So its been four months since my Journey has ended and so much to say. I really miss journaling to be honest. Its so valuable in so many ways, both for right now and for looking back on it in the future. I wrote this list right after the trip but never really got around to posting it. The discipline and self awareness i gained from this journey has had an unbelievable impact on my life this past four months. I can only hope that it continues to do so. When times are tough, its always good to have that one positive memory you can always turn back to, no matter what. Thats what Bike and Build is for me. So here goes,
What I've learned from Bike and Build
I wanna say this will be a concise list of takeaway points, some more helpful than others, but that might be getting a bit too ambitious even for this blog. Some will invariably be left out. Lets just write and see what happens.
1. Always make an effort to Stretch - In every sense of the word. The same way its crucial for your muscles to develop properly, making a habit of pushing your boundaries is essential to building a healthy personality and consciousness.
2. There's always a downhill - No matter how steep that grade is, no matter how much distress you're going through, there will always be that crest of relief and rest at the top followed by magical coasting to remind you of why it was all worth it.
3. Pick and choose your battles - 32 people can't all weigh in on every decision. What's more, they don't really need to. Just chill out.
4. Everything needs maintenance - Especially Bikes. For these, a little lube goes a long way. For everything else, some effort now always can save a lot of hassle, or sunburn, or scarring, later.
5. Just Ask - What do you have to lose? So long as you don't bend karma, people can be surprisingly generous. After all, rules are only as strong as their enforcers.
6. Family doesn't always require blood ties - How many of your blood relatives have you showered naked and crotch buttered with?
7. Get over yourself - Nobody is scrutinizing your every action. A little silliness never hurt anyone.
8. Systems work - Whether its for packing your bag every single day for 2 months or organizing your desk, find something that works and stick to it. Happy life will follow.
9. Sometimes you're the pigeon and sometimes you're the statue - Sometimes your legs feel like 5 ton bricks and every stroke kills you. Other times you can sprint 30 like nothing. Be prepared for both. They just happen.
Bonus: You can do anything - You just biked 4,100 miles across this country. Through its windiest plains. Up its tallest mountains. Across its hottest deserts. You better damn well believe it.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Day 72 of 72
Day 72 - Aug 13, so many days late
18 miles. San Rafael to ....San Francisco!
So its been a wild, blurry, fun filled few days but its only right to make this journal complete. How to even describe today...
It started out with another first alert, my first time ever sleeping outside without anything over my head. The result of that was opening my eyes to a beautiful blue sky with the moon dead center, couldn't have asked for anything better. As would be fitting to the biggest day of the trip, the breakfast did not disappoint, all 5 trays of it. While the host couldn't give out the secret recipe, enjoying the mixture of cream cheese and french toast made was good enough for us.
We spent the morning doing lots of final bike and build logistical stuff with Kristian including cleaning out all the gear, trailer, van, etc. Yea, some jobs were definitely more desirable for that than others. Our slew of ceremonies for the day kicked off with our final state check off of California, completing our 18 state list. We then rolled out 32 strong to an entire guitar wielding ensemble of church members seeing us off with song. Man do i love these guys.
One of the major things we were excited about today was finally having the whole group ride together. I rode up ahead and looking back, it was so exhilirating to see this huge coordinated snake of bodies making its way through the streets. Granted we probably took 30 min longer with all the waiting we had to do for each other but it was well worth it for the number of turned heads once we started rolling through towns. Highlights included what can only be described as Carlie's outrageous circus ringleader extravaganza on wheels. Noodles, balloons, confetti, spandex, streamers, you name it. I wouldn't have been surprised to see here leading an elephant while she was at it. And then there was also Noah's ridiculously ironic and loudly popped flat tire within oh, the first .3 miles of riding. Talk about great starts,
We did hit some hills which were a bit more annoying to climb in a paceline but overall the riding was chill. Before the bridge we passed a small town with a beautiful view of the San Fran skyline across the bay, our first real glimpse. It even rivaled the sea lion that popped up right there next to us.
Now the bridge itself is a whole different story. The whole climb up the entire road was stuffed, like sardine style, with two lanes of both heavy bike and car traffic. Not so comfortable. Seriously how many people can you possibly fit on a road at once. As we neared the bridge we noticed that 99% of the bikers were riding the same bike model with the same tacky saddle bag. THEY WERE TOURISTS ON RENTAL BIKES! On top of everything we saw that only one of the two bike lanes on the bridge were open, meaning it was at double capacity.
I don't really want to hate on the tourists, as they have as much of a right to enjoy the bridge like this as anyone, but dammit at that moment i didn't really care to ride the climax of my 4,100 mile journey along with all of Eastern Europe there. Finally made it to the middle of the bridge for a breather and got our celebration in there as well as my first ever cigar to mark the occasion.
Yea, and since you're wondering, the bridge is HUGE! So magnificent. Especially with it being such a symbol of this trip ever since the beginning, the bridge appearing suddenly and emerging to its amazing height from behind a cliff isn't something that can be forgotten. While there were definitely yells of joy, a good number of people including myself could only manage silence. Thinking back i think it was out of a sort of respect and admiration, not only for the amazing structure itself, but for the harrowing tear and joy filled journey that had taken 72 days to lead us right to it.
The best part of the whole crossing though was that it really was 32 strong since we had MIRANDA! who was being pulled in a bike cart by Sean across the bridge only and down to the beach. It was the perfect compromise to get her to finish with the group and we couldn't have been happier to have it end that way. Plus, it was totally hilarious seeing her chilling out in an obviously undersized carriage giving sean way more work to do.
