A Jewel Found in the Head Winds

We have been incredibly blessed by the prevailing winds on this trip. Day after day, we've had the winds to our back, and have taken credit for very fast finishes, as if our legs of steal were carrying us along. Yesterday and today, mother nature humbled us with winds moving in the opposite direction...and not just little winds...heavy winds right in our faces. Yesterday for me was the hardest day of the trip...63 miles of heavy (oil rig trucks) traffic, bad roads and wind blowing right at us. By the end of the day we were both so fatigued and actually ended the ride 20 miles earlier than we had planned. We simply could not go any further.

But during our ride yesterday morning, I found a jewell in the wind. Her name is Ayako Ishizuka, a 72 year old cyclist from New York, New York. She was part of a group of maybe 15 riders who had started in St. Louis and were following the Lewis and Clark Trail to Oregon. They were with an organization called Historical Trails. I tracked down Ayako after the organizer of the ride told us about her. I stopped her in the middle of the road and ask if I could take her picture. I also asked her why she was doing the ride, and she said, "Because if gives meaning to my life."

I thought a lot about what she said as we pounded on against the wind. I wasn't sure if this was adding meaning to my life or taking away years. But bicycle travel is certainly a different and wonderful way to see the country. Today we rode by some of the most beautiful yellow fields--maybe safflower--(actually not sure), but what I am sure of is that they were incredibly beautiful. And then after fighting with very difficult cross-winds most of the day, we finally ride into Stanton, North Dakota and find a camping ground next to the Knife River. Joe and I got here before the RV and so we took off our shirts and shoes and jumped in the river, swam to the other side and back, and said something like, "It doesn't get any better than this!"

Ginger's View of the Ride Against Hunger

Cindy wrote a blog about her view of the ride the other day. Now she's crafted one for our Golden Retriever, Ginger. I think she
captured it pretty close. Enjoy:

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Watford to Kill Deer, North Dakota
64 miles

Ginger says...

Life is pretty confusing for me right now. I’m living in this big white box that roars, wobbles and rattles when it moves and scares me to death. My humans are with me, but Rich, the tall one, gets up early and disappears on a bicycle every morning. My Cindy drives after him and catches him about noon. Then we eat. (I like this part because they always give me their apple cores.) When the food is gone, so is the tall guy. I try to keep my Cindy from getting back in the truck, but she always wins.

I have two other humans to take care of. They do the same crazy things. They pet me sometimes and don’t yell when I sit on the soft chairs in the front of the box. They also share their apples with me, so I keep them.

At night we pull into big grassy fields with lots of other white boxes and sleep. I’ve been sampling the grass at each stop. So far the Montana grass is the best. Every day new people give me a pat and tell me I’m a great dog. I hope my humans are getting the message.

I don’t know where we’re going or why, but I’m kinda liking this life. My Rich talks a lot about how some people are hungry and what other humans can do to help. Maybe he’s looking for a solution when he rides off every morning. Hope he finds it.

Finally, a Flat Tire! (Cindy says this one is for bike geeks)

When Cindy and I rode across country ten years ago on a tandem, we had flat tires almost daily. We replaced both tires several times and got very good at patching tubes and pumping up tires along the way. But it was not fun.

This trip has been the opposite. (Yes, hear the loud knocking on wood once again), Joe and I have not, until today, had a flat tire.That means we have ridden a total of almost 3800 miles and have had one flat tire. That seems almost impossible to me, and I have yet to have a flat. For those of you who have an interest in things bicycle, I have been riding on Schwalbe Marathon tires.The rear tire is getting pretty worn at this point so I've ordered a new set of them and had them sent to a post office down the road aways so I install them on my bike.

You may have read a few days ago on my blog that I am riding the oldest Trek 520 made from the year 1983. My riding buddy, Joe Ossmann, is riding a brand new Trek 520. While almost everything has changed about the 520's between 1983 and 2010, the 520 is still the bike to buy if you want to do cross-country touring. His bike is as steady as any bike I've ever seen. It is built to carry heavy loads and deliver them safely at the other end of the country. The bike comes with the Bontrager touring tires that have seemed not to wear at all over these first 1800 miles, until today.

Despite the flat, we are now in a beautiful little town called Watford City, North Dakota. We are in the Central time zone, but because of a really zig-zag time zone line, we will be back in Mountain Time tomorrow night. Joe and I will leave extra early tomorrow morning because we have an 85 mile day and they are predicting heavy head-winds in the afternoon. We'll try to get in as many miles as we can before the big winds start.

Hope you all are doing well. We miss you and look forward to our return to the Sacramento/Stockton community.

Cindy's View of the Ride Against Hunger

The ride from a different view.
Sidney, Montana
Sunday, June 27, 2010

Rich asked me to add a few words to his blog about what it’s like to be part of the support team for the Ride Against Hunger. One word. BUSY!

Kathy and I somehow imagined that the trip would be 10 weeks of simple time. Send the riders off in the early AM, meet them in the afternoon at the new campsite and have all the time we wanted in between to explore, do side trips, hike and whatever else occurred to us. Wrong.

I won’t bore you with the details of our set up and take down routine, gas stops, groceries, cooking enough calories for these guys, etc. Just take my word for it, we don’t sit much.

The best thing is that this ride is teaching me more about living in the moment than I ever knew was possible. Not a day at a time, but a mile at at time. And at about 11:30 am, to spot those two small bright green dots on the road ahead and know that we’ve found our riders and they are okay, that’s real joy.

So herding a 25 ft motor home down the road may not be glamorous, but we’re having a blast. Tomorrow North Dakota and the half-way point of this trek. How did it happen so fast?!

