Back to "normal"

The day after I arrived back in Iowa after six weeks on my bike, I set off again for a short vacation in the Black Hills with my parents and niece, Elizabeth. This time the trip was on four wheels and I didn't wear orange once. Our trip across South Dakota included stops at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, the Badlands, and Wall Drug. We set out from our cabin outside of Hill City to visit Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park (yes, we did see a big herd of buffalo), and Jewel Cave. We also played a round of mini golf in Rapid City (won by Papa) where Okoboji was featured on the signpost along with such places as Paris and New York. We were introduced to all the presidents through the life size bronze statues in downtown Rapid City. Our last afternoon was spent on an old steam powered train that goes between Hill City and Keystone. The train goes up hills about as slow as I do on my bike. The hours in the car passed more quickly by introducing Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi, and the rest of the cast of characters from the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency to Elizabeth by reading the latest book in the series. She must have enjoyed them since she came home from the library with the first book in the series.

   

During this past week, I've been getting back into a somewhat normal routine and eating schedule as my focus shifted from riding my bike to the next two objectives: passing the OT licensing exam and finding a job. To begin studying, I ordered what Google said was the best book for preparing for the exam. To prepare for a job interview on Wednesday I went through the list of the top 50 interview questions (according to Google) and got a hair cut. I felt better after the hair cut and at least thinking about some of the questions made it seem that I was doing something to prepare. 

The actual interview went well. I was able to come up with some type of answer for all their questions and I had some questions for them as well. Part way through I realized they were trying to sell the position to me as much as I was trying to sell myself to them. In the end, I'm to contact them if I haven't heard from them in two weeks. When I arrived back home, the exam prep book had arrived. My hope of taking the exam by the end of August went out the window. Instead I set a more reasonable pace of one chapter (out of 14) per day, plus some time for the three practice exams included with the book. I'm scheduled to take it on Sept 16. After my first few days of sitting at a desk again, I'm thankful that most of what I'm studying is familiar and I'm very glad that the questions are multiple choice rather than essay. An added bonus, there's been time for a couple of bike rides. They have been short, which is fine with me in this humidity.

The Last 2 Days

Friday was our longest ride of the week. The route from Packwood to Longview WA ended up being 94.84 miles. Once again we rolled out of the church parking lot before 6:00. For the first time in a long time, almost everyone had a jacket on to try and ward off the early morning chill. As we rolled through town, we saw several elk amble across the road in front of us and head into the forest. Most of the riders seem to take off at a much faster pace than my legs want to turn at the beginning, but after 10 or 15 minutes I’m ready to ride harder. I managed to eventually catch John Z and Turbo Tom and I rode with them to the bottom of the first hill where they pulled away from me. The profile promised 2 longer climbs (2-3 miles) but neglected to show the rolling hills towards the end of our route.

On the way up the second climb, I spotted an orange jersey in the ditch up ahead. As I got closer, I realized it was Justin who was raiding a blackberry patch on the side of the hill. I stopped and joined him figuring that would be a great snack. He was filling a quart-size zip-loc so he could make a pie. I had a second bag so we ended up with 2 quarts of berries and I had eaten plenty as well.

After our second rest stop, I set off with John, Melissa, Leah, and Lindsey. Lindsey and I were at the back talking when I got a flat. That put us at the back of the pack except for the sweeps. Once it was changed, we rode hard until the next rest stop, which was several miles later than expected because Tom had missed a turn. From that rest stop I rode with the others who had waited for us. The route sheet got rather complicated, and I have learned that it is always safest to ride with Melissa who made the route sheet and seems to have it memorized. The church we stayed at was hidden behind a storefront in downtown Longview. Rather than getting to explore, I joined my chore team in the last laundry duty of the trip. We have spent enough time together that between the three of us we were able to sort most of the laundry into piles including clothing that didn't have a name on it. 

