Mark's Ride for Clean Air

Day 43 and more

2010-08-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

I owe Pennslyvania an apology. I'm having lots of fun here. Between poor internet connections, lack of power, busy days, fatigue, and an attitude that I just want to finish (survive) I've not been keeping up the blogsite. I'm sorry about that. I made it to Gettyburg on Wednesday after a really tought 102 mile ride with 6500' of vertical, and in 85 degreee, high humidity heat. I passed the final, but I chose to spend time seeing Gettysburg rather than blog. Effectively, the ride is complete, and we just have two easy rides to make DC. I'll upload my pics later this week. I miss you all and can't wait to see you.

Day 42

2010-08-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hills, whores, and liquor stores. That was the description of Pennsylvania given to me by another rider. I didn't see much of the latter two, but there sure were plenty of hills. We have 3 more days of Pennsylvania. The crew said these hills are just quizzes, the final exam comes on the century on Wednesday. I hate 12% quizzes.

We entered Pennsylvania on a steep downgrade early in the morning after following the eastern Ohio border. We we told that there was no state sign on the border so we backtracked on Hwy. 39 to find one. What we found a short ways off the described route was an important piece of U.S. surveying history.

While my fellow riders mocked my excitement, I couldn't believe the luck. Without the detour, we would have missed this spot by only one-quarter mile.This is the point from which a rectangular-grid land survey system was established under the Ordinance of 1785 for western U.S. which provided for administration and subdivision of land in the Old Northwest Territory. The Ordinance stipulated that all public lands were to be divided into townships six miles square.

This monument is not on the actual location because it is covered by water from a dam downstream on the Ohio river.

Interestingly, had we continued south on this route and crossed the Ohio river to get back on course we would have crossed through the NE tip of West Virginia and added another state to our journey.

This monument is not on the actual location because it is covered by water from a dam downstream on the Ohio river.

Interestingly, had we continued south on this route and crossed the Ohio river to get back on course we would have crossed through the NE tip of West Virginia and added another state to our journey.

After leaving the monument we rode into Midland. Midland is a Pennsyvania town with an odd mix of old/new steel mills juxtaposed with nuclear power plants. The town itself looks pretty depressed.

As I rode by the nuclear power plant I snapped a few pictures. I was yelled at by a guy in a security truck that pictures weren't allowed. I don't believe that anyone can prevent you from shooting picture from a public highway, and anyway, they weren't that interesting. I still have them. If any U.S agency like Homeland Security wants me to delete them let me know. I'll happily comply.

The remaining miles of the ride were still devoid of whores and liquor stores, but still had no shortage of hills. Furthermore, the roads are really narrow here and many drivers have little patience for bikers. If I lived in this part of Pennsyvania I wouldn't own a bicycle.

Tomorrow we go over the 3000 mile mark. One biker is out of the ride now and is in a hospital in Pittsburg. A couple of other riders have sagged part-time but should be back riding full-time soon. The Big Ride hasn't so much as created the medical conditions bothering these riders, it's more like the stresses of the endurance riding has aggravated pre-existing conditions. Most of the riders are healthy are anxious to get to D.C.

Day 41

2010-07-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

The largest Amish settlements in the world are in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. For some reason, our route seems to go through the heart of these areas. We've actually seen Amish buggies and houses since Wisconsin. For those on the ride that are from the midwest these sights are old hat. To me, they are quite interesting.

Our ride today from Burton to New Waterford, Ohio was only 59 miles and pretty easy. I hear things get tougher as we head into Pennsylvania tomorrow.

The Amish in America are an old religious sect, direct descendants of the Anabaptists of sixteenth-century Europe. These Anabaptist Christians challenged the reforms of Martin Luther and others during the Protestant Reformation, rejecting infant baptism in favor of baptism (or re-baptism) as believing adults. They also taught separation of church and state, something unheard of in the 16th century.

The wheels shown on the picture to the right were on the side of the road near Middlefield, one of the largest Amish communities in the world. I figured that the owner traded up to carbon fiber with aero spokes.

The first sizeable group of Amish arrived in America around 1730 and settled near Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as a result of William Penn's 'holy experiment' in religious tolerance. The Amish population in the U.S. numbers more than 150,000 and growing, due to large family size (seven children on average) and a church-member retention rate of approximately 80%.

Ironically, the abandoned former residence of boxer Mike Tyson is also located in the same area. This gated estate contains over 60 acres that adjoins a golf course on one side. The grounds have featured walking paths, overlook 2 lakes, include accomodations for large outdoor pets, and has a outdoor basketball court and an indoor pool facility. It is priced at $ 1.3 million. It probably cost at least 5-10 times that to build it. It appears to not have had any maintenance for several years.

I was confused by the chuch that advertised itself as "The wrong side of the tracks". I couldn't find tracks anywhere.

Mike and I are working on a technique of hydrating at the end of the ride, or at least as near as we can get. At this place I tried a Rust Belt Brew. The tap handle was made out of rebar. I only had to pedal 8 miles after drinking this one to get to camp.

Tomorrow we ride to Washington, Pa., just south of Pittsburg. After tomorrow's segment we will have less than 400 miles left to compete the Big Ride.

Day 40

2010-07-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Eat Sleep Ride Repeat

We are at that stage of the ride. Nearly everyone is tired and a little homesick. I know I am. Some riders claim that they'll burn their tents in D.C. Between the dead mosquitoes and the locker room smell in some, I don't blame them.

I took one picture today on our rest day. It consisted of my dream fleet for bike ride support vehicles. Speed, storage, and firepower--nothing could stop us!

Dead time for the dead tired was the plan for the day. We got back from the Indians game well past midnight last night and awoke to an early (a very bright) sunrise this morning.

We had to catch a cab to Burton last night from Cleveland. If you go to Cleveland sometime ask someone where Burton is located. Nobody seems to have heard of it although it is only about 30 miles away. Even the cab driver and his dispatcher had to look it up. They quoted us $96 to take us home--we paid it.

Burton is home to Ohio's oldest fair. It is held on the 150-acre Geauga County Fairgrounds where we were staying. Apparently, nobody from Cleveland ever goes or even know that the fair exists. The cab driver looked a little apprehensive when we got there. He kept saying, "This looks familiar, right?" I think he thought we were going to mug him when we told him to turn into the darkened fairgrounds.

Geauga is an Indian name for raccoon. Some of the locals in Burton call it "Raccoon County". There is even a music festival that uses that name. I didn't see any raccoons while we were here, but I didn't see anyone from Cleveland either.

As I said yesterday, one rider ended up in the hospital yesterday. I found out that the injury came from a low-speed collision with another Big Rider. She's fine.

On a more serious note, we sent two more riders to the hospital today. The details are not clear, but one had a seizure and the other was sick, disoriented, and probably dehydrated. I don't know if they'll be returning to camp today.

As for me, I'm tired but OK. In a couple of days we get to Pennsylvania. We only have 7 riding days left and less than 500 miles to go. My bike needs work but should make it OK. We tried to fix my shifter today but were unsuccessful. Sue is letting borrow her spare until D.C. In general, the folks on this ride are very generous with their gear.

Early to bed tonight. I miss you all.

Day 39

2010-07-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

The transition from uneventful to just plain fun was a quick one. It probably would have started earlier taken in the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, but I just wasn't up for it. I'd been biased by reading blogs from other Big Rides where so many got sick on the next riding day following the roller-coaster fest. It appeared to take some toll today as two riders ended up sagging. This is the first sags we've had since Minnesota. However, most of the riders who went suffered no ill effects.

The route from Sandusky to Cleveland took us along the south shore of Lake Erie. In the top picture on the right you can see Cleveland in the distance.

Andy took an unadvised dip in the lake. Unfortunately, he missed the warning sign on the stairway leading to the beach. I showed him the sign when he got out of the water. He wasn't a happy camper. I hope he didn't drink any of it. It would not be funny to survive a bike smashing by a multi-ton vehicle only to be taken down by a microbe at the end of the ride.

Anyway, the weather was nice. There was quite a breeze coming off the lake. Since it was mainly a cross wind it really didn't effect the ride except to keep us cool.

The area surrounding Cleveland looked somewhat depressed, but the city itself was less run-down than I expected. The waterfront is well-developed with restaurants, sports stadiums, and the rock and roll hall of fame. I didn't have time to take the full tour so I did a quick look in the free areas and played a little air-bike out front.

We've been a little spoiled riding through corn country because their have been few hills. That changed quickly after Cleveland. The 40-some miles that we rode from Cleveland to our campsite in Burton was very hilly. Some of the hills were about 10% in grade.

Four of us decided to take in a Cleveland Indians game so we rode hard to Burton just so we could get back to the city. It took a lot out of my legs but it was worth it.

I've always admired the Indians organization because of the loyalty of their fans. I've seen the guy on the right several times on TV and was pleased to get my picture with him. I was also going to get my picture with the guy in the cheap seats who bangs the drums but my legs were opposed to the hike. After a couple rounds of Tricky Dog Brewery's Old Leghumper beers I forgot about that mission completely.

In the middle innings of the game the Yankees broke it open. I was impressed that so many of the Indians fans stayed until the end. I'm not sure whether it was fan loyalty or the fact that A-Rod was going for his 600th home run that kept fans in the seats. He didn't hit a home run but the Yankees won 11-4 anyway.

In the 8th inning we moved down to some open front row seats. Mike, my new riding buddy, is a Yankee fan. He kept saying, "Front row seats, the Yankees are winning, and Ol' Leghumper beer...it just doesn't get any better that this".

Day 38

2010-07-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today's ride was from Napoleon to Sandusky, Ohio. We are just south of Lake Erie. Sandusky is famous for the Cedar Point Amusement Park. It supposedly has some of the biggest roller coasters in the world. Many of the riders were riding hard today to make it to the Park. Not me, it was supposed to rain this afternoon and I just wasn't that interested.