Flat Lands are a Coming

It is early Sunday morning, June 26, and we are in Sidney, MT. It is the last town in Montana, and for us, the end of the West and the beginning of the Midwest. Either today or tomorrow (we haven't quite decided yet), we will ride across the Yellowstone River and be in North Dakota. We have travelled almost 1800 miles and are nearing the half-way mark of our ride across the U.S.

The big transition for us has been a changing terrain. Coming over the Sierra, through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and then early Montana, we were constantly in mountains. Even since we left Red Lodge, and travelled across Eastern Montana, we have been going up and down almost all the time. Yesterday we noticed longer flat areas...like we were finally entering the Great Plains. So, now we deal with a new reality...and not always an easy one. When one is riding up and down hills, you ride real hard for a mile or two to get to the top, then you rest while you speed down the other side.

In flat lands, there are no such breaks.The big challenge is non-stop pedaling, sometimes against heavy winds. When Cindy and I came across Kansas on our first cross-country ride, a farmer came up to us and asked if we had gotten acquainted with hills of Kansas. At first we had no idea what he was talking about...and then we realized that he was talking about the wind. Wind frankly is much worse than hills. Hills you can get over. When I am riding into the wind, it absolutely kills my spirit. I am working very hard and making very little progress. We have been extremely blessed with favorable winds across Montana. We pray that those trends continue.

So, today we cross into our seventh state and we will soon be in the Central time zone. More importantly, we are on the long flat highways across North Dakota. We will celebrate the fourth of July in Cooperstown on the other end of North Dakota, and then be ready for still another transition into "Minnesota and Lake Country."

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

Some Hunger Realities

My friend Jerry learned of my Ride Against Hunger and brought me a book that he had helped publish back in the 80s. The title and subject of the whole book is ENDING HUNGER. The theme is that we have enough food and know-how to end hunger today...and the book the outlines exactly how it could be done.

Of course it is now 25 years later, and we know that hunger has not ended...and in fact may be worse than it was in the 80's.

I know the statistics in the book may be dated, but read these words very carefully:

"Imagine our concern--and the attention of the world's media--were an earthquake to strike San Francisco, killing 35,000 people in a single day. Imagine our concern were a virus to descend on London, killing 18 children a minute without stop, week after week. Imagine our concern were nuclear weapons to explode in the capitals of the world's major industrial countries, killing 13 million people and maiming and injuring a billion more in the surrounding countryside."

"These are precisely the figures of human devastation resulting from hunger: 1 billion of us chronically undernourished; 13-18 million of us dead a year; 35,000 of us a day; 24 of us (18 of whom are children) a minute. Yet because we view hunger in the background of life, this terrible toll does not enter our headlines, nor, for the most of us, our concerns."

The bicycle ride that I am doing from San Francisco to Portland, Maine is about ending hunger--in Stockton, In Sacramento, in California, in the United States, and in the world. Don't just read this blog and think about us out on the bikes. Read this blog and consider what you can do to help stop hunger at home and abroad. What is missing in this Ending Hunger idea is the will to do so. You and I can help with that.

Had a lot of time to think today. Lots and lots of open roads with very little traffic. I'm absolutely loving this trip. The riding is magnificent and fun and exhilarating. But unless it raises substantial funds for hunger alleviation, it will be a real disappointment. Do what you can...give what you can...to the program feeding the hungry closest to you.

Support from home

Today we arrived in Jordan, MT. The ride over from Winnett was pretty uneventful...one little tiny community Sand Springs, that consisted of a post office and a general store that was none to general.The woman who ran the place was even older than me and said she had been there since 1956. She had us register in her guest book as bikers across Montana. The picture at the top of the blog shows some cattle moving away from the weird riders...And that was sort of the high point...until we arrived in Jordan. I would imagine the population of this town is 150, but we saw three riders from Ireland on their way to Rhode Island. Hope we run into them again.

But the really big deal is that when I turned on my computer, there were messages from a whole bunch of you saying something like "keep going old man, you're doing great!" These messages mean a lot. Sometimes we are out here and are wondering if anyone is "with us". Your messages show us that you are...so thank you.

There was one message I will share in its entirety. It absolutely captured the essence of the day and ride. A friend of ours, Dena McKitrick, composes a poem each day to send with her husband to work. He sends them on to me and others. Today, her "daily napkin" was written about our ride. Here it is:

Cycling across the country
the breezes brush my face

My feet and the pedals are one
man and machine melding with countryside

Diligence and dedication
strengthen up the hill

Freedom and exhilaration
melt resolves tension
gliding down the other side

Ah! I could go miles and miles

(Special note: today's napkin is in honor of Rich Fowler, who is pedaling across the country to raise
money and awareness for a good cause. Ride on Rich!)

The Ossmanns--Our Riding Companions

Ride Against Hunger
Riding Day 24...from Roundup to Winnett, MT

Today we rode about 50 miles into eastern Montana. We were in Winnett before 10:30 a.m. and had the rest of the day to let Joe's knee completely heal. He was much better today and we're thinking that he is as good as new (almost).

I wanted to tell you just a bit about the Ossmanns. Joe is my riding buddy. He is retired from the California State Department of Corrections, but has has a long commitment to making corrections about healing rather than punishment. From my point of view, he's just a kid...around age 62 or so. What I so appreciate about Joe is that he is a walking encyclopedia about everything wildlife. He knows flowers, trees, birds and animals. I tend to become oblivious to what is around me but Joe helps me me be aware of what we are seeing. Today we saw a huge hawk sitting on top of an electric pole. When he took off flying, he was carrying a four foot long snake with him. You don't see that very often in Sacramento. Joe and I are pretty evenly matched on our bikes. Some days he's stronger than me and carries me up the hills...other days I am the stronger rider. But the truth is, we enjoy riding together. We don't talk a lot (I like that), but we say what is necessary to keep ourselves going.