Shortly after our return to the church we discovered that Dan’s bike had been stolen. He took it well and figured that the thief hadn’t gotten very far because the cable for the back derailer was frayed and had been disconnected waiting for a replacement. It would be a great disappointment to not get to ride the final day, so over our meal of an egg, sausage, and hash brown casserole, it was decided that Justin would ride Tom’s bike (that did most of the trip on the rack on the top of his van) and Dan would ride Justin’s since Justin fit Tom’s bike and Justin didn’t mind his being adjusted to fit Dan. Our day ended with eating the three blackberry pies Justin had made.

Saturday was our final day. This day had been the topic of many conversations over this last week. Along with favorite moments/days of the trip, people expressed their joy but also sadness at reaching the end of the trip. The 18 who did the whole trip had been together for 9 weeks. The shared experiences and living in close community results in strong bonds being formed. It’s the type of experience where just one word can bring laughter since it represents a whole story not easily explained to others.

Our instructions for the day were a bit different than usual. There would be one rest stop at mile 25 and then everyone was to wait at the pier in Astoria (about mile 50) until the sweeps arrived so we could ride together for the last 8 or so miles to the beach in Seaside that would be the official end.  Our route took us across the Columbia River and included 3 decent climbs. There was also plenty of rolling hills in the second half of the ride until we got to Astoria.

I rode with others until we reached the top of the second climb and then wanted to push it a bit so I rode hard for about 10 miles to the rest stop. Tom had chosen a gas station for our rest stop and we provided plenty of entertainment for employees and patrons alike since Mark and Brett decided to make some smoothies with the bike-powered blender. A little ice cream and other miscellaneous items from the food bins went in (including a maple flavored donut) and the result wasn’t too bad. 

During the second part of the ride through the rolling hills, I stopped to talk to two young men who were riding loaded-down mountain bikes. They were from Germany and riding from Seattle to San Francisco. In the course of our conversation I discovered they were headed for Seaside but had been told there was no room at the campground there. After talking with Melissa, I invited them to join us and gave them my route sheet so they would have the address of the church were we were staying. They were stopping in Astoria to use the internet and were also taking a different route.

I could smell the sea before we saw it and it was a beautiful sight. 

We gathered at the pier, took a group photo of this “dysfunctional family”... 

...and headed out together with Melissa (this year’s leader) and Lydia (next year’s leader) in the lead. I was toward the back of the pack and quickly decided it was a good thing that we didn’t try to stay together all the time. It would take some time getting used to the accordion effect.  

Mihai, one of the all-the-way riders, lives in Portland and his family came to meet us at the beach. I had no idea what a crew it would be. There must have been at least 25 of them (at least three generations). They had set up a finish line on the beach and were cheering loudly until we all came across.  From there things got a little crazy as some went running into the water (burr!!!), some cried, and all rejoiced. Once pictures were taking and hugs given all around, we circled up as a group for the last time. There was some Oyees! (meaning a combination of Thank you, Let’s do it, and Amen), a prayer, and a song, before we headed towards the church where we were staying. Had it been a bit warmer, we likely would have lingered longer.

Mihai’s family had not just come to welcome us at the beach, but they had brought grills and everything else needed for us to have a feast in the back yard. What a special treat! The rest of the afternoon was filled with packing up bikes, good-byes for those who were leaving that day, and getting everyone through the one shower. Our German friends, Hauke and Thore, arrived about 4. They unloaded their saddle bags and then headed for the beach. They made sure to be back in time for supper which was provided by some of the women in the church. We had made-to-order omelets, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, and fruit. Hauke and Thore were elated to not be cooking on their one tiny burner and filled their plates three times. Everyone who was spending the night ended up in Seaside which seemed to have more candy stores than anything else.

