, we can handle this.” In fact, the riders we were with all felt the same way. We then turned onto Sullivan St. and the real fun began. The tilted up to what we are told was an average gradient of 15% to 18% with a couple of spots at 22% (according to the Garmins). Now for you who don't ride, 22% isn't just steep, its damn steep. You would have trouble walking up a road with that gradient. Well, we made it. Our heart rates were probably off the chart and Amy was having some difficulty breathing but we made it.

At the very top of the climb some DOT worker had decided that it would be fun to let both cars and riders know what they had just been through so he stuck up a sign that said “HILL”. This is a guy who really should be a stand up comedian.

After Sullivan St., we thought, “OK, what more can they throw at us on our second last day?”. We shouldn't have asked the question.

At the first SAG stop, there were a bunch of very tired riders but we had only completed 27 miles of an 88 mile day so there was considerable talk about what lay ahead. After the SAG, we attacked Pitchers Mountain. Here the gradient was probably in the 14% range which would normally have led us to turn around and call it a day, but given what the earlier ride had exposed us to, we handled that particular mountain quite well.

It was right about then that the weather gods (who had been talking to the gradient gods) decided that they wanted a hand in this day. The skies darkened and before long we were in a steady rain. Not a downpour, just a steady rain. The type that soaks everything and requires windshield wipers on your glasses. However, the temperature gods decided that enough was enough so they played on our team and kept the temperature pleasantly in the mid 70's.

The scenery was very much like Vermont although given the rain it was hard to see very far and very difficult to take any pictures (sorry). We saw some really beautiful homes nestled in the woods and a couple of really lovely lakes that looked like they could have been in the Adirondacks or for that matter in Algonquin Park, Canada. Really very nice.

We stopped in the little town of Greenfield for a sandwich. The town is basically an intersection but we've learned that in little places like this you can usually find a little grocery store that will put together a really great sandwich. We, along with CJ and Dan, sat and had a delightful lunch while the rain let up.

Back on the bikes to finish the ride and within about 20 minutes the skies really opened up. The balance of the ride (about 25 miles) had rolling hills (maybe a grade of 7% or so) but with the rain it made the riding a little dicey, particularly the downhills.

We rolled into the motel and to our surprise Maria Hadley and her husband, David, along with their seven year old daughter, Chelsea, were there to greet us. Maria was an attorney at Phillips Lytle about 8 years ago. She's a great gal and we were delighted that she would take the time to stop by and say hello. Thanks Maria, we loved seeing you.

Amy has become a really great rider. Her ability to handle hills and the wind has improved 100% to the point where she finishes the day in the middle of the pack and on many days in the top 1/3rd In addition, her bike handling skills are great. Today, for instance, in the pouring rain she handled downhills with speeds in the mid to high 30 miles per hour.

Tonight we have a kind of banquet and it will be a kind of farewell to all since tomorrow, after we dip our wheels in the Atlantic, most of the riders will scatter to the four winds. We expect it to be emotional but fun at the same time.

Tomorrow we ride to the Atlantic. And then, it's over!! We'll write about our thoughts tomorrow or perhaps the next day. But, no matter what, your good vibes have been with us each day and have made all the difference.

We'll talk to you tomorrow.

You've got one more day to send the good vibes. Thanks.

Amy and John

July 20, Day 50

2008-07-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

July 20, Day 50
Latham, NY to Brattleboro, VT
Mileage: 80.5
Weather: Drizzle and overcast but no real rain
Dear All,
Well, we started the day knowing that we had today plus two more riding days and our adventure would be over. We also started with a bit of trepidation given the amount of climbing we would have in VT today.

The day started with light rain but not enough to get anyone excited. Within the first 5 miles we were presented with the first of several climbs. This first one was only a mile or so but it was enough to make one use most of one's gears and given that it was only about 45 minutes after breakfast it was not an easy climb.

Speaking of breakfast, we don't think we have mentioned what most of the riders eat in the morning. It's funny. Some riders are religious as to their morning diet. The really serious ones will generally have oatmeal with a little sugar. Apparently oatmeal has a high carb count and it releases the carbs slowly over an extended period of time. The less serious riders will have cereal and perhaps biscuits. Those who figure “what the heck, I'll eat whatever and if need be I'll just suffer” will eat eggs and bacon but will almost always go for French toast or pancakes for the carbs. On top of all this a load of coffee is always on the menu.

The route for the first 25 miles had some climbs but not what we knew we would see later in the day. They tested us but didn't make us ask “when does this hill end”. We arrived at the first SAG pretty much no worse for wear and for the first time in 50 days someone had put our dough nuts. They were gone in no time.

After the SAG, we crossed into our 12th state, Vermont. Looking around we knew we were in the state that's home to the Green Mountains. They were all around. And, they were pretty. And, they looked high.

We rolled into Bennington which is a really cute little city. Along the main drag they have mannequins which appear to be made of wood. The picture shows one of them. They added a little flavor to the town. Of course the Bennington monument overshadows the town and you can see if for several miles both as you enter the town and as you leave.

Right after leaving Bennington, we came to the real tester climb of the day. We have no idea what the name of the mountain is (or if it has a name), but the climb went on for about 8 miles and the grade was pretty stiff. All the gears we had paid for when buying the bikes many years ago were used and at times we were looking for additional gears. One pedal stroke after the next. It seemed to go on forever.

However, as we climbed the views were really great. The mountains were all around and while they were not as dramatic as the Rockies or even the Sierra Nevadas they were, nonetheless, very pretty in their own way. There was a mist hanging over the mountains perhaps from the rain which added a kind of mystery to them as if they were hiding something from us.

Finally we reached the top of the first climb and had a welcome downhill for a couple of miles into the second SAG at about the 55 mile mark. We decided on a hot dog at a little stand. Turns out it wasn't a Ted's but rather a steamed dog which left something to be desired. Ah well, it was fuel.

We left the SAG knowing that we had one more climb to the top of Hogback Mountain. This climb wasn't as long but just about as steep. Upon reaching the top we had a spectacular view which on a clear day allows one to see about 100 miles. Today was not very clear, but the view was still pretty super. We stopped at the store at the top and chatted with an elderly couple who, like most of the people we talk to, were aghast after they asked where we started and we told them San Francisco. It's funny but when we left from San Francisco and we were asked about the trip we would always say we were going to Portsmouth, NH. Now when we are asked we don't say where we are going but where we started.

After climbing to the top of Mount Hogback and chatting with some folks we started what was pretty much (but not entirely) a downhill into Brattleboro. About ½ mile from the motel Amy spotted a Friendly's (remember she's the one who can always spot ice cream within a couple of miles of the motel) so we stopped and had some.

Tomorrow we are told the climbs will be tougher than today. Yikes!! We'll need good vibes from all of you.

Tomorrow will be a different kind of day. We'll ride knowing that at the end of the day there will be only one day left. It's a strange feeling. There is pride in knowing that we're close to our goal and that we will soon be home. But, we will be saying good-bye to some new and wonderful friends and we'll miss them and the riding (despite the fact that some of the days were hard). We'll let you know how we feel tomorrow night with only one day left.

Say a prayer to the weather gods for the next two days. Your comments are always welcome.

Take careand send the good vibes.

Amy and John

July 19, Day 49

2008-07-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

July 19, Day 49
Little Falls to Latham, NY
Mileage: 79.2
Weather: Muggy but no rain

Dear All,

Our fourth last day on the road and it was beautiful. NY never looked so good and our lovely high humidity was at its best.

We left the little town of Little Falls at about 7:30 and within no time at all, we hooked up with Rick, from Richmond, VA, who is a wonderful guy, and a young man, Dan, from Sarasota, who is riding the section from Indianapolis to the coast with his grandfather. We essentially rode on Rt. 5 which has a great shoulder and for miles and miles we had the Mohawk River on our right.

Some of the vistas were really lovely especially in the morning with the mist hanging over the landscape. We began to feel the elevation changes that we know we will experience tomorrow and the next day when we ride into Vermont.

Amy was incredibly strong today as she was yesterday. With John and Rick pulling, Amy and with Dan (age 17), hanging out next to Amy, we motored along at an average speed of about 18 mph for over 34 miles. Despite the speed, we had plenty of time to chat and marvel at how pretty the Mohawk Valley is. We had only seen it in the past from the Thruway, but from Rt. 5 and at 18 mph it takes on a whole new look. A look that we recommend to all of you.

At the first SAG we had a wonderful vista over the Valley and saw how some riders “hang” their bikes during a break. When hung in a tree one does not have to worry much about the bike falling over and damaging either the paint or the dérailleur.

After a break we headed out and continued the same pace, but always willing to stop and look at the River. The second stop was at Jumpin Jacks Drive In which had the feel of a Ted's Hot dogs. The specialty was hamburger with all the grease you could eat. GREAT! Probably not what our doctor would suggest for a healthy lunch but boy did it taste good. No milkshakes, however, since, with almost another 20 miles to go, milk isn't such a good idea particularly since it was hot with humidity that had to be 140%.

Off we went with CJ, from Sarasota, along with us. At about the 61 mile mark we picked up a great bike path that went on forever. Most of it was in pretty good shape although some if was in need of a bit of blacktop repair. For miles we rode along side the River in the shade of wonderful old trees. Except for our speed it was what one would expect for a pleasant Saturday bike ride at home. Delightful.

We rolled into the motel a bit tired from the speed of the ride, but happy to have had such a pretty ride. New York around this area really is an undiscovered treasure. If you get a chance you should experience it.

We have three riding days left. The next two will be the toughest of the entire ride we are told. The Green Mountains aren't as high as the Rockies but they are much more difficult to ride. Tomorrow for instance we believe we will experience 12% to 16% grade climbs for up to a couple of miles. As a comparison, the ride up Monarch Pass in CO was over 8 miles long but it was about a 6% or 7% grade. As you who rider know, a 12% or greater grade will require every gear we have and then some. Our hope is that our legs are ready for it although we both commented this morning that after 44 days in the saddle these two bodies are beginning to suggest that they are getting just a bit tired. It will be interesting.

Say a prayer or two that the rain holds off and don't give up on the vibes. We still need those good vibes.

Amy and John

July 18, Day 48

2008-07-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

July 18, Day 48
Liverpool to Little Falls, NY
Mileage: 79
Weather: Cloudy (no rain) and hot

Dear All,

Well, we've got four more days of riding. Hard to believe. We are told that the riding on Sunday and Monday will be hard and to be prepared for them. We guess we are.

This morning dawned with a bit of an overcast but very warm temperature. Before departing we spent a little time looking at some of the hot rods that were in the motel parking lot. As we said yesterday, Liverpool has a huge car show starting today and a number of the car owners were staying at the same Super 8.

We started out a little after 7:00 with really nice roads. They were mostly small country roads with only little rolls to test the legs from time to time. We hooked up with Fred, Allan, Skip, CJ, and Don and kept up a pretty good pace (around 19.5 mph). Amy's legs were good today and she was flying. The country side remained as in the last couple of days, but today it really looked more like rural residential than rural business. Just a house here and there and open fields that weren't cultivated. A very pleasant ride.

The first SAG came quickly and we enjoyed our typical fare. We haven't mentioned what is available at the SAG so maybe now is a good time to do so.

When we stop, the staff has opened the van so that everyone can (and MUST) use handiwipes before touching anything. You can't even refill a water bottle without first using the handiwipes The food available is usually cut up oranges and apples along with bananas, granola bars, nut and salty bars and trail mix. Fig newtons make the hit list from time to time as do sugar cookies. In addition to water there is powdered gatoraid to be added to the water bottles. If one is having a mechanical problem there are some tools along with chain lube. Most riders spend anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes at the SAG stop depending on how long the day will be. The longer the day, the shorter the stop.

John's sister, Peppy, asked what John carries in his bike bag. First you should know that most of the bikers don't carry a large bike bag at all. Most carry a simple little seat bag that fits more or less under the seat. They carry only an extra tube, a multi tool, and a tire iron. John's bag carries much more than that. Since only John has a bag, it hasat least two tubes for his bike and two for Amy's bike which is required since Amy's wheels are a different size than John's. In addition, to what other riders carry, John's bag carries both wallets, a multitude of snacks in case we get hungry between SAG stops, our non sunglasses, a number of CO2 cartridges to inflate tires and John's rain shirt.

Back to the day.

After the first SAG we joined up with CJ, and motored on. There really wasn't much to look at except that from time to time we rode along side the Erie Canal which was fun.

We arrived at the second SAG and thought about lunch,but after hanging around a bit we decided that maybe we would get lucky and find something different than a Subway up the road. Amy seems to be able to not only locate DQ's when necessary but also find some pretty cute little places for a bit to eat on days when we think we'll have time for lunch. Today was one of those days. So, we're pedaling along in a kind of wasteland with not much around when all of a sudden, up pops the cutest little spot run by two elderly ladies. It wasn't much to look at but the sandwiches were delicious. There were a total of 4 tables and there was air conditioning which was very much welcome. CJ ordered a ½ size sub. The thing was huge. The ½ size was at least the size of a full size Subway and the cost was a whole $4.00.

After lunch we headed into Little Falls. We commented on the fact that we have seen Little Falls from the Thruway but had never actually driven into town. It seems like a nice little place although it probably has seen better economic times.

There was a laundromat across the street from the Knights Inn so we decided that since we are never sure when a motel will have laundry facilities we had better do the laundry while we had the chance. We have spent a little time in laundromats over the term of this trip and most of them are quite nice. The one thing they really lack is air conditioning. They are HOT. We mean HOT. So we usually sit outside on a curb or if we're lucky on a bench, read a book or work on the blog.

Tomorrow we head to Latham, NY. We're hoping that the road continues to follows the Erie Canal which means that it won't have a lot of hills.

After tomorrow we'll be heading into Vermont and the Green Mountains.

Thanks for reading. Keep chatting with the weather gods and, as always, send the good vibes.

Amy and John

July 17, Day 47

2008-07-17T13:54:00.001-07:00

July 17, Day 47
Canadaigua to Liverpool, NY
Mileage: 70.5
Weather: Rain and then lovely sunshine

Dear All,

Today was to be an easy day with only 70 miles with some hills but nothing to get to worried about. As Amy loaded our luggage, John pumped up the tires. As he was pumping up Amy's front tire, there was a load bang and again Amy had a flat. John put in a new tube, we both crossed our fingers and off we went. Prior to leaving we spoke with an elderly guy (elderly, of course, is in the eye of the beholder) who was driving his Model T to Michigan. As you know that particular car could be purchased with any color the owner desired so long as it was black. John spent a little time chatting with the owner and learned that the average speed for the trip would be about 35 mph (just about double our speed down the road).

The countryside was the same as yesterday except we had the pleasure of seeing Lake Seneca up close as we pedaled thru Geneva. We passed by early in the morning and it looked lovely. The riders from out west and from oversees where really impressed not only with Lake Seneca but with all of the Finger Lake region. As we have always said, the Finger Lakes is really a well kept secret. Most people speak of the Adirondacks as the only really great spot, but the Finger Lakes are, in our view, equally impressive.

We passed thru Waterloo which is the birthplace of Memorial Day and Seneca Falls which, of course, is the birth place of women's rights.

As we rolled into the first SAG stop at about the 30 mile mark, the clouds to the north began to look pretty impressive and threatening. Off we went and within a few miles it became clear that we were in for some serious weather. As the rain started we found a house (which looked like no one was home) and sat under three of the biggest trees you have ever seen. It was like having a real roof over our heads. The rain came down pretty seriously for about 20 minutes and then we figured, what the heck, lets go. We got a little damp but the heavy stuff had pretty much stopped.

A little further up the road while it was still raining we stopped at the Red and White Creamery Cafe which was housed in a building that was constructed prior to 1840. It was a great spot with homemade bread and the biggest sandwiches you have ever seen. We ordered one sandwich which we split and even at that we didn't eat all of it. There was some homemade chocolate cream pie that looked absolutely spectacular. We toyed with the idea of a piece, but figured that with over 35 miles to go, it really wasn't a great idea. Someday we're going back and have a piece.

In one of the small towns (we can't remember the name) we found Amy's

Checkered Flag. John asked Amy when she had had time to open a little store and only received a mischievous smile in return.

We rolled into Liverpool and as you might expect, Amy spotted a nice little ice cream spot just a mile or two from the motel. We asked the owner if they had sugar free soft ice cream, and he took one look at Amy and said, “are you kidding, the last thing you need to worry about is sugar”. So we indulged and had a delicious vanilla cone and sat and watched some hot rods drive by on their way to a local park where a car show is scheduled for the weekend.

Tomorrow is an 85 or so mile day and we're told hills will be present.

Say a prayer to the weather gods and keep the good vibes coming.

Amy and John

July 16, Day 46

2008-07-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

July 16, Day 46
Hamburg to Canandaigua, NY
Mileage: 98.1
Weather: Warm and wet

Dear All,

We awoke still thinking about how nice it was to have had family and friends welcome and visit with us yesterday afternoon and evening. It was wonderful.

We awoke at the more or less usual time of 5:40 and were on the road by 7:00. Prior to leaving and as we were loading our luggage, Amy felt a hand on her shoulder, turned to see our friend, Tom Barney, Jr. He was on his way to work and guessed as to what motel we might be in. It was wonderful of him to think of us and it really touched us.

