LIFE ACROSS AMERICA 2010

Today was a marvelous day! Adella finished her 1st Century ride. (106 miles) and she did it with all the following challenges … a monster climb, prevailing southerly cross winds, along with rain, etc., etc.

Yet she did it … I’m so proud of her … it was a tough ride today and she came out a winner!

We rode through some really pretty scenery today … and … that’s probably the “greenest” that I’ve seen the desert in a long time!

Check outAdella’s pictures on Facebook … especially my encounter with a “sidewinder” snake … it was so cool looking and still alive when I took the pictures, although it was last seen headed from the freeway traffic … I’m not sure if it’s still alive now because there were lots of big trucks passing by us.

106 miles with hills, rain, and heavy cross winds have a way of “taking a toll” on your body … boy am I beat tonight.

Yet … we have to get up early tomorrow 3:30 a.m. because of the time change … so we can be on the road by 6:04 a.m. because we have another century … 116 miles into the airport at Salt Lake City … so it all depends on the predicted storm and which way the winds are blowing … if they are “westerly” from the west … it means that we will have a “tailwind” … so I’m praying that the “wind Gods” will be nice to us.

Then finally a “rest day” although we have several blood drives scheduled for the Salt Lake City area and even will be able to visit some of the local children in “Primary’s Children” hospital in SLC.

So it looks like we’ll be very busy on our “rest day”.

Talk to you soon.

Today started off with good weather, just a little bit of wind and warm enough to enjoy the bicycling.

Michelle (staff leader and mother to all of us) was nice enough to go to McDonald’s and pick up some extra food for breakfast. She always does a great job … way above the required effort … thank you Michelle.

After breakfast we loaded our luggage on the ABB trailer. Pretty much a daily routine now.

Adella decided to ride by herself and with other cyclists today. So we started separately … I rode with Phil, John, and Ken.

On the way to the SAG stops we were able to see some swallows flying around their nesting area under an I-80 overpass that we had to ride through … see Adella’s Facebook pictures.

There were lots of climbs today … a total of about 9 miles … extremely tough on me.

Adella did really well again today … she is riding and climbing very strong now.

We rode through some beautiful country today in the Carlin valley area (near the tunnels)

Then another 18 miles to Elko … (more to come later)

When we arrived in Elko we went to Burger King to have a bite to eat.

Adella spoke with a family also there eating: Joe, Pam and their little girl (Jenna).

They were very curious about America by Bicycle and our nation-wide blood drive since they were “blood donors” … they and Jenna offered to donate some money to our cause and we politely turned them down, took their pictures and thanked them for being so gracious … and … offered them our card and website and said they could donate to the Foundation of America’s Blood Centers. Jenna (their little girl was really excited about going to Facebook “Give Blood” and looking for her picture there.

Afterwards we helped unload luggage and cleaned our bikes … showered up and our now waiting for mechanic call and route rap.

Today was a great day!

Adella and I got up early, said our prayers and read scriptures together, then packed up and were able to carry our bags and load them on the trailer … then we went to breakfast and then off to Battle Mountain, NV.

We didn’t ride together today … she gave me permission to ride with the “big dawgs” … however … they were already gone so I rode by myself and actually felt really good … a slight tailwind and a perfect day for riding.

As I was approaching our big 3.8 mile climb on Golcando Summit … Sean came ripping up behind me and said “you’re a hard guy to catch” … then we started to climb and I settled into my normal 6-7 mph spin cadence … as Sean easily started moving away from me up the mountain …

Then along came Judy (one of staff leaders who happened to be riding today), she said “hi” and easily walked away from me.

As I struggled along, I finally caught up with my cycling buddy, Rand and slowly edged up the mountain toward Golcando summit.

Occasionally, I thought I saw a cyclist in a lime green cycling jacket starting to slowly catch up with me … I thought it might be Adella (but I said NO) because I knew she was still eating when I left the restaurant.

So when I finally made to the summit and stopped to “top off” with water and grabbed a couple of snacks. (Rice Krisipies and Oat Honey snacks)

As I got ready to leave … here comes Adella … way to go “daughter” you are amazing!

I asked her if she wanted to ride to together down the mountain? She said “no” and said “go get’um Daddio!

And I did just that … I let it “rip” on the down hill and rumor has it that it was a 40 mph downhill … I said “hi” to George and Phil as I peaked out on the hill.