Unfortunately didn't have any time to buy tacky but necessary souvenirs since it was time to head to BAKER BEACH! We started going down some wierd dirt trail that we found actually needed to be hiked for a while and then down some weird staircases before it got back to a paved road. It was kinda hilarious to see us literally a mile from our glorious finish heaving our bikes over some godforsaken beach trail like headless chickens. Soon enough we were back on track and as i promised myself up every damn uphill of this county, the very last time i pedaled on this trip was on a glorious downhilll right into the parking lot. Looking back at the sexy paceline of riders streaming in was just way too super cool to even handle.
What happened next as we pulled in I can only try and humbly describe. But i think i speak for everyone when i say it was the most magical, euphoric event of my life yet. I can barely even write this without having my eyes swell up a little.
We ride into a throng of 90ish parents, friends, family with banners, posters, pictures, maps, you name it in hand, but most importantly their cheers. We literally entered 32 strong in single file and i was about third all the way up front. When we entered the mass there wasn't a single one of those 120+ people who wasn't screaming at the top of their lungs. Right where the sand started, parents we're holding up a ceremonial banner for us to ride under and i remember it was that exact moment of crossing where i couldn't hold back my tears any longer and my body became consumed with euphoria. Hilary and I tried to lead the charge to the shore on our bikes but soon found out when we fell on each other that bikes and sand don't go too well together. We barely avoided getting trampled on by the other eager riders and charged the beach bikes hoisted, still screaming like blood thirsty berserker vikings. When everyone was lined up we did the dipping, except this is the point where all the excitement i'm describing may have led me to do more than just dip my bike. Yea, it would've helped to know that saltwater on bikes is a big no-no before doing that. I probably screwed it up a decent amount, but hopefully not, we'll see. At least ignorance was bliss at the time.
Our bikes back on the sand, there was nothing left to do but charge the damn Pacific ourselves. Cold, no. Freezing, no. Mind-numbingly chilly, YES. As if we could even register that, it may as well have been 70 degrees for us. Thereafter ensued the wildest thrashing, and splashing and hugging and dancing and crying and singing you've ever seen. When the group spontaneously broke out into the self worth song(which i've tried to explain how meaningful it is to me) I was so emotionally overwhelmed that all i could do was just stand and watch the beautiful mass of 31 crazy riders in front of me. All the parents had run down to the beach to follow us and must have been having a ball watching us.
With this group accomplishment in hand, it was also time to settle a more personal one. One that Carlie and I had been slowly but surely pushing towards since Colorado. Yea, the pushups. Three days prior when i realized i could do 80 consecutively, I firmly made up my mind that when i hit that beach i would immediately and no questions asked pound out what for me once seemed impossible, 100 consecutive pushups. ( i mean when else am i going to be that hyped up on adrenaline ever). The whole trip has been about stretching and pushing ourselves in all sorts of dimensions, often farther than we ever thought possible and for me to be able to do this, crazy biking accomplishment aside, would be really big in my life.
Carlie and I found each other, popped this crazy energy goo, "Rocktane"? and hit the sand. We made sure to find Julie before we started so that we could expressly asssign her the task of cheering us on when we started to waver. Well the first 80 were decentish. And up to 90 hurt pretty bad. And i basically screamed all the way to the last ten, but right then i broke those damn triple digits and thats all that mattered.
Ryan Ellis' mom graciously provided mini champagne bottles, half of which was spent pouring on each other, and as if that wasn't celebration enough Lara's Mexican mom prepared the most legit kickass guacamole ever. CHUACAMOLE! The crazy romping had simmered a little and by now it was more of an amped calm that was settling over us.
We eventuall headed to the picnic where a fantastic spread had been prepared for us courtesy of the parents and ate ourselves silly. Then it was a short 2 mile ride to the apartments we had rented. To be short, San Francisco has hills. Lots and lots of steep ones. They easy probably average like 15% each. And the terracing makes them just so intense. Oh yeah, and they're everywhere, in every direction. It was actually pretty fun to pump up a few on our way to the host. Can't imagine how great it would be to train here.
The host is like 4 bedrooms for 32 people so that made for some fun crawling. Its actually really cool to be in our own flat like that MTV Real World Style and be able to take a break from dealing with hosts for one last time.
At night we headed over to the Fort Mason Center by the water for our reception as arranged by the super proactive Noah. Most of the other trips have way lamer endings compared to this. It was chock full of all the parents, some new wardrobes, and BRI! She unfortunately couldn't be at the beach due to an interview but more than made up for it(kinda?) by showing up the day before but also by erecting a giant sign on the bridge that morning saying in bright glittery letters, "Way 2 Go George!" Unfortunately it got taken down before we got there, but her photo evidence sufficed. Gotta admit it would've been just a little nice to show off like that in front of the other riders...
I realized i couldn't even tell one story to Bri without going on three other tangents to different stories. Talking in depth to an outsider for virtually the first time all summer really drove home what a crazy, adventure filled summer its been, and how hard it is to explain all of the subtle wonderfulness that was our trip. We later presented the leaders with framed signed pictures of our first ever group shot in Prov before moving on to having R.Farr and Paige announce the winners of the superlative vote. Wasn't sure if i enjoyed hearing the actual results more or seeing them hand out paper plates as prizes for the contest. The night was then capped off with Ryan Ellis showing us an amazing 20 min video he had been working on all trip which really chronicled the trip super well. The second half was a total surprise and blew the crowd away. Can't say what it was, you've gotta see it for yourself. It was the perfect encapsulation for our trip and just what we'll all need if and when we get those hurtful nostalgia pangs in the cold un-bikable months of winter.
So yes, basically the most epic day of my life. And yes, finally the end of this trip. But not of this journal. I remember talking with Hilary how this trip can be a great jumping off point for many rather than just another experience. So along those lines I'd like to wrap up with a solid post that extends beyond just chronicling and also provides some direction for my future life after bike and build. I won't be able to remember every memory every day, but some lessons learned here and there should do just fine.
