eduvolve: the ride for sustainability

Travelling along the Mormon Trail is a humbling experience

2009-10-18T16:43:00.001-04:00

August 20th - Day 35 - Rawlins, WY to Sweetwater Station, WY - 85 miles

I woke up to a strong cross/headwind blowing across the open expanses of Wyoming. The day started into the wind going up a long, tiring climb with absolutely no cover to slow the wind. During this climb I had a lot of time to scan the roadside and admire all of the litter that seems especially prevalent on this stretch of road. By watching the roadside flotsam I acquired a new friend. I spotted a McDonald's kid's meal teddy bear at the edge of the pavement and quickly stopped to scoop him up. I've attached him to the rear of my trunk bag and named him NASMART because he's doing the TransAm looking backward.

Once I dropped down from the initial climb I entered a vast flat plain circled by mountains in the distance on all sides. It was beautiful, but punishing as the wind whipped unimpeded toward me. the rest of the morning was similarly flat, with thankfully a few ridges in the afternoon to break up the wind. I crossed the continental divide twice more today, which is a bit maddening as I want to simply head west and less north.

In the afternoon the wind died down and then changed directions. The light wind becamce a tailwind that helped me average about 21 miles per hour for the last 30 miles of the day into Sweetwater Station. We camped tonight at the Mormon Handcart Historic Site - Sixth Crossing. The site is a museum commemorating the emigration of one particular group of Mormons that traveled the Mormon Trail toward the Rocky Mountains. The group became caught in a blizzard after starting out too late in the season and suffered many deaths and injuries. The missionaries at the site recall many stories of the Mormon Trail with amazing detail. As I ride I am reminded of the hardship faced by others along this same route and am thankful for the luxuries with which I am equipped.

Boiling Ham and Cynthia Rocks

2009-10-18T15:50:00.005-04:00

August 19th - Day 34 - Saratoga, WY to Rawlins, WY - 44 miles

This morning we went into downtown Saratoga to the city pool and hot sulphur springs. The springs are free of charge and open year round. They have three progressively cooler pools setup: one concrete pool built around the main source spring, one at the outflow of that pool as it flows into the river blocked off by stones, and a third cooler pool that is nearly the temperature of the river water (very cold). The water enters the hottest pool at about 110-120 degrees. We started out in the medium heat pool where we talked with some other people that were on vacation and just passing through. We then worked our way into the hot pool, any amount of motion is painful, and moving in and out is best done slowly. I eventually got in enough to dip my head underwater, once. Cynthia met a woman yesterday who has been coming to the springs every day for the past 60-some years and swears by its healing powers. I'm not so sure about healing. Feeling much like a boiled ham, I was glad to get my now ruby flesh out of the pool. "But the vasodilation is so relaxing" Blah blah blah.

Cynthia rode the whole day today. It's been really great seeing her able to do long miles without any knee pain. Of course, we have been really saddened at times that she was unable to do all of the miles with me. I was glad to assume the support driver role, allowing her to enjoy this trip from the biker's point of view.

The route today took us onto a true interstate (I-80) for the first time this whole trip. It was only 13 miles, but it's strange riding where you would normally be prohibited. Most of the roads that we ride on have been normal, country roads with speed limits averaging around 55mph. Cynthia and I were anxious about it, but she didn't have any problems until she came upon road construction that dropped the traffic down to 55miles per hour in a single lane with a concrete barrier on one side and cones on the other. It would have been insane for her to try to make it through (and would have nearly stopped traffic), so I picked her up in the car and took her to the exit past the construction.

We camped overnight in Western Hills Campground/RV Park in Rawlins. (We missed out on playing putt-putt golf there)

Wildlife welcome to Wyoming

2009-08-31T19:49:00.002-04:00

August 18th - Day 33 - Walden, CO to Saratoga, WY - 68 miles

Acting on a tip from the park manager (who turned off the sprinklers for us last night) we set out early this chilly morning to find some moose. He told us that the town transplanted about 25 moose to the area years ago and now the population was kept around 600 individuals. We went into the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge (on a different road than I rode yesterday) and saw mule deer, hawks, ground squirrels, and lots of cows, but no moose. It wasn't until we asked a park ranger where the best viewing was that we found an area that moose frequent. We walked along a boardwalk and spotted a bull moose about 50 yards away. He was apparently accustomed to humans and just stood quietly behind some brush. We were both really excited to see a wild moose, and the day just kept getting better!!

Once I finally started to ride I faced a relentless headwind that blew down the valley of the North Platte River. At one point, when I was making slow progress, Cynthia came to find me (no cellphone service) and stopped while I refueled and filled up on water. While I was resting, I happened to spot a large bird flying over distant hills that I thought looked like a bald eagle. Sure enough, we grabbed the binoculars and we were certain that I was right. We watched it soar for a long time over the cliffs before it raised up and dropped down the other side of the hills. As we were watching the eagle, we also spotted pronghorn antelope in the flat below the hills. A couple of miles I found another bald eagle sitting on a telephone pole no more than 30 yards away from the road. Cynthia drove up in time to see it and watch it briefly before it flew away, out of sight. Simply amazing.

Later, Cynthia found me toward the end of the ride and told me to hurry up, because she had found the real home of the free hot sulphur springs in Saratoga. About eight miles outside of town, I saw yet another eagle, this one closer than the last two. I came over a hill, with a butte on my right and it swooped up over the butte, nearly landed on the road, and then flew over my head and back over the butte. It was close enough that I could hear the "whoosh" of its wings as it flapped. I love this ride.

Cynthia had a different close encounter with wildlife today as she nearly hit a large male pronghorn antelope that ran across the road in front of her. She had to slam on the brakes and swerve to avoid hitting it. Thankfully both parties walked away only rattled.

Once we found each other in Saratoga, we headed to the Saratoga Lake Campground to set up camp late in the evening.

No FREE sulphur springs in Hot Sulphur Springs. Boo.

2009-08-31T19:23:00.004-04:00

August 17th - Day 32 - Hot Sulphur Springs, CO to Walden, CO - 61 miles

The late night last night and cold this morning kept us tucked in our tent extra long this morning. We had heard that there were free hot sulphur springs in town, but our searching and inquiries this morning only lead us to the resort near town that definitely was not free.

Dejected, I got on the bike and headed out. I rode over the continental divide again at 9,621 ft, but beyond that the road was unremarkable, just long rolling hills and a headwind. I rode through the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. I hoped to see pronghorn antelope or bison. I saw some hawks, but beyond that there were only large pastures of grazing cows in this wildlife refuge. It was very exciting to ride into Walden and see that they call themselves the "Moose Viewing Capital of the World". I looked intently, but didn't see any moose. I gratefully pulled into camp in Walden city park and found that Cynthia was already making pasta for dinner. I'm truly spoiled.

2009-08-31T18:32:00.002-04:00

August 16th - Day 31 - Fairplay, CO to Hot Sulphur Springs, CO - 95 miles

Cynthia and I started out riding together today. The route went over Hoosier Pass, which at 11,542ft is the highest point on the TransAmerican Trail. Both of us wanted to experience the Pass, so after a long, tiring climb we went over together. I turned back and descended down the way I had come to the car which we parked at the base of the climb while Cynthia continued down the other side into Breckenridge, where I continued biking solo. I met Cynthia 14 miles later in Silverthorne for lunch.

Cynthia has been craving Chipotle for a long time, so finding one there was a boon. Unfortunately, the long climb and long lunch today would have severe consequences later in the day. Later in the evening, I met Cynthia again in a small diner where she was able to get free wifi and do laundry nearby. I stopped only shortly as I it was already nearly 7pm and I had another 17 miles to do for the day. I rode hard trying to peak my exertion the whole way, but still failed to outrun the fading daylight. I rode the last few miles through canyons so dark that I had to intently watch the white line to know my position. Though I have lights and reflectors I still pulled off the road whenever a car approached from behind. That was probably the biggest risk I've had to take thus far.