We headed out and proceeded to get lost with all the other riders but found our way to the Bicycle Museum in Orchard Park. What a great place. For those of you who haven't been there, you should go. This is true even if you are not an active biker. It is a fun and informative place.

We finally departed the Museum at about 8:30 and since it was going to be a long day, we knew we had to hustle. As we proceeded toward the first SAG stop at the 30 mile mark, the clouds began to gather and in the distance the thunder began to rumble. Within a mile of the SAG stop, the lightning was all around us and very close. Just as the skies opened, we made it to the SAG stop at a gas station so we were able to find some shelter. Many of the riders did not have rain shirts with them since the forecast did not call for rain. Guess that just goes to show that weather forecasting is more of an art than a science.

After a little wait the rain slackened off and we took to the road. However, prior to leaving the gas station, a rather rotund fellow from the local Dept. of Public Works, stopped us and asked where we were riding to. He kept looking at us in a funny way and finally said, “Didn't I see you on TV last night?” We answered that he probably did and he then ran to get his camera from his car and took our picture. I guess this qualified as our “20 seconds of fame”.

Down the road we pedaled. Within a few miles, Amy experienced her first flat tire of the day. There were more to come. John spent some time fixing the flat and off we went again,. Within a couple of miles, Amy had flat #2. This was turning what was going to be a relatively long day into a longer day.

After fixing the second flat, we rode on experiencing hills that weren't quite MO like, but far more than the easy rollers we had yesterday. The vineyards had given way to fields of corn reminiscent of IL, IN, and OH.

We rolled into the second SAG stop at 68 miles at about 1:30. The question was whether to eat lunch or just keep going. The decision was to eat a banana or two and press on. Within another 10 miles, Amy had her 3rd flat. By now, we were out of tubes so we waited for the SAG van to roll by and picked up a couple (one for a reserve). In the process of fixing the flat, John noticed that Amy's relatively new tire had a pretty good gouge in it. John put in a new tube and off we went in hopes of making it to the hotel without another flat. Success! You can see from the picture we barely missed our second storm of the day which was just ahead of us.

After arriving at the hotel, John spent an hour cleaning the bikes and replacing both of Amy's tires.

The day was long but interesting. NY is a beautiful state and we should all be appreciative of where we live.

Tomorrow we head to Liverpool. The rain gods seem to have become somewhat displeased with us. We can't recall saying or thinking anything negative, but if we did we apologize. Perhaps you could all intervene on our behalf.

Keep sending the good vibes.

Amy and John

July 15, Day 45

2008-07-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

July 15, Day 45
Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY
Mileage: 84.2
Weather: Couldn't have been better

Dear All,

Well, today we returned home in a sense given that we ended up a mear 20 minutes (by car) from home.

After a nice rest day in Erie we started out at a respectful hour (7:30 am) and effectively rode the entire day on Rt. 20 and Rt. 5. The weather started out great and got better by the mile. What a wonderful way to introduce all of our fellow riders to our neck of the woods. After about 15 miles or so, the Lake was visible on our left and as Amy said “it looks like lake linoleum”. There was only a slight breeze which was from the East but not enough to really make things tough. Route 5 and 20 are delightful with gentle hills and a wonderful shoulder.

As we rode we started seeing signs for places like Ripley and Dunkirk which seemed strange after 44 days of reading signs for places we have never heard of. The vineyards were always on our left and right with the Lake in the distance. At one point we saw a machine working the vineyards and Gary, from CA, who has a couple of acres of grapes at home described what the machine did. We still didn't quite understand, but it was interesting to watch it work. It was a great way to show off our area to all of our new found friends. For some reason we felt responsible for the area and were delighted that we could show it in all its splendor. We're not sure any of the riders are ready to move to the area but at least they all seemed impressed.

At the 20 mile mark we officially entered the Empire State, our 11th state.

At about the 60 mile mark we were met by our neighbor, Mark Mahoney, who had ridden from Hamburg to meet us. The three of us rode the rest of the way together with Mark taking us on a slightly different route than planned. It was really a delight to ride with Mark.

As we rode into the hotel, waiting for us were everyone from John's department at Phillips Lytle. That was really special for both of us. We chatted and had a great time. They even had put together a poster which you should be able to make out in the picture. Later, others from the office arrived to wish us well. We really can't express our gratitude to all of them for taking the time to come visit It means a great deal to both of us.

As if seeing our friends from John's office wasn't enough, the office arranged for the Buffalo News, The Law Journal and Channel 4 to come out and interview us. It all made us feel very special.

Then, to top it all off, our daughter, Meg, and John's sister, Peppy, and John's brother-in-law, Hugh, arrived. Hugs were shared by all. They stayed for route rap and for dinner. That was the icing on the cake.

Thanks to all for a really great day. It really was terrific.

Tomorrow we continue our journey and head to Canandaigua. It's a long ride (95 miles) so we're certainly praying for a westerly wind. Your assistance with prayers to the appropriate gods will be appreciated.

Today was a really special day (among many special days) which both of us will always remember. Thanks to all.

Keep up the good vibes.

Amy and John

July 14, Day44

2008-07-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

July 14, Day 44
Rest Day in Erie, PA
Mileage: none
Weather: nice day

Dear All,

We have recovered from the rainstorm of yesterday after sleeping in to almost 7:30 am. We had breakfast and then cleaned the bikes. John rode his bike to the local bike store in hopes that they could repair his bike computer. But, at the end of the day,all he could do was buy a simple replacement which provides distance and speed. Hopefully, it will last for the next 700 miles.

We strolled down to the waterfront and had a lovely lunch at Smugglers Wharf. We toured the Maritime Museum and learned a considerable amount about the War of 1812 and Admiral Perry. We took a partial tour of the brig, Niagara, which was interesting but a tad long.

We attempted to log on at the hotel but they are unable to get their WiFi up and running so we went to the local Starbucks and tried to log on there. They made it so difficult that we finally simply gave up.

Finally at 7:00 pm John was able to use the hotel computer and log on. So, for those of you who have been reading regularly you will probably want to go back to the July 13, Day 43 posting after reading this one.

Tomorrow we head to Hamburg. We expect that John's sister, Peppy, and our daughter, Meg, will be able to join us for dinner. That will be really nice.

We are down to only about 8 days of riding left to get us to the Atlantic. We've been very fortunate with the weather to date and, of course, fortunate with respect to illness or injury. As we get closer to the end of the ride we hope all of those good things will stay with us to the end. Your prayers and good wishes are appreciated. And, of course, good vibes are always welcome.

Amy and John

July 13, Day 43

2008-07-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

July 13, Day 43
Youngstown to Erie, PA
Mileage: 98.1
Weather: Very wet in the AM, beautiful afternoon.

Dear All,
Last night we stayed in Niles, OH rather than Youngstown. As the sign indicates, Niles is the home of President McKinley.

We know you have been praying to the weather gods and for more than 99.9 percent of the last 42 days, you have been successful, at least with respect to the rain gods. From time to time you have fallen short with respect to the wind gods. As some pointof course, the rain gods had to assert their authority and this morning they did so with a vengeance. This was going to be our 4th very long day. As we rolled out of the motel there was kind of a mist and the humidity must have been 150 percent. By the time we hit the 6 mile mark the skies opened. We put on our rain shirts but they really didn't help much.

We rode with Rick and Jay in a nice pace line through the heaviest rain. Riding in a pace line in the rain can be a little dicey. If you are right on the wheel of the rider in front the rooster tail off his rear wheel effectively blinds you so you need to ride a foot or so to the left or right. And, you need to be very, very vigilant. We arrived at the first SAG at the 33 mile mark unable to have taken any pictures because of the rain. The SAG was at a little cafe so many of us went in and ordered coffee for warmth.

We waited a respectable amount of time but the rain did not let up so off we went again. Within about 4 miles of the first SAG the skies really opened and we took shelter on the porch of a very pleasant gentlemen by the name of Mr. Dillon. He and his lovely white cat entertained us for about 10 minutes when the downpour lessened slightly and off we went. By about the 45 mile mark, the rain had stopped and slowly but surely the sky lightened.

As the rain let up we were able to see the changes in the landscape from prior days. We saw our first vineyards, and we don't think we saw any corn or soy. The road was relatively flat and the landscape was very green. We saw our first covered bridge. We are told there are many in this area.

We pulled into the second SAG at about 69 miles to lovely sunshine and warming temperatures. This SAG stop was at a root beer stand that had the best shredded turkey sandwiches. The sandwich, along with a root beer, made everything seem right.
A mile or two down the road we crossed into PA, our 10th state. By now we had wonderful tail winds which pushed us along at around 20 mph as we “flew” toward Erie. The road was flat and we saw more vineyards.
We arrived in Erie dirty from the morning ride and ready for a shower. We walked down to Lake Erie and felt somewhat strange. For 43 days we have been along way from home, or at least it felt like a long way from home. As we gazed at the Lake, we felt for the first time close to home and that this adventure was slowly but surely coming to an end. It felt strange.

Tomorrow is a rest day. As always, it will include laundry, bike cleaning an a nap or two.

Thanks for reading. We really do welcome your comments. Keep the good vibes coming.

Amy and John

July 12, Day 42

2008-07-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

July 12, Day 42
Wooster to Youngstown, OH
Mileage: 95.1
Weather: Warm and windy

Dear All,

Over 95 miles today on top of 2 centuries over the last two days made this a somewhat difficult day. The weather was lovely with the wind coming from the south most of the day which didn't help but also didn't hurt.

By the way, we have now climbed over 101,000 feet during the course of this ride. That's more than three times up Mount Everest (from sea level). There are times our legs feel every foot.

John has concluded that yesterday's hill climbing resulted from OH borrowing the hills of MO and then increasing their steepness. It is his view that OH should return the hills to MO so that they all stay together.

The beginning of our ride today had some pretty good hills but as the day progressed, they slackened in their difficulty making the second half of the ride easier than the first. OH continues to impress us with its perfect small farms and lovely homes maintained impeccably. We rolled into several small towns one of which had a scheduled parade of some sort since there were lawn chairs neatly placed along the curb for several blocks. Like the farms and homes, the lawn chairs were in perfect rows.

Again today we had to go around a road closed sign. It turns out that some of the later riders were stopped by the local police and told that under no circumstances could they use the closed road. As a result, they had to ride the detour route. Sometimes one is just lucky and other times not quite so.

With the day almost done, Amy used her incredible sense of smell and located an ice cream parlor within a mile of the end of the ride. She seems to have developed this capacity to spot ice cream stands at just the right moment. This particular stand was particularly unique in that it sold dozens of sugar free flavors. It was a welcome respite.

As we rolled into the motel, awaiting our arrival were Amy's father, Bob, and her step-mom, Thelma. Bob and Thelma are on route to Chautauqua and stopped in Youngstown for the night to visit with us. They came to route rap and, like John's sister, Ellen, the night before, were introduced to many of the riders. They both look wonderful and it was great seeing them. We had a delightful dinner with just the 4 of us.

Tomorrow is one more hard day of over 90 miles. As we said in an earlier blog, these last 4 days of 2 centuries and 2 almost centuries are making the legs tired.

There is talk of rain tomorrow, but it is our hope that as a result of your prayers to the weather gods, any such rain will be light and of no consequence.

Thanks for reading. We welcome your comments. Above all, keep sending the good vibes.

Amy and John

July 11, Day 41

2008-07-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2008
Marysville to Wooster, OH
Mileage: 105.2
Weather: Very nice with a bit of a tailwind

Dear All,

A second century in two days and this one had some hills that OH must have imported from MO. More on that later.

The day started out as all of them do with our awakening about 5:30 followed by breakfast and then loading luggage. We were rolling down the road by 7:00. John needed a rain shirt since the one he has was both cheap and was much like riding inside a sauna. Luckily one of the staff was aware of a nice bike shop in Delaware, OH and the owner was willing to open the place really early at about 8:00 just as we rolled into town. It really was a great bike shop and he was most accommodating. John found just the light jacket he was looking for. This little detour added a couple of miles to what was already a very long day.

As we rode thru this part of OH the only word we could come up to describe the area was “neat”. Ads we suggested in our report yesterday, the rural folk in OH must take incredible pride in their home and farm ownership. The pictures we took cannot fully show how painstakingly caring these people are with their land. There are gardens that would make any magazine and they grow right up next to the beginning of the corn field. Any pone of Jack Nicholas' championship gold courses would be proud to have fairways as meticulously maintained as the front lawns of the houses we rode past. It really is, at least so far, a very pretty state.

As we were riding along John decided that you, our friends and family, might be interested in knowing how it is we can figure out when to take a left or a right. As a result, John took a picture of his handle bars and ads you can see there is a calculator on the right, the route in the center and a bell on the left (the bell thanks too mark Mahoney). You may be able to see in the route the left hand column shows the distance between turns, the next column shows the total distance at each turn, the next column indicates right, left or ST (straight through). The final column gives you the road name and sometimes the direction and whether or not there is a stop sign, a stop light or a T intersection.

At one point along todays ride we encountered a bridge closed to all traffic. However, we were told to ignore such a sign and proceed. No, we did not have to swim across or wade. Rather we carried our bikes over some chains It was shortly after the bridge that we discovered that, many years ago, OH imported hills from MO . No only did OH import the hills, they decided to steepen them. These things went straight up! No picture can show what these look like but they put the fear of God in us as we approached them. The hills went on mile after mile. But, for the last ten miles, softened ever so slightly.

We were unaware that Amy's brother, had at one point in his life, visited OH. We are betting that his family doesn't even know it. How then, you might ask, did we discover this fact? Fred left a sign.

Tonight, John sister, Ellen, drove from her home in Bay Village, OH to Wooster and had dinner with us and the other riders. It was a delight to see her and we appreciate her visit.

Tomorrow is another long one-92 miles. Keep saying prayers for those winds and as always, keep the good vibes coming.

Amy and John

July 10, Day 40

2008-07-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

July 10, Day 40
Richmond, IN to Marysville, OH
Mileage: 106.44
Weather: Beautiful

Dear All,

All things being equal by the end of tomorrow, we will have broken the 3000 mark. That's a lot of pedal revolutions.

Today started out with lovely temperatures, and because of your good prayers, still winds.

Within three miles of our start, we crossed into Ohio, our 9th state. It may not be hard for you to believe, but it is hard for us to believe that we are into our 9th state.

At least the western part of Ohio, along the route we took today, is lovely. Unlike MO, the hills are gentle rolls that require only modest effort and the back roads are lovely. For virtually all of the 106 miles today, we saw very neat farms and homes that are well kept with manicured lawns. There were sheep and goats and corn and horses and soy all along the route. Unlike the western states there were no long distances without any sign of civilization. It's pleasant to ride and chat about this house or that farm. As the day wears on, being able to focus on something other than those portions of your anatomy which are beginning to scream “get off the bike”, is a real blessing.

We rode for a time with John, from Seattle. John is 69 and is a wonderful guy. He rides at his own pace which is a little slower than our pace, but when we have the opportunity to ride with him for a while we really enjoy it. And, on a day like this when we are in the saddle for many, many hours it's a lot of fun riding with different people. Again, it takes ones mind off one's anatomy.

As we pedaled thru the little town of Covington we passed a house with a father sitting on the porch and his two little kids holding a sign saying “Covington Welcomes America by Bicycle”. We stopped and spoke to them for a while. Dad can't wait for the day that he can join in on a ride across the country.

At the second SAG stop we had a PB&J sandwich and noted that the prior cyclists that had been thru the stop had properly decided to assist the local bird population with a treat. Never let it be said that cyclists aren't kindly folks.

The day ended a little later than normal and our legs were a bit more tired than most days. As we have said before, a century ride is a tad hard. At “route rap” (when we learn of the next day's route) we found out that tomorrow's 103 mile ride would have over 3,000 feet of climbing. So, again, a short prayer to the weather gods asking that there be winds with a W in it would be appreciated.

As always, thanks for the good vibes.

Amy and John

July 9, Day 39

2008-07-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

July 9, Day 39
Indianapolis to Richmond, IN
Mileage: 78.3
Weather: Mist and drizzle in the morning with broken clouds in the afternoon

Dear All,

As Willy Nelson sang, “On the road again: Goin places that I've never been; Seein things that I may never see again; And I can't wait to get on the road again”. So, we too are on the road again after a delightful rest day in Indianapolis. Portions of our anatomy have recovered so the saddle didn't seem quite as hard as a couple of days ago (although that may change in the next few days).

Overnight we had the mother of all thunderstorms. We awoke to wet pavement and very threatening skies but we never really suffered much other than mist and a slight drizzle. Enough wetness to make your glasses drip which in turn made keeping an eye on the pavement a bit challenging but never enough to make us really uncomfortable.

Rather than take the prescribed route we and a few other riders followed Skip, a great guy from Las Vegas, who grew up in Indianapolis. Skip decided it would be fun to take a peek at his old home and in the process we had an interesting tour of some of the residential areas of the city. It added several miles to the day but was fun, nonetheless.