18 miles. San Rafael to ....San Francisco!
So its been a wild, blurry, fun filled few days but its only right to make this journal complete. How to even describe today...
It started out with another first alert, my first time ever sleeping outside without anything over my head. The result of that was opening my eyes to a beautiful blue sky with the moon dead center, couldn't have asked for anything better. As would be fitting to the biggest day of the trip, the breakfast did not disappoint, all 5 trays of it. While the host couldn't give out the secret recipe, enjoying the mixture of cream cheese and french toast made was good enough for us.
We spent the morning doing lots of final bike and build logistical stuff with Kristian including cleaning out all the gear, trailer, van, etc. Yea, some jobs were definitely more desirable for that than others. Our slew of ceremonies for the day kicked off with our final state check off of California, completing our 18 state list. We then rolled out 32 strong to an entire guitar wielding ensemble of church members seeing us off with song. Man do i love these guys.One of the major things we were excited about today was finally having the whole group ride together. I rode up ahead and looking back, it was so exhilirating to see this huge coordinated snake of bodies making its way through the streets. Granted we probably took 30 min longer with all the waiting we had to do for each other but it was well worth it for the number of turned heads once we started rolling through towns. Highlights included what can only be described as Carlie's outrageous circus ringleader extravaganza on wheels. Noodles, balloons, confetti, spandex, streamers, you name it. I wouldn't have been surprised to see here leading an elephant while she was at it. And then there was also Noah's ridiculously ironic and loudly popped flat tire within oh, the first .3 miles of riding. Talk about great starts,
We did hit some hills which were a bit more annoying to climb in a paceline but overall the riding was chill. Before the bridge we passed a small town with a beautiful view of the San Fran skyline across the bay, our first real glimpse. It even rivaled the sea lion that popped up right there next to us.
Now the bridge itself is a whole different story. The whole climb up the entire road was stuffed, like sardine style, with two lanes of both heavy bike and car traffic. Not so comfortable. Seriously how many people can you possibly fit on a road at once. As we neared the bridge we noticed that 99% of the bikers were riding the same bike model with the same tacky saddle bag. THEY WERE TOURISTS ON RENTAL BIKES! On top of everything we saw that only one of the two bike lanes on the bridge were open, meaning it was at double capacity.
I don't really want to hate on the tourists, as they have as much of a right to enjoy the bridge like this as anyone, but dammit at that moment i didn't really care to ride the climax of my 4,100 mile journey along with all of Eastern Europe there. Finally made it to the middle of the bridge for a breather and got our celebration in there as well as my first ever cigar to mark the occasion.Yea, and since you're wondering, the bridge is HUGE! So magnificent. Especially with it being such a symbol of this trip ever since the beginning, the bridge appearing suddenly and emerging to its amazing height from behind a cliff isn't something that can be forgotten. While there were definitely yells of joy, a good number of people including myself could only manage silence. Thinking back i think it was out of a sort of respect and admiration, not only for the amazing structure itself, but for the harrowing tear and joy filled journey that had taken 72 days to lead us right to it.
The best part of the whole crossing though was that it really was 32 strong since we had MIRANDA! who was being pulled in a bike cart by Sean across the bridge only and down to the beach. It was the perfect compromise to get her to finish with the group and we couldn't have been happier to have it end that way. Plus, it was totally hilarious seeing her chilling out in an obviously undersized carriage giving sean way more work to do.Unfortunately didn't have any time to buy tacky but necessary souvenirs since it was time to head to BAKER BEACH! We started going down some wierd dirt trail that we found actually needed to be hiked for a while and then down some weird staircases before it got back to a paved road. It was kinda hilarious to see us literally a mile from our glorious finish heaving our bikes over some godforsaken beach trail like headless chickens. Soon enough we were back on track and as i promised myself up every damn uphill of this county, the very last time i pedaled on this trip was on a glorious downhilll right into the parking lot. Looking back at the sexy paceline of riders streaming in was just way too super cool to even handle.
What happened next as we pulled in I can only try and humbly describe. But i think i speak for everyone when i say it was the most magical, euphoric event of my life yet. I can barely even write this without having my eyes swell up a little.
We ride into a throng of 90ish parents, friends, family with banners, posters, pictures, maps, you name it in hand, but most importantly their cheers. We literally entered 32 strong in single file and i was about third all the way up front. When we entered the mass there wasn't a single one of those 120+ people who wasn't screaming at the top of their lungs. Right where the sand started, parents we're holding up a ceremonial banner for us to ride under and i remember it was that exact moment of crossing where i couldn't hold back my tears any longer and my body became consumed with euphoria. Hilary and I tried to lead the charge to the shore on our bikes but soon found out when we fell on each other that bikes and sand don't go too well together. We barely avoided getting trampled on by the other eager riders and charged the beach bikes hoisted, still screaming like blood thirsty berserker vikings. When everyone was lined up we did the dipping, except this is the point where all the excitement i'm describing may have led me to do more than just dip my bike. Yea, it would've helped to know that saltwater on bikes is a big no-no before doing that. I probably screwed it up a decent amount, but hopefully not, we'll see. At least ignorance was bliss at the time.
