Another great day in the heartland. We saw 3 different states today, the only time that happens on this tour. Hot weather and unfavorable winds persisted today, but Mother Nature trained us well for the former in Montana and Wyoming, and we've learned to ignore the bad winds. Heading out in the morning is always my favorite time. The temperature is perfect, the light is soft, and the traffic light. The temperature rises all too quickly, but the first 30 miles are always great.
We headed south and east out of Austin, and shortly after the first rest stop, we entered Iowa. Jane Smiley country. I kept thinking about a Thousand Acres and Moo as we rolled along. The major change I noted was......trees!! Instead of the occasional copse of trees that one sees in Minnesota, there are thick FORESTS in Iowa, something I really hadn't seen since western Montana. There is also more interesting topography, with more hills, such that you aren't looking at soybean fields all the way to the horizon. We passed through a variety of towns that looked like they came out of a Norman Rockwell painting, with names like Leroy, Lime Springs, Cresco, and Decorah.
I had another great day on the bike, particularly the 25 mile segment after lunch, which had nice rollers spaced such that you could use momentum on the downhill side to get partway up the next slope. My great day was marred by TWO flat tires in the last 10 miles.......the replacement tube turned out to be flawed.......so my arrival at the motel was delayed by about an hour or so.
We crossed the Mississippi River at the end of the ride. At first, it didn't appear particularly large, until I realized that the first bridge only crossed HALF of the river, and there was still a large east channel to cross. So even way up here not terribly far from its origin, it is already an impressive river.
Prairie du Chien is a smallish town that boasts that it was founded in 1673. That is probably stretching things a bit, because Marquette and Joliet, the French missionary explorers, camped here one night in 1673, and that is the basis of the claim.
We are now about 2/3 done with the trip......hard to believe. My replacement crankarms, chainrings, and bottom bracket all arrived today, and are now installed. I'm going to put new tires on tonight, to lessen chances of further flats........the first pair did well for 2000 miles. Overall, my Davidson bicycle has performed splendidly.......I have no complaints.
Tomorrow we spend the day in Wisconsin, and end up in Beloit, on the Illinois border. Big climbing day.......6500 vertical feet......but we're all now much better prepared to handle it.
136 miles. 3500 vertical feet
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Day 16: Worthington to Austin, MN
I woke up this morning feeling great. I got a particularly good night's sleep. I had a massage last night. And it is my birthday today. I felt very strong on the bike today and danced on the pedals for the whole ride.
Yesterday at the end of the day we had to negotiate 6 long miles of a gravel road because of construction. It was quite horrible. I fell once, almost fell several other times, and my bike came to a complete halt in sand upon more than one occasion. So this morning, when the message board announced that there would be a NINE mile section of gravel today, I was not pleased. I worked my way to the front of the pack, and finally met up with Franz, the crew member, and we rode to the start of the gravel. However, they were paving the section, and no bikes were allowed, so we had to do a 10 mile detour. I was actually thrilled to do extra miles on tarmac, rather than have to put up with gravel again. At this point, the clydesdale caught up with us. He must have had some extra oats for breakfast, because he was flying. Unbeknownst to me, he had decided to practice his time trial skills this morning, so he barrelled down the road at 26 mph into a slight headwind, for 9 miles It was all Franz and I could do to keep up with him. He then settled down, and actually faded at bit at the end of the day, but the 3 of us made good time.
More soybean fields and corn fields today, punctuated by an occasional well scrubbed little town, always with a large Lutheran church, a pristine town park, and a well kept cemetery. Despite the monotony, there is something calming about seeing green, instead of the browns of Wyoming and western South Dakota. I passed advertising signs for seed, saying things like "more ethanol per acre". We arrived in the little burg of Austin after less than 8 hours in the saddle. With our detour, we did 150 miles today.
Austin, Texas may have the University of Texas, but Austin, Minnesota has the SPAM museum, owned by the Hormel company. .....something any true trivia buff probably knows. How about that for a claim to fame!?! No, I didn't take the museum tour. The phone number is 1-800-LUV-SPAM (seriously!).
Marc from Belgium also had his birthday today, so the 2 birthday boys ate dinner together. He is a high school math teacher from Brussels, and speaks a zillion languages, like most people from that part of thw world. It turns out that he didn't just participate and finish the Paris-Brest-Paris 90 hour event that I mentioned a few posts ago.....he WON the damn thing!!! He and Caterina are truly world class endurance cyclists.
The EFI group is shrinking steadily; of the 32 or so riders who started, now more than half have taken part or whole days off because of nagging injuries, fatigue, or whatever. Actually, we are all relative wimps compared to another event PacTour does called the Elite tour, held every 3 years. It goes from San Diego to Savannah in just 17 days, or 170 miles per day on average, with multiple 200+ mileage days. 52 riders started this June, but only 21 finished. There were some days when riders spent over 14 hours in the saddle. I'm not sure the human body can secrete enough endorphins to make that ride pleasant!
Tomorrow we dip into Iowa, spend most of the day riding across the northern part of that state, and cross the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien at the end of the day.
150 miles. 1800 vertical feet.
Yesterday at the end of the day we had to negotiate 6 long miles of a gravel road because of construction. It was quite horrible. I fell once, almost fell several other times, and my bike came to a complete halt in sand upon more than one occasion. So this morning, when the message board announced that there would be a NINE mile section of gravel today, I was not pleased. I worked my way to the front of the pack, and finally met up with Franz, the crew member, and we rode to the start of the gravel. However, they were paving the section, and no bikes were allowed, so we had to do a 10 mile detour. I was actually thrilled to do extra miles on tarmac, rather than have to put up with gravel again. At this point, the clydesdale caught up with us. He must have had some extra oats for breakfast, because he was flying. Unbeknownst to me, he had decided to practice his time trial skills this morning, so he barrelled down the road at 26 mph into a slight headwind, for 9 miles It was all Franz and I could do to keep up with him. He then settled down, and actually faded at bit at the end of the day, but the 3 of us made good time.
More soybean fields and corn fields today, punctuated by an occasional well scrubbed little town, always with a large Lutheran church, a pristine town park, and a well kept cemetery. Despite the monotony, there is something calming about seeing green, instead of the browns of Wyoming and western South Dakota. I passed advertising signs for seed, saying things like "more ethanol per acre". We arrived in the little burg of Austin after less than 8 hours in the saddle. With our detour, we did 150 miles today.
Austin, Texas may have the University of Texas, but Austin, Minnesota has the SPAM museum, owned by the Hormel company. .....something any true trivia buff probably knows. How about that for a claim to fame!?! No, I didn't take the museum tour. The phone number is 1-800-LUV-SPAM (seriously!).
Marc from Belgium also had his birthday today, so the 2 birthday boys ate dinner together. He is a high school math teacher from Brussels, and speaks a zillion languages, like most people from that part of thw world. It turns out that he didn't just participate and finish the Paris-Brest-Paris 90 hour event that I mentioned a few posts ago.....he WON the damn thing!!! He and Caterina are truly world class endurance cyclists.
The EFI group is shrinking steadily; of the 32 or so riders who started, now more than half have taken part or whole days off because of nagging injuries, fatigue, or whatever. Actually, we are all relative wimps compared to another event PacTour does called the Elite tour, held every 3 years. It goes from San Diego to Savannah in just 17 days, or 170 miles per day on average, with multiple 200+ mileage days. 52 riders started this June, but only 21 finished. There were some days when riders spent over 14 hours in the saddle. I'm not sure the human body can secrete enough endorphins to make that ride pleasant!
Tomorrow we dip into Iowa, spend most of the day riding across the northern part of that state, and cross the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien at the end of the day.
150 miles. 1800 vertical feet.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Day 15: Mitchell SD to Worthington MN
Today's ride was a little more interesting as we finished off South Dakota and headed into Minnesota. The Southeast wind persisted in our faces, but it was less bothersome than yesterday. Temperatures were moderate, in the 80's, although the humidity is increasing so the heat index is right up there. We only did about 2000 feet of elevation gain today, which, compared to the rockies, felt like nothing. As we progressed farther east in South Dakota, the agriculture changed distinctively; instead of hayfields, corn and soybeans appeared. Near the Minnesota border, there are vast dark green seas of soybeans, as far as one can see to the horizon...must be thousands and thousands of acres. There is more water around, so it makes sense that these crops would thrive here. In the western part of the state, it looks like arid ground has been brought into production, when perhaps it shouldn't have been, by misguided water resource planning in the 20th century.
I rode with Karen, the chemistry teacher, this morning for a while, and talked about a book we both enjoyed, The Omnivore's Dilemma, which, among other things, is an analysis of the American corn industry, and an indictment of American big agribusiness in general. I have also discussed this book with Caterina, the Swedish woman, who is a veterinarian, and went on to get a Phd in comparative pathology at UC Davis. She is very interested in addressing the incredible misuse of antibiotics in American livestock, and is applying for a faculty position at the vet school at Washington State. She is having great trouble getting a green card. Here is a very talented person, who wants to contribute to the well being of our country, yet we have stupid policies that hinder attracting intellectual talent like this. But I digress.......
Yesterday morning, one of the riders flew in his girlfriend for a few days, and in front of us all at breakfast, proposed marriage. Fortunately for him, she said yes!
Yesterday the route was very straight with very few turns or landmarks, so the cue sheet was reduced to entries like "Mile 29: Beehives on left". Today the route was considerably more complicated, as we took a variety of pretty side roads, generally within 2 to 5 miles of I-90 as we worked our way east. We entered Minnesota shortly after lunch, and I noted an immediate increase in apparent prosperity. The town of Luverne has some very nice houses and is very clean. I haven't seen many children yet, but as Garrison Keiler says, I'm sure they are all above average.....
Worthington is not a particularly charming place. Lots of big farm equipment stores. There is a pretty lake that the town is built around. A bunch of us ate at a Mexican restaurant tonight. I have noticed that when I eat a normal large dinner, I have an OK day the next day. But if I eat more than I am comfortable eating, I have a good day. I guess I really am burning a lot of calories.
