Hello Utah!

We rode through the remaining miles of Colorado with the Rocky Mountains shadowing our backs and came unexpectedly on the state line of Utah. Utah is perhaps the only state along the route for which I had literally no preconceived expectations of; this is not to say that Utah is the only state that I have never been to, but rather it was the only state for which I had no idea what to expect, no stereo-types or Hollywood induced images. I entered Utah not knowing what to expect and I had an experience that I was not expecting.

According to the time-line I am obviously back tracking and due to the tendency for experiences along the ride to blend together it is hard to recall certain parts of Utah, however there is one day I remember distinctly.

It is strange how with state lines come unusually fast changes in scenery, as if the geography of the land is somehow linked to the unique culture of the specific state lines.  As we left Colorado we left greenery and plush mountain land-scapes in exchange for epic canyon scenery. Along with the new state scenery we we also greeted with our first long long stretches without services (gas stations, bathrooms, food ect...). This Particular day we had our longest stretch thus far without services, 78 miles.  Along the way there was the Natural Bridges National Monument of Utah which is a natural phenomenon which, like most natural phenomenons, has been exploited for tourist pleasure, where a river that was once there and is no longer, has carved out the rocks to form natural bridges over the river bed below. The team thought it would be a good idea to turn a long hot day into an even longer hot day by taking a detour and seeing a piece of Utah history.  However, once we took the four mile detour, down hill to the visitors center we realized that in order to actually see the bridges you would have to travel a total of 18 miles off of route; this, on a bicycle, was not an option. So with an 8 mile detour with my riding partner Ben Dymond, we returned to the route having seen no bridges, or anything interesting for that matter, to continue on our way into the middle of nowhere. We continued on and continued on through some of the most amazing and truely awe-inspiring scenery and some of the hardest riding conditions of the trip, did I mention the high that day was 109?  Riding a bicycle through 109 degree heat, is a daunting and rightfully so task, especially through a desert where there is no water for miles.  When riding down hill, instead of a refreshing breeze in your face you get blasted with wind that is so hot it can only be compared to pointing a blow-dryer into your face and turning it to the infamous "80's Hair" extra-high setting. After what turned into close to 90 miles, with our added detours, and a flat tire from burning rubber, we finally arrived at lake Powell to the first gas station for miles and miles, where we drank massive amounts of chocolate milk, and we able to take a dip in the lake.  As it turns out, even the deserts of America have something to offer to the wandering traveler.  The desert, even the most desolate places in the world, have a beauty of their own that is unmatched, and even in the desert there are always little heavens that make it all worth while.

So begins the stretch without rest

After our amazing, and yet very unrestful, rest day of mountain biking in Telluride we embarked on our final leg from Colorado to San Francisco, without rest. The leg that was originally supposed to have one rest day that we had accumulated by doing extra miles in Kansas turned into a stretch without rest when we pushed up our finish date from the 1st of August to the 31st of July.  So we left not knowing that to expect from the rest of Colorado and the remainder of the Western Express trail to San Fran, but turns out we got a break! Remember the Gondola I referred to in the previous post? We got to throw our road bikes on the back of that and fly over the mountain that we would have otherwise had to climb on the morning after a rest day, the hardest time to climb when your legs are not in the habit of destroying themselves. This was nice, however, there was no Gondola to fly us over Lizard Head pass, our last pass in the rockies at over 9,000 feet.

Before we knew it we had met the rockies, we crushed through the rockies and we were descending 30 plus miles to western Colorado.  The rockies we truly epic and awe-inspiring.  I saw some of if not the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life (it seems like I am changing the "Most beautiful things I've seen" every day) and the sense of accomplishment that comes with climbing over the Rocky Mountains is really like no other feeling in the world, doesnt it have such a nice ring to it, "I rode my bicycle over the Rocky Mountains?"  Stars from 10,000 feet, beautiful passes, cool weather at high elevation and sights I will never forget along with the great feeling of accomplishment are all things I will honestly miss about the Rocky Mountains, climbing and feeling like air doesn't work in my lungs, not so much.