Our bikes back on the sand, there was nothing left to do but charge the damn Pacific ourselves. Cold, no. Freezing, no. Mind-numbingly chilly, YES. As if we could even register that, it may as well have been 70 degrees for us. Thereafter ensued the wildest thrashing, and splashing and hugging and dancing and crying and singing you've ever seen. When the group spontaneously broke out into the self worth song(which i've tried to explain how meaningful it is to me) I was so emotionally overwhelmed that all i could do was just stand and watch the beautiful mass of 31 crazy riders in front of me. All the parents had run down to the beach to follow us and must have been having a ball watching us.With this group accomplishment in hand, it was also time to settle a more personal one. One that Carlie and I had been slowly but surely pushing towards since Colorado. Yea, the pushups. Three days prior when i realized i could do 80 consecutively, I firmly made up my mind that when i hit that beach i would immediately and no questions asked pound out what for me once seemed impossible, 100 consecutive pushups. ( i mean when else am i going to be that hyped up on adrenaline ever). The whole trip has been about stretching and pushing ourselves in all sorts of dimensions, often farther than we ever thought possible and for me to be able to do this, crazy biking accomplishment aside, would be really big in my life.
Carlie and I found each other, popped this crazy energy goo, "Rocktane"? and hit the sand. We made sure to find Julie before we started so that we could expressly asssign her the task of cheering us on when we started to waver. Well the first 80 were decentish. And up to 90 hurt pretty bad. And i basically screamed all the way to the last ten, but right then i broke those damn triple digits and thats all that mattered.
Ryan Ellis' mom graciously provided mini champagne bottles, half of which was spent pouring on each other, and as if that wasn't celebration enough Lara's Mexican mom prepared the most legit kickass guacamole ever. CHUACAMOLE! The crazy romping had simmered a little and by now it was more of an amped calm that was settling over us.We eventuall headed to the picnic where a fantastic spread had been prepared for us courtesy of the parents and ate ourselves silly. Then it was a short 2 mile ride to the apartments we had rented. To be short, San Francisco has hills. Lots and lots of steep ones. They easy probably average like 15% each. And the terracing makes them just so intense. Oh yeah, and they're everywhere, in every direction. It was actually pretty fun to pump up a few on our way to the host. Can't imagine how great it would be to train here.
The host is like 4 bedrooms for 32 people so that made for some fun crawling. Its actually really cool to be in our own flat like that MTV Real World Style and be able to take a break from dealing with hosts for one last time.
At night we headed over to the Fort Mason Center by the water for our reception as arranged by the super proactive Noah. Most of the other trips have way lamer endings compared to this. It was chock full of all the parents, some new wardrobes, and BRI! She unfortunately couldn't be at the beach due to an interview but more than made up for it(kinda?) by showing up the day before but also by erecting a giant sign on the bridge that morning saying in bright glittery letters, "Way 2 Go George!" Unfortunately it got taken down before we got there, but her photo evidence sufficed. Gotta admit it would've been just a little nice to show off like that in front of the other riders...
I realized i couldn't even tell one story to Bri without going on three other tangents to different stories. Talking in depth to an outsider for virtually the first time all summer really drove home what a crazy, adventure filled summer its been, and how hard it is to explain all of the subtle wonderfulness that was our trip. We later presented the leaders with framed signed pictures of our first ever group shot in Prov before moving on to having R.Farr and Paige announce the winners of the superlative vote. Wasn't sure if i enjoyed hearing the actual results more or seeing them hand out paper plates as prizes for the contest. The night was then capped off with Ryan Ellis showing us an amazing 20 min video he had been working on all trip which really chronicled the trip super well. The second half was a total surprise and blew the crowd away. Can't say what it was, you've gotta see it for yourself. It was the perfect encapsulation for our trip and just what we'll all need if and when we get those hurtful nostalgia pangs in the cold un-bikable months of winter.
So yes, basically the most epic day of my life. And yes, finally the end of this trip. But not of this journal. I remember talking with Hilary how this trip can be a great jumping off point for many rather than just another experience. So along those lines I'd like to wrap up with a solid post that extends beyond just chronicling and also provides some direction for my future life after bike and build. I won't be able to remember every memory every day, but some lessons learned here and there should do just fine.
1 Day away
Day 71 - Aug 12, 12:38pm
51 miles. Santa Rosa, CA to San Rafael, CA
Don't quite know how i got off count with my days but figured i might as well correct it.
Am writing this listening to one of my favorite new songs, Shooting Stars(Kris Menace Remix) by Bag Raiders while OVERLOOKING THE BAY! Can't remember the last time i felt like this. Its an intense combination of calm, exhaustion, and appreciation all before what i know will be one of the most unforgettable days of my life tomorrow.
Today was the last real day of riding and i topped it off with Dennis all day(the birthday boy!). What an awesome guy. Imagine the purest mix of energy, sincerity, and goodwill all rolled up into one pirate imitating bundle of bearded goodness. Enjoyed discussing the merits of gas station food and also touched on how for the past two months we're technically physically unlike normal humans. Kinda like having mutant powers! like Wolverine! Except not really. Actually not at all. But its been fun being able to blindly consume 5,000 calories daily while its lasted.
Had lunch at a horse stable today which was really cool since we got to pet them and all. Gosh they're so beautiful. The only problem was this dog Sam who kept raiding our lunch and legit ate one of Anne-Lise's sandwiches while she was turned around. What a cutie though.
Dennis, Larry, and I finished out the day spectacularly riding through some really cool and bicycle friendly towns. It was just the right level of traffic to make for safe yet exhilirating highway. We caught 3 yellow lights on this one circuit highway and for the most amazing 30 seconds had this entire three lane strip to ourselves as we flew by at 30mph. Also, first palm tree sighting! The bay area is wonderful and you can't help but get a great chill vibe from here. Coming up on our first glimpse of the boats docked in the bay was obviously amazing. While riding, it was mindboggling to think that wait, we're actually here, as in we can be at the bridge in an hour if we wanted. Can only imagine how crazy it will be tomorrow.
When we learned the pool was closed, a gracious church member brought us to her very spacious house to use her pool and showers which was so nice. The shower was one of those full glass ones, which we lovingly dubbed "the octagon".