This part of IN is very much like one would expect of the east. You ride from town to town and in many cases you can't tell when you are out of one town and into another one except for the sign telling you that you're in a new spot. We rode on Rt 40 which has been around a long, long time and as a result there are all sorts of residential and commercial establishments along the way to look at. Every few miles you see a corn field but nothing like we're used to.

About 35 miles into the ride we rolled into Knightstown which in and of itself is just a very pretty little town. But for that you would simply roll on through.. BUT, it is also the very spot that the movie Hoosiers was filmed. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the gym where the movie was shot so we took a left of the main road and proceeded a few blocks and there we were. John had to pick up a basketball and give it try. He is convinced that in IN they have raised the height of the basket from where it is in NY. He's convinced of this because it took him about 5 tries before he could sink the ball. Someone suggested that it might have something to do with the fact that John didn't have a clue as to how to shot a basketball. Who knows, that someone might just have been correct.

We stopped for a Subway at about noon with Sarge, a rider from Trinidad, and Steve, from Tasmania. Sarge has purchased what Amy refers to as a “boy toy”. It is the shape of a water bottle that fits in the water bottle cage, but it houses an ipod which has a bluetooth wireless operation to a controller on the handlebars. Sarge was riding to the Beetles all day and you could hear him for half a mile. It was neat.

As we approached Richmond (which is the city where Glen Miller was first recorded) we stopped at DQ (Dairy Queen) for a little ice cream and then went off route thru Glen Miller park which was delightful.

As the day ended, John took a look at the tires on the bikes and it was clear that the rear tires were finished. On John's bike we could see the underlying thread below the rubber. Time for a change. Those tires did well. Through thick and thin and some pretty tough roads these tires held up awfully well.

For the next four days we're going to be working hard, really hard. The days are 105, 104, 91 and 96. For all practical purposes that's four straight centuries. That's work. Unfortunately, the weather news is showing the E word when describing the wind direction. So, good friends and family, we would certainly appreciate your intervention with the wind gods. Who knows, unless you try you never know what you can accomplish so say a couple of prayers. Oh, and don't forget the good vibes. Thanks also for reading.

Amy and John

July 8, Day 38

2008-07-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

July 8, Day 38
Rest Day, Indianapolis, IN
Dear All,

This will be a short report.

We spent the day washing bikes and clothes and then taking a walk around the center of downtown near Monument Circle. It really is a very nice area with plenty of shopping and many, many cute little places to eat.

For a good portion of the time downtown we were with a really great guy. “Sarge” from Trinidad.

A nap was fit in during the day as well.

Tonight we'll look for a nice spot for an early dinner and then prepare for tomorrow when we pedal to Richmond.

Take care all and thanks for the good vibes.

John and Amy

July 7, Day 37

2008-07-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

July 7, Day 37
Crawsfordsville to Indianapolis, IN
Mileage: 64.2
Weather: Rainy in the AM: not so bad in the PM

Dear All,

Amy's Birthday. So far, we have ridden 2, 735 (give or take) miles.

We awoke to a thunder lightning storm and rain that would have fit perfectly as a jungle downpour. It was coming down in buckets. The staff was doubtful as to whether or not we would be able to ride at all. In addition, we have a meteorologist in the group who suggested that the weather patterns indicated that it was likely to be an all day event. As a result, a sizable number of riders decided to scrap the day and were SAGed by van to Indianapolis. We decided to hold out a while and see if the weather cleared. Our choice was the lucky choice.

By 10 am, the belly washer had been reduced to a light rain and about 11 of us started out. Within 45 minutes the rain had stopped although it remained cloudy. Since we had a late start there was some question as to whether we would be able to accomplish all the neat things that were on our schedule for the day. But, it all worked out perfectly.

At about the 33 mile mark, we pulled into the Roark Bike Factory. This specialty bike company makes parts for many of the sophisticated jet fighters in the US arsenal but has a tiny side line of making the most beautiful titanium bicycles you would ever want to see. Two and three men hand craft about 100 frames a year. You could buy a very nice used car for the price of one of these bikes. They are really gorgeous bikes.

After the tour of the bike factory, we pedaled another 20 miles or so and pulled into the Indianapolis Speedway. Our great friend,Tom Barney, had told us for years about the speedway and we had always hoped to see a race, perhaps even with Tom and Marge. That didn't happen but as we rolled into the speedway we couldn't help but think of Tom.

The speedway is HUGE. Inside the oval there are four holes of an 18 hole golf course and god knows what else. We took a tour around the old brickyard and it was really fascinating. Someday, we'll be back to see the race.

From the speedway we journeyed to the Major Taylor Velodrome. For the unitiated, a velodrome is a high banked oval that one races bicycles around. You will be able to see some of this really great racing this summer as part of the Summer Olympics. In any event, a number of us arrived at the veleodome and stood around watching. John decided “what the heck” and walked over and asked the folks in charge if we could ride it. We had been told by staff that we should be able to ride it although because of the rain delay, we were a good four hours past when we were supposed to have been there. In any event, the fellow in charge asked about a waiver and John simple responded that he was giving them his verbal waiver of liability (probably not worth a thing) and the head honcho said “go ahead, give it a try”. It was a HOOT!! After John had finished a couple of laps the other riders in our group figured if he could do, they would ask as well. Before long everyone was taking laps including Amy who actually went far higher on the banked track than John did. A great birthday present. Amy was smiling from ear to ear.

We left the velodrome and proceeded to follow pretty complex instructions into the city. As is not uncommon, we quickly were lost but lost on a wonderful canal that ran thru the downtown. Bikes weren't apparently allowed but on we rode. It was great.

Very late in the day (around 5:30) we finally pulled into the motel. Amy indicated that it was, without doubt, one of the most unique birthdays she had every had.

Tomorrow is a well deserved rest day. We hope to see some of the downtown area since for once our hotel is within walking distance of the downtown area. Then, of course, there is laundry and cleaning bikes that are required.

Thanks, as always for the good vibes. Keep praying to those weather gods.
Amy and John

July 6, Day 36

2008-07-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

July 6, Day 36
Champaign to Crawfordsville, IN
Mileage: 84.3
Weather: Again, another lovely day. (Thank you, weather gods!)

Dear All,

We woke at the appointed hour, 5:40, and again your prayers to the weather gods had been answered. It was a beautiful, clear, and most importantly, still morning. Breakfast was in the hotel where John had the good fortune of spilling a whole box of Frosted Flakes all over the floor. This engendered some comments concerning his dexterity but mostly it caused laughter.

This was going to be an 82 mile day. Within the first 3 miles, we came to a railroad track with the guard rails down and the red lights blinking. The slowest, and we mean slowest, freight train known to man was inching its way across the intersection. This train looked to be a mile long. It proceeded 200 yards up the track and stopped.
This created a collective groan from the riders. It then decided to back up 100 yards and stop. There was some discussion about crawling under but wiser heads prevailed and we proceeded to follow the directions of a local truck driver that took us a bit out of the way but under the railroad tracks.

Back on route, three of the very nicest guys and best riders in the group, Wayne from Wales, Steve from Australia and Al from Germany invited us to join them. You should understand that these guys generally motor at well over 20 mph all day and can leave anyone, with the exception of perhaps George and Larry, in their dust. Amy refers to them as the “hot shots”, a phrase she uses with real respect for them and their riding ability . We rode with them all 83 miles. It was a delight. As you might expect, John was full of questions about government, culture and sport. It took Wayne and Steve a good 30 miles of patient (perhaps the patience of Job!?) explanation of the game of Cricket before John finally saw the light. Now we need to find a TV station so John can watch a game. Thanks guys!!

After the first SAG stop, we, the foreign contingent, and Sue who joined us, rolled into our 8th state, Indiana. It seems that everyone is claiming good ole Abe as their patron. Back in Springfield, IL, you couldn't go a block without seeing an Abe historic marker. We enter IL with immediate reference to this state being Abe's childhood home.

The people of Indiana must have a great sense of humor. Where else would you enter a town with a sign such as the one depicted here. As we rode through town we tried to find where the soreheads lived, but they were not immediately obvious. A little further up the road, we discovered what Indiana residents do with old bicycles. They plant them on the sides of buildings.

Nearer the end of the ride,Wayne, who you will recall is from Wales, discovered that the good folks of IN decided to name a town after him. At the very least, it was a Kodak moment.
Well folks. We have passed through all the time zones in the continental US and today have set our watches to the same time as it is in Buffalo. That's a lot of miles on two wheels under our own power.

One more day of riding before a rest day. As we enter Indianapolis tomorrow we hope we have an opportunity to see the “brick yard” (the Indy speedway). Last year the riders on this trip had the opportunity to ride their bikes around the track but this year we do not believe it will be possible. We hope to at least visit the speedway.

You all have been doing a marvelous job in your prayers to the weather gods and your sending of good vibes. We feel your good vibes each day and appreciate them. When the days are long and all we want to do is get out of the saddle, we feel your good wishes and continue on. Thanks.

Amy and John

July 5, Day 35

2008-07-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

July 5, Day 35
Springfield to Champaign, IL
Mileage: 98.2
Weather: Another lovely day

Dear All,

Today was another long one, just shy of a century.

We started out with breakfast at Bob Evans. Now you would expect that everyone would know of Bob Evans. You would be wrong. Many of the riders including not only those from overseas but many from the US as well had never heard of Bob Evans. It might also be of interest (probably very little interest) that we saw for the first time a Dunkin Donuts. We guess that is evidence that we really are moving east.

The day started dead calm as you can see from the smoke stack. As we are fond of saying, if the wind can't help us we ask that it at least be neutral, particularly on hard days. And today, neutral it was.

Within the first 5 miles, a group of about 11 riders hooked up and we ran a beautiful pace line until the first SAG stop at 31 miles. More on pace line later.

The first SAG was at an historic Lincoln spot. Apparently there was a cabin that Lincoln lived in but it was 600 yards into the woods and given that we had over 65 miles to go, no one decided to hike to see it.

We rolled out of the SAG and continued through flat farm land that really is incredible to see. The corn goes on forever. And when it is not corn to the horizon, it's soy to the horizon. At one point, Amy took a hike into the field to see just what was growing. She's probably guilty of a IL felony, but she got away with it. It is truly amazing the fertility of this land. Now you would expect most people to ask questions concerning the number of people an acre of corn or soy can feed. And yes, we are curious about that. But in today's world, one also has to ask how far will an acre of corn take an SUV?

From the first SAG stop to the second SAG stop, our resident, virtual professional rider, George, from Frisco, Co., tried to organize a Tour de France type pace line. Such a pace line would have a lead rider “pull” for no more than 15 seconds and then move slightly to the left allowing the next rider in the line on his right to pull while the first rider slowed enough to come in at the back of the right hand line of riders. Think of it as an oblong, vertical clock rotating slowly counterclockwise. When done properly, it is poetry in motion. Since many of the riders had never been involved in such a pace line, George was having a difficult time setting it up. In fact, he said it was a little like herding chickens. Amy loved it. Many of the other riders were having difficulty with the system, but not Amy. In the words of the Spitzmillers, she thought it was a hoot.

We reached the second SAG stop at 62 miles in no time flat. After that stop, just the two of us peddled the final 36 miles on delightful back roads many of which were only one and half car widths wide. We took a short break by some sewer pipes and Amy decided it wasn't a bad spot to get some shade.

Given that the day was 98 miles long, some of the riders rode an extra 2 miles so they could call it a century ride. We pulled into the motel figuring 98 miles was enough and that no one (including you, our dear readers) cared whether it was a full century.

When we arrived we heard that another rider, Rob, went down. We don't have all the details, but apparently his wheel came in contact with another rider's rear wheel and he was down in an instant. Apparently his shoulder was dislocated and he was taken to the hospital. We wish him the best. We don't know if his head it the pavement, but nonetheless please dear friends keep wearing your helmet. This is a fun thing we're doing but, like anything, it has risk.

Two more days until we get a rest day. Given the miles over the last 5 days, the rest will be well deserved.

Finally, we continue to give thanks for your good vibes and in fact were reminded of those good vibes within a mile of our destination today, as the picture shows.

Prayers to the west wind gods will continue to be appreciated.

John and Amy

July 4, Day 34

2008-07-04T17:24:00.001-07:00

July 4 Day 34
Quincy to Springfield, IL
Mileage: 106.8
Weather: Lovely with a slight but not unbearable headwind.

Dear All,

Happy Fourth of July! It is fitting that on the 4th of July we cycle to Abe Lincoln's home.

The group as a contest on the 4th of July to see who can dress up their bike or themselves in the most festive manner. We had no intention of participating except that a couple of days ago as we rolled in to some town we spotted a Dollar General and pulled in. Our bikes simply had an American flag attached however, we decided to decorate ourselves for the occasion. As you can see, helmet covers, face decal, flag vest and in John's case, borrowed American flag underwear were donned. Others, such as Richard, from Ireland, wore an American Flag cape and Steve, from Tasmania, and Sarge, from Trinidad, decorated their bikes to perfection. It was all in good fun.

Today was another century. We really have lost count on how many 100 miles days we have ridden but it is a pretty good number.

Illinois is really a beautiful state. We started the day with hills that were not as steep as MO but added a lovely variety to the riding. We rolled through little towns including one called, Liberty. Again, appropriate for the day.

Back in MO, we saw corn fields but not like we saw today. After the first SAG stop, the road straightened out and we crossed the Illinois River. It's big. Not like the the Big Muddy but big none the less. The road leveled out and the corn became king. As you can see in the picture of Amy riding along side Don, from Las Vegas, corn was everywhere. At one point, Amy got off her bike in an effort to see if there were any ears of corn on the stalks. She found none. Obviously, not being farmers, we are a tad curious as to how you can have a corn stalk over 6 feet high with no ears of corn on it. If we can stay awake past 8:00 pm we will try to find the answer on the net.

In the middle of all this corn, we did come across a rather curious sign. We're guessing you all know what it means.

At about 70 miles out, both of us begin to hurt in various ways and on various parts of our anatomy. The last 20 miles of the century days always seem like 40. At about the 80 mile mark today, we simply stopped, parked our bikes, sat on the local church front steps and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which John had been carrying in his bike bag all day. We chatted and watched the locals mowing their lawn. The simply pleasures of bike riding.

We rolled into Lincoln's hometown, rode past the capital, and into our motel. It was a long day but a nice one.

By the way, Ed (our son), spent some time in this town after medical school and despite our visits during these years, nothing we saw today was familiar. We either rode through a different part of town or our aged memories are failing. We arrived too late to do any Lincoln sightseeing.

Tomorrow is another century. They seem to be common place now a days although they are still long days. IL is a pretty state so far and we hope it continues.

Keep praying to the west wind gods and as always we appreciate your continuing good vibes.

Amy and John

July 3, Day 33

2008-07-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

July 3 Day 33
Kirks ville, MO to Quincy, IL
Mileage: 87.2
Weather:Heavy rain in the AM with plenty of wind

Dear All,

Today Amy's three best friends showed up: wind, rain and hills!!!

We awoke to very heavy rain but no lightning or thunder. The weather gods have been good to us for 32 days so we guess we can give them a break for one day. As you can see, we did our best to insulate ourselves from their ravages. We rolled into the rain about 7:00 am and within no time at all, the the hills of MO made their presence felt. Since everything we had was in John's bike bag, including the camera, we didn't get a lot of pictures for the first couple of hours.

It's interesting that the manufacturers of rain gear suggest that it is breathable. Well, John doesn't mean to disagree but he was as wet inside his rain shirt from sweat as he would have been if he had gone without rain protection.

At one point along the way, we saw a quaint church and Amy said a short prayer to the weather gods and lo and behold, it worked. We think, however, that her prayer only involved rain since as it quit the wind increased, directly in our faces. The hills continued.

As we rolled closer to the Mississippi, we began to recognize that flooding is a recurrent problem. In Buffalo, we test the amount of rain by inches. Around here, they have rain gauges along the side of the road measuring feet.

Because of all the flooding, it was impossible for us to cross the Mississippi by ferry as originally planned. Rather, the staff scouted out a new route which got us close to the only bridge that was opened for miles in either direction. It has no shoulder or any available way to get bicycles across. As a result, we went across the Mississippi in the SAG wagon.

Prior to crossing, we saw substantial sandbagging as evidence of the recent flooding.
As we crossed the mighty Mississippi, we entered our 7th state which, we are told, will be substantially less hilly then MO.

Friday and Saturday we do a century each day. These could be tough days but we are hoping to see IL in all its glory.

Prayers to the west wind gods would be appreciated and of course, good vibes.

Amy and John

July 2, Day 31

2008-07-02T14:34:00.001-07:00

July 2, Day 32
Chillicothe to Kirksville, MO
Mileage: 81.6
Weather: Wet for about half the way.

Dear All,

Well, the weather gods decided to ignore your prayers today, but all in all it wasn't too bad. We had been warned that the day would be difficult given the hills so we were on the road early at 6:30. The skies were threatening and for the first time the rain actually fell on our parade. Luckily the temperature was comfortable so although we were reasonably wet we didn't feel all that cold. The thunder and lightning hung out just to the west of us for hours with some pretty impressive flashes of lightning but nothing came close enough for us to get terribly worried.

