July 7 - Jeff

July 7, 2013

Congratulations to Nicki and Tom Scully celebrating their first wedding anniversary today.

We left Lander later than usual, about 7:30.  After yesterday, we got to bed late and we needed some recovery time.  Pool and shower at Lander felt good.  Pizza we ordered was great.  Really hit the spot.  Even had some left over for today for a snack.

I think yesterday took a lot out of us mentally.  And as you know, I don’t have a lot of extra, so I was at a distinct disadvantage today.  I don’t think any of us felt much like riding today, but the show must go on.   We quit after 58 miles and  ended up in a town called Nickerson.  Still in Kansas.  We are at another city park and it has showers and a water park!!!!  Temps will be about 100.  No humidity, dry heat.  So it does not feel the same as home 100.  Lots of shade and Sue bought some Shock Top.  Just going to hang out here today, get rehydrated from yesterday’s ride and get ready for tomorrow.

The ride today wasn’t too bad.  Wind  is still present, but  some of it was favorable.  Two deer crossed our path today.  A momma and her bambi.  We  also saw some cows and some hawks and a horse of course.  Along the way we found a Good Samaritan house.  Jack spotted it, old eagle eyes.  A  sign along the side of the road, “water for bicyclists”.  A godsend because the stretch of road we were on had no services whatsoever.  Water can become an issue.  Corn is getting taller the further east we go.  Even saw some hills.

Met a group of bicyclists last night at our park from New York.  Three younguns who had never really done much cycling before.  But they are doing it unsupported and it looks like they are having fun.  Their cause is for migrant workers. 

Jack got his haircut the other day in Scott City.  He was talking to the boys in the shop and somebody made the comment that it was good we were going west to east even though the wind is bad.  He said that if you are on the other side of the road (the wind comes from the South remember) riding when a stock truck comes by,  you get hit by the pee from the cows or other stock.  Now who would have ever figured that out?   So there is a silver lining in every cloud.

In our current city of Nickerson, we stopped at the Sunshine Diner.  Had coffee and blueberry pancakes.  People were really nice.  The mayor’s wife sat down and talked to us for an extended period of time.  She offers  her guest house to bicyclists.  We haven’t decided whether to take her up on her offer because it is hot, but  we do have the water park to keep us “cool”.

Nickerson is another of those places we refer to as “little pockets of the world” we are running across that most people we know will never see.  We are seeing America from the inside out.  Part of the great experience we are having.  I’ll get a little sentimental here and say that the only thing that would make everything better is if my lovely bride was here to experience it with me.

Moving on tomorrow to more parts unknown.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

July 6 - Jeff

July 6, 2013

Shout out to my daughter Nicki and son-in-law Tom.  They are celebrating their first anniversary tomorrow, July 7. I think they are celebrating in Louisville.

Wind finally died down in the city park last night.  Still hot though.  Lots of noise in park during the night.

Crossed a time zone yesterday.  Now only one hour behind.  Left about 6:15 new time.  Rode a little in the dark.  No traffic.  Good riding.  Got to a diner in Dighton.  Pancakes for the first time in at least a week.  Met our acquaintance Josh again on the road.  He is neuro scientist at Columbia University.  He never heard of Aly’s disease.  He wears Sesame Street shirts.  A great guy.  Scenery is getting greener and seeing more things growing.  World is a little less depressing as we move east.  We ended up at our destination, Alexander around noon.  Our camping plans were in a rest area.  As far as rest areas go, it was pretty nice.  Jerry got there and suggested we move on to Lander, 42 miles away.  He was feeling spunky.  So we had gone 75 miles and he wants to go 42 more.  Do the math.  One big problem though, the wind comes from the South in 30-35 mile per hour gusts.  Our route took us 19 miles due south.  I think you get the picture.  For 19 miles, the best we could do was 6-8 miles per hour. It was brutal.  Hardest day we have had.  Against the wind took on a new meaning.  The little engine that could would also apply.  Inch by inch life is a cinch also took on new meaning.  You really can’t imagine.  Those 42 miles were the toughest of the trip.  We were ready to kick Jerry’s #$% for suggesting this except for the fact that the city park Sue found in Lander had a pool and showers and they were free.  So Jerry gained a reprieve. So we are pooped but we are cool.  Of course, we were already “cool”, but now we are really cool.   Pizza Hut is cooking for us tonight.

Couple Tom Hank’s connections.  I think in Kansas, I have seen that place where he is at the crossroads in the middle of nowhere in the Castaways movie at the end.  Kansas has a lot of places like that.  Also, some people ask us why we are doing this.  Then the quote he makes in Forrest Gump comes to mind about running to the end of the driveway and he just kept going. 