The Presbyterian St. Luke's church here is super kind. They have the most awesome patio overlooking a part of the bay and made the best chicken and pineapple shish kebabs. After dinner we all went around and said our highest high and lowest low of the trip. It was really interesting to see the overlaps and differences between people's comments and how they related to mine. Even more fun though was the singing we did thanks to the accompaniment of the 4 church members playing their guitars! Nothing like a fuzzy sing a long to reflect on how much we love each other.
As if it wasn't getting mushy enough, we all gathered afterwards to distribute commemorative bracelets of the trip. They were made by cutting up our sweep capes into 32 pieces which definitely carries a lot of symbolism of us caring and watching out for each other. Such a great way to literally carry a piece of the trip with us. Am very happy with that choice. It worked by each person picking someone to complement and then giving them a bracelet, then that person would pick someone else, etc. Do that a lot on FOP and i sometimes dislike how it can feel contrived but i was super glad to be able to share some words about Larry, since I've shared a really genuine bond with him more than almost anyone else on this trip.
Fun, Larry and Dennis shaved their beards finally today and its actually scary how unrecognizable they are. I decided to keep mine, as much as im beginning to look like Abraham Lincoln to see how it fits into the real world. Man what i would give for a haircut right now...
So yea, this is it, i look forward to tomorrow being filled with as much laughter, tears, and joy as possible. We deserve it. This is our day our bridge and our time.
Life is really just one connected series of adventures i've realized, (or at least id like it to be) and one exciting part of tomorrow's celebration which i think may be undernoticed is the joy of knowing that with the closing of this great accomplishment, it only means that there is now the potential for many others now open to us.
51 miles. Santa Rosa, CA to San Rafael, CA
Don't quite know how i got off count with my days but figured i might as well correct it.
Am writing this listening to one of my favorite new songs, Shooting Stars(Kris Menace Remix) by Bag Raiders while OVERLOOKING THE BAY! Can't remember the last time i felt like this. Its an intense combination of calm, exhaustion, and appreciation all before what i know will be one of the most unforgettable days of my life tomorrow.
Today was the last real day of riding and i topped it off with Dennis all day(the birthday boy!). What an awesome guy. Imagine the purest mix of energy, sincerity, and goodwill all rolled up into one pirate imitating bundle of bearded goodness. Enjoyed discussing the merits of gas station food and also touched on how for the past two months we're technically physically unlike normal humans. Kinda like having mutant powers! like Wolverine! Except not really. Actually not at all. But its been fun being able to blindly consume 5,000 calories daily while its lasted.
Had lunch at a horse stable today which was really cool since we got to pet them and all. Gosh they're so beautiful. The only problem was this dog Sam who kept raiding our lunch and legit ate one of Anne-Lise's sandwiches while she was turned around. What a cutie though.
Dennis, Larry, and I finished out the day spectacularly riding through some really cool and bicycle friendly towns. It was just the right level of traffic to make for safe yet exhilirating highway. We caught 3 yellow lights on this one circuit highway and for the most amazing 30 seconds had this entire three lane strip to ourselves as we flew by at 30mph. Also, first palm tree sighting! The bay area is wonderful and you can't help but get a great chill vibe from here. Coming up on our first glimpse of the boats docked in the bay was obviously amazing. While riding, it was mindboggling to think that wait, we're actually here, as in we can be at the bridge in an hour if we wanted. Can only imagine how crazy it will be tomorrow.
When we learned the pool was closed, a gracious church member brought us to her very spacious house to use her pool and showers which was so nice. The shower was one of those full glass ones, which we lovingly dubbed "the octagon".
The Presbyterian St. Luke's church here is super kind. They have the most awesome patio overlooking a part of the bay and made the best chicken and pineapple shish kebabs. After dinner we all went around and said our highest high and lowest low of the trip. It was really interesting to see the overlaps and differences between people's comments and how they related to mine. Even more fun though was the singing we did thanks to the accompaniment of the 4 church members playing their guitars! Nothing like a fuzzy sing a long to reflect on how much we love each other.As if it wasn't getting mushy enough, we all gathered afterwards to distribute commemorative bracelets of the trip. They were made by cutting up our sweep capes into 32 pieces which definitely carries a lot of symbolism of us caring and watching out for each other. Such a great way to literally carry a piece of the trip with us. Am very happy with that choice. It worked by each person picking someone to complement and then giving them a bracelet, then that person would pick someone else, etc. Do that a lot on FOP and i sometimes dislike how it can feel contrived but i was super glad to be able to share some words about Larry, since I've shared a really genuine bond with him more than almost anyone else on this trip.
Fun, Larry and Dennis shaved their beards finally today and its actually scary how unrecognizable they are. I decided to keep mine, as much as im beginning to look like Abraham Lincoln to see how it fits into the real world. Man what i would give for a haircut right now...
So yea, this is it, i look forward to tomorrow being filled with as much laughter, tears, and joy as possible. We deserve it. This is our day our bridge and our time.
Life is really just one connected series of adventures i've realized, (or at least id like it to be) and one exciting part of tomorrow's celebration which i think may be undernoticed is the joy of knowing that with the closing of this great accomplishment, it only means that there is now the potential for many others now open to us.
Welcome to Wine Country
Day 69 - Aug 11, 9:59pm
71 miles. Davis, CA to Santa Rosa, CA
Gotta love sweep. Today i had the honor of bringing the broom with the lovely Anne-Lise Caroline Cosart (watch the pronunciation!) To be totally honest one of my favorite things on the trip is taking breaks for reasons out of my control like road problems, flat tires, etc. Its sorta like oh, there's nothing i can do about this so i might as well just chill out, awesome! Take that as your whole day and you have sweep.