By Sunday evening, there were only 8 of us left. We packed up the trailer and van for an early departure on Monday morning and then headed for Cannon Beach to enjoy the sunset. It was a beautiful evening and sunset. Pictures can’t do it justice as the color of the sky was constantly shifting and they completely leave out the sounds of the seagulls and waves, the smell of the ocean, the coldness of the water and the feel of the sand on my feet. It was a fitting end to a great trip.

The Cascades

Thursday was our last mountain pass of the trip. I was looking forward to getting over the Cascades and out of the desert. We set out at about 5:45 and rode along the outskirts of Yakima were there was again lots of irrigation. There was a lot of wind which at times was right in our face. 

About 20 miles into our route, we turned onto the road up to White Pass. Thankfully the mountain protected us from the wind or it simply died down. Either way, the wind was not much of a factor for the rest of our 73.75-mile ride. Since the wind didn’t seem very strong, I set out from the first rest stop on my own. I knew we would be climbing for most of the next 30 miles and often it is easier to do that at one’s own pace. That may sound like a long climb but I only dropped down to my smallest chain ring for the last 8 miles. It was a beautiful ride. I rode along creeks, rivers, and lakes. Small waterfalls came down the cliffs and the forest became thicker the closer I got to the top. One of the benefits of seeing the US from a bicycle saddle is there is no roof over one’s head so there is a much wider view of the scenery, especially when some of that scenery is vertical. I also enjoyed the odor of pine and fresh cut lumber when a logging truck passed me going in either direction.

The road had only two lanes but there was usually a decent shoulder. One time I was passed by a semi and several other vehicles, at which point I also heard the very loud sound. I was quite concerned for a split second as I wondered what was bearing down on me, about to run me over until I realized it was a fighter jet. I was unable to see it but others told me they had seen swoop down over a nearby lake.

I was greeted by Tom ringing his cowbell and doing his little dance at the top of White Pass. Lois was standing in her shrinking bit of shade and there was the usual buffet of cliff bars, granola bars, bananas, apples, oranges, bread, peanut butter, honey, jam, chips, raisins, and a various assortment of other energy-giving foods. I had plenty of time to eat as I waited for others to join me. Before heading off for the descent, we took another group photo by the sign to commemorate another mountain conquered. One reaction I received prior to my departure was, “Oh, I wouldn’t want to cross the mountains.” Personally, I was far more concerned about the wind, and after all the miles I’ve ridden, I think I was right. Climbs, no matter how long or difficult, come to an end and gravity takes over. A headwind does not end unless the road turns. I may feel differently had our route going through the higher elevations in the Rockies.

Early in our descent we had to stop for road construction. I was thankful that was on our descent, since we can descend at a much closer rate to the speed of a car than when climbing.  Riding through the one-lane construction zone required almost continual use of the brakes, but after that I cruised to the bottom. The sudden view of the snow-covered Mt. Ranier, did require a stop to get a good picture.

The rest of our ride through a National Forest was helped along by the downhill grade. Our home for the night was in a church on the edge of Packwood, WA, nestled into the woods. It was a beautiful setting. The supper chore team put the provided lasagnas into the oven and heated the place up, but we cooled it off by propping open a door. It is nice to be in a part of the world where there are few mosquitoes and even fewer flies.

The Desert

Monday our route took us from Lewiston ID to Dayton WA. Our departure time each morning depends upon several things: the number of miles we need to pedal, the forecast, and whether or not our hosts are preparing breakfast for us. We had only 68 miles to cover and our hosts prepared us a great breakfast of steel cut oatmeal so we headed out about 7. Before the day was over, we were wishing we had left an hour earlier to get an early jump on the heat. The three words for the day were: hot, hazy, and brown. At the beginning of the ride we were no longer on the Palouse. Instead we rode through barren hills until the top of the first climb. 

The top of the first climb brought us back onto the Palouse where almost all of the wheat had already been harvested. I learned later in the day that wheat harvest was a couple of weeks early due to the unusually warm summer. As a result, the landscape was pretty barren and brown with hardly a bush or tree in sight. The day started off warm but by the time I got to the second climb it was down right hot and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky to give some protection from the hot sun. The haze due to forest fires further north in Washington and in Canada was little help. 