Joe has a blog of his own that you might want to check out. It is at www.joesbikeblog.blogspot.com.You will get another view of what we are doing each day.

Kathy Ossmann has played a crucial role on this trip. She is our camp-site selector and organizer. She has figured out where we will camp or lodge every night of our trip, and will continue to do that until we hit Portland, Maine. Finding RV sites in towns with populations of 150 is not always easy. Last night we were across the river from the fair grounds in Roundup. I am extremely grateful to Kathy for her efforts to find places to stay.

Kathy is also on a quest to find, buy and fix locally produced foods for us as we move across the nation. She has a blog on which she shares what she has found each day. I can attest to the fact that it is good food. Her blog site is:
www.kathystravelfeast.blogspot.com. I hope you will check it out.

Joe and Kathy are both excellent musicians. They have been participating in the Sacramento Master Singers for 18 years. In fact the director of the Master Singers met them for lunch near Jackson, Wyoming. It was an emotional meeting because Joe and Kathy are in the process of moving from Sacramento to Paw Paw, Michigan soon after their return to California and they will no longer be a part of the choir. They are also very active in the Sacramento Friends Community and it is there that Cindy met these fine people.

The motor home in which we now live for the ten weeks belongs to them. They have shared it graciously with us and we are learning to live together quite well in this 25 foot, two bedroom, one bath, home on wheels. Joe and Kathy have been acquaintances for some time, but this trip will either cement or destroy a great friendship. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to get to know them better.

Dog Gone!!!

Last night at our campsite we saw more than the average number of dogs. We were camping at the KOA in Billings, Montana, (the very first KOA in the country and still the corporate headquarters) and the place was just swarming with dogs. Not muts...dogs! Pretty dogs. Yappy dogs. Huge, Marmaduke type dogs, Golden Retreivers like Ginger. The most glaring hint was the huge motor home nearby with a license place reading, PETSHOP.

It finally occurred to someone in our group that there must be a dog show nearby. We talked to some of the dog owners and learned that there WAS to be a dog show, but that the Sunday evening tornado had totally obliterated the venue. So here were all these dog owners, with their dogs, waiting to find out whether event organizers could come up with a new location and if the "show would go on." I took some pictures of some of the dogs next door to add to the blog for the day.

As we rode out of Billings today, we saw first hand the devastation left by the storm. It was much worse than we had imagined. Numbers of stores and facilities were just torn apart. And it was much closer than we thought. Sunday afternoon when the storm came through the women sat in the women's bathroom, and we in the men's at the KOA for nearly an hour while winds and rain came by. Little did we know that a really devastating storm was so nearby. The headline in the Billings, Gazette on Monday morning was, "Total Disaster". I think they were referring to their arena (where the dog show was to be).

Today we rode from Billings to Roundup, Montana. As you might imagine, Roundup got its name from being the place where all the cowboys brought their cattle before they were driven down to Billings. Driven as in Cattle Drive...not driven as in big trucks. I read a little history, and the invention of barbwire and some possessive land-owners killed the Roundup aspect of the town about 150 years ago, but it is still a real western town. Bars names? The Tumbleweed and The Branding Iron.

Tomorrow we continue our trek across Montana and head up to another western town called Winnett. We were going to ride there today, but decided to stop in Roundup for a bit of a rest. Joe was having some painful twinges above one of his knees and we figured that rest was more important than miles for today.

Cindy has agreed to write a blog soon about what it is like to be the support staff for our ride. So stay tuned. She is a much better writer than I am.

The Good Old TREK 520

Today was a zero day (although Cindy and I did put in about 15 miles riding around Billings looking for tornado damage--yes, for the first time in 50 years they had a tornado here in Billings).

We rested today. We arrived in Billings around noon yesterday (Sunday) and took some time to clean and adjust the machine that has now carried me almost 1500 miles. I said in my last Blog entry that I have grown quite fond of the old TREK 520 that has not even had a flat tire yet. (Hear loud knocking on wood, please!).

The history, as close as I can find it on the web is that in 1976, the 200th anniversary of our nation, a whole bunch of crazy people decided to ride their bikes across the U.S. It was called Bike Centennial and in fact an organization now called Adventure Cycling was hatched as a result of this new interest. The bikes people were riding at that point were simply not made for the kind of cross county, loaded touring that people were doing. So TREK, a relatively new company in Wisconsin, decided to build a bike make for these kinds of trips.

In 1983 the bike I am riding first showed up in the TREK catalogue. It cost about 500 dollars (a lot in those days), but had a number of attributes that made it long-mile road worthy. For one thing they lengthened the frame so that the riders heals would not be hitting the saddle bags (panniers). They strengthened the frame. It is heavier than its faster, racier brothers and sisters, but it must be stronger to carry the loads. It was given stronger wheels and more and easier gears so the rider could go up 37 mile mountain climbs like we did on Saturday.

So that brings me to my TREK 520. It was made in 1983, one of the first ever built. The other day as we were waiting for the icy road to open, we saw a rider who got all excited about my bike because he had one just like it (at home since he was riding his "newer" bike). I bought this bike about six months ago on e-Bay from a guy in Florida for 200 dollars...and then completely rebuilt most of the parts. It has different handle bars (wider), seat (a wonderful old fashioned leather Brooks saddle), wheels, tires, etc. etc. I have it dialed in really well for me...it simply fits wonderfully. Most of my body does not hurt at all while I am riding, including my rear end. I have continuing issues with lower back pain, but that was happening long before this bike ride started.