Tomorrow we continue across the southern part of Minnesota, then on Tuesday we cross the Mississippi River at the end of the day.
136 miles. 2200 vertical feet.
I rode with Karen, the chemistry teacher, this morning for a while, and talked about a book we both enjoyed, The Omnivore's Dilemma, which, among other things, is an analysis of the American corn industry, and an indictment of American big agribusiness in general. I have also discussed this book with Caterina, the Swedish woman, who is a veterinarian, and went on to get a Phd in comparative pathology at UC Davis. She is very interested in addressing the incredible misuse of antibiotics in American livestock, and is applying for a faculty position at the vet school at Washington State. She is having great trouble getting a green card. Here is a very talented person, who wants to contribute to the well being of our country, yet we have stupid policies that hinder attracting intellectual talent like this. But I digress.......
Yesterday morning, one of the riders flew in his girlfriend for a few days, and in front of us all at breakfast, proposed marriage. Fortunately for him, she said yes!
Yesterday the route was very straight with very few turns or landmarks, so the cue sheet was reduced to entries like "Mile 29: Beehives on left". Today the route was considerably more complicated, as we took a variety of pretty side roads, generally within 2 to 5 miles of I-90 as we worked our way east. We entered Minnesota shortly after lunch, and I noted an immediate increase in apparent prosperity. The town of Luverne has some very nice houses and is very clean. I haven't seen many children yet, but as Garrison Keiler says, I'm sure they are all above average.....
Worthington is not a particularly charming place. Lots of big farm equipment stores. There is a pretty lake that the town is built around. A bunch of us ate at a Mexican restaurant tonight. I have noticed that when I eat a normal large dinner, I have an OK day the next day. But if I eat more than I am comfortable eating, I have a good day. I guess I really am burning a lot of calories.
Tomorrow we continue across the southern part of Minnesota, then on Tuesday we cross the Mississippi River at the end of the day.
136 miles. 2200 vertical feet.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Day 14: Murdo, SD to Mitchell SD
The headwinds didn't go away today, but somehow it ended up being a much easier stage. The temperature started in the 60's and ended in the 90's. Today's ride will not win any contests for scenic beauty. The rolling grassy plains slowly changed to cornfields and soybean fields as we got closer to Mitchell, but in general not a very exciting landscape.
Yesterday and today brought out the "wheelsuckers".......those people who try to stay in the slipstream of somebody else all day, and take either a very short turn, or no turn at all, pulling at the lead of a paceline. Definitely a breach of paceline etiquette, and behavior that is frowned upon. Early on today, I found myself in a paceline that was going more slowly than the speed I preferred, but I schlepped along, rather than trying to tackle the wind on my own.
At the second rest stop, I caught up with Michael the engineer, Franz, a crew member (the crew gets to ride every other day, so they have fresh legs......most of them are quite strong riders) and the clydesdale, now with a taped ankle. We spent the rest of the day together, averaging around 17.5 mph, pretty good against the headwind. Sometimes the wind was from the south, so we formed a sideways diagonal paceline called an echelon, like geese migrating. No wheelsuckers in this group; everybody did his fair share of pulling at the front. We got into Mitchell after 8 1/2 hours in the saddle. Somehow it seemed much easier than yesterday.
Two notable events occured today. The first was that we went over the halfway mark of the trip, near I-90. I looked west and thought of the western terminus of I-90 overlooking Puget Sound. Then I looked east and thought about the eastern terminus of this road in Boston, where I spent 8 happy years.
The second event was that we crossed the Missouri River. From the headwaters near Bozeman, it makes a giant sweep through eastern Montana and North Dakota, before heading south. I thought again of Lewis and Clark, and our own little reverse Corps of Discovery, exploring the country from west to east.
As a medical person, I'm amazed at the physiologic changes, presumably adaptive, that are going on in my body. I'm losing weight, as I expected to. I haven't weighed myself, but I suspect that I haven't weighed this little since high school. I'm also losing body fat; based on previous measurements, I'd guess that I'm currently around 10-12%. Then I've noticed that I don't get breathless any more. Even on the monster climb in the Bighorns, I wasn't really short of breath. My legs were tired, because it was like going to the gym and doing leg presses continually for 4 hours. Much of this lack of breathlessness is likely cardiovascular fitness, but I think I might be recruiting alveoli. ....Iwonder how my pulmonary function tests might have changed. Then I've noticed that my heart rate is low. I spend big portions of each day with a rate of between 80 and 100, even when going over 20 mph. It's not like I'm not working hard, so I assume either my total peripheral resistance is low, or my stroke volume has increased, or both. Finally, I'm astounded by the mental health of this group. Every morning at 6:30, while slurping oatmeal and eating bagels, hardly a negative word is heard. With all the adversity that we have had, including headwinds, tough steep climbs, extreme heat, flat tires, sore bottoms, etc, etc......I would expect that some people would be depressed. But everyone is defiantly upbeat. It doesn't make sense. The only way I can explain it is that we must all be secreting large amounts of endorphins, again as an adaptive mechanism. It would be very interesting to do a formal medical study on a transcontinental PacTour.
Tomorrow we enter Minnesota. Fine with me. I've had enough of South Dakota.
145 miles. 2000 vertical feet
Yesterday and today brought out the "wheelsuckers".......those people who try to stay in the slipstream of somebody else all day, and take either a very short turn, or no turn at all, pulling at the lead of a paceline. Definitely a breach of paceline etiquette, and behavior that is frowned upon. Early on today, I found myself in a paceline that was going more slowly than the speed I preferred, but I schlepped along, rather than trying to tackle the wind on my own.
At the second rest stop, I caught up with Michael the engineer, Franz, a crew member (the crew gets to ride every other day, so they have fresh legs......most of them are quite strong riders) and the clydesdale, now with a taped ankle. We spent the rest of the day together, averaging around 17.5 mph, pretty good against the headwind. Sometimes the wind was from the south, so we formed a sideways diagonal paceline called an echelon, like geese migrating. No wheelsuckers in this group; everybody did his fair share of pulling at the front. We got into Mitchell after 8 1/2 hours in the saddle. Somehow it seemed much easier than yesterday.
Two notable events occured today. The first was that we went over the halfway mark of the trip, near I-90. I looked west and thought of the western terminus of I-90 overlooking Puget Sound. Then I looked east and thought about the eastern terminus of this road in Boston, where I spent 8 happy years.
The second event was that we crossed the Missouri River. From the headwaters near Bozeman, it makes a giant sweep through eastern Montana and North Dakota, before heading south. I thought again of Lewis and Clark, and our own little reverse Corps of Discovery, exploring the country from west to east.
As a medical person, I'm amazed at the physiologic changes, presumably adaptive, that are going on in my body. I'm losing weight, as I expected to. I haven't weighed myself, but I suspect that I haven't weighed this little since high school. I'm also losing body fat; based on previous measurements, I'd guess that I'm currently around 10-12%. Then I've noticed that I don't get breathless any more. Even on the monster climb in the Bighorns, I wasn't really short of breath. My legs were tired, because it was like going to the gym and doing leg presses continually for 4 hours. Much of this lack of breathlessness is likely cardiovascular fitness, but I think I might be recruiting alveoli. ....Iwonder how my pulmonary function tests might have changed. Then I've noticed that my heart rate is low. I spend big portions of each day with a rate of between 80 and 100, even when going over 20 mph. It's not like I'm not working hard, so I assume either my total peripheral resistance is low, or my stroke volume has increased, or both. Finally, I'm astounded by the mental health of this group. Every morning at 6:30, while slurping oatmeal and eating bagels, hardly a negative word is heard. With all the adversity that we have had, including headwinds, tough steep climbs, extreme heat, flat tires, sore bottoms, etc, etc......I would expect that some people would be depressed. But everyone is defiantly upbeat. It doesn't make sense. The only way I can explain it is that we must all be secreting large amounts of endorphins, again as an adaptive mechanism. It would be very interesting to do a formal medical study on a transcontinental PacTour.
Tomorrow we enter Minnesota. Fine with me. I've had enough of South Dakota.
145 miles. 2000 vertical feet
Friday, July 27, 2007
Day 13: Rapid City to Murdo
After a long day in the Black Hills yesterday, everybody was hoping for an easier day today. It wasn't to be, as we battled headwinds for the full 148 miles. When I finished, I felt like I had ridden 200 miles. If one was unfortunate enough to not be part of a paceline, then the best you could manage was 12-14 mph. In a paceline, working hard, we did closer to 18. In addition, we entered the Central Time Zone today, so we lose another hour tonight. I feel sorry for the slower riders in the group, because they will have essentially no down time before they need to go to bed tonight.
Rapid City is relatively large (population 70,000) but has little to distinguish it. We rode through the city this morning, and quite soon we were out in grassy plains that looked like a movie set for Dances With Wolves. We spotted an occasional farmhouse, but it didn't look like very productive land. At this point, the wind wasn't too bad, so we got a nice paceline going, with Karen, a Cal Tech graduate who now teaches college chemistry, Robert, a retired comparative religion professor from Ottawa, and Michael, a quality engineer from Ford (is that an oxymoron??). We were cheered on by innumerable paririe dogs, who chirped and whistled as we rode along. We made good time down to the first rest stop, but then the winds got worse.
At this point, we entered Badlands National Park, which has multiple eroded sandstone rock formations. Looks like a good place for a Clint Eastwood western. It reminded me of Bryce Canyon in Utah, although without the vermillion and orange colors that Bryce has. It even looks a bit like the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in Egypt. We had lunch in the Badlands.....by this time the temperature was up to 95, but fortunately in cooled down to the high 80's for the rest of the day. We then joined up with our friend I-90 once again, and followed a frontage road for 70 miles over one roller after another, very reminiscent of the Coulee City to Spokane stretch on day 2. We finally got to Murdo after a long 8 1/2 hours in the saddle. Murdo is not very big; apparently most of the motels and restaurants are only open in the summer, catering to families on vacation on their way to the Badlands or the Black Hills, or bikers (the motorized variety) going to Sturgis, which is nearby.