The only picture that I shot along the ride today was the sunrise over the corn. This is pretty much the view we had all day except the sun got higher and hotter.

I've been having some trouble with my phone lately and have not been able to upload the blogs each day. If you've been following regularly, you've probably noticed that sometimes they come in bunches. We rarely have wireless access where we stay and I depend on my phone to upload the blog.

I was finally able to get to a Verizon store today and they figured out the problem. It was a software issue and is now resolved. I should be posting more regularly now.

Apparently, I failed to include the good news about Andy's bike (the one that got run over). He was able to replace it with an identical bicycle in Madison and it looks like the old dude's insurer is going to fully reimburse him.

Since I didn't have any interesting pictures for the blog today I've posted the old/new bike pictures. Andy's old bent frame has become a hood ornament for the gear truck.

Day 37

2010-07-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

It turns out that I have more problems with my shifter than just the cable. Allen, the mechanic, thinks that when the cable broke a piece of metal became lodged in the shifter. It just doesn't want to work well.

Fortunately, Sue (another Big Rider) had some bike parts issues earlier, and as a result, has a spare rear 10-speed shifter. I borrowed it while Allen works on mine. Thank you, Sue!

Mike and I have made a regular habit of stopping for breakfast about 9 am. We usually have 30 or more miles under out belt by then. Today was a relatively short 70 miler, and we were sore from yesterdays 109 mile ride, so it seemed like a good idea.

It was. The locals in the Butler Eat'n Haus took great interest in our ride. When we went to pay for our meal we were told someone picked up the tab. We have no idea who did it.

We crossed into Ohio today. Ohio's sign was only better than Indiana's because Indiana didn't have one at all. I'm pointing at it on the corner of the street sign in the picture. Stop by my house and I'll show you the full size version--maybe then you can read it.

We've been creative making our own state line signs where there are none. I especially like the one to the right because it is simple and to the point.

I hope to put a "Not done/Done" mark on the side of the Washington Monument when we reach DC.

Day 36

2010-07-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

A survival day. Everyone has one once in a while. Today was such a day. Livin' life by the 25's--I'll explain in a minute.

We rode 109 miles to Kedallville, Indiana. It was uneventful, relatively flat, long, hot, boring, taxing and humid. It kicked my rear--not because it was particularly difficult, but the fatigue of the Big Ride is settling in. I'm just tired and sore.

The highlights of the trip were a crashed airplane in a corn field and passing the Amish carts on the roadway. Neither were especially exciting, but it's all the pictures that I have.

I almost got a picture of an Amish guy with a chainsaw. Now, that would have been a good picture.

My commute to work is about 12.5 miles. If I take the scenic detour I can make the ride last 25 miles. I like to go that way, so 25 miles becomes my reference point. It's familiar and comfortable. I can handle 25 miles quite well.

The one lesson that I've learned from the Big Ride is to break big problems into little ones. I didn't look at a 109 mile ride in its totality, I see it as four 25 miles rides (plus a little). I can handle that. I made it--livin' life by the 25's.

I broke a shifter cable with 10 miles left to go. That meant I basically rode a 1-speed for the last few miles. It wasn't that hilly, but it hurt.

Just before our camping spot were rode past some bighorn cattle. This big fella seemed to take a special interest in me. Some thought it was my bright red jersey.

Day 35

2010-07-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

I slept for 9 hours last night and I still woke up feeling weary. Everyone was feeling that way and we held off breakfast until 6:30 am--just like sleeping in. We usually like to get out really early but nobody was complaining today.

The weather had improved but we were faced a headwind all day. The carrot at the end of the ride was our last dorms of the Big Ride at Valparaiso.

We crossed from Illinois to Indiana near the 50 mile mark. There was no state sign going into Indiana so we made up our own on a whiteboard.

Indiana has the reputation for having the worst roads along the ride. They didn't disappoint us.

The roads were mostly busted up along the right side of the travelway--just where the bikes had to ride. There were a few interactions and salutes between bikes are cars along the way. Luckily, I didn't have any trouble. I actually finished the day feeling pretty good.

If these posts seem a little shorter than normal it is because I'm pretty beat. By tomorrow we will have completed nearly 400 miles in the last 4 days. After that, we will still have 3 days to go until a rest day.

There are only 10 riding days left in the whole trip. Sometimes I'm ready to be done, other times I still find myself really enjoying the ride.

Day 34

2010-07-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the toughest day of bicycle riding that I've ever experienced. Last night's weather was beyond anything that I've seen before, and I did it from a tent.

From 11 pm to 3 pm we received a steady barrage of lightning and thunder. There was little separation between the flash and the boom and it seemed like it was happening every 10 to 15 seconds. On top of that, the rain on my tent sounded like it was being sprayed by a hose.

The campground started to flood. My tent was pitched on higher ground, but a couple of other riders got soaked. I got up at 3:30 am and helped another rider pull his tent out of 6 inches of water. He literally appeared to be in a state of shock and was a little disoriented. He was standing in the rain in his underwear and looked at me and said, "Mark, what do I do". I got his stuff up to high ground and then woke up one of the ride coordinators who had a big enough tent to take him in. I went back to bed to salvage what sleep I could. We were riding 106 miles today and I'd had maybe 2 hours of sleep.

The morning's ride was through flooded Illinois countryside. We traversed water over the roadway in 8 locations, sometimes up to my shoes. I saw corn and soybean fields under water and at least one farmhouse that was completely flooded. We rode in larger groups than usual because of the adverse weather conditions.

I paced with the younger riders all day just just because I didn't want to fall back. Again, you'll have to take my word about the flooding, because if I stopped to snap a picture I would have never caught back up. I was comfortable in the pack even if the pace was quicker than my normal one. We covered the 106 miles at an average pace of 15.9 mph. I was so tapped out after the ride that I could barely set up my tent. I went to bed at 8 pm.

Day 33

2010-07-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

We rode out today in the remnants of yesterday's weather in Madison. Yesterday was a doozie! Callene and I were called in our hotel room shortly before we intended to head out for some ice cream and given instructions regarding tornado sheltering in the conference center. Fortunately, it wasn't needed, but I shot this picture on the TV. There were 3 confirmed tornados in the area. Two were southwest of Madison and one was northeast. Madison also had over 5 inches of rain in the 24-hour period. I was told that it was near a record.

Today's destination was Belvidere, Illinois, 83 miles away. It was raining hard when we left Madison and it continued all morning. Southern Wisconsin appeared beautiful and bike friendly, but it was hard to appreciate in a driving rainstorm.

We rode through several locations with downed trees--one was on a house. In other locations the corn was flattened. I would have taken pictures but I didn't want to stop pedaling.

The idea was to work our was south and hope the weather improved. It did--this place is amazing--it went from driving rain to clear, hot and muggy in less than an hour.

We entered our 7th state early in the day near the Winnebago factory. The roads in Illinois were not as good as Wisconsin's. The scenery was similar--but not as pastoral.

Towards the end of the day, Jim (a former rider), met us with an ice chest full of Dairy Queen Blizzards and cold lemonade. On a hot and humid day they were a welcome treat.

Day 32

2010-07-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

Madison is a fun town. If it is not tourist central for Wisconsin, I'd like to know what is.

Midwest cities like Madison have a rich history. Madison was a major staging and training area for the Civil War. The University of Wisconsin's football stadium is located at Camp Randall. More than 70,000 of Wisconsin's Union troops and more than one-half million of their families and friends passed through the arch on the right before the soldiers headed off to war.

I love Big Ten schools. The students and the alumni are really supportive. The stadium at Wisconsin is incredible. These stadiums are not new, but were built for a big capacity years ago.

Callene and I were able to walk into the stadium without escort. I don't think this is normal, but nobody stopped us. We were able to snap a few pictures before we were asked to leave. I guess we really stood out as tourists. I think Callene really gave it away by her affinity for the tackling dummies.

We pretty well ate our way through town as well. Madison has great restaurants that specialize in midwest beef, pork, cheese, beer, and sausages. We tried them all. I have 7 days of riding before my next rest break. It is going to take all of them to get Madison out of my system.

We did as much tourist stuff as we could in town. This town bleeds red for the Badgers, except when it bleeds green and cheesehead for the Packers. I imagine this place is nuts on game day.

We also got to experience the gamut of weather in Madison, too. Western Washington is pretty passive when it comes to weather. Not here..it rained, then got hot and humid, then hailed, then we got thunder and lightening, then cleared up again. I'm glad it wasn't a riding day.

P.S. The clearing didn't last long. Callene and I were headed out for ice cream but found out we are under a tornado alert. There are 2 confirmed tornados south of us and another just north of Madison. I'm glad the Big Riders are not in tents tonight. My wife says I really know how to show a girl a good time.

Day 31

2010-07-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's ride we went back to uneventful. Amazingly enough, there was more to yesterday that I left out. We also had our first crash, too. Everyone is sworn to secrecy, so I can't identify the rider. It happened in a paceline. As I've explained before, because of accidents in previous rides, we are not supposed to paceline. Everyone does it, some more that others. I jump in occasionally because the speed is exciting, but I didn't do this ride just to go across the country looking at someone's back tire. Fortunately, the rider wasn't hurt badly--just a few scrapes and bruises.

I got in another century ride today. I think it was my 6th. It is odd to think that I've never ridden 100 miles in a day before-- now I've done six in a month. This ride was hard. We had a slight headwind, it was hot and humid, and I just felt fatigued.

I was also really excited to see my wife in Madison. We had a day off coming and I still had all this pedalling to do, it was hot, humid, and I was tired. So what does a bad boy do in that environment? I jumped in a paceline. I know, I said that I didn't want to have the world go by watching the rear tire of the rider in front of me. Well, I wanted to get to Madison.