Phil (an incredible cyclist with amazing endurance … decided it was time to reel me in … it took him a few minutes and I was still moving at 20 mph as he pulled up next to me, we chatted for a couple of minutes and he said to me “grab a wheel” and we’ll see if we can catch up to Kenneth and Big John.

I did and it took us quite a while but we did catch them and then we rode together for many miles … I hung on with them for many miles at 23-27 mph.

Finally about 5 miles west of Battle Mountain as we climbed over an overpass on I-80, I fell back a little and then I could not “catch back up” … even though, I was still holding 23 mph yet Phil was pulling like the “Lance Armstrong” he is … what an incredible cyclist … he must have pulled 20 miles today and his heart rate stayed steady from 103-120 bpm … Wow!

Finally we arrived at Battle Mountain exit and I was about 30 secs behind them as they exited …

It was a great day of cycling for me and then it wasn’t too long until Adella pulled up behind us at the America’s Best Value hotel … she had a 17.3 mph average and I ended up with a 18.0 mph average … as compared to Phil’s 19.1 mph average … however he stopped for pictures, etc.

Today was a laundry day … so we were able to wash all of our dirty clothes.

Tomorrow is another 72 mile day to Elko, NV. Then a 106 mile day to Wendover … finally a 116 mile day to Salt Lake City.

Tonight after cleaning our bikes … route rap and dinner … Adella and I will study our PMG manual to help us understand all the things we should be learning about the gospel.

It was a great day and I want to thank Carole, Charlie and D.C. for your incredible emails the last couple of days you are amazing friends.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Another fantastic windy day … a straight-on headwind for many, many miles!

We woke up early and loaded early … then rode our bicycles over to the Cowpoke Cafe for breakfast in Lovelock. (What a great place to eat dinner or breakfast, if any of you are driving to and from California to SLC … make sure to take the time to stop here and grab a bite to eat.)

Thank goodness Adella was feeling better today … so we were able to get in some good miles together.

We were able to ride again on I-80 for several miles and then take the back way through the industrial area into Winnemuca.

Because Adella had broken her phone yesterday … we were able to get into Winnemuca early enough to get her a new phone at the local Verizon store which happened to be open on Saturday, thanks to the Verizon staff, Vanessa and Rosa who did a fantastic job of making Adella a happy camper. Whew! (check out the Facebook photos)

There are amazing people on this ride … and … at least 50% of them are incredibly strong cyclists. Adella and I are lucky to be able to “share” the road with such inspiring people: a tenured college professor, engineers, early childhood development professor, ALC supporters, a personable rabbi, retired VP’s, a retired employee from IMF, a father and son team, two best friends for years from Wisconsin came to ride together, an aging “godfather” (that’s his nickname given to him by admirers), a amazing Rubgy player from New Zealand, and a lovely lady who when given the choice to stay on the job or …. ride … she chose to ride.

All I can say … is that I’m grateful to be alive and have a “2nd chance” at life … I love to be able to ride across America with such amazing people … create memories together that we’ll never forget … and … share personal intimate stories about things that happen to us on this bicycling tour … thank you … ABB for another trip well under way … and … well-done!

Tonight we are going to eat at the Flying Pig restaurant in Winnemuca … I heard it has some scrumptous barbeque to share with all of us.

Tomorrow we’ll be cycling to Battle Mountain and I think there is some kind of Junior rodeo in town this weekend … that should be fun.

Happy Birthday to my granddaughter, Lucy, Grandpa loves you!

Talk to you soon.

What an incredible day!

Even as we left Sparks, NV, the wind was blowing and it continued to “blow hard” all day long. (check out the pix on Facebook)

For part of the day we rode with Rand, John, and Lauren … each of us trying to learn how to ride in a smooth paceline in very strong winds. It was a great time to practice finding the “sweet spot” because the wind was always changing.

We rode most of the day on I-80 until about 47 miles … when Adella got sick.

We called for the SAG wagon and Gerard came by to pick her up … in the meantime … Off. Hickok from Nevada Highway Patrol was nice enough to stop and check on us and allowed us to take a picture with him.

Our bicycles are amazing … Adella’s LOOK is working flawlessly and my Landshark … is truly a dream to ride (thanks to John Slowta) … even during the winds. Which reminds me … as we (John, Rand and I) were riding along we were admiring the little dust storm that were spinning around on either side of the road. Then suddenly … today was the 1st time in my life that I watched a “dust devil” (a mini tornado kicking up the dirt and sand) actually came across the freeway and spun right through us.
Man was that exciting! It was all we could do to pedal as hard as we could and hang on for dear life … and then it went through and past us … WHEW! (Something for the three of us to talk about for years to come!) All my life I’ve seen them on the side of the road … but never had the desire to be on the “inside” of one of them.

It was a truly challenging day … because the “wind” never let up … and … we did an 8-12 mph pace all day long, most of the time it was 9-10 mph.

Rand had a “flat” technically speaking … his front tire picked up a very shiny and long “thumbtack” which we had to pull out and then it went flat … so we changed it and helped him back on the road. (check out Facebook picture … of the Reynolds rim and Gator Skins tire as a picture drop for the foreground of the flat scene.)

Lovelock is a very interesting town … there is a prison here and rumor has it that is where O.J. Simpson now has a permanent residence.

Also the county court house is very scenic and a place of lots of “folklore”. (see Facebook pictures)

Adella is feeling much better tonight and I’m glad because tomorrow is a 71 mile ride … and the weather report says it will be another incredibly “windy” day … so here’s a special prayer to the “wind Gods” for a slight switch of direction to bring us a favorable wind at our backs!

Talk to you tomorrow.

We got up early today and prepared for our 64 miles journey.

We also called in to KZST and had a short conversation with Brent Farris the DJ. (You can listen to it on our website on “Follow the Journey” and scroll down to KZST interviews)

Then we cycled through some of the most beautiful country out there … as we cycled around Lake Tahoe, then we slowly climbed up to the summit of Mt. Rose. to an elevation of about 8900 feet, first we had an 8 mile climb up Mt. Rose with 6-8 percent grades. It was slow and steady yet seemed to take forever.

At the summit we had a SAG stop … yet … by that time it was so cold and windy that we were all freezing.

Then came the reward of the day … a 16 mile downhill toward Sparks.

BTW, Adella had a “flat tire” this morning in the parking lot and then had a slow leak flat tire at the end of the day. (Luckily it wasn’t on the downhill portion of the day.)

A special thanks to all of you … who have been emailing us.

Tomorrow is a 91 miles day … over to Lovelock, NV.

I’ll let you know how that goes…

Hi Everyone,

What a day! 74 miles of climbing … 8500 feet to be approximate … we climbed up over Donner Pass and then dropped down into Truckee, with incredible scenery and beautiful on both sides of the road. The very strong high winds as we crested the summitt was an added plus … for the twisty, turny downhill.

Earlier in the day it was climbs of 3-21 and finally 22 per cent of grade, as we worked our way up the mountain.

We also hit some “misty cloud” rain … which managed to keep us wet and cold.

We learned the ABC bike “quick check” method … A= air, B= brakes, C= chain and cassette … always quick these on your bicycle daily before you leave.

If you think we are “tired” tonight you are absolutely correct! Every turn we made was a climb of some type … what was amazing was at first the 3% climbs seemed really tough. Yet after the 21 and 22% climbs … even the 6-8% climbs didn’t seem as tough.

It was a long day and we rode with some amazing cyclists … the faster cyclists were soon gone … out of sight and up the road. The climbs today were in terms of 8-10 miles long which slowed us down a lot. (To give you an idea … they arrived at the hotel about 2:30 p.m. and we arrived at 5:00 p.m.)

We took lots of pictures today … so don’t forget to check out our Facebook … “Give Blood”.

A special thanks to Jennifer Shoffner … who is working hard to contact the Blood Centers and do the requested follow up on our scheduled dates with them.

Thanks to the America by Bicycle staff … Michelle, Alex, Gerard, Pam, Judy who are doing an amazing job to help make this the best cross country bicycling trip ever.

Tomorrow morning we will be calling in to KZST for our weekly check in … you can use the “Listen Live” link on our website.

Talk to you tomorrow after we cycle from Truckee to Sparks, NV.

Whoopee! An incredible ride today … from Sacramento along the beautiful bike trails that are adjacent to the river.

Some 30 miles of trail along the American River, Folsom Prison and Folsom Lake.

It was a warm to hot day, yet a gorgeous day for biking … we even observed some wild turkeys, some deer (bucks with antlers that has the velvet covering on them.

Finally we turned toward Auburn and began to climb … usually 3-5% grade all way up to Auburn, yet, the last 2 miles were 8-9% .

Auburn is such a quaint little town … that we had to stop for Yogurt … Ummmmm Goood!

Then another mile climbto our Comfort Inn … checked in and now we’re going to try to get our laundry washed …

Thanks to everyone who we have met so far and to our friends at home. Don’t forget to check out the pictures on Facebook.