It is not pretty. But it works like a dream, and I love getting on it every morning for the days TREK. Tomorrow we will go almost 100 miles from Billings to Winnett, Montana. Look out North Dakota, here we come!

WE MADE IT!!!

Today we rode over Bear Tooth Pass. Just a foot or so under 11,000 feet. We started in Cooke City, Montana, dropped back down into Wyoming for a ways, then rode 37 miles UP to the pass, some of which was 6-8% grades. If it sounds like I'm bragging a bit, I probably am. None of us can quite believe we did it. But tonight we are safe and sound in our RV a few miles outside of Red Lodge, MT. And yes, it is raining again, but we didn't ride in rain today.

At one point in the ride I looked up and could see the switch-backs up as far as I could see. I decided that it was not a good idea to look up. It was simply overwhelming. How could I possible make it up this damnable hill. But then I looked down and the pavement was moving below me, and the scenery to the side continued to astound me. (See the picture). From that point on I would pick a spot, maybe 50 yards away, and say to myself...I can make it to that spot...and then I would be there, and pick another spot.

One day at a time...One foot at a time...we live our lives in the present only...in very small increments. If we try to take on the whole thing, all at once, we are often simply overwhelmed. I made it up the hill one pedal stroke at a time. It was a good reminder of how to live the rest of my life.

The 37 miles up were followed by about 35 miles down the other side. Fast, steep, cold, with switchbacks all the way to the bottom. Scary, fund fast and exciting. Glad to get down safely...and into camp for another night of rest.

Tomorrow we ride about 60 miles up to Billings. We are out of the mountains and into the plains. It will be warmer (we hope) and certainly flatter. Monday we take a day off to rest and take care of some personal matters (like getting a hair cut and getting some work done on my bike.

Tomorrow I want to write about my bike. We've developed quite and affection for one another, and it is time you got to know old 520 better.

Another Angel...Bob Johnston

Ride Against Hunger
Friday, June 18, 2010
Canyon Village, Yellowstone to Cooke City Montana—50 miles.

A Day of Contrasts and Another Angel

What a day this has been. The picture included in yesterday's blog shows that we woke up to a thin blanket of snow and very cold weather in Canyon Village, Wyoming, right in the middle of Yellowstone National Park. We cleaned off the snow and started our ride at 7 a.m. as we always do, but my riding partner Joe took a serious slide on the ice (and fall) before we even left the campground. We slowed down immediately and became aware that there was black ice everywhere.

After a quick cup of coffee at the visitor center we started up the trail only to find that the road was closed due to ice and snow. The prediction was that the road would not open until noon. It didn’t. We all sat around in the cafeteria with our lap-tops trying to get a signal strong enough to receive and send e-mails and do our blogs. That worked…kinda.

After eating our lunch in the cafeteria we started up the trail. Now blue skies were overhead and it was warming up. We started up immediately and rode up Dunraven Pass. The beauty of that ride is simply indescribable. I am adding a picture to the blog of this ride, but it pales in comparison to the reality. The ten-mile ride down the other side was exhilarating and beautiful. By then it had warmed up enough that we took off some of our heavy clothes for the first time in days…and enjoyed immensely the other 30 miles of our trip.

We were then welcomed into the home of still another angel, Bob Johnston, who had fixed a big pot of pasta with vegetables, salad and wonderful desert. His home is so welcoming and so warm and has the most astounding view across a valley and into the face of Mount Republic. Bob lives in Davis part of the year and is very good friends with our good friends, the Costello family of Davis. We were privileged to get to know him better and be in his home for an evening.

So here we are, now in our sixth state—Montana, and we can hardly believe we’ve come this far. Tomorrow we will climb to the highest point in our trip, over 11,000 feet in elevation over Beartooth Pass, and then down into Red Lodge, Montana. The ride will include twenty miles of relatively steep up-hill riding, and then over 30 miles of down. We look forward to that second half of the ride.

Snowed Out!!!

OK...right now we are sitting in the cafeteria at Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park. We all have our computers out doing a little work while we "cool our heels" waiting for the road to open on up to Cooke City, Montana. We had snow last night, enough that the ground was covered when we got up. Evidently on north of here they had more snow and the roads are icy. The rangers say we may be able to be on the road by noon. More adventure.

In the meantime, I will post the blog from the day before yesterday...which I titled BEATY AND THE BEAST because is was a beautiful ride in the morning, but turned very nasty by the end of the day...including quite a hail storm.

We haven't had any phone or wifi services for the past couple days, but were able to find a network (called Moose) that seems to work here in the cafeteria. So here goes...

For reasons that are not clear, I have not been able to upload the pictures...so will do that later.

Word is the highway north will open in an hour, so maybe we will make it on up to Cooke City later in the day.


June 16, 2010

Jackson Hole to Lewis Lake
67 miles.

Beauty and the Beast

Today was a day of huge contrasts. We started out at 7 a.m. this morning in partly cloudy (partly sunny) mild conditions and rode north toward Yellowstone National Park. We took one last pass by the Grand Tetons and they were even more beautiful than ever. There were clouds above and below the peaks, but the sun was shining brightly on the peaks themselves. I have included a couple of pictures. They were just astonishingly beautiful.

We then rode on north and went by Jackson Lake where we experienced even more fabulous views of the Tetons, coated with a fresh batch of snow over night. We finally pulled ourselves away and started a lengthy climb toward our evening destination, Lewis Lake. About ten miles from “home”, we noticed very threatening clouds forming above us. We stopped to add rain gear, and before we could even get our jackets fastened it was raining hard and beginning to hail. This time it was not little hailstones…or just a few…it was serious HAIL.