Madison is a busy town. It is the capital of Wisconsin and home the the University of Wisconsin. On the capital lawns the Madison symphony was playing Beatles music. There were people everywhere on the lawn and sidewalks. It was fantastic.

Callene and I walked around town. Madison is a great place in the summer. I'm thankful that I'm doing the ride. I can't see us taking a vacation to go to places like Madison, but now that I'm here, I'm really enjoying it. They have stuff going on all over town-- and it's Wednesday. What a cool town.

I have a day off tomorrow to catch up with my wife who I haven't seen in a month. Life is good.

Day 30

2010-07-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Lately the Big Ride days have been fairly uneventful. It seems odd to spend 6+ hours on a bike and still struggle to think of something to write about. Not today. Today was one of the most eventful days of the trip. Unfortunately, not all was good.

We started the day pedaling along the east edge of the Mississippi. We still in Minnesota, but not for long. I've stated before that there are several landmarks on this ride that really mean something to me. Well, the Mississippi is at the top of the list. No problem finding something to write about today--holy cow! I've rode my bike from Seattle to the Mississippi.

About 20 miles south of Winona we stopped at the Myers residence for a second breakfast. Actually, it was a huge feast. Apparently the Myers are fans of the Big Ride and put out a spread every year for the riders. The story is that they helped a rider out with water years ago and subsequently the party has grown to the point that each year the riders come though they good all out with a feed. They have pictures of past rides and riders and plenty of stories to tell. They are great folks--see no problem with the stories today.

Next we rode into Wisconsin. Our 7th state. I was thinking that this was a great day, no problem with the blog tonight. It was already written in my head. What could top riding on the Mississippi, being fed by Big Ride Fans, and crossing into a new state?

Well, that's easy--crossing the Mississippi. It is a dang landmark. Seeing a landmark is one thing. Putting it behind you is another. We crossed into La Crosse, Wi. The Mississippi is so big that Wisconsin calls La Crosse their west coast. I thought that was funny.

LaCrosse is home to La Crosse Brewing. I've never heard of them but I had heard of a feature related to the brewery. It is the beer storage tanks known as the world's largest six pack. I'm not sure how I knew about them, I just did. For scale purposes you can see me leaning on the sign at the bottom of the middle can. Pretty cool day, huh?

It gets better.

The upper Mississippi wetlands in the refuge are incredible. What was also amazing is that my GPS indicated that our elevation was less that 800 ft. That means the Mississippi drops less than 800 ft. between Wisconsin and New Orleans. That is incredible to me.

The climbs out of the Mississippi valley were painful. One climb was 1.5 miles long and averaged 8-10 percent. We haven't climbed significantly since the Black Hills in western SD, so everyone felt it.

We still reached Viroqua by early afternoon. It was hot and the humidity was high so everyone was parched. Some of the young dudes started trash-talking Sam (the sauerkraut eating champion of New Elm) that they could out eat them. Needless to say, a competition was born. I never thought it would happen, a I went down the street to do my laundry.

Well, the competition did happen. I don't know all the details, but it involved a relay consisting of consuming a brick of cheese, and downing a half-gallon of chocolate milk and ice cream.

In eating contests, if the product doesn't stay down it's called a reversal. A reversal is ground for disqualification. Apparently, there were several reversals and the competition was called off. To add insult to injury, while everyone was in the dairy barn watching the competition, an old dude turned around in our campground and backed over Andy's bike. The bike was totaled.

Andy is the school teacher who is posting the great videos on you-tube. Andy was livid. I don't blame him. This is a once in a lifetime trip. You can't just pick this up next year. It wouldn't be the same.

The bike situation remains unresolved. Frank, one of the ride coordinators, has loaned Andy his bike until Madison. The old guy initially offered Andy $1500 for his damages. I think that was close to the value of Andy's bike and he could buy another in Madison. But then the guys family showed up and they took back the offer. Andy will have to deal with the insurer. I hope it works out.

Some of the riders ride bikes that are worth at least $4000. The old dude is lucky he didn't run over one of them.

Day 29

2010-07-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

Minnesota has a mix of the best and worst roads that we've seen during the Big Ride. Honestly, some of the milled (pavement ground for a new layer) in Montana were better than a few of the finished roads here. There are deep cracks or expansion joints every 10 feet or so that jolt your arms and smash your jewels on the seat. A few minutes later you are on a smooth shoulder enjoying the scenery. Amazing.

The scenery in this part of Minnesota is more of what I expected. We traversed rolling terrain than was mixed with trees and streams, then entered big agricultural valleys. The up and down made for tougher riding than we have seen for days, but the view was worth it. The farms seems well kept up and many were very beautiful.

Brad was feeling old so a couple for the riders bought him a 90th birthday balloon. He towed it behind his bike for 30 miles this morning before trashing it. I called it his anti-drafting device--no one dared follow him closely for fear of the thing would wrap around your neck.

Mike and I stopped at a tavern called Brewski's in Utica, Mn. to celebrate reaching 2000 miles. Mike is from Utica, NY so he bought several t-shifts for his buddies back home. The owner was very nice and let us take a few pictures behind the taps.

It turns out that we were a couple of miles short on our calculations and the ride coordinators painted the 2000 mile mark on the road. We celebrated again by darting in and out of traffic to get out pictures taken there, too.

Tomorrow morning we cross the Mississippi into Wisconsin. The next day I get to see my wife, Callene, in Madison. I can't wait.

Day 28

2010-07-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure that I was ready to leave New Ulm. It's not that I liked New Ulm that well. In fact, despite the Bavarian Blast and the brewery, New Ulm was kind of a pain. The college provided no bedding or towels and had turned off the air conditioning in the dorms for the summer. It was hot and humid in the dorms and we all had trouble sleeping.

Furthermore, the college was located about a mile from downtown and sat atop a bluff with Hermann the Germann. Anytime that you went to town, by foot or bike, you had to negotiate that damn hill coming home. The Bavarian Blast and Shells Brewery were both about 2 miles from town, but in opposite directions. Needless to stay we covered a lot of ground on our rest day. I was still tired at the end of it.

Fortunately we were greeted with another great riding day. The temperatures cooled and we had another tailwind. By 10:45 am Mike and I had covered 62 of the 74 miles that we were riding today and stopped for breakfast. 'The food wasn't great, but after riding 62 miles you'll eat most anything.

We had 3 rest stops scheduled for the day. The group moved so fast that we could have gotten along with 2. So that we know where the rest stops are located, Frank (a Big Ride Coordinator) usually places "AC" (which stands for angry cat) by the road. On Friday Frank forgot AC on the side of the road. Allen, the mechanic, went back to get him. Frank was frantic, but even though AC sat out along the road for several hours, nobody picked him up.

Normally AC wears just a pink boa. Today, however, he was also adorned with Sam's sauerkraut eating crown.

Half of today's ride to Owatonna, Mn. followed the Minnesota river. It was a great break from the corn, soybean and wheat vistas that we've had since we left the plains. After rolling through Mankato, Mn. we were back into agriculture and some of the crappiest roads we've seen on the trip. The shoulders had craters in them and the roads weren't much better. It was a little tricky when a truck or a motor home went by, there was no place to go. Happily, we all arrived safely.

It seems like every town in the midwest uses their water tower as a billboard for their name. Some you can see for miles. There may be some kind of competition for the biggest water tower--I wonder what the prize would be.

We're camping in the Owatonna fairgrounds. I strategically located my tent by the colonial beer garden in case they opened.

Day 27

2010-07-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

As of tomorrow we'll have been going for 4 weeks. We've covered over 1850 miles and have just 1500 to go. My bike has held up well, considering some of the roads we've traversed. I think I'm the only one left that has not had a flat. I've replaced my chain and 2 fraying cables. I think the chain was bad from the start. I replaced the rear cassette (gears) and chain before I left Seattle and it never seemed to shift right until I bought a new chain in Missoula.

Normally you should replace the chain and rear cassette at the same time. Allen, the mechanic, thought that my chain was suspect, and we went with just the chain replacement because the cassette was so new. So far, it has worked. I actually purchased a new cassette and chain and have been carrying them as a spare in case of trouble. Not all towns that we pass through have bike shops or parts, but so far I haven't needed them. The bike is running great.

New Ulm is an interested town. If you spend some time here you'd think we lost WWII. This place is very German.

There is a town in Washington State named Leavenworth that has a bavarian theme. It carries the facade of a bavarian village, but this place is Germany/Austria to the core. It's a much bigger town than I expected, too.

New Ulm is overlooked by "Hermann, the German", a monument with a total height of 104 feet. Constructed of sheet copper molded over iron, the 32-foot statue stands on a 70 + foot brick and iron cupola with an internal spiral staircase leading to a viewing area near his feet.

Hermann spearheaded the struggle to defend German tribes against a Roman imperial army in 9 A.D. In time the Hermann story became a legend and Hermann a symbol of German strength and unity in preserving freedom.

The other big attraction in New Ulm is the Schells brewery. It is the second oldest privately held brewery in the U.S. and was founded in 1860.

Chacko and I rode the 3 miles out to the brewery for the tour. It took beer to get me on my bike on our day off. It was worth it.

My favorite story from area relates to the Dakota conflict of 1862. Because the U.S. pretty much treated the Sioux like crap and broke most of the promises made to them, the Dakota warriors attacked U.S. settlements in an attempt to drive the settlers out of the area. New Ulm was almost entirely burned to the ground during the conflict, except that they left the brewery alone. Apparently, the Schell's got along well with the indians.

BTW-The recent donations have put me over the $7000 mark. Thank you.