Telluride Colorado... and everything in between

First and foremost I would like to apologize for much a long gap between posts, it is hard to even fathom how much has happened between posts but I am sure that attempting to recall these events will bring me back as if it happened today.  I believe I left the blog soon before our rest day in Telluride Colorado which we had planned from the beginning of the trip as our unplanned rest day that we could pull out and use when we were fortunate enough to be in a town that we first of all wanted to stay in, and also when we desperately needed one, Telluride came and fulfilled both of these qualifications.  The ride into Telluride reminded us of how badly we needed a rest day.  We climbed and we climbed through the rockies to the top of Dallas pass, our 3rd of four passes through the rockies mountains, at 9,000 feet we looked ahead to what was to come and we saw what was a beautiful landscape shaded by ominous storm clouds and as we descended the mountain the rain descended on us. This thick fat rain literally felt with no exageration like needles on your skin with every impact, my bare arms legs and face were ripped to shreds as I tried to endure the pain, and cold, at 30-35 mph. I finally made it to the bottom after what was by far the worst descent I had ever endured considering descents are usually the highlight of a long day of climbing in the Rockies. And after a long and cold climb up to the valley, we had arrived in Telluride.

Telluride is a famous and very popular ski resort town in Colorado. It is so famous in fact that celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Salvester Stallone have or have had a vacation home in Telluride, this is also a great indication of the immense expense that is spending any amount of time in Telluride. When Telluride is not over run by wealthy ski-bums in the Winter, it is a popular outdoors and quite low-key town that has a great mountain biking scene. When Telluride mountain is not being used for skiing, its ski passes are converted into some of the best mountain biking trails in America. This is how we decided to spend one of few of our precous rest days.
From the bottom of the mountain to the summit there was a free Gondola, in fact it was the only free Gondola in North America which is ironic considering the cost of everything else in Telluride, anything free was pretty remarkable.  At the summit I prepared to embark on my first mountain biking experience on a $2,000 rented mountain bike down a massive mountain and some trails that would challenge seasoned riders.  The ride was absolutely exhilerating and absolutely terrifying! It was a great day of riding, especially for a rest day. It was a great day and one I will not soon forget, however leaving that morning was unlike any other morning knowing that from now on there is no more rest, until San Francisco.

Rocky Mountain High

Although it was sad to leave the great plains of Kansas, we arrived in Colorado looking for a change in pace (literally) in the famous, or infamous, Rocky Mountains.  As we entered Colorado, the first few days seemed well honestly exactly like Kansas, very flat, very dry and very desolate. In fact, for the second half of Kansas and the first half of Colorado, we followed the same... one... road. Highway 96 was decent in the way of pavement, however horrible in the way of drivers.  This is the a picture of the last turn we made in Kansas, funny thing is, we had over 200 miles of Kansas to go.

With the passing of wheat harvest season only days before, route 96 was riddled with wheat combines and otherwise utterly gigantic vehicles. Semi-trucks carrying wheat combines behind them passing you at 70 mph while fighting a 20 mph cross-wind is not a fun experience.

As we continued through Colorado, through the desolate plains that had since turned from fields of plentiful crops to endless bounds of what looked like a hot tundra, I saw something amazing. riding slowly and painfully over a hill against the wind I reached the top and peered into the distance to find what I had been looking for on the horizon for days.  In the far distance along the horizon I saw a faint jagged line seperating two every so slightly different shades of blue open sky.  What I was looking at in the distance, were the Rocky Mountains. I kept riding through the desert to the sight of the monstrous mountain growing ever so slightly larger as the distance between us dwindled. Before I knew it I was in Pueblo Colorado, at the feet of the awe-inspiring Rocky Mountains. The date was July 4th.

We had ridden 110 miles that day to make it Pueblo on the fourth and gain ourselves a rest day. That night we meandered our way through town looking for fireworks to find a bridge slightly elevated over the city to find the most amazing fire-works show I have ever seen. This was not one amazing show, but rather a 360 degree view of a rocky mountain horizon littered with flashing lights and colorful explosions a show like no other and one I will not forget.

Our rest day was spent sleeping, watching bad hotel television and preparing for the final chapter of our adventure, the west.  I visited the local sports authority to buy sunglasses and a new sleeping bag which were desperately needed in the coming high elevation nights of blinding sun and freezing nights. 