We ran across the road where there was a stone wall and backed up against it to protect ourselves. I found a small rock overhang where I curled up and at least had my head protected. It hailed for several minutes to the point that my jacket and pants were fairly covered with hail stones. Fortunately Cindy and Kathy saw the danger coming and came back up the hill with the motor home. They found us hiding under rocks. But by then the storm was passing and we got back on our bikes and road the rest of the way to Lewis Lake.

We did have one “ride” today. In Yellowstone National Park, they were doing road work and we were told we could not ride through it. We hitched a ride in the back of a pick-up driven by a cowboy/rancher from Utah. He was still another in a long line of “angels” who have helped us along the way. We got a lift DOWN a wonderful hill that we were looking forward to riding. Oh well…. The title of this blog could have been, “Utah Cowboy picks up two guys with spandex pants!” , but the bad weather at the end of the day took precedence.

Tomorrow the ride is short…about 50 miles on up to Canyon Village. But we have been told there will be snow during the night and it will be cold in the morning. Is anyone out there warm these days? It feels like we’ve moved back into February.

We have no service of any kind tonight so this blog will have to be added tomorrow, Thursday, June 17th. Hope you are all well and WARM!

A Day Off in Jackson

Today we took a day off to enjoy the beauty of Jackson, Wyoming and the Grand Teton National Park. Since it is late, I will not write a lot, but I would like to share some pictures we took of the day and area.

I will also say that after a beautiful day today, it turned really cold and wet again tonight and there are predictions of more rain, hail, and possible snow tomorrow. Whatever...we will ride at 7 a.m. from Jackson to Lewis Lake, about 70 miles.

Nah...there's nothing to this global climate change stuff.

Here are some shots.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Tonight we are smack dab in the middle of one of our most favorite places in the whole world...Jackson, Wyoming. In 2001 Cindy and I rode across the U.S. together on a tandem bike. When we got here, we didn't want to leave. The Grand Teton Mountains are in fact grand, gigantic and beautiful. I am in no way a geologist, but I did pick up a book that described how this area was formed. Evidently, there were huge earth plates running up against each other with enormous force. Finally one of the plates slipped up over the other one and was then pushed up in the air making the huge mountains. The other plate then dropped several hundred feet...and created a hole...now Jackson Hole.

We even rented a car so we can once again drive around to see the moose, elk range, Jenny Lake and other lovely spots around Jackson Hole. We will take the day off tomorrow to have some work done on the motor home while we are enjoying the area.

Today's 70 mile ride from Afton to Jackson, Wyoming was surely one of the ten most beautiful I have ever been on. To enter Jackson, we rode up the Snake River Canyon for nearly 40 miles. The views were just incredible. The picture included in the blog today is of the Snake River taken from the road above. I hope to carry the images from today in my head forever.

So tomorrow we have a day off. I will do some bike cleaning and repair, but mostly be enjoying the incredible beauty of the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole Wyoming. We miss you all and hope you are doing well.

Oh yes, one more thing. the sun shined today...and it did not rain!!!

Three States (in one day)

After taking a rainy day off yesterday, we were back on the road today...and we rode through three states today. We started in Garden City, Utah, this morning with rain and threatening skies. Frankly, we dressed in all the geeky wear we could find just to stay warm and dry.

We rode just a few miles up the coast of Bear lake when we saw the Welcome to Idaho sign. I took a picture of Chuck and Joe to show a bit of the classy rain wear we had on today. Then we were in Idaho for about twenty miles when we saw the Welcome to Wyoming sign. So now we are well over 1100 miles and in our fifth state.

Tonight we are in the delightful town of Afton, Wyoming. It has rained much more than usual here, so the mountains are a deep green and amazingly beautiful. We came by fields of dandelions that were simply incredible.

Tomorrow we ride into Jackson, Wyoming where we will take another day off to enjoy The Grand Tetons National Park...and then move on to Yellowstone. Stay with us...we'll soon by in Maine!

My apologies...I cannot get the pictures to download tonight...will try again tomorrow...stay tuned.

Angels Unaware

Today, meet Ben. He's my latest "angel". Here's the deal. Yesterday at the end of the day our bikes were an absolute disaster. Grit and grime from a day of riding in the rain covered every part of our bicycles. In fact the grit on the rims works like sandpaper against the brakes shoes and ours were worn down to almost nothing.

Because the weather was continuing to be very cold and rainy, we decided to make this a zero day and rest our weary bodies. What I didn't know is how we would get our bikes ready to ride again. Here's where our newest angel comes in. I noticed this morning that the KOA that we are in rents bikes. I asked at the front desk this morning if they might have some brake pads I could buy to put on my bike. She wasn't sure, but told me that Ben ran the shop and that he was there right then. I stopped by Ben's shop on the way back to the motor home. He could not have been more friendly.

"Come on back, put your bike up on the stand, clean it up, do whatever you need to do...you can use my tools, etc. etc." I couldn't believe it. What's more, his shop was heated. I was back in 15 minutes and spent the rest of the morning cleaning, adjusting, and replacing worn parts. Joe showed up a few minutes later and used the second stand to clean and adjust his bike. We both left feeling like we were much better prepared to continue the Ride Against Hunger on Sunday.

We simply could not be doing this ride without these "angels" that keep showing up to provide exactly what we need with grace and kindness. And that's what Catholic Charities and the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership tries to do for families needing food...to be an angel for someone in need. You can be an angel for one of these two organizations...it's called "angel work."

Dan and Rich--A Contrast in Cousins!