My legs felt good all day.  I rode easily up Alpowa Summit, the first 5-mile climb of the day and continued on with John after the 2^nd rest stop. We eventually caught up with Dan and Dani and we rode together until the 2^nd climb. Dani was struggling and I learned later that her legs were cramping by the time she got to the top. Several people showed signs of dehydration today, and both of my water bottles were basically empty by the time we arrived. The air felt cooler as soon as we rolled into Dayton just because of the trees. I was again impressed with the construction crew who told us where to turn so we could avoid the one-lane traffic.

Our home for the night was the Church of Christ. They had cold water ready for us all and we walked a few blocks down to the high school for a shower. The evening meal was the best potluck of the trip with numerous salads and other unusual dishes.

Tuesday we rode 74 miles from Dayton to Richland, which is part of the Tri Cities. As we headed out of town I settled in next to Lydia who told me she wanted to take it easy today. I looked down at my speedometer and said we were going 18-19 mph. Lydia doesn’t have a speedometer so she wanted to know how fast all the people were going who passed us. I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to have to try and keep up with them. We rode side by side talking but also moved along at a good clip and averaged 19 mph over the first 20 miles. 

Lydia took off from the first rest stop before I was ready so I set out again on my own wondering if I could keep up the fast pace on my own. I did until the next rest stop about 20 miles later. We had a bit of crosswind and I was glad when John suggested we ride together “as long as it’s not at the pace you were setting.” I was happy to follow him and he ended up basically pulling me along until the road turned and we had more of a tailwind. About that time, the landscape changed from barren fields to orchards and vineyards.

Much of our last segment was on a bike path along the Colombia River. 

Once we got through the industrial area at the edge of the Tri Cities, we rode through areas of obvious wealth. That was somewhat of a shock after spending so much time in rural America where barns are far bigger than the houses. The church we stayed at was on the top of a hill (which some contend is true more often than not). I was tired by the time we arrived and the church was a welcome sight. We were shuttled to a Gold’s Gym several miles away for our showers, which were among the best of the trip. The rest of my afternoon was taken up with laundry duty. Our evening meal was served by some of the youth of the church and the college interns. 

On Wednesday morning before we headed for Yakima, Melissa announced there were no more spare tubes in the trailer. Most of us had a spare tube with us and it turned out to be a good thing. I passed two people changing flat tires in the first 20 miles. Before the day was over, we had 19 flats. Though I had none of them, I did contribute my spare tube to someone who did and provided moral support on at least one occasion. The poor quality of the roads we were on could have had something to do with the number of flats. 

Our 82.5-mile route continued through the desert. The only green in sight was due to irrigation. This included the pasture. Evidently water is in abundant supply thanks to the Columbia River. Most of the valley was filled with vineyards and orchards of apples and pears. We assumed the trees with no fruit were peach trees. In the distance we could see Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams. We were on the road by 5:30 but it was plenty hot by the time we finished. I made a wrong turn about 10 miles from our final destination so got in five extra miles (bringing my total to 87.56) and it was 97˚ when I finished at 12:45.

Our evening accommodations were in the cafeteria of a Catholic school. The meal was catered Mexican food that was quite tasty. I’ve become quite good at falling asleep before the lights go out and sleeping quite soundly despite there being more than 30 other people in the same room.

What's it like...?

What is it like to bike across the country with a group of 28-40 other people? 