As we left Pueblo two things happened. First, we left the trans-america trail which we have been following since day one, thus putting us on the western express trail for a straight shot through the deserts of North America to San Francisco. Also, we completed our first pass through the rocky mountains. For those who might not know, a pass is summiting a mountain, we have 4 major passes in the rocky mountains. Climbing in the rockies is different from climbing the mountains of the East because first of all the climbs are much longer, up to 40 miles and they are also breath-takingly beautiful.  One thing I have noticed traveling almost 3,000 miles across America is that almost every place in America is beautiful, but every place in America is beautiful in its own very unique way. So to say that the rocky mountains are different in that they are beautiful is not to say the Appalachians are not beautiful but they are beautiful in a whole new way to me.  Although I have driven and hiked in and around the rockies before, there is somehing totally different about biking across thirty miles of valley and reaching the continental divide at 11,300 feet on your own will power. The rocky mountain range is truly awe-inspiring and breath taking. I am loving Colorado and I feel like it is only a matter of time  before I live here. More to come!

Pictures and Kansas in Review

We Made it to Pueblo! Pueblo Colorado, roughly 200 miles from the border of Kansas is the point at which Bike the US for MS strays from the Trans-America route and catches the Western Express for the straight shot to San Francisco.  At this point a couple of things happen, first and foremost we will lose a great companion, Pepper. Pepper has been with us since the first day in Yorktown, although he was not on our team he soon found a place in our community.  Since then he has become an official member of our team and a sponsor for next year with his outdoors shop in Damascus Virginia.  But because he is following the TransAm to Astoria Oregon, we part ways today. Also from here on out we are officially in territory unknown to Bike the US for MS.  Since it's inception, Bike the US for MS has riden the Northern Tier route and the Trans-America route, but never the Western Express. So from here on out we do not have the connections made in the past that we have had thus far, we do not know where the secret clean campsites are or diners that have $3 breakfasts, this is a new experience for everyone, even our director.

A few days ago we successfully biked 500 miles across the state of Kansas.  Kansas was my favorite state bar none thus far on this trip.  The scenery, although desolate in essence, is in my opinion one of THE most beautiful sceneries I have ever seen. Endless wheat fields blowing like waves with the wind under what looks to be a truly endless dome of blue sky over head.  Beautiful in a very unique way, this scenery to me, is breathtaking. Which is why I took about twice as many pictures in Kansas as I have in any other state. Kansas was home to the kindest, most interested, unsuspecting, and supportive people we have encountered so far across the United States. I honestly loved it more than i ever thought possible. Here are some pictures! Sorry for the shorter entry but i have to get all packed up and ready to climb 4,500 feet of the rockies today! Also, a quick congratulations to my cousin Stuart who just got engaged to his lovely fiance Ali!

What would Possess a Person Part 2: For Robin

Just before the hilarious situation with Rose and her purple “Anti-septic” cattle dye, right before we left the convience store Ben, the store clerk, asked us, “So what would possess a person to ride their bike across the country?” This, at first seemingly humorous and rather obvious question, got me thinking about what really does possess people to do this every single summer whether it be in a supported group, like Bike the US for MS or Bike and Build, or a self-supported ride. As I rode down the last miles of Missouri headed for Kansas I considered the reasons.  I thought of the selfish personal reasons for doing a trip like this which include testing yourself mentally and physically pushing your body to the limits and then crashing right through them.  There is the fact that going on a trip like this reveals more about yourself than you ever knew previously and how liberating it feels to be completely free of commitments schedules restrictions limitations and supervision. I continued to list the reasons in my head of things that I could have told Ben in an effort to explain to someone who was baffled by the thought of someone chosing to do this, and rightly so.