The blog rushed off without the pictures. As you must know, I'm not great at this blogging stuff.

Saint Dan

Yesterday, I said a bit about re-connecting with family that I had not seen or in some cases barely knew. Dan Minert is my cousin, 45 years old living here in the Salt Lake City vicinity. He is a REAL Cyclist and agreed to escort us through his City and on to our present stop, Garden City, Utah. Garden City sits right at the edge of gorgeous Bear Lake. You can see Dan at the top of this post. That drowned rat looking guy next to him is me.

I simply want to say that without him, we would probably still be at the Salt Lake Airport. He provided direction, support, encouragement, and many stories about his life, the lives of his family members, and the Mormon Church of which he is a committed member. It was a pleasure for us to have an opportunity to ride with him and we are so grateful for his willingness to take two precious days, and see us through a huge and complex metropolitan area.

The other picture tells the whole story of our biking experience today. We rode almost 70 miles today most of which were up he mountain. After lunch it started raining, and kept raining until it turned to snow at the top of the Pass. When we arrived at the top rather than a "summit" sign, it had a sign signaling that we were about to cross over into RICH COUNTY. I cannot tell you how cold I was right then. When I tried to smile, my face wouldn't work...sometimes this ride is just plain painful. When we rode down the other side of the mountain we were riding into what seemed like driving rain. The rain on the face felt like little icy razor blades. At one point I had to stop to give my face a break. The ride wasn't really that hard, but the weather made it miserable. Are we having fun yet?

Family!

Today was a time of reconnection with a beloved Uncle Roy, my mom's younger brother, his wife Jean, and their sixth son, Dan. Uncle Roy and Aunt Jean are in the picture above. I have been terrible concerned about how we would navigate our way through Salt Lake City and then remembered that I have an Aunt, uncle and cousins who live here, and maybe they would help us. What I didn't know is that Dan is an avid cyclist and is very familiar with the entire Northern Utah cycling scene. Tomorrow I will share a picture of Saint Dan!

Dan and I have been talking back and forth for several weeks. I only met him one other time in his life--about 22 years ago when he got married in Washington, DC. But this morning he gave us directions to ride north out of our Draper, UT campground. He said he would meet us about ten miles up...and he did just as he said he would do. Avid cyclist does not do justice to Dan. He has raced, been sponsored on a cycling team, and had a bike that weighed about 1/3 of what ours does.

It was wonderful to see him, and he escourted us up through Salt Lake City, past the Catholic Cathedral, onto the Mormon Temple Plaza, and then out of town to the West. We rode for most of the rest of the day on the banks of the Great Salt Lake (even though we could not see it, we knew it was there). Dan was committed to keeping us out of crazy, nerve racking, traffic. We were so grateful...until...

Around 3:30 it became obvious that it was going to rain. We stopped and put on our rain coats and then rode into the strongest headwind you can imagine. At one point we were riding very slowly up a long hill, and it started to hail. Yes...little ice balls started bouncing off of our helmets. So we ran across highway we were on and found shelter under an overhang on an abandoned building. We hid out there until the storm passed, and then rode on into camp. By the end of the day, I had 90 miles on my odometer and was very grateful to be "home" for the night.

About that time, Dan's parents, Roy and Jean Minert showed up. I hadn't seen them for years. We visited for a while and then went to dinner together at Maddox, "the best restaurant in Northern Utah." And it was! It was so good to reconnect with my family. Dan was a saint today and led us through the anxiety and difficulty of riding through traffic in a "foreign" city. And what's really cool is that he will also ride with us up to Bear Lake tomorrow. Seventy five miles of up-hill riding tomorrow. Anyone want to go for a ride?

Riding Buddies

It is not possible to over estimate the importance of having company on the Ride Against Hunger. The two guys are Joe Ossmann on the left and Chuck Boehme on the right. We've all ridden every mile together since starting at the Great Highway in San Francisco. That does not mean that we are always "right together". But it does mean we watch out for one another and make sure that bikes and bodies are all together as we move along.

When the wind is in our face we do a mini-pace-line. A pace line is when a whole bunch of riders line up behind one another, ride fairly close together, and get the benefit of someone breaking the wind in front of you. The three of us do that in one-mile stints. Joe rides for a mile in the front, and then fades off to the left, and Chuck comes to the front, and leads for a mile. Then I take my turn. It is incredibly helpful. Fighting the wind by yourself for mile after mile can become very demoralizing. But having one hard mile, and then two easier ones makes the whole riding experience much more doable.

It is like that in all of life, right? When facing head-winds or when facing difficult issues, sometimes we simply need someone to walk in front of us or to provide some support. And that frankly is why Emergency Food Banks are so crucial. There are so many people facing fierce winds: unemployment, loss of homes, illnesses without access to health care. A few day supply of food to keep the family going can be a huge relief for families in crisis. Please, as you experience someone "breaking wind" for you, find a way to do the same for individuals and families needing something as simple as food.

Fund Raising

Riding Day 12

Delta to Eureka, Utah--55 miles

June 8, 2010

I've had some questions about why this is called the "Ride Against Hunger" and how you could contribute if you so cared to.

First, just a word about why I wanted to do this Ride Against Hunger. When I worked for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Stockton, we established an emergency food program for families needing a boost when other resources were depleted. What I saw every Monday morning was a line from our door around the building with families (with children) waiting to register for a box of food. These same families would return on Friday to receive enough groceries to last for three or four days.

I saw the face of hunger in the Central Valley of California, and it was not pretty. Hunger, it seemed to me, was not the problem. Poverty was the problem...hunger the most glaring symptom. But in the Central Valley of California, where more than 25% of the food for the whole United States is grown, we surely should to be able to find a way to feed its own people.

I developed a passion for making sure that people had enough food on their tables. Tim Viall and I helped to start the Hunger Task Force of San Joaquin that worked to find solutions to hunger in our county. We made progress, but not nearly enough. Too many people still suffer every day from hunger and food insecurity.

Biking is another passion of mine. I love everything about bikes...working on them...teaching people how to ride...and traveling on them. In 2001 my wife Cindy and I rode from Washington, DC to Florence, Oregon on our tandem. It was the ride of a life-time. Now, I'm on my second ride of a life time. And my daily prayer is that it will be the impetus for lots of people to make a donation to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton OR, if you live in Sacramento, to the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership (Food Locker). Here's where you can send your donations:

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton

1106 N. El Dorado Street

Stockton, CA 95202

Please include on your check (Ride Against Hunger)

or

SSIP Building Fund

c/o Bethany Presbyterian Church

5625 24th Street

Sacramento, CA 95822

The food locker works out of a tiny space at the Bethany Presbyterian Church and is raising funds to build a building on the same site. Every sent of your contribution will be used for the building fund.

By the way, we had a beautiful ride today from Delta, Utah up to Eureka, Utah. We are staying in a bed and breakfast located at the top of the highest mountain in town, and while it was really hard to get here...it is beautiful. And it is great to have a room of our own for a night.

Hope you are all well.

MILESTONES

Ride Against Hunger. 6/7/10

Baker, NV. to Delta, Utah (Riding Day 11)

95 miles

Tonight we are in Delta, Utah, after a very long day of riding. At one point during the ride we saw a sign saying, "Next Services, 83 miles"! That says it all about today. Not only was it a very long ride, it was absolutely devoid of any services. Thank God for our support team. They met us at mile 60 for lunch and water refills so we could ride the rest of the way in to town.

But the day was not without its significance. We passed two milestones. First, we entered into the third state of our trip. The picture attached shows us next to the "Welcome to Utah" sign. Joe Ossmann is in the middle and Chuck Boehme is on the right. I'm the other guy.

The other milestone we passed today was from Pacific Time to Mountain Time. Now when we call home we have to factor in that we are an hour earlier than the rest of our friends and neighbors in California...and an hour closer to our midwest and east coast family. May not seem like much to you all, but to us, pedaling every mile of it, it seems like a pretty big deal. As of today we've travelled 761 miles. Tomorrow we turn north and will ride up to Eureka, Utah where we will stay in a bed and breakfast. We are looking forward to less miles (56), and a new experience tomorrow night.

Hope you are all well...thanks for checking in our ride. It means a lot to us that you are following our ride.

Resting on Zero Day

Forgot to ad the picture of the sleeping biker. Here it is.

By the way, zero days are days with no miles on the bike!

Zero Day

After riding 660 miles over the first ten days of the Ride Against Hunger, we took a day off today in Baker, NV. The population of Baker must be less than 200, but it is located less than 20 miles from the Great Basin National Park. We had a wonderful day of rest. We worshiped together at 8 a.m., then cleaned the motor home from top to bottom (it needed it), and then went up the mountain to the national park.

There we read books, slept (see picture), bird-watched, had our lunch, painted a couple pictures (Kathy), slept some more. The temperature in Baker was around 95, but where we were more like 80. Days just don't get any better than this.

When we got back to the RV Park we found a local pub offering ribs, chicken and other goodies to the "outsiders". We could not resist going up and mixing with the people of Baker. What a great way to end the day. As soon as this blog is finished, we will go to bed to get ready for the trek over to Delta, UT. We will enter our third state, cross over into Mountain Time, and ride 98 miles by the end of the day. And it is suppose to be hot. Yikes!!!

Number One Supporter

Yesterday, I showed a picture of Cindy and Kathy who are working very hard every day to make this ride possible. It's not like Joe and I aren't working...we are, sometimes very hard; but we are also having a ball and getting a lot of attention for it. We are grateful for their presence and hard work.

But there is someone else out there who is our number one supporter--my mom. That's her in the picture. She waits every day to hear that we are "in safely" from our ride. She prays for us and follows our ride on a map across the country. Marvelin Fowler is 91 years old, living in as assisted care facility in Kearney, Nebraska. She still walks every day, sends and receives e-mails, surfs the web, and now is following this blog. I'm so proud of her and am grateful every day that she is still in my life.

Today's ride took us 60 miles from Ely to Baker, NV. It was an astoundingly beautiful ride, but since the miles were a bit shorter, we were in camp by 1 p.m. and had the afternoon to rest, talk and see Baker (which frankly took very little time).

Tomorrow is a day off (YAY!) and we will clean the motor home, have our own worship time, and go visit the Great Basin National Park which is just a few miles up the mountain from where we are staying.

Hope you are all well and are enjoying your weekend.

Summits

Riding Day 9. June 4, 2010

Eureka to Ely, NV--80 miles

This evening my riding buddy, Joe, was confessing that his photography had become pretty boring. Three of the four pictures he took today were of Summit Signs. As I looked through my pictures, I had the same three pictures. But before you give up on this entry and find something more interesting to read, let me try to explain why summits become so important to us.

Today, we went over three very significant mountains. One of them meant that we rode for 16 miles up and almost two hours before going over the summit and then holding on for dear life as we rode down the other side. But after riding (really almost grinding) up 16 miles at 4-8 miles per hour, when we see one of those little signs, it becomes a REAL BIG DEAL. "We made it!" "Another one in the books!" Clapping, high fives, and a genuine sense of accomplishment surrounds these photographs. You don't see all that, but we do. So, if you see more than your fair share of Summit Signs...that's why.