Today we completed the first half of our journey across the country. We aren't quite halfway in terms of mileage, but we have already done more than 1/2 of the total climbing. Bodies and bicycles are starting to break down a bit. The clydesdale came up lame today with a sore ankle, and had a bad day. More folks are getting sagged for part or all of some days, but there is still a hard core of us that wants to ride "E.F.I" (every blanking inch). Last night, I noted a problem with one of my pedals; its attachment to the crankarm was becoming dangerously loose. I'm just glad it didn't break during some 50 mph descent. The problem was with the carbon fiber crank arm, which, because it is one unit with the chainrings, means that I need a new crank and chainring set, as well as a new bottom bracket. So I got on the internet and ordered the parts, which will be delivered to a motel several days down the road. In the meantime, I have temporary parts in place which seem to work OK.
Tomorrow we have another long day, 145 miles to Mitchell, SD. Everything will be fine if we just get a break from the winds.
148 miles. 3200 vertical feet
Rapid City is relatively large (population 70,000) but has little to distinguish it. We rode through the city this morning, and quite soon we were out in grassy plains that looked like a movie set for Dances With Wolves. We spotted an occasional farmhouse, but it didn't look like very productive land. At this point, the wind wasn't too bad, so we got a nice paceline going, with Karen, a Cal Tech graduate who now teaches college chemistry, Robert, a retired comparative religion professor from Ottawa, and Michael, a quality engineer from Ford (is that an oxymoron??). We were cheered on by innumerable paririe dogs, who chirped and whistled as we rode along. We made good time down to the first rest stop, but then the winds got worse.
At this point, we entered Badlands National Park, which has multiple eroded sandstone rock formations. Looks like a good place for a Clint Eastwood western. It reminded me of Bryce Canyon in Utah, although without the vermillion and orange colors that Bryce has. It even looks a bit like the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in Egypt. We had lunch in the Badlands.....by this time the temperature was up to 95, but fortunately in cooled down to the high 80's for the rest of the day. We then joined up with our friend I-90 once again, and followed a frontage road for 70 miles over one roller after another, very reminiscent of the Coulee City to Spokane stretch on day 2. We finally got to Murdo after a long 8 1/2 hours in the saddle. Murdo is not very big; apparently most of the motels and restaurants are only open in the summer, catering to families on vacation on their way to the Badlands or the Black Hills, or bikers (the motorized variety) going to Sturgis, which is nearby.
Today we completed the first half of our journey across the country. We aren't quite halfway in terms of mileage, but we have already done more than 1/2 of the total climbing. Bodies and bicycles are starting to break down a bit. The clydesdale came up lame today with a sore ankle, and had a bad day. More folks are getting sagged for part or all of some days, but there is still a hard core of us that wants to ride "E.F.I" (every blanking inch). Last night, I noted a problem with one of my pedals; its attachment to the crankarm was becoming dangerously loose. I'm just glad it didn't break during some 50 mph descent. The problem was with the carbon fiber crank arm, which, because it is one unit with the chainrings, means that I need a new crank and chainring set, as well as a new bottom bracket. So I got on the internet and ordered the parts, which will be delivered to a motel several days down the road. In the meantime, I have temporary parts in place which seem to work OK.
Tomorrow we have another long day, 145 miles to Mitchell, SD. Everything will be fine if we just get a break from the winds.
148 miles. 3200 vertical feet
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Day 12: Gillette, WY to Rapid City SD
Today was a fabulous day, greatly exceeding expectations. It had rained at night in Gillette, and skies were gray and mildly threatening when we ate breakfast this morning....it looked like Seattle in February. "A wet rag on a salad", as Tom Robbins described typical winter Puget Sound weather in Another Roadside Attraction. I noticed many riders were all decked out in rain jackets, neoprene booties, etc. I felt like asking them "haven't you ever seen clouds before?" It was 64 degrees when we started,and miraculously, the temperature stayed in the 60's the whole day, and it barely rained at all. Compared to the first 11 days, the temperature was like a little bit of heaven.
I knew we were in for a long day, and on previous days exceeding 120 miles, my bike seat has felt like a piece of cement for the last 20 miles or so. Today I wore two pair of bike shorts, and it totally took a sore bottom off the table as a significant issue. So with cool temperatures and greater seat comfort, I was good to go.
The RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day) was today back home in Washington.......I had some thoughts about that, as that is what I have been doing on each of the previous 7 last Thursdays in July. I've always had a good day on the RAMROD, so maybe that also helped me have a good day today. The ride today was certainly ramrodesque.
We had a long flat run to the South Dakota border, through little towns like Upton and Newcastle......lots of coal brought to this particular Newcastle. Clouds prevented any view of Devils Tower. Roadkill today included deer, jackrabbits, and two large rattlesnakes, which gives one pause about wandering too far out into the bushes to relieve oneself...
As we entered a new state, the landscape changed. I saw the first trees that I had seen in 50 miles. We started to gradually ascend through sparse pine forest, as we entered the foothills of the Black Hills. Lunch was at the 96 mile mark, following which we entered the Black Hills themselves, which are quite pretty. Unfortunately the first 10 miles or so had obviously been devastated by a severe forest fire sometime recently, but later it was very beautiful, somewhat like the Wallowa mountains in northeast Oregon.......sparse forest with lots of green meadows. We had lots of moderate ascents, but nothing too terrible or sustained. The descents were most excellent.
After a time we arrived in the tacky tourist town of Custer, and even though it is a full 25 miles from Mt. Rushmore, from that point on there was a huge number of recreational vehicles on the road, rumbling toward the monument. There were massive land yachts, some of which were towing large SUVs. More uphills and downhills on the way to Mt. Rushmore. Now the landscape had denser forests and some fabulous rock formations.
Mt. Rushmore itself is a perfectly nice attraction, but it didn't blow me away or anything. It is smaller that what I imagined. Lincoln looks incompletely sculpted, and Jeffersons' nose is upturned so that you look up his nostrils. The viewing area was jammed with tourists.
I got back on my bike and rode the last 20 miles into Rapid City, arriving at the motel first. On the descent into town, one could see the vast prairie stretching out to the east. It is like a giant billiard table tilted slightly downward to the east, all the way to the Mississippi River, which we will cross at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Tomorrow we ride along I-90 frontage roads to Murdo, SD, wherever that is. I'm hoping for a tailwind. I'll recruit the clydsedale and a few others to form a good paceline, and hopefully I'll have another good day.
160 miles. 7400 vertical feet
I knew we were in for a long day, and on previous days exceeding 120 miles, my bike seat has felt like a piece of cement for the last 20 miles or so. Today I wore two pair of bike shorts, and it totally took a sore bottom off the table as a significant issue. So with cool temperatures and greater seat comfort, I was good to go.
The RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day) was today back home in Washington.......I had some thoughts about that, as that is what I have been doing on each of the previous 7 last Thursdays in July. I've always had a good day on the RAMROD, so maybe that also helped me have a good day today. The ride today was certainly ramrodesque.
We had a long flat run to the South Dakota border, through little towns like Upton and Newcastle......lots of coal brought to this particular Newcastle. Clouds prevented any view of Devils Tower. Roadkill today included deer, jackrabbits, and two large rattlesnakes, which gives one pause about wandering too far out into the bushes to relieve oneself...
As we entered a new state, the landscape changed. I saw the first trees that I had seen in 50 miles. We started to gradually ascend through sparse pine forest, as we entered the foothills of the Black Hills. Lunch was at the 96 mile mark, following which we entered the Black Hills themselves, which are quite pretty. Unfortunately the first 10 miles or so had obviously been devastated by a severe forest fire sometime recently, but later it was very beautiful, somewhat like the Wallowa mountains in northeast Oregon.......sparse forest with lots of green meadows. We had lots of moderate ascents, but nothing too terrible or sustained. The descents were most excellent.
After a time we arrived in the tacky tourist town of Custer, and even though it is a full 25 miles from Mt. Rushmore, from that point on there was a huge number of recreational vehicles on the road, rumbling toward the monument. There were massive land yachts, some of which were towing large SUVs. More uphills and downhills on the way to Mt. Rushmore. Now the landscape had denser forests and some fabulous rock formations.
Mt. Rushmore itself is a perfectly nice attraction, but it didn't blow me away or anything. It is smaller that what I imagined. Lincoln looks incompletely sculpted, and Jeffersons' nose is upturned so that you look up his nostrils. The viewing area was jammed with tourists.
I got back on my bike and rode the last 20 miles into Rapid City, arriving at the motel first. On the descent into town, one could see the vast prairie stretching out to the east. It is like a giant billiard table tilted slightly downward to the east, all the way to the Mississippi River, which we will cross at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Tomorrow we ride along I-90 frontage roads to Murdo, SD, wherever that is. I'm hoping for a tailwind. I'll recruit the clydsedale and a few others to form a good paceline, and hopefully I'll have another good day.
160 miles. 7400 vertical feet
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Day 11: Sheridan to Gillette
Today we had a relatively short ride, the last time we will have one this short until Virginia. Starting on Friday, we will start sacrificing distance for vertical feet: many days of longer rides of 145-160 miles, but much less elevation gain.
The weatherman had predicted temperatures in the 80's today, but it was already 75 by the time we rolled out of Sheridan. We took route 14 out of town, first north, then east, and finally south for the last 30 miles. We passed through some ranchland, but the population of this area is quite low; at one stetch we went 72 miles without any services. We had a north wind all day, so we battled the wind until lunch, but then had a nice treat as we had the wind at our backs at the end of the day, by which time the temperature was once again in the 90's.