                Then we continued riding and we crossed the state line into Kansas, which for some reason felt more significant than any other state, maybe it is the idea of the prairie and the plains that have in one way or other occupied my thoughts regarding this trip.  We rode only a few miles from the state line of Kansas where we stopped in Pittsburg Kansas for the night.  We demonstrated our priorities once again and wasted no time before riding directly to a restaurant where there would  be a free pizza buffet provided to us by several MS patients from in or around Pittsburg.  When we walked in the door, hot and sweaty, the first person to greet us was a lady sitting in a motorized wheel chair who told us to come to her. When we approached her she reached into a bag and pulled out a red white and blue stitched angel.  She told us that she hand stitched these angels and that they have over 17,000 stitches and took about an hour per angel. When she handed us each an angel she said this “I stitched this angel for you, it is red white and blue because you are biking across the United States and you should be proud of that. They are angels because you are an angel in my life and I want you always to remember that. I will tell you my whole story later tonight.” We were touched by her gesture and excited to meet more MS patients who were at the restaurant, so we stuffed our faces with free pizza and watched the United States play Ghana in the World Cup, unsuccessfully.

                After leaving the pizza place we were treated to free ice cream at an ice cream place and then we headed to our home for the night at Pittsburg Community Middle School.  We headed inside the fridgedly cold air-conditioned building where the whole team scattered to find a dark quiet corner to sleep.  Some went to a local aquatics center, where again we were treated for free, while others relaxed in the cool and rested.  Later that night we were treated, yet again, to a buffet dinner in the middle school’s cafeteria by some local residents who in one way or another had a tie to MS or were at least willing to give their time to our cause and feed 25 hungry cyclists.  After we ate, Robin, the woman from the pizza restaurant who made us stitched angels, was set to say a few words to us as a team. Robin glowed with happiness as she began to talk to us she had a energy about her that was truly contagious. She started off by telling us her experience with MS, “I have had MS for 35 years now.  My experience started when I first became legally blind. Then I lost 95% of my hearing, I am numb from head to toe, I can’t smell and I can’t taste. They say when you lose one sense, your other senses grow stronger, MS took all of my senses.” She continued, and I paraphrase, “I lost my ability to speak, but the doctors were able to give me new vocal chords.”  She told us that she had had MS basically sense they knew what MS was and she had been through every treatment option they’ve come up with.  She has literally been there to try everything.  When she was diagnosed the doctors said she would not live to see her children grow up, now she is watching her seven grandchildren grow-up every single day.  She continues be treated for MS and her outbreaks or “Exacerbations” have gone from occurring every 2 months to every 2 years.  Then she brought up the angels, she said, “If you hear nothing of what I have to say hear this, I believe that everyone has their angels and follow them in life and help them through their living, and I want you to know that each of you are angels in my life helping me get through the days. You are personally helping each and every person in the world that has MS so that one day no one will ever again have to hear the words ‘You have MS.’” The room was silent and shell-shocked as if a bomb had been dropped on all of us.  Every person in the room was in tears and it wasn’t until that point that we knew what would possess a person to ride their bike across the country.

                There are almost countless selfish reasons for a person to do this trip and the personal gains, at least in my short experience have been bountiful but this is not why I am doing this.  It might have started as my “Grand Adventure” and it continues to be to some extent, but when you are told that you personally are an angel in another person’s life you realize what it means to be passionate about something and believe in a cause.  I started this trip for myself and I will finish it a new man, but the remainder of this trip and every day I live for the rest of my life will be for Robin knowing that I touched someone’s life, and that feeling is more life-changing than the grandest of all adventures.

What Would Possess a Person? Part 1 Hilarious Story

I will start off this some-what serious post with a story of the funniest and most un-serious thing to happen to me thus far on this trip.  On this trip I have found my “cycling soul-mate,” her name is Roseanne she is one of the happiest most cheerful joyful people I have ever met and we spend probably about 90% of our time on the bike together.  It is key to find a person like this on this trip because first and foremost it is much better to ride with others than it is to ride alone. But what makes a rider your soul-mate? First it is key that a person be at the same or a similar level of riding as you.  This is of the utmost importance because there is nothing more frusterating than going either faster or slower than you would like to be going.  It is also important that this person is someone you want to spend several hours of suffering with every single day; riding with someone who you like talking to is much more pleasant than well, someone you don’t like talking to, obviously… Anyway Roseanne is my personal biker soul-mate because she is someone who challenges me on the bike when she crushes up hills like a little rabbit, but is also a complete hoot and an absolute pleasure to be around.