In the morning i decided to check my voicemail while chilling and happened to discover that BRIANNA GOODALE's AWESOMENESS KNOWS NO BOUNDS! aka she just happens to be visiting family in San Fran(yea ok Bri, whatever you say) and will be coming to greet me as we enter the beach. That brings my personal cheering to a grand total of 1! The wonderful Ava Tramer was unable to make it which was a huge bummer so this is a really awesome treat. Not sure when else you'll find me jumping up and down at 6am gleefully yelling in my spandex. I even temporarily forgot about how nasty the oatmeal i was eating was.
Major props to Subway yet again for pulling through with food for me and Anne Lise. We caught six folks eating an awesome breakfast at a diner a little further and ate our sandwiches there. If you've read anything from this blog at all, you can't help but be familiar with my somewhat irrational calorie needs. Well in case you aren't acquainted with them by now, just know that it took all of 10 seconds between the time that i downed an entire foot long subway sandwich 13 miles into the day, and the time when i began scavenging my teammates plates for leftover pancakes. Unfortunately there was only one remaining.
The day continued smoothly and generally uphill into lunch. Anne-Lise is super cool and really fun to talk and ride with. Get such a good vibe from that girl.
Around mile 59ish the major climb for the day started. It was intense. The topo map on the computer this morning was all sorts of funky colors when depicting the grades. Note to readers, seeing purple, aka 12% grade on any topo map is not, again, not a good sign. We started climbing and aside from losing half our body weight in sweat, were totally loving it. Its just such a rush to be able to conquer something so ridiculous as a hill like that and i can easily see myself enjoying, no, needing to do something insane like that on a weekly basis back in real life. The descent was again treacherous but I was more used to it and found that once i began trusting myself to navigate the breaking and turning i could relax and have fun with it which was great. Fearing for your life is not necessarily the best sensation to have going down a hill.
Overall the whole day was just gorgeous. We were in famous Napa Valley and rode through beautiful vineyard after vineyard with just the right amount of rolling hills. The hill in the second half was in a totally shaded forest that made for the best riding ever, especially when the downhill eased up and let us go comfortably at 20ish mph.
Things are definitely getting a little tense at points with people's peeves getting to a breaking point and with everyone kinda just losing a general sense of responsibility with so few days left. For me on this trip, personally its always been a point to not get myself worked up for too long about anything. there's just so little time here and its not in the least worth it. I like to think that the same goes for life in general. It sometimes boggles my mind how so un-chill people can be about the most ultimately meaningless stuff. Different folks, different strokes i guess.
Final day of riding tomorrow. I realized im gonna miss this so much, especially in the libraries in the middle of winter i assume. it just really hit me today how lucky i've been to basically have this be my job for the past 2 months despite all of the occasional complaining. As much as I'm ready for it to be over, it's pretty nice to be leaving on that note of realization and appreciation.
71 miles. Davis, CA to Santa Rosa, CA
Gotta love sweep. Today i had the honor of bringing the broom with the lovely Anne-Lise Caroline Cosart (watch the pronunciation!) To be totally honest one of my favorite things on the trip is taking breaks for reasons out of my control like road problems, flat tires, etc. Its sorta like oh, there's nothing i can do about this so i might as well just chill out, awesome! Take that as your whole day and you have sweep.
In the morning i decided to check my voicemail while chilling and happened to discover that BRIANNA GOODALE's AWESOMENESS KNOWS NO BOUNDS! aka she just happens to be visiting family in San Fran(yea ok Bri, whatever you say) and will be coming to greet me as we enter the beach. That brings my personal cheering to a grand total of 1! The wonderful Ava Tramer was unable to make it which was a huge bummer so this is a really awesome treat. Not sure when else you'll find me jumping up and down at 6am gleefully yelling in my spandex. I even temporarily forgot about how nasty the oatmeal i was eating was.
Major props to Subway yet again for pulling through with food for me and Anne Lise. We caught six folks eating an awesome breakfast at a diner a little further and ate our sandwiches there. If you've read anything from this blog at all, you can't help but be familiar with my somewhat irrational calorie needs. Well in case you aren't acquainted with them by now, just know that it took all of 10 seconds between the time that i downed an entire foot long subway sandwich 13 miles into the day, and the time when i began scavenging my teammates plates for leftover pancakes. Unfortunately there was only one remaining.
The day continued smoothly and generally uphill into lunch. Anne-Lise is super cool and really fun to talk and ride with. Get such a good vibe from that girl.
Around mile 59ish the major climb for the day started. It was intense. The topo map on the computer this morning was all sorts of funky colors when depicting the grades. Note to readers, seeing purple, aka 12% grade on any topo map is not, again, not a good sign. We started climbing and aside from losing half our body weight in sweat, were totally loving it. Its just such a rush to be able to conquer something so ridiculous as a hill like that and i can easily see myself enjoying, no, needing to do something insane like that on a weekly basis back in real life. The descent was again treacherous but I was more used to it and found that once i began trusting myself to navigate the breaking and turning i could relax and have fun with it which was great. Fearing for your life is not necessarily the best sensation to have going down a hill.
Overall the whole day was just gorgeous. We were in famous Napa Valley and rode through beautiful vineyard after vineyard with just the right amount of rolling hills. The hill in the second half was in a totally shaded forest that made for the best riding ever, especially when the downhill eased up and let us go comfortably at 20ish mph.Things are definitely getting a little tense at points with people's peeves getting to a breaking point and with everyone kinda just losing a general sense of responsibility with so few days left. For me on this trip, personally its always been a point to not get myself worked up for too long about anything. there's just so little time here and its not in the least worth it. I like to think that the same goes for life in general. It sometimes boggles my mind how so un-chill people can be about the most ultimately meaningless stuff. Different folks, different strokes i guess.