Also-breaking news! Sam just returned from the Bavarian Blast. He is the sauerkraut eating champion! He downed a pound of sauerkraut in 36 seconds. He won a T-shirt, mug, and a crown. I expect eventually he'll have a sparkling clean colon as well. The Big Riders own New Ulm!

Day 26

2010-07-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Today we rode from Tyler to New Ulm, Minnesota. The entire trip is through soybean and corn fields. These crops, especially the corn, seem to generate their own humidity. Riding through corn on both sides of the road sometimes feels like you need to cut your way through the moist air.

Some of the crops are labeled identify the special variety. Many are genetically-engineered for insect and herbicide resistance. I think most of the corn goes to feed and ethanol production.

Evonne's parents met us in New Ulm with fresh watermelon, musk melon and sweet corn. It was a great treat, since most of the food that we've eaten comes from a cafeteria or a bar and grill. Her parents drove 5 hours from Iowa with the goodies. Watermelon is always a treat on a hot day, but the fresh corn was a big hit, too

New Ulm is famous for it's German and Austrian heritage. The Big Ride always comes to town during the Bavarian Blast, a big ol' polka fest. We have a rest day here after 6 straight days of riding.

Allen, the ride mechanic, and I were the only ones who went down to the party on the night we arrived. My theory is that it was best to enjoy the Blast on the night before the rest day rather than after. One of the riders has been entered in the sauerkraut eating contest tomorrow. We'll see how he fares. I know that I'm not riding behind him for a few days.

Allen and I stayed at the Bavarian Blast until midnight enjoying the product of a local brewery, Schell. A great old couple gave us a ride home. He was 77 and she was born in Berlin in 1939. She still remembers the war and following occupation.

Day 25

2010-07-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ask my wife, sometimes I'm 53 going on 16. Yesterday is proof. Yesterday I did something stupid and it nearly cost me the Big Ride.

Yesterdays ride was a short one. We were into De Smet by 1 pm. And that was because we took two rest stops plus a lunch break. We were all a little bored and looking for something to do. The Little House on the Prairie town didn't offer much.

So I challenged some of the young studs to a 3 v 3 soccer game. One of the guys had a mini-soccer ball and there was an open field w/goals next to us. The biggest mistake was chosing the teams. I ended up against a college hockey player from Vermont, a track star from the Univ. of Kansas, and a guy who just missed making the national finals in racketball.

To make a long story short--I got hurt. I sprained my knee. It didn't feel so bad at the time, but later that night, following a bathroom break, my knee completely went out from underneath me as I kneeled to get back into the tent. It hurt like hell.

So I sat in my tent and cursed my stupidity. I really thought that I was going to have to miss a day. It would be bad enough if I went down in the line of duty. I could hold my head up if I was sideswiped by a little old lady in a Winnebago. But no--I was out from playing barefoot soccer in the park.

So I sucked down some anti-inflammatories and stewed in my tent until daybreak. As the pain meds kicked in I noticed that it only really hurt when I flexed my knee past 90 degrees. I don't do that when I ride. There was hope.

As we packed up our gear and readied for breakfast I babied my left leg. It felt better--I just had to stay away from deep knee bends.

When we started riding I could feel some tightness, but no pain. I knew we had another fairly easy ride today. It was 78 miles, but fairly level and we had a tail wind. I usually don't get that kind of break.

To make a long blog short, I rode easy and I felt OK. I had a few pains when we pulled hills, but nothing that would keep me from riding. I think I dodged a bullet. No more soccer.

We entered Minnesota today. The scenery in South Dakota improved dramatically as we approached the state line. The eastern edge of South Dakota is filled seems to be endless fields of corn and wind turbines. I think Minnesota felt sorry for South Dakota and lent them a few of the 10,000 lakes near the state line. Either that, or Minnesota has so many lakes that the spill over into South Dakota occasionally.

We're camped at a high school in Tyler, Minnesota. We were fed by an organization called TU-PHAT. I have no ideas what it means. Mike and I stopped at a tavern for a beer after dinner. The barmaid and the locals we not friendly and pretty much ignored us. So much for my intoduction to midwestern hospitality.

My buddy Tom sent me a question asking whether or not we are getting funny tan lines. I lined up a couple of models to show you. I also took a picture of my hand to show the hot-dog finger tan lines that we're developing from wearing cycling gloves all the time.

Day 24

2010-07-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

Breakfast usually starts between 6 and 7 am. Today we started at 6:30 am. The later start times are usually on the days we expect the ride time to be shorter than normal. Today was such a day. A wind shift of a mere 30-35 degrees turned yesterdays brutal headwind into a helping hand. With any effort we could have covered the 77 miles in 4 hours. We averaged 18.2 mph and reached De Smet still feeling fresh and ready for more.

Chocolate Mateys are a popular breakfast cereal for Big Riders. I won’t eat the crap, as they appear to be some weird hybrid of Cap’n Crunch, Cocopuffs, and Fruit Loops. Nasty stuff—and this comes from a guy who was willing to try rocky mountain oysters dipped in hot sauce in a bar a few towns back (maybe beer helps). My typical breakfast consists of yoghurt, a bagel with cream cheese, and a cup of coffee. Occasionally we have a second breakfast (like the Hobbits) at a diner. That’s usually eggs, hash browns, bacon, and toast.

We crossed the half-way point in Huron, SD early this morning. Bridgett, the tour leader, blasted Bon Jovi’s “We’re Living on a Prayer” at the crossing point because of the “..we’re halfway there..” lyrics. Geez, you pedal 1650 miles and you get to celebrate with chick music. Actually, it made me think of my wife. She loves Bon Jovi (one of her few faults). I called her up and gave her my own butchered karaoke version of the song. It will probably be the last time she’ll hear me sing Bon Jovi lyrics unless I’m making them nasty or something.

We camp tonight in De Smet, SD. The is the town Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about in Little House on the Prairie. Honestly, everything in town is about the Ingalls. I guess that is the best they can do. I attached a picture to show my typical routine of slaving at the computer to keep this blog going. I hope you a appreciate the strenuous effort.

I've also dedicated a state seal and a motto for South Dakota. The seal is in picture to the right (with the dreaded H's). The motto shall read, "Sometimes you're the pig, ..and sometimes you're the cow." Today we were the pigs. It was a great ride.

Day 23

2010-07-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't take one picture on the road today. Nada, zilch, nuttin'...We basically road due east on Hwy. 14 from Pierre to Miller, SD. There was only wheat, soy bean, and corn along the way. And wind..., did I mention wind? It sucked.

Mike and I rode together the entire way. This is the first time we really worked together. I'm not sure I would have had the energy to pull this ride on my own. We rode due east trading off in the lead into a 15 mph headwind that gusted to 33 mph. At least that what it said on a TV in a gas station along the way. We managed to average 13.0 mph for the 74 miles. I was so pooped at the end that I unpacked my gear and took a nap without eating. Tomorrow's forecast looks better. We still have 3 days riding before a rest day.

As difficult as some of the rides have been, I don't want to give the impression that I'm not having fun. I really am. I've made a good friend in Mike and the rest of the group gets along pretty well for people who, for the most part, just met each other. It's your typical mix of serious, goofy, eccentric, and odd. Some have money, some are unemployed. The nice thing is that there is not a weak rider in the group.

We've stayed in a variety of places. On the rest days we are normally in college dorms. On the riding days we usually camp in parks, football fields or go inside in high school gymnasiums. Last night we camped in a beautiful park on the Missouri River in Pierre.

Tonight we sleep roughly 30 miles short of the halfway point in the ride. Based upon what I done so far, would I do it again? Probably not, it has been hard to be away from my family and friends. Am I glad I did it this time? Absolutely! This is an experience that I'll never forget.

Day 22

2010-07-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

I was right yesterday when I said that we'd probably seen the best South Dakota has to offer. It became painfully true during today's ride. The route took us 20 miles east on a frontage road next to I90. Then we turned due north for 33 miles before we went due east again for 40 miles to Pierre, SD. When we crossed the Missouri River in Pierre we moved into the Central Time Zone.

The wind blew out of the southeast all day. During the first and third legs of the route we rode into the wind. The the morning it was a moderate blow, but in the afternoon it was gusting strongly. The wind made for a long day.

The most disgusting part of the ride today was the multitude of grasshoppers. In some sections of the route, particularly toward the end, they were so thick you couldn't avoid running over the masses. The sometimes jumped up whacking you in the shins, arms, chest and face. Occasionally they would land on your jersey. The grasshoppers on the road were eating the ones that had be smashed by cars. Wheat, corn, prairie, and cannibal grasshoppers were all their was to see today.

Mike and I are making a collection of all the H words that we hate. They start with hills, headwinds, humidity, hail, heat, and hemorrhoids. We're trying to fit peanut butter in there too, even though it doesn't start with an H. Gatorade is getting close. We drink it everyday.

I rode about 96 miles today and averaged right at 14 mph. That gives almost exactly 200 miles in the last two days. We only ride 74 miles tomorrow. It looks like we may have headwinds all day.

We have roughly 1545 cumulative miles so far. We'll reach the halfway point for the Big Ride the day after tomorrow.

Day 21

2010-07-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

South Dakota is an odd place. It's home to the Black Hills and the Badlands--total opposite ends of the spectrum--except that they are both beautiful in their own way.

People put dinosaurs, bright green dinosaurs, in the middle of nowhere and for no apparent reason.

They have funny rules that must be obeyed (sorry Herr Larry--I don't want to upset the locals).

But all in all, it's been a really cool place to visit so far. All we've seen is in western South Dakota. I doubt that the eastern part of the state will be so attractive.

We had a pretty good day today. I completed my 5th century of the ride so far. Until we hit the Badlands we were averaging over 18 mph. We continue to be blessed with good weather and had tail winds this morning. During the last 15 miles of the ride today the wind turned into our face. Those miles were pretty grueling.