We had been told that the first twenty-five miles were going to be relatively flat and then the hills would present themselves in all their glory. We were told correctly. Right about 25 miles the hills started. Some of them were mighty steep requiring that we use every gear that Tom at Tom's Bicycle Shop had installed. Amy suggested that a couple of additional ones might have been helpful. Apparently, there were a total of 99 hills in the last 50 miles. The total elevation gain was over 4000 feet. Riding these hills in the rain was exciting particularly on the downhills as the water on the road flew off the tires.

As we rode, we crossed any number of narrow bridges with signs announcing that cars going in our direction were to yield. John thinks he recalls looking over his shoulder and seeing signs suggesting traffic in the other direction was also to yield. This could, it seems to us, lead to an interesting situation.

Signs of the recent flood are becoming more obvious including deep mud along the side of the road and open fields that look like small lakes.

The second SAG stop was suppose to be at 54 miles, but because the group was so spread out, it as canceled. As a result, we, along with Sue and Audrey, took a bit of a lunch break on Rice Krispies Treat, raisins, and crackers. As you can see from the picture with John's bike in it, the clouds were chasing us.

For those who don't know it, Kirksville, MO is the home of Osteopathic Medicine started by Dr. Still, MD, DO. Since our son, Ed, is a DO, we certainly had to visit the museum which is really quite fascinating. Apparently, Dr. Still was the first to secure cadavers on a regular basis for his newly founded school. This created quite an uproar as evidenced by the headstone shown here. We have enlarged the bottom of the headstone for your reading pleasure, but for those of you who are unable to read that portion it says: "She was stolen from the grave her body dissected by fiendish men; her bones anatomized. Her soule we trust has risen to heaven, where few physicians rise".

Over the next three days, we will ride 97, 101 and 103 miles respectively. If ever there was a time we would appreciate your prayers for west winds and no rain this just might be the time. In addition, of course, your constant good vibes are always welcome.

Amy and John

July 1, Day 31

2008-07-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

July 1, Day 31
St. Joseph to Chillicothe, MO
Mileage: 90.7 (a virtual century)
Temperature: very pleasant, getting hotter as day wore on

Dear All,

Ok, Ok, it appears that Willie Nelson is beating out Papa Smurf. However, Amy has put her foot down when it comes to the ponytail. John knew this was going to be a problem when we stopped at a little drug store and when he asked where the rubber bands were located and Amy said, “not in this lifetime.”

We left at a leisurely 7:15 this am and rolled straight into what we have been calling the Missouri “lollypaloops”. A lollypaloop is a road equivalent to a roller coaster. This simply means a two or three hundred yard hill which we pedal up at 10 or 11 mph and then down the backside at 25-28 mph. Up and down, and up and down and up and down etc.....

Since we had been seeing corn forever we decided to see just how high an "elephant's eye" is (cite: the song, Oklahoma). As you can see an elephant's eye, which is the height of the corn in the song, is pretty darn high.
Amy had so much fun the other day climbing up a bale of hay that she invited our friend, Sue, to join her. The two ladies got quite a charge out of standing on this stuff. John had to convince them to get down and get onto the business of bike riding.

It appears that the folks in Missouri have a pretty good sense of humor. As we all know the real estate market has been in the tank for a good deal of time. Apparently a local rancher fell on hard times. So, rather than simply take down the sign which identified his ranch he simply renamed the place, El Rancho Bankruptus. You gotta love a guy with a sense of humor.

We have ridden a number of times in Lancaster County in PA and are well aware of a number of other large Amish communities. We were unaware of such a community in MO, but sure enough there is one between St. Joe and Chillicothe. We stopped for a lemonade (John is becoming addicted to the stuff) in the little town of Jamesport at an Amish bakery. Man, were the pastries great. We were at the 65 mile mark (meaning we had another 25 miles to go) so we decided that lunch was not such a good idea but the pastry sure hit the spot. As you can see, we weren't the only ones in the group who decided to do the same thing. Bikes were lined up as far as the eye could see.

On we rode with the hills becoming a bit less of a factor. Somewhere around the 78 mile mark or so we spotted our first evidence of the floods. The Thomas River was on our route and just before we crossed it we spotted what looked like a lake. It wasn't. Rather what looks like a lake are really flooded fields from the Thomas. The Thomas itself is a pretty large river 0r at least it is at this moment in time, although in normal times it might not have the same look.

Speaking of rivers, we are still uncertain as to how we we will get across the Mississippi. Two of the staff members will spend all day tomorrow checking the area out to see how we over the big muddy. It may be that we will simply have to put the bikes on the SAG wagon and go across a bridge. The original plan was to take a ferry across, but the ferry is out of service due to the floods and won't be back in business for at least another month.

We rolled into Chillicothe in mid afternoon (about an 8 and ½ hour day). By the way, as you can see Chillicothe is the home of sliced bread.

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge. We will only ride 83 miles. By the way if someone had said two months ago that riding 83 miles could be used in the same sentence as the word “only”, we would have put that someone in a rubber suit and sent him somewhere.

The problem tomorrow is that we will climb a total of 4000 feet going over more than 100 hills. We're told it will be a “challenge” which is a polite way of saying we're going to have our work cut out for us. Ah well, at the end of the day it's still a matter of pedaling one revolution at a time.
Say a prayer for continuing good weather with winds from the west. The good vibes are certainly helping.

Amy and John

PS: If you want to see older posts for our blog you can get at them as follows: at the top and to the right of this blog you will see "June (30)" and in front of that is a type of arrow pointing to the right. If you click on that arrow and make it point down you will be able to click on any of the June posts. Hope this helps

June 30, Day 30

2008-06-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

June 30, Day 30
Day of Rest (#3)
St. Joseph, MO

Dear All,

At the end of this short blog, we have a question for everyone out there who is reading. So, read on.

Well, our third day off in 30. We think we need it. As we described in an earlier blog, we spend the day off doing laundry, emptying suitcases and repacking, cleaning bikes, sending emails and taking a nap or two.

Several of the riders decided to give golf a try today. There is a little par three somewhere around this place and off they went at about 9:00. Most of us slept in to 7:00 and thought it was like sleeping in to mid day.

A couple named Sandra and Jerry Mogg from St. Joe had been riders with ABB some years ago and they volunteered to shuttle any of the riders anywhere they wanted to go during our day off, to get a haircut, go shopping or visit the sites. It was a wonderful offer.

For those of you who don't know, the Pony Express started in St. Joe and ended in Sacramento. They also have the psychiatric museum in this town as well. It was suggested that all of us would be prime candidates for an exhibit at the latter spot . None that we know of decided to visit.

We did visit the Pony Express

Museum which was quite interesting. We were unaware that the Pony Express only lasted about a year and a half before it fell victim to technology, the telegraph.

OK, here's comes the question. Some at the office have suggested that John's beard is such that they have decided on a new name for him; Papa Smurf. When first told of this, John asked “who's Papa Smurf?”. Ah, the Internet answers all so with a little surfing John was educated in all matters Smurf.
Attached is a picture of John as of this very moment alongside that of the good Papa who we assume has not changed in appearance recently. Now we ask ya, is there a similarity?

Tomorrow will be about an 85+ mile day and believe it or not in about three days we cross the mighty Mississippi. There still remains a question as to how we will get across given all the flooding (pontoons on the bike is a possibility), but we'll keep you posted.

Say a prayer for winds from the West since the hills in MO are tough enough without the wind to contend to.

Thanks for the good vibes.

Amy and John

June 29, Day 29

2008-06-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

June 29, Day 29
Topeka, KS to St. Joseph, MO
Weather: Temperature was pleasant; wind was howling
Mileage: 89 miles

Dear All,

We said goodbye to Kansas today. She certainly was a state of many colors. From the flat western portion with a lot of cows to the rolling hillsides and green on the eastern side. In retrospect, we guess that KS has its redeeming values it's just that on long days with the hot sun beating down on you it's sometimes hard to find those values.

We started the day typically with our leg over the top tube at about 7:00; a little later than usual because it was thought that today's ride was a bit shorter. After about 6 miles we took a left heading northeast and knew the day was going to be tough. The typical KS wind was right, smack dab in our face and at 7:00 in the morning it was already blowing a good ten knots. We were riding with about 15 other riders when we took the turn and there was a collective groan.

The group stayed together until John had a flat. We can't quite remember what number flat that is but we are guessing it is about no. 4 which given the average number of flats in the group is pretty good.

The terrain was different than yesterday. The climbs were much longer and with the wind ever increasing, much harder. At one point, the wind blew Amy off the paved shoulder onto the gravel. Only Amy's good bike handling skills prevented her from going down. The scenery was lovely with corn growing as far as you could see and as”high as an elephant's eye”. This part of Kansas really is quite lovely.

Around noon, we passed over the Missouri River which certainly seemed to be flowing with a vigor. About a mile further up the road, we left Kansas behind us and entered our sixth state-Missouri.
Amy rode with a group of riders three miles ahead of John who rode with Skip, an attorney from Las Vegas. The scenery was quite pretty as this point but the hills and the wind which must have been blowing close the 25 mph was making this day seem much longer than yesterday of over 108 miles. Amy missed the turn for the SAG stop and had to retrace her steps. This was not the day to add miles but part of the allure of bicycle riding is getting lost (we do it regularly).

At the SAG stop, everyone seemed “done in”, including John who decided to nap but to no avail since his eyes had barely closed before he was told to get up and get going.

On we went and at one point after seeing rolls of hay for days and days, Amy decided it was time to climb one. She is an adventuresome sort.

Finally, we rolled into the outskirts of St. Joseph, MO. We really did think we were close to ending the day but we missed a turn, climbed 3 more hills and came to a stop at a street that wasn't on our cue sheet. Again, lost. While trying to figure out where we were, a very pleasant woman, who had been working in her garden, came over to help. After her explanation, we were still perplexed so she climbed in her car and led us back to where we had missed the turn. This really is the “show me” state. We don't know her name but we thank her.

Within a few miles of the motel, a couple, Jerry and Sandra had previously ridden with America By Bicycle, had set up a SAG stop. The lemonade, which John is becoming addicted to, was delicious.

Tomorrow, a rest day. We both feel we need it.

We will try to think of something for the blog tomorrow.

Thanks as always for your continuing prayers and good vibes.

Amy and John

June 28, Day 28

2008-06-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

June 28, Day 28
Abilene to Topeka, KS
Mileage: 108.7
Weather: Iffy in the morning but great as the day progressed

Dear All,

OK, OK maybe were a bit off with respect to Kansas, at least the eastern part of KS. Todays ride although long was delightful and could have been in Western NY or PA. Rolling hills which required a bit of effort but unlike the mountains the hills weren't long.

The day started with overcast skies and as we rolled out of the motel the rain fell although not hard. But, because all of you good people have been praying just the right prayers to the weather gods, within an hour the rain jackets were off and the skies began to clear. The best rider in the group, George, from Frisco, CO, hates riding in the rain so much that most of us believe that he hermetically seals himself against the rain. It actually looks like he's heading out to clean up a toxic site.

At the 10 mile mark we were to cross what were described as Bad RR Tracks. What makes railroad tracks bad (for you non bikers) is that they are frequently not at a right angle to the road meaning that the rider goes over them at an an other than at a right angle. Trust us that's dangerous. We always try to adjust our ride to take the tracks at as close to a right angle as possible and we slow down. But no matter how cautious one tries to be RR tracks are still dangerous. We learned that today when three of the very best riders in the group went down, two of the HARD. Again, helmets proved their worth when one of the riders head obviously hit the pavement since there was clearly a ding in the helmet.

Our first SAG was in White City. Now it might be difficult for most of you to recognize that in eastern KS you can in fact be a City with only 800 souls residing in the place, but that is the case. As we rolled into “town”, Amy made the comment that the place looked a little down around the mouth with a number of boarded up building down Main St. (we thank it's not only Main St,, but the only street). Low and behold White City is in the midst of a renaissance of sorts with a growing population. Apparently there is a military base nearby and families are moving there wanting their kids to grow up in a small town. Well, they found one.

We rolled on with ever increasing steepness to the hills, but they really were sort of a welcome relief from the days and days in western KS where the road did nothing but go straight and never went up or down. Today there were curves in the road. Yup, real curves where you could actually lean you bike into a turn.

At one point we stopped for water and there was a small cemetery. There was one headstone that was just a tad unusually so John had to take a picture. It clearly represents the final resting place of a cowboy who died with his boots on.

At the 72 mile mark we stopped at a little cafe across from Lake Wabaunsee. Apparently this Lake is a spot that people from Topeka and Kansas City come to vacation. It's cute although by Western NY standards the lake is pretty small. We learned, however, from a local that the lake area was a German prisoner of war camp during WW II. The building across from our cafe was the mess hall and the smaller buildings were the barracks. Again, according to the local guy, the prisoners built a dam and actually increased the size of the lake. Pretty interesting.

As we came close to the 100 mile mark we found an interesting sculpture. As you can see it is a bunch of really messed up bicycles. We worried about the riders, but upon reflection we assumed that it was simply one man's attempt at art. Not bad.

The day ended with a smile on our face. All century rides are hard, but this is one we would do again in a heartbeat. It had everything.

Thanks for reading and your prayers (to the weather gods and for our safety). Keep sending the good vibes. Don't forget the comments.

Amy and John

June 27, Day 27

2008-06-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

June 27, Day 27
McPherson to Abilene, KS
Mileage: 64.8
Temperature: Comfortable in the high 80's

Dear All,

Well today we left McPherson and on our way to Abilene we reached the half way mark of our journey. Not half way across the US (we passed that a couple of days ago) but half way from San Francisco to Portsmouth. As we left McPherson we came upon a Buffalo buffalo which we had to take a picture of. McPherson has a number of them scattered around town.

As we prepared to depart this morning the skies were dark and the lightning was flashing all around. We expected a soggy and uncomfortable day. BUT, those of you who have been praying to the weather gods seem to have forced them to overcome their initial thoughts and within an hour the sky lightened and the weather was great. Indeed, we had 25 mph tailwind for a good part of the day which meant that the effort on the bike was really minimal.

Before we go any further, we need to correct a statement from the other day when we suggested that it might well make sense to sell KS. The route today found a corner of KS that was lovely. Tree lined road with no traffic. It looked a lot like the country lanes outside of Buffalo or some of the wonderful roads in PA around Lancaster County. So, if the US decides to put KS on the market it should exempt from the sale County Road 304 around Canton, KS.

OK, on to today. We hit the half way point and had our picture taken by Forest, a great guy from Maryland. At the SAG stop the staff had put together some cupcakes and as you can see they were in the shape of ½.

At this point we guess it might make sense to give you some of the statistics that Gary, an accountant from Illinois came up with for the first half of the trip. You should note that some of these numbers are based on a WAG (wise ass guess), but they are interesting in any event. Note that we have not attempted to verify any of these numbers expect that the number of miles ridden is just about right.

>1,854 miles
>550,000 pedal strokes
>120 hours in the saddle
>61,783' of elevation gain

On we rode on this lovely road with the wind at our back and cruising at about 24 or 25 mph. It was delightful. It was one of those days that you think about when you think about long distance bicycle riding. John took a quick picture of Amy's shadow as she was cruising along. By the way, she's much prettier than her shadow.

Before reaching Abilene we stopped by a grayhound training track which was just outside of town next to the Grayhound Association. While neither of us are fans of the sport and are concerned about the treatment of these beautiful animals we did stop to take a look and saw some of the training. These dogs are fast, really fast.

We rolled into Abilene which we are sure you all know is the home if Dwight D. Eisenhower. We took a detour and visited his boyhood home, museum and Presidential Library. Pretty impressive. You may not know it but Annapolis was his first choice for college, but he was a couple of months too old when he passed the entrance exam. One has to wonder, what would have happened if he had been a sailor rather than an army man? As we wandered thru the museum we were in awe of the decisions that he had to make during World War II. As Amy murmured at one point “can you imagine making the decisions necessary during the War?”. No, we can't.

Tomorrow we head to Topeka, our last full day in KS. God, it's a big state. It will be a long day; another century ride (108 miles).

Say a prayer that the winds have a W in them.

Keep the good vibes rolling.

Amy and John

June 26, Day 26

2008-06-26T17:37:00.001-07:00

June 26, Day 26
Great Bend to McPherson, KS
Mileage: 64 miles
Temp: A balmy 92 degrees

Dear All,

We are posting both June 25 and June 26 today because the primary writer was under the weather. So, before you read on, go back and read the blog for June 25 Day 25.

We woke this morning at 5:45 and John decided to at least don his riding clothes. He hadn't had any solid food for almost 24 hours but was feeling a little better than the night before. He had a few bites of breakfast which seems to settle OK so he decided to give it a try.

Why has the United States kept KS? There has to be some foreign country that would be willing to take it off our hands. The road stretches on in front of you until it meets the horizon. Our “cue sheets” (our directions for each day) tells us that there is a town 10 miles up the road. On the horizon, we see a grain elevator, clear as a bell. That's the town! One grain elevator and, as Amy says, a couple of boarded up, out of business, businesses.