Final day of riding tomorrow. I realized im gonna miss this so much, especially in the libraries in the middle of winter i assume. it just really hit me today how lucky i've been to basically have this be my job for the past 2 months despite all of the occasional complaining. As much as I'm ready for it to be over, it's pretty nice to be leaving on that note of realization and appreciation.
The Faceoff: P2SF vs SC2S
Day 68 - Aug 10, 1 day late
61 miles. Auburn, CA to Davis, CA
23 miles of bike paths! Finally, an easy day. Rode with Meryl, Julie, and Lara along the most awesome bike paths for just about half the day which was incredible. It felt more like a bike and build reunion rather than a real day. I couldn't help but wonder "why aren't i miserable yet?" The mental break which the path offered was really clutch. Hanging out around tons of our cycling brethren rather than our motorized counterparts was delightful.
Now that i've pretty much mastered the handless cycling i figured it was about time to take it up a notch. I've been itching to try for a while, and today i finally gave in and tried to juggle(I'm pretty experienced) while riding my bike. After a couple of rogue apples flying left and right i held a solid pattern and even switched into a mills mess! which is a crazy arm crossing pattern. The only unfortunate part is mine and Meryl's approximately 6 failed attempts at capturing it on film. I mean its not like i did it just so i could have people know about it...
Came to this decent retro style commercial strip and had some Greek Fries at the Spud Shack, which had a pretty cool concept of having just dishes of french fries with different countries as themes.
Immediately got a good vibe from Davis, especially since we're staying right next to the college. Its one of the bike friendliest cities in the country and even has bike symbols on the trash cans! Almost everyone had a bike and there was so much good infrastructure. You could tell how engrained it was in people's way of life there. Davis and other cities like it are testaments to how effective and practical cycling can be in every day life. Its really possible. Especially in NYC and other cities there tends to be such a hostile attitude between bikers and motorists. Sure there are assholes on both sides who perpetuate a negative cycle but i truly feel that its the poor bike infrastructure which keeps pitting the two groups against each other. Hmm, the gov't splitting its citizens into two seemingly different camps and having them bicker. I'm sure glad that doesn't sound familiar... Fortunately there are many strides being made by advocacy groups and govt to make biking more mainstream and part of every day life as it should be and already is in places like Europe for example.
At the host i took a sweet nap listening to my chillout music which i haven't done in a while. Unfortunately i woke up a little off when people were being loud and when i went to eat pasta(what i had been looking forward to all day literally) i found that all the cheese was gone. Dono why but i was actually ready to punch someone. We spend so much money on stupid snacks and chips and we can't even have a single can of cheese to eat a real pasta meal like civilized humans. Thats at least what i thought at the time and i couldn't believe, nor control unfortunately, how catastrophically it destroyed my mood. Some food and good music later i managed too blow it off but its still kinda scary how much it just takes over me like that sometimes.
Then came the time of judgement. It turns out that the South Carolina to Santa Cruz route was staying in our city tonight and we were meeting up for some festivities. The first of these was an epic relay race consisting of eight activities representing a day in the life of bike and build ranging from packing up your sleeping bag to downing breakfast to hammering nails. Dan M gave us an initial lead and yours truly took over for the tire pumping. Please imagine kneeling down and having 64 sweaty insane bikers huddling around you and screaming their lungs out. Easily the most disorienting 20 seconds of my life. I've been to calmer rock concerts. Of course that tire didn't stand a chance against my up and down thrashing. Average roadmorph pumping time: 2 minutes. George's time: 20 seconds. Yea, i thought so.
It was a frantic stretch but team P2SF pulled out a stunning victory by a mile. It was honestly such a silly and ridiculous event but it felt awesome to win. Of course crazy screaming, jumping and psyching out ensued. Glorious.
But that was only the day's activities. At night we rejoined in camraderie for the Bike and Build wedding where saw Hillary leave our nest to join up with Meghan from their group in gender neutral matrimony. Yes, tears were shed but the ceremony was nothing short of beautiful with our very own kilted Colin Hood leading it. Of course the result of such an event was 64 outlandishly and probably inappropriately dressed kids all in the same place each trying to garner more attention than the next. Yea, fun is an understatement. Steven as the best man sure had a mouthful to say and show for Hillary.
While it was definitely awkward to interact with them as expected we chilled in smaller groups at night and had some fun conversations. Highlight was Sean trying to casually draw out of them how many mountain passes they had climbed and at what elevation. Hearing about the few 9,000 footers they had done compared to our several 11,000 ones probably completed Sean's life right then and there. In general, 'm always skeptical of inter-organizational groups mixing like that because the awkward dynamic is just inevitable. I think overall though the in-group, out-group differentiation ultimately makes each group bond with itself more which i guess is valuable in the end. Either way, who doesn't love awkward interactions?
But more importantly, guess who's sweeping tomorrow!
61 miles. Auburn, CA to Davis, CA
23 miles of bike paths! Finally, an easy day. Rode with Meryl, Julie, and Lara along the most awesome bike paths for just about half the day which was incredible. It felt more like a bike and build reunion rather than a real day. I couldn't help but wonder "why aren't i miserable yet?" The mental break which the path offered was really clutch. Hanging out around tons of our cycling brethren rather than our motorized counterparts was delightful.Now that i've pretty much mastered the handless cycling i figured it was about time to take it up a notch. I've been itching to try for a while, and today i finally gave in and tried to juggle(I'm pretty experienced) while riding my bike. After a couple of rogue apples flying left and right i held a solid pattern and even switched into a mills mess! which is a crazy arm crossing pattern. The only unfortunate part is mine and Meryl's approximately 6 failed attempts at capturing it on film. I mean its not like i did it just so i could have people know about it...
Came to this decent retro style commercial strip and had some Greek Fries at the Spud Shack, which had a pretty cool concept of having just dishes of french fries with different countries as themes.