We're sleeping in a park in Kadoka, SD, a place no one had, or will ever, hear of again. Tomorrow is another big day. We ride 95 miles to South Dakota's capital, Pierre. We also cross the 1500 mile mark.

Day 20

2010-07-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

I really needed this day off. I was really tired. We went out for a few beers at the Firehouse Pub last night. I was in by 10:30 and slept until 6:30, a real luxury.

Mike, George, Chacko, Sue, and I rented a car to visit some of the sites around Rapid City. There is much to see. Within 60 miles of here you have Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Deadwood, and Sturgis. If you venture out even farther you can easily visit Devil's Tower from here.

We went to Mt. Rushmore first. I've been here before, but it's always impressive. The granite carving was initiated in 1927 and took 14 years to complete. Each head is about 60 feet tall.

Next we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial just west of Mt. Rushmore. It is also a rock carving, but on a much grander scale. This carving is in construction. It will eventually be in the form of Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota warrior, riding a horse and pointing into the distance.

They complex at the construction site is a huge tourist trap. The monument itself is controversial among native Americans. In a 1972 autobiography, Lame Deer, a Lakota medicine man, said: "The whole idea of making a beautiful wild mountain into a statue of him is a pollution of the landscape. It is against the spirit of Crazy Horse." The operators of the site appear in no hurry to finish it. It is unlikely to be completed in my lifetime.

We finished the day with a late lunch in Deadwood. Deadwood looks nothing like the HBO special. It, like Montana, is full of casinos and tourist traps.

We saw the end of a shootout reenactment downtown and shot our picture with the participants. Wild Bill Hickok and his friends were in fine form, but I missed seeing Calamity Jane.

Day 19

2010-07-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

"I don't know but it's been said, these ol' legs they feel like lead"

This is the first time we've ridden 5 days straight without a break. We've had an eventful week. One rider is out for awhile with knee pain and another rider went home (she only planned to ride with us for a week).

Today's ride took us out of Wyoming to South Dakota via the Black Hills and Custer State Park. If you haven't been to either you are missing some of the most beautiful country in the world.

Custer is also a bona fide old west tourist trap. If you are not on a Harley or in a motor home you really don't belong here. My sakes, we looked like total aliens. In fact we were told so. One lady told a fellow rider that we bicycle riders were all disproportionate, "...big heads on little bodies". She obviously didn't see me.

I can't believe that I've been pedalling for over two weeks and I'm still in the old west. While the Big Riders from the east coast were eating the western theme up, I was sick of it and ready for some midwestern hospitality. Gol' darn it (speaking in local tongue), I deserve it.

After a steady climb, including 3 long, steep humps, we were treated to one of the best rides of my life. We dropped about 1500 feet over 10 miles through a mixture of rock outcroppings, ponderosa pine, and prairie.

Most of the descent was exhilarating. I reached speeds of over 35 mph through the winding road down. As may of you know, I'm carrying my father's WWII dogtags on the stem of my bike (you can see them in the lower right side of picture on the the right). I did my best to get a shot of his view of the ride.

Ironically, I saw little wildlife in the Park. I've met people who said they have seen more bison here than in Yellowstone. It didn't work out for me, but I skipped most of the side roads because we already had an 82-mile ride planned for the day and I was a little tired and sore.

I did see some mountain goats along the road. It's funny, because I have tons of pictures at home of mountain goats from backpacking trips with my buddies. I didn't even get off my bike to shoot this picture, it was a drive-by.

Our average speed on today's 82-mile ride was 14.5 mph. We've officially completed 1,350 miles so far.

We are staying in the dorms at the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City. We have a planned rest day tomorrow and I've rented a car. Several of us are going to see Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Deadwood.

Day 18

2010-07-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

One thing worse that riding your bike for 112 miles in one day is to ride your bike next day after riding 112 miles. Everyone I spoke with today felt fatigued. I can hear my coach, Herr Larry, saying, "Maybe it was the burgers and beers you had with your friend". Well, maybe it was, but anyway, I was pooped from the start.

We started late because we celebrated another riders birthday, Kristin, the wonder woman, with donuts and candles. Mike and I vowed to skip the normal cereal and bagels and get a real breakfast down the road.

We stopped for second breakfast (1st was the birthday donuts) in Moorcroft. We ate ate the Wild Thing Cafe and feasted on eggs, side pork, hash browns and toast. I realized that we hadn't had a non-cereal, riding day breakfast since we first entered Montana. It was great to have a break off the bike. Better still was the fact that we had already knocked off one-third of the day's ride and had less than fifty to go.

I call the strong riders in this group the "big dogs". They often run in a paceline (which are forbidden on the Big Ride, by the way--some dude broken his hip a few years ago in a paceline accident) and can really fly. If you want to run with the big dogs, you better have the legs.

Tired as I was, I managed to run with the big dogs for a little over 15 miles today. They average speeds of upward of 20 mph over long distances, even up and down grades. I was even able to pull up front for awhile, but in the long run I couldn't hang with them for the whole ride.

The visual highlight of the day was seeing Devil's Tower in the distance, roughly 30 miles away. Many riders were disappointed they couldn't get a closer look. Before yesterday's long ride there was even some talk of a side trip to see the volcanic chimney. Today no one mentioned it.

The final 8 miles of our ride was on milled pavement that was being prepared for pavement. It was another bone-jarring ride. Tonight we stay at the Senior Citizens Center in Newcastle, Wyoming. After the last 2 days, everyone thought that it was fitting.

This is our last night in Wyoming. Tomorrow we cross into South Dakota and have a day off the next day in Rapid City.

Day 17

2010-07-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks I've set several personal mileage records for distance pedaled. Todays ride of 112 miles from Sheridan to Gillette, Wyoming will probably last for awhile.

The views during the first 50 miles were breathtaking. Sheridan is located on the east slope of the Big Horn Mountains within a valley that is well-protected from the winds that blow steadily around northeast Wyoming.
The first half of the ride meanders through ranching and agricultural valley that look cut from a postcard. About 30 miles into the ride we went by the Ucross artist colony that is comprised of a 20,000 acre working ranch. Artist are specially selected for residency and pay something like $7500/month for residency at this inspirational setting. Supposedly the recent bestseller and upcoming chick-flick, "Eat, Pray, Love" was written there.

Roughly halfway between Sheridan and Gillette the scenery transitions from the pastoral agricultural valleys to high plains dotted with antelope and mule deer. At the 75 mile mark is a funky little bar/store known as the Spotted Horse. It's called that because, literally, there is a statue of a spotted horse outside.

The remainder of the ride depicted a gentle, but steady, move from agriculture to the energy business. Gillette calls itself the "Energy Capital of the Nation" for good reason. The region couples some of the world's largest coal deposits with additional natural gas and oil production.

I lived in Gillette for two years and worked as an engineer at the largest producing mine in the area. I was here during the energy boom that occurred in late 70's and early 80's. There was a secondary boom in the late 90's when a peppering of coal-bed methane extraction wells and compressor stations were installed.

Gillette is struggling to become a livable city but still has an all-business look. The ride into the city is not pretty, and is dotted with coal mining pits, oil field supply houses, equipment dealers and strip malls.

We slept in a downtown park. An old buddy and former co-worker, Reed Bard, picked me up and took me out for some burgers and beers at a local joint. Although we only worked together for a couple of years I still consider Reed a close friend and really enjoyed my time with him. I've been lucky to have visitors at several stops along the Big Ride so far. Unfortunately, my luck runs out in that regard until I see my wife in Madison a couple of weeks from now.

Day 16

2010-07-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

It rained overnight in Hardin. I don't mind waking up in a wet camp (I live in Western Washington, I'm used to it). What I hate is moving a wet camp. Unforetunately, waiting out the rain is not an option on the Big Ride. It rained for most of the morning. Ironically, I've riden 1000 miles to pedal in the same weather I could get at home.

The Montana roads are sanded during the winter for traction in icy conditions. Much of the sand is now on the shoulder, where bicyclists ride. If you don't have fenders on your bike you and your bike get dirty pretty quickly. My concern is all that crap get thrown into the front chainrings. Give that we only really have time for a weekly bike cleaning a rainy day like today is cause for concern.

We also started out this morning with a headwind. The hills weren't too bad but I had trouble maintaining a speed more than 12 mph. We rode due south on frontage roads along I90. Much of the ride was through the Crow Reservation which is really impoverished.

By my calculations, we crossed the 1000 mile mark about 6 miles into the ride. That is not actual cumulative miles, but an estimate of the miles described on the ride. My mileage is slightly higher because I've taken a few sidetrips.

We also finally left Montana. I can't believe that we ride coast to coast in 48 days and 9 of them are in Montana. I lived in Wyoming nearly 30 years ago and this is my first time back. I have a number of friends here starting with the Terry and Karen in Sheridan. They used to live in Duvall, near Seattle. I've known them since the early '80's.

Today's ride was 89 miles. We averaged 14.2 mph. We made up a lot of time after reaching the Wyoming border because we lost the wind and we dropped some in elevation.

Tomorrow in a 110+ mile grind to Gillette. I've heard from other riders who have done this segment that it can be the toughest of the entire trip.

Day 15

2010-07-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Billings to Hardin, 55 miles, ha! an easy day! A month or two ago I would have struggled to finish 55 miles, now it's like having a day off.

We still have following winds that help us along. Mike had his second flat (I've had none yet) at the bottom of a steep hill. Flats at 30 mph can be a little hairy. Mike handled it fine. He replaced the tube in a matter of minutes and we were on our way.

Since we were getting close to Little Bighorn I pitched in by watching for hostiles.

Because todays ride was so short we only had one rest stop. The site was described as the only tree between Billings and Hardin. They weren't kidding. See if you can spot it.