That's the reason there are so few pictures in this day's blog.
About 10 miles into the ride, John, who was feeling only mediocre, got a flat tire. Luckily, the SAG wagon showed up as John was about a quarter of the way through changing the tire. Andy, our lead staff guy, finished the repair job.

This may be the first time that we have really nothing to say about the ride. For 50 miles with temperature in the 90's, there was nothing to see or report other than the odd grain elevator. At one point, John said, “I think I hate Kansas.” The problem is we have 2 and half more days of KS before we arrive in Missouri. Ah well, KS does provide a good deal of the stuff we find in Wegman's so it clearly has a redeeming feature.

John had his first solid food this afternoon. Say a prayer it stays where it's supposed to stay.

Keep saying prayers for the wind direction to have a “w” in it. And, as always, keep those good vibes coming our way.

Amy and John

PS: Don't forget that comments are welcome

June 25, Day 25

2008-06-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is Kansas!!

June 25 Day 25
Dodge City to Great Bend, KS
Mileage: 85
Temp: Really, really HOT

Dear All,

Well, time to get out of Dodge! On the way out, we found those same cowboys who were chasing those dudes we saw on the way in. Flor all of you who are thinking of taking a vacation to see the home of Matt, Kitty, and Festus, don't bother. The only thing that resembles the home of Gunsmoke is a pay as you go little museum with what resembles Front Street of the old Dodge City. We did see a gun fight and as expected, the sheriff won.

Today was a pretty tough day. Amy saw a time and temperature that read 102 degrees-John thought it was hotter than that. We tried to take pictures but KS looks the same in the beginning of day to the end of the day. The only thing that really changes is the wind. Sometimes it's your friend and sometimes your mortal enemy. Today, it was more like an acquaintance favoring us with a bit of a tail wind.

The first SAG stop put us exactly half way between San Francisco and New York City. It was at that same SAG stop that Amy narrowly escaped an on rushing train, or at least that is what the picture makes it look like. Not to worry, the train wasn't moving.

We stopped in a museum that had a replica of a KS Sod House. We are glad that that is not what awaits us after a long day on our saddles. In that same museum, we saw a bicycle that some idiot rode from NYC to some god=forsaken place in KS back in the 1800's. We don't think the picture does it justice but you should understand that this was before the day of derailleurs. This bike had one fixed gear. For those uninitiated that means no coasting. The pedals just keep going round and round. We're convinced that this guy simply got off his bike in KS and died.

John began feeling the effects of the stomach virus shortly after the SAG stop with 50 miles still to go. Luckily, Amy was feeling strong and she along with Sue, pulled him mile after mile. He just hung on their wheel.

By the second SAG stop, there was question as to whether John should proceed. But, he made it in by hanging on Amy's wheel. Upon arrival at the hotel, John took to the bed and remained horizontal for 15 hours. Amy, on the other hand, was feeling her oats. After riding 85 miles, she and other riders rode an extra 5 miles to see what was going on at the local bike shop.

John slept.

As the sun set, there was considerable doubt as to whether John would ride the next day.

Thanks for reading and those good vibes.
John and Amy

June 24, Day 24

2008-06-24T13:21:00.001-07:00

June 24, Day 24
Garden City to Dodge City, KS
Mileage: 52
Temperature: Wonderful

Dear All,

Today was the day we needed. After two very tough ones, this was a blessing. Only 52 miles and good weather with only a modest breeze in the morning. We're back on track and the mental attitude is much improved after two very hard days.

Off this morning early so as to outsmart the KS winds, which are pretty crafty. As you can guess from the last two days, they tend to lull one into a false sense of security early in the morning when they are quite but then as the day goes on they get the last laugh. Not today. We beat 'em!! They even make signs about the winds. What the heck a “wind current” is we don't know but one has to be careful of them in this neck of the woods.

We left at 6:30 and put some serious distance between us and Garden City pretty early. Sue, a wonderful gal, had a flat, which John fixed in pretty quick order and then we were heading east again.

By the way, we forgot to tell you about our race yesterday. There we were pedaling along in the morning minding our own business when eight cows on the other side of the road started to gallop along side. Yup, we said gallop. We didn't know that cows could do that but there they were racing us down the road. These guy (or gals we didn't notice) can move right along. We're guessing that they were doing a good 15 mph for a 100 yards or so, but in the end it was man and his machine that won out.

On to today. We rode into a beautiful sunrise which the picture doesn't do justice to. It was really lovely. We've noticed however that as beautiful KS is in its own, the smell never seems to go away. It is as if God decided that this was the best place in the world to deposit all the manure he could find and let it be known that he found a lot of it. We passed by more cattle pens than you can imagine. We're guessing that the life expectancy of these animals is not terribly long.

About halfway into the ride we stopped at an historic area of the Santa Fe Trail. It was quite interesting. John noted that the description included the comment that many of the pioneers who settled in KS went absolutely bonkers (John's word not the word used in the marker) as a result of the constant wind. Makes sense to us.

As we entered Dodge City we came upon a bunch of guys “getting out of Dodge”. They waited long enough for a picture.

Dodge City itself was not all that interesting. There is a museum but it's pretty fake so we decided against going. Amy did, however, think that the stagecoach was pretty neat.

That was the day. It was really nice.

No WiFi tomorrow so we'll be off the air. Love your comments.

Take care and keep up the good vibes.

John and Amy

June 23, Day 23

2008-06-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

June 23, Day 23
Lamar, CO to Garden City, KS
Mileage – 104.5
Temperature: HOT

Dear All,

Well, if we thought yesterday's 122 miles was the toughest so far, we were wrong. Really wrong. Today was clearly the hardest day of the tour for us. But, it was a day in which John has never been more proud of Amy. He's proud of her every day, of course, but today was really special. More on that later.

The day started early with breakfast at 6:00 and we were on the road by 6:30. Initially, the wind was not much of a factor with even a slight tailwind at times and as a result we rolled along with a pretty good pace by working with Audrey, a very strong young rider. At about the 15 mile mark, Amy had a rear tire flat and it took about 10 minutes to fix. We then proceeded to the first SAG without much to see.

We were among the last at the SAG due to Amy's flat, and since the wind was favorable we didn't linger too long. After leaving we rode a very short time before we found ourselves in KS, our fifth state. Amazing. We've ridden across four states and are now working on our fifth. A little while later, we found ourselves changing our watches since we were leaving mountain time and entering central time. Darn, that means one less hour of sleep tonight.

In Syracuse (CO not NY), we stopped for a coke and met a guy who was pedaling from NJ to WA. We chatted about the weather, the road surfaces, the climbs and bike equipment. It is what one does when one is on a bike all day and meets someone who is similarly engaged.

By the 78 mile mark the wind was coming from the east and getting stronger by the minute (we learned later that it was gusting to 28 mph). John had always believed that the prevailing winds were from the SW and that it was unusual for them to blow from the east. However, we are guessing that it blows from the SW at 100,000 feet, not necessarily at ground level. The word from some of the riders, who seem pretty knowledgeable, is that as the day progresses, particularly when it's hot, the winds will frequently come from the east in earnest. Today must have been one of those days.

The temperature was up in the mid 90's making the pedaling difficult and the wind was clearly making the day tough, particularly for Amy. No matter where she rode off of John's wheel she couldn't get out of the wind and given the fact that she's so small it was blowing her all over the place. It was, as we said, heating up as well. You know it's hot when Amy has to sit down by the side of the road and take her riding shoes off because her feet are burning up. Note that she is wearing red socks (that's not blood on her feet).

Despite the riding conditions, we did see some interesting stuff as the day progressed. Longhorn sheep and ruts from the pioneers trek along the Santa Fe Trail.

In addition we were told that eating beef keeps you slim. Somehow we believe that the latter piece of news might be contradicted by those who are not red meat fans, but at least in some parts of KS we suspect beef is king.

In any event, the last 10 miles were the toughest Amy has ever experienced. She had real trouble. She thought about quiting, but in the end she just put her head down and pedaled. She could have simply said “the hell with it” and waited for the SAG to pick her up. There would have been no shame is doing so. Over the course of the trip many may do so and it will be understood by everyone. Some days you just aren't as stong as others. Who knows, maybe we will as well some day. But, on this particularly day, Amy would not give in. She just wouldn't quit. As indicated at the beginning of this report, John has never been prouder of her.

Take care everyone. Thanks for reading and keep up the good vibes.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

John and Amy

June 22, Day 22

2008-06-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

June 22, Day 22
Pueblo to Lamar, CO
Mileage: Amy -122.4; John – 126.5
Temperature: No word other than HOT could adequately describe it

Dear All,

Whew!! This was one long day. What a great way to spend your 40th anniversary. Riding a bicycle side by side for 122 miles.

But there was sadness today as well. For those of you out there who think you can ride a bike without a helmet, THINK AGAIN!! One of our group, Bob from Wooster, OH is alive at this moment because of his helmet. Bob's a great guy who everyone in the group likes. He was riding with Larry and a little behind Larry when, for reasons no on knows, he went down. Larry indicates that it happened in an instant. Bob's head hit the pavement and cracked his helmet in two places and apparently had two large stones embeded in it. He has a conclusion and is now in the hospital in intensive care, but we are all praying that he will fully recover. Bob is a fine rider with many, many miles in the saddle. So, for those of you who think you can ride to the local store without a helmet or have children who ride with helmets while you don't wear one, we urge you to rethink what you're doing. WEAR YOUR HELMET WHENEVER YOUR LEG GOES OVER THE TOP TUBE!! ALWAYS!!

And now on to the day.

The day started really, really early. We were up 4:30 am, loaded luggage at 5:00 am, ate breakfast and were on the road by 6:00 am. The skies were clear and the temperature was in the high 60's. By the first SAG stop at 37 miles the temperature was over 70 and we were riding in short sleeve shirts. We had a groups of riders which changed from time to time during the course of the day. Luckily, the wind was calm thru the morning although it picked up as the day progressed. It became a cross wind which moved around to a headwind later in the day.

The scenery was less than impressive at the start but as the day progressed things became greener. It was clearly farm and cattle country. At about the 51 mile mark (still not halfway for the day) we saw our first cattle feed lot with a lot of cattle. The picture does not capture the smell which was something that we worked on riding away from.

By 11:00 am it was starting to seriously heat up. As you can see, water bottles were filled up as often as possible. The real problem is that within about 20 minutes after getting a refilled water bottle with wonderfully cold water, the temperature of the water in the bottle b9ecomes 90 degrees which is not the most inviting thing to drink. But, drink we most since one wants to avoid dehydration at all costs.

At the second SAG stop Amy used a cold Coke can for two purposes, first to drink and then to try to cool her blood supply. The first was successful, but we can't say the second use really worked.

Along the way we spotted what looked like huge loaves of bread from a distance. In fact, it was the way the local farmers put together their wheat or whatever it is that they bundled. The picture gives you some idea as to what they looked like.

By about the 105 mile mark we were getting pretty tuckered out. The temperature was now 97 degrees and the winds were picking up. The wind itself was hot which was an interesting feeling. A little like taking a hair dryer and pointing it at your head. Not such a pleasant feeling mile after mile.

We finally rolled into the Best Western Cow Palace which is actually a place where they used to auction off cattle in a huge room around which the motel put the guest rooms. The picture of Amy at our arrival really doesn't need an explanation.

The miles on our calculators at arrival read 122.4. Now, many of you may know that there are those who have ridden what is referred to as a “double century” which means 200 miles in one day. This is not something that either of us aspire to. However, you may also know that a metric century is 62.137 miles. Now, John figured that he would never ride a real double century but since he was close to a double metric century, he decided to take a short tour of Larmar, CO (not very exciting by the way) in order to actually ride a double metric century. His calculator shows the result. Amy rightfully declined to accompany John on the theory that he was “nuts”.

Tomorrow is another century ride (104+ miles). Yup, that's two centuries in a row. The forecast is calling for HOT and unfortunately the wind is scheduled to come from a direction that has the word east in it. The weather gods can be convinced to change their minds however, so a prayer or two along those lines would be appreciated.

Thanks for all of the good vibes and don't forget RIDE WITH A HELMET!!

Take care, all.

Amy and John
PS: Remember, comments are welcome. Just click on the comment button.

June 20, Day 21

2008-06-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

June 21, Day 21
Pueblo, CO (Rest Day)

Dear All,

Well, today we get the opportunity to take it easy. It's the second such day since June 1 and it's pretty fair to say that we were ready for it as are those parts of our anatomy that regularly come in contact with the bike.

By the way, several of the riders have Garmin calculators for their bikes which provide a host of information. One piece of information that you might be interested in is the total number of feet we have climbed to date. Believe it or not according to one rider's Garman, we have had total climbs of 58,268 feet. That's more than twice the height of Mount Everest. What d'ya think about them bananas?

We dozed off last night at about the same time as usual (around 9:00) but didn't actually get out of bed until 7:30. It was wonderful.
Since there is nothing to write about in terms of our journey itself we thought we might take this time to do a couple of things.

First to thank Andy, Christine, Michelle and Gerard, the staff who are always there when we need them. It's uncanny the way they seem to know exactly when to appear on the road to repair flats and to give encouragement. When it's hot and you've ridden 75 miles with another 20 or so to go in the heat with wind in your face, they seem to be able to say just the right things to boost spirits. And, as we have described, they have taken very seriously the illness that has befallen so many in the group. Michelle makes certain that we “follow the rule” both on the road and off, while Andy runs “route rap” and basically sees that everything is running smoothly. Christine is either on a bike checking on riders and handling SAG stops. And Gerard is fixing bikes or taking pictures as well as being on the road. They are really super and ABB should be proud of them. We sure are.

OK, so what happens when we're off the bike. On a riding day, very little other than riding really happens. As you know we start the day when the sun comes up and when we get in, it's time for a shower, figure out what to wear the next day, go to “route rap”, eat dinner, write the blog and go to bed. About every third day or so we try to find time to do a little laundry making certain that the riding shorts are always clean. Sometimes the motels don't have enough machines so there are days when we ride with day old socks or shirts (never day old shorts).

But the off days (of which we are in our second), the pace is leisurely for everyone. As we indicted we get up later and then find a real place for a sit down, take our time, type of breakfast. Then it's time to completely empty our suitcases. Given that we don't have time to pay much attention to them on riding days (just stuff the cloths in, close 'em up and load 'em on the van), we take the off day to repack. But only after putting virtually everything in the laundry. Most motels have one and sometime two washers and one or two dryers. As a result there is a bit of line to get the laundry done. When the suitcases are repacked it's as if we have half again as much room. Wait a day or two and it'll look a mess all over again.

Then John works on the bikes. He tries to clean them from top to bottom paying particular attention to the drive system. The chain is cleaned and oiled which takes a bunch of time and is a pretty dirty process. The rear cassette is cleaned and then the frame itself paying attention to the brakes. The tires are checked for any abrasions or cuts that could cause a problem on the road.

After lunch we just take it easy. We both brought books with us but for the last 21 days we don't think that we've read a total between us of more than 20 pages. There simply isn't time. On the off days we try but most ofter within five minutes of opening the book we asleep taking a cat nap.

Tomorrow is our 40th Anniversary and coincidently it will be our longest day of the entire trip, 120.8 miles. That's long!! At the time of writing this blog we don't know what time we'll be on the road but we're guessing it will be really, really early. The fear is twofold, both related to the weather. First, is the concern about afternoon thunderstorms. Two days ago Pueblo had hail the size of golf balls and apparently in the heat of the summer that's not uncommon. Second, it is the ever present concern about the wind. It has a crazy way of moving all around the compass and the hope is that the earlier we leave the less likely we'll be hit with a strong headwind later in the day (like yesterday which was a brute).

So, if you have an extra moment or two, pray for a west wind or no wind at all, but nothing that has the word east in it.

Apparently the motel we get to tomorrow in Lamar, CO does not have WiFi so we'll be off the air for a couple of day. Nonetheless, your good vibes will be felt so send them along.

John and Amy
PS: Remember you can comment to this blog by clicking on "comments".

June 20, Day 20

2008-06-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

June 20, Day 20
Salida to Pueblo, CO
Mileage: 93.87
Temperature: Freezing in the morning and hot in the afternoon

Dear All,

We knew today was going to be long and it was. It really turned out to be two days in one. We'll explain later.

You may be interested in a health report. So far we are OK. One more rider went down today. That's the bad news, The good news is that one who had been down was back in the saddle although a bit weak. The staff has really been terrific about this illness. Rules have been put in place to attempt to reduce the incidence of new outbreaks. For instance, at the SAG stops only one of the four staff is allowed to fill water bottles so that people aren't touching the big jugs of water. We have always been required to remove riding gloves and use handiwipes prior to getting any food, but now no one is allowed to leave gloves or a helmet anywhere near the food. In addition, only packaged food is being offered. No longer are cut up oranges or trail mix offered. The staff wiped down the entire interior of the SAG vehicle and is constantly telling everyone to wash their hands. We're washing our hands so often the skin is starting to peel off. We're all hoping these precautions will work.

On to today.