To add to the fun, the town we were staying in had few road lights, so I waited at a gas station for Cynthia to arrive to find our camp for the night. The town allows camping along the river road, which is in poor condition and not welcoming, to say the least, in the dark of night. It got cold again tonight and we found refuge in sleeping bags as quickly as possible.

Start: ~5,500, End: ~9,800 feet above sea level

2009-08-31T17:32:00.008-04:00

August 15th - Day 30 - Florence, CO to Fairplay, CO - 86 miles

The first 45 miles of the ride today were one long, low, constant climb away from the buttes of eastern Colorado and into the real mountains.

The first day in the mountains and our first real breakdown of communication. After 40 miles, I pulled into a small town consisting largely of log cabins called Guffey. I thought that Cynthia was going to meet me in Guffey for lunch, so when John of the Guffey Garage started to talk to me I didn't think that it was a big problem that Cynthia wasn't there. (We had no cellphone reception in that area) John is a retired union electrician who has been housing TransAm cyclists in his historic cabins and bunkhouse since the 1976 beginning of the BikeCentennial route that we are following. Since retirement he has been a welder, craftsman, and scavenger of unique items that now fill his semi-famous Garage and the Guffey museum. He has a great perspective on life and was very generous (offering me a cold beer within moments of my arrival). After some good conversation and sharing of stories with John I began to worry as to why Cynthia hadn't arrived yet.

Once back on the route Cynthia passed and was understandably flustered by her struggle to find me. The climb slowed my progess more than Cynthia anticipated and I failed to communicate where I was stopping for lunch. Not having access to a phone only made the situation worse.

Cynthia rode the next 25 miles as I leap-frogged ahead of her in about 5-10 mile increments. The wind had been a non-issue on the large climb this morning, but by the time Cynthia started to ride across the rolling plateau the afternoon wind was whipping up an annoying cross/headwind. I finished the last 20 miles into Fairplay in the fading light and dropping temperature of the evening. Luckily for me, Cynthia had gone ahead and arranged our accommodations in an RV park and set up camp. We hurried to get showered and get a nice meal in town before getting to bed late.

Another rest day

2009-08-31T17:25:00.002-04:00

August 14th - Florence, CO - Rest/Work Day

With the Rocky Mountains lying just ahead, we took today as an opportunity to get better prepared for a long period without reliable internet access. Mostly, this just involves getting Cynthia's medical school prep work up to date.

A climb in the morning leads to a fast finish

2009-08-31T15:37:00.004-04:00

August 13th - Day 29 - Pueblo, CO to Florence, CO - 33 miles

Cynthia needs to get a lot of work done for medical school but yesterday was so busy that she didn't have much time. We considered making today another rest day but the campground was expensive, so we are doing a short day to get to free camping in Florence City Park.

I got a flat tire this morning from a staple, however, it was a good spot to stop as it was right next to a prairie dog colony. I called Cynthia and had her come to join me so that she could enjoy seeing them too.

After fixing the flat I continued another 12 miles to a town where I was going to switch with Cynthia to allow her some time on the bike. Before I could get to her I had to climb up a thousand foot butte, my first hill in a long time. I've nearly forgotten what climbing feels like. After switching riders I drove down into Florence, and Cynthia caught up only ten minutes later. She had an amazingly strong ride down off of the butte into Florence and she was able to ride 11 miles in only 33 minutes!!

Rest day

2009-08-31T14:11:00.003-04:00

August 12th - Pueblo, CO Rest Day

We took today as a rest day to get some work done and get resupplied. For a "rest" day it ended up being very busy as we ran around Pueblo. My cellphone has been acting very screwy as if it had gotten wet. We took it into an Alltel store and they offered to send me a new phone, but seeing as my car doesn't have a P.O. box, that option didn't work. I was forced to buy an old refurbished phone, but at least I now have a phone that can make calls.

We are going to stay another night at Lake Pueblo State Park.

Ghost sprinklers attack during a thunderstorm

2009-08-31T13:59:00.003-04:00

August 11th – Sugar City, CO to Pueblo, CO – 56 miles

So, last night we stayed in a small park in Sugar City, it was generally nice, but had amazingly green grass for the region. We saw the sprinkler heads and tried to place our tent in a section of unhealthy grass hoping that it wouldn’t get sprayed by the sprinklers in the night. We were wrong. There was a thunderstorm last night that dumped a lot of rain, so you would think that sprinklers would be unnecessary. Nope, in fact they came on twice. A wonderful example of how western towns use their scarce water resources efficiently. Grrr. Oh, and it gets pretty cold at night, especially during a rain storm. I was out there in the rain getting sprayed by sprinklers that it was too dark to see trying to figure out how to block/turn the sprinklers to stop them from pummeling the side of our tent. After crawling out of my warm sleeping bag three times I finally got it right. Needless to say, we awoke to find that the tent was now our personal swimming pool and we were adrift on our bedrolls/liferafts. Great. Perfect start to a day.

After the morning drama, the ride today was a relief, except for another flat tire from a cactus needle. I caught my first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains 44 miles out from Pueblo. Seeing the slight difference in color between the sky and the mountains on the horizon was a great inspiration and a welcome sight signaling an escape from the Plains.

We found camp tonight in the beautiful Arkansas Point Campground at Lake Pueblo State Park. The campground is amazing, but expensive at $18 a night.

Riding into the wild wild west

2009-08-31T13:36:00.002-04:00

August 10th – Day 27 – Tribune, KS to Sugar City, CO – 120 miles

I had a strong tailwind again today. I was expecting to face cross/headwinds the whole way across the Great Plains, so the occasional tailwinds have been a wonderful surprise. I feel sorry for Iain though, as he was definitely not excited about facing riding into this wind today. Today was also cooler than yesterday, only getting up to 88 degrees.

Cynthia rode the middle 30 miles of the day. It seems that about 30 miles is a good protective distance for her to try to do at once without straining her knees. Her taking the middle portion of the ride allowed me to rest and put in another 30 miles to finish off a long day.

We can tell that we are entering “The West” as we are seeing a lot of sagebrush and scrubland as the climate becomes more semiarid and the road becomes slightly more rolling. We’ve also seen tumbleweed (One rolled into Cynthia on the road today) so it feels like we have actually made it out “west” as we enter Colorado.

Insight into the Politics of Food

2009-08-23T16:11:00.002-04:00

Occasionally, when we're famished and need food fast, Troy and I will eat out instead of getting out our camp stove and making a meal. (Usually for dinner since breakfast is easy - soy milk and cereal).

We once ordered Dominos pizza (their thin crust is vegan!) and used the computer to order online so we could stroll into town and pick it up. When we asked for no cheese on our pizza, this little window popped up. It is really eye opening to realize that there's a whole world of agendas that dictate our food choices of which most people are completely unaware. EDUVOLVE YOURSELF!!

Meeting a fat man on a TransAm

2009-08-22T21:14:00.002-04:00

August 9th - Day 26 - Dighton, KS to Tribune, KS - 71 miles

We had a decent cross/tail wind today, which made for fast, unremarkable miles across the flat miles of Kansas. Cynthia rode the last 22 miles of the day without problem. We are really sick of these flat miles. Little has changed from eastern Kansas to the west. One of the few changes is that the cattle farms are slowly replaced by wheat fields, woohoo. We did pass into the Mountain Time Zone today, so we get to enjoy Kansas for an extra hour. One thing going for Kansas is they do have miles and miles full of miles and miles.