But in this picture there is more. Behind the sign you find still another symbol of pure joy for us. When we arrived at the top our support team was waiting for us with fresh water, ice, and more high fives. The picture of my wife Cindy and Kathy Ossmann (along with rider Joe) was taken near that sign. It doesn't get any better than this!

Summits

Friday, June 4, 2010

Riding Day 9

Eureka to Ely, Nevada--80 Miles

Today my riding buddy, Joe Ossmann, was down-loading his pictures at the end of a long day of riding. He confessed that his pictures had become pretty "boring". Three of the four pictures he took today were of signs indicating that we had passed over a significant summit. I realized that I had almost exactly the same pictures, but there is a reason for our boring photography.

We faced three significant summit passes today. That means climbing from maybe 5,200 feet to 7,300 feet. I don't mean to whine, but it is hard. This morning we rode 16 miles up to today we rode from the basin floor to Little Antelope Pass. The grades going up to the pass vary, but sometimes are 6 to 8%. So when we finally arrive at the top it feels like we have just accomplished something huge, and deserves to be recorded on film (or however these digital things work). And then at the end of the day, all we have are some very wimpy looking signs that say, "Robinson Summit, 7,635 feet...that must mean almost nothing to most of you.

Sorry! They mean a lot to us...so here's my shot of Little Antelope Summit. Please know that it is not just a "shot" it represents for us a lot of very hard pedaling. And the beauty going up and speeding down the other side is really hard to capture anyway. So just for a moment, celebrate with us the accomplishment of three major summits today. Hey, Thanks!

Eureka!!! We Made it!

It's late and we're tired. This will be a short message to say that we made it the 73 miles from Austin to Eureka, and we were very glad to be here. It was another wonderful ride with long, beautiful vistas. So, for tonight's entry, you will see some of the pictures I captured. Too bad they don't really indicate the vast beauty we are seeing, but you will get the idea.

By the way, the first picture was taken from our campsite and if you look at the upper part of the picture (with a microscope) you will see a truck. That is the road we started out on this morning.

Hope you are all well.

The Shoe Tree

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Middlegate to Austin, NV

63 miles

I've now heard it too many times. "There's nothing to see in Nevada." or "It's a moon scape." We just rode over 63 miles of absolute beauty. We got pretty spread out this morning so I was riding alone for several miles, and absolutely could not believe the beautiful vistas I experienced. On one side were huge mountains with deep snow still in them. And then all around were the mountains of Nevada. We went over three significant passes today and then rode down the other side 10 to 15 miles before hitting bottom. Riding up these same hills was a challenge, but screaming down the other side--absolute bliss.

The picture above (taken with absolutely the wrong lens setting) is of the Shoe Tree, the major tourist attraction between here and Carson City. You can't see it very well, but all those clumps in the trees above are shoes, tied together and slung over branches...thousands of them. And they smell like old shoes, too; but it is fascinating, and fun (sort of). Chuck, one of the other riders said he found it a bit "grotesque". Whatever, it was a great excuse for a rest for a few minutes, and if you ever drive across Nevada Highway 50, look for the Shoe Tree!

Tonight we are in Austin, NV. We calculated how far we had come so far and it came to just a bit over 450 miles. Tomorrow we will go over 500 for sure. It's funny how our bodies seem to be adjusting to the "day's work"--getting from point A to point B. A few weeks ago, I could not imagine riding 450 miles in a week. Now it doesn't seem so overwhelming. What's wrong with this picture? Oh yea...and I also calculated how many calories we burned today. It came to more than 3500.

Hope you are all well. Go out, get on your bikes and ride around the block, and remember there are 3 old guys riding across the country trying to call attention to the fact that very near your homes there are hungry families wondering where their next meal will come from. Your contributions to your neighborhood (or Catholic Charities) food bank can make a huge difference. After your ride around the block, send a check!

Routine

Day 6: Silver Springs to Middlegate, NV. (82 miles)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

After six days on the road, we have begun to establish a daily routine. Here's what a day looks like for us. We get up at 5 (or s0), certainly by 5:30 a.m. Joe and I dress quietly saying "excuse me" and "sorry" as we slide by each other in our 25 foot motor home. Joe cooks his breakfast over the stove while I micro-wave my Oatmeal. By the time we eat breakfast, Cindy (my wife) and Kathy (Joe's wife), are beginning to stir.

As soon as breakfast is completed we load our bikes for the day's ride. We carry lots of water, tools, extra tires, tubes, sun screen our lunches, and other miscellaneous items. While this will probably end soon, the women do come out and take pictures of us as we leave the site. Makes us riders feel so important!!!

From then on until the end of the day's ride, it is simply grind out the miles. Today we did 83 miles and today's ride was as hard as yesterday's ride was easy. The wind that blew us across the NV yesterday was in our face today and made the miles much more difficult. We went through Fallon, NV this morning and learned that the movie TOP GUN was about the base located near this town. As we rode out across the high desert, we watched fighter jets race across the skies. I told Joe and Church that it seemed like we were in the middle of their play-ground.

Nevada is shaped like a wash board with peaks and valleys all across the state. Today we went over three "passes", and tomorrow we will ride over several more on our way to Austin. We arrived in Middlegate Station at around 3 pm. After sitting for a few minutes we take showers, prepare dinner, and enjoy dinner with good friends, discussing the day's happenings. After cleaning up, we all sit down to do our daily blogs. Last night four of us sat at the table each with our lap-tops before us. Is something wrong with that picture.

We then go to be and get ready to repeat these basic steps the following day

That with a few variations is what we do each day...our daily routine!