The landscape was arid desolate grassland, mind-numbingly monotonous, with an occasional antelope far off in the distance. I felt like singing a few verses of "Home on the Range". One could see the road far off in the distance, usually going up. No steep grades today, but multiple long rollers, such that by the end of the day we somehow had climbed 4500 vertical feet. There were several long construction delays.......Wyoming seems to be mindlessly repairing roads all over the state, even those roads in the middle of nowhere. Must have a big road repair budget.....Hmmmm......are there any high ranking officials in the federal government from Wyoming?!?
Gillette, like our 2 previous stops in Cody and Sheridan, is a gritty, hardscrabble place where it looks like it is tough to make a living. Lots of used car lots, western clothing stores, saloons, and slightly seedy motels. Gillette is the self-proclaimed "energy capital of the country" because 30% of the nation's coal is produced locally in the Powder River basin. There is a large coal stripmine on the outskirts of town......very attractive.....
Having just completed the hardest day of the trip yesterday, we are all bracing for what is probably the second hardest day tomorrow, 160 miles through the Black Hills to Rapid City. Enroute, we will apparently get views in the distance of Devil's Tower, made famous by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in the 1970's. And we will also see Mt. Rushmore.
113 miles. 4500 vertical feet
The weatherman had predicted temperatures in the 80's today, but it was already 75 by the time we rolled out of Sheridan. We took route 14 out of town, first north, then east, and finally south for the last 30 miles. We passed through some ranchland, but the population of this area is quite low; at one stetch we went 72 miles without any services. We had a north wind all day, so we battled the wind until lunch, but then had a nice treat as we had the wind at our backs at the end of the day, by which time the temperature was once again in the 90's.
The landscape was arid desolate grassland, mind-numbingly monotonous, with an occasional antelope far off in the distance. I felt like singing a few verses of "Home on the Range". One could see the road far off in the distance, usually going up. No steep grades today, but multiple long rollers, such that by the end of the day we somehow had climbed 4500 vertical feet. There were several long construction delays.......Wyoming seems to be mindlessly repairing roads all over the state, even those roads in the middle of nowhere. Must have a big road repair budget.....Hmmmm......are there any high ranking officials in the federal government from Wyoming?!?
Gillette, like our 2 previous stops in Cody and Sheridan, is a gritty, hardscrabble place where it looks like it is tough to make a living. Lots of used car lots, western clothing stores, saloons, and slightly seedy motels. Gillette is the self-proclaimed "energy capital of the country" because 30% of the nation's coal is produced locally in the Powder River basin. There is a large coal stripmine on the outskirts of town......very attractive.....
Having just completed the hardest day of the trip yesterday, we are all bracing for what is probably the second hardest day tomorrow, 160 miles through the Black Hills to Rapid City. Enroute, we will apparently get views in the distance of Devil's Tower, made famous by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in the 1970's. And we will also see Mt. Rushmore.
113 miles. 4500 vertical feet
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Day 10: Cody to Sheridan
Today was without question my hardest day ever on a bicycle. Custer might have met his end at the Little Big Horn, but this was the BIG Big Horn! Everyone has been talking about the bighorns since we left Everett. The last bit of yesterday had a "trifecta" of bad conditions: extreme heat, brisk headwinds, and lots of climbing. This morning we had the exact opposite starting out.......cool temperatures, a slight downhill grade, and even an occasional slight tailwind. As an added bonus, the tarmac was nearly perfect for the first 30 miles. So we sailed along quickly and reached the second rest stop, at the foot of the big climb, averaging over 21 mph. It was a seductive start that lulled us into thinking that maybe the day would not be as bad as advertised.
All the way down to the second rest stop, I kept reminding myself that last year I rode up Haleakala on Maui, which rises from sea level to 10,000 feet in just 36 miles. Or that in 2003 I did Mt. Ventoux in the south of France, which ascends 5000 feet in just 13 miles. This couldn't be as bad as those climbs, could it?
It could, and it was. We started up a desolate treeless plain, without a telephone pole, tree or any other vertical frame of reference. The road seemed flat, and although there was a headwind, it seemed like I was going really slowly. My inclinometer told the tale: we were actually on about a 4% grade. After 8 miles, the grade increased to 8%. A mile later, 10%. For the next 10 miles the grade was 10% or more, including one half mile stretch of an agonizing 14%. I looked down at my speedometer at that point and I was only going 3.8 mph. After 4000 feet of climbing, I reached the lunch stop, a welcome chance to eat and guzzle fluids, as the temperature was in the mid 90's during our ascent. After lunch, there was another 4 miles of 10% grades before a high plateau was reached. Whereas the western side was brown and not very attractive, the high plateau was gorgeous, with interesting rock formations and lots of trees. Rolling hills for another 10 miles brought us to the summit at 9400'. A nice brisk descent followed, but then there was yet another 1200' hill to conquer, this one a more merciful 5 to 7%. Then I reaped the benefit of all this climbing with a delightful twisting descent with well banked curves that went on for 12 miles. I passed by the edge of a thunderstorm and got a few drops of rain. As I descended, the temperature rose from a very pleasant 82 at the high plateau back to the 100's. Because of the thunderstorm, the air was muggy, so it was like riding in a sauna. The signs in the towns I rode through in the last 20 miles said the temp was 107. The last 7 miles into Sheridan were on I-90. I don't think I have ever been so hot in my life. I pulled in to the motel about 4:45 after 9 hours in the saddle. Despite my incredibly slow progress up the mountain, I still managed to average 16.4 mph for the day. As of 7 p.m. some riders still haven't made it in yet.
It would be fine with me if I don't see another 14% grade for a while. For somebody like me that weighs 200 lbs., it comes down to basic physics. Little riders have a lot less mass to haul up such steep slopes. Tomorrow we have a lighter day, riding from Sheridan to Gillette on backroads. Then on Thursday, we have another brutal day through the Black Hills of South Dakota. I will sleep well tonight.
148 miles. 7500 vertical feet
All the way down to the second rest stop, I kept reminding myself that last year I rode up Haleakala on Maui, which rises from sea level to 10,000 feet in just 36 miles. Or that in 2003 I did Mt. Ventoux in the south of France, which ascends 5000 feet in just 13 miles. This couldn't be as bad as those climbs, could it?
It could, and it was. We started up a desolate treeless plain, without a telephone pole, tree or any other vertical frame of reference. The road seemed flat, and although there was a headwind, it seemed like I was going really slowly. My inclinometer told the tale: we were actually on about a 4% grade. After 8 miles, the grade increased to 8%. A mile later, 10%. For the next 10 miles the grade was 10% or more, including one half mile stretch of an agonizing 14%. I looked down at my speedometer at that point and I was only going 3.8 mph. After 4000 feet of climbing, I reached the lunch stop, a welcome chance to eat and guzzle fluids, as the temperature was in the mid 90's during our ascent. After lunch, there was another 4 miles of 10% grades before a high plateau was reached. Whereas the western side was brown and not very attractive, the high plateau was gorgeous, with interesting rock formations and lots of trees. Rolling hills for another 10 miles brought us to the summit at 9400'. A nice brisk descent followed, but then there was yet another 1200' hill to conquer, this one a more merciful 5 to 7%. Then I reaped the benefit of all this climbing with a delightful twisting descent with well banked curves that went on for 12 miles. I passed by the edge of a thunderstorm and got a few drops of rain. As I descended, the temperature rose from a very pleasant 82 at the high plateau back to the 100's. Because of the thunderstorm, the air was muggy, so it was like riding in a sauna. The signs in the towns I rode through in the last 20 miles said the temp was 107. The last 7 miles into Sheridan were on I-90. I don't think I have ever been so hot in my life. I pulled in to the motel about 4:45 after 9 hours in the saddle. Despite my incredibly slow progress up the mountain, I still managed to average 16.4 mph for the day. As of 7 p.m. some riders still haven't made it in yet.
It would be fine with me if I don't see another 14% grade for a while. For somebody like me that weighs 200 lbs., it comes down to basic physics. Little riders have a lot less mass to haul up such steep slopes. Tomorrow we have a lighter day, riding from Sheridan to Gillette on backroads. Then on Thursday, we have another brutal day through the Black Hills of South Dakota. I will sleep well tonight.
148 miles. 7500 vertical feet
Monday, July 23, 2007
Day 9: Columbus, MT to Cody, WY
The internet connection here in Cody is shaky at best, so this will be a briefer post. Today got off to a bad start when I discovered that my front tire was flat, evidently from a slow leak. A bad omen....
We headed south out of Columbus, and immediately started climbing, and had already done 1500' by the first rest stop. The next 30 miles were even hillier, with multiple 300' climbs followed by 200' descents. It reminded me of the south end of Whidbey Island.......relentlessly up or down, but never flat.
We passed through the town of Red Lodge at the 50 mile point......it appears so be a big motorcycle mecca, like Sturgis, South Dakota. By now the temperature was over 100. We had lunch on the Wyoming state line, and even though we had already climbed over 4000', we had more climbing to do. To make things worse, there was now a 10 mph headwind. The final pass was at 5800', following which there was a nice drop into Cody. The landscape changed dramatically as we entered Wyoming. Trees disappeared; there were endless brown hills covered with sagebrush. The Beartooth mountains loomed to the southwest, still with a little snow, amazing with this persistent heat wave. As we approached Cody, the Bighorns could be seen in the distance to the east, looking quite formidable.
So, all in all, a very rough day. The combination of the heat, the climbing, and the headwind was hard to deal with. I just hope I didn't use up too much energy before our date with the Bighorns tomorrow.
Waking up in the morning knowing you need to ride 130 miles or more is a little daunting, so I divide the day into smaller psychological chunks. The first rest stop is usually about 25-30 miles out, so I concentrate on making it that far. Then the second stop is at about 55-60 miles, so I think about that next. Lunch is usually at the 80-100 mile mark, and that is an easy thing to concentrate on. Finally, when I have completed about 75% of the ride for the day, I first allow thoughts of a hot shower to creep into my head. When there are 10 miles left, I think SERIOUSLY about a hot shower!
