LIFE ACROSS AMERICA 2010

Today was another awesome day.

An early start at 5:45 a.m. because we had a 95 mile day from Salida to Pueblo.  It started fairly brisk and chilly … yet, without too much wind, and a slight downhill … which was most welcome.

Last night, Adella had some “anxiety” about a line on her bicycle frame that she hadn’t noticed before … first she checked with me and I wasn’t sure  … so she decided to check this morning, with Gerard (the mechanic) who said it wasn’t a hairline “crack”, it was just a hard plastic decal and the edge of it looked like a crack.

After loading luggage and checking our tires for 120 p.s.i. … we then rode our bikes over to Patio’s for some incredible pancakes … I personally had their “blueberry” pancakes and I must say they were loaded with blueberries and very delicious. (lots of anti-oxidants for the day)

Adella suggested I go ahead and take off and ride my own ride for the day… which I did for awhile.

At first I rode with Lauren … then watched as “Big John” came whizzing by … he was too quick for me to jump in with him.

As I settled into a rythym of about 23 mph … I was able to clearly see all of God’s beauty surrounding me in the mountains and on the river banks, as I rode down 50 East adjacent to the Arkansas River for about 21 miles.

At about mile 23 I noticed Fran, Tony and Wade as they passed me … riding along effortlessly, so I rode with them for a little while, then they stopped for pictures and I decided to continue to hold my cadence and speed.

Within a couple of miles, I came up behind ”Kiwi Rick” from New Zealand, said “hi” and he said “Oh you’ve decided to stretch out your legs today, eh?  I said “yes”  and decided to stay with my original cadence, etc.

Somehow in my mind I thought the 1st SAG was at 27 miles … so when I didn’t see it there … I was really disappointed, especially when I doublechecked the route slip and the mileage said it would be at 37.8 miles.  (Darn, I had another 10 miles to go! Maybe I started out too fast, whoops!)

As I was cruising along … I noticed a small group of cyclists coming up behind me … so I slowed up a wee bit so that I would crest the hill that I was climbing at about the same time they were passing me.

Which gave me a chance to shift up a couple of gears and use the downhill to help me jump on the paceline with Rick, Kevin and Phil, it was a welcome bit of relief for me as I worked into their paceline and they carried me to the SAG in record time … 37 miles in a 20+ mph average … not bad, eh?

At the SAG stop … I took a lot of pictures … (see Facebook for the photos of lots of scenery, cyclists and even some mountain goats.)

After the SAG I continued on to the 2nd SAG … (did I ever tell you how much I love ORANGES?)  That’s my favorite snack at the SAG stops.  I usually don’t have much competition for the oranges … except when Tony is around … he loves them almost as much as I do! (Thank you Judy and the crew for making sure there are always plenty of great snacks at the SAGS … especially oranges!)

I spent the rest of the day cycling (on and off) behind Gloria and Nancy, they always “crush me” on the hills … and… then I seem to be able to “kick it up a notch” and sometimes catch them on some of the awesome downhills, like we had today.

Later in the day, Adella called me and asked me to wait on her … which I did … she said she wasn’t feeling good and decided to SAG in with only 10 miles to go. (I was surprised because at the SAG stops, Scott, Rob, Lester and some of the other cyclists had said how strong she was riding today,  oh well, sometimes we overdo it, and there is always a “fine line” between doing really good and just being exhausted!)

We were supposed to attend a blood drive in Penrose, CO, for Bonfils … however, the timing of it didn’t work out. (Sorry Julie!)

After Adella  was safely in the SAG van … I put the hammer down and tried to get back into my original “cadence and rythym” , although it was much harder because … it was now about 98 degrees outside!

Luckily we still had a slight tailwind … so I was able to cover the last 10 miles fairly quickly.

As I came into Pueblo … I saw a Dairy Queen with several bicycles parked there … I couldn’t resist and gave in to the “sugar addiction” and stopped and ordered a LARGE chocolate milk shake … Ummmm, Gooood!

That literally was the “ice cream on top of the cake” … and a nice exclamation point to a very good and strong day for me!

Then finally on to the Holiday Inn and checked in … Adella was already there … and had moved our luggage to the room, thank you Adella!