We loaded our luggage at 5:30 which meant that we were up by 4:45. We were on the road by 6:00 am.. The first 45 miles of the ride were marvelous. It was slightly downhill on a beautiful road with very little traffic. Within the first 5 miles were joined by Rick (yes, the same Rick who's description of Amy's climbing was in one or our prior blogs). The three of us set up what turned out to be a pretty good paceline with Rick taking a pull then John and every once in a while Amy took a pull as well. The picture shows Amy doing her job. We were averaging close to 19 mph.

The entire first 45 or so miles had the Arkansas river running on our left no more than 10 feet or so off the shoulder. And, boy, was it running. Mark Mahoney or Bob Glanville might be able to tell us what level the water was but we were told it was probably a 4. It was wild with holes at least 3 feet deep. At one point we saw a raft and a kayak running the river and it was something to watch. The kayak was clearly having trouble with the size of the holes but it did get through.

The canyon we were in is named Big Horn Sheep Canyon. Neat name, but we saw none of its namesake. The views along the river in the canyon were really special. John just had to stop a number of times to take pictures which meant he had to “hammer” to catch up with Amy and Rick. We hope the pictures do some justice to what we saw.

About 10:30 we took a slight detour into Canon City, CO for a bit of a brunch. As we turned onto Main Street a sign announcing that a prison was just down the road. But this prison had a museum and a gift shop. That's right, a prison museum and a gift shop. That's a bit much. But, we guess CO figures it might as well make some money on the prison. We decided not to visit. John was thankful since almost of the souvenirs that he could think of would weigh a ton and since he carries everything on his bike, it was not a pleasant thought.

Canon City, CO is a cute little town and we found the place that all the locals go for breakfast. A nice little spot with a wood floor and great homemade bread.

After brunch it was back on the bike. The next 50 miles or so were as different from the first 45 as night is from day. We rode another couple of miles with the river on our left and then all of sudden we were out of the canyon and, it seemed, out of CO. The mountains were bare memories unless we looked over our shoulders (not such a bright idea when you're doing 17 mph or more on a bike). Instead the land flattened out and turned brown. We did see Pikes Peak way off to our left, but we were really into what we think is called the high prairie. For the first time we saw a cowboy actually rounding up a herd of cattle although he was assisted by several all wheeled terrain vehicles which somewhat compromised the image.

The final 20 miles were really, really tough. The wind picked up (we're guessing it was well over 20 mph) and it was right on the nose. The scenery was nothing to write home about (or put in a blog). It was simply pedaling to get to the motel. We arrived beat and simply fell on the bed and went to sleep for about an hour.

Tomorrow is our second day off. We're likely to clean bikes and rest.
Take care everyone and thanks for reading. Your prayers that we don't come down with the “bug” would continue to be appreciated.

Keep the good vibes coming.

Amy and John
PS: By the way we have added a feature which allows you to comment on the blog. Just click on "comments" at the end of each post and we think your comments will appear.

June 19, Day 19

2008-06-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

June 19, Day 19
Gunnison to Salida, CO
Mileage: 69.49
Temperature: Very cool in the early morning and then very pleasant

Dear All,

OK, today was the day for climbing. As we said yesterday, today was up and over Monarch Pass (11,312'). The day started innocently enough. We were off at 6:30 a.m having gotten up at 5:00 a.m. Before departing we learned that a number of our group have come down with a really nasty stomach bug. So far it's knocked out one rider for three day and he'll probably be out one more. In the space of three days four others have picked up the problem and by the end of today at least one other rider has come down with the illness. We're doing the best we can to keep clear of getting the bug, but according to a Doctor who is part of the ride this type of thing can spread like wildfire. So, first and foremost even before sending good vibes and prayers to the weather gods, say a short prayer that we don't come down with it. If we do, we'll weather it the best we can.

On to today.

We started out and it was really pretty cold. The road rolled along with short climbs that one might expect in the foot hills of the Rockies. At every bend in the road we expected to see the Pass up ahead, but it kept hiding on us.

At 32 miles the climb began. The first mile was really nothing, but then the road tilted up pretty good. Overall it was about a 6% grade which is doable but given the ever increasing altitude (and thinning air) along with the length, it began to take its toll on everyone. We stopped a couple of times on the climb but each time we were overwelmed with mosquitoes so we climbed back on and kept on pedaling. With about a mile and a half to go the thinning air really began to have an impact on Amy. She was breathing like a banshee as you can guess from the photograph.
We made it.

The weather was perfect but a bit chilly at the top. Snow all around although not where we were at the top. We decided to take a gondola ride up to 12,300 feet to get an even better view and it was breathtaking. The pictures don't do it justice but we thought we'd include them anyway.

The downhill was a delight and we rolled easily into Salida which is a really cute town. To add some extra miles on our legs we rode from the motel into town and down by the river (the name of which we haven't a clue).

Overall the day was perfect. The climb was tough but the reward at the top was well worth it.

Tomorrow we'll head to Pueblo and then our second day off. We're going to leave real early tomorrow (5:30 a.m.) since we be going more than 90 miles.

Once again, please say a short prayer for our health and then if you have extra time ask the weather gods for a nice day.

As always, thanks for reading and the good vibes.

Amy and John

June 18, Day 18

2008-06-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

June 18, Day 18
Montrose to Gunnison, CO
Mileage: 65.4
Temperature: Pretty close to perfect. Cool in the morning and as we climbed it stayed in the mid to high 70's

Dear All,

Today was a dandy. Although the mileage seems like a cakewalk we climbed almost 4,000' in the first 35 miles. These were tough climbs, but more on that later.

Before we describe today's events I thought I would give you a quote from another rider, Rick, who had the following to say in his blog yesterday. Before reading on you should know that Rick is known for stretching the truth ever so slightly. He's a great guy.

“Today is John's birthday. He announced that he is now eligible for Social Security retirement, so one can presume that he is a vigorous and healthy 62 years old. Amy, however, seems much younger and she must have been a fairly recent child bride. She is a strong athlete, and furthermore there is reason to believe she is immune to the effects of gravity. Sometimes as we climb hills Amy darts up to the summit and then back down to where we are laboring. She smiles with a twinkle in her eye, tells a joke, then dashes back to the top. If she were not already married I might try to fix her up with one of my sons.”

Now, on to today.

We started the day at 6:30 am and within the first quarter mile we started to bump into the 2,500 riders who are part of the Ride the Rockies tour that lasts a week. We rode the entire day with riders in front, behind and to our left and right. They were like mosquitoes, all over the place and you couldn't shake them. In fact, most of the time it was neat seeing so many people on bikes. For our entire biking career we have been accustomed to looking for traffic before pulling out onto the road. This was the first time we have ever experienced having to look to the left and wait for an opening based on a break not in the automobile traffic, but the bike traffic. It really was something to behold.

The pictures give you an idea of the numbers and the port-a-pottys give you an idea of the logistics in setting something like this up. They had SAG stops every 15 miles or so and at each one there were medical personal, pot a pottys, and venders selling god know what.

Most of the riders knew bike manners and would announce as they passed on the left. Because we were wearing our America by Bicycle jerseys, many that were passing us or that we passed wanted to know about our trip. The responses were either “Man, I want to do that” or something like “Man, why didn't you pick the Vatican to bike across. You guys are nuts”. In any event it was interesting to chat with many of the riders from CO about their beloved State.

The wind in the morning was whistling in from the east. A rider with the group, George, who at one point many years ago was on track to ride for the USA in the Olympics and who lives in Frisco, CO tells us that in the morning the winds blow down the mountains and in the afternoon they blow up the mountains (up valley winds). We suppose that makes sense. However, it was of no help this morning at all. Since we were scheduled to climb about 4,000 feet in the first 35 miles (most of the climbing was within 20 miles) adding the wind added a particularly sinister element. At points along the way before the climbs started we were down to 8 mph in a modest paceline. Amy was being blown all over the road.

Then the climbs started. They really put the hurt on the riders. At points the speed was down to 4 mph. Amy had real trouble with the first climb (putting Rick's story above slightly into the realm of fiction) but she made it to the top. In fact, on the road someone had painted the words “DO NOT QUIT, (AMY)”. We don't know who that was intended for but it helped our Amy immensely. After the first climb there was some level riding followed by another dandy. In any event we made it to the top somewhat worse for wear, but made it nonetheless.

Then began a downhill thru the most beautiful canyon we have ever seen. The pictures don't do it justice but we put one in anyway. After rolling thru the canyon we came to the Blue Mesa Lake which was simply stunning. It took our breath away. The water was calm, blue and enticing. There were anchored boats which gave it a particularly pleasant look and the snow capped mountains were in the distance. Heaven ain't far from that place!!

Luckily the wind shifted to the West for the last 15 or so miles as we rolled into Gunnison where we had a late lunch at a cute little spot with the best homemade bread. Then to the room, shower, and off to route rap to get the scare of our lives.

Tomorrow is a relatively short day, BUT we climb up and over Monarch Pass at 11, 312'. That will be in the range of about 3,000 feet of climbing in about 7 miles. We're not sure but we think that means it's straight up. Bed tonight at 8:00 pm since we'll be up at 5:00 am in order to eat and be on the road at 6:30 am. Say a prayer to the weather gods that we don't get snow on the way up and that the wind which will surely start out in our face will move around to an up valley breeze as soon as possible.

Keep sending the good vibes, praying to the weather gods and, as always, thanks for reading.

Amy and John

June 17, Day 17

2008-06-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

June 17, Day 17
Grand Junction to Montrose, CO
Mileage: 73.3
Temperature: Hot. 108 off the pavement

Dear All,

Well, today was supposed to be a “recovery day”. At least that's what they told us last night. Guess what. They lied.

We awoke and were ready to ride at 7:30 am. A local rider who has ridden with America by Bicycle before led us out of the motel on a delightful ride along a beautiful bike path with the Colorado River running along side.

As we rode along this delightful path, it occurred to John that as of today he is eligible for early social security. That seemed a little incongruous given what he was doing today but nonetheless it did seem to be a milestone of sorts. Amy provided John with a wonderful present for the day, a new pair of cycling soaks which are really quite nice.

After the bike path ended at about the 15 mile mark we rode onto route 50 which is a divided highway. The shoulder was in good shape so it started out as a pretty nice ride. HOWEVER, what they forgot to tell us was that this recovery day involved a headwind and a number of pretty difficult climbs. The climb to the first SAG stop was tough. We're told that the grade was only 7 or 8% which is pretty tough but it felt like a lot more than that. Maybe the reason it felt so tough was both because of the temperature and the fact that we weren't prepared for it.

In any event the ride was pretty with views of the Rockies far off in the distance. As John said along the way those mountains seemed to get larger and larger in the front window as the miles rolled by. We haven't checked but they sure seem higher then the Sierra Nevada mountains and they certain have a heck of a lot more snow on them.

We pedaled for what seemed a very long time before we got to the town of Delta. Now, we had been told that once we arrived in Delta we should grab some food and further that the final 25 miles or so from Delta to Montrose was pretty much flat or downhill and not very difficult. As a result, we stopped into an A & W (which are extremely common out here) and had a burger and a root beer float. Boy does John love those floats. In fact, they gave John a second float since it took a little long to get the burger. Now, John knows it's a bad idea to eat too much for lunch with 25 miles to go, but what the heck, it was downhill more or less for the next 25 miles.

Back on the bikes for the simple little ride to Montrose, WRONG. The wind was not very helpful and it was a constant incline. Not enough to call it a “climb”, but enough to make one work all the time. By now the temperature was really soaring, and no shade in sight, not even a tree. After a bit, Amy spotted a farm with a tree in the driveway. We pulled off and sat in the shade of that tree for a good ten minutes. It was wonderful, but eventually we had to get back on our trusty steeds and proceed. About 5 miles up the road we were roasting and again Amy found the solution. Somebody had automatic sprinklers watering their front lawn. Not in the list intimidated by the fact that we had not been invited we simply stopped, laid our bikes down and took a shower. It felt great.

As we rolled into Montrose, John spotted another gas station. The price seems to have dropped but it still hasn't matched the price at Hill Top (for those of you who have not been following this blog you need to go back a few days and see the price of gas at some closed stations along our ride). We're guessing this owner closed up shop and went to Silicon Valley to make his fortune.

We arrived at Montrose to find that the Ride the Rockies event was spending the night here. That is a ride of about a week with 2,500 riders.. Tomorrow we will ride to Gunnison with all 2,500 of them on the same road. That should be interesting.

Thanks for reading. And, thanks for all the good vibes.

Amy and John

June 16, Day 16

2008-06-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

June 16, Day 16
Green River, UT to Grand Junction, CO
Mileage: 95.4
Temperature: 70 to start and by days end the temperature off the road was over 100 (HOT!!)

Dear All,

OK friends, today we move into our fourth state. The ride was long, hard and HOT. God knows how many water bottles we drank but it was a bunch and we probably didn't drink enough.

The day started out at 7:00 am and given the length and the expected heat we knew it was going to be tough. By 7:30 the sweat was beginning to flow as we rode over long inclines which weren't enough to make one use a bunch of gears but were enough to get your heart rate up a bit and cause one to perspire. It was up and down most of the day. Luckily the wind was coming from the right rear quarter and at times it was a tail wind which certainly was a bit of a blessing.

About 20 miles out, John had his first flat. There were several riders around who assisted in a relatively quick change, although nowhere near as quick as Gerard, the mechanic, who, for those of you who have been following this ride, changed Amy's flat in record time.

By noon we are told that the temperature off the pavement was in excess of 100. Folks, that's hot. We passed the CO state line and into our fourth state. After passing the sign we had an uphill and then a bend to the right and it really was as if the whole state of CO just opened up in front of us. It was beautiful.
At about the 80 mile mark a women by the name of Sue was parked by the side of the road and she waved us down. We stopped and learned that she had ridden across the country seven times and at least once with America by Bicycle. She proceeded to open a cooler and provide us with frozen ice pop sticks. What a wonderful, unexpected treat. Given the temperature off the road we had to virtually inhale the things or they would have melted, but they were cold and wonderful. Amy called Sue “her angel”.

Just before arriving in Grand Junction the Colorado river appeared on our right and we waited to wave at a rafting trip. It was delightful.
We arrived at our motel somewhat worse for wear but after a shower began to feel human. Bed tonight by 8:30 (or earlier).

Tomorrow is supposed to be a “recovery day” before we attack the Rockies. Now I would have thought that a recovery day might be 30 miles or so. No such luck. In this world we find ourselves in, a recovery day is a modest 70 miles.

We sure hope the weather gods are blowing the winds from the west to make it just a bit easier since the temperature is supposed to be just like today.

Take care all and keep sending the good vibes.

Amy and John

June 15, Day 15

2008-06-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

June 15, Day 15
Price to Green River, UT
Mileage: 66.88
Weather: Gorgeous. Started at 60 degrees and ended at 94 degrees (one cloud we spotted on the horizon)

Dear All,

Today we really saw Utah. The ride out of Price was a little bland, but as we continued down the road the views just kept improving. It was a short day (relatively speaking) and so most of the riders weren't in a real hurry. A little pace line developed but the pace was leisurely. Some road construction was present but since we started real early, the traffic was reasonably light and as a result the every present construction barrels didn't distract from the ride. The road surface, however, was a different story. Apparently, out here in the rugged West, they lay the asphalt with pretty good size stones and just let the traffic smooth it out. It's like riding with a vibration machine inside the handlebars and the seat post. Numbness develops in the two places that the human body comes in contact with those parts of the bike requiring frequent stops for the purpose of redeveloping feeling.

After a very small climb of only a couple of miles, we reached the top and suddenly the landscape opened up and simply took our breath away. It was incredible. We had to stop and simply soak it in. John took a couple of pictures, but again the camera fails to see what the human eye sees. We simple stood there silently and absorbed it trying to make it part of our being.

At the bottom of the hill was the first SAG stop. Normally riders pick up water and food, spend a couple of minutes and then head on down the road. Today, people simply stood and looked all around. No one was in a hurry to move. The rock formation behind the picture of us was something to see. You wonder how such beauty came to be. Maybe there's an explanation on the Web and maybe there's a science to it, but it is far better to simply look at in wonder. We're told that as these rocks erode they find dinosaur bones and pictographs.

We rolled on and at one point John noticed another gas station of interest. For those of you who have been reading, you will recall that there was a gas pump at Hill Top Country Services (see the June 14th blog) which showed gas at 39.9 cents. Well, folks, we don't want to discourage you, but the price is going up. As you can see, in Green River the price has risen to $1.89 (or it did until this particular owner decided to go pan for gold).

We arrived at the hotel having now put more than 1000 miles on the bikes. Most of us decided to just relax after arrival since tomorrow is likely to be a dandy. The temperature will be in the 90's and we have around 95 miles to ride into Grand Junction, CO, our fourth state.
Your contact with the weather gods has been magnificent. For those of you who have been saying the appropriate prayers, KEEP IT UP.

Keep sending the good vibes.

By the way, if we don't post a blog on any particular day, please don't assume that we fell off a mountain. Sometimes the WiFi doesn't work, some of the motels don't have WiFi and sometime the Internet gods simply conspire against us.

One more by the way. If you log into http://audreycyclesamerica.blogspot.com/ you will be able to see a short video of us at the bottom of her June 15th blog. In addition, the first picture on that page is John taking a picture.

