Sunday, June 30, 2013

June 30

June 30, 2013

Odds and ends from yesterday.  Jack and I ended up at a coffee shop called Sweetgrass Market.  Wanted to mention Vanessa, the owner, who was interested in our trip.  She thought I was the more handsome brother.   Her mom worked there with her.  When I walked up to the shop, Jack was already there making friends.  He was hanging out with Rosalyn, a local girl who just was hanging out in town riding her bike everywhere.   I think Jack has some political aspirations.  He has been kissing hands and shaking babies the entire trip.

After cleaning up dishes last night, we noticed a flat on the van.  One of the tires had wire showing, not a  good thing.  Tire place in town not opened on Sunday and already closed for the day on Saturday.  Guy in Shell station said to go to Steamboat Springs on Sunday.  Put donut tire on.

Night in the park featured a lot of activity after we went to  beddy bye.  Music and cars and just noise.  Jack had mentioned that the Aurora was scheduled to occur during the night.  Jeff woke up during the night.  Saw what looked like lightning in lower horizon but thinking that it could be the Aurora..Woke everyone up to see the show.  All who knew what an Aurora should look like decided that it was lightning.  All back to bed.  False alarm.

Morning ride began around 6:15.  Jerry and Sue went to Steamboat and Jack and Jeff went on to attack Willow Pass.  Our ride was mostly climbing gradually up hill.  I don’t think we saw a car in our direction for the first 10 miles.  Even early in the morning with no people around, all we saw was a jack rabbit ( I don’t  know why it couldn’t be a jeff rabbit), some ravens, and cows of course.  Not really a wildlife show.  Ran into our new friends, Nina and Stephan.  They are headed for the same destination we are, Kremmling.  Climb up the pass was beautiful through the mountains.  It was very gradual, and when we got to the sign that said Continental Divide, elevation 9,672, we were shocked that we were already at the top.  Hallelujah!!!  Ride down was fantastic.  Not as steep as some descents, so we could enjoy the scenery.  Followed a mountain stream all the way down.  No aminals.  Hard to believe.  We ran into Jerry and Sue at Sulphur Springs.  Tire place in Steamboat not opened on Sunday.  On the way, Jerry and Sue got  delayed by a herd of 60-70 cattle crossing the road.  This has happened to Sue several tilmes.  Cowboys and cowgirls directing the cattle drive.  We headed to the Old Glory Café for some coffee and pancakes.  Old Glory had something very special in the men’s restroom, a toilet seat with fly fisherman lures.  Sue said she has seen one before.  I need to get out more.  All the coffee mugs were different which again I had never seen before.  Jack got a Christmas mug and Jerry got the “Number One Dad” mug.  Pancakes were good but not as big as some we have had.  As we left café, Jeff noticed another flat, this time on his bike.  I think I had hit a Barney rumble strip just before the café.  Jack changed the princess’s tire again.  Jack is getting really fast at changing tires.  He is the best tire changer ever.  MVTC.

Jerry joined us for the remainder of the ride to Kremmling.   We saw  some alpacas on the way.   At an RV Park, showers again.  Nice little town.  Even has a Subway.  Tomorrow, we attempt to get tire changed in Kremmling and then head for our next destination, Frisco.  We go uphill most of the entire day.  We are going to meet Sue’s cousin there for dinner.  Short day tomorrow with the major climg which continues the next day.

Movie note.  Jack  needs to watch Groundhog Day.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

Saturday, June 29, 2013

June 27 & 28 - Jeff


Did not do an entry yesterday. Very strange day.  The night before, I asked Jack what time we were starting the next day, and he said about 8:00.  And they call me the Princess.  Anyway, he is up and atem at about 7:00 and doesn’t wake me up.  He instructed me that 8:00 means7:00 in camping.  Anyway, we got off a little later than usual.  We left Landor and headed toward Muddy Gap.  There is nothing between Landor and Muddy Gap. No coffee today.  Scenery was a different kind of purdy.  Nothing outstanding, just typical of what you would expect the West to look like.  Prairie land and a lot of desolate areas. Kind of like a moon landscape.   But still very purdy.  Ran into some  gentlemen heading West along the same trail and they gave us some info about what is ahead of us.  Not all good stuff, but they did recommend a place to stay in Latimore.  We continued onto our destination of Muddy Gap.  We got there and there is not a place to stay.  So we rode 10 miles more to a place called Latimore which those guys talked about.  Well, words cannot describe what we found.  Either they bamboozled us or we go the wrong message.  The place was a like a garbage dump.  Shtuff all over the place.  Some lady lived there by herself and had been trying to clear the place out for four years.  Cannot get a dumpster delivered.  Sue got there first.  The lady told her not to camp in certain places because there were rattlers.  She had a bunk house and an outhouse with a skyview.  Sue has pictures.  Needless to say.  We moved on.  Our next option for a campsite was in Rawlins, about 30 miles away.  The road between Latimore and Rawlins had construction that “those guys” said was not really passable by bike.  Not safe.  So we racked up the bikes and rode through the construction using good discretion and got a place in Rawlins, a city of almost 9,500.  We stayed in an RV Park, but we didn’t get there until about 6:00.  A long day.  We were whupped again, so we decided to go out and eat rather than cook.  Went to a place called Bucks, where everything on the menu had the word “Bucks” in it.  It was a Wyoming décor and had menus that were 24 inches by 14 inches.  Food was good.  Back to the campsite around 9:15.  All went to bed.  Very windy at night but no rain.  Total of about 85 miles today.

On the 28th, we left around 7:10 headed for Riverside, total of 60 miles.  We got to our campsite in Riverside about 12:20.  Like an offday.  Population 52.  But they have two cafes, an RV Park, a grocery/hardware store, and a church.  Not sure how 52 people support all the services.  The place was recommended by a guy we met going West from New Joisey.  He was alone and unsupported headed for San Diego.  Twenty-five years old.  Just winging it.  We met him at our coffee stop in Saratoga at Lollipops.  Also there was a girl from Portland traveling alone with her dog who had a basket on the front of her bike.  No she was not really from Kansas.  Ride was pretty good.   Saw some antelope and some white pelicans flying in formation.  They are black and white; and when they turn, they disappear.  Jack couldn’t see the pelicans and will to his grave say that I was making it up.  I’m sure Jack’s family will find this hard to believe.  Our day at the campsite included naps, beers at the café, trip to the hardware store, and of course dinner.  Jack made some friends at the café.  He had a book out on the table he was reading.   A young motorcyclist walked by and said he had done a book report on that book.  Jack got into a reading conversation and another motorcyclist who did not fit the typical reader type (like I am) chimed in that he had read the same book and recommended another book entitled “Stumbling Upon Happiness”.  New book club in the works it sounds like.  Tomorrow, we head to Waldon to see if Ralph is still at the pond. 

Odds and ends.  There was a city near the Tetons where lot of moose have been sighted.  Guess what they call it?  You guessed it, Moose.  A black bird with an orange head.  An orange headed black bird.  Jimmy Durante came up today.  Again, Jack had no clue.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Happiness is... Jerry

“Happiness is…”
…Riding downhill, with a tailwind, under blue skies, on a road with a good shoulder and little traffic, through some of the most breathtaking scenery in Wyoming…  I think the ride today was one that I have never experienced and maybe never will again.  We headed 20 miles uphill over Togwoyee Pass, a major climb, the highest we have done, but the grade was never more than about 6%, and we had the Tetons in view behind us, then down and down and down to Dubois, hardly ever having to peddle, then on with the tailwind to Crowheart, about 60 miles through amazing mountains, red rock canyons,  and Badlands-type colored hills, following the Wind River.  The tailwinds continued on another few miles, then we faced about 20 miles of crosswinds and headwinds that were extremely brutal and dangerous, at times almost causing us to lose control, until we got to Ft. Washaki.  Then the final 15 or so were more gentle to Lander, where we finished the day with about 125 miles, maybe the most I have ever done.   Sue met us along the way several times, giving us a chance to reload water bottles and shed the cold weather gear we started out with (I’d say it was about 38 degrees at the start, colder maybe at the Pass, but then sunny and hot at the end of the day).    Side note about Crowheart:  years ago I read in a book Roadside Geology of Wyoming, that Chief Washaki, who was chief of the Shoshone, engaged in  a battle with the rival Crow indians.  During the battle, he reportedly cut out the heart of the Crow chief and ate it.  Later, he became a great leader who sought to establish peace with the white settlers in a fair and reasonable manner for the best interests of both groups.  When asked late in his life about the incident with the Crow, his response was “Youth does foolish things.”

June 26

Rained again last.  Tents got wet again.  No rain in the morning.  Thirty-five degrees when we left and 91 when we finished in the afternoon.  Pretty hot.  Sometimes you get what you wish for.  We were tired of the cold, but…Our morning began with a climb up Togwotee Pass, 9,658 feet.  Not too bad.  Good grade 2-6% the entire way.   We were thanking the engineers who did the excavating of the road.  Great shoulders so far in Wyoming.  Got to the top and made our way down to the Lava Mountain Lodge where we had coffee.  Very cool place.  Had great accommodations if you ever venture out here.  Cool bar and nice people.  And popcorn. Jack finally got his popcorn fix.  They made popcorn for him at 8:30 in the morning.  We saw some mooses before we got there.  Jack saw a deer and a porcupine having a little turf battle on the side of the road.  Of course, being the teacher, Jack broke it up.

Mr. Sun came up too, to warm things up.  Made our way through Dubois and met a tailwind.  Bicyclists have never met a tailwind they didn’t like.  We had a tailwind for more than 60 miles.  We were flying, hardly peddlin’ hitting 20-25 miles per hour.  We were going through the Painted Hills.  If you have never seen them, look them up on the Internet.  Imagine riding a bike through them for about 20 miles.  Then we rode through some terrain that had red rock, unbelievable.  It seems just when it can’t get any better, you turn a corner and voila, more good shtuff.  We stooped for lunch at Crowheart.  Met group of bikers heading west.  Had some great conversation with them about what to except in our future rides.

Well, all good things must come to an end.  The tailwind ended when we turned onto route 287.  Brutal.  Really slow going.  At times, the wind almost blew our bikes over while we were riding.  I was going down a hill and my bike kept drifting into the other lane.  We got to our destination, Fort Washakie and Jack got his second flat tire.  No camping at Fort Washakie and besides it seemed a little questionable.  So we had to go to the next location down the road, Lander, population 7500.  Even has a McDonald’s.  RV Park not as nice as others we have stayed at.  Not safe to drop soap in shower.   We have seen some very odd places, but this may be at the    top of list. But we have our tents up.  Anyway, by having top go further, we ended up doing 128 miles and not getting to the site until about 4:30.  So tonight will be a shorter entry.  I am whupped.    But no rain in forecast.  Warm weather ahead.  We decided to sleep in tomorrow and get a later start after today’s longer ride.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

June 25 - Jeff's post

June 25, 2013

Last night we had to eat out.  Rained again.  Could not cook outside.  Ate at the Lake House that sits on Yellowstone Lake.  Beautiful lake in the sunshine.  Rained again during the night.  Tents all wet again.  In fact, it is raining again here in Wyoming where we are tonight.  I am sitting in the laundry room doing this.

Today, we left about 6:30 in the cold and there was a drizzle still.  We headed out of Yellowstone on a 21 mile ride.  Saw no wildlife, but a great falls, Lewis Falls.  Second falls we have seen.  We saw Gibbon Falls the night before.  Jack says he heard there are almost 300 falls in the park but only a few are accessible to tourists.  We have seen some bald eagles and elk, but no moose’s.  Everybody has seen a bison except for me.  I think they should have a little zoo like thing where people like me can see animals we did not see while in the park.  Just before the South Entrance, we rode past Lewis Lake.  We rode through Lewis Canyon.  Looked like the Grand Canyon.  Got out of the park and had coffee at a place I think it was called Flag Ranch, about 2 miles outside of the South Entrance.  A little too nice for us but coffee was good. They had pictures of bear, bison, a moose.  So that took care of me.   Soon thereafter, we had to wait for a herd of elk to cross the road.  About  a dozen.  Had a pretty good ride after that along roads with good shoulder until we came upon a construction zone where they were repaving.  They would not let us ride through the construction zone.  We had to have our bikes loaded into a pickup and they drove us to the end of the construction zone.  Whole process took about 30-40 minutes.  Soon thereafter, Jerry proceeded on to meet Sue at the RV Park and Jack and I took a detour to the Tetons.  It was about a 30 mile total detour, but it was well worth it.  Those of you that have witnessed the “big boys” know what I am talking about.  Very impressive.  Jenny Lake is at the base of the Tetons.  Another beautiful lake.  Can’t tell you the feeling you have riding along a road on a bike and having those mountains just sitting there while you are riding on the rim of the lake.    While we had lunch, we sat with a couple from Australia.  They come to the US every year for several months and travel around in a 37 foot RV.  When they get done with their trip, they store the RV and go back to Australia and pick up on their trip the next year where they left off.

Jack and I got to the campsite while Jerry and Sue were heading toward Jackson Hole.  Put up tents and proceeded into our evening routine.

All along our trip, we have been on roads and in areas that have historical landmarks that talk about Lewis and Clark. A lot of our trip has been along the Lewis and Clark Trail. For you history buffs, you know how important those two guys were.  For me and Jack, we had no idea.  Those guys don’t get the credit they are due.  There is a book called “Undaunted Courage” that Jerry has already read. If you need to get me a Christmas gift…….. He has kept us up to snuff on their travels and such.  Two amazing guys.  They did more to shape the West than anybody.  Jerry is like the Internet.  He knows all about Lewis and Clark, Yellowstone, the volcano in Yellowstone, and on and on.  They man is a walking encyclopedia.  Tomorrow we are heading toward two cities named after Indian chiefs and he was telling us the story how they got into a mano on mano scuffle.  Don’t know how he retains it all.

Tomorrow, we had for Fort Washake.  118 miles away.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

June 23-24 (Jeff's post)

June 23-24, 2013

Little addendum to the June 22nd blog entry.  Since we had not been out to eat in a while, we decided to treat ourselves to a meal in the town of Ennis.  We went to the Byrnee’s Sports Bar.  Had a good meal and Jerry and I had a beer.  I had a Lewis and Clark Ale and Jerry had a Scottish something.  Little darker.  Other beers we have sampled include Moose Drool and Trout Slayer.  All good.  Of  course we have our share of Fat Tires, Shock Top, and Hallo (?).  The Big Sky Brewery does ok.  Our waitress  was a 17 year veteran of the Air Force.  Just one of the interesting people we have met.  She said it will not be crowded in the restaurant on Saturday because there were three weddings in the town of 800.  On our walk through town we saw a guy carrying a snake skin into a saloon.  Not sure what was going on there.  We went back to RV campsite and hung out until beddy bye time.  RV Park had great facilities and showers again.

Got up early and left about 6:10 today, the 23rd.  Might be our coldest morning.  My hands were so  cold, I couldn’t get both hearing aids in.  Got about 5 miles out of Ennis and Jeff got his first flat tire, not a Fat Tire which I would rather  have had.  I am the novice/princess, and  my two cohorts changed my tire.  I will  have to buy a round for them.  Got back on our way riding into a huge headwind.  Felt like we were peddling in mud.  We continued in spite of it and fortunately, Mr. Sun appeared to make things warm.  If you can imagine riding with  beautiful mountain ranges on either side of us, that’s what we had.  Hard to describe how cool it is.  Our trail then took along this beautiful mountain stream.  Again words cannot do it justice.  We got to a rest stop where the sign said, “Water unsafe—high fluoride levels”.  Jack did not read sign and got some of the water.  But I don’t think he ever drank any of it.  I guess we’ll find out later.  Jerry said that there was a café about nine miles ahead.  He said he was going to take his time and that Jack and I should go ahead.  We did and stopped at the café for coffee and pancakes.  Coffee came and was tasty as usual.  Haven’t had a bad beer or bad cup of coffee yet.  Pancakes came to the table.  I ordered two and Jack ordered one.  Well, King Kong  couldn’t have eaten both of these pancakes.  At least  half to ¾ inches thick and 12 inches in diameter.  The guy at the register said he wishes he had a camera to capture the look on my face when I saw them.  And people who know me can appreciate that.  Anyway, I ate one and took the other with me to eat later. They did have a deal that if you  could eat three of them, they paid for them.  I told them they were lucky.  That if I didn’t have 40 more miles ahead of me, I would accept that challenge.   Anyway, still no Jerry.  We kept on,  beginning to worry about Jerry, but no way to contact him with no cell phone service.  We kept on heading for West Yellowstone where we thought maybe we could get hold of Sue to go back and make sure he was ok.  I’m sure you know how this ended.  We pull up into West Yellowstone and guess who we see standing in line to get coffee at a coffee shop?  The prototypical story of the Tortoise and the Hare.

Sue secured us a campsite in the Madison campground and made us a deeeellicious dinner.  Then we headed out to find ice cream and see some aminals.  We found neither, but we did see several places of hot springs.  They are very numerous in this part of the park.  Back to the campsite and off to bed.  Short ride tomorrow, about 30 miles down the  road to another campsite at Grant.

Monday morning, Jack got up early to ride his bike into town to pick up a package he sent himself.  He had been following it for some  time now .  It was supposed to be at the post office today.  He was going to meet us later.  Jerry and I moved on toward Grant after sleeping to almost 6:30.  Jerry made some oat meal and hot chocolate and off we went.  We met Sue at the café at Old Faithful.  We had coffee, Sue and Jerry had some breakfast,  and I had an ice cream sammich.  Then we  checked out the Yellowstone Lodge which those of you that have seen it know what a landmark it is.  We also were just in time to see Old Faithful do his/her thing.  Just like I remembered back in 1977 when I was here last.   Jerry and I left to head for Grant to meet  Sue.  We crossed the Continental Divide twice on our way.  Go figure.   At the second Divide we witnessed two drive-by shootings.  Not the gun type but the camera  type.   Tourists pulling up to the sign and taking a picture out of the window.

Nice, pretty easy, and most important of all, safe ride today.  Landed in Grant where Sue has secured a campsite.  Big treat tonight—showers, for $3.71. 


Jeff, Jerry, Jack and Sue

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Lowering Expectations (Jerry's post)

Several  days ago, we experienced rain for the first time, really, just before we got to Missoula.  I think the combination of the rain, and cold, heavy traffic conditions, and overall fatigue had an impact on me, and the next morning, I decided not to ride with Jack and Jeff as they headed south from Missoula.  So I slept in and joined Sue for the daily routine she has been following of grocery shopping, catching up with the riders, and searching for a campsite for the night.  It was hard to come to grips with the fact that I was not going to ride every mile of the trip, but I think it will be for the best if I can accept my limitations.  Anyway, Sue and I had an enjoyable day, and got a site at Sula.  There was a storm coming over the mountains, so we elected to get one of their small camper cabins for the night, since we had just dried out from the rain the previous few days.  The next morning I decided again not to start with Jack and Jeff, and  Sue and I caught up with them later in Wisdom where we had coffee and breakfast.  They had just come over Chief Joseph Pass which was our first crossing of the Continental Divide, and a major climb that I had avoided.  After breakfast, I decided to ride the rest of the day with them to our destination in Dillon.  So I wound up doing about 55, they did a little over a hundred.  Today the plan was for 70 to Ennis, and I felt up to the ride so left with them, and all went well.  Except, of  course, for the last 10 miles when Jeff and I got caught in a sleep/hail storm on top of the final pass before town, and we had to us our Lifeline - Sue came and rescued us.  (see Jeff's post below)  Anyway, the time off helped a lot, and that may be the pattern for the coming weeks.  If I need an extra day off, I will ride with Sue and hopefully be able to rejoin the ride later or the next day.  This is a bit of a disappointment to me, of course.  When I did the Appalachian Trail a few years ago, I was pretty committed to walking every step of the Trail, and I did it.  I had hoped to do the same here, but the situation is quite a bit different.  Tomorrow we will ride to Yellowstone, which is of course always a delight.  Hopefully we will see buffalo and elk and moose, and hopefully they will not find us threatening.  I'm not sure what the outcome would be of a race with a buffalo.

June 22 - Jeff

June 22, 2013

Left Dillon this morning about 6:10 headed for Ennis, Montana.  Trip of 74 miles.  Little chilly.  Rained during the night but dry in morning.  Pretty flat most of the morning.  Stopped for coffee in Twin Bridges at a place called the Wagon Wheel.  Got our pancakes and coffee in less than 10 minutes.  Unlike yesterday.   Jack thought it was the biggest pancake so far, and they had blueberry syrup.  Nice change of pace.   Wagon Wheel was very rustic like you would think most things in Montana are.  Made our way through Sheridan and Nevada City and then into Virginia City.  Both were   tourist traps.  Many of the buildings were shipped in.  Courthouse in Virginia City has evidently been used in several movies, but the lady telling me this did not know which ones, only that Steven Seagal was in one of them.  If you need anything poured, don’t ask Jack.  He had a pouring issue today.

Lot of dredging has occurred in Montana when they were looking for gold.  The remnants of this are still evident from the road.  Just piles and piles of rock where nothing can grow again.  Left for many years.  Some of the dredging yielded gems called garnets.  These were evidently used to finance Harvard in the 20th century.  Of course that reminded me of the movie Legally Blonde which of course Jack has not seen either.  I had to describe the ending, think “We did  it!!!!”.

We  had lunch in Virginia City.  Few sprinkles.  We  had avoided a storm earlier just by luck and the direction we were going.  Jack decided to go ahead because we only had 14 miles to go and had a climb.  He went ahead and Jerry and I stayed about 10 minutes longer to talk to a couple from Helena.  Jerry and I passed these two women riding recumbents (?) which means they sit when they ride like in a chair.  They were in their 60’s and do 3 weeks of the trail per year.  Tying to finish by their 70th birthdays.  Anyway, by the time Jerry and I got to the top, rain had begun and it turned into sleet and then to ice and hail.  Jack was riding just ahead of the storm, but Jerry and I were stuck at the summit.  No shelter anywhere with ice accumulating on the road.  It was difficult to walk on the road much less ride on it.  We had to bail and call our Project Manager who had already secured a campsite in Ennis.  We had cell phone reception fortunately and Sue performed a search and rescue.  Not sure what we would have done if we did not have support.  Everybody was safe.  Of course, now sun is shining and it is a beautiful day.

Hope Hannah ‘s gradiation party goes well.  We probably won’t make it.

Tomorrow we head into West Yellowstone.

June 21


Left Sula about 5:45.  Cold, cloudy, chilly morning.  We had to put on our woolies.  Had to do major climb right out of the chute. Chief Joseph Pass.  We had to climb about 2,600 feet, to 7,200 feet.  At that point we crossed the Continental Divide. Saw a mountain type wabbit with four white paws.  We saw those as lucky rabbit feet.  Went downhill into Wisdom.

Met Sue in Wisdom, Montana, about 37 miles, where we had our coffee and some blueberry pancakes.  Establishment was Fetty’s.  Service was not their strong suit, one waitress for about 23 people, but they did have barstools at the bar shaped like tractor seats.  I left my yellow jacket there and had to return to get that.  Still cold on the road.

One thing we haven’t seen many of us is state troopers and police cars.  As I was returning to catch up, I saw a policeman in the gas station.  On the next road we saw more state troopers and police cars than we have seen on the entire trip.  Montana mostly has 70 mph speed limits on all its roads, not just the expressways.  And most of them see 70 as the minimum speed.  We mentioned to someone at the RV Park about the surplus of troopers.  His response was that the “Rainbow” people were going to be in town, about 20,000 spread out over the area.  He described them as people born in the 40’s and 50’s who were big on the environment and being free-spirited.  They are not held in very high esteem.

Long, flat, straight rides.  Past ranches of thousands of acres.  Went into Jackson and went through to Dillon, Montana.  Total of about 105 miles.  In an RV Park again camping on a river.  Showers  again.  Not many people in Montana.  But everybody owns a pickup.

We have been seeing more cyclists doing the same trail.  They all have different stories.  Most are self supported which means they are carrying all their equipment and shtuff.   Most of them have 3 months to do their trip.  They are real troopers.  Some travel alone, some travel in 2’s and 3’s.

Wildlife report.  We saw some antelope, some deer, some prairie dogs (one of which I almost hit in the road, would have been good for stew), and some yellow headed birds.  Of course, there was the usual dose of cows, buffalo, and horsies.  Jack saw a pickup truck full of deerhead and antlers.  Go figure.

One question we have is why almost every town we go through, there is the first letter of the name of the town on a nearby hill.  Jeff thinks it is for emergency helicopters or planes to spot these small towns out in the middle of nowhere.  Like the 4077 in MASH.  Not everyone agrees. 

Tomorrow, we head for Ennis, Montana and then into Yellowstone on Sunday.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

June 19 & 20 -2013


Rained Tuesday night.  Things got wet.  Raining when we got up, decided to take a day off and go to Missoula, Montana, and visit Adventure Cycling, which is the organization that develops the maps for the trip.  They support cycling and the development of trails, etc.  We also visited a bike shop and bought some more chain lube and some brake pads.  Since all of our gear was wet, we opted to get a hotel room in town and take off riding in the morning.  Stayed at a Howard Johnson’s.  Not the best.  A couple of police cars were there later in the evening investigating some activity.  Used the dryers to dry tents and shtuff.  Went to Ronald’s House, compliments of Tom and Patti Schultz.  Organized for the next day and went to bed.

Got up and began ride toward Lolo. Officially out of Idaho.  Still no potatoes.  Faced a head wind for the first 45 miles making peddling more difficult. Little chilly, but no rain.  We actually saw snowflakes as we were driving. Got to ride on a bike path for a big part of the ride.    Got to a coffee shop in Hamilton, population 4,500, Big Creek Roasting Company.  Rivaled Starbucks.  Got a Yellow Dog (Dawg).  Very good, cool mugs.  Got their website if someone wants it.  Were riding along the Bitterroot Mountain Range on or right and the Sapphire Mountain Range on our left.  Beautiful.  Made it to Darby for lunch and met Sue there.  Our goal was a city (?) called Sula, Montana, population 50.  A little out of Darby, we encountered road with no shoulder for about 6 miles.  Traffic was ok.  Got to within 2.5 miles of Sula when Jack got not a Fat Tire but a flat tire.  First one, at the 908 mile mark.  Not bad.  Jack changed in approximately 7 minutes.  Well, maybe not exactly 7 minutes.  Back on our way.  Staying at an RV Park again.  Had to decide between camping and a small cabin for the 4 of us.  It was already raining, so we opted for the cabin.  Of course, now the sun is shining.  But there is a chance of snow tonight.  Will be cold riding in morning.  Sue again made up a gourmet type meal enjoyed by all and then it was off to a wilderness trail to see wildlife.  We saw mountain goats, prairie dog, cows and horses of course (it’s Montana), and a deer.  Jack saw some Big Horn Sheep earlier.

Tomorrow, we will need our woolies.  Climb to top of mountain 7,192 feet.   Have at least 3 climbs tomorrow.  Possible shooting for 100 miles tomorrow.  Did about 75 miles.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

Thursday, June 20, 2013

June 18th - Jeff


Shout out to Deasia.  Happy 9th bertday. 

Morning started off a little chilly.  We had more downhill for about 8 miles.  Got in about 40 miles before coffee time.  Landed in a city called White Bird.  Had our coffee at the Silver Dollar.  Coffee, 50 cents.  Jerry volunteered to treat.  What a guy.  No short stacks today.  There was a bag of water above the door when you walk in with 2 pennies it.  It captured our curiosity.  Looked like a prank for somebody who didn’t pay their bill.  Turns out it is a deterrent for keeping flies out of your establishment.  You heard it here first.  Jerry almost got us in big trouble when he asked the owner if it was supposed to keep out barflies.  The guy at the bar drinking a Bud at 8:00 in the morning fortunately thought it was funny.  Filled up our water bottles before we left.  Jerry and Jeff got cold water, Jack got hot.  Spickets were switched.  Jack went first.  Patience obviously pays.

After White Bird we ascended a major climb along old 95.  Took about 90 minutes to climb.  More switchbacks than we could count.  Got to the top and came down a not very busy road.  Saw maybe 4 cars the entire time up and back.  Descended into Grangeville for lunch.  Actually had cell phone service for the first time in about 3 days.  Sat outside at a Subway.   Then we got onto route 13 toward Kooskia.  Road was not good at all, no shoulder.  There is no way to describe to you what it feels like to be riding with a logging truck breathing right next to you as it passes.  We put in to high gear, or at least as high as we can go and did our best imitation of Jesse Owens to Kooskia.  We secured a site in an RV Park with showers for the fourth day in a row. Almost stayed at a city park which would have been totally free, but the restrooms were locked at 9:00 and they ran sprinklers at midnight.  The RV Park is an interesting place.  It sits on a mountain river which is cool.  The place has a lot of “character”.  When you go to get a shower, you have to put a quarter in the machine to get your 8 minute shower.  There is a floor mat when you walk into the shower stall that says, “ Caution, you are now entering party central, watch your step”,  and when you put your quarter in, red lights go on in the shower.  Think John Travolta.  God bless America.

We saw several deer and what we think were two rattlers in the road.  Many times, we talk about movies, many of which Jack has never seen.  Today’s movie that came up in conversation was the Wedding Planner. Jack has seen parts of it.  None of us can remember why the movie came up.  If you wonder what we do all day, we have somewhat of a routine.  We get back usually between 2 and 4.  We sit down for a short time, do some recovery shtuff like OJ, chocolate milk, peanut butter, salty snacks, and maybe some Gatorade.  Then we put our tents up, do dinner which is usually more Sue than the rest of us.  Eat do dishes.  Jack usually washes, Jeff dries, and Jerry cleans out the tough pans.  Then we do some maintenance on our bikes, make our lunches for the next day.  Cover the bikes and put shtuff away and then it is usually beddy by time.

Today’s mileage was about 88 miles.  Seventy-nine planned for tomorrow.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

June 17th - Jeff

June 17, 2013
Yesterday, when we ended our day, we crossed into Idaho.  So we are done with one of the ten states we cross on our trip.  We also crossed a time zone, so we are only two hours behind.  The difference in terrain from Oregon to Idaho was very noticeable.  Now we are seeing green again as opposed to lunar type surface. 

The day began with a climb up a hill.  Slow going. Jerry caught Jeff and Jack taking a break.  As he peddled by, he said, “you guys need to stop lollygagging, we’ll never get to Virginia this way.”  Went down the other side and ended up in a town called Richland.  Stopped at Bucky’s Café and Hotel and had our usual cup of joe and we ordered pancakes again.  Jeff and Jerry got short stacks and Jack got a single.  The short stacks were even bigger than the ones from yesterday.  I even got a third one because my stack was smaller than Jerry’s stack.  So big I couldn't eat them all, so I had to take one with me. 

Headed out 95, flat with one climb and then into the town of Council.  Headed out of Council and started another major climb.  Landscape changed to more green still.  In the town of New Meadows, we were at the 45th Parallel.  Halfway between the equator and the North Pole.  Jack could feel the difference in temperature when he crossed from one side to the other.  Also in News Meadows, we  were stopped to get water and about 10-15 motorcycles pulled in for gas.  They all had UMF on the back of their outfits.  Our guess is the West’s version of Hell’s Angels.  Headed downhill for about 15 miles and ended up at Canyon RV Park. Ride down was very dicey.  We lived to die another day.  Logging trucks and people with trailers were shooting by.  Fortunately, we did have a little shoulder to work with. Sue got us a spot as good as last night.  We are camped on the edge of Powder Creek.  About 25 feet wide and water going through it that if you tried to step in, you would be washed away.  Good current.  Beautiful setting.  It is technically an RV Park.  Great accommodations and we bought some Moose Drool beer tonight.  From Montana.  Good shtuff.

No wildlife today except for cows.  Also, being in Idaho, you would think we would see some potatoes.  None so far.  Another myth.

We did 94 miles today.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

Monday, June 17, 2013

A few pictures...


So, a bit belatedly, here is a photo of the three brothers dipping their wheels in the Pacific Ocean, back on the coast of Oregon, at Seaside...
Good Times at the Mitchell Cafe

At Sisters, Oregon, with the three sisters in the background - Faith, Hope, and Charity

Jeff measuring himself at the snow gauge


June 15-16 - Jeff's post

June 15-16
Saturday was an off day.  Good to be able to get up and not have to break up camp like we do on the days we ride.  Usually, it takes about an hour to break up camp and get on the road.  Some of us went to the library to use computers and check up on world events, some went to museums, some to  bike shops and coffee shops.  We had a good day  off.  Ended up with a cookout of metts and brats.  We also got to Church at the cathedral in Baker City.  During the homily, the priest mentioned a scene out of the movie Karate Kid.  I was worried that Jack may not get it, but that was one movie he had seen.


We left Baker City about 6:00.  We started off with a small hill to get out of town.  Had a lot of downhills and tail winds for the first 40 miles which took us into a city called Richland where we had our Father’s Day breakfast.  We saw beautiful scenery again and we rode along a stream called Powder Creek.  Ran into three cows in the middle of the road.  We assumed they were out a little too late frolicking and hadn’t made it home yet.  They got out of  our way fortunately.  Saw some deer drinking along a stream but when Jerry tried to get a picture, they had dispersed. Being the only one who knows moospeak, I tried to talk to the boys, but they would not listen.  In Richland, we treated ourselves to a breakfast for Father’s Day to replace our usual trip to Augusta’s General Store.  The service was better in Richland.  Jack battled through a bee stung suffered along the way.  He was a big fella because he stung Jack through his pants.

Big hill out of Richland.  Jack said it was the toughest climb/steepest grade we had done so far.  Elevation, 3.653 feet.  When we got to the top , Sue met us there and asked Jerry how he was feeling and he responded “I feel like I was made for this.”  We ended up in a campsite on the Brownlee Reservoir with a view to kill for.  The reservoir is formed by the Brownlee Dam.  Kind of like a Cumberland I guess.  Road to get here from the previous road was very bumpy.  Our campsite sits on the edge of the reservoir with a view of both Oregon and Idaho.  Couldn’t be any better.  Sue did a great job again.  We had showers again.  We saw a bird we would never see except here,  an Altamira Oriole.

Today, we rode 85 miles in the heat.  New for us, we were used to cold.  Took a lot out of us.  Tomorrow, we head for Pollock, goal about 98 miles.  We had a great Father’s Day.  Sue gave us gifts of tootsie pops and Starbucks cards, and fudge pop tarts.  Best Father’s Day this year.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

June 17th - Jeff's post

June 17, 2013
Yesterday, when we ended our day, we crossed into Idaho.  So we are done with one of the ten states we cross on our trip.  We also crossed a time zone, so we are only two hours behind.  The difference in terrain from Oregon to Idaho was very noticeable.  Now we are seeing green again as opposed to lunar type surface. 

The day began with a climb up a hill.  Slow going. Jerry caught Jeff and Jack taking a break.  As he peddled by, he said, “you guys need to stop lollygagging, we’ll never get to Virginia this way.”  Went down the other side and ended up in a town called Richland.  Stopped at Bucky’s Café and Hotel and had our usual cup of joe and we ordered pancakes again.  Jeff and Jerry got short stacks and Jack got a single.  The short stacks were even bigger than the ones from yesterday.  I even got a third one because my stack was smaller than Jerry’s stack.  So big I couldn't eat them all, so I had to take one with me. 

Headed out 95, flat with one climb and then into the town of Council.  Headed out of Council and started another major climb.  Landscape changed to more green still.  In the town of New Meadows, we were at the 45th Parallel.  Halfway between the equator and the North Pole.  Jack could feel the difference in temperature when he crossed from one side to the other.  Also in News Meadows, we  were stopped to get water and about 10-15 motorcycles pulled in for gas.  They all had UMF on the back of their outfits.  Our guess is the West’s version of Hell’s Angels.  Headed downhill for about 15 miles and ended up at Canyon RV Park. Ride down was very dicey.  We lived to die another day.  Logging trucks and people with trailers were shooting by.  Fortunately, we did have a little shoulder to work with. Sue got us a spot as good as last night.  We are camped on the edge of Powder Creek.  About 25 feet wide and water going through it that if you tried to step in, you would be washed away.  Good current.  Beautiful setting.  It is technically an RV Park.  Great accommodations and we bought some Moose Drool beer tonight.  From Montana.  Good shtuff.

No wildlife today except for cows.  Also, being in Idaho, you would think we would see some potatoes.  None so far.  Another myth.

We did 94 miles today.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

Saturday, June 15, 2013

June 14 - Jeff's post

June 14, 2013
Started off later than usual.  We slept in until 6:00 and left at 7:00.  It rained some during the night.  Tents worked and nothing got wet.  Our goal was 70 miles over three mountains.  Dixie Pass, 5,277 feet; Tipton Pass, 5,124; and Sumpter Pass, 5,082.  Right out of the chute, we had to climb.  Made it over the first mountain and got to the bottom to a city called Austin Junction and went to café to get a cup of coffee and ended up having a short stack again.  Waitress said they were this big, and they came back much larger.  Jack and I were going to split an order, but she said she would have to charge us.  So of course we all just got an order of our own. Shocker.   Second climb was easier and shorter as was the third.  Downhills were good.  Always precarious.  We are taking them slower it seems.  Most of the roads had good shoulders today.  Traffic wasn’t too bad.    Saw a lot of magnificent scenery, mountain streams, babbling brooks ( did I really say that), and mountains.  Like Jack says, they are majestic.  Every bend had something new and different and “magnificent”. Seeing all these “neat” little cities that you  would never know existed really adds to the trip. Saw our first dog on the trip that wasn’t penned up.  Couldn’t keep up wit us.  Jack saw a couple deer.  We ended up in Baker City about 2:00.  Seventy miles which puts us at 580 miles for the trip.  Seven days of riding so far.  We are taking tomorrow off.

You would think we would see a lot of wildlife on bikes.  Today, we did see an osprey, cows, a llama again, and a ground squirrel.  Sue driving in a car saw antelope,sandhill cranes, osprey, and a herd of cattle, in the road.  She was traveling along the same route as us a little before we went through and cowboys were herding cattle along the road.  Like 60 head of cattle. Sue felt like she was in a Western movie.   Traffic was stopped needless to say.  So much for going slow on a bike and seeing America.

Sue arranged for us to stay in an RV Park in Baker City.  Showers, laundry, hot tub, pool, and a great campsite.  We treated ourselves to Mexican Food at El Erroango (?).  Then it was a tour of Baker City, a population of around 9,000 and cell phone service.  Still a little chilly at night.  We made it until 8:15 before we retreated to our tents.

The donation website is up to almost $1300 I am told.   Just a reminder or a first notice to some, I am riding for a cause.  It is the MPS Society, the national organization that supports research and families of children afflicted with an MPS disease.  Aly was born with San Filippo Syndrome, one of those diseases.   If you lost the website or want to donate still, it is www.mpssociety.org/donor-pages and find Alyson Von Handorf.                                                                                                                    

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, Sue


Prairie City to Baker City - Jerry's post

Prairie City to Baker City
Every day should be like today.  Or, actually, like the past couple of days.  The roads have been good, the traffic pretty light, and the scenery breathtaking.  It rained some during the night, and I was uncertain as to whether we would be able to ride today, but when we got up about 6 am (we had agreed to sleep in an extra hour today), the sky was clear and blue.  We had an immediate climb to do up to a  bit over 5000 feet, followed by a descent, then two more climbs back up over 5000.  But like almost every climb so far, the slope is fairly gradual, no more than about a 6% grade, so it is manageable, but takes a long time.  On the first one, we rode 9 miles before getting to the pass.  Then the inevitable long ride down hill, and since the temperatures are very cool, all the heat gets sucked out, and of course you are sweating from the climb, so by the time you get to the bottom about 6 miles later you are very chilled.  Fortunately, like yesterday, there was a café at the bottom and we again took advantage of it to warm up and “re-fuel” on pancakes.  Sue caught up with us again at the café, then headed on ahead to search for a campsite.   The next two ascents went well, and the scenery was again glorious.  Not a lot of wildlife around, although at the café they said that people hunt deer, turkeys, and bear in the vicinity.  We did see an osprey at a reservoir near Baker City.  Sue again worked her magic and found us a great campsite at an RV park in Baker City, where we intend to spend tomorrow taking care of town chores. 

    So…we have completed seven consecutive days of riding, and have covered about 580 miles of the Transamerica route.  Sunday, we intend to start riding again and should get to Idaho.  Hopefully the weather and the traffic will continue to smile on us.  (reported by Jerry)

Mitchell to Prairie City - Jerry's post


Mitchell to Prairie City – 84 miles
The day started out cool, but not as cold as yesterday.  We had a 6 mile climb right at the beginning, which seemed to go on and on.  It’s hard to start the day off that way, but we made it.  Then we were rewarded with a fantastic descent down the other side, through the John  Day Fossil Bed National Monument.  It was quite a sight, a gorge cut through multiple layers of lava, which were laid down over a period beginning about 30 million years ago.  Many fossils are found here from the early ages of mammals.  We went down, and down, and down…it seemed like we were headed back for sea level, after going to all that effort to get to the top.  It was a magnificent ride, but by the time we got to the bottom I was chilled to the bone.  After about 40 miles we got to a small town that had a café, and stopped for a pancake breakfast.  Soon Sue came by and was able to join us.    From there, it was mostly a level ride, but gradually picking up elevation the rest of the way to Prairie City.  The good news was we had a gentle tailwind so we traveled pretty quickly.  The bad news was the wind seems to have brought in some threatening clouds and a light drizzle has been falling the past hour or so.  But we are nicely set up at a RV campground, which even has hot showers for only $1.75 – what a deal!  Hot water is a welcome treat.  The views around here are amazing.  The higher mountains still have a lot of snow on them.   Tomorrow will be a real test.  We have about 70 miles to go to Baker City, but there are three passes at over 5000 feet we have to climb.  In Baker City, our plan is to take a recovery day.  We have been going strong for six days,  tomorrow will be seven, without a rest.  So Saturday will be R&R and town chores.   I’m looking forward to sleeping in.

(Reported by Jerry)

June 13 - Jeff's post

June 13
Shout out to Aly Von Handorf, Happy Bertday.  She is 24 today. 

Left Mitchell and started with a hill.  Got the worst one out of the way early.  Stopped to get a cup of coffee in Dayville, population 138.  Little café also served food of course, and Jack and Jerry saw a “short stack” of pancakes on the menu.  They decided to get those and of course I couldn’t let them eat alone.  Well a short stack was two pancakes, probably 10 inches in diameter.  Quite a meal.  Across the street was a fake townfront like the one in Blazing Saddles.  When Jeff and Jerry made reference to that, Jack was completely lost.  He has never seen Blazing Saddles.  C’mon Teri, you’re sheltering this poor guy.  Several times, we have talked about movies and Jack is in the dark.  I’ve had a couple instances of not being quite as smooth on my bike as my cohorts.  Does the name Artie Johnson ring a bell with anyone?  Well not Jack.  Never had the privilege of seeing Laugh In.

Today we went 85 miles.  Not too bad.  Lot of tailwind to push us along.  Again lots of scenery and mountains.  Ended up in a town called Prairie City, population 1080.  Had a pretty big downtown.  Even had a sports bar.  Sue secured a camping spot for us.  Had to pay $1.75 for showers so we splurged.  Little chilly in the evening, still at a pretty high elevation.  Sue cooked us a pasta meal with mett and spinach salad.  Eating like kings.  Jack and Jeff went into town to catch some of the Spurs game.  I think they were playing the Heat.  Stayed till halftime.  Had some salsa and chips and a Deshute (?) beer at a Mexican establishment.  No Mexican beer on tap.  Left at halftime with the score 49-49.  Probably won’t find out until Saturday who won.   Heard the Reds are still 3 games out.  Went back to the campsite about 7:30.  We all chatted a bit in the chilly air and turned in about 8:00.  We are an exciting bunch.

Off to Baker City in the morning for more excitement.

Jeff, Jack, Jerry, Sue


June 12 - Jeff's post

June 12, 2013

Shoutout to Andrea Schmidt, Happy 22nd .  We called her and sang happy birthday.  Grandma Jean would have been proud.

Day started off very chilly. Had to put our woolies on. Warmed up as we rode.  Met Sue at Starbucks at Redmond.  She did some shopping at Ray’s Grocery.  Things seem more expensive here.  We then continued on along Route 126 and met Sue at a reservoir.  She went ahead and got a camp spot in a city called Mitchell at a city park.  No showers again.  Great roads.  Lots of flat, minimal traffic, and all in all a good riding day.  Did 92 miles.

We got done about 2:00.  Would have gotten done earlier, but we had to stop for Jack to pick a quarter off the ground.  Trying to finance the  trip I guess.  Anyway, he didn’t pick up quarter because it was tails up, bad luck.  We also had to stop twice to pick up Jeff’s mirror which kept coming off.  The second time it came off on the longest downhill we have been on coming down a  hill into Mitchell.  Jerry stopped and picked it up.  What a good soldier.  There will be something extra in his stocking at Christmas.

Mitchell is a town right out of the Twilight Zone.  Have not seen Rod yet.  Waiting for the first tumbleweed to go past.  Jerry thinks it is like the city in Wild Hogs.  Same lady owns the Hotel, the café, the country store, and the gas station.  And she pumps the gas. High school has 30 kids.  No opening for an AP calculus teacher.  Hotel is immaculate, right out of a movie.  Ironic though because a Bud Light truck stopped to deliver beer.  I guess they go everywhere.  You would have to see this town to believe it.  We went to the café and got a desert.  Blueberry coffee cake with ice cream on top.  City has no radio, no television, and no cell phone service.  Verizon needs to get on this.  Some people have Direct TV or Dish.  Lady at the café said they used to have Dish, but they couldn’t  get the Oregon State games so they had to switch.  Rivalry between OSU and OU is tense.  OSU is the Beavers and OU is the Ducks.

Saw unbelievable scenery.  Now we know where they film all those Westerns. Area is called the Painted Hills.  Again, you would have to see it to appreciate it.  The cliffs, rock formations, the mountain rivers and streams,  Ponderosa Pines, and the ground being different colors made it a sight to see.

We met a couple from Vancouver going from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine.  They are music instructors.  They are doing it unsupported.  We also saw a story in the paper about a recent high school gradiate riding along our same route to Asheville, NC to go to college.  He left from Benton which is near where we are currently.  His trip will be 3000 miles and he has to be there by August 20.  He is doing his unsupported also.

Answers to trivia questions.  Babe Ruth wore number 3 because he batted third in the lineup.  Two states where gas stations cannot be self serve.  Oregon and New Joisey.

Sue is doing a fantastic job as Project Manager of the adventure.  Meals and provisions and her organizing of everything has been tremendous. 

Keep the luck and prayers coming.  Can’t get too much of those.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack

June 11 - Jeff's post

June 11

Few leftovers.  On Sunday, we saw what we think was the home of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.  Went by what looked like a hayfield, but there were all these huge white balls in the field.  And you thought they were made in factories.

Celebrity sighting.  Mick Jagger stopped to talk to us outside Eugene giving us directions.  He is not a rock and roll singer anymore.  Now he sells Trek bicycles, lives in Oregon, and rides $5000 bicycles.  It sure looked like him.

Yesterday, we camped in a campground at a bed and breakfast.  It sat on the most beautiful mountain river.  Clear as a bell.

Today, we did a climb up McKenzie Pass.  About 22 miles up.  Reached 5,325 feet.  We were unprepared for the weather at that altitude.  Not sure how we failed that IQ test.  It was cold with a huge wind chill.  We couldn’t get down fast enough.  Bad thing, there was so much to see.  Snow covered mountains and a lava field, and beautiful scenery.  Last eruption of the volcano was 400 years ago.  It was amazing.  Never seen anything like it and probably never will again.  There was an observatory built out of lava rock.  Going down the other side was fun and precarious.  Jack reached a speed of 34 miles per hour.  Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have let Teri know.  The wind was blowing us sideways a little, but we had to get down to a warmer altitude.  Saw a cool covered bridge on the way to McKenzie Pass.  No coffee shops this morning.  Total mileage  today, 60 miles.

At the bottom of the descent was our campground called Cold Spring.  Not much in the way of facilities.  Sue got it for $7 per  night.  Going to be cold tonight and tomorrow morning.   At an altitude of about 2000 feet still.  We went to the library in the city near our campground called Sisters.   .   Named after three mountains nearby Faith, Hope, and Charity. Used the computers to check e-mail and I read a little of SI Used the computers to check e-mail and I read a little of SI.  SI thinks Joey Votto should be batting 2nd in the order.  Do you know why Babe Ruth wore number 3?  Let you know in the next blog.  Here is another trivia question.  What are the two states that do not allow you to pump your own gas?  Anyway. 
Went to eat at a brewery called Three Creeks.  Great food and got to watch a little of NBA Finals.  And of course we had a couple pork chops.


Jeff

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

McKenzie Pass

Day Four, June 11th (Jerry reporting)
This getting up at 4:30 am to get an early start and beat the traffic is getting to be a routine that I don't particularly like, but for now with the traffic situation it seems to be necessary.  We spent the night at a nice campground adjacent to a B&B (although it was a bit pricey and services were limited, but it worked fine).  We had a pleasant 20 miles to the cutoff to McKenzie Pass, then began the long uphill 22 mile climb.  The road was fairly gentle, but 22 miles of any uphill gets wearing.  I dropped down into my lowlow gear after awhile, and settled in for a long crawl to the top.  We watched the elevation signs go by one at a time - 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000...and the temperature began to drop...and the wind began to pick up...and the snow patches on the side of the road began to get larger.  Finally we got to the summit where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses.  There was a nice stone observation tower, and a great view of the surroundings.  Much of the entire area is covered with lava flows, some a couple of thousand years old, some only 400 years old. The distant mountains were snow covered, although it was somewhat cloudy so we couldn't get the whole picture.  It was cold and windy, and we were poorly dressed for winter conditions, so we didn't stay too long, and started the long, speedy, very cold descent.   It was 6 mph up the hill, and about 30 down the hill.  There were many cyclists coming up as we were going down, which was nice to see.  Finally we made it to the bottom, to a town called Sisters.  There are three large mountains around the city, for three sisters apparently.  We were told that they are called Faith, Hope, and Charity.  Sue, along with our friends Jim and Karen, had gotten a camp site at a National Forest campground nearby, and that is where we are spending tonight.  But as a special treat, and due to the cold weather up here, we are in town and going to a restaurant for dinner.  All is well, and we will continue on...

Day Three, June 10th. A Hundred and fourteen miles. Really

(as reported by Jerry)  We started today at Rickreall, where we had a great campsite all to ourselves at the Polk County Fairgrounds.  We did an early start at about 5:45 am to try to beat traffic, and had a nice tailwind which contributed to a pretty fast pace (for us anyway).  A bike trail for about 6 miles made it very pleasant riding, and even after hitting the highway the traffic was light and the shoulders were wide, so we were feeling great and enjoying the ride.  Corvallis (home of the Oregon State Beavers) was a nice coffee shop stop at Starbucks.  Reenergized, we headed for Eugene.  Unfortunately, we failed the IQ test regarding closely reading the map from Adventure Cycling, and we wound up going all the way into downtown Eugene (home of the Fighting Ducks) and spent about 45 minutes going in circles, asking people for directions, before realizing that we should have taken a left turn about 5 miles back.  We can report that downtown Eugene is very nice, but we regretted the time lost.  Once reoriented, we stopped briefly for lunch and a cyclist stopped by to visit.  He was a local cycle shop owner, and gave us some good advice on where to head the next day.  He looked suspiciously like Mick Jagger, according to Jeff.  He said we should definitely head for McKenzie Pass, because they had not yet opened the road to car traffic from the winter snows.  Anyway, from there, we found ourselves on a really nice section of road for awhile, and then the last twenty miles was back on a major high speed, heavily traveled road with a veryverysmall shoulder.  Not very pleasant.  So we had 95 miles of very pleasant riding, and about 19 miles of anxiety.  Most drivers are very courteous and give us some space.  A few seem determined to try to blow us off the road, as a warped kind of sport.  Sue had found us a great place to stay at a Bed and Breakfast which also has camping sites, so here we are ready to dive into a great meal of pasta and salad.  Sue has done a great job of supporting us on this adventure.
    I love the riding each day.  It is exhilarating to ride and ride for extended times.  The traffic has been a  bigger problem than I thought it would be.  Hopefully the conditions will improve as we get more into rural areas.  Tomorrow we go over McKenzie Pass, which is reported to be a bicyclers dream.   Tune in tomorrow for the outcome.

    

Monday, June 10, 2013

June 9 - Jeff Again


Shoutout to Becky VH, celebrating her 19th birthday today.  She had the luxury of having her papa bear singing her happy BD over the phone from Oregon.

Day 2 began with an unexpected hill out of the campground.  As that great philosopher, Ken Shields, the former coach at NKU once said, “inch by inch, life’s a cinch.  Mile by mile, it takes a while.”    I know everyone thinks Mt. Sinai is not in the US, but when we got to the top, we saw a guy who looked like Moses holding 2 tablets.  It was quite a hill to start the day.  But as Jack says, it is better not to know ahead of time.

Stopped at a coffee shop.  I got reprimanded for drinking my cup of Joe too slowly.  It was one of our last stops with a view of the Pacific before we started going east.  Next road was a back road where we saw one car.  We all agreed that if we left today, the trip would have been worth it.  Saw a school where Jack thinks they may need an AP Calculus teacher.  Saw a llama in a backyard.  And of course there was a hill.  After this road, things changed.  We got on Route 18 where traffic was a nightmare.  It was very tense.  We could not figure out where everybody was going.  Route 22 was next.  We thought it had to be better, and it was a little.  But still a lot of traffic.

We had lunch on Route 18 at a roadside trailer. Today, Jack was the one who got the hotdog with everything on it.  Jerry got an espresso shake.  We are living large. We got to sit in the front yard and eat.  Jerry and Jack in chairs.  Jeff sitting on a rock.  Always the bridesmaid.

Route 22 provided views, a golf course, 2 vineyards.  Sue passed us on the route and went ahead to look for evening accommodations which were slim pickins.  We ended up at a fairgrounds in Polk County which is not officially a campground but they consented to let us camp anyway.  We were originally going to be next to the sheep barn, but they put us in a different spot.  Showers and restrooms.  God bless America.  They were holding a gun show at the fairgrounds today.  One of the guys doing security gave us a lead on a wine tasting.  He said just tell them that Kevin sent us.  It was the Eola Wine Cellars.  They treated us great and would recommend them to anyone going to Oregon.  Mare, you would have loved it.


Back to the campground for a pasta meal that Jerry predicts is to die for and then probably an early to bed.  Planning on doing 100 miles tomorrow.  Eighty today.  

June 7 - Jeff Reporting

Jack and Jeff got in about 10:00 on their flight from Cincinnati.  We rode Frontier.  Good experience.  Jerry and Sue picked us up, and we made the two hour trip to Astoria where they had already secured a campground.  We went out to dinner at a place called the Rogue where they had 9,193 beers on tap.  Had a great meal.  Everybody was able to finish their meal except Jack.  He needed help finishing his pizza.  A large pizza.  Jeff and Jerry and Jim Lubbers ( he and his wife Karen are along part of the trip) were more than happy to oblige helping Jack finish the pizza.  Hard to believe.  The Rogue was a very rustic establishment that I would highly recommend.  Great food, character and of course 9, 193 beers on tap.  Seas lions were in the bay outside the bar which used to be a cannery.  The odd thing about the bar was that there was no TV.  We could not watch the Reds/Cardinals game.  Across from the Rogue was the house that the Academy award winning movie, the Goonies was filmed.  And if I am not mistaken, I think the Kindergarten Cop was filmed in Astoria also.  Of course, we had a toast to the success of the trip.  Had a campfire and turned in early with time change in effect.

Big news.  Jeff developed a list of contacts, learned how to take a picture, send a picture , and reply to a text on  his new phone.  Those of you who know Jeff, know how big this is.

June 8
No flat tires today.  But last night we did drink a Fat Tire. 

Strange thing about the Transamerica Trial is that there is no official starting spot.  The map shows an address that is the Maritime Museum in Astoria.  So our original idea was to dip our back tires in the Pacific and front tires in the Atlantic.  No place to dip tires in water at the Museum.  So we started our adventure from the Museum location and rode to a city called Seaside where someone suggested there is a place to dip.  So we get to Seaside after traveling along the Lewis and Clark trail.  It is a low tide, so we had to carry our bikes to the water because we didn’t want to get sand on the bikes.  Sand is very very bad for bikes.  It was a distance of about 400 yards.  We carried them to make it official.  Not sure if we passed the IQ test on that one.  Got a picture and made it official.  On the way along Lewis and Clark trail, we stopped at all the Historical Marker spots.  Thus, the trip will be educational as well.  We will be experts on certain things when we get back.  We did have to consult the map on several occasions and get help from a young lady of about 58 who could tell we needed  help because we were riding in circles at a four way stop.  We crossed a sign that said Draw Bridge.  Big problem.  Nobody brought crayons or a pen.  So we continued on.    Jeff made the statement that the draw bridge looked exactly like the bridge that Jimmy Stewart jumped off of in the movie It is a Wonderful Life.  Jerry and Jack did not agree.

After Seaside, which is a great little resort town, we encountered ots of hills, lots of trucks, and lots of beautiful scenery.  Hills were very gradual.  We probably stopped about a dozen times.  If we stopped at every coffee shop or pub or restaurant that looked special.  We would have gone a total of 20 miles rather than the 75 we did the first day.  Oregon is a very very neat state.  I can say neat because I was born in the 50’s.

Met one lady who was pushing a stroller loaded down with her supplies.  She had begun in O’ Canada and was shooting for San Diego.  She was walking for Peace and children in Africa.  Met another guy doing the same trip as us only to Washington DC.  He was doing it unsupported while smoking an artificial cig.  Met a guy watching the waves in the Pacific behind the Catholic Church, St.  Mary’s of the Seas. I don’t know if he was sure about us.   Everyone was more than friendly.  Met a couple in one of the cool little town of Marinzata who informed of us that Oregonians are all very friendly.  Got sketched by some guy in Marinzata.  While in Marinzata, we stopped to check out the beach and take a short break.  Jerry and Jeff went to the coffee shop.  On the way to the coffee shop, Jeff spotted a picture of a Mudd Dog.  A version of the Chicago Dog.  It had a whole pickle, Vienna sausage, sweet relish, pepper, sauerkraut, and mustard.  I could not resist.  Road after Marinzata was rough pavement. Thank God for the Gators.   And lots of traffic.

Jack bought some cherries from a roadside stand giving free samples.  Attendant said Oregon has only 50 days of sunshine a year.  Ninety-four inches of rain last year.

We ended up in the city of Tillamook.  Well known for their world renown cheese.  Jack got free samples first before he bought some of their cheese.  Good cheese no matter who cut it.

On the way back to campsite, Jeff purchased a condo.  Well not like land but a tent.  Sorry Clair, but your tent made me claustrophobic.  So I bought a 3 man tent for me.  I figured that if I’m going to do this for three months, I’m not going to suffer.  Not sure how Clair slept in that tent for the months she was on the Appalachian Trail.

Tomorrow, we  head out early to avoid the traffic along route 101.  Hope to get in at least 60 more miles.  Depends on traffic and weather.

Got back and went to the beach in walking distance of our campsite.  Powerful waves.  Sue made  us a deeeelicious dinner of pasta with mett.  No leftovers. 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Giants of the Woods

We are at Redwoods National Park today, and went for a  walk in the woods under some of the biggest trees in the world, towering more than 300 feet overhead.  I was astounded at the beauty and size of them, and also at the number of them.  The areas that have been protected in the park are fairly large, and as you walk through the forest, they are everywhere.  Down in Yosemite we saw some giant Sequoias, and they were indeed impressive, but there were only a handful.  Here, there are hundreds and hundreds of the Giant Redwoods.  It is quite remarkable.    Our campsite is in an RV park, near the ocean, and in the morning it was covered with a dense fog.  Don't worry Jack, I had the bikes covered so no dew settled on your bike.  The fog didn't burn off for quite awhile.  They say the fog off the ocean is one of the major sources of moisture that creates the proper environment for the redwoods.  The forest was very lush, and fortunately for us the rhododendron was also in bloom, and there is quite a lot of that also.  Plus some trillium, and other plants that we didn't recognize but looked somewhat similar to plants from our part of the world.   Tomorrow we will head north into Oregon, intending to be in Astoria no later than Thursday night.  There is some sort of sea lion habitat on the coast near Florence that we hope to visit tomorrow.   So, another day here in Paradise, and all is going well.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Sunday in the Park with John and Teddy

A little over a hundred years ago, John Muir, co-founder and first president of the Sierra Club, and Teddy Roosevelt, President of the United States, spent three days and nights camped out in Yosemite Valley, and discussed the importance of wilderness and how to protect it for future generations.  Sue and I spent the past three days in Yosemite, and I can only say thank you to those who have preserved this magical, marvelous place for us to enjoy.  Looking out over the valley, seeing Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, El Capitan, and all the other incredible sights to be seen here, I confess the beauty brought tears to my eyes.  This is truly a special place, and we are fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience it.   We got a great campsite in a National Forest area just outside the park and spent three nights there, driving up into the park on the Tioga Road.  The sights along this road were spectacular enough, but on Sunday we went on over to the Yosemite Valley area, and that was even more inspirational.  We have all seen the iconic pictures of Yosemite, many taken by Ansel Adams, but no picture can do it justice.   
    From here we hope to get to the Redwood National Forest tonight.  Our plan is to be near Astoria on Thursday night, ready to pick up Jack and Jeff in Portland on Friday.  Then the next phase of this adventure will begin.  So far it has been wonderful.