(One minor inconvenience today for me and Adella … mosquitoe bites … where we develop “huge huge welts” which itch intensely!  Yuck!  It reminds me of my days in Vietnam … every evening the eternal battle with the mosquitoes and the intense itch that goes with it!

Wow!  Can you believe it? We’re already in Pueblo, CO, and we’ve ridden almost 1500 miles so far, in 20 days!

Tomorrow is our rest day, yet we have a blood drive to attend from 9:00 a.m. to noon.  (Rudy from Bonfils will pick us up at the hotel at 9:00 a.m.)

That pretty much covers it for today … talk to you later.

Today started off very hectic … because the “wake up call” at the hotel didn’t happen and I woke up about 45 minutes later than usual.  That meant that Adella woke up late and we were running around trying to get breakfast, and load luggage on time.

Adella went to eat breakfast with the other cyclists and I had “hot oatmeal” in our room.  I decided to skip the group breakfast and ride alone … about 5 miles into the trip I realized that we had to do our “call in” to KZST at 7:50 a.m.

Adella called me to remind me,  but she wasn’t able to catch up with me in time … so I talked to Brent at KZST (100.1 FM) in Santa Rosa, Ca., and said “hi” for her … if you visit our website … on the “How to follow the journey page?” you can click on the KZST link to listen to the interviews.

Adella caught up with me a little later and we rode together up the mountain for awhile, until she “kicked it in” and scampered away from me …

Wow!  Adella is getting to be quite a good climber and she really enjoys it!  Even Judy C., one of our co-leaders (who I rode across America with in 2008) said she even noticed how strong Adella is, and has noticed how much stronger she is getting on a daily basis.

I sure noticed it today … as I watched her pedal her way past me and several other cyclists as she pedaled up the 9 mile climb to the summit of Monarch Pass … 11,312 feet!

It took me a long time to climb the 9 miles to the summit.  Yet it was worth it!  Adella was waiting and we took our ceremonial pictures in front of the Monarch Pass sign which says 11,312 feet.  (Just like we did when Aaron and I climbed the Pass in 1996 together.)   Check out the Facebook pictures for today … they are awesome!

Once the picture taking was over … Adella and I took the Tram up to the top of the mountain to 12,000 feet and were able to take some amazing and awesome pictures!  We were able to see 14,000 Foot Peaks in all directions!

Then we bought a shirt and a sweater that says … “I climbed Monarch Pass!”

Then came the most incredible downhill of 20+ miles and then a really nice tailwind … all the way to the hotel … it was awesome!

The best descending day that we’ve had so far …

When we arrived at the hotel … there were some little kids selling lemonade at the hotel … it was really cool so we bought some lemonade and we took our pictures with them.

I thought I would share some excerpts from the journal entry in 1996 as we climbed up over Monarch and then down to Salida, CO.

• Today we started out from Gunnison and rode 66 miles to Salida, Colorado.  It was a very cold crisp morning to start out with… 36 degrees.  But the wind was either at our backs or no wind at all.  So it was a perfect riding day and then we started climbing up to the summit of Monarch Pass, a 10 mile climb up to 11,312 feet in altitude.  
•  Finally after our first sag stop we started climbing and we climbed and we climbed and we climbed!  Finally we could see the summit and we made it… we took pictures of us and the bikes. 
•  The views today were even more tremendous than yesterday.  The more we climbed the better the views. 
•  The winds at the top were really blowing so we had to dress warm for the downhill. 
•  Then Aaron and I started on our 20 mile downhill into Salida, it was awesome because we never got below 30 mph and most of the time were traveling about 38 mph even though we had to be careful because of sidewinds. 
• We arrived at the Days Inn at 1:30 pm.
•  Today was a great day and probably the high point of this Life Across America ride.

Well, that’s it for today … a day that started out “challenging” and ended up as one of the best cycling days yet!  Whoopee!

Talk to you soon.

Today started early because we had several climbs to do … up to the summit of Cerro, 7740 feet.

As usual the wind started just as siib as  we left the hotel and started our climb … the wind was very strong and in our face.(again)

This time I made up my mind early that I was climbing to the top or die trying … and … the bright side of the climb was that Adella is quickly becoming a very good cyclist and I watched her fade away in the distance as she climbed up and away from me.

The long and short of the day was that it was windy all the way to the top of the climb … then the wind settled down and we were able to enjoy a nice long downhill … all the way down  to the old general store that served “pies”. 

Everyone stopped there to enjoy the decor of the old place and the old man sitting in the store allowed us to take pictures with him. (see Adella’s pix on Facebook)

I decided to forego the piece of apple pie and started to climb up our next climb … which ended at the next summit.

Then came the downhill that we all had been waiting on … we descended all the way down to Blue Mesa Lake … it was very scenic and seemed to go on forever and ever.(lots of beautiful pictures and incredible scenery)

On the downhill I hooked up with Freddie and his friend, Sumner, for an enjoyable and quick descent … we had a lot of fun riding together. (by the way Sumner is a 4 GALLON blood donor … I made a special point to give him a “hug” and to say thank you to Sumner because it was blood donors just like him who saved my life!)

Then we stopped at the Pinnacles rest area and Adella caught up with us … then she and I rode the next 20 miles together all the way to the hotel (Days Inn)

We decided then to ride the extra 1-2 miles into downtown Gunnison … to go to the bicycle shops and get something to eat.

Neither bike shop had what I was looking for … a Cateye Strata with cadence and wireless … so I just bought some chain lubricant.

Afterwards we went to the Firestaff restaurant and had something to eat … and … there we met Randy and Heather … who were on their way to mountain bike some local peak this evening.

The 2nd bicycle shop had a little boy named Burke with a  brother named Bing … this little guy was riding a miniature 2 wheeler all around the store, in and out of the aisles and shelving etc.  He was really good and I had a heck of a time getting a picture of him.

After that we rode our bicycles to the hotel … changed and then attended route rap, mechanic’s hour and finally off to dinner at Mario’s restaurant in town.  Great food, great service and we left totally “filled up”.

Tomorrow will be another huge climb day … up and over Monarch Pass … 11,312 feet.

Gunnison is an amazing place and there are many things that you can do here:  Visit the Pioneer Museum which has an antique car collection and the first Gunnison Post Office, etc.

They also have the Cattlemen’s Days which is the Grandaddy of all Colorado rodeos … and has many events to make all your cowboys feel right at home.

This area around Gunnison has many scenic river tours with events such as: rafting, fishing, kayaking, and rock climbing.  I even saw a local notice inviting locals and tourists to go “zip lining”. 

Well that about covers it for today … talk to you tomorrow.

The ride today was from Grand Junction to Montrose, 68 miles … a climb of about 3500 feet and as usual a 15-20 mph cross wind and again what seemed to be our typical “wind in your face” kind of day that we’ve been experiencing each day so far.

There are some beautiful areas along this ride … the Rattlesnake Gulch … lots of views of the local rivers and the Rocky Mountains off in the distance. ( BTW, does anyone know where the “Utes” Indians lived? Was it on the rim of the Black Canyon?)

Also in the area are the San Juan Mountains, the Black Canyon National Park, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River,and the Blue Mesa is the largest manmade lake in Colorado.  So if you into fishing … this area is the thriving gateway to the wonders of western Colorado and is still considered the “Wild West’.  It is a  definitely beautiful area and a lovely place to visit and cycle through. (I can’t imagine what the cold winters would be like where everything is frozen.)

Here is an interesting tidbit … Did you know that the Gunnison river drops more elevation in 48 miles through Black Canyon than the entire 1500 mile long Missisissippi River, that’s an average of 96 feet per mile, and it drops 480 feet in one 2 mile stretch.  Wow!  Maybe that’s why the canyon walls are so steep?

Having said all that … it was not an easy day for me … especially after doing a hard 102 miles yesterday … my legs and back was screaming for relief … not to mention the pain that the “seat” was inflicting on my “butt”. 

We decided to “sag” for a few miles today to save our strength for the major climbs coming up tomorrow and the next day … 8000 feet and then Monarch Pass … 11,312 feet.

When we rode into the town of Delta, we stopped at the  City Market and picked up some Curel … which will hopefully cure the “butt” discomfort, or at least allieviate it enough so that I can climb with a minimum of pain.(although I have a great poem titled “Pain Is My Friend)

In Delta,  we decided to stop at a restaurant for a hamburger and something to eat … after that we started riding the final 20 miles toward Montrose in the headwind, etc.  ( After a few miles … that’s when we decided to “sag” in because Adella was hurting also.)

As we pedaled along the highways we saw a crew of men working on the highway, so we stopped for a picture with them right in the middle of their project as they were fixing the  road. 

 They were “good sports”, took a picture with us and wished us a lot of luck on our journey. (Check out the pictures on Facebook.)

When we got to the EconoLodge  hotel on Main street … we all pitched in to help upload the luggage.  It’s nice place and a lot better than where we stayed last night!

Adella is going out this afternoon with some of the other cyclists to visit the Black Canyon National Park … which is a major tourist attraction.  (I’ll bet she takes some awesome pictures.)

It’s interesting how the older we get … our mind plays tricks on us.  I really didn’t remember today’s ride as being “tough” in 1996 until I decided to review my 1996 Journal of our Life Across America ride, and here is an excerpt from our 1996 Life Across America ride with (at the time) 13 year old son, Aaron and I:

• Today we started out from Grand Junction, Colorado. Then we rode 68 miles to  Montrose, Colorado, the first 29 miles were really tough because we not only were climbing 3500 feet but we had a 30 mph wind in our face.  So I was really happy to see the first sag stop.  Aaron was really struggling today in the wind and couldn’t even draft at 8 mph, so asked him if he wanted to get into the sag wagon and he said “yes” so he took it easy today.
• After he got into the sag, we started riding again and the scenery is really changing, much more mountainous and very high mesas with much more greenery everywhere.  We have crossed the Colorado River several times and each time we see it I am amazed of the sheer power of the water rushing on its way to the Colorado Dam.  It is so powerful and its scary to think that man could harness that kind of power.

So as you can see … sometimes our memory “buries” the tough memories … in an effort to keep us positive and uplifted! Hmmmm?

Talk to you later … and a special “thanks” to Jennifer S. and to Julie Scott from Bonfils.

Today was a wonderful ride of 102 + miles, and the weather was beautiful. 

The morning started out a little chilly and the wind Gods were nice to us for most of the day … some tailwinds and some downhills.

Adella decided to ride by herself and gave me permission to ride with some of the other riders … so I rode with other groups, sometimes by myself and finished up riding with Scott, Lester and Robb as we finished the day. (see Facebook photos)

The terrain was lots of desert with some amazing vistas of the Colorado river and the upcoming mountains … by the time I finished today I was exhausted … because a great day of riding will do that to you … you keep trying to take advantage of the tailwind or you want do you best to enjoy the downhill … which means you must work harder to keep up the heightened pace that you’ve selected for yourself or provided by those you are riding with … in a paceline! 

Either way … you are expending a lot more energy to finish that 102 miles before the winds change, and make your beautiful day of cycling turn into a “day of torture”.

Once we arrived at the hotel … Adella and I walked over to Denny’s to order a Western Burger and a large chocolate and strawberry milkshake. 

As soon as we walked in … we met a very interesting  local couple John and Virginia Trujillo … Virginia was very friendly and wanted to know all about our nation-wide blood drive and why we would even want to do such a crazy thing as ride across America on bicycles.  So I was able to share my blood recipient story and give her one of our Life Across America business cards.

By the time we had finished dinner, another couple, Frank and Helen came up and introduced themselves and after hearing the story and what we were doing … Helen offered to pray for our safety and to help us finish the trip still in good health.

Grand Junction seems to have a lot amount of retirement age “seniors” in the area and it really is a beautiful to visit or take a vacation.

Because I was riding so hard today … I didn’t take as many pictures … so check them out on our “Give Blood” account on Facebook.

Talk to you soon.

Today was supposed to be an easy downhill with just a couple of climbs … oops, not quite like that!

Well I must say the first 30 miles out of the 67 miles … were exactly like that … then we stopped at our scheduled SAG stop.

And from there on … it became the “windy day” nightmare … a steady heavy “in your face” headwind, which justs wears you out and then about 7 miles away from the hotel … I get a flat on the rear tire … from a tiny little piece of wire.  I was lucky enough to find it and pull it out without breaking the wire off into the tire.

So Adella helped me to change the tire by holding the bicyle upright, until I could figure out how the new Shram derailleur was supposed to fit onto the chain, etc.  (the little tire pump with the compressed air setup worked like a charm … again!)