Take care.
John and Amy
PS If you don't know, you can click on a picture and it should appear on a page by itself which is somewhat (not a lot) larger.

2008-06-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

June 14, Day 14
Provo to Price, UT
Mileage: 75.14
Weather: Cool and windy (very) to start and hot by the end of the day

Dear All

We started out today with the wind right smack dab in our nose and as each mile rolled by it became stronger and stronger. By the time we reached the canyon (the name of which I don't know) it was howling and right at us. With John pulling and Amy hanging on his wheel we were able to muster somewhere around 9 mph, max. We passed a bunch of windmills like the ones in Lackawanna but they were clearly turned off. If they had been on, our guess is that they could have lit the city of Buffalo for a week given the strength of the wind. Our thoughts were that if this wind were to continue it was going to be a hell of a long day. The canyon was beautiful. Pictures would not do it justice.

We were climbing all morning but the real stuff didn't hit until about the 38 mile mark where we had a SAG stop. There was a little creek at the SAG stop and we decided, along with others, to test the waters. We've been in cold water before but this was something else. We're convinced that the ice melted 10 minutes before we got there.

After the stop we started the climb up to Soldiers Summit at 7,447 feet. It was long (about 6 miles) but with Amy's new found strength and her knees feeling better by the day, we handled it quite nicely, thank you. Boy oh boy is Amy getting strong. The traffic was heavy and the road was under construction which added to the difficulty since the shoulder was virtually non existent. But, as you can see we made it (we're the two on the left in the picture).

From the top it was a long and very rough downhill. Just before descending we stopped in at a place called Hill Top Country Service which looks like it came straight out of the movies and is run by an old guy whose grandfather was a friend of Butch Cassidy.

This old guy (pictured with Amy) had some wonderful stories to tell and a picture of Butch (he's the guy on the left). What a great old store and what great stories he had to tell. On the way out, we gandered at the old gas pumps. Just in case you can't read it, it says 39.9 cents a gallon. Ah, those were the days.

The road down from Hill Top was really trouble given the construction so much so that some of the riders decided that, discretion being the better part of valor, it was wisest to take the SAG wagon down. Amy had some trepidation about it but ultimately decided to give it a go. It was hard. At one point John hit a rumble strip wrong which sent him careening off the road, down a gravel bank and into the side of a rock cliff. Don't worry, the bike didn't suffer a scratch. Oh, John's OK too.

As we descended we began to see just what we thought Utah would look like. Cliffs that go straight up with red rock and mesas. Absolutely beautiful. At one of the stops to rest our rear quarters, Amy decided to help out nature by holding one of the cliffs up as you can see in the picture.

We rolled into Price after a pretty tough day. But the sights were worth the effort.

Keep praying to the weather gods and sending good vibes.

Amy and John

June 13, Day 13

2008-06-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

June 13, Day 13
Salt Lake City to Provo, UT
Mileage: 66
Weather: Clear and sunny with the temperature between 50 and 75 degrees

Dear All,

Well, it's back on the bike. Before we tell you about today, we wanted to take a moment and thank Mark Mahoney. Mark was kind enough to contact a friend of his, Pete Collins, who lives in Salt Lake City. Pete gave us a call and offered to take us around the city on our off day and show us some of the places where he and Mark used to play many years ago. Unfortunately, John was suffering from a pretty good head cold and so we decided to lay low in the morning which was the time that Pete was available. Thanks Mark, we appreciate it and thanks Pete for the offer.
Today was a day of lots of lefts and rights. It was a little like riding from Buffalo to Kenmore to Williamsville to Kenmore to Buffalo to Kenmore to Williamsville etc. Effectively, we rode from Salt Lake City thru a whole bunch of suburbs that run from there to Provo. We rode on all back roads which was a break from the I-80, but the roads were a tad rough.

At one point on the ride we saw a real first; a paceline of baby buggies. Hope the picture shows it. When John pulled over to chase down that paceline, the mothers thought it was a hoot.

For those of you who ride bikes, the next sentence will mean something. Amy's legs were good today! Now, John has always thought that Amy's legs were good, but what this means is that she was very strong. For bikers there are some days when your legs feel great and some days when they feel heavy and just don't seem to go. Amy's knees are much better and it shows. John still has his head cold so he just hung on Amy's wheel for some of the ride except when the wind was in our nose when he took the lead.

Upon arrival at Provo we took a short bike tour of Brigham Young University and then took a small tour of the town in the process of finding the local bike shops (that's what bikers do).

Since there really wasn't much else going on today, we thought we would give you a better sense of what a day is like. We get up anywhere between 5:00 am and 6:00 am depending on the mileage. Breakfast follows and then there is “load time” which is when we load the suitcases onto the trailer. The load time is set for a specific time which can be as early as 6:15 am and as late as 7:30 am, again depending on the day's difficulty. After loading we head on down the road. Depending on the mileage, there may be one or two SAG (support and gear) stops where we can pick up some needed water and high carbohydrate snacks. Riders will arrive at our final destination for the day separated by as much as three hours, again depending on the mileage. We check in and John immediately plugs in the computer and starts to work on the blog which generally takes something like an hour and a half to put together. Amy acts as the editor-in-chief. At about 5:00 pm we have “route rap” during which we go over the next days route receiving information about construction and most importantly the climbs for the next day. Then it's off to dinner. We turn off the light between 8:30 pm and 9:00 pm (if we can keep our eyes open that late).

Thanks for reading. Your prayers to the weather gods have been helpful since we have faced strong head winds only a few times.

As always keep sending the good vibes.
Amy and John

June 12, Day 12

2008-06-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

Day 12, June 12
Rest Day in Salt Lake City
Weather: Sunny and 63 degrees

Dear All,

Today we rest. Eleven days of riding and more than 835 miles have been covered and we're in our third state. Not bad. We've seen a lot of really great parts of this country and we've met some very interesting people and at the same time we've gained some new friends. We've had to dig deep from time to time and we've had some real thrilling rides along the way.

We slept in to 7:00 am and it felt great. John worked on the blog until about 10:00 am and then about 6 of us took a van into downtown Salt Lake City to see the Tabernacle and all of the related buildings. We had a short tour which was more about the tour guild trying to convince us to convert than it was about the history of their religion. So far we have decided not to convert. Nonetheless the Temple and Chapel were very interesting. In addition we heard a short organ recital on the 12th largest organ in the world.

We returned to the Motel and cleaned bikes for about an hour.

Tomorrow we're off to Provo, UT. A couple of very steep climbs await us although the total millage is only in the 60's. How hard the day will be depends on the climbs.

The forecast is for sun and temperatures in the low 60's with a negligible wind. That's good.

It occurred to us that as sailors we have always hoped for nice windy days and now we live in fear of the wind. We guess it's all a matter of perspective.

By the way, as you might have guessed the picture at the top of this page is Amy's certificate for riding her first century. As she said “I never would have thought I would ride a bike 100 miles in a day much less ride a bike over 100 miles each day for two days in a row. I guess we never know what we can do until we try”.

Take care and keep up the good vibes. Don't forget a prayer or two to the weather gods.
Amy and John

June 11, Day 11

2008-06-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

June 11, Day 11
Wendover, NV To Salt Lake City, UT
Distance: 117.45 miles
Weather: Cold pretty much all day long
Dear All,

Sorry that we have been off the air for a bit, but we had no WiFi and there seems to have been a problem with Blogspot. We hope it is all resolved.

Today was the beginning of our back to back century rides. As if yesterday wasn't tough enough we had to do it all over again with a couple of extra miles thrown in for good measure.

We awoke to a pretty cold temperature (low 50's) with a wind coming from the east at 10 to 15 mph. Remember folks we're heading east. This was not a good sign. With that kind of headwind this looked to be one hell of a day. But, your prayers and good vibes must be working. By 6:45 am when we started out the wind shifted to out of the north and then moved slightly to the west. Heaven sent.

We road out of Wendover and for the next forty miles we were surrounded by the great salt flats. Flat as a pancake and Morton's salt as far as the eye could see. It really was something to behold. Along the way

Amy had her first flat but luckily there were a several folks around including the mechanic who supports with the group. For those of you who think you can change a tube quickly, let us suggest that you can't possibly do it as fast as Gerald. We didn't have a stopwatch on him but it sure felt like a pit stop at the Indianapolis 500.

The road was smooth and the pace was fast for the first 45 miles or so and then our little group of riders (about 5 or 6) broke up as the hills arrived. We road alone for a good deal of the time thru about mile marker 70 or so when we picked up two riders (a father and son team) and started a simple little pace line. We were flying.

As we approached Salt Lake City the Wasatch Mountains (the home of Park City and other skiing resorts) kept getting larger in the window. The salt flats were gone and in their place was scrub vegetation very much like we had seen back in NV.

The traffic picked up as we approached the city but we hung in there until we exited the freeway and rounded the corner to Frontage Rd., which, as the name suggests, runs right along the Great Salt Lake. It was a sight to see. Interestingly although the day would have been ideal in Buffalo for sailing there wasn't a boat on the water. We later learned that while there is sailing it's not a big deal since the smell on the Lake is not something that is all that enticing.

We rolled in just a tad beat from the last two days of pedaling. A lot of miles in two days. We're looking forward to a day off and sleeping in past 5:30 am.

By the way, Amy's knee is improving although not perfect and John has come down with a head cold which will make the ride on the 13th of some 65 miles interesting. We assume both of us will be on the mend after a day off.

Keep saying prayers for winds from the West and as always, send good vibes.

Talk to you soon.
John and Amy

June 10, Day 10

2008-06-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

June 10, Day 10
Elko to Wendover, NV
Distance: (see the photograph below)
Weather: low 50's to high 40's to mid 60's depending on where we were

Dear All,

Here we go on Amy's first century ride. Most of the riders on this trip have done a century in the past. Amy is one of three who have not done so. It turned out to be a bit more than a century (see the photo).

We were scheduled to be on the road at 6:30 given the distance so we got up at 5:00. After showering we panicked since we could not find our chamois creme. For those of you unfamiliar with such things let us give you a quick education. The chamois is built into riding shorts at the very spot where your anatomy meets the seat. Putting some creme on that chamois is pretty important to prevent saddle sores which can sideline you for days if they are bad enough. In any event we couldn't find the darn stuff at 5:00 am. We dumped the suitcases and with a shout of joy that probably woke the folks in the next room we found the stuff. I guess this begins to let you know what becomes important if you are riding your bike day after day after day.

Off we went at about 6:45 am. The weather was chilly and cloudy. We rode in a pace line for about 20 miles straight toward the Ruby Mountains. Those mountains just kept getting bigger and bigger as we rode closer and closer. At one point Amy said “Are we going over those things?” but it turns out that we took a slight left as it were and found ourselves going between two sets of mountains (thank God).

At about the 50 mile mark we stopped and picked up a chicken sandwich and put took them with us on the theory we didn't have a lot of time to hang around McDonald's.

At about the 58 mile mark we started a heck of a climb. It went on and on and on and the grade kept getting steeper and steeper and the temperature kept dropping. It was a dandy. Luckily the wind was at our back and it was pretty strong so it helped. As we climbed the vegetation changed a bunch from earlier in the day. Everything became greener and greener and the mountains which continued to be all around us, had real trees on them right to the top. Amazing difference from Elko. But nothing compared to what we would see later (keep reading).

We finally reached the summit of Mount Pequop where the temperature had really dropped. At the SAG (support and gear) stop,we eat our chicken sandwich and a whole bunch of fig newtons and climbed on board again.

By now the wind had really picked and, thanks to all of your good vibes and prayers, it was coming from the west. Boy oh boy did it make a difference. Thanks a bunch.

The downhill lasted forever (but we had paid for it with the climb), and, with the wind behind us, the pedaling was easy. Then with on small climb (600' or so) we reached the top and turned left. WOW. There, spread before us were the salt flats. As far as the eye could see, there was white going until it met the blue of the sky. We simply can't describe that view.

We took pictures, but trust us, they don't do it justice.

By now the wind was howling at well over 40 mph from the west. The final downhill was to the north meaning that the hurricane was coming from our left. It was so strong that Amy was leaning at an incredible angle to the left just to keep the bike upright. One of the women riders was literally blown off her bike and ended up with 13 stitches in her chin and a whole lot of road rash. It was a hair raising ride for about one-half mile. We made it.

Tomorrow is another even longer century ride. Two centuries back to back. The scheduled ride tomorrow is 111 miles. Again, we need your good vibes for winds from the west.

Take care, friends, we'll talk to you tomorrow.
Amy and John

June 9, Day 9

2008-06-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

June 9, Day 9
Battle Mountain, NV to Elko, NV
Mileage: 75.1
Temperature: 50 degrees to 84 degrees

Dear All

Today was one of those days that people who love bikes dream about. The sun was sitting in a crystal blue sky with only a puffy cloud here and there to give some contrast. There was a slight wind at our back most of the day.

We started the day in a double paceline with about 10 riders. John took a long pull at the front for about 10 miles at a very pleasant pace of about 16.5 mph. Amy hung in there about half way down the line chatting with the guys.

We arrived at the 12 mile climb up Emigrant Pass. It was long, but the views were again beyond belief. Amy is feeling stronger every day and she made it up the Pass with a gear or two to spare. She has been having some knee problems but today that seems to have improved and she was pretty much all smiles on the climb.

After the climb we had the pleasure of an incredible down hill that went for mile after mile after mile. We simply cruised along at about 28 mph side by side with the biggest grins on our faces that you can imagine. All around us were snow covered mountains and desert as far as the eye could see.

At one point John just couldn't resist going for broke. His computer shows his top speed at which point his front wheel seemed to wobble (or at least he thought it did) and he decided that a slight braking would be appropriate. Amy hit 35.6. What a hoot!!!

At about the 50 mile mark we stopped at a Burger King to refuel. Please know that we each had a veggie burger, but we both were awfully tempted by the double cheese burger. Since we had another 25 miles to go we figured the veggie burger might be a tad more suitable.

About five miles later, I-80 went under a mountain by tunnel. Not something designed for bicycles. So we took a 5 mile detour on a road that simply goes nowhere. It goes around the mountain and ends with huge boulders right at the I-80. This go nowhere road may well have been the prettiest road we have ever seen. Not one car.

On our right was the Humboldt River and on our left were the most beautiful cliffs hundreds of feet straight up. John wanted to ride it, turn around ride it again, turn around ride it again, turn around ride it again...... All we could say to each other was how much we wished all of you could be here with us to see that sight. It literally took our breath away. The pictures that are included here do not do it justice.

It's simply a road from Heaven.

We then rode on I-80 with beautiful views of the Ruby Mountains and their snow covered peaks. We rode alone the last 20 miles or so with the wind at our back doing around 23 mph. At one point during that ride Amy simple started singing America the Beautiful. It fit.

Tomorrow is a century ride, 107 miles. Please, please say a prayer for winds from the West.

As always send good vibes.
Amy and John

June 8, 2008, Day 8

2008-06-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2008
Day 8, 2008
Winnemucca to Battle Mt. NV
Milage: 55.69
Temperature: 28 degrees to 77 degrees

Dear All,

Today was a beautiful day to bike with a short distance and only one mountain climb. Again, the vastness of the landscape just takes your breath away.

At the top of the Golconda Summit (5,159')the view was simply spectacular.

For the first time we rode separately for about 25 miles. Amy had been riding with the 'Internationl" group (see the prior days blog) for a couple of days. Today she was feeling strong and off she went with a very pleasant woman named Sue for some "girl talk". She and Sue flew down the road at an average speed of around 16 or 17 mph. John stayed with the International group. It's a good thing Amy didn't get separated from Sue since Amy didn't have the route sheet, she didn't have her wallet and thus no money or identification, she doesn't know how to change a flat and John had on board his bike her jacket in case she got cold. After she was 15 or so miles down the road, John decided it might be fun to chase her down.

We ended up in Battle Mountain which we suppose is a more or less typical NV very small town. No movie, no bowling alley (it was closed several years ago) a number of laudromats and one super market. The main road comes into town and goes out of town and on either side of the town you again see NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING.

If any of you are intersted in reading another "blog" on this trip, go to www.abbike.com and take a look at the CCC 2008 journal.

Tomorrow is a longer day so send good vibes.

Take care.

John and Amy

2008-06-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

June 7, 2008
Day 7
Lovelock, NV to Winnemucca, NV
Distance: 73.5
Weather: Cold (really cold) in the mooring. Warmed to about 65 degrees

Dear Friends and Family,

While the millage was certainly doable, the wind (about 15mp to 18 mph) right smack dab in the nose made this a most difficult day. We joined five other riders for a pack with a double pace line to work against the wind which helped a bunch. Amy was the on woman in the pack so everyone sort of adopted her and worked to shelter her from the wind. The group included riders from New Zealand, Tasmania, Trinidad, and Ireland, A picture above shows the group at the finish.

The ride was very much like yesterday with vast stretches of absolutely NOTHING for as far as the eye could see. We've never been to Montana so we can't speak to what big sky country looks like but this is really something. This country is HUGE.

For the entire ride we never came across another city, town, village, hamlet, store or stray dog. We did see a sign “lots for sale”. The lots must have been for 1,000 acres for the smallest one.

