Day 9 (5/31/09)

In observance of the Sabbath and Joseph Smith http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith,_Jr., we had a short and unproductive day, 55 miles due south (no eastward progress) to Cedar City, Ut., the biggest city we've been to since we left Carson City, Nv. and probably the next real civilization until we reach Pueblo, Co. in a week. Even our support team rested (still recovering from the big Friday night in downtown Ely, Nv. and the squaws from the nearby reservation). Leaving us unsupported for the duration; they pulled along side, just as we entered Cedar City. Tim and I enjoyed our short day and lodging, resting for tomorrow's 131 mile day and highest climb yet; 10,450' (climbing from 5,800' out of Carson City).

There was no rest; however, for the team mechanic. Jere had to clean-up and lube the bikes from yesterday's rain and hail. (I just wish he would keep his greasy hands off my white seat). I enjoyed sitting in the sun, evening out my farmer's a.k.a. biker's tan, while I watched Jere work.

There is rumor of a conspiracy between Tim and Jere, plotting a deviation from the route through southern Pennsylvania enroute to the Maryland/Delaware coast, rather than Yorktown, Va. If the rumors have any merit, any course deviations will be announced here. Stay tuned.

I didn't have time to research the law of Utah, but if anybody has time to research; is it against the law to smuggle beer into Utah from Nevada and drink it on Sunday? Speaking of law, henceforth my profession will be a mortician or actuary. While dining on a pumpkin chocolate cookie yesterday, some old man trying to make conversation with the three Spandex Amigos asked me, "What do you do?" Of course I couldn't lie. Without batting an eye, out came the lawyer jokes. A little later, while donning my helmet, as Jere and Tim rode away, I got a legal question. Something to the effect, that when he was in a McDonalds in Missouri, he got upset with somebody, who punched him in the mouth. The police were called and offered to press no charges against either or charge both. He wanted the offender prosecuted, so both were charged. Ultimately, the prosecutor said he didn't have enough to charge the guy, yet he was found guilty of Disorderly Conduct. The legal question, after the facts was, "How can that happen?" Seeing Jere and Tim peddle out of sight, I quickly offered my advise; "Stuff happens" and rode off.

Day 8 (5/30/09)

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday we were giddy with our grand 12 1/2 mile decent to end the day and a perfect conclusion to Week 1. We started a little later than we had the past few days, primarily because we had a half hour drive back to yesterday's ending place. For a change we had a slight tailwind as we made a gradual climb out of the valley. After cresting the summit under an increasingly hot sun (Jere complained of sweat rivulets running out of his helmet) we had another long decent. At the bottom we made a right hand turn, off of Rt. 50, right into a stiff headwind. From there the day went downhill. If Rt. 50 is the Loneliest Road in America, then Rt. 487 / 21 is the Loneliest Road in North America (we often rode three abreast on the climbs). After a brief late morning snack in Baker, Ne., only 5 miles from Rt. 50 and 35 miles into the day, the next town and civilization was our evening destination, Millford, UT, 77 miles of nothing in between. We crossed into Utah (and Mountain Time Zone) a day earlier than we had planned. Utah did not welcome us. The roads were rough which gave Jere back issues. I developed a slow leak in my front tire, but thought I could make it to the support van, somewhere ahead of us and out of sight, when Jere's front tire suddenly went flat. Why change one flat, when you can change two? Prior to the flat tires, rain clouds were all around us and lighting ahead (where we thought the support van was waiting), but we had no fear because we had Jere's fender mojo. It turned out that Jere has no mojo and we have no luck. Utah's average rainfall this time of year is less than an inch. Statistically, that should mean clear skis. Oh' no, we got rained on, not once, but several times. Just when we thought we were out of the clear, the winds would swirl and hit us from every quarter and another cloud would appear and it would again rain in the desert. Go figure. Of course, it spritzed while we were changing the flat tires. If the rain was not bad enough, we rode through a dust storm. Now answer Jere's question; "How can you have rain and a dust storm simultaneously?" Before our last climb and decent into Millford, we joked that we got hit with everything, but sleet and snow. The Mormon god must of heard us, because 5 miles outside of Millford, we got nailed ... rain, swirling, gusting winds, and hail! Because we were so close to a warm shower, we just endured and laughed about it. We all agreed had that happened anywhere else, we would have just curled up in a ball until the support team realized our plight and rescued us. The one bright spot of the day, we finally saw a non bovine mammal; we saw a few antelope (boy can they move out). Speaking of bovine, we rode for hours and only saw a few (see today's slide show), but the landscape (and road) were covered with cow-patties. Does anybody know what the half-life of a cow-patty is, it has to be a long time?
We ended the day with 110 miles, wet and cold, but still motivated because we have two states down. We hope the Mormon god gives us a free pass the rest of the way thorught the state.

Thanks for the postings and words of encouragement. We are inspired and motivated by all of you that are following along with us.

Day 7 (5/29/09)

Today marked one week on the road. Today was also a first for all three of us, as it surpassed the most miles any of us have ever ridden in a week. We totaled 652 miles for the week, on target for Jere and Sam to get back to work. Today, started from our hotel's doorstep in Eureka with a climb out of town. The morning was pleasant with no headwind for a change. We stopped in Eli, Nv. for lunch, 77 miles from the start. In Eli we had the first cell phone coverage in two days. We all frantically made calls, because what ATT giveth, it also taketh. We decided we would spend the night in Eli, because it had more hotel options, but we needed to keep on track with our mileage. So, once again we took advantage of our support vehicle. After lunch, we continued riding east another 35.5 miles, for a total of 112.5 miles, the furthest I had ever ridden in one day. Unfortunately, the wind picked up and was again in our face. Thunderstorms also were popping up all around us, but by the hair on Tim's chinny-chin-chin we avoided getting wet. Seven days without precipitation! The mojo of Jere's fenders is working. (Jere outfitted his bike with fenders and opted to carry the weight, figuring as sure as he drug that weight all across the US, he would never need them.) We chose our ending point at the bottom of a decent for two reasons. 1. Its easy miles after a long day, and 2. A long, fast decent in the morning is cold. The final summit of the day was the highest point (7,722') we crossed since crossing Carson's Pass in Calif. We reached the summit at our 100 mile point with an average speed of 17.2 mph. During the 12 1/2 mile decent our average speed for the day increased to 18.0 mph! Since I outweigh Tim and Jere by at least 40 lbs, the "mass of my ass" carries me downhill faster; therefore, my job is to punch a hole through the wind while the feather weights rest. Turn around is fair play, because they have to drag "Chunky" along on the uphills. Speaking of weight, we are either doing something right or something wrong, because none of us has lost any weight. Tim has been burning, on average, 5,900 calories per day on the bike, while Sam 's average is 7,230.
We expect to reach the Utah border on Sunday. The support team has heard their liquid nourishment may be tough to obtain in Utah, especially on Sundays, so they will stock pile their special Support Team Drink before crossing the boarder. The support team is now firing on all cylinders; water bottles are automatically filled, laundry done, positioned along the road just at the right spot and right time, etc. They even made the successful water cache for the poor laden down soles riding unsupported, who we shared dinner with the day before. In case you are interested here is their blog; http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=4222&v=Pc
In sum, I believe I can speak for all of us that the trip has exceeded our expectations and we are still motivated. (Jere does get homesick and needs ATT to do a better job of allowing him to keep in touch with home).

Day 6 (5/28/09)

We got on the road today with our earliest start, about 7:30. The ride started with a climb out of town, with a quick decent before another climb and decent. The temperature was just cool enough that we had to put on a jacket for the descents. Day6's ride and terrain was identical to Day 5, same headwind and scenery. I was reminded of the Henry VIII song, "... second verse same as the first ...".
Today was a short day, only 69 miles (even with the car option, since towns are far and few between, we still have to plan our next stop so the distance is not too short or too long). According to Tim, we are on course and on time. We ended in Eureka, Nv. Just outside of town was a huge gold mining operation. Apparently, the operation was idle for awhile, but now that the price of gold is up, the operation has became lucrative again.
Adventure Cycling's magazine has a section for people to advertise trips they are taking and soliciting riders to join them. I had noticed one gentleman, seeking companion riders, that intended to ride the same route we were traveling and leaving about when we were. Before I started the trip, I had e-mailed him and told him we had our own group, but wanted to introduce myself in case we saw each other along the route. Roger (from Australia) e-mailed back and said he found two companions, one from the UK and the other from San Francisco. Coincidentally, we met the group in our hotel in Eureka. They had left San Francisco on May 17th and are traveling unsupported and generally camping. Jere offered to perform a maintenance go over on their bikes and later we all joined them for dinner. We also offered our support team to cache their water at their intended camp site, 40 miles down the road, to save them some weight. We intend to ride a hundred. We are a lean, mean riding team.
Still no cell phone coverage, but obviously wireless Internet. Still great weather, but for the headwind. Day 7's forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms, maybe our luck will start to run out.

Day 5 (5/27/09)

This entry is actually being written at the end of Day 6, 5/28/09. Day 5's finish ended in Austin, Nv. In Austin, there was no cell phone coverage or wireless Internet access. The day started with the support van driving us 16 miles east of Fallon, to the point we ended the evening before. The route, Route 50, named by Life Magazine the "Loneliest Road in America" intersected the Fallon Naval Air Station's target range. In the distance you could see jets making bombing passes, but we didn't see any fireworks. Of all places, Tim had a mechanical issue right in the middle of the range. The day' ride traversed wide valleys with the road extending as far as you could see straight ahead. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing in our faces (not at our backs as the trip brochure advertised) the entire day. As a result we continued to draft off each other, constantly rotating to the front to pull, and to the back to rest. To get an idea of the scenery, (in addition to viewing the slide show link), if you view the Motion Base GPS link, click the option to view either in Google Earth or Larger Google Map. From there you can view Route 50 anywhere along our route in street view. You can almost feel the wind in your face and smell the sage.

We stopped at alittle watering hole 50 miles east of Fallon for a snack. The place called Middlegate had a population of 15. There we met a young German couple from Berlin traveling the west with their two small children in a rented RV. Just up the road from Middlegate we spotted one of only three trees east of Fallon (according to our map) covered in shoes?? (Google "Shoe Tree"). In Austin, one of the shop keepers told us they met a Chinese couple that drove from San Francisco just to see the tree, they missed it and drove all the way to Austin (40 miles past the tree) to get directions back to the tree.

The day's route paralleled and crossed the Pony Express route. The Pony Express had stations located approximately 15 miles apart, so we took a page from their manual and had our support team meet us about every 15 miles to resupply us. When riding out in the middle of no where, and nothing seems to get any closer, having a pit stop at regular intervals was as much a psychological relief as was the nourishment.

According to the barkeep in Austin, at its peak the town had a population of 10,000 in the late 1800s during the silver and gold rush, its current population is around 200. From all appearances, it will be a ghost town in a few more years.

We passed a solo rider going in the opposite direction. His bike was loaded with gear and he was pulling a loaded trailer. He looked like he had been on the road for a long time; baked by the sun, but at least the wind was at his back. At our hotel there was a Dutch couple (we didn't get to meet them) that had left Florida in January and riding all over America. We also briefly met a man at our hotel (as we were getting to leave on Day 6) who was heading east, but not crossing the entire country. If we said it once, we said it a hundred times already, having a support vehicle is the only way to do this trip, all you have to do is ride. No worries about carrying food or water, where to camp, setting up and tearing down camp, etc.
Route 50 east of Fallon is 2 wide lanes, much of it with rubble stirps on the shoulders and middle, to wake sleeping drivers. The speed limit is 70, but I doubt anybody actually drove the limit. Everybody gave us a wide berth, no idiots. Other than the headwind, still no rain, tempurtures in the upper 80s. Everybody is healthy, with no real issues.

Day 4 (5/26/09)

Day 4 and we are still working out the kinks, body, support team and this blog. First and foremost, below is a link to the slide show of pictures. Click the slide show tab to view the pictures in a slide show. The link will also be in the "Links" to the left of the postings. http://picasaweb.google.com/BRAG2009/Days14?feat=directlink
I'm still having GPS download problems, but like NASA, I will work through them, and will have downloads later. As of tomorrow we will be out in the middle of no where for awhile, certainly no cell phone coverage, and wireless Internet doubtful so there may be further delays.

Today we started from Genoa, Nv. (we spent the night in Carson City, but drove back west, to start where we left off on Day 3). The ride was a 74 mile time trial sprint to Fallon, Nv. Despite a headwind, and mostly flat terrain, we averaged 19 mph into Fallon. After lunch, the boys (support team) found us a room for the night in town while we road another 16 miles east of town, where we will begin from on Day 5. We all took our turns rotating to the front to block the wind; all for one and one for all. After lunch, Jere finally had his green vegetables and perked up, so he drug Tim & I on the ride out of town. I lallygagged in the rear, calling out the Navy fighter jets buzzing in and around Navy Fallon Air Station. The terrain is sparse and arid. We were told by a gentleman at lunch, who said he passed us on the decent from Carson's Pass on Day 3 and again today, that the mountains further east are beautiful. (He wasn't too sure why we ride so close together; I guess he doesn't watch the NASCAR cars drafting).
Stats for day 4 were; 90.1 miles, total ride time 4:49, avg. speed 18.7, max speed 43.2, 1,932' of ascent. No dogs, no rain, no mechanical problems, only two horn honks, and Jere's nose is redder than Rudolph's. All and all, things are going better than I expected; somehow I'm afraid the good fortune can't last.

Day 3 (5/25/09)

Today was a milestone day. Today was the 16th anniversary of Tim's kidney transplant. He celebrated his new lease on life by spending 6 hours climbing a total of 13,000'! We all stuck together during the climb, misery likes company. The significant amount of the traffic was heading home from the holiday weekend and down the mountain from the mountain lakes and recreation areas. We congratulated ourselves on our forethought not to leave earlier in the holiday weekend and fight with the hoards heading to the hills for the holiday weekend. We left Placerville, Ca. and finished 103 miles and 7:42 hours (ride time, not total time) later in Genoa, Nevada, just over the hill from Tahoe. We learned from a local at breakfast that Placerville was called Hangtown because of its hanging judge during the gold rush days. At some point the locals figured the name was not good for tourism and changed it. We celebrated the end of the day by drinking at the oldest, continuously operating bar in Nevada. Figuring the place had a history of people being thrown out through the saloon doors, we opted to change out of our Spandex before heading inside. The support team found us a hotel in Carson City about 10 miles away. Tomorrow, we will start where we finished, outside the bar in Genoa. No more gaps in the route. Still no dogs. No shouts from idiots, but a horn blow in Nevada and a redneck who buzzed us with inches to spare as we were climbing up the mountain. Weather still great, sunny, ideal cycling temperature. After cresting the mountain pass at 8,574'(Carson Pass, named after Kit Carson) we had a terrific decent into Nevada. Given my weight, I quickly blew past the lighter guys, topping out at 51 mph! On our accent we passed through Eldorado National Forest and saw evidence the area had seen its share of wildfires. The higher elevations still had snow. Due to technical difficulties, my GPS wasn't charged for Day 2, so no download. Although my GPS worked today (almost ran out of juice because we were on the road so long), I can't get Internet on my computer, so Day 3's GPS download showing the epic climb will have to wait. I took lots of pictures, and will download them to the blog soon too. Tommorrow's goal is Falon, Nev., until then ...

Day 2 (5/24/09)

The start of the day started with a dilemma, do we return to Napa to begin the ride, or just start from the hotel? By a vote of 2 - 1, the decision was made to ride from the hotel. We rationalized the "gap" in our route arguing we rode around the bay instead of taking the ferry across, as the Adventure Cycling Assoc. maps would have had us do. The morning went quickly, the road was flat and the wind at our back. We averaged about 20 mph by our first rendezvous with the van, 30 miles in. We finally got onto the mapped route at Davis, Ca. and rode into Sacramento, right by the capital building. The city was beautiful and void of any traffic; perfect timing. From Sacramento to Folsom, Ca. we followed bike paths along the American River. In Folsom, after 75 miles, we met up with the support team and had our first cold adult beverages of the trip. After Folsom, on full bellies, we finally got out of the flat country and started climbing some of the warm-up hills preceding Day 3's assault on the Sierra Nevadas. Again, great weather, wind at our backs. Stats for the day were 96.5 miles in 6:02 of ride time, 4,956' of climbing and 16.0 mph avg. speed, no idiots yelling out the window and still no dogs. Overall, another great day and a little closer to home.

Day 1 (5/23/09)

The trip started well, with AirTran doing its part by departing on time and getting us to San Francisco around 11:oo P.S.T. We took a taxi to the start at the Golden Gate bridge because the support van was too full to carry us from the airport. Unfortunately, it took us over an hour to link up with the support team. Despite too many cell phone calls that went something like this; Jere - "Where are you?" Josh - "I'm staring at the bridge", Jere - "So am I, but its a big bridge, where are you?" Josh - "I'm looking up at the bridge", Jere - "How can you do that? What else do you see? Josh - "because I'm under it, and I see water" ... and so on. Eventually, we found each other, geared up and began heading home. The weather was cold, windy and overcast. We were already tired before we started by about 2:00 P.S.T. Because of the late start, we didn't want to waste any more time for the traditional rear wheel dip in the Pacific. We opted instead for a boat launch we found after crossing the Bay Bridge. We deviated from the canned route from the start. Unfortunately, one of the main, direct roads we selected, which looked good on the map, didn't allow cycles. Jere got the first flat tire of the ride, 35 miles in. We made the decision to ride to Napa, as our 1st stop and hotel were too far away since all we seemed to accomplish to that point was to snake around the bay. We made it to Napa, just as the sun was setting, about 11:00 E.S.T., a long day! The support team met us and drove us to dinner and the hotel, about 27 miles away. Our stats for the day were; 83.7 miles, 5:03 ride time (6:19 total time), 5,589' of climbing with an average speed of 16.7 mph., two idiots who yelled at us, zero dogs, and no precipitation. We were pleasantly surprised with the traffic. The bay area has a lot of cyclists and it appeared the drivers are used to bikes on the road. California has an extensive system of bike paths and a lot of the roads had bike lanes, which made travel a lot less stressful. My first day apprehension of California traffic on a holiday weekend proved unfounded. In sum, a good start.

D-Day -1

Last Saturday, Jere's son, Josh and his friend left Pa. headed west to San Francisco, to our rendezvous point, or so we thought. We found out after the boys were on the road that they had a different agenda. 72 hours later they were in Vegas. I understand they migrated to Hollywood, Ca. Supposedly, our bikes and gear are still accounted for.

We depart BWI 6:40 a.m. on Sat. May 23rd, destination Golden Gate Bridge. From the get go we already plan to deviate from the Adventure Cycling's canned route. Rather than take the ferry across the Bay, we decided to ride across the Golden Gate (we'll suit up in the Lycra at the Visitor's Center) and ride north and east around the Bay. The first day we plan to ride about 77 miles. Because of the holiday weekend, we made hotel reservations for the first two days; thereafter, we will wing it. We (I am) are apprehensive of the infamous California highways and drivers, compounded by the Memorial Day weekend traffic. If things get too dicey, we'll simply jump in the support van and head for safer, less congested roads. The weather appears ideal for at least the first two days. Assault of the Sierra Nevadas is scheduled for D-Day + 3.