One positive: most Kansas towns of appreciable size to support a park usually have a pool. In the park tonight we met Iain Cullen from Glasgow, Scotland. He's heading east and did the reverse of our alternate route (detouring from the TransAm to start in Washington). The three of us rode into town to see if there was anywhere to get a beer, but the only bar in town was closed and the convenience store doesn't sell beer. Rather displeased, we returned to the park and shared advice on where to stay and what to see. He showed great interest in the Cosmosphere museum in Hutchinson, KS. He also gave us detailed descriptions as to where he stayed and the route he took. We are going to take his advice and break from the route before going to Missoula, MT, heading north to see Glacier National Park instead. You can read and see more of Iain's travels at: www.crazyguyonabike.com/fatmanonatransam Though his website may refer to him as a "fat man on a TransAm", the Iain we met was far from fat. (I too have lost about 10-15 pounds. Though sadly a lot of mine has come from upper body muscle) The people that we have met along our journey have definitely added richness to our travels, even in the exciting Kansas plains.

Auntie Em!! there's no tornado, but a strong wind anyway.

2009-08-22T20:34:00.003-04:00

August 8th - Day 25 - LaCrosse, KS to Dighton, KS - 66 miles

Today there was an ugly 25 mile per hour like yesterday, except that today it was out of the south-west, making it a cross/head wind instead of a pure cross. As if the wind wasn't slowing me enough, I got a puncture from a cactus needle and after I changed the tire it didn't seat properly in the rim, coming displaced in a way that I've never seen before. Squirrelly bugger.

Cynthia rode again today, taking between 15 and 20 miles of the ride today. It got really hot again today so we tag-teamed the last few miles, trying to keep from fatiguing and getting into town quickly. We got in with enough time to swim in the city pool a bit before getting dinner ready and going to bed.

Cynthia, being a good vegan, steals my carrot

2009-08-22T19:31:00.003-04:00

August 7th - Day 24 - Nickerson, KS to LaCrosse, KS - 94 miles

Today the winds turned against us. A 25 mile per hour wind was roaring out of the south, making for an intense crosswind. A crosswind is not normally a huge problem, but when they are that strong it seems like you pedal one stoke sideways for every two strokes forward. Spending all day leaning to one side is not so much fun. The route today was due west except for the last 24 miles that were a straight shot north. After fighting the wind for the first 66miles of the day, I was looking forward to that long stretch where I would be pushed along by the wind and actually get up some real speed.

When I reached Cynthia at Fort Larned she decided that she wanted to ride some today. Though I really wanted that tailwind, I felt sorry because she had to miss out on so much of the ride so far, so I obliged. Plus, it's exciting that Cynthia is getting back on the bike and not feeling too much unbearable pain in her knees. However, it was not all fun and speed for Cynthia because she had to ride through temperatures upward of 105 degrees.

In spite of the wind, there was some interesting scenery today. I rode through Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, and Cynthia stopped there as well. There is apparently a prairie dog colony there, but Cynthia and I didn't see it. I also stopped at Fort Larned, a Civil War era Union fort that protected the Santa Fe trail that passed nearby.

One very unpleasant "sight" today was a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) also called a feedlot or factory farm. Most of the cattle farms that I've seen on this trip have been, at most, a few hundred head of cattle spread over multiple square MILES grazing on huge plains of grass. This CAFO was one square mile and appeared to contain a thousand or more head of cattle. The cattle were densely packed on grassless lots, producing the foulest, most wretched experience of the trip (yeah, even worse than roadkill armadillo). And because the farm's size, I had to bike past it in winds that carried the smell straight to me even after I had passed by.

The purpose of this ride is to promote sustainability, and this was an example of the opposite of that. Though CAFOs are capable of producing large amounts of beef very quickly, the squalor that the animals live in necesstiates the managers to feed the cattle huge amounts of antibiotics to stave off disease. This over use of antibiotic has been shown to create antibiotic-resistant bacteria, some of which can be deadly to humans. CAFOs are efficient at what they do, but they foul ground and surface water resources with concentrated animal waste. Also, beef production in general is highly water consumptive and unsustainable, especially as other countries, such as China industrialize and view beef laden diets as a sign of wealth. If we eat lower on the food chain (eating plant-based diets instead of using the land to grow food for our food) then we can become more sustainable and better able to feed ourselves and the less fortunate in the world.

An unexpected space adventure in Kansas

2009-08-22T18:00:00.003-04:00

August 6th - Day 23 - Newton, KS to Nickerson, KS - 50 mi

Cynthia rode for the first time in a while this morning. She rode the first 30 miles of the day today and was greeted back to the road with a nice thunderstorm that greatly reduced visibility. Once Cynthia's knee started to twinge with pain again I took over and finished off the last 20 miles of the day. We camped in Nickerson city park. Nickerson is a small town near the much larger city of Hutchinson.

Looking for some adventure, our maps told of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. The Cosmosphere was pretty amazing, it is second only to the Smithsonian in size and extent of collection of aerospace exhibits. Check it out at: http://www.cosmo.org/

Once we got back to camp we met Sonny Neumiller, another TransAm rider who was staying the night in Nickerson. He is from Seattle and is following a route very similar to our own to deviate from the Adventure Cycling TransAm to get home. Sonny is unique in that he is doing the ride on a handcycle. He has a BOB trailer that he tows behind his Quickie handcycle that holds all of his gear as well as his standard wheelchair. We shared a beverage and some stories, but all of his stories blew ours out of the water. He has had a few dozen flat tires and hills that are hard for me are killers for him. When he showed me his bike, he pointed out his tires; they were worn down to the point of seeing the threads. He hopes to replace them soon, and has already replaced them previously. It was a lot of fun talking to Sonny and we might meet up with him in Seattle. You can check out more about his adventure at: www.crazyguyonabike.com/handcycle

Auntie Em, Auntie Em!! Keep this Kansas wind coming!!

2009-08-22T13:32:00.004-04:00

August 5th - Day 22 - Eureka, KS to Newton, KS - 74mi

The wind this morning was whipping out of the east leading to even faster riding than yesterday. I finished the first 19 miles going due west in an hour. I feel sorry for Alena who will be getting this wind as a vicious head wind all day. After the first 19 miles I turned due north and my speed came down quite a bit as I spent energy fighting the cross wind that wanted to blow me into traffic. This morning the skies were heavily overcast and ominous of a storm, so I tried to ride as fast as possible regardless of the wind. With the aid of the wind I got into Newton by noon, which was a very good considering the heat that came with the afternoon sun.

Though I was feeling sorry for Alena, it turns out that she may have beat some of the wind by waiting to start out. She had planned to get up early like me, but she stayed in her tent and spent some time with Cynthia today before leaving. The went to the cafe that Cynthia visited yesterday and got some breakfast and drinks.

We camped tonight in Newton City Park where there were some local cyclists that I spoke with and shared about our ride and our charity efforts.

A lesson learned leads to a good day

2009-08-22T12:49:00.000-04:00

August 4th – Day 21 – Chanute, KS to Eureka, KS – 65mi

Great day for riding. I learned my lesson from yesterday and got on the road early today (6:15am). I had a strong cross-tail wind for most of the day. I was able to stop for an hour to get some breakfast and still got done with riding by 11am. I was averaging around 20 miles with the tailwind, which was a great change from yesterday.

We camped in a city park with a decent pool and Cynthia had enough time to get her primary medical school applications finished. It’s nice having the majority of a day to do other things off the bike, hopefully we can keep this up.

Tonight we met Alena, another adventurous TransAm rider who is doing the whole ride solo after two of her riding partners broke their wrists in an accident and had to quit. She’s headed east, so the nice tailwind I had today was fighting her. She was grateful to meet other riders on the road because she is becoming disheartened with the heat, wind, general boringness of Kansas (great, so that’s what we have to look forward to), and the mountains that loom ahead. It’s been really great meeting other riders, hearing their experiences, and sharing tips and resources when we can. We wish Alena all the best of luck.