You'll also see a picture of the local gas station. I guess the price of gas was a bit too much for the owner.

That's it for today.

Send good vibes for tomorrow. We climb again which is pretty tough.

John and Amy

June 6, Day 6

2008-06-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

June 6, 2008
Sparks, NV to Lovelock, NV
Distance: 92.20 Miles
Temperature: Lovely

Dear All,

Today was long, but at least it was flat and at times we had a reasonable tailwind (and at times a headwind). The beautiful mountains turned into incredible flatlands of salt fields and sagebrush. We rode almost 77 miles on I-80. After a while you become used to the trucks and the further out we got the less traffic. Every once in a while while we were stopped for a rest, a trucker would give us a “howdy” horn and a wave. On the other hand every once in a while they would come right onto the white line and that's a bit nerve wracking.

For the entire 77 miles there was virtually no services. The distances out here are unbelievable. There is simply nothing for as far as the eye can see. As the picture of Amy above indicates there is simply nothing out there.

We would have thought that the lack of green would make everything less than attractive, but the open plain is, in its own way, quite pretty. Every once in a while you see some crazy signs. We've shown a couple of them above. We're still sort of trying to get our arms around fog freezing out here, but anything is possible.

At one point John decided that it made sense to use a different type of two wheeled vehicle. The problem was the owner just wouldn't go for the swap of his two wheeler and John's two wheeler.

Dinner tonight in a casino. We'll try to stay away from the tables.

At any event,we made it.

Talk to you soon. Don't know if there is WiFi tomorrow.

Take care all. Send good vibes.

Amy and John

June 5, Day 5

2008-06-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Top: John looking at Lake Tahoe from the top of Mount Rose.

Next: Amy climbing Mount Rose

Next: Amy viewing Lake Tahoe from Tahoe City

Next: We leave CA and enter NV

Next: Squaw Valley Ski Resort

June 5, 2008
Truckee, CA to Sparks, NV
Distance: 65.8 Miles
Temperature: Starting at 28 degrees and ended at 81 degrees

Dear All,

Another tough day but again with incredible views.

We started in the cold and the ride took us to the Squaw Valley ski resort although given the amount of climbing that was on the plate for the day we decided not to ride the extra 6 miles to see the village. The early part of the ride took us about 25 miles into Tahoe City, a really cute town right on Lake Tahoe. What a beautiful Lake. The water is so clear that at one bridge where everyone stands and leans over the bridge to see trout that are huge. The fish are 10 to 15 feet down and they look like they are two inches under the surface. By the way the bridge is called the “fanny bridge” since if you look down the bridge what you see are a bunch of hindsides of all the people looking at the fish.

We then rode along the lake and saw homes on the water which we were told would sell for $10 million or more. They looked like it.

We finally reached the part of the day that we had been dreading, the 8.2 mile climb up Mount Rose at about an 8% grade. It was a tough climb but we handled it pretty well. The views of Lake Tahoe were spectacular as we gained altitude. After the climb came the best part, a 16 mile (yup, 16 miles) down hill at about a 9% grade. We were flying. John's maximum speed was 42 and Amy got to 32. It was a hoot. At the top of Mount Rose the temperature was in the low 50's and at the bottom of the downhill as we rode into Reno, the temperature was in the high 70's.

What really was amazing was the change in the vegetation. At the top it was similar to Vermont or Colorado with everything a beautiful green and at the bottom most of the green was gone leaving brown and tax with a smattering of green. It was really amazing to see the change in the space of a half hour on a bicycle.

Tomorrow is a 93 or so mile day. Say a prayer the wind is out of the west.

Thanks for reading. Send good vibes.

Amy and John

June 4, Day 4

2008-06-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Left picture is of the Donner Pass Memorial.

Right picture is us with Donner Lake in the background.

Us on the way up the Pass. Amy on the first set of beautiful roads

June 4, 2008
Fairfield to Truckee, CA
Milage: 74.7
Weather: Started in the 50's went to the 60's and then to the 30's

Dear All,

Well, this was a brute of a day. Incredibly difficult riding with incredible vistas. We rode 74.7 miles with over 8,400 feet of climbing. Essentially, of the total miles, over 45 were uphill and not just little hills. We were climbing 12 and 13% grades with one stretch of 17 miles at a 7% grade.

We started out on the most beautiful road you can imagine. Virtually no traffic and a bright blue sky with hardly a cloud in sight. The road dipped and twisted with really pretty views. The topography of CA has changed measurably over the last day or so. Until now it's been flat with very little green. Mostly fields of brown grass or wheat. Pretty, but just a bit drab. As the day progressed and we started going up, it began to look more and more like Vermont. Hills, big old pine trees and babbling brooks to ride along side.

Within the first 20 miles the road started to seriously tilt up as we moved in the direction of Donner Pass. At the 32 mile mark we jumped on I-80 for 17 miles of climbing. Riding along side the 18 wheelers is not the most exciting thing to do, but apparently it is the only way to get us where we were headed. We finally got off the I-80 and picked up Donner Pass Road which as you might expect takes one slowly but surely over Donner Pass. By this time Amy was beginning to have some serious problems with her left knee but she wouldn't quit.

At the top of the pass, there was snow all around. The “Kodak moments” were everywhere. No matter where you looked the views were better than a minute earlier. It was truly awesome. Once over the top we had a 5 mile switchback descent that was a thrill to say the least.

Tomorrow is our last day in CA as we enter NV. We climb again to go over Rose Mountain at 8,900 feet. Wish us good weather and as, always, good

vibes.
John and Amy

2008-06-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

June 3, 2008
Sacramento to Auburn, CA
Mileage: 51.3
Temperature: low 50's to mid 70's

Hi Everyone,

Today was another easy day with some climbing but not many miles. It's all in preparation for tomorrow when we climb Donner Pass. Actually, there is really nothing between here and Truckee where we will be tomorrow night so we pretty much had to end here today.

Started bright and early. We were on the road by 7:30. Within a mile of the start we entered what can only be described as the “bike path from heaven”. Over 30 miles of a path wide enough for two bikes riding side by side in either direction with a runners path on both sides. The pavement had no cracks, no holes and hardly a leave on it. In fact, at one point a special little vehicle going the other way was sweeping the path. It dipped and turned and twisted in a number of delightful ways. The views were terrific with some river (we'll have to look it up later) visible for half the distance. Over the course of the 30 miles only one stop sign slowed us down. There was, however, the wind which decided to blow out of the East, but given the path we were happy to deal with it.

The first picture is Amy on that "bike path from heaven". The second picture includes Amy. She's the one in yellow.

After the path were were on a nice road with a wide shoulder the rest of the way. At the end, God decided to throw in a nasty 1.5 mile, 8% grade which tested the legs just a bit. About half way up the climb there was a cute little spot to fuel our tank so we had lunch with a few of the other riders.

Tomorrow is going to be a bit of a challenge. We'll be starting out at about 6:30 am given the distance, about 76 miles up and over Donner. We're not sure of the elevation gain tomorrow, but we 'll probably have that information for the next installment. For those interested, today's total elevation gain was about 2,790 feet.

Keep sending the good vibes and while you're at it, say a prayer to the weather gods that we don't get snow on the way up Donner.

Take care.
Amy and John

June 2, Day 2

2008-06-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

June 2, 2008
Fairfield to Sacramento, CA
Distance: 57.4
Temperature: 50 degrees to 83 degrees

Dear All,

Today was a light day. Fifty seven miles with a bit of a tailwind. Compared to yesterday it was a breeze. We forgot to mention that one of the difficult parts of yesterday was not just the high mileage but the fact that we had to find 70 rights and lefts, which meant that we were struggling with a map all the time. That makes it very hard to get in a “rhythm”. Lots of stops and starts makes for an especially hard day.

Today we had far less map work. For about 30 miles we worked in a loose double paceline which helped the weaker riders and kept the pace up.

The first stop was in the Davis, CA the home of the University of California at Davis. What a great town and a magnificent campus. Our route took us right thru a good portion of the campus and into town. Stopped at wonderful little bagel shop for an early lunch (ya gotta keep eating). It was delightful. Stopped into a bike(second picture above)shop (always stop at a bike shop whenever possible just to look at the goodies) looking for a UC at Davis bike jersey but there were none.

Another 20 miles or so put us in Sacramento (third picture is where Arnold works). Our Best Western was about a mile from Old Sacramento (first picture)so we took a walk into town. Delightful little spot. Picked up some lemonade and an ice cream cone and then wandered back.

Keep the good vibes coming.
Amy and John

June 1 (Day 1)

2008-06-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

June 1, 2008
San Francisco to Fairfield, CA
Distance: 85.7
Time out: 6:45 am.
Arrival: 4:35 pm.

Dear All,

Well the first day was a dandy. As you can see from above it was long. The temperature started out at 51 degrees with wind from the west at well over 15 to 20. At the end of the day the temperature was in the mid 70's.

Off we went early in the morning and after 17 miles straight into the wind we arrived on the western shore of SF for the “wheel dipping”. As you can see from above we put our rear wheels in the Pacific and John decided that it would make sense to bottle a bit of the Pacific. When we get to the Atlantic we might just add a little Pacific to the Atlantic.

After the wheel dipping we headed along the west shore of SF toward the Golden Gate. A pretty tough ride with the wind and the cold but, after getting lost for 2 miles, we saw the bridge. To say it's impressive would be an understatement. And to ride across is really a thrill.

After leaving the bridge we rode thru Sausalito which is a really pretty town but given the miles that lay ahead we didn't have time to linger. At about the 50 mile mark we hopped on Route 37 which is equivalent to the interstate 90. It was exciting with trucks going by at 70, but the shoulder was wide although the condition of the surface left a little to be desired. We were on 37 for about 25 miles and then hit the back roads for the final miles.

How did we fare? Pretty well for having ridden that type of distance. We may hurt a bit tomorrow but that's another day and we'll take that one when it comes.

Stay with us and send good vibes.

Amy and John

Final Pre Ride Report

2008-05-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

May 31, 2008
No miles
Burlingame, CA

Dear All,

Today we met our fellow “travelers”. They come from as far away as Australia, Ireland, Great Britain and The Netherlands and as close as right around here in CA and a lot of places in between. They seem like a very nice bunch who we will come to know quite well over the coming weeks.

Our bikes made it in reasonably good shape. John's front wheel was out of true, but the Performance bike shop here in SF was very helpful in fixing that. John's barrel adjuster for his front dérailleur is busted as a result of the transport, but the local bike shop in Burlingham fixed that. Other than that, both bikes seem “seaworthy”. The types of bicycles being used are really interesting. Most of the riders will be riding road bikes (for those of you who don't ride often that means narrow tires and dropped handlebars) but we did see a couple of “fat tire” bikes. We'll see how those folks do, but both of us are wondering how you could ride 80 to 100 miles a day on those.

The group that's handling the ride has four staff members including Gerard, a bike mechanic, who appears to be really good. At least he is good enough to spot the fact that John didn't properly set the headset on both bikes.

Tomorrow we begin. We received the “route sheet” and surprisingly it shows a bunch of pretty steep climbs. The weather forecast is pretty good. Chilly in the morning but warming up to the mid 50's by afternoon. It doesn't appear likely to rain (our fingers are crossed)

It'll be a long day on the bike but we'll try to give you a synopsis tomorrow night.

Send good vibes.
Amy and John

Pre Ride (3 days to the "Start")

2008-05-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

As we were about to jump on the plane to San Francisco for our adventure we thought it would be appropriate to thank those who have been so supportive. First, there are those of you who have been so kind as to contribute to Child and Family Services and Nardin Academy. Your generosity means a great deal to us.

We also want to thank those at our places of work who have been so much help.
When Amy interviewed for her new position at the James H. Cummings Foundation, she told Bill Joyce, the Executive Director, of her plans for the bike trip. Bill was wonderful. He offered Amy the position as his Executive Assistant knowing that after only four months on the job, Amy would be gone for almost two months. He has been encouraging and excited for Amy and has made all the difference to her. He will never know how much his support and encouragement means to her.

John wants to particularly thank Sharon Wick who kept encouraging him to take this trip of a lifetime. She did this knowing that her workload would exponentially increase during John's absence from the office. For years she has been telling John to just go and do it. She will never know how grateful John is for her support. The rest of the Department has been wonderful as well. Holly, David, Fran, Kathy, Kim, Michele and Leanne have all put up with John's chatter about the trip and been willing to take on extra responsibilities. Finally, but certainly not lastly, Phillips Lytle, the Firm, has been terrific. Morgan Graham, the Managing Partner when John suggested the idea, Dave McNamara, the current Managing Partner, the Governing Committee and any number of John's partners, associates and staff have all been encouraging and excited for John.

Finally, we need to thank our daughter, Meg, and our son, Ed, and his family, Meredith, our wonderful daughter-in-law, and their three great kids. Meg has undertaken to watch over the house like a mother hen, pay our bills, take out our garbage and whatever comes up during our absence. Ed and Mere have been encouraging and supportive and most importantly excited for us, which makes all the difference.

And so, friends and family off we go. Who knows how we'll do. All we can do is try. We'll be thinking of you.
Amy and John

Pre Ride Report #2

2008-05-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

May 11, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

We thought we'd send an update.

The fund raising is going very well. We have pledges of more than $11,000 to be divided between Nardin and Child and Family Services. We are humbled by your generosity. On those tough days and there will be many, we will do our very best to keep moving the peddles round and round.

The training is progressing since the weather has improved. John is able to get out some mornings when the temperature is above 40 degrees at 5:45 for a 21 mile ride that gets him back to the house by 7:00 or so in order that he can get to the office by 7:45 or so. Amy tries to get out a couple of times a week and gets about 20 miles in during the early afternoon. In the evening if John get home in time and if the weather cooperates, we try to ride various routes together averaging about 23 or 25 miles. Then on Saturday and Sunday we try for a 50 to 75 mile ride if the weather and time permit. Even with this effort (which we recognize isn't anywhere near enough) we know that the first week or so of the trip is going to be tough with daily miles in the 75 to 95 mile range. We'll hopefully have enough miles in our legs that after a week or so we'll be in less discomfort. We're also hoping that seeing the country and meeting the people along the way will make the miles seem just a bit of a bother.

Packing for the trip has been interesting. We're only allowed one suitcase each and most of it will be filled with riding clothing and bicycle stuff (spare tires, tubes, inflators, tools etc). As a result it's getting a bit difficult to figure out what we can take for the few hours a day we're off the bikes. Once we figure it out we find that there simply isn't enough room so we recalculate. Eventually we'll get it straight but we figure that by the time the ride is over we'll never want to see the same T shirts and shorts again.

That's it for now. We'll try and keep you posted.

As Amy says, keep the good vibes coming.
Amy and John

Bike pre Trip 2

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Pre Ride Report

2008-05-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Ride across the country? “You gotta be nuts” is the response Amy and I heard when we told everyone what we were planning for this summer.

Are we nuts? We don't think so. We love our bicycles and the time we get to spend together when we ride. That's the real joy. Riding mile after mile side by side enjoying each other's company and the sights, sounds (other than the 18 wheelers) and smells that one experiences on a bicycle. It's that joy that caused us to think that a ride across the country would be the best of all times.

We'll be riding from San Francisco, CA to Portsmouth, NH with about 30 other riders. For those of you who would like to see the route by looking at where we spend each night, we will post that information in a later note.

After we made the decision to ride we wondered if maybe our friends and family would like to help us out by contributing to two local charities as part of our ride. Our theory is that on those days when we are tired, sore, wet or discouraged, the thought that we are riding not only for ourselves but for two wonderful organization, Nardin Academy and Child and Family Services of Buffalo, Inc, would keep us turning the wheels. If anyone reading our journal would like to help us out, just email Michele at mlind@plllp.com and she will let you know how you can help. Thanks to all of you who have already been so very generous.

Getting ready for the ride has been interesting and fun. We both have nice bikes but they really needed to be “bulletproofed” in order to avoid breakdowns on the road. Tom at Tom's Pro Bike (www.tomsprobike.com)has been a great deal of help in getting our bikes set up to take a beating. Anyone interested in biking around Buffalo really needs to chat with Tom. In addition, Patrick Hall, a personal trainer at Personal Best (www.personalbest.com), has been terrific helping Amy build strength for the ride. If you want a personal trainer you couldn’t do better than Patrick.

Now comes the training. That's not as easy as one might think up here in the frozen north. While we are both incredibly enthusiastic about cycling, it's a bit difficult when the snow is a foot deep and the temperature is in the 20's. So, we pedal indoors as much as we can, but it's not the same. Since the first week of April we've been getting out most days trying for 30 to 50 miles but unfortunately due to the weather it's been a bit of hit and miss. We suspect that the first week or more on the trip will be just a tad painful.

So, we're getting ready to go. As Amy says, we'll probably forget a bunch of things that we should be doing but, like getting lost on a bicycle tour, that's half the fun.

Once we are on the road, it is our hope that we will be able to keep those of you interested up to date on the trip. It will depend on the availability of WiFi, but assuming we're not too exhausted each day, we'll give you a paragraph or two on each day's ride with a picture or two.

As Amy says, “send good vibes”. Thanks for checking in.
John and Amy

Bike pre Trip