It was a 51 mile day …

Wow!  I must say today was an incredible day.  The weather was nice … a little chilly first thing in the morning.

But after the first 3 hills … of 17%, 15% and 10 % … all of  us warmed up quickly!

Then a 2.5 mile climb that ranged from 3-8% of grade.

Lots of wind today as we cycled through Fairfield, Vacaville, Dixon, U.C. Davis, Old Town Sacramento, and finally to the hotel.

Sometimes the wind was behind us … most of the time it was in front and to the side of us.

Thanks to Freddie and John for helping us today.

We were able to visit with Lynn McClintock (my 91 year young cycling buddy) at the In and Out Burger in U.C. Davis, along with Adella’s friends, Kyle and Lauren (who are attending U.C. Davis)

Then on to Sacramento, CA., to the Blood Source blood center at 1608 Q Street.

It was an awesome visit … thank you Vicki W. for the incredible event you organized.

We met some young people who were blood recipients (Josh, Abby, Steven)

Along with Lauren, Vicki and Larry… (some  great pictures) … check out the Facebook link!

We also met some amazing men from Rwanda … (Francois and Jean Pierre) — who are working with Blood Source and Dr. Chris G. to organize blood centers and bring the “gift of life” to their fellow citizens.

Thanks to Blood Source’s amazing COO … Kirk … who gave an amazing welcome to all of us, donors, recipients, employees, etc.

Adella and I had a blast visiting with the donors … Randy, Leslie and many more who were there donating blood … as I always say … “Giving blood is the one GIFT that truly comes from your heart!

As you can tell from the pictures in Adella’s Facebook account … Give Blood … she really “bonded” with everyone … especially the children!

Thank you to Blood Source for the incredible job they did … we are looking forward to keeping in touch with each of you.

And thank you to Lauren L., the President and Chief Ambassador for FABC  (Foundation of America’s Blood Centers) who flew in from somewhere to participate in the Blood Source hospitality.

Thank you to the many new cycling friends with have made so far on this trip … they are an amazing group of cyclists who fulfilling their dreams to cycle across America with “America by Bicycle” … a great staff this year … Wendy, Alex, Gerard, Pam and Judy … thank you!

To my friend, Mike S, I tried to keep it simple … there were just too many exciting things to share today. (typed with a smile)

Tomorrow we will be climbing from Sacramento up to Auburn … Hmmm?

Hi Everyone,

What an awesome day!  We were up at 0430 hours, packing up, getting ready to leave, cleaning bicycles and  meeting up with the ABB staff, loading our bags and then waiting for the go signal from Wendy.

We all started riding together and stayed together through Burligame up to 35 North.

Note to Janice:  We started out with a hill that is now nicknamed “Worthy of Janice” … it was about a mile long and 15% and it kept going and going … even those cycling with us … those who don’t even know Janice kept saying “is this ever going to end.” (typed with a BIG smile)

To Robin and John … as we were riding Northbound on Skyline … we were waving and yelling “ALC” to all the incredible participants of the ALC ride, there were lots and lots of cyclists. 

We couldn’t see them part of the time because it was so “foggy” … unbelievable!

Then we continued up to the Great Highway and over to Ocean Beach area … where we were met by our amazing SRCC “Friendly Fridays” cycling buddies … George, Gregg, Charlie, Jackie and Mike S.

It was great to see them and we took pictures with them … Thanks to Charlie for sending us his pix … they were awesome!

We then took pix with ABB and 29 other cyclists who are riding with us … at the ceremonial and symbolic “wheel dipping” in the Pacific Ocean.

After that … we all rode up past the Cliff House, up Balboa, over to 15th Ave and then through the Presdio over the Golden Gate Bridge to Vista Point … stopped for a snack (SAG) and said goodby to our SRCC friends and cycled down through Sausalito, over many of the bike paths over the Hiwy 37 and then took 37 all the way to Vallejo to our hotel. 

It turned out to be a sunny, beautiful day and we ended up with 71.3 miles!

Adella was awesome … she made it without any problems … yet, I had my 1st flat today … (GRRR, not a smiley face!)

SRCC the bike pump with the compressed air kit worked like a champ! (Thank you!)

Rand … Adella’s bike performed flawlessly!

Tomorrow … we are cycling from Vallejo to Sacramento.

Talk to you later … we have to go to “route rap” to learn about the do’s and don’ts for tomorrow.