So we made it to the hotel at about 2:30 p.m. instead of the 12:00 p.m. we had orginally thought we would arrive.

Lots of the cyclists … went over to visit the “Arches National Park” and some even went “whitewater rafting” … brave souls they are … to do that after cycling all day and then planning on cycling 96 miles tomorrow to Grand Junction, Colorado.

Adella and I decided to spend a quiet afternoon at the hotel.

So Adella rode over to Blimpy’s and bought us a sandwich … while I washed and dried our cycling clothers in the hotel laundry.

It amazing some of the deep “life experience”  conversations that take place in the laundry … between Scott, Cindy, Freddie, Judy, Adella and I.

After we finished we went upstairs to clean up and get ready for route rap, mechanic’s time, and dinner.

Before I forget it … today was Father’s Day and I’ve received phone calls or email from Amy, Gail, Aaron, and Katrina so far.

Guess what I recieved for a Father’s Day gift from Adella and Amber?  A bicycle “toot horn” … it is really cool and makes enough “noice” that it really will scare the dickens out of some unsuspecting cyclist.

To my good friend … Warren H. … thank you for all your help with designing the paint job on my Life Across America bicycle … you are amazing!

Also to Gail, Katrina, Alex, Aaron, Amy, Adella and Amber (and my friends) thanks for the emails and phone calls … you made this Father’s Day an incredible day for me!  Thanks for remembering!  I love you all!  (I am so blessed to have “family and friends” like each one of you!)

What an interesting ride today!

Adella didn’t get much sleep last night because she took a very late phone call from a “friend”, which means I didn’t get much sleep either.

So when we woke up today we were very tired … yet … John P. who helped us co-ordinate our appearances at the blood drives over the last 2 days … was invited to ride part of the day with us. (He decided to ride with us this morning up Hiwy 6 to where the wind turbines were and we had a great time riding with him. (in fact we rode very close to his home)

The closer we cycled to Hiwy 6 … the windier it got … and I mean really windy. (I guess that’s why they decided to put wind turbines there, eh?)

We took a couple of pictures with John and then he turned back toward home and we continued onward up the Spanish Fork valley and climbed the mountain, 4-6 percent grade and a 5-6 mile climb and it seemed to go on and on. Basically it was exhausting … must have been the busy day yesterday coupled with the lack of sleep.

Adella was so exhausted she was falling asleep on the bike … so she opted to ride in the SAG wagon for awhile. Good decision on her part.

Even though I was exhausted I continued to ride, finished another 6 mile climb of 4-6 percent climb and then I hooked up with Robert and Don … after I caught my 2nd wind … we had a blast because Robert was stopping to take pictures and shoot takes for his documentary that he is putting together. We had some very long downhills that would have been great except for the 15-20 mph wind that made it very difficult to enjoy the downhill part of the ride.

One place we stopped was at the Hilltop Country Service store … an old time general store that was founded by Orrin Elmer who knew and was a friend of Butch Cassidy, they even had a old time picture of them together. The owner was still alive back in 1996 when Aaron and I rode through the area … sadly he died last year … his granddaughter, Amanda, is now caretaker of the store. Check out the pictures that we took at the store … it was fun to visit the store and hear the stories about her grandfather and
great grandfather.

Then we continued to ride to the Holiday Inn in Price … showered up, had route rap, mechanix honor, and then had an excellent dinner.

We are looking forward to riding to Green Valley tomorrrow … only 60 miles!

Talk to you soon.

What a busy day for us … 65 miles to Provo from SLC airport.

Up early to breakfast … then loading and off to the bike trails on our way to Provo.

Right away an irresponsible driver ran into one or two of our cyclists … luckily they didn’t seem to be hurt too bad, yet,John’s bike was trashed. Later in the day I heard he had bought a new bike and is now back on the road again.

Also rumor has it there was another “slow motion” fall over as one of our cyclists came to a stop … no one hurt bad, thank goodnes.

Adella spent a lot of time finding our way to the In and Out Burger on our way to our 1st blood drive in Orem, then the 2nd blood drive at the Best Buy (using a mobile coach) and finally the 3rd blood drive at the Edgemont Stake Center … where they had a fabulous turnout (I’m not sure of the numbers) At this blood drive at least 5 of Adella’s friends showed to give blood. So we spent quite a bit of time there, thanking donors for giving blood and taking pictures with them. (see Adella’s Facebook pictures.)

Because of the late exit from the 3rd blood drive, we barely made it to dinner and then finally made it back to the room.

Tomorrow is another 75 miles to Price, Utah, then 67 miles to Green River.

Thanks for following our progress … talk to you tomorrow.

Today is a “rest day” for us. Boy is my body grateful for that!

I woke up early after a good night’s sleep and we’re looking forward to particpating in a local blood drive hosted by the LDS Business college and ARC.

Last night we had an interview with Hikari from the Deseret News … she is an amazing young lady and has a lot in common with Adella.

This morning we will be doing another “live” phone interview with KZST 100.1 FM in SR, CA., with Brent (the DJ) at 6:50 A.M.

As I take a moment to reflect on the “experiences” of this trip … I must say how grateful I am for our family, our friends, and the blood donors who saved my life! (Without the “blood donors” none of this would be possible.)

So for those who are reading this post … don’t forget to say “I love you” and give a “big hug” to those closest to you … sometimes they are overlooked in the “hustle and bustle of a very busy life”.

I want to thank ABB and the staff leaders for the amazing support they are giving to all of the cyclists of this incredible journey we are all sharing … Michelle, Alex, Gerard, Judy, and Pam you are amazing!

To our fellow cyclists on the big CCC 2010 … thanks for sharing your incredible talents with us … it inspires Adella and I to become better cyclists, better friends, and we are grateful for each of you because you teach us something positive.

To Ken K … it was heart-warming to see you back on your feet last night at “route rap” after your crash … it was obvious to me that many prayers were answered and as I watched you walk into the room … tears of joy, welled up in my eyes.

As I think about this life changing experience that Adella and I are sharing this summer … a quick thought about families as given by Henry B. Eyring:

“Our most important and powerful assignments are in the family. They are important because the family has the opportunity at the start of a child’s life to put feet firmly on the path home. Parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles are made more powerful guides and rescuers by the bonds of love that are the very nature of a family.”
Henry B. Eyring, “Help Them on Their Way Home, Ensign, May 2010, 23

Well that’s it for now … we’ll check in later.

Well it’s later so I’m checking in now … on our rest day we met up with John, PR director with ARC in SLC area.

We attended a blood drive at the LDS Business College which was very successful … their goal was 30 units because it is the summer and 50% of the students are away from school … yet, I think they are about 42 units donated … not sure of the final count yet it was a very successful blood drive and a happy day for Adella who was able to visit with a lot of students and teachers. We even were able to visit with Matt (who introduced Adella and Gail to what the school had to offer) also we had a chance to visit with Pres. Larry Richards of LDSBC)

It was a nice day and to enjoy it more … check out the pictures that Adella posted on Facebook.

Thanks for all your support.

Today started out really early … 0330 hrs.
Breakfast at 0445 hours. Loading at 0600 hrs.

Once loaded we were off on I-80 across the Salt Flats, we started out with very little wind …. a beautiful sunrise and 120 miles to go our first SAG (support and gear) was at 42.5 miles and our 2nd SAG was at 91 miles.

About 30 miles into the ride Adella’s knee started bothering her … so she decided to ride in the van so she could “ice” it and rest it for awhile.

It is a good thing that she did … because the wind really started picking up … with gusts of 25 – 45 mph.

I finished all 120 miles with a 15.8 average and I must say this was the toughest and longest ride so far on this trip.

Jen called us and let us know that we had an interview with Hikaki Loftus a reporter from Desert News at 4:30 p.m.

We went to the interview and it was done very well … it may come out on Friday …

We went to route rap and Ken showed up … he had been injured a couple of day ago … in a paceline crash and ended up with shoulder and hip problems and couldn’t ride anymore for about 2 months.

Believe it or not … he was up on a “walker” and looked really good … even with “road rash” , etc. All of us were very happy to see him and we gave him a round of enthusiastic applause. He went to dinner with us.

Adella is out enjoying her SLC friends and helping us get ready for the big day tomorrow … the Blood drive at LDS Business college (11:00 -4:00 pm)

We’ll talk to you tomorrow, when we have a radio interview on KZST 100.1 FM at 0645 hrs.