Saw our second train today.  We have seen a lot deserted trains just rusting, but only two that were moving.

Short entry tonight.  We are whupped.  117 miles today.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

July 5 - Jeff

July 5, 2013

Last night we went to the parade.  It was Americana at its best.  No Kahn’s Wiener wagon though.  Bikes, a float, a BMW, an ambulance, a water/fire truck, and some kids on 4 wheels and dirt bikes.  Then there was a flag burning ceremony that was very powerful.  Really neat with the boy scouts placing the flags one by one into the fire.  Went on for about 25 minutes with patriotic music and stories being played while they did it.  There were no fireworks because Colorado has a no burning policy in effect.  Then we went to the potluck dinner.  Jack made rice.  It was a smorgasbord.  For 3 hungry bikers, it was like heaven.  People could not have been more accepting or nicer.  Lots of people talked to us.  After the dinner, like true Von Handorfs, we helped clean up.  Then a lady who writes in the local paper starting talking to us.  She wanted to get our story and get our picture.  She went back to our place at the Church and interviewed us.  We felt like celebrities.  She is going to send a copy of the paper to Jerry and Sue.  She said it would be emailed to several other local newspapers.  It was without a doubt a Fourth of Jooly we will never forget.  Hard to put into words how unique and rewarding our experience was in Sheridan Lake.

We left Sheridan Lake reluctantly today.  It was a nice place to stay.  We left about 5:30.  Went through Tribune (pop 741) and Leoti (pop 1,534), and ended up in Scott City (pop 3,800).  We are camping in a city park.  Got showers at a local athletic club for $4. We are now in the Land of Oz (Kansas).  Roads have been good.  No café in Tribune.  Gas station coffee again.  Ran into a guy heading East like us from San Francisco. His name was Josh.  He had a broken spoke and needed a tool.  Fortunately, Sue was just ahead and Jerry and Jack helped him out.  I talked to an ex John Deere salesman who sat down next to me on the curb.  When he was ready to leave, I had to pull him up.  He couldn’t get up on his own.  Landscape is getting greener.  Wind is very heavy.  Mostly from the South, so it was more of a crosswind today.  I think tomorrow, it may be a headwind.  No fun.  Lots of stockyards along the way.  Traffic picked up later in the day.  Another musical note, “against the wind”.  Saw a wind farm.  I thought I saw about 100 windmills.  Jerry said he counted 33.   At the park, I talked to a guy, Hugh, who was 88 and going to walk 3 blocks.  He was from a nursing home nearby.  He said he liked to talk, and when he got finished, he said “thanks for listening”.  He told me about getting lost as a child, his experiences in WWII, his daughter and son, and how the wind only dies down at night.  Jerry, Sue, and I went to DQ to get ice cream.  Jack went to get his har cut.. Guess he has plans on going to a prom or something.  I don’t get it.  Going to be hard to put up tents in this wine.  Jerry is going to grill brats and metts that we didn’t get to use for the 4^th.  About 75 miles today.  Not sure what tomorrow will bring or where we will end up.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

July 4 - Jeff

Shout out for Happy 4^th of Jooly.  Heard there is a “little” rain occurring in NK.  Sorry about your bad luck.  Out here, they would love to have your luck.  We are staying at a city called Sheridan Lake.  Only thing missing is water in the lake.  Hasn’t rained here significantly since 1999 they say.  You go over a creek along the road.  Sign will say something like Sandy Creek.  Guess what’s missing?  You got it.  Water.  The phrase “drier than a bone” does not do it justice.  Most of the scenery today resembled the moon. 

Some odds and ends.  In Breckinridge, we got to see the world’s highest floating restaurant.  We went through Alma, the world’s highest incorporated city.  And today, going through Brandon, they boast the world’s smallest jail.  We could not stop to check it out because Jack was worried about a little unsolved business in Lexington a few years ago.

Last night we stayed in a campground where we mentioned we were the only campers.  The guy who owns it moved here from New York after a career as an investigative agent.  He has been here for 32 years.  He bought this ranch/farm and lots of property.  All the water rights and water was sold to companies out of Denver and Colorado Springs and his land is a dried up wasteland.  His wife died last January.  His name was Warren and he was a great guy.  Even let us take things out of his garden.

We left Ordway early today, about 5:30.  We have made some changes in our routine. We are going to try to begin earlier to get more time in before it gets hot and to beat the traffic if need be.  Although the traffic has not been an issue.  I think we saw on the average of one car every 15 minutes along our route today.  We are also trying to ride separately.  That way, each can go at their own pace.  For instance, nobody can keep up with Jack the Machine.  He is usually 1 mile ahead of me.  He is up there pedaling like he is just a tourist while I am back there going “don ta don ta don don”.  Think Wizard of Oz.  I think today I even saw him riding backwards for a while out of boredom.   Seemed to work out well today.

Today, we went through Sugar City (pop 258), Arlington (even had a cemetery called Arlington Cemetery), Haswell (pop 68), Eads (pop 609), Chivington, Brandon (pop 21), and then into Sheridan Lake (pop 88).  These towns are deserted.  Nothing going on.  Nothing open.  Really depressing.  Didn’t know these places were so desolate, isolated, and just poor.   Lots of headwind today again.  We went about 90 miles. Didn’t get coffee until Eads, and that was gas station coffee.  Some of the water we get looks and tastes a little suspicious, but we drink it anyway.   What’s the worst that can happen?  As I mentioned before, scenery resembled the moon.  We went from the shores of Oregon to this.  Full circle. Saw a couple deer and antelope.      I mentioned a lot of road kills yesterday.  We saw at least 3 dead cats along the side of the road.  Unusual.

In Sheridan, we are staying at the Sheridan Lake Bible Church.   They take in bikers.  We get to sleep on the floor in a room with AC.  No tents.  God bless America.  The pastor and his family are super nice.  Even gave us gifts.  Water bottles.  We get use of their facilities.  But no showers again.  Tonight, there is a parade at 5:30 and a potluck at 6:30.  And we’re invited.  Isn’t this a great country? 

Been on  the road since June 8..  We have 26 days in at the halfway point.  Of course, all downhill from here.  Ha ha.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue 

July 3 - Jeff

July 3, 2013

First of all.  A shout out to Janet and Don Schmidt celebrating their 25^th weddin’ anniversary yesterday and Joe Schmidt on his ? birthday

Last night, an executive decision was made.  Jack, the head dishwasher, motioned that we begin using bowls rather than plates for our pasta in the future.  Easier to clean.  Motioned carried.  We are an exciting group.

Left early today, around 6:00 and headed for Pueblo.  Good traffic, shoulder, and tailwind.  By 10:00, we had put in over 50 miles. Saw some alpacas again.  On our way, you could see the mountains begin to disappear.  Everything began to turn to plateaus and desert looking terrain.  Think of the moon.  East Colorado is pretty desolate and sparsely populated.  Picked up a bike trail in Pueblo that took us along the Arkansas River.  We avoided the majority of the city that way.  Along the river, there is a dam.  Murals were pained along this dam for at least 1 and a half miles.  They depicted everything from Groucho Marx to the Hard Rock Café to Bob Marley.  Really impressive.  We had to carry our bikes up some steps to get off the trail.  Then we got back on the Transamerica Trail along route 96.  We had hoped to get some pancakes and coffee at a café on that side of Pueblo, but there were none to be found.  We had to settle for gas station coffee.  Lady in the station reminded us that mustard is a great deterrent for cramps.  We did not know that.  Went through little cities called Boone (population 339), Olney Springs where we stopped for lunch (population 345), and ended up near a town called Ordway.  These towns have few services and camping is getting hard to find.  For awhile, we may be staying in city parks and churches.  Future is very uncertain.  Next shower is unknown.  Our campsite tonight is a mile and a half off the road.  No one else is in the campground.  No water, no electricity.  In the distance is a correctional facility.  We saw more road kill and correctional facilities today than we have the entire trip.

The other day we saw a motorcycle with a trailer.  On top of the trailer was a pretty big dog in a crate.  Strange.  Today, we saw a pickup go by hauling bales of hay.  The truck was going about 50-60 and on top of the hay was a  dog about 8-10 feet up, standing and holding on for dear life.  Hard to describe but funniest thing to see.

We head into Kansas soon.  We keep heading East.  Not much in the way of towns or camping along the way for awhile.  So far, 96 has little traffic.  We continue on this road for a long time.  We did about 95 miles today.  Past the halfway point.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

July 2 - Jeff

Odds and ends from yesterday.  Jerry and Sue got four brand spanking new tires on the van in Frisco.  We went out with Sue’s cousin Ken and his wife Kate to a Mexican place in Breckinridge called Lucha.  They live in Grand Junction.  Good healthy food.  Walked around Breckinridge which is a cool skiing/tourist trap town.  Really different.  Somebody did a great job planning out this little haven around the Blue River which runs through the city.  Sue’s cousin actually did the Transamerica Trail back in 1976, the first year of its existence.

Left in the morning about 6:15.  We slept at an altitude of over 9,500 feet.  Pretty chilly in the morning.  My hands and Jerry’s hands were numb even with gloves on as we were riding.  We climbed to the highest point of the trip over Hoosier Pass, 11, 542 feet.  Little cold on top but no snow.  Climb wasn’t as bad as some we have had.  We went downhill and ended up in a town called Fairplay for coffee and a muffin.  We were at the Java Moose.  Jack went next door to check out the Colorado Dirt Shirt.   Then it was onto a city called Guffey.  If there is a bicycler’s heaven, we were there.  We had a great road and a tailwind for 20-30 miles.  Scenery was just wide open spaces.  When we stopped to take a short break, you look around and realize you are in the middle of nowhere and there is no one around.  Kind of cool.  You can hear the quiet.  We probably saw 4-5 cars the entire time.  Doesn’t get any better than that.

We stopped for lunch just short of Guffey.  Guffey was about a mile from the crossroads where we ate lunch.  We ate at a real estate office that was not open.  Sat on the steps and on their chairs.  Jerry rode up to Guffey to make sure Sue was not there because that was our original destination.  We voicemailed her to go to plan b which was further because the morning ride was not as bad as we thought it might be.  As a result, Jerry rode 2 extra miles for a total of 101 and Jack and I rode 99.  Anyway, Sue was not there and we continued on.  At the real estate office, two young riders pulled up ready to make the turn to Guffey to spend the night.  They were doing the same trail only from the East.  They started May 17.  They were brothers, 16 and 21 years of age.  Unsupported.  Amazing.  The older one was riding for a cause, the hospital that he was at when he was 16.  His story was pretty amazing.  He contracted a disease which escapes me now.  But he had to learn how to talk again.  Now he is in college and doing great.  So he is trying to raise money for the hospital.

As we headed for our destination which doesn’t have a name, we hit a headwind.  Brutal for 21 miles.  Some was downhill but that can be just as hard going downhill with a headwind.  One bad move and you could lose control of the bike.  Made it to a RV Park.  We are 49 miles from Pueblo, Colorado, the halfway point.  Rained a little and stormed.  Saw a great rainbow.  Jerry and I got into the pool for a little while before the storm.  We even got showers.  But you only got 7 minutes.  Easy for me but now for others.  And they call me the princess.

Wildlife today.  A coyote, antelope, prairie dog, buffalo (only Sue and Jack saw these), and of course the cows and horsies.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

July 1 - Jeff

Today, the plan was to get the tire fixed on the van and then head toward Frisco.  Well, the tire place in Kremmling did not have the right tire.  So plan B was for the three of us to ride to Frisco and meet Sue and then get the tire fixed.  Sue and Jerry are taking care of that as I sit here in White River campground surrounded by mountains with a lake/reservoir about 100 yards away.

Our trip here was supposed to be a climb but it ended up being pretty tame.  We went around a beautiful reservoir on our way.  Had some road without shoulder and some heavy traffic, but then it got better.  Lots of beautiful streams and mountains.  Went through a town called Silverthorne.  Pretty big city with lots of bike trails and tourist type activities and lodgings.  Lots of chalets and vacation homes.  We then ended up in Frisco which is a lot of the same.  It is a mecca for people that love the outdoors.  If you like biking, camping, hiking, this is the place for you.  A dam forms a beautiful reservoir that has lots of activities.  I have never seen so many people of different ages on bicycles.  Saw one family pulling a cart with their special needs son in it.  Could be something for Aly in her future.

Tonight, our plan is to meet up with Sue’s cousin for dinner.  Tomorrow, we make our highest peak at Breckinridge, over 11,000 feet.  I think we will see some snow.

Besides the movie notes that I have mentioned, there are also musical notes.  Certain songs come into your mind while you are riding such as “Mountains to the left of me, streams to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you”.  Or “I can see for miles and miles……”  Or “you don’t spit into the wind”.  That’s from Bad Bad Leroy Brown for those of you besides Jack who don’t know that song.  Or “it’s a beautiful day” by U2.

Today, we had a driver swerve over and try to scare us a little.  Ninety-nine point nine of the drivers have been good about getting over, but there have been a few knuckleheads.  One of the goals of my trip was to create awareness for my daughter Aly’s disease.  If I could, I would like to also create awareness for people on bikes.  I know some people see them as holding them back and slowing them down when you have to go around them or wait for them, but if there is no shoulder as most roads don’t have, especially in Northern Kentucky, dangerous situations can arise.  So, if you can remember, that people on bikes might irritate you, but they are spouses, siblings, parents, and human beings.  Some have kids and families that depend on them.  Injuring them and [possible causing a fatality by driving too close is not the answer.  After some of our experiences, I thought I would just throw that out there.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue