LIFE ACROSS AMERICA 2010

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.

Saturday, 5 Jun 10, Burlingame and SF, CA

Hi Everyone,

Today was a very busy day, starting last evening with packing, repacking until 0130 hrs this morning.

Then off to bed and up again at 0600 hours … time to repack again and finally ready to unload the pickup and then load up again with the bicycles.

Dick and Anna came over to help us and drove with us to SF airport at the Holiday Inn Express to check in with America by Bicycle.

Brandon, Amy and little Baby E were all there to meet us and send us off with good wishes.  It’s always wonderful to see baby Ella again … she was sleeping so peacefully.

We had lunch with Dick and Anna, grandma, mom, Adella and I.  They then went with us to check in … and have our bicycles checked over by the ABB’s mechanic … he said they were in good shape.

We then had a 3 hour introduction to the Cross Country Challenge … meeting our 29 fellow cyclists and learning all the “rules of the road” and learning how to cycle in safety.

I recognized one of our group leaders … Judy … from an earlier ride we had done together in 2008.

After the introduction meeting we had the “route rap” and learned the route we are following tomorrow … 35N to Skyline to Great Highway, to Ocean Beach at 0800 hrs.

Then we all went out to dinner together … meet a lot of new people from all over the U.S. and even some from our hometown SR.

Then back to the hotel and to “repack again” and now off to bed.

There are a lot of amazing people in this group of cyclists … it will be an honor and a pleasure to ride with them.

I’ll check in with you tomorrow.

Hi Everyone,

I must say we are definitely on the countdown now … only 3 days to go … until the start date of Life Across America 2010 (this is being done in conjunction with America by Bicycle’s “Cross Country Challenge 2010″, a special thanks to Doug T. and Bill for their help.

Also a big expression of gratitude to FABC and ABC who have supported us from the beginning.

To Rand at Aria Velo … thank you for what you have done to make sure Adella had an incredible LOOK bicycle to ride across America this summer.

Wow, it’s sure been a busy week … trying to get all the last minute things done.  Every time I turn around … there’s something else to do!  (Does that sound familiar?)

On Monday, 31May … I rode with our SRCC friends … I ended up with 63 miles.  Then I went to the Trek Store to recalibrate the shifting on my bike … new cables always “stretch” a  little and have to be tweaked.

On Tuesday, 1June … lots more on the “honey-do” list and making sure the things on the check list were done!

We also had a very nice “farewell” breakfast with our Friendly Friday cycling group … what a great bunch of incredible people!

While there,  I was able to distribute the 2nd order of LAA 2010 jerseys to those who attended the breakfast.

Also to drop off the jerseys to Aria Velo and the Trek Store while running around.

Thanks to Brett and John at the Trek store for all their help … Brett surprised us by asking us to sign the LAA 2010 jersey for him because he wants to frame it and put it up in the store.  What an absolute honor!

On Tuesday night we were updating our website and finding some pictures from our previous Cross-Country bicycle rides: 1995 Ability Across California, 1996 Life Across America, 1997 Five Points of Life, and 2008 Life Across America.

What an amazing walk down memory lane for me … a picture with Lance Armstrong in Texas, lots of amazing donors pictures at blood centers throughout the U.S.A.

Before I forget it … I would to tell John (LAA 2010 webmaster) how much I appreciate his handiwork on the new and improved LAA 2010 website … he has done an amazing job on it, redesigning it, making it more user-friendly for blood centers and visitors alike.

What can I say?  Let me try by saying a great big “thank you” to a young man who is very talented and does an amazing job in such a short period of time … one week!   Thank you, John!

On Wednesday, 2 June … we rode with Janice, Mike, Charlie, Jackie, David, Carole, George, Ken, Adella, and Bob … just to name a few … and we did 51 miles today … what a beautiful day in Sonoma County, a great day for a bike ride.

We had a lot of fun and it was incredible to see all the cyclists with their Life Across America 2010 jerseys all in a line … pedaling up the highways together and we even let Janice talk us into pedaling up Covey … the percentage of this short yet mighty hill was an eye-opener for all of our … “old bones”.

Guess-estimates said it starts at 17-18% and mellows out to 13-15% grade … either way it got our hearts pumping.  Not a long hill … yet … long enough!

Wednesday, today, was a b/d celebration for my honey bunch of many years … we went to the SR Sonoma Taco Shop to celebrate.

And we want to say “thank you” to Sammy and Aida … who do an incredible job of making everyone feel right at home!

A cute story happened while we were there … a little girl about 2 years old was sitting at the table next to us … and … her parents and grandparents were speaking a language that we didn’t recognize so Adella asked them where they were from?

They said Norway … so they were speaking Norwegian … and … every time the little girl looked at our table and looked and me she started laughing with the cutest little laugh while pointing at me … so I waved at her and said “hi” … her mother was embarrassed by all her commotion and explained that she was excited to see my “mustache”.  One thing led to another and Adella made friends with their table.

So I got the bright idea of calling Carole because I knew her husband John spoke Norwegian … and when he came on the phone I asked him to speak to the grandfather, a complete stranger,  in Norwegian and he did!

The entire table really enjoyed listening to the conversation in Norwegian.

Thank you John for being a good sport and helping us make some new Norwegian friends tonight … you are amazing!

Well here we are full circle … back to the real point of this post … only 3 days to go!

Lots of packing and repacking to look forward to over the next couple of days, last minute checks on the bicycles, on the computer, the laptop, the website, and receiving lots of last minute emails from ABC blood centers and those amazing ABC employers in D.C. who are helping to co-ordinate this entire summer.

Thank you, Matt, Abbey, Lauren, Julia and the rest of the gang!

To Jeff and the “In the Telling” film crew thank you for the amazing jobs you are doing in the “telling” the amazing stories of blood recipients … keep up the good work!

Don’t forget to use our website as LAA 2010 “central”  and visit our Facebook account “Give Blood” by clicking on the link, and take time to check out the pictures Adella just added last night.

She will do this daily on Facebook,  uploading our pictures of rides, stops at the blood centers, donors we meet, ABC highlights and interesting stories.

Talk to you soon,

Larry F. “Giving Blood is the one GIFT that truly comes from your heart!”

Good morning,

Guess what? It’s almost time for the “Epic Big Pedal” to start in SF.

Adella and I are down to 10 days left before our check-in date of 5Jun10 with America by Bicycle’s “Cross Country Challenge 2010″  and our start date of  the “Epic Big Pedal” on 6Jun10 in San Francisco.

This will be the same day as the start of the incredible ALC ride from SF to LA … so there should be lots of incredible, compassionate “cyclists” in SF,  on or near Ocean Beach.

ALC will head south down the coast highway and we will cycle past the Cliff House, through the Presidio, across the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and then continue on to Vallejo, Ca.

The next day we will continue eastbound through Fairfield, Vacaville, and onward to Sacramento for a “thank you” stop at the BloodSource blood center on Q st to meet their donors.

The last couple of weeks have been amazing, lots of training (in between rain storms), packing and re-packing, last minute preparations for the Bikes. (A special thanks to Rand at Aria Velo and the incredible crew at The Trek Store” Brett, John, Andrew, Ben, Justin, Chrissy, and others.  Oops … I almost forget Jeff at NorCal for the exceptional customer service he provided to all of their customers.

Wow!  The “Epic Big Pedal” could not have happened without the support and friendship of our cycling friends who usually train us on the “Friendly Fridays” rides sponsored by SRCC (Santa Rosa Cycling Club)  You are an amazing group of men and women who are dedicated to cycling and to having fun while being “friendly” at the same time.  Thank you to Charlie, George, Jackie, John, Carole, Robin, Ken, David, Mike and Janice, and Michael S. for being there in the beginning to encourage me to do this and for reaching out to Adella when she joined us.

Since I’m stuck in my “attitude of gratitude” mode … I want to thank our local blood center, Blood Bank of the Redwoods, and their crew (Cathy, Kent, Ryan, Tammy, Liz, and Ilde), for hosting a very successful community event/bike ride/blood drive, “Cycle 4 Life“, you and your donors were awesome.

If you get a chance … check out our new and updated LAA 2010 website, try to leave us an encouraging note on the comments form and then jump over to Adella’s account on Facebook … just sign in, go to the search box and type in … Give Blood.

Adella will be updating it daily with pictures, notes, and exciting “thoughts of the day”, inspirational thoughts, and amazing people and donors she has met along the way.

A special thank you to F.A.B.C., ABC, ABC member blood centers, your local blood center, and our friends in D.C. who are working tirelessly to provide us with a safe and available blood supply and specifically helping us get the word out about Life Across America 2010 … a hats-off to: Jim, Tom, Matt, Abbey, Mack, Lolita and Lauren.

To my friends who make up the  In the Telling film crew, Jeff and his gang of incredible group of talented young men and women … thank you for bringing this Blood Miracle story to its 2nd life … and for spotlighting the many other blood recipient miracle stories that are out there!  I hope you know there are many special blood stories out there just like mine … because during our lifetimes … 1 out of 3 people will need blood!

Don’t forget … “Blood Donors Save Lives … Believe It!”

Our goal this year for Life Across America 2010  is to replicate our 1996 goal of raising 75,000 units of blood and if for some medical reason you personally can’t donate … please encourage your best friend who is healthy and can donate … to donate at least 3 times this year.

If fear of needles or any other reason is stopping you for donating whole blood, platelets, or plasma … then feel free to make a financial donation to F.A.B.C. in the name of “Life Across America 2010″.

Our financial goal this year for FABC is to raise $110,000 … $1,ooo  for each unit of blood that I used … so your donation is important to us.

If you can’t do any of the above and would just like to participate in LAA 2010 by sending Adella and I a word of encouragement or just say a prayer for us…  please use the comment form on our website … you can help us climb the Sierras, the Rockies, and keep going in the Kansas wind … rain or shine!  We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your support and help.

Larry F. (Giving Blood is the one GIFT that truly comes from your heart!)