The heat cometh

2009-08-22T12:46:00.000-04:00

August 3rd – Day 20 – Pittsburg, KS to Chanute, KS – 59mi

Today was not a lot of fun. I got too late of a start this morning causing me to ride through the heat of the day (it was 90degrees in the evening shade). I was riding on the same road all day that goes due west, so the wind that was whipping out of the west/southwest slowed progress. I drank nine bottles of water and Gatorade today, six 24oz bottles and three 32oz bottles. I can’t get up that late anymore. The plan from now on is to be on the road by 6:30am every day and done by 1:00pm so long as it’s hot, especially considering that it is only supposed to get hotter soon.

Plant-Based Yummies on the Road

2009-08-16T21:44:00.004-04:00

In case you haven't read our welcome message, Troy and I are spreading the word about a really awesome way YOU and EVERYONE can contribute to health and sustainability. It all starts on your plate. Believe it or not, eating a plant-based diet is one of the biggest ways you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost your body's immune system, lower your cholesterol, increase your intake of antioxidants, and decrease the waste of resources like water and land.

I'll provide more statistics soon, but below is a description of what Troy and I have taken to eating during our energy intensive ride. We feel great!

Snacks:
nuts nuts nuts!
peanut butter and jelly
dried and fresh fruit
cereal bars - check the ingredients, some off brand ones are plant-based
Luna cookies
fresh veggies - carrots, celery, tomatoes
wheat crackers - off brand ones we found are plant-based
bread and guacamole - check stores like Wal-Mart for fresh baked bread that is plant-based
chips and salsa
V8 juices
Tropicana all natural OJ
Naked Green Machine Drink

Dinners/Main Meals:
pasta
rice
multigrain pilafs
grilled up veggies - squash, onions, broccoli, tomatoes
spinach salads - when we can get fresh
Morningstar Farms Vegan Grillers or Mealstarters - when we can access these
Chili "dogs" - beans, peppers, and onions with taco seasoning in a hotdog bun

Fast food (sparingly) options:
Chipotle - veggie bowls
Burger King - Gardenburger (you can ask them to hold the mayo and put lots of veggies on it!)
pizza - often you can ask them what's in their dough and have them hold the cheese. Jalapenos make for a yummy zing!

Wow, look at those beautiful horses run...on the road...directly at me...uhoh

2009-08-14T17:29:00.004-04:00

August 2nd - Day 19 - Fair Grove, MO to Pittsburg, KS - 112miles

Today was an amazing day, it started with about 50 miles of hills as I ended my time in Missouri and finished with 60 miles of relatively flat to gently rolling hills in Kansas.

I got to use my pepper spray for the first time today. A farm dog saw me coming as I started up a hill and ran parallel to me, slowly angling in toward me. The hill became increasingly steep, so I had no chance of accelerating away from him. I yelled at the dog and signaled for the car behind me to pass me to cut off/scare/(hit) the dog but they didn't move. As the dog turned toward my leg I sprayed it, the first burst hitting his head, the second right in the eyes and nose. I expected to get a flurry of yelping and wimpering, no such luck. He kept on running and barking/snarling. Fortunately the snarling was interrupted by sneezing long enough to delay his attack and allow a truck to appear over the hill, scaring him back into his yard. Stupid Mace, not effective against dogs, give me back my pedal wrench.

Later in the day I had an even more memorable run in with domesticated animals run amok. I was coming over a small hill when I saw between 8 and 10 horses running in the road. My first thought was, "wow, they're beautiful, I need to get my camera out". The second thought was the realization that they were on the road, and not only that but they were running at full gallop directly at me. I had no idea what to do in such a situation as there was no cover that I could find so I came to a quick stop and froze. Part of me was deciding whether or not to run and part of me still wanted to get my camera out of the handlebar bag. As they neared I noticed that the horses were being chased by a man on a dirt bike. While I was looking around for cover I saw a car coming up the road behind me and I hoped that he would come fast enough for me to use the car as cover. As with the dog earlier in the day, the driver failed to comprehend my vulnerability to charging animals and stopped his car about 20 yards behind me. I was left to face off against a herd of panicked horses by myself.

Luckily, when the horses were about 50 yards away they spooked because of me and the car blocking their way and began to slow, stopping and splitting off to either side of the road about 20 yards from me. The dirt biker used this pause and break in the group to charge through the group and turn around facing the horses from my direction. The horses then turned and ran back the way they had come with the dirt biker driving them on and yelling. I couldn’t see where over the next hill the horses had gone, so I continued slowly and found the dirt biker walking along the street, having given the dirt bike back to the neighbor. I talked to him briefly, apologizing for messing up whatever it was he was trying to do. He told me that he was actually trying to turn the horses (so me freezing in the face of a stampede was a good thing). He had accidentally left the gate to the horse pasture open and started to mow the lawn nearby, scaring the horses who then fled down the road. He ran across the road and borrowed the dirt bike from the neighbor to chase down the horses and get them back in the pasture.

Nearly stampeded by horses: I LOVE THIS RIDE!!

Oh yeah, I never did get my camera out, so I have no pictures of the horses. Fail.

A big important day

2009-08-12T14:46:00.003-04:00

August 1st - Day 18 - Bendavis, MO to Fair Grove, MO - 65miles

Not a lot to say about today. It rained this morning, but low rolling hills through farmland made for fast miles.

We spent some time in a fun little cafe attempting to catch up on the blog. We camped in Fair Grove Historical Society Park next to the town's landmark: one of two steam-driven mills in the nation.

2009-08-12T14:05:00.003-04:00

July 31st - Day 17 - Eminence, MO to Bendavis, MO - 60 miles

This morning rolled out of the Ozark Mountains into lower hills and flatter farmland. The ride was unremarkable but had some pretty views out over the hills.

I used to be afraid of heights, but I overcame that fear a long time ago (or so I thought). As I was passing through the end of the Ozarks, I saw a sign for a park department lookout tower and thought that I could get some nice pictures of the Ozarks from there. The tower is a very simple steel construction that stands well above the surrounding pine forest. I found that my fear of heights tend to return when I'm looking down on the treetops and there is a gusty wind and I'm standing on something that a middle-schooler could build out of a couple Erector sets. I snapped a few pictures, got down, and then inhaled. I later found out that Cynthia stopped there in the car and took much better pictures than I did. Great, I nearly soiled myself for absolutely no reason.

We camped the night behind the store in Bendavis, MO, a tiny cattle-raising crossroads. In the evening a little, dirty, thirsty, hungry french bulldog wandered into camp and quickly decided to attach himself to us. He didn't seem to have an owner and Cynthia worried that someone had dropped him of in the middle of nowhere. (Bendavis is the very center of the middle of nowhere) Cynthia did name him, Patrick at first, but then decided that was too good of a name for him, so he got demoted to Dobby. (Cynthia says that it's a Harry Potter character) But we didn't feed him so that he wouldn't have reason to stick around. He slept right by the tent and snored/wheezed the whole night.

In the morning, Cynthia was a little heartbroken at having to abandon him again. Fortunately, as I was pulling out of the store driveway a farmer pulled up and said, "Bowser, what the heck are you doing here? Get in the car." Dobby (aka Bowser) ran over and hopped up into the car. I talked to the farmer and he explained that the dogs had followed the pickup into town the day before and that Bowser either didn't know the way home or the other dogs left him. One way or another it was a happy ending and we avoided gaining a ride mascot.

Ozark Mountains: old mountains that still hold a punch

2009-08-12T13:15:00.002-04:00

July 30th - Day 16 - Farmington, MO to Eminence, MO - 90 miles

Today was a pretty rough day. It rained this morning, got hot and humid, and the Ozarks are steep and long climbs that come one after another. It was a long day, not much else to say. I rolled into town around 6pm ready to shower, eat, and go to bed.

While I was out enjoying the ride, Cynthia got stuck setting up the tent alone in the heavy rain at Eminence Cottages, Canoes, and Campgrounds. We are staying near the confluence of two rivers popular with tourists for canoeing and kayaking. Amongst the park and tourist information, Cynthia noted a lot of information put out by the Missouri Department of Conservation about water issues, including a bumper sticker with a crayfish that says "Quality Water Means Quality Life".

Before it got dark Cynthia and I went down to the confluence of the two rivers. The two rivers greatly differ in their character: one is quick flowing through farmland and tan with the sediment load it carries off of the fields and the other is a slower mainstem of the river flowing through woodland and is clear and green-blue. The color difference of the meeting of these two rivers illustrates the way that humans have affected water quality by changing land-use near rivers and adding our inputs to their flow.

Welcome to Missouri

2009-08-01T21:38:00.009-04:00

July 29th - Day 15 - Chester, IL to Farmington, MO - 53 miles

After crossing the Mississippi River, my introduction to Missouri was marked by a brutal head wind blowing across the flat Mississippi River floodplain. Once I got away from the wind into the rolling hills, Missouri had another wonderful welcome in store. At the first glimpse of a roadkill armadillo I thought, "Woah, cool, I'm really in the South now." Then I got closer to it.

Now let me preface by saying that I've been doing long bike rides since I was 8 years old, so roadkill and the associated smell is certainly not new to me. But this bundle of joy was a bit of a surprise to me. It must be the armored shell that concentrates the gag-itude. And the linger, I mean when you ride past a skunk it's gross for about 20 yards but then it quickly fades away, not so with these lovelies. So, in summary, I'm glad to get to see wildlife but I'm hoping that there won't be many more armadillos on the route. But with how slow and stupid they are I won't hold my breath. Or maybe I will.

Today was a shorter day than intended, but Farmington is a nice little town that should allow us to get some work done and dry out after last night's thunderstorm. Our accomodations tonight are pretty unique. We're staying in the Farmington Fire Department's Mobile Command Unit. The bus has two TVs with cable, a microwave, electrical outlets, amazing air conditioning, cots and couches for sleeping. This is the life.

Speaking of the life, we spent a good bit of the day at the local pool/waterpark, nothing like a ride in the Lazy River to help relax sore legs. To cap off a day of roughing it in the wilderness, the ice cream truck came by to make sure that we are keeping up on our quick sugars. I'll take the Batman popsicle, thank you very much.

From the Mississippi River to an elaborate waterpark, today has been a day of reminders of our great water resources and the luxury that they afford us.

Cynthia gets back on the bike and we hang out with Popeye

2009-08-01T21:16:00.002-04:00

July 28th - Day 14 - Giant City State Park, IL to Chester, IL - 62 miles
Cynthia got back on the bike this morning and rode the first 8 miles of way today. Doctor's orders were for her to rest for at least a week and then start to work back into biking slowly, so she stopped riding when her knee started to tighten up again. She said that the knee felt pretty good for those short few miles, so hopefully she will be riding more soon.

Today I rode along the very flat Mississippi River levee and was pushed by a cross-tail wind, so the miles flew by. As I pulled into our finish town for the night, the thunderstorm that had been gathering let loose just as I made it to the park pavilion in which Cynthia had set up camp. Luckily our camp didn't flood and the only issue of the night was a broken camp stove.

Chester, IL is the home of the creator of Popeye the Sailor, so Popeye and his friends are all over town and memorialized in multiple statues. Chester is also right across the Mississippi River from Missouri, so I'll be in a new state tomorrow.

Rest/work day

2009-08-01T21:03:00.002-04:00

July 27th - Giant City State Park
We're taking today as rest day. Carbondale is a pretty large college town (near Southern Illinois University) so we decided to take this opportunity near internet access to get Cynthia caught up on some of her medical school application work. It was also nice to actually launder some clothes for real instead of just shower-washing them.

I walked right up to our resident skunk tonight, luckily he didn't spray because I was carrying all of our recently washed clothes.

A fresh start in Illinois, out of the mountains but with a new set of challenges

2009-08-01T17:50:00.003-04:00

July 26th - Day 13 - Cave In Rock, IL to Giant City State Park near Carbondale, IL - 80 miles
In the morning we crossed the Ohio River into Illinois via ferry. We spent some time in Cave In Rock State Park which is right on the river and saw the unusual cave carved in the stone by the Ohio River.

The ride today may not have been in the mountains, but the continually rolling hills of southern Illinois are difficult in their own way because they never give you a break or a long downhill to rest. This combined with the higher heat and a strong headwind made today pretty exhausting. To top it off I was chased by six dogs, (actually a total of 10, but some were in groups) and they always seem to know just when I'm going up a climb or already fatiguing so as to make it worse.

With the heat today and long distance I went through six bottles of water and 2 Gatorades, and that was just while riding. I can't help but appreciate the convenience of water and the assurance that no matter how far I go, the nearest town (or home should it be necessary) will have clean, cool water waiting for me. Along the way I constantly find reminders such as this that keep me mindful of our cause and the condition of those that WELL DONE helps.

We camped tonight in Giant City State Park along with a couple of motorcyclists from PA who had been up to Fairbanks, Alaska and were on the back home. They told us that they met a cyclist in Alaska who was riding from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Argentina. Kinda makes our ride look puny. As we were bunking down for the night the bikers yelled over to us that we should stay in our tent because there was a skunk hanging around our camp. We saw that it was 10 feet from our tent, so we did.

One state down and a drastic change of plans

2009-08-01T17:32:00.002-04:00

July 25th - Day 12 - Council, VA to Elkhorn City, KY - 32 miles
Today started out as another day climbing through the Appalachian Mountains. As I approached the Virginia/Kentucky border I stopped a couple times near Breaks Interstate Park that straddles the border and took some pictures of the scenic overlooks. Cynthia joined me there and we enjoyed some time seeing the sights together. We briefly discussed how we could make up the week that we lost with Cynthia's injury and Cynthia finally came up with a good proposal.

So here's how it goes: we skip Kentucky for now, drive to Illinois and continue from there. Kentucky is close enough to Ohio that we can come down and complete the ride when we have time, unlike if we had a section to complete out west. We didn't want to do the ride in segments this way, but we figure it's better to reach the west coast than to fall short.

After considering its impact on the ride I quickly agreed with Cynthia's idea. I rode the rest of the way into Elkhorn, KY, the first town on the other side of the border. There I met up with Cynthia again and got in the car and drove to Marion, KY on the west sie of the state. Tomorrow morning we will drive into Illinois and start just on the other side of the Ohio River.

A good conversation and the mountain that wouldn't end

2009-08-01T14:02:00.003-04:00

July 24th - Day 11 - Damascus, VA to Council, VA - 52 miles
So, yesterday's post was kind of irrelevant and I forgot to mention an important point. I stopped at a camp ground before going up a climb to get water and I talked to a man there about our ride. He was doing a cross-country adventure of his own, only is in a RV. The conversation started as I was failing to get the water pump to flow and he showed me how to do it properly. We discussed the details of our ride and WELL DONE's purpose. In our brief conversation he showed a lot of interest, so I gave him a sticker and directed him to find us online. This simple conversation seemed all the more poignant as we had started to talk because of a water well.

A relatively easy early morning ride led to a crazy climb through a mountain pass from one valley to the next near the town of Hayter's Gap. The climb was four miles long and 1500 vertical feet, nothing but switchback after switchback. I did the whole climb (45 minutes) in first or second gear, about 5 miles an hour. Ouch. It was easily the longest climb of that steepness that I've ever done.

We camped in William P. Harris Recreational Park in Council, an amazingly large and elaborate park for such a small town. Swimming in the pool in the park was a welcome break after another day of climbing.

Swimming and strawberry smores

2009-07-27T14:42:00.000-04:00

July 22nd - Day 9 - Troutville, VA to Claytor Lake State Park (near Newbern, VA) - 70 miles
Rolling hills and a strong crosswind this morning made it hard to wake up and get rolling. It was a nice break to stop in at Catawba, VA and eat some substantial food to get some energy going. After lunch the road turned direction and provided a strong tailwind for the next segment into Christiansburg, where I met up with Cynthia.

We camped at Claytor Lake State Park near Newbern and got to go swimming for a little. We need to by some marshmallows next time we go to the store, so we had to improvise smores tonight: baker's chocolate melted over strawberries on graham crackers. Strawberry smores, amazing.

A trip to the bike mechanic makes for a short day

2009-07-27T12:53:00.000-04:00

July 21st - Day 8 - Vesuvius, VA to Troutville, VA - 64 miles
This morning I woke up early and got on the road leaving Cynthia to tear down camp without me and meet me later. I rode to Lexington, passing the Virginia Military Institute, Washington and Lee University, and Natural Bridge (we found out later that we had missed out seeing one of the 7 wonders of the natural world at the natural bridge, we'll have to make another trip sometime). We had planned on pulling at least an 80 mile day today, but as I was about a mile outside of Troutville,VA I broke a spoke. Of course, it had to be a spoke on the side of my rear wheel next to the cassette of gears, so I couldn't fix it myself. The wheel was rubbing badly on the chainstay, so I couldn't limp it into town and I couldn't attempt to adjust the other spokes where I was because I was on a steep downhill, so I called in the calvary. After a day of nearly picking up some pets on the road (a kitten, a turtle, and 2 fawns), Cynthia came to pick me up. Cynthia took me down into the valley where I could look at it on flat ground. After deciding that I could only adjust it but not repair it, we drove to Roanoke, VA nearby to go to a bike store.

Before the bike store we found that the town we were in (Troutville) allowed bikers and hikers on the Appalachian Trail to camp in their town park for free. So once we got the wheel repaired we returned to Troutville and started to set up camp and got a shower in the fire department across the street. We met a hiker from the Appalachian Trail in the park named Nexus (his trail name). He is doing the whole trail from Georgia to Maine this year in four separate segments and has been on the trail for 43 days so far. It was very nice to meet Nexus and compare our trips and experiences briefly before he walked to town for dinner. Then we met Carline. Carline is a Troutville native and Cynthia and I now know much of her personal life in great detail. We didn't have much time to do much else today, so I guess that's about it.

Oh, one more note: Regarding our luck with trains near our campsites. We still fail to get it right. In Troutville, train tracks run right next to the park, but they didn't go by all evening as we set up but then two went by in an hour right as we were going to sleep, just our luck.

Wow guys, you only rode 35 miles today, isn't that kind of short? Yeah, well there was this little MOUNTAIN in the way.

2009-07-23T18:52:00.001-04:00

July 20th - Day 7 - Afton to Vesuvius, VA - 35 miles - 1050' to 3290' IN ONE CLIMB!!
So this morning started on an upward slope at the door of the bike house and kept sloping up for another 2200 feet. Our map showed a steep downhill from Afton before the mountain began, so for a while I kept on thinking that I was still on a small climb before the mountain proper. The downhill never came. That turned out to be a wonderful map error, because I soon realized that I was on the mountain itself and further up than I had thought. Don't get me wrong, the climb was still the longest I've ever experienced and far from easy, but that was a nice trick that I was able to play on myself. The climb was up a long winding slope up Blue Ridge Parkway, with beautiful scenic overlooks (good excuses to take breaks). Cynthia stayed close today so that I wouldn't have to carry much weight beyond a water bottle, a camera, the map, and my fat butt.

At the top of the initial climb, we stopped at Humpback Rocks Visitor Center and walked around the little historic homestead that they had set up there, a welcome walk. After the rest, the route continued across the ridge of the mountains on the parkway. Yesterday, the Cookie Lady told us that I should be on the lookout for rattlesnakes up on the mountain and that she had heard of a cyclist that was found lying in the road with six bites on his legs. I didn't think much of it and actually thought of it as kind of a joke. But as I was climbing up the initial hill I sarcasticly thought "good thing it's overcast today so no snakes will be out on the road". Only a few hundred feet later, there was a pretty large black snake dead on the side of the road. Note to self: listen to advice.

Today was the first day of rain, so that made the height of the mountain extra cold, about 56F all day on the ridge. There was a very steep downhill off of the mountain that the Cookie Lady had told me to be careful on, this advice I heeded. With the slick wet roads and very sharp bends in the road, I rode the brakes most of the way down, only letting myself hit about 30 miles per hour before slowing back down. With Cynthia always nearby with food and making sure I eat every two hours, I ate a lot better today and ended the day with energy, instead of feeling really fatigued as I did yesterday.

We camped behind Gertie's Country Store and Deli in Vesuvius, another biker friendly place suggested by our maps. Vesuvius is a tiny little town and Gertie's seems to be the local hang out. One last note: apparently we have inate affinity for trains, especially when it comes to finding places to stay. In Mineral, the fire station is right next to train tracks and trains that run all night and sound the horn through town, in Afton, the bike house is just up the hill from train tracks that pass beneath a bridge, and here in Vesuvius Gertie's right in front of tracks. I hope our luck changes soon. I need to dig out the ear plugs.

Back On The Road!!!

2009-07-23T17:57:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting on the blog, we've had poor luck finding internet or wireless service to use Cynthia's netbook.

Cynthia visited the orthopedist while we were at home and was ordered off of heavy activity in the knee. She was diagnosed with chrondromalacia, damage to the cartilage under the patella. She's pretty devastated, as she had put in a huge committment to this project. To avoid abandoning the project, she will continue to follow the ride as my support driver while she heals until she can start riding again. Anyway, back to the updates:

July 19th - Day 6 (on the road): Palmyra to Afton, VA - 53 miles
We drove down last night and got into the Mineral Fire Department (where we stayed before) at 12:30am. I've been waking up every day between 5 or 6am, so it was a short night's sleep. This morning, we drove to Palmyra, where we stopped riding last week, so I could start from there. About 20miles through the day, we met up at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate. We didn't want to pay to go up to the mansion and see all of the grounds, so we didn't stay long, but not before Cynthia got a picture with Jefferson's statue.

The early day was pretty uneventful, just increasing rolling hills as we approach the Appalachian Mountains. I didn't get much sleep last night and didn't eat often enough on the road, because I was in a rush to get miles in and I was stupid, so I was pretty fatigued by the final long climb into Afton and the Cookie Lady's house.

We stayed at "The Cookie Lady" June Curry's bike house that she's been letting riders stay in since our route was established back in 1976 as a part of the "Bikecentennial". The Cookie Lady is 88 years old now and has HOURS worth of amazing stories about riders that have stayed in the bike house over the years. Our photo will appear on her website at the end of the season in October at: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/CookieHouse. The "bike house" could very well pass as a apartment building, with four rooms with multiple couches to sleep on and a full stocked kitchen (food provided). The most interesting part of the bike house is that every inch of the interior of the house is covered with biker memorabilia going back to 1976. Nearly everyone that stays there leaves some little item that symbolizes their ride. It's truly amazing to see and maybe I'll post a picture on here some day, once we get our photos downloaded. There's definitely more to say about June and the bike house, but I think that's enough for now. Oh, one last thing, the farm across the street from the bike house has a resident peacock that surprised us as we walked out of the house.

The Afton Mountain looms over us as we sign off for the night. This will be my first time riding up a true mountain, so it should be fun.

Cynthia and Troy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2009-07-12T19:15:00.000-04:00

Day 5 - MINERAL to PALMYRA, VA (30 miles) to Poland, OH So...today was a bad day. Not because the roads were hilly (they were), or because of the dogs that chased and nearly bit us (5 total in 30 miles). Nope, all of that would have been just fine by us had Cynthia's grumbling knee pain not crescendoed to a roar. After our rest day yesterday, we were trying to take it easy and test out Cynthia's knee. We had a couple hills that immediately told us that all was not well with Cynthia's knee. In the morning we had multiple plateaus that allowed us to do pretty good mileage in spite of the pain. Then it all came down.

We had just climbed a small hill and were on a false flat when Cynthia suddenly cried out and yelled, "I've gotta stop" and pulled off the side of the road. She had tears in her eyes as she told me, "That was some of the worst pain ever." She described the pain as a fraying feeling, as if something had released and sent a hot, fiery rush of pain through inside of her knee behind her kneecap. Cynthia, in her normal determination, fought through and continued on, but the pain was apparent in her uneven pedal strokes. We had weighed our options as to how we could continue the ride yesterday, on our rest day off.

After we continued for a few more miles it was clear that we were unable to reach Charlottesville through the increasingly difficult hills and unlikely to be able to return to Mineral on her own power. We were forced to realize that Cynthia was not going to make it through the mountains that lay ahead. Our only option was to get my car from Ohio to have Cynthia become my support driver. Even though we felt miserable about it, we called my father, who knew of Cynthia's knee issues, and he quickly volunteered to come pick us up. We limped into the small town of Palmyra, VA to wait for our ride. We played some cards and waded in the nearby Rivanna River. We were picked up around 7pm and made it home to Ohio around 4am. We will be back in Virginia early next week to continue.

We are determined to continue the ride in whatever fashion possible. Regrettably, it is likely that Cynthia will become my support driver until it becomes possible for her to rejoin the ride. At that point we figure out whether we will alternate driver and rider, or some other configuration.

Bumming Around Town

2009-07-12T18:52:00.000-04:00

Day 4 - Rest Day (Mineral, VA) After resting and icing Cynthia's knee for the afternoon yesterday, we decided to take today off and see if the knee pain would be reduced with more rest. The knee pain is very worrisome and we are both very concerned about its implications. We took the day off to go to the grocery store and stock up on some essentials.

Forecasts called for rain, so one of the EMTs suggested that we take down our tent (that we had set up behind the Fire Station and move inside for the night. It didn't take much to convince us to take the offer of air conditioning and a dry set up in the morning. We are really very grateful for the exceptional hospitality shown by the Mineral VFD firement and EMTs.

Rx for Knee Pain = Half Day + R&R

2009-07-12T13:01:00.002-04:00

Day 3 - BEAVERDAM to MINERAL, VA Cynthia's knee pain is a growing concern, so we decided to pull a short day today (26 miles) and ride into Mineral to give the knee a rest. Our ride took us by Bumpass VA, (which the Shrewsbury's made it clear that we were mispronouncing) and the beautiful Lake Anna. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop and appreciate the lake as Cynthia's knee was encouraging us to get done for the day.

Cynthia fought through obvious pain on each hill, often riding with one foot, just letting the left leg go around without pushing or pulling with it. Her determination and committment is heartening, but we are only in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and already the climbs are very difficult on her knee. Climbs are the hardest for her as the pain is the worst when the knee is pulling or pushing heavy loads.

We stayed the night at the Mineral Volunteer Fire Department. They get a lot of Transamerican cyclists that stay the night there, so all of the EMTs and Firemen made sure that we had all of the comforts of home. We got our first real showers in three days!! They also had a big screen TV in their day room and a kitchen that we were welcome to use. Even though they had a TV I didn't get a chance to watch the Tour de France. I'm struggling to get my Tour fix, though I can get news feeds on my cell phone or Cynthia's laptop (when it gets reception).

While we were at a diner today Cynthia scratched her head and found a tick in her hair. She was able to pull it out intact, and it only had a little piece of her skin in its mouth. Minor freakout. Now every bug, itch, or piece of dirt is a tick.

The Shrewsbury Estate

2009-07-11T19:46:00.000-04:00

Day 2 - GLENDALE to near BEAVERDAM, VA We got a late start today because there was very heavy fog that greatly limited visibility. The fog burned off by 7:30 and we got started around 8:30. The morning riding had some long, low climbs, so we were happy when we passed through Mechanicsville after about 20 miles and found a Moe's Southwest Grill for lunch like the one that used to be near us in Columbus. After lunch, a pain in Cynthia's knee started to become noticably aggravated, especially up steep climbs. There was one hill in particular that came up around a blind turn and was very sudden and steep. (For those of you who know, it was about the same height as the big hill on Grandpa Chapman's road at home, but steeper).

With our late start and Cynthia's knee pain, it became apparent that we weren't going to make it to Mineral, VA as we had planned for the night. We had to rely on kindness of strangers and knock on some doors to find a yard to set up our camp. We stayed the night on the idyllic property of the Shrewsbury's. Forrest and his wife, Bev, offered us unexpectedly kind hospitality, with snacks and cold water, as well as good conversation.

Day 1 - YORKTOWN to GLENDALE VA

2009-07-09T16:48:00.000-04:00

The day started off really great. Land near the river is really flat and the Colonial Parkway is a beautiful ride along the river. We passed many historical battlefields from both the Revolutionary and Civil wars. The route had us ride through Colonial Williamsburg, which is a cute representation of what a colonial town would look like, complete with men and women in colonial garb and children playing colonial games. The weather was absolutely perfect. The heat didn't really kick in until the early afternoon and it was sunny the whole day.

In the middle of a long stretch of road that went straight and lined with trees for what seemed like tens of miles, we stopped at a little roadside deli and had some fries and our own energizing goodies. So far as food goes, Troy and I are well equipped with many bags of trail mix, protein bars, GU packets, and other tasty snacks. We also brought along Gatorade powder to use whenever we're feeling drained in energy. Another patron of the deli seemed quite skeptical of our ability to finish our planned ride, particularly my ability, but we hope he'll be able to track our progress here and marvel with us at what a little determination can accomplish.

We decided to stop at Willis United Methodist Church (a camping location from our map) instead of going thru to Mechanicsville, because being our first day on the bike, we were pretty tired. Although we trained a bit before we left, I think Troy would agree that in the future, we'll train much longer before attempting something this intense. Troy is carrying about 70 lbs on his bike and I am carrying about 40-- which in the absence of a headwind or incline is just fine, but quite difficult to lug up the hills and future mountains.

The church was very accomodating. We were able to cook a rice and bean dish (high in protein and carbs) using their kitchen. We went to bed around 5. :)

Day0 - Yorktown

2009-07-09T11:41:00.000-04:00

The drive down to our overnight stay took about 8 hours. Thanks to Mr. Chapman's Garmin, we didn't have to wait in traffic and could pull off and try alternative routes. Once we got close to where we were staying, we realized that we were in historical Yorktown. The cottage that the Adventure Cycling maps allowed us to stay at was simply unbelievable. Owned by a church, and therefore technically free although they accept donations, this cottage was very resort-like in location... situated on the riverbank of the York river. The views from the house were also out toward the ocean where some large ships had dropped anchor. The house itself was immaculate and had more amenities than we could have asked for.

Wildlife within the historical area of Yorktown is abundant. We saw upwards of 10 deer, a few foxes, and a few ospreys. We took off in a humid morning ride on Colonial Parkway at 7:30 am (a late start by biker's standards).

Itinerary - Part I (original)

2009-07-03T13:00:00.001-04:00

Part 1 Itinerary updated 9 July
(which Troy has dubbed "Excititude 2009")

Day 1 : Yorktown VA to Mechanicsville VA = 81 miles
COMPLETED: YORKTOWN VA TO GLENDALE VA = 65 miles

Day 2: Mechanicsville VA to Kents Store VA = 79 miles
COMPLETED: GLENDALE VA TO BEAVERDAM VA = 60 miles

Day 3: Kents Store VA to Rockfish Gap VA = 63 miles
COMPLETED: (half day) BEAVERDAM VA TO MINERAL VA = 26 miles

(DAY 4 - REST DAY)

Day 5: Mineral VA to Charlottesville VA = 55 miles

Day 6: Charlottesville VA to Afton VA = 28 miles

..... THE APPALACHAINS.....

Day 7: Afton VA to Vesuvius VA = 34 miles (A MOUNTAIN)

Day 8: Vesuvius VA to Troutville VA = 67 miles

Day 9: Troutville VA to Newbern VA = 60 miles

Day 10: Newbern VA to Sugar Grove VA = 62 miles

Day 11: Sugar Grove VA to Rosedale VA = 59 miles

Day 12: Rosedale VA to Elkhorn KY = 55 miles

Day 13: Elkhorn KY to Hindman KY = 63 miles

Day 14: Hindman KY to Buckhorn KY = 48 miles

Day 15: Buckhorn KY to Berea KY = 74.5 miles

Day 16: Berea KY to Lincoln Homestead State Park KY = 72 miles

Day 17: LHSP KY to Hodgenville KY = 65 miles

Day 18: Hodgenville KY to Mammoth Cave KY = 40 miles

Day 19: Mammoth Cave KY to Eastview KY = 59 miles

Day 20: Eastview KY to Utica KY = 72 miles

Day 21: Utica KY to Marion KY = 74 miles

Day 22: Marion KY to Simpson IL = 55 miles

Test Ride Successful, Minor Tweaking to Our Gear, Set to leave July 4 from Yorktown, VA

2009-07-03T11:28:00.000-04:00

After a test ride in the farm country outside our hometown of Poland, Ohio, Troy and I are relatively pleased with our gear. We camped out and used much of our gear. The kerosene camp stove that we borrowed from a relative turned out to be broken, so we've purchased a new one. Still, our fire starter gear was able to make a very nice camp fire and we dined delightfully on s'mores and other goodies.

Troy's bike needed some adjustments, so we bought him a different stem - one that had a greater rise to it. We tested that out on another test ride this week and it seems to be working for him just fine. In the last week, we've had four days of garage sale-ing through which we've been able to make a nice bit of support money. It would be impossible to do this ride without the help of our family and friends. Last weekend, Troy's boss, Jamie, threw us a poker tournament, which was a great help to our support funds. We've been very fortunate to have such gracious people around us.

After a few last-minute preparations, Troy and I are set to leave for the east coast as of tomorrow. We've decided to depart from Yorktown, VA instead of D.C., to avoid the holiday craziness. We've been delayed due to some arrangements I've had to make for the fall - course enrollments and such. We'll start biking Sunday or Monday morning just before dawn. We've planned an itinerary that I will post later today.

So far, my bicycle has worked out fantastically. Both bicycles have been getting us up the rolling hills in northeastern Ohio. We're pretty confident that they'll get us up the Appalachians... and once we're whipped into shape, the Rockies too.

Cynthia's Bike

2009-06-25T14:21:00.000-04:00

GIANT DEFY 2 (men's road bike) with the stem from a women's avail 1. Sora and Tiagra componentry, triple crank.

Bike was purchased at roll: a bike shop located at Easton in Columbus, Ohio. Customer service was unparalleled. They let me test ride as much as I wanted and made probably 15 adjustments until I was satisfied with the fit. Also, they're letting me come back to fit before we leave and will watch me on the windtrainer to make sure it's "perfect." Lastly, they will be installing my panniers for free.

I will definitely keep posted how this bicycle holds up on our adventure, but here it is in all its current splendor!

Picture is courtesy of www.jacksbikes.com (via google image search)

Countdown at 1 week

2009-06-25T12:04:00.000-04:00

We have most of our gear and are getting very excited for the start of the ride. We will be posting the newly revised route sometime today or tomorrow. Proposed start date is July 2. Troy's dad will be driving us down to D.C. on 1 July. We've decided to do the route east to west to get some training under our belts before we hit the rocky mountains.

If you have any tips feel free to post!

WELL DONE - our charity of choice

2009-06-17T17:45:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine has been working hard to develop this awesome volunteer-based organization called WELL DONE (www.welldone.org). WELL DONE is committed to building wells for villages in rural Ghana, where clean water is scarce. We hope that as WELL DONE raises awareness for water issues around the world, more Americans will focus on how we use the resources that we have. Awareness of environmental and health issues increases the sustainability of our society and creates a brighter future.

We have decided to use our ride to raise $3,000 for WELL DONE. How are we going to do this? We will be speaking with people along the route and handing out WELL DONE information at various locations. We'll keep you posted on where these will be.

Troy and I are very pleased to incorporate this water resource issue into our ride for health and environmental awareness. If more individuals recognize the issues people face both locally and globally, we can help each other pave the way for a healthy and sustainable world of tomorrow. Maybe, the families we make in the next decade will not have to worry about having a pre-mature heart attack or having to take insulin shots several times a day. Perhaps, they won't have to live in a world that is becoming increasingly devoid of the natural phenomenon that make it both beautiful and inhabitable. Maybe, they'll live in a society that refuses to have their food choices made for them by marketing departments; a society whose individual parts unite in maintaining the planet on which we all breathe and survive. I hope this is the destiny that unfolds for future generations. We each have the choice to educate ourselves and be the sole responsible party in charge of our health and our world. Eduvolve yourself :D.

Peace,

Cynthia

Our Proposed Route

2009-06-14T02:27:00.001-04:00

We've gotten our maps from Adventure Cycling (www.adventurecycling.org) and this is a rough estimate of the route we will be doing. We start biking out of Seattle, WA on 1 July. Our goal is to arrive in D.C. on 15 September. (map is courtesy of google maps)

Welcome to Our Blog!

2009-06-13T22:54:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone!

This blog is dedicated to the transamerican cycling trip I am planning for this summer. I will be riding with my best friend and colleague, Troy Chapman. Troy and I are so excited to be living one of our adventurous dreams, and are even more thrilled to be doing it for a great cause.

The purpose of our ride is to raise awareness for issues surrounding sustainability. Some of you are thinking... "what the heck does she mean by sustainability?!", while others are probably thinking... "well, that's a deep subject!" The focus of the ride is a result of the building mountain of evidence that Troy and I have been coming across in our studies and experiences regarding how inefficient American food production is, how large corporate entities or agricultural conglomerates are influencing our health, and how our lifestyles contribute to the health and environmental issues we face today. The flawed system, which includes our policies, corporate allegiances in politics and research, and our out of control media may be at the center of many of the issues we face today:

heart disease

obesity

cancer

diabetes

American contributions to global warming

water scarcity (to name just a few)

I know many of you will read this and probably wonder where I am getting my information, and I applaud you for that response! I encourage you to research these issues on your own, decide for yourself, and share your unembellished findings with others and myself. One note: when you find research/statistics/bold claims, investigate further to see if there are any hidden motives behind the statements.

So, this blog will be a place where you can track the progress of our ride, see what other Americans know or think about these issues, and gain access to information Troy or I come across. We will be posting links to websites where you can learn more about these issues and why Troy and I have become so excited to be part of exterminating ignorance in America. It is the time for change. Stand up Americans!

Peace,

Cynthia

pre-ride goings on

2009-06-13T22:41:00.000-04:00

Fundraising is coming slow. We're really wishing we had concocted this idea earlier than three months ago, but given our time constraints, we're doing pretty well. We partnered with the T. Colin Campbell Foundation, which is a non-profit designed to raise awareness for the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Although vegetarians have a pretty tough social stigma still, I can honestly say, as a girl coming from a carnivorous family, that the research is alarming, and looks sound. I first became aware of these benefits about three years ago when taking one of professor T. Colin Campbell's courses at Cornell. I've been on/off vegetarian of varying degrees since then, but have committed to a fully plant-based diet as of about 2 months ago. It has actually been pretty awesome expressing creativity in the kitchen and getting much more energy from my food choices. I'll post some tasty recipes soon!

If you have the ability to donate, please visit http://www.plantbasednutrition.org/plant-based-nutrition/donate/ Be sure to put our names or "Eduvolve" in the comments section of your donation to make sure the money goes to our ride!

Donations on this website are unfortunately pre-set and start at $25, but if you contact me (cneuendorf@gmail.com) or micaela@tcolincampbell.org , then we can probably work out whatever you had in mind.

Thanks for your support and for taking time to read our blog!