Tim and Kristin are two of the strongest riders on the Big Ride. Usually when I think I'm really doing well one of them puts me in my place. Today they both did. I was in a zone, cruising 20+ mph on a flat stretch of road. The both passed me easily, and the real insult was that Kristin was talking on a cell phone at the time.

I've been wearing horns on my helmet since Spokane. They were given to my by my good buddy Tony. I intend to wear them through all the big mammal country. To me, that will take me at least into the Wisconsin dairyland. It's a bonding thing, don't try to understand.

Hardin is near Little Bighorn. The interesting thing about the Battle of Little Bighorn, or Custer's Last Stand, is that nobody really knows what happened. It was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, led by Sitting Bull. Five of the U.S. Seventh's companies were annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. Total U.S. deaths were 268, including scouts, and 55 were wounded. Every soldier that actually participated in the Battle of Little Bighorn was killed. The survivors in the Seventh Cavalry weren't at the actual battle. There were no white witnesses.

Furthermore, the Cheyenne and Lakota had no written language at the time. So what we know of the battle has come primarily from archeology. That is surprising to me since the battle occured just after the end of the civil war. Comparatively, we have tons of written history about those major battles.

The U. S. military in 1876 carried imbedded journalists, just like we currently do in Afghanistan. Most of the civilian casualties at Little Big Horn were reporters. Custer himself provided regular reports to a Bismark paper.

The battle site now contains a casino as well. It doesn't seem right and lacks honor as far as I'm concerned. There are casinos all over Montana, a blight on a beautiful state.

We finally ride out of Montana tomorrow after spending 9 days here. We are almost exactly at the 1000 mile mark, too. I look forward to returning to Wyoming because I lived there for 4 years. I get to hook up with old friends in both Sheridan and Gillette.

Day 14

2010-07-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

Two weeks into the Big Ride and we have a rest day in Billings. It is the Fourth of July and all the riders are debating whether or not to stay up for the fireworks. Tough question, we leave early in the morning and no one has the slightest idea were the fireworks will be.

The rest days are really for laundry and bike maintenance. So far, the dorms that we've been at on the days off have had great ( and free) laundry facilities. They are also tolerant of us cleaning and lubing our bikes on the front lawns--just as long as we don't do it in the rooms.

The bikes accumulate lots of grit and grime between rest days. Technically, you should clean and lube your chain at least every 300 miles. We often go a little longer than that out of a combination of necessity and fatigue. It is hard to get up for cleaning your bike after a long day of riding. At that point, a shower, meal, and a bed are foremost on your mind.

The dorm rooms that we stay in are generally better than what I remember from college. The Gonzaga dorms were better than many motels that I've stayed at. A new feature in some dorms are sinks in the rooms. Fill them with ice and they are a great placed to keep your beer.

Rest days are also great days for reflection and catching up with family and friends. I got a text message from my buddy Larry congratulating me for knocking off nearly 1000 miles in two weeks. He also asked me which segment was the hardest and which one was most memorable so far. I thought I'd put my answers here.

The hardest: Vantage to Odessa. There is no segment of the Big Ride that a fit rider couldn't complete with a bit of effort. The difference is always the weather. Specifically, the difference is always the wind. About midway through the stretch leading to Odessa the wind picked up and made a visually tedious ride pure misery. A close second was the wind/hailstorm outside of Harlowton. That trek could have been number one on the list if the storm had hit earlier in the day and not so close the campsite.

The most beautiful: Sandpoint to Thompson Falls. This area along the Idaho panhandle and western Montana is spectacular. I was surprised at the number of empty campsites in this area. I'd come back here in a heartbeat.

The most rewarding: McDonald Pass, the continental divide. I have the bragging rights to say that I've ridden a bike from Seattle to across the continental divide. Of course, this will be trumped by Mt. Rushmore, the Mississippi, and eventually, the Washington monument.

The most fun: Yesterdays ride into Billings. The stretches with new pavement and big tailwinds were like riding on clouds (except when the pavement sucked).

I spent the remainder of my day off at Dehler Stadium watching baseball and enjoying a one-third pound Dehler dog and a beer. The stadium was recently renamed, previously it was Cobb Stadium. I guess they weren't selling many Cobb dogs. The highlight of the evening was a raffle for a gun case.

I hope you are enjoying the blog. I know it is a pain to join Google to leave comments. Please do it though, I love hearing from you.

Also, if you haven't done so already, please consider a donation to the American Lung Association. I get special recognition for exceeding my goal, and besides, it is a great cause. The link to donate by credit card is located on top of the sidebar to the right. It's labeled "Mark's Fundraising Page"

Have a happy 4th!

BTW-Andy interviewed me for his youtube postings. You can find them at www. youtube.com/andrewfersch.

Day 13

2010-07-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes your butt drags (see Day 3) and sometimes you fly. Today we flew. We traversed the 92 mile stretch from Harlowton to Billings in less than 6 hours. That time included two rest stops, a lunch stop, and a stop to fix a broken spoke on my riding partner's bike. If the roads through this part of Montana weren't so crappy, we would have probably cut another half-hour off our time.

We left Harlowton shortly after 6 am. The pack was riding so fast that they moved the first rest stop out from 20 miles to 30 miles. All day long the support vehicles were having difficulty staying out in front of the lead riders. If Mike hadn't broke a spoke 8 miles out of Billings we would have made it there by 11:30.

We averaged 18.2 mph while on the bikes. I'd like to say that we are getting so strong that this will be the norm for the rest of the ride. Probably not. Our time was enhanced by a west wind on steroids. As the day went on, the wind got stronger.

The first half on the ride went due east on Highway 12. We flew into Ryegate for the first rest stop. We set up in a park across from the Ryegrass Bar--home of the "Testicle Festival". They weren't open and Mike said he didn't want to eat one anyway--let alone watch anyone else eat one, too. Walking around wearing lycra in a town that celebrates castration by eating the remnants didn't seem appealing so we blew out of town. Literally, we blew out of town, and it was just 7:45.

The wind was with us until we turned south on SR3 toward Billings. The sky filled with dark clouds and we got a touch of rain. I remembered yesterday and thought our luck had changed. It had, for about 10 minutes. As the road turned southeast the wind turned behind us and picked up to about 15-20 mph.

Most people think that a following wind pushes you. Not so. If you are riding 20 mph with a 3 mph tailwind your forward resistance is reduced a little. If you are riding 20 mph with a 20 mph tailwind it is like riding in a vacuum. Mix that with a smooth travelway and you are really flying. That's what we did when the roadway cooperated.

We finished lunch at 10:00 am in Lavina. We were that far ahead of schedule. The town was setting up for their 4th of July parade and asked us if we wanted to ride in it. No way--got flying to do!

The ride was a mixture of rolling hills, fields and grain elevators. They are breezed by. The wind continued to pick up but stayed in our favor. We were picking up speed and on brand new pavement...flying...

Ahead of asphalt paving projects they grind the surface of the old pavement to get the new payment to stick. That's what we rode on for 5 full miles. Twenty miles per hour on that surface on bike will rattle the fillings out of your teeth. It's amazing that the machines we ride on take that abuse. I'm thankful for the mechanical support that Allen, part of the crew, provides along the way. I’m also thankful I’m on a carbon fiber bike. An aluminum frame bike would transmit too much vibration.

About 8 miles out of Billings Mike broke a spoke. With no support vehicles near we were able to wrap the broken spoke around a good one so he could limp into town. I took off in a blaze for Billing because I’d asked by wife to send a package of some bicycle parts there.

Billings is located in a basin rimmed with steep sandstone bluffs carved out by the Yellowstone River. The decent into town is exciting. Kristin, a fellow rider, misunderstood my haste to get to the post office and took it as a challenge, racing me down an 8 percent grade into town at speeds approaching 45 mph. I blew by Montana State University, where we are staying, and signaled to Kristin not to follow, since I was headed off course. She waved and peeled off into the campus.

I rode into town and got directions to the local Post Office. Back home, the Post Office is open until noon on Saturday, so I figured I had about 10 minutes to get there. I raced through town (obeying all traffic signals, of course) and made to the Post Office with 5 minutes to spare. I parked my bike and bounded up the stair on wobbly legs just to find out they are closed on Saturday. I cussed and called my wife, not knowing how I would recover my package since we were riding out early on Monday. It turns out that Callene, my wife, never sent the package because she knew I wouldn’t make it. Sometimes a woman’s intuition is just spooky.

We were treated to an excellent barbeque of beef brisket and beer in the park next to Montana State. Suzanne Bay, a world class triathlete from Duke that joined us in Missoula, celebrated her 21st birthday with the group.

Day 12

2010-07-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

Where to start... this was a day to remember. I'll open with my location. I'm in Harlowton, Mt. in my tent at on the high school football field. I'm in my tent because they have hailstones here the size of friggin' meteorites. OK, that's a little exaggeration, but they are bigger than marbles.

We got a great early start on our third century in five days. I'm proud of that fact, since I'd never riden a century before. Now I've done three in a week. Mileage isn't everything on a ride, however. I found out last night that one of the riders got dehydrated yesterday and had to be taken to the emergency ward for an IV. With the pass crossing, yesterdays 65 mile ride was probably harder than any of the centuries this week. The rider is a trooper, though. She was back on her bike today and completed all 100 miles.

We stayed on Highway 12 all day today. The first 24 miles took us from 4000 to 6000 feet in elevation up Deep Creek Canyon. We got an early start and completed that segment by 8:30 am. The next 20 miles was a mixture of rolling hills and exciting decents. The next stop was Sulfur Springs. We ate lunch there although it was still late morning. We had leftover cold cut sandwiches (last night's dinner). What a great change from the normal PB&J.

Mike and I took off after lunch and caught nice tailwind for the next 20 miles. We rode one 5-mile stretch averaging 23 mph. We completed two-thirds of the scheduled 100 mile ride by noon.

At this point we spotted a watering hole called the Checkerboard Bar and stopped in for a beer. The place was like a Seattle time-warp, they served Oly and Rainier beer. My training coach and riding buddy (Herr Larry-you know who you are) always coaxes me past the taverns (It's for your own good, he says) but a cold one was just too tempting. Why not? We were ahead of the pack, it's noon, there is a tailwind, and we only have 33 miles to go.

I should have listened to the Larry-meister. After just one beer (really!) we left the bar about 12:30 and set off for Harlowton. At first, we carried the same weather as before, but it quickly changed. About 15 miles from town the skies darkened quickly. I was hit with a headwind that took my speed from 23 to 12 mph instantly. Over the next 5 miles the temperature dropped 20 degrees and we fought head and cross winds in the 20 to 30 mph range. It was quite a struggle getting to camp. One rider behind us was knocked from her bike by a gust onto a grass sideslope just outside town. She let her bike be sagged (picked up by a support truck) but insisted on walking the rest of the way to camp. She and her bike are fine.

When we got to town we took refuge in an ice cream shop (where else?). We traded wind stories like ancient mariners over shakes and cones. Some riders even fell asleep in the shop. After awhile several of us headed to the football field to set up camp. Those who got there early were able to set their tents up before all hell broke loose. The skies opened up and we were pelted with some of the biggest hail that I've ever seen. Many of the riders who hadn't got their tents up had to take refuge in an equipment shed. It lasted just a short while, but was very exciting. I decided to use the time to update my blog.

I'm completing the blog after a shower and a steak dinner at a bar & grill. The weather seems to be settling down. We have a little over 90 miles to do tomorrow. We stay at the Montana State dorms and have a day off on the 4th.

Day 11

2010-07-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today's ride took us across the continental divide. There are certain landmarks on the route that mean something. The divide ranks among the top. State lines are are arbitrary--certainly important-- but nothing like crossing the geographic markers like the continental divide or the Mississippi.

Although McDonald Pass is one of the lowest crossings over the divide, 6356 feet, it is by no means an easy ride on a bicycle. We went for 7 miles out of our campsite at a 1-2 percent grade, then we hit the 4 mile, 5-7 percent, slope that takes you to the top. The gradient is fairly consistent and there are no breaks. The grind up the slope is compounded by the altitude. It took me about 1.5 hours from camp to the top.

The temperature when we started from camp was 48 degrees. That means that I overdressed for the grind ahead. Although it was only 56 degrees when I got to the top I was soaked with sweat, tired, and smiling. It was worth the effort and the view was spectacular.

We took a little side road at the top that takes you to a view overlook at slightly over 6400 feet. Everyone was posing for pictures and high-fiving each other. This is the kind of landmark that gives you the confidence to do the whole dang ride.

The reward for the climb to the top, other that the view, is the thrilling decent down to Helena. My speed reached 43 mph. One rider said his speedometer went over 50. YEEEEHAAAWW!

We stopped in Helena for a bite. I couldn't stomach another day of PBJ sandwiches for lunch. Some of the riders went to the capital building, and out of luck, met the governor.

Today's ride was a short one. My GPS showed 65 miles at the end. Since we had knocked off half the ride before noon many of the riders saw the sites in Helena.

What I saw were tremendous thunderheads forming over the east slope of the mountains. Mike and I left Helena before most and headed for our campsite in Townsend, 28 miles away.

For most of the ride to Townsend we headed into a headwind that kept our speed around 12 mph. Along this ride the mountains turned to high plains and the view less interesting. We managed to spot a few antelope in the distance by Canyon Ferry Lake near the end of the ride. I advised Mike that there will be plenty of opportunities for antelope pictures in the coming week.

It was also cool to see the headwaters of the Missouri River.

We arrived in Townsend just ahead of a massive thunderstorm. The riders that stayed in Helena weren't so lucky. About 10 miles out of Townsend they we pelted by hail. Fortunately, their were no injuries, but they looked pretty beat up coming into camp.

Tomorrow we do our third century in 5 days. Our cumulative miles will be near 850, meaning approximatley one-quarter of the ride is complete.

One of the riders is regularly uploading video from the Big Ride. The videos can be found at www. youtube.com/andrewfersch.

Day 10

2010-06-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Century Part Deux--We took off from Missoula shortly after 6 am in a drizzle. The weather stayed with us for most of the morning, but there was not a lot of moisture. We followed SR200 for most of the way following the Blackfoot River, and later, Poorman Creek. There is not much between Missoula and Avon this way, mostly farms and cattle.

The ride was a mix of up and down rollers. Missoula's elevation is about 3200' and we ended up at roughly 4800' at the campground were are staying at. The peak elevation for the ride was over 5100'. I feel pretty good about completing a century at this elevation. I logged exactly 100 miles. Actually, I rode a little farther up the road past the campground an came back to ensure that I'd get the full century in. Today's scheduled ride was 98.6 miles.

The campground consists of a number of triangle 2 story buildings with cinder block foundations and sheet metal sides. We hit a little rain at the end of the ride and thunderstorms are predicted, so it will be nice to sleep inside. Dinner and tomorrow's breakfast are catered by the Avon Family Cafe.

Day 9

2010-06-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh! A day off and a hotel bed to sleep in. I slept for 9.5 hours last night. I can't remember the last time I slept that long. I fell asleep at 9 pm--terrible company for my friend and son who had drove out to see me.

I woke up before them and was able to get my laundry done in the hotel. When everyone got up we went out in search of a new bike chain (as recommended by Allen, the mechanic). I put a new chain and rear cassette on the bike less than 1000 miles ago, but apparently, it had streched to the limit. The cassette appeared to still be good, but the 10-speed gear is so thin that it wore out already. Part of the problem is that I'm a big rider, plus I'm standing (mashing) the pedals because my butt is sore.

We bought a new chain and a backup mirror (plus more chamois butter) at the REI in Missoula. We found Allen, the ride mechanic, at the University and he replaced the chain. Allen is a great guy and I really appreciated him working on our rest day.

Tony, Dana, and I took a hike up part of the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area. We only went up about mile to a saddle with a great view of Missoula. My legs weren't completely wore out and the hike felt good. We got caught in a rain/hail/thunderstorm on the ridge and spent some time huddled under a big fir.

We finished the day in a Mexican restaurant housed in a log cabin. Many restaurants in Montana display lots of dead animal heads on the walls. We joked that you didn't need a menu--just point.

Day 8

2010-06-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Bitterroots. This day started out very badly. We camped at Thompson Falls Middle School. Supposedly another ride group was at the High School and we were moved to the Middle School to make room. We had the choice of sleeping in the gym or outside on the lawn. I chose outside for two reasons, I snore and I like to sleep outside. I give the other riders a break from my log-sawing whenever possible.

I camped in a niche by the stairs to the gym. It was a nice isolated spot with a nice lawn. At midnght I discovered why the lawn was so nice and green. I was woke up to blast of water from all directions as the sprinklers came on. Fortunately, because there was a chance of thundershowers, I'd put up my tent rain fly and buttoned up pretty well. Before I fully realized what was happening I was out of the tent pulling up stakes and dragging my tent and gear out of the deluge. The biggest problem was that my bike was locked to a tree in the middle of the lawn and getting blasted by the spray.

I jumped back the mix and did my best to open the combination lock in the dark and with no glasses. There were a couple of exterior lights outside the gym and after several attempts I got the bike free. I was soaked head to toe and just a little bit cold.

I grabbed one of my clothes bags, went into the gym bathroom, and donned dry clothes. I hung my wet clothes, rain fly, and ground tarp on the fence outside the gym and moved my tent over to the main field. Obviously, they'd only turned the sprinkers off over there. I wasn't the only one to get blasted. Mike, my rididng friend from Utica, NY has the same experience as me. The benefit of carrying nylon and lycra clothes on this trip was that everything was pretty dry in the morning. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

Following that ordeal I was able to ride my first century ever. It was hot and we put in 105 miles to Missoula. The first half of the ride went quickly and was really beautiful. We followed the Clark Fork river through valleys in the Bitterroots. Montana is truly gorgeous.

The final quarter of the trip included a multi-mile pull up to a 4000' pass in 90+ degree weather. It was hard to keep enough water on the bike. I ran out about half-way up the grade and was really happy to see Larry and the water jug at the top. After that it was a fast decent into the Missoula valley we a long ride through town to the University of Montana. I met up with my buddy Tony and my son Dana at the school and went out for a big steak dinner. I stayed at a motel for the next two nights.

Day 7

2010-06-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Eat, sleep, ride. I'm losing track of the days. I called Callene at work yesterday and left a long, detailed message. About a half-hour later I remembered it was Saturday. Eat, sleep, ride..it seems like it is all we do.

We had a great breakfast this moring at the Sandpoint High School cafeteria and was on the road before 7 am. We rode around Lake Pend Oreille for nearly 10 miles then turned upriver toward. Thompson Falls. It was a beautiful day in the mid-70's and no wind.

The ride was great, winding along the river the entire way and passing through cities of Hope and Clark Fork. There were several up and downs, the total mileage was roughly 88 miles. We covered the trip at an average speed of 14.2 mph.

We lost 2 riders yesterday. Noel, one of my riding buddies, had to return to Seattle to help his wife with an illness. I will miss him. Another woman rider has a muscle strain and had to be picked up near the end of yesterday's ride. She'll ride in the SAG wagon for a couple of days try to resume after the day off in Missoula.

We ride our first century tomorrow. I'm excited but my hiney is not. It supposed to be in the low 90's. I also meet up with Tony and Dana. I'm going to stay in a hotel in Missoula with them.

Day 6

2010-06-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

What a difference a day makes. Today was just a great day riding. Breakfast was delayed until 7 am, but we were served up quickly and on the Centennial Trail out of Spokane by 7:30.

It wasn't long until we were on Hwy. 2 headed for Sandpoint. The temperature warmed up to the low 70's and we even had a little tailwind. We quickly passed through the little towns of Chatteroy, Riverside, and eventually, Newport. Newport is right on the Washington/Idaho border.

We hit Newport just in time for their annual rodeo parade. I grabbed a root beer float at a real soda shop, donned my clown nose and the Grand Marshall invited me to walk awhile in the parade. I already was wearing my helmet horns so I'm sure I just looked like a biker rube from Seattle, but the people on the side of the road had a good laugh. I walked awhile with the bagpipers and then went back to finish my root beer float.

Mike, Noel and I left Newport when the parade was about half finished. Many riders stayed for the whole thing. We took pictures at the Idaho border and then took off for Sandpoint. There was only one pit stop over the next 28 miles and we were first at Sandpoint Highschool by 1:30 (see truck unloading in previous posts). We covered the 76 miles at an average speed of 15.2 mph.

I found out that I can't charge my camera battery by just plugging it in. I have to remove the battery and put it in the charger. However, I didn't bring the charger with me. My buddy Tony and my son Dana are visiting me in two days at Missoula.

Day 5

2010-06-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the day off. First I updated my blog (actually, I taught myself how to blog). After that I was able to do a little work and meet with a friend from Spokane County (thanks to Steve for lunch).

My dirty ol' bike, Emilia, got a much needed wipe down, degrease and chain lube. Shortly after 2 pm Casey showed up. It was funny to give Casey a tour of my dorm for a change. Casey and I went out for pizza and talked about both of our short term futures. Casey just graduated as a mechanical engineer from Washington State Univ. but now he's not sure that is what he wants to do.

Breakfast at 6:30 am and off to Sandpoint. Oh boy, a new state!

Day 4

2010-06-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

The fourth day was a total opposite of the first day. Maybe it was I knew we had a rest day coming. We started around 7 am and I felt tired and sluggish for the first 30 miles. We passed through Harrington early and by the the time we got to Davenport I was feeling stronger. I think I got a little dehydrated yesterday although I drank about 7 liters of water.

In Davenport we met up with another cross-country riding group. There were 3 groups leaving Seattle about the same time. I think we'll pass them all because we have a little more aggresive schedule than the rest. This group was going farther than us and would end up in Vermont.

After Davenport we caught a little tailwind and flew up a 9 mile incline at 18 mph. I'd really been tanking the fluids and I was starting to recover. When we got to Reardon we had a quick lunch of leftover from last night's dinner. The final leg to Spokane was fast except I slowed to help another rider with a slow tire leak. He didn't wanted to change tubes and I pumped him up 3 times over the last 10 miles. We got to Spokane just in time to help unload the truck again. I'm sensing a pattern here.

We're staying in a brand new dorm at Gonzaga University. These dorms are a lot nicer than anything I had in college. They hold a number of youth athletic summer camps here and we had dinner in a cafeteria with many volleyball, track, and soccer kids. Mmmm! can you say cheese pizza!

Today's ride was 77 miles and I averaged 14.5 mph. It's hard to believe that we're 10 percent done with the ride and we haven't left Washington yet. Tomorrow is a rest day and my son Casey is coming to visit. I'm really looking forward to seeing him.

Day 3

2010-06-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

The third day did not start off well and that was an omen of things to come. We were scheduled for a 7 am breakfast in the same cafe where we had dinner. All 24 riders (one more to join us in Montana) and 3 crew members showed up and the same time and overwhelmed the staff of one waitress and one cook. I didn't get riding until 8:45 am.

We started with a hair-raising crossing on I90 over the Columbia River. There is no bike lane on the bridge and the cars and trucks buzzed us at high speeds. Once we crossed the bridge we had a 2 mile climb out of the gorge. The climb actually went easier than expected and I was feeling pretty good.

After a brief stop in George (I used to love to come to Martha's Inn for cherry pie--no lie!) we turned north toward Ephata. This day turned into the most boring, tedious ride I have ever been in. I rode with Mike and Noel all day. Noel kept us entertained with sailing songs--he actually sounds OK, but I'd never tell him that. I asked him if he could sing, "Over the hill and far away"? He didn't know that one.

The day turned hot and the ride was brutal. The headwinds increased all day and by the last 10 miles my butt, feet, and back were killing me. We rolled into Odessa about 5 pm, just in time to help unload the truck again. Noel's wife (who has been shadowing us with a little truck and trailer) had Coronas for Mike, Noel, and I. The last group didn't get in until about 8 pm. Everyone, including the young pups, were tired and beat.

Dinner was provided by the high school business leaders club and we slept in the gym. After the wind-blown 83 miles (average speed was 12.2 mph) everyone was off to sleep by 9.

Day 2

2010-06-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

The second day started with breakfast in camp. We had cereal, fruit and thick coffee. We took a pleasant route south of I90 from Easton to Ellensburg. The weather was in the mid-70's --perfect! We had a short climb early in the ride and I really felt it in the legs. After that, the road to Ellensburg was pretty mellow as it followed the Yakima River.

In Ellensburg I had my first chocolate shake for the trip. I've been told that chocolate milk is a great recovery drink. I assume that goes for chocolate shakes, too. My coach, Larry, would tell me to drink them 'cause its for my own good!

The second half of the day included a long grind up a hill through the windfarm northeast of Ellensburg. Ride crewmember Frank was a welcome sight (notice the cat statue with a boa) at the top of the hill. The rest of the day feature a long, windy descent into Vantage past several petrified wood museums (boring!).

I was in the first group to make it to Vantage. We help unload the truck. There were so many bags it seemed like the clown car at the circus. The bags just kept coming! I'm betting many riders ignored the two bag rule. No complaints, I ignored the 70 lb per bag rule myself.

Today was a great riding day. I averaged 14.4 mph for the 74 miles. Tonight dinner in a cafe--no camp food.

Day 1

2010-06-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

Our day starting out with a little introduction and celebration over the $175,000 raised by the 25 riders. The donations are still coming in and we may be near $200,000 by October when the donation window closes. I appreciate all the donations provided by my friends and family. I'll be at $7,000 by the end of the ride.

We began the ride at Seattle Pacific University and rode the Burke Gilman trail to Marymoor Park. The group stayed together for the majority of this segment. My wife and friends saw me off and appeared out of nowhere along several spots along the ride. It was very inspiring. The ride passed Snoqualmie Falls on the way to North bend. The best sight was spotting Larry, Marie, Tony, and Callene as I topped the 3200' Snoqualmie Pass. Larry even had a cold Red Stripe for me. It was the best beer I ever tasted.

After hugs, kisses, and goodbyes we were shuttled 8 miles around construction on I90. I rode the final miles to the Easton campground alone realizing what I'd gotten myself into, and missing my wife and buddies just a bit.

The when I got off the bike my computer registered 93 miles (minus the 8 mile shuttle) at an average speed of 13.3 mph. At camp we were met by veterans of past rides. They fed us fajitas and told us about their experiences. Every one of them wanted to do the Big Ride again.

Day 0

2010-06-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'm heading out tomorrow. We start the ride about 7:30 am after some celebration. It is sinking in that I'll miss my family and friends for nearly two months. My great wife, Callene, will be visiting me in Madison, WI and DC. I'll have those dates to look forward to.

I had a tough time fitting all of my crap in two bags. I packed once, then threw out about 15 pounds of gear. I hope I chose well.

I really appreciate all the support everyone has given me. I'll try to keep the blog update with pictures often. Please feel free to send me notes on this site. I'd love to keep in touch on this journey.

Happy pedaling-

Mark

Big Ride Fundraising

2010-04-08T18:37:00.001-07:00

Dear Friend:

As 2010 is well under way, we are all inevitably consumed with our daily lives, families, and work (I know I sure am)! But remember to stop and take a deep breath of fresh air. In fact, take several because you CAN! If you are like most fortunate people you breathe through your lungs about 2 gallons of air a minute. That is about 3,000 gallons of air, or 20,000 breaths a day. And if you are like me sometimes, you may not even notice.

But many people do notice because if you can't breathe, nothing else matters! Asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, or tuberculosis can make breathing a challenge. To aid in conquering this challenge, I have accepted a challenge of my own. I have agreed to bicycle cross-county as a fundraiser for the American Lung Association® in Washington. Starting in June, 2010 I will be joining the American Lung Association® in the Big Ride Across America.

This ride for clean air will require that I pedal 3300 miles in seven short weeks. That is correct! I will be joining approximately twenty-five other riders who will cross the USA by human power alone. We'll ride six days per week, averaging eighty-three miles each day.

But yes, you guessed it, I need your help. I need to raise $6,000 by June 1 in order to be on the team. The great news is that your 100% tax-deductible donation will be going to an outstanding cause. Here are examples how your donation will be used and why I ask for your gracious assistance for the 2010 Ride Across America (or Marks Ride For Clean Air).

1) Fight Lung Disease

2) Treat Childhood Asthma (it affects more than 6-million children)

3) Reduce Air Pollution

Every dollar is valuable when raising funds for such a worthy cause! You can sponsor in whichever payment type is most convenient for you: check or credit card. Your checks should be made payable to American Lung Association and returned to me so that I can submit them with credit toward my fundraising goal. If you prefer to give by credit card, use the link on the top upper right of this page to get to my fundraising page at the American Lung Association site.

Any assistance is much appreciated! (Again, look for the fundraising link on the top of the green box to the right)

* $33 One penny per mile
* $48 One dollar per riding day
* $100 Three cents a mile
* $500 Wow!

Thank You. And please, pass this on to a friend.

Gratefully yours, Mark