Depending upon the time of day there are multiple answers to that question. Much of this past week I would have answered, "exhausting." We've been sleeping on thin (2") and narrow (20") therm-a-rests on a different floor almost every night. On a good night there are only 2-4 other people in the same room. On a not so good night we are all in the same gym (or smaller) and you hope the snorers are far on the other side or there is a loud fan to provide some white noise. Whatever the location may be, I rarely have control over when the lights go off or the alarm rings in the morning. Despite all this, I feel like I've been sleeping well since the first week of the trip. I guess I was tired enough, that it didn't really matter where I was. The introvert in me needs some time to myself and sometimes the only "alone" time I've been able to get has been on my bike. Add it all up, and earlier this week I wondered how much more I could take. A quiet room for an hour nap in Plummer, ID helped me feel more like my normal self.

My other answer to the question of what it is like to bike across the country is, "beautiful." Every day brings new scenery and I've decided that everything looks beautiful in the early morning sun. This week we rode 288 miles in 4 days and every day was different. (See Idaho post for details and pictures.)

I've also enjoyed getting to know both the other riders, and our hosts along the way. Tuesday evening our meal was provided by the Catholic church in Kellogg. I sat next to the priest who was from Mexico City and we had a delightful conversation about culture shock, the things he misses from home, what he loves about Idaho, and the quality of Mexican food in the US. On Wednesday during our first build day, there wasn't enough work for all of us to do. At one point I ended up sitting in the shade with Laurie, one of the Canadians who joined us for the week. We had an enjoyable conversation as we shared some of our stories with each other. At the end of our second build day the two of us ended up pulling weeds together and again our conversation was stimulating. As I said good-bye to her early Sunday morning, I wished she could stay for the final week of the trip.

Idaho Build Days

The mission of the Fuller Center is to provide simple affordable housing for those who can't afford a typical mortgage. The new home owners put in sweat equity hours and help with the construction as much as they are able. Once the home is completed, the owners pay back the cost of the materials at terms they can afford and that money goes to help someone else in their area who has a similar need. The Bike Adventure stops to help these local chapters of the Fuller Center to work on whatever projects they have going on. Thirty-seven sets of hands can get a lot of work done and 37 orange shirts descending on a community also brings some publicity with the hope that more local people volunteer their time and/or give to help meet the housing needs in their community. This week we had two build days.

Wednesday we helped the Kellogg Fuller Center covenant partner. Our main project was helping a family with 10 children put some siding on their home. They had taken 2 trailer homes, one of which was double wide, and put them together. The Fuller Center had helped them put a roof over the whole thing. The family had worked hard to finish the interior of their new home. It may sound like a great idea to have 37 people come help with a work project, but I learned this week that it is a lot of work to organize that many people so they can work efficiently. A big reason for that is that lots of tools are needed. Even with three crews working on three sides of the house, quite a few of us were standing around. Some of the group helped clean out a shed and then 11 people went to help on another project. Two of the ladies went inside the house and helped the teenagers clean out pet cages and catch up on the mountain of laundry that had built up. In the end, all of the available siding was put up. We could have done more, but the second load of siding had not yet arrived at the lumber yard.

Saturday we helped the Lewiston Fuller Center and Interlink with some projects they had. This was by far the best organized build day I was a part of and other riders who have been a part of many build days agreed. From my perspective there were two main reasons for that. 1) One of the churches in town works on projects like wheelchair ramps every 2nd Saturday of the month. They have done this numerous times before. 2) One of our riders from the area works at the school and had access to enough tools that every crew had exactly what they needed. The 37 riders were divided into numerous teams. Most of us either built or repaired wheelchair ramps. There was one paint crew that went from one site to another and another group went to the local food bank to do some labor intensive projects for them. I was with Mark, Susan, Lindsey, Arron, Molly, and Brett. Our project was to put in a wheelchair ramp for a woman whose daughter has MS. While the daughter doesn't live in Lewiston, it is virtually impossible for her to get into the house when she comes to visit. After our day of work, she will be able to enjoy a visit with her mother.

Bob was our local supervisor and it was obvious this wasn't his first wheelchair ramp. I learned that construction workers have their own language. He would rattle something off about how he wanted wood cut or how to put the pieces together. Mark, Susan and Brett would all nod their heads and go to work while I asked for a translation. It was fun to work on a project that didn't require being super exact so I was able to use some of the power tools. It was a hot day in Lewiston (close to 100˚) but we were blessed to work under a carport and to have some cloud cover in the afternoon as the sun shifted over Mark set up his camera to do a time lapse video so you can watch our 7 hour project happen in 1:24.

Idaho Rides -- Part 2

On Thursday we headed for Plummer from Kellogg ID. Our route was 55.6 miles and was almost entirely on the Coeur d'Alenes bike path. Built on a railroad bed, the ride was basically flat until the last 5 or 6 miles. We rode along the Coeur d'Alenes river which was almost perfectly still in the early morning.

The river eventually becomes a lake and our last rest stop of the day was right next to the beach. Several of us jumped in for a swim. I'm not a good swimmer in the best of circumstances so wearing a cycling jersey kept me from doing any laps. It was a great way to cool off.

We stayed at a small church in the small town of Plummer. My personal bit of space was in the nursery which had two fans. I slept for an hour in the afternoon and had a good night's sleep. The combination helped me through the rest of the week. This was one of the few times we needed to make our own evening meal. The dinner team with the help of Justin made a mountain of rice and an awesome chicken/vegetable curry.

Friday we rose early to try and beat the heat. (Go here to read what I wrote on the Fuller Center blog about our day's ride.) Our destination (Lewiston) was 94 miles away and it was supposed to be well above 90˚ in the afternoon. We had our morning route meeting and devotions with a beautiful sunrise to the east. We pulled away from the church at 5:30 in the cool morning air and it was dark enough that my first few pictures turned out rather blurry. 

Dani and I rode sweep for the day so our job was to keep everyone in front of us. It wasn't very hard to do until the last two segments of the day. For the first 20 miles we were part of a group of 10 which stopped to take a picture at the Washington sign -- our second to last state of the trip. Stopping for a picture always means a roadside littered with bikes, especially out west, since no one wants to get a flat tire from a goathead.

Our route today took us through the "Palouse" a rich agricultural area in Eastern Washington and part of Idaho. Change one letter and you have the French word used in "keep off the grass". In this case, we passed mile after mile of rolling yellow wheat fields. I knew we were back in farming country when I spotted a grain elevator. I don't remember seeing one during the previous two weeks. 

Tom and Lois chose to put our last rest stop by a field where harvest was in full swing. One of the truck drivers stopped and chatted with them. (I can't imagine why he was curious about a white van with a pink bike on top that pulled up and set up 2 coolers and various snacks.) This particular family farm grew garbanzo beans (to be used in hummus) and split peas in addition to wheat. Tom asked if it wouldn't be easier to farm if the land was flat. The farmer responded, "Then we would have less land."

Our route through the rolling hills wasn't too difficult. As the day went on the heat started to affect us. It was 88˚ at 10:30 according to a bank clock in a town we passed. All of us were thankful for the clouds that covered the sun most of the time. We stopped along the way to celebrate Melissa's 10,000 mile on her bike.

 

The most enjoyable part of the ride was our decent into Lewiston via the Spiral Highway, built in 1917. The grade is such that the cars of the day could descend the 2000 feet over 10 miles at 20 or 30 mph. A group of us arrived at the top of the hill together and the prospect of the descent was greeted with different degrees of excitement. As sweeps, Dani and I stayed at the top for several minutes after the others left. Neither of us wanted to have to use our brakes for anything besides going around the hairpin turns. The 2% average grade was actually too low to be a good descent. We had to do quite a bit of pedaling. It took me until toward the bottom to figure out that I could go around the 20 mph curves at at least 30 mph. As we descended we could feel the heat rising and a bank clock in town displayed 98˚ at about 1:30 pm. At that temperature, I was not one of the three who volunteered to ride another few miles so Molly could get her first every century.