So one day in Missouri Rose, Caleb, and I are riding together as usual, rapidly approaching the deep state of depression that arises from hill after hill after wall-like hill, we stop at a “Convenience Feed” store in Ben Davis Missouri.  We go in to refill our empty bottles and we meet the clerk in the store and start talking to him about various things like Missouri and the cyclists he has had in his store.  When we asked him about our destination town for that night, Hartville, we inquired about possibly grocery options; to this inquiry Ben, the clerk, tells us in a deep southern drawl , “There was a grocery store down there but it burned down.” “Oh no!” says rose “What happened?!” To this Ben simply says, “Well it caught on fire.” I tell you this only to further your mental picture of what this clerk was like and what our experience with him was like, which will indefinitely enhance the remainder of this story. So we ask him where the nearest water is, because he had none he could spare, and we head out the door to complete the remaining 20 miles of the day. But before we could leave the parking lot, Rose puts one foot into her pedal clipping it in, so that it will not come out unless twisted, with the intention of resting on her leg that was not clipped in.  This plan however went horribly wrong when her momentum carried her in the opposite direction causing her, in the most epic fashion possible, to tumble down on the the hard gravel drive-way.  Rose being the person she is immediately begins laughing hysterically as she exclaimes “That really hurt!!!” We helped her get up and brush herself off only to find her elbow was pretty badly cut up.  We told her to go inside and get washed up before we left.  As Caleb and I wait in the drive way for several minutes we suddenly she Rose run out of the “Convenience Feed” screaming bloody murder (while laughing obviously) with her arm in the air. Caleb and I look at each other in horror wondering what we have just let happen. As we go over to investigate we see Ben holding an unmarked white spray bottle that he had obviously just sprayed on her cut.  As we looked at the bottle we realized that first of all this bottle had been just taken off of the shelves of his store and used, not as intended, as an anti-septic.  This solution of Bright Purple and meant to be used on cattle as a way to mark their hide for whatever reason needed. So once again I found myself in a situation I can honestly say I never expected to be in, watching a friend shreak in pain after having been sprayed with an animal product, in the middle of Missouri. “Don’t worry” said Ben “I know the bottle might say not to use on people but we do it all the time,” we could now rest assured. 

In the Past Twenty Days…

Before we knew it, we were leaving Chester Illinois, after sleeping behind the FOE, Fraternal Order of the Eagle, which was basically a fraternity for middle to upper-aged men, and even more basically, a bar. After a not so good night trying to fall asleep amongst what was literally a beach party on a beach volleyball court until 1 AM, we left Chester, the home of Popeye the Sailer man, we crossed the Mississippi river into Missouri.

Before we knew it, it had been 20 days of riding and we had ridden our bikes through Virginia, Kentucky, and Illinois, we had traveled over 1,000 miles, and we were 1/3 of way done with our trip. In that twenty days a lot had happened; we had most importantly grown closer as a team and came together as a group of individuals who not only have the same goal but have become what is like family.  The idea of a foxhole buddy in a war applies to what we do every day, as if we were fighting a war alongside one another each of the riders grows closer to the others through every mile of crushing heat and pain. These people have already become life-long friends whom I will only grow closer to every day. 

In the past twenty days we have pushed our bodies and our minds to the limit. We had reached our limit of what we thought was possible, and we crashed right through them. In the past twenty days we understand more than ever what it means to have a cause you would do anything for. We have learned the joy that comes from helping others, and we have seen the appreciation and gratefulness in people who understand the challenge that faces you.  We have met people and we have heard their stories, we have spread the word, and raised nearly $90,000 for MS, and we have been an inspiration to people. A lot has happened in the past twenty days, and we are only one third of the way there. 

Illinois!

We left Kentucky in a whirlwind of emotions; a lot of happiness, a lot of tiredness, and anxiousness to see what is to come.  Regardless of our emotion, we were all ready to see the Ohio, and thus our gateway to Illinois. As we piled all 25 of us onto the ferry to take the boat over the river to what in our heads would be a whole new world, we had the feeling that our “Right of Passage” was complete.  According to most who have done the trip, the battleground that is Kentucky is a right of passage for those heading west, we all had it in our heads that the worst was over and that it could only get better from here.

Illinois was awesome, greeted on the Illinois side of the Ohio by several of the rider’s parents who gave us cold Gatorade and watermelon, things were looking up; not to mention we had our second rest day of the trip to look forward to after just one short, or not so short, 85 mile day of riding.

We awoke in cave in rock at 4 AM to get an early head-start on a long day, and try to give ourselves the most time in Carbondale where we would be taking our rest day. Before we knew it we arrived in Carbondale to one of the riders, Seth’s, parents house. At this house we find a cooler full of Fat Tire right next to a clear blue swimming pool. This was the most amazing way to end a hard day and officially start resting.

Our rest day in Carbondale was the last of only two scheduled rest-days along the trip. Best 6 or 7 of the riders live in Carbondale we had plenty of air-conditioned places to sleep and plenty of things to do.  We started by going to the “Famous” Thai Taste restaurant where we had delicious Thai food immediately followed by a Bike the US for MS party at a local Mexican Restaurant Tres Hombres, where our team was provided a keg of bud-light and their bar for the night. It was a much needed place to relax and feel for a night like we were back in the “real-world.” This, is a funny concept, and a common theme, among riders on this trip, the “real-world.”

I am currently riding my bicycle across the country one day at a time and this is literally all I am doing.  I wake up in the morning, pack up my temporary home, start eating, start biking, do more eating, more biking, (repeat as needed) then I arrive at my home for the night, I rebuild my home and repeat this process every night.  Each night we are in a new place going to new diners meeting new people but our team remains constant.  All of us co-exist through the chaos and do EXACTLY that, we exist.  Being on this trip all the way from one coast to another is not about a schedule or a timeline or work or stress or worry, it is simply about being; existing without having to know (or having any idea) what day of the week it is, without having to know when you need to wake up or go to sleep but rather just follow the cues from the sun. This is the beauty of this trip and what draws many people to doing such a thing. The liberating feeling that where we are, what time it is, how we smell or how completely ridiculous we look is simply not as important as just living and enjoying the ride. 

Out of Kentucky

After Bardstown, the team had a few more days of heat in Kentucky before crossing the Ohio River on a ferry into Illinois. Bardstown, in my opinion was the highlight of Kentucky by far, granted it was the only night in Kentucky I was able to sleep in an air-conditioned room on a bed, but still the city was actually pleasant, not just "pleasant" for lack of any other adjective to adequately describe the true feeling you get from an Appalachian town of 100 or fewer. After Bardstown we made our way, to Hodgensville where we were lucky enough to be given one small room of air-conditioning we could fit as many people into as we could.  I was fortunate enough to be one of these people, this plus a great dinner and milkshake from lincoln's freeze, a local hole in the wall diner made for a good night, not to mention a short day of riding and the first tail-wind of the trip put us into our destination before noon.
After Hodgensville we made our way to Rough River Dam, which as with most places on this trip is remembered almost exclusively by it's food. A $12 dinner buffet including but not limited too, ribs, fried chicken, cod, meat-loaf, and "country" vegetables (the tastiest and most fattening calorie filled "Vegetables" in the world) we literally ate until we could not possibly eat more. Then for breakfast the next morning, another buffet! Eggs biscuits and gravy cereal and coffee fueled us wonderfully for the day ahead, especially good fuel when you take a few biscuits in your handle-bar bag to eat later!
Then from there we traveled to Sebree Kentucky which would be our last night in Kentucky, keeping with the theme, most notable for. Milkshakes. As we arrived in sebree we came upon a dairy bar with all of the riders bikes outside, we go in and head straight for the milkshakes. A large Chocolate malt for me, what's this you don't take plastic, do you have change for a $100? Luckily they did but I have to be honest, I think at that point I might have paid $100 for a 44 ounce tub of amazingness. Best milkshake i have ever consumed, and at a truely unbelievable rate of about 20 ounces per minute. I crushed it with a vengeance. After the dairy bar we headed to our hostel for the night which was a baptist church in Sebree run by a pastor, Bob, and his wife, Violet, where they have been hosting cyclists into their home for 9 years. Not only will they bring strange, and rather smelly, people into their home, but they will cook a full meal for them and welcome them to sit at their kitchen table. Because we could not all fit around the kitchen table we used the church and were welcomed with a abundant spread of casseroles. These were some of the most welcoming people we've met along the way.  Because of these wonderful people, we left Kentucky with a good taste in our mouths, literally and figuratively.