June 20, Day 21

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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