115 very tough miles. 6300 vertical feet.
We headed south out of Columbus, and immediately started climbing, and had already done 1500' by the first rest stop. The next 30 miles were even hillier, with multiple 300' climbs followed by 200' descents. It reminded me of the south end of Whidbey Island.......relentlessly up or down, but never flat.
We passed through the town of Red Lodge at the 50 mile point......it appears so be a big motorcycle mecca, like Sturgis, South Dakota. By now the temperature was over 100. We had lunch on the Wyoming state line, and even though we had already climbed over 4000', we had more climbing to do. To make things worse, there was now a 10 mph headwind. The final pass was at 5800', following which there was a nice drop into Cody. The landscape changed dramatically as we entered Wyoming. Trees disappeared; there were endless brown hills covered with sagebrush. The Beartooth mountains loomed to the southwest, still with a little snow, amazing with this persistent heat wave. As we approached Cody, the Bighorns could be seen in the distance to the east, looking quite formidable.
So, all in all, a very rough day. The combination of the heat, the climbing, and the headwind was hard to deal with. I just hope I didn't use up too much energy before our date with the Bighorns tomorrow.
Waking up in the morning knowing you need to ride 130 miles or more is a little daunting, so I divide the day into smaller psychological chunks. The first rest stop is usually about 25-30 miles out, so I concentrate on making it that far. Then the second stop is at about 55-60 miles, so I think about that next. Lunch is usually at the 80-100 mile mark, and that is an easy thing to concentrate on. Finally, when I have completed about 75% of the ride for the day, I first allow thoughts of a hot shower to creep into my head. When there are 10 miles left, I think SERIOUSLY about a hot shower!
115 very tough miles. 6300 vertical feet.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Day 8: Bozeman to Columbus
"Winds, light and variable" said the morning weather report. Music to my ears. "Current temperature 55 degrees". Music to my cool climate Northwest soul. We headed out of Bozeman on the shoulder of I-90, which became annoyingly narrow as we proceeded to climb up 12oo' to the Bozeman Pass at 5700'. The shoulder was only 3 feet wide, half of which was taken up by the rumble strip, which, if you aren't paying attention and ride onto, will nearly shake you off your bicycle. The shoulder seemed dirtier, with more glass. Bozeman is near several downhill ski areas, and as we ascended, the landscape became more green and lush. At the top of the pass, there was a 6% downgrade, where I hit 48 mph briefly, and several riders went over 50. The road then flattened out a bit, but with a slight tailwind, we formed a paceline that zoomed along at about 32 mph for the next 8 miles. I've never been in a paceline that fast before; you had to pay attention because the margin for error is small at such a speed. Cruising into the first rest stop, we were greeted by several antelope bounding along next to us. We thought we were fast, but those guys are REALLY fast!
Unfortunately, it rapidly warmed up, and for the last half of the day, temperatures were 95 to 105. After the big pass, we generally went slightly downhill all day, through a broad valley. We passed through the town of Livingston, which is nestled close to some magnificent mountains that are the gateway to Yellowstone. Our route basically took us along I-90 all day, with occasional stints on the freeway itself. Shortly after one of these stints, I had my first flat tire of the trip. Not bad, considering all the riding that we have done on the interstate. Shortly after fixing my flat, I passed a huge freight train that was pulling over 100 cars, all filled to the brim with coal. It would be nice if somebody could figure out how to burn the stuff cleanly (and deal with the CO2 produced) because there is a lot of it around here....
The last 20 miles into Columbus were really hot.....it was 105 degrees by the time I arrived. Everybody had a relatively fast ride today. I averaged 21.6 mph, which is about the fastest that I have done a century. Less than 5 hours riding time to go 106 miles. This might end up being the easiest day of the tour. I don't know why we were all in such a hurry to get to Columbus, because there ain't much here, except for a gigantic truck stop. Our suggested dinner options were "McDonalds, Subway, or the Casio Truck Stop". Fortunately we found a steak place a few blocks away. Our rooms weren't ready for several hours after our arrival, so a bunch of us went down to the Yellowstone river for a swim. Felt great on such a hot day.
I can't believe I'm into the second week already. I'm developing a daily routine. I keep thinking of the Far Side cartoon of the Tyrannosaurus looking at its day planner, where every entry for the entire month is exactly the same: "kill something and eat it". My day planner these days would pretty much say "eat a lot, drink a lot, pedal, sleep". Nice simple existence.
There are several superb riders on this tour. A fellow from Belgium named Marc has done an insane event called the 'P-B-P", which stands for Paris-Brest-Paris, which goes 1200 km. (750 miles) from Paris to the Atlantic coast then back to Paris. The hitch is, the ride must be completed in 90 hours. Most riders sleep little if at all, and ride all night. Doesn't sound like fun to me.
Then there is a Swedish woman who won the Race Across America (RAAM) women's division several years ago. This is an even crazier event where one rides as fast as one can from one coast to another, generally riding for 22 hours a day and sleeping for 2. She completed the journey in 11 days. Lon Haldeman, one of the owners of PacTour, still holds the men's record for RAAM at just under 8 days. Several people on this tour are planning to do the P-B-P this year (it is only held once every 4 years). Most of the folks here have done at least one transcontinental bike trip already. I am truly among a bunch of long distance biking fanatics!
We have been in Montana now for 5 days, and when I look at a map, we are only halfway across the state west to east. Tomorrow we head south to Cody, Wyoming via Red Lodge, and then on Tuesday is the hardest day of the tour, our climb over the Bighorns.
106 miles. 1900 vertical feet
Unfortunately, it rapidly warmed up, and for the last half of the day, temperatures were 95 to 105. After the big pass, we generally went slightly downhill all day, through a broad valley. We passed through the town of Livingston, which is nestled close to some magnificent mountains that are the gateway to Yellowstone. Our route basically took us along I-90 all day, with occasional stints on the freeway itself. Shortly after one of these stints, I had my first flat tire of the trip. Not bad, considering all the riding that we have done on the interstate. Shortly after fixing my flat, I passed a huge freight train that was pulling over 100 cars, all filled to the brim with coal. It would be nice if somebody could figure out how to burn the stuff cleanly (and deal with the CO2 produced) because there is a lot of it around here....
The last 20 miles into Columbus were really hot.....it was 105 degrees by the time I arrived. Everybody had a relatively fast ride today. I averaged 21.6 mph, which is about the fastest that I have done a century. Less than 5 hours riding time to go 106 miles. This might end up being the easiest day of the tour. I don't know why we were all in such a hurry to get to Columbus, because there ain't much here, except for a gigantic truck stop. Our suggested dinner options were "McDonalds, Subway, or the Casio Truck Stop". Fortunately we found a steak place a few blocks away. Our rooms weren't ready for several hours after our arrival, so a bunch of us went down to the Yellowstone river for a swim. Felt great on such a hot day.
I can't believe I'm into the second week already. I'm developing a daily routine. I keep thinking of the Far Side cartoon of the Tyrannosaurus looking at its day planner, where every entry for the entire month is exactly the same: "kill something and eat it". My day planner these days would pretty much say "eat a lot, drink a lot, pedal, sleep". Nice simple existence.
There are several superb riders on this tour. A fellow from Belgium named Marc has done an insane event called the 'P-B-P", which stands for Paris-Brest-Paris, which goes 1200 km. (750 miles) from Paris to the Atlantic coast then back to Paris. The hitch is, the ride must be completed in 90 hours. Most riders sleep little if at all, and ride all night. Doesn't sound like fun to me.
Then there is a Swedish woman who won the Race Across America (RAAM) women's division several years ago. This is an even crazier event where one rides as fast as one can from one coast to another, generally riding for 22 hours a day and sleeping for 2. She completed the journey in 11 days. Lon Haldeman, one of the owners of PacTour, still holds the men's record for RAAM at just under 8 days. Several people on this tour are planning to do the P-B-P this year (it is only held once every 4 years). Most of the folks here have done at least one transcontinental bike trip already. I am truly among a bunch of long distance biking fanatics!
We have been in Montana now for 5 days, and when I look at a map, we are only halfway across the state west to east. Tomorrow we head south to Cody, Wyoming via Red Lodge, and then on Tuesday is the hardest day of the tour, our climb over the Bighorns.
106 miles. 1900 vertical feet
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Day 7: Butte to Bozeman
The first 2/3 of today's ride was just about perfect. The temperature was in the high 50's as we rolled out of Butte, and stayed less than 80 for much of the day. It rose after lunch, and was in the 90's by the time we finished. Butte is about a mile high, and Bozeman about 4300', so even though we climbed quite a bit today, we descended even more.
I can see why Montana is called The Big Sky State. It is an apt moniker. Early in the day today, I could see people in our group way ahead, looking like tiny ants crawling up the ribbon of highway. The views seem to go on forever.
After a warmup of 8 or so flat miles, we headed up Pipestone Pass on a lightly travelled road.....just some fat guys on Harleys and us. The last 1000 feet were fairly steep through pine forest mixed with scrubby deciduous trees. The summit was at 6400', and was the continental divide, so between now and West Virginia, all streams that we see will eventually make their way to the Mississippi. The descent off the pass way one of the most glorious that I have experienced; about a 3% downgrade, slight tailwind, great visibility (no sharp curves) and beautiful scenery.......I was able to go 30-35 mph for 8 miles.
We then headed into a broad valley with many hayfields and rolling hills. There were fewer trees at this point. Impressive mountains loomed in the distance. We had a delightful lunch along the Madison river, and later crossed the Gallitin river......these are 2 of the 3 forks that form the headwaters of the Missouri river, not far from here. The last 1/3 of the day had another steep climb in the 90 degree heat, and a not very scenic last 10 miles into Bozeman. Tonight a large group of us ate ribs and drank beer at a barbeque place.......perfect food to eat in Bozeman. It is a university town, nestled up against some nice mountains, not as nice as Missoula, but definitely nicer than Butte. It is a jumping off point for Yellowstone, which is only 80 or so miles away.
Tomorrow we spend most of the day on frontage roads that parallel I-90 on our way to the small town of Columbus. Then on Monday we head into Wyoming.
102 miles. 3600 vertical feet
I can see why Montana is called The Big Sky State. It is an apt moniker. Early in the day today, I could see people in our group way ahead, looking like tiny ants crawling up the ribbon of highway. The views seem to go on forever.
After a warmup of 8 or so flat miles, we headed up Pipestone Pass on a lightly travelled road.....just some fat guys on Harleys and us. The last 1000 feet were fairly steep through pine forest mixed with scrubby deciduous trees. The summit was at 6400', and was the continental divide, so between now and West Virginia, all streams that we see will eventually make their way to the Mississippi. The descent off the pass way one of the most glorious that I have experienced; about a 3% downgrade, slight tailwind, great visibility (no sharp curves) and beautiful scenery.......I was able to go 30-35 mph for 8 miles.
We then headed into a broad valley with many hayfields and rolling hills. There were fewer trees at this point. Impressive mountains loomed in the distance. We had a delightful lunch along the Madison river, and later crossed the Gallitin river......these are 2 of the 3 forks that form the headwaters of the Missouri river, not far from here. The last 1/3 of the day had another steep climb in the 90 degree heat, and a not very scenic last 10 miles into Bozeman. Tonight a large group of us ate ribs and drank beer at a barbeque place.......perfect food to eat in Bozeman. It is a university town, nestled up against some nice mountains, not as nice as Missoula, but definitely nicer than Butte. It is a jumping off point for Yellowstone, which is only 80 or so miles away.
Tomorrow we spend most of the day on frontage roads that parallel I-90 on our way to the small town of Columbus. Then on Monday we head into Wyoming.
102 miles. 3600 vertical feet
Friday, July 20, 2007
Day 6: Missoula to Butte
I thought I was in big trouble this morning. The weather report (one way you know you are on a cross country ride is that the TV station you watch the most is The Weather Channel...) on Butte predicted 20-30 mph winds in the afternoon, and when I looked at our route, it looked like it would be a direct headwind. We left Missoula under grey, threatening skies, and actually got a few raindrops, but soon turned sharply south and east, away from the clouds. Temperature was in the 60's, but that didn't last.....by the time we rolled into Butte later in the day, it was back in the 90's. Montana is in the midst of a severe drought, so the locals are not pleased by this unseasonably hot weather (it is usually in the low 80's).
We started on a pleasant backroad for the first 15 miles, then had to do another stint on I-90. The countryside was gradually becoming more arid as we moved farther away from the westernmost part of Montana.....very pretty, with sparse pine forests....it reminded me of the central Oregon landscapes around Sunriver.
I-90 goes directly to Butte, but after 50 miles we veered sharply south onto route 1, the "Pintler Scenic Route", whatever that is. Whereas I-90 stays fairly level all the way to Butte, we could see significant mountains looming on the horizon of rte.1, that we had to go over. We began a steady ascent, so that by lunchtime we had climbed from the 2600 foot level of Missoula up to 5000 feet. After lunch, the real work of the day began. We had about 6 relatively flat miles to digest our food, then a steep 8% grade started and continued for 3 miles. It was quite beautiful, with jagged rocks and one very nice waterfall. The summit was at 6300', so my kidneys got goosed to secrete a little more erythropoetin. I can use a few more red cells 4 days from now, when we take on the bighorn mountains in northeast Wyoming, and cross one pass at 9500'.
At the top, the road stayed level for 5 or so miles, then the descent began. I assumed I was going to get nailed at any moment by the predicted headwinds, but they never fully materialized. After another 20 miles, I snaked through Anaconda (sorry......couldn't resist....), which is sort of a sad place.......many small tidy houses but obviously a poor town. One can see the smelter chimney of the town's mine about 10 miles away.......it must be 20 stories tall, and is surrounded by an unsightly slag heap.
By the time I arrived at the last rest stop, the wind was starting to pick up. It was still 25 miles to Butte, and there was no way I was going to do that alone. Fortunately about 5 minutes later the clydesdale showed up, and we did a mini pace line the rest of the way in.
Poor Butte doesn't have much going for it. The spelling would be more accurate without the "e". Its chief visual feature is a giant open pit mine that abuts the downtown center. It is quite a bit browner that the other parts of Montana that we have seen. My last time in Butte was in 1972, when I drove home to Oregon across the country with my sister, Anne. My ancient volvo broke down on the eastern slope of the continental divide, and we had to be towed over the pass into Butte, where we were taken to Knievel Motors, run by the daredevil Evel's father. Because this happened on the 4th of July, we were forced to spend an unplanned day in Butte. The town hasn't changed much since then. I had dinner tonight in a local family restaurant. When I inquired about wine choices, I was told there were 2: "burgundy and white zinfandel". I ordered lemonade.
There is a family from Texas on the ride.....43 yr.old parents and 2 teenage boys, age 14 and 15. Sometimes the boys look like this might not exactly be their idea of a perfect summer vacation. Today, just 100 yards after leaving the motel in Missoula, the dad and one of the boys ran a red light and got pulled over by a cop. They got off with a warning, but it was definitely not a great start to their day.
I'm managing to stay flexible and limber; the pilates and yoga classes that I have done have been most helpful. I do "cat" and "cow" stretches on the bike, and when I am in a tucked position down on my aerobars, it is the cycling equivalent of a Child's Pose. In the "Too Much Information" department, I've discovered a great product called Chamois Butter, which seems to work wonders when applied to certain tender body areas. I had another massage tonight, which was most excellent.
Tomorrow we ride to Bozeman over the 6400' Pipestone pass, which is the continental divide.
137 miles. 5400 vertical feet.
We started on a pleasant backroad for the first 15 miles, then had to do another stint on I-90. The countryside was gradually becoming more arid as we moved farther away from the westernmost part of Montana.....very pretty, with sparse pine forests....it reminded me of the central Oregon landscapes around Sunriver.
I-90 goes directly to Butte, but after 50 miles we veered sharply south onto route 1, the "Pintler Scenic Route", whatever that is. Whereas I-90 stays fairly level all the way to Butte, we could see significant mountains looming on the horizon of rte.1, that we had to go over. We began a steady ascent, so that by lunchtime we had climbed from the 2600 foot level of Missoula up to 5000 feet. After lunch, the real work of the day began. We had about 6 relatively flat miles to digest our food, then a steep 8% grade started and continued for 3 miles. It was quite beautiful, with jagged rocks and one very nice waterfall. The summit was at 6300', so my kidneys got goosed to secrete a little more erythropoetin. I can use a few more red cells 4 days from now, when we take on the bighorn mountains in northeast Wyoming, and cross one pass at 9500'.
At the top, the road stayed level for 5 or so miles, then the descent began. I assumed I was going to get nailed at any moment by the predicted headwinds, but they never fully materialized. After another 20 miles, I snaked through Anaconda (sorry......couldn't resist....), which is sort of a sad place.......many small tidy houses but obviously a poor town. One can see the smelter chimney of the town's mine about 10 miles away.......it must be 20 stories tall, and is surrounded by an unsightly slag heap.
By the time I arrived at the last rest stop, the wind was starting to pick up. It was still 25 miles to Butte, and there was no way I was going to do that alone. Fortunately about 5 minutes later the clydesdale showed up, and we did a mini pace line the rest of the way in.
Poor Butte doesn't have much going for it. The spelling would be more accurate without the "e". Its chief visual feature is a giant open pit mine that abuts the downtown center. It is quite a bit browner that the other parts of Montana that we have seen. My last time in Butte was in 1972, when I drove home to Oregon across the country with my sister, Anne. My ancient volvo broke down on the eastern slope of the continental divide, and we had to be towed over the pass into Butte, where we were taken to Knievel Motors, run by the daredevil Evel's father. Because this happened on the 4th of July, we were forced to spend an unplanned day in Butte. The town hasn't changed much since then. I had dinner tonight in a local family restaurant. When I inquired about wine choices, I was told there were 2: "burgundy and white zinfandel". I ordered lemonade.
There is a family from Texas on the ride.....43 yr.old parents and 2 teenage boys, age 14 and 15. Sometimes the boys look like this might not exactly be their idea of a perfect summer vacation. Today, just 100 yards after leaving the motel in Missoula, the dad and one of the boys ran a red light and got pulled over by a cop. They got off with a warning, but it was definitely not a great start to their day.
I'm managing to stay flexible and limber; the pilates and yoga classes that I have done have been most helpful. I do "cat" and "cow" stretches on the bike, and when I am in a tucked position down on my aerobars, it is the cycling equivalent of a Child's Pose. In the "Too Much Information" department, I've discovered a great product called Chamois Butter, which seems to work wonders when applied to certain tender body areas. I had another massage tonight, which was most excellent.
Tomorrow we ride to Bozeman over the 6400' Pipestone pass, which is the continental divide.
137 miles. 5400 vertical feet.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Day 5: Thompson Falls to Missoula
Today was great, in a word. I had my strongest ride so far, and I felt like I could easily have gone another 50 miles when I got to Missoula. The searing heat, which had been our steady companion ever since Stevens Pass, took a day off today. The temperature was about 68 when we started and was still in the 70's by lunchtime. It eventually went up to 90 but by that time I was done riding for the day. Intermittent thunderstorms were predicted for both yesterday and today, so I carried my rain jacket in one of my jersey pockets as a talisman against getting wet. It worked. So I'll carry the jacket again tomorrow.
The scenery today was not as breathtakingly beautiful as yesterday, but the first half of the ride was very nice as we pedalled along the Clark Fork river, then turned south through a pretty canyon to the little town of St. Regis, which is on I-90. Several places along this first part looked like they could be movie sets for "A River Runs Through It".......I kept looking for Brad Pitt flyfishing on the shore. After St. Regis, we basically rode on I-90, or took a variety of frontage roads all the way to Missoula. I usually dread riding on interstate highways, not so much because of the cars and trucks roaring past, but more because of the debris on the shoulder. One must do a continual slalom to avoid glass, sharp metal objects, etc. But miraculously, the shoulders today were amazingly clean.
Yesterday, for whatever reason, I ended up doing the last 12 miles after lunch by myself, in 95 degree heat into a 10-15 mph headwind. It was not fun. Because the forecast was for more headwinds, I made sure this time that I left with some strong riders. Headwinds are extremely frustrating, because you can put out 20 mph worth of effort but only attain a "ground speed" of 13 mph or so. Aeronautical engineers have figured out that only winds in the 120 degree sector directly behind a cyclist are helpful; everything else is detrimental. So 2/3 of the time, wind is bad.
So I formed a paceline with Peter, a yacht appraiser from Maryland, and Shaun, an English banker, and the Clydesdale, and we roared down the road together. It turned out there was either a slight tailwind, or no wind, most of the day. After 100 miles Shaun couldn't keep up the pace and fell back, and at 115 miles Peter had to slow down. But the clydesdale and I kept up the pace and got to the Motel first, well ahead of the baggage truck. We averaged almost 20 mph over the 136 miles, despite climbing 4000 vertical feet.
Today is the first day that I sense a conditioning effect from all the riding I've done so far. It is as if my body had resigned itself to the fact that it will be called upon to do this daily for some time. I did have some leg cramps in the 105 degree heat going into Wenatchee on day 1, but none since. Muscular soreness has pretty much disappeared. Pactour veterans of the Northern Transcontinental say that if you can make it to Missoula feeling well, then you will do just fine on the remainder of the tour. I hope they're right.
Tomorrow we ride to Butte mainly on backroads, often on route 1 through Drummond, Phillipsburg, and Anaconda. Montana is a huge state; it will take us 5 days to get across it.
136 miles. 4000 vertical feet
The scenery today was not as breathtakingly beautiful as yesterday, but the first half of the ride was very nice as we pedalled along the Clark Fork river, then turned south through a pretty canyon to the little town of St. Regis, which is on I-90. Several places along this first part looked like they could be movie sets for "A River Runs Through It".......I kept looking for Brad Pitt flyfishing on the shore. After St. Regis, we basically rode on I-90, or took a variety of frontage roads all the way to Missoula. I usually dread riding on interstate highways, not so much because of the cars and trucks roaring past, but more because of the debris on the shoulder. One must do a continual slalom to avoid glass, sharp metal objects, etc. But miraculously, the shoulders today were amazingly clean.
Yesterday, for whatever reason, I ended up doing the last 12 miles after lunch by myself, in 95 degree heat into a 10-15 mph headwind. It was not fun. Because the forecast was for more headwinds, I made sure this time that I left with some strong riders. Headwinds are extremely frustrating, because you can put out 20 mph worth of effort but only attain a "ground speed" of 13 mph or so. Aeronautical engineers have figured out that only winds in the 120 degree sector directly behind a cyclist are helpful; everything else is detrimental. So 2/3 of the time, wind is bad.
So I formed a paceline with Peter, a yacht appraiser from Maryland, and Shaun, an English banker, and the Clydesdale, and we roared down the road together. It turned out there was either a slight tailwind, or no wind, most of the day. After 100 miles Shaun couldn't keep up the pace and fell back, and at 115 miles Peter had to slow down. But the clydesdale and I kept up the pace and got to the Motel first, well ahead of the baggage truck. We averaged almost 20 mph over the 136 miles, despite climbing 4000 vertical feet.
Today is the first day that I sense a conditioning effect from all the riding I've done so far. It is as if my body had resigned itself to the fact that it will be called upon to do this daily for some time. I did have some leg cramps in the 105 degree heat going into Wenatchee on day 1, but none since. Muscular soreness has pretty much disappeared. Pactour veterans of the Northern Transcontinental say that if you can make it to Missoula feeling well, then you will do just fine on the remainder of the tour. I hope they're right.
Tomorrow we ride to Butte mainly on backroads, often on route 1 through Drummond, Phillipsburg, and Anaconda. Montana is a huge state; it will take us 5 days to get across it.
136 miles. 4000 vertical feet
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Day 4: Sandpoint to Thompson Falls, MT
Today was the most beautiful day so far. We were in view of water, either a lake or a river, virtually the entire way. The temperature was actually in the high 60's when we started off at 7:30, and stayed in the 70's for the morning, but then the mercury soared up to 100 by the end of the ride. Most of the climbs today were relatively mellow 3 and 4% grades, so our knees all got a break.
We left Sandpoint on a congested road, but soon took a turnoff that went around the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille for 20 miles. It is a beautiful large lake surrounded by steep forested hills, with numerous little inlets and bays. It reminded me a bit of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy (minus, obviously, the trendy lakeside trattorias and luxury villas...), or the lake district in southern Chile.
One of the great things about the Pactour folks that are running this ride is their ability to find small, untravelled backroads. After leaving the lake, we turned on to one such road, and stole into Montana soon thereafter, without any welcoming sign. Such roads often have less than perfect tarmac, but that is a fair trade for being free of cars.
We then headed through the small town of Clarks Fork, and rode along the Clark Fork river all the way into Thompson Falls. I wondered if Sacajawea had led the Corps of Discovery through this very area long ago. Thompson Falls is a pretty little place nestled between two high forested ridges. Our motel is quite rustic, but clean, and is the only dining option nearby. Gourmet food it is not, but we were all able to "strap on the feedbag" to prepare for tomorrow. We're now on Mountain time, so we lose an hour of sleep tonight.
When I got to my room, I noticed that my blackberry had no reception. I thus figured that there was no way that this tiny burg would have WiFi but I tried anyway, and lo and behold, the internet is alive and well in Thompson Falls!
I can listen to KING FM on my laptop, and read the NY Times on line (I doubt if there is a paper copy of the NYT within 100 miles of here), which yesterday had an interesting piece in the Science Times called the Bicycling Paradox.......an analysis of why some apparently out of shape large people can be effective cyclists. This tour has lots of grey hair, a few pot bellies, and, to be honest, a few people that look like they shouldn't be here. But I'm impressed; they all slog away and finish the ride every day so far. More power to them.
A special thanks to all the Seattle Chamber Music Society board members who are making pledges to the society in support of my ride. Your response has been very gratifying!
Tomorrow is another long day, about 135 miles to Missoula, via the small town of St. Regis. Unfortunately we will have to ride on I-90 for several short stretches, because there are no options.
86 miles today. 2500 vertical feet
We left Sandpoint on a congested road, but soon took a turnoff that went around the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille for 20 miles. It is a beautiful large lake surrounded by steep forested hills, with numerous little inlets and bays. It reminded me a bit of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy (minus, obviously, the trendy lakeside trattorias and luxury villas...), or the lake district in southern Chile.
One of the great things about the Pactour folks that are running this ride is their ability to find small, untravelled backroads. After leaving the lake, we turned on to one such road, and stole into Montana soon thereafter, without any welcoming sign. Such roads often have less than perfect tarmac, but that is a fair trade for being free of cars.
We then headed through the small town of Clarks Fork, and rode along the Clark Fork river all the way into Thompson Falls. I wondered if Sacajawea had led the Corps of Discovery through this very area long ago. Thompson Falls is a pretty little place nestled between two high forested ridges. Our motel is quite rustic, but clean, and is the only dining option nearby. Gourmet food it is not, but we were all able to "strap on the feedbag" to prepare for tomorrow. We're now on Mountain time, so we lose an hour of sleep tonight.
When I got to my room, I noticed that my blackberry had no reception. I thus figured that there was no way that this tiny burg would have WiFi but I tried anyway, and lo and behold, the internet is alive and well in Thompson Falls!
I can listen to KING FM on my laptop, and read the NY Times on line (I doubt if there is a paper copy of the NYT within 100 miles of here), which yesterday had an interesting piece in the Science Times called the Bicycling Paradox.......an analysis of why some apparently out of shape large people can be effective cyclists. This tour has lots of grey hair, a few pot bellies, and, to be honest, a few people that look like they shouldn't be here. But I'm impressed; they all slog away and finish the ride every day so far. More power to them.
A special thanks to all the Seattle Chamber Music Society board members who are making pledges to the society in support of my ride. Your response has been very gratifying!
Tomorrow is another long day, about 135 miles to Missoula, via the small town of St. Regis. Unfortunately we will have to ride on I-90 for several short stretches, because there are no options.
86 miles today. 2500 vertical feet
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Day 3: Spokane to Sandpoint, ID
What a difference a day makes! The hot weather was taking its toll yesterday. One of the staff rode yesterday and developed early heat stroke, and needed to be transported the last 10 miles by car. Today the temperature stayed in the high 80's the whole day, which was a welcome relief. That, combined with the shorter mileage, made for a pleasant day. I have been this far on a bicycle on previous trips, but from now on, it is all new territory for me.
We got to sleep in a bit, and left Spokane about 8 a.m. We took a circuitous route right through the middle of town, then back to our old friend, Route 2, that we had been on for 300 miles already. We headed north through pretty pine forest, up to the town of Newport. There were multiple long steady 2% uphill grades, which should have been no problem, but there was a 10 mph headwind that made progress difficult. After Newport, we crossed the Pend Oreille river into Idaho. After riding for several miles on a somewhat unpleasantly busy road, we came to the town of Priest River, and turned on to a very nice backroad that borders a huge lake. After a great lunch of grilled hamburgers in a state park, we only had 12 more miles to go into Sandpoint. We crossed Lake Pend Oreille on a 2 mile bridge; it is really a beautiful lake. I arrived about 2 p.m., compared to 5 p.m. last night.
Sandpoint seems to be a rather upscale place, filled with rich-appearing tourists. My first clue was a large Starbuck's just as you enter town. It is a pretty place, right on the lake and just minutes from a major ski area. Idaho drivers don't seem terribly friendly towards cyclists.......one of the women riders almost got run off the road today by one particularly nasty driver. Lots of pickups with gun racks. It looks like there aren't many democrats around here....
I've found a few people to form pacelines with. One is a guy named Kurt from Arkansas, who is using this bike ride to train for triathlons. Because he weighs about 225 lbs., he is in the "clydesdale" division of triathlons. He isn't very fast going uphill, but on the flat it is great to be in the slipstream of a Clydesdale!
I had dinner tonight with a couple of guys from Australia, who are both hilarious. I think it must be a requirement for citizenship in Australia to be a standup comic. One of them had broken his hip 2 years ago in a bike accident, so we had plenty to talk about.
Tomorrow we go around Lake Pend Oreille, then head south on route 200, into Montana, to Thompson Falls. About 86 miles. The forecast is a 30% chance of thundershowers, but probably not until later in the day.
I missed a turn on the cue sheet today so I ended up doing a few extra miles.
89 miles. 2900 vertical feet.
We got to sleep in a bit, and left Spokane about 8 a.m. We took a circuitous route right through the middle of town, then back to our old friend, Route 2, that we had been on for 300 miles already. We headed north through pretty pine forest, up to the town of Newport. There were multiple long steady 2% uphill grades, which should have been no problem, but there was a 10 mph headwind that made progress difficult. After Newport, we crossed the Pend Oreille river into Idaho. After riding for several miles on a somewhat unpleasantly busy road, we came to the town of Priest River, and turned on to a very nice backroad that borders a huge lake. After a great lunch of grilled hamburgers in a state park, we only had 12 more miles to go into Sandpoint. We crossed Lake Pend Oreille on a 2 mile bridge; it is really a beautiful lake. I arrived about 2 p.m., compared to 5 p.m. last night.
Sandpoint seems to be a rather upscale place, filled with rich-appearing tourists. My first clue was a large Starbuck's just as you enter town. It is a pretty place, right on the lake and just minutes from a major ski area. Idaho drivers don't seem terribly friendly towards cyclists.......one of the women riders almost got run off the road today by one particularly nasty driver. Lots of pickups with gun racks. It looks like there aren't many democrats around here....
I've found a few people to form pacelines with. One is a guy named Kurt from Arkansas, who is using this bike ride to train for triathlons. Because he weighs about 225 lbs., he is in the "clydesdale" division of triathlons. He isn't very fast going uphill, but on the flat it is great to be in the slipstream of a Clydesdale!
I had dinner tonight with a couple of guys from Australia, who are both hilarious. I think it must be a requirement for citizenship in Australia to be a standup comic. One of them had broken his hip 2 years ago in a bike accident, so we had plenty to talk about.
Tomorrow we go around Lake Pend Oreille, then head south on route 200, into Montana, to Thompson Falls. About 86 miles. The forecast is a 30% chance of thundershowers, but probably not until later in the day.
I missed a turn on the cue sheet today so I ended up doing a few extra miles.
89 miles. 2900 vertical feet.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Day 2: Wenatchee to Spokane
Long hard day today. By the numbers, this will be one of the hardest days of the tour. An occasional headwind, and temperatures in the high 90's for most of the day, made for a particularly difficult ride.
We had breakfast in the parking lot of our Wenatchee motel, then left a little after 6 a.m. After a series of rollers for 15 miles along the Columbia River, we turned right and began the Orondo Grade, which I had just done 2 weeks ago on a training ride. It winds uphill in a narrow desert canyon, and rises 2100 feet in 6 miles (steep!), before giving way to the broad expanse of the eastern Washington high desert. Waterville is the first town one comes to; it is a time warp place that looks like it is stuck in the 1930's. After a rest stop there, we started a bleak 42 mile stretch that has absolutely nothing commercial.....no gas stations, no restaurants, no stores.......no nothing! Only an occasional farmhouse, with lots of wheatfields and even more sagebrush. About 20 miles into this stretch is a 4 mile steep descent into the Moses Coulee, a giant slash in the earth created by a retreating glacier in the last ice age. It is starkly beautiful and a quintessential "wild west" landscape........I half expected to see John Wayne and the U.S cavalry pursuing a band of Apaches. Nice descent down, but then we had to climb back out for 7 miles.
At mile 87 we had a nice lunch at the town park of the tiny hamlet of Almira. For the last 75 miles into Spokane, it was one long roller after another, each looking just like the one before. By this time the temperature was in the 90's. Some riders had had enough by then, and got sagged the rest of the way to the motel. I arrived a little before 5 p.m., after about 9 1/2 hours in the saddle. My back side is predictably a little sore, but otherwise I seem to be OK. I'm consuming about 12 liters of fluid per day....no significant dehydration problems yet.
Tomorrow is a relative "day off".....a mere 80 miles. I think the group is looking forward to that.
162 miles. 6700 vertical feet climbed
We had breakfast in the parking lot of our Wenatchee motel, then left a little after 6 a.m. After a series of rollers for 15 miles along the Columbia River, we turned right and began the Orondo Grade, which I had just done 2 weeks ago on a training ride. It winds uphill in a narrow desert canyon, and rises 2100 feet in 6 miles (steep!), before giving way to the broad expanse of the eastern Washington high desert. Waterville is the first town one comes to; it is a time warp place that looks like it is stuck in the 1930's. After a rest stop there, we started a bleak 42 mile stretch that has absolutely nothing commercial.....no gas stations, no restaurants, no stores.......no nothing! Only an occasional farmhouse, with lots of wheatfields and even more sagebrush. About 20 miles into this stretch is a 4 mile steep descent into the Moses Coulee, a giant slash in the earth created by a retreating glacier in the last ice age. It is starkly beautiful and a quintessential "wild west" landscape........I half expected to see John Wayne and the U.S cavalry pursuing a band of Apaches. Nice descent down, but then we had to climb back out for 7 miles.
At mile 87 we had a nice lunch at the town park of the tiny hamlet of Almira. For the last 75 miles into Spokane, it was one long roller after another, each looking just like the one before. By this time the temperature was in the 90's. Some riders had had enough by then, and got sagged the rest of the way to the motel. I arrived a little before 5 p.m., after about 9 1/2 hours in the saddle. My back side is predictably a little sore, but otherwise I seem to be OK. I'm consuming about 12 liters of fluid per day....no significant dehydration problems yet.
Tomorrow is a relative "day off".....a mere 80 miles. I think the group is looking forward to that.
162 miles. 6700 vertical feet climbed
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Day One: Everett to Wenatchee
So far, so good........We left Everett early this a.m at about 6:45 a.m. Even though no rain was predicted, it sprinkled a bit in the starting parking lot, just to remind us all that we were in western Washington. It was deliciously cool for the first 50 miles as we ground up Stevens Pass, temperature in the low 60's. After Skykomish, we took a route that I wasn't aware of. I have climbed Stevens Pass about 5 times, an there is a turnoff sign for the Iron Goat trail, which I had always thought to be a path, or a gravel road. Actually, it is a beautiful paved road that winds uphill in shaded forest, away from the busy route 2. Then later, we took the old Stevens Pass highway, which has been largely abandoned, but still passable for cyclists. I reached the top of the pass in about 5 hours, then began the long descent to Wenatchee. It should have been relatively effortless, and while it is indeed downhill, and although we had a tailwind sometimes, the temperature was a problem......it rose over 40 degrees in the next 40 miles, up to 105 degrees for the last 20 miles, which is unpleasant to ride in. I felt really good today......I was the first rider to get to the motel in Wenatchee. I averaged 17.6 mph which is pretty decent, considering the big climb up Stevens.
127 miles, 5600 vertical feet
127 miles, 5600 vertical feet
Sunday, July 8, 2007
North Cascades
On Friday July 6, Richard Wohns MD, MBA ( a business school classmate of mine) held his almost annual "Boys Night Out" in Mazama. Many of the attendees cycled over the North Cascades highway. I started in Marblemount, which has the last services for 75 miles. The first 15 miles wind along the Skagit river, which was particularly beautiful this year, a stunning emerald green with lots of whitewater. At the company town of Newhalem, the climb stiffens, and basically grinds uphill for 35 miles. I took plenty of water and made decent time, but about 10 miles short of the first summit, I got low on fluids. I looked longingly at each cool, refreshing stream that I passed, and I was tempted to refill my bottles, but I really didn't want to contract giardiasis just before a trip across the country! Fortunately I ran into a older fellow who had parked his RV to walk his dog, and he was able to fill my bottles. I got to the top of Rainy Pass, then descended a bit, then went up another 1000 vertical feet to Washington Pass (5400'). From there it was all downhill to Mazama, where a great steak dinner and Pinot Noir wine tasting awaited. Total of 75 miles and 6500 vertical feet.
My bike computer now says that I have done over 52,000 vertical feet in the last month, so I think I'm ready. I'll do a few short rides this week to get my legs loose, but basically rest up. Less than a week to go now until I leave......
My bike computer now says that I have done over 52,000 vertical feet in the last month, so I think I'm ready. I'll do a few short rides this week to get my legs loose, but basically rest up. Less than a week to go now until I leave......
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Training
Well, the start of my big ride is now only 10 days away. I'm pushing my weekly mileage up to over 300 miles, which I hope will be enough. Last week, I rode from Everett to Wenatchee over Stevens Pass, and the next day did a long loop in the central Washington desert that included the Orondo grade. a six mile 6% climb. Yesterday I rode from Mukilteo through Stanwood and La Conner to Deception Pass, then all the way down Whidbey Island. I'll do a few more big rides, then rest for the five days or so before the start.
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