Immediately got a good vibe from Davis, especially since we're staying right next to the college. Its one of the bike friendliest cities in the country and even has bike symbols on the trash cans! Almost everyone had a bike and there was so much good infrastructure. You could tell how engrained it was in people's way of life there. Davis and other cities like it are testaments to how effective and practical cycling can be in every day life. Its really possible. Especially in NYC and other cities there tends to be such a hostile attitude between bikers and motorists. Sure there are assholes on both sides who perpetuate a negative cycle but i truly feel that its the poor bike infrastructure which keeps pitting the two groups against each other. Hmm, the gov't splitting its citizens into two seemingly different camps and having them bicker. I'm sure glad that doesn't sound familiar... Fortunately there are many strides being made by advocacy groups and govt to make biking more mainstream and part of every day life as it should be and already is in places like Europe for example.
At the host i took a sweet nap listening to my chillout music which i haven't done in a while. Unfortunately i woke up a little off when people were being loud and when i went to eat pasta(what i had been looking forward to all day literally) i found that all the cheese was gone. Dono why but i was actually ready to punch someone. We spend so much money on stupid snacks and chips and we can't even have a single can of cheese to eat a real pasta meal like civilized humans. Thats at least what i thought at the time and i couldn't believe, nor control unfortunately, how catastrophically it destroyed my mood. Some food and good music later i managed too blow it off but its still kinda scary how much it just takes over me like that sometimes.
Then came the time of judgement. It turns out that the South Carolina to Santa Cruz route was staying in our city tonight and we were meeting up for some festivities. The first of these was an epic relay race consisting of eight activities representing a day in the life of bike and build ranging from packing up your sleeping bag to downing breakfast to hammering nails. Dan M gave us an initial lead and yours truly took over for the tire pumping. Please imagine kneeling down and having 64 sweaty insane bikers huddling around you and screaming their lungs out. Easily the most disorienting 20 seconds of my life. I've been to calmer rock concerts. Of course that tire didn't stand a chance against my up and down thrashing. Average roadmorph pumping time: 2 minutes. George's time: 20 seconds. Yea, i thought so.
It was a frantic stretch but team P2SF pulled out a stunning victory by a mile. It was honestly such a silly and ridiculous event but it felt awesome to win. Of course crazy screaming, jumping and psyching out ensued. Glorious.
But that was only the day's activities. At night we rejoined in camraderie for the Bike and Build wedding where saw Hillary leave our nest to join up with Meghan from their group in gender neutral matrimony. Yes, tears were shed but the ceremony was nothing short of beautiful with our very own kilted Colin Hood leading it. Of course the result of such an event was 64 outlandishly and probably inappropriately dressed kids all in the same place each trying to garner more attention than the next. Yea, fun is an understatement. Steven as the best man sure had a mouthful to say and show for Hillary.
While it was definitely awkward to interact with them as expected we chilled in smaller groups at night and had some fun conversations. Highlight was Sean trying to casually draw out of them how many mountain passes they had climbed and at what elevation. Hearing about the few 9,000 footers they had done compared to our several 11,000 ones probably completed Sean's life right then and there. In general, 'm always skeptical of inter-organizational groups mixing like that because the awkward dynamic is just inevitable. I think overall though the in-group, out-group differentiation ultimately makes each group bond with itself more which i guess is valuable in the end. Either way, who doesn't love awkward interactions?
But more importantly, guess who's sweeping tomorrow!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
13'%, 7,000 feet, 22 miles, 60 degrees!
Day 67 - Aug 9, 10:44pm
87 miles. South Lake Tahoe, CA to Auburn, CA
Only 5 more days is what i thought this morning. Better make each one count. Today's numbers definitely made it a hard one to forget.
The day's rest definitely showed itself in my legs. However its too bad i couldn't even feel them given that it was all of 40 DEGREES! leaving Tahoe. Seriously, someone may as well have stuffed ice down my shorts this morning and it still would have been warmer. The day started off with a slight incline to get to the last peak of the Sierra Nevadas. Us being our crazy selves, we happened to locate an old road that ran parallel to the highway that was closed to cars and a mile shorter. Of course the only catch was that it was also a whopping 11% grade. About a third of the group including me ended up taking the detour and the attitude was pretty much "Why Not?" I mean we've done such crazy biking by now that nothing can stand in our way anymore and to be honest we totally beasted up that entire hill without stopping and man it got steep at points. The top was just glorious. Ironically, we all felt a million times better than when we were at the bottom. We finished it and were pretty much like "ok whats next." Man, i can't wait to burn out the cycling team back at school.
Oh yea, and guess who's bag with 5 rips at the corners has finally called it quits. Yea, this guy's. Super thanks to Kelly's mom for the new duffel bag im borrowning and for making me feel just a little bit less vagabondish than i really am.
We climbed a little more to the peak at 7,000 and change before THE DESCENT. This was not a typical dowhnill but our final approach towards sea level. What i mean by that is 22 miles of continuous downhill, descending 4,000 feet at about 6%, never dipping below 25mph with the most gorgeous mountain views around us. Shoulder was pretty much non existent and drivers here are noticeably less generous here so that sucked but it was still awesome. Definitely got into my superhero "i feel like im flying" mode. I got so excited to draft behind our van when it passed that i shifted super hard into third gear and ended up pushing my entire chain off the gears which was not so fun, or fast. The whole unbelievable 22 miles down i kept thinking of every damn miserable uphill we've ever had to climb on this trip and who its all been leading to this epic descent. Jenny's odometer we later found out reveals that cumulatively we've climbed about 150,000 feet of elevation on this trip. Can you even believe that?
Maybe you can, but you definitely won't believe Max finding legit the largest pine cone I've ever seen in my life!
The riding continued smoothly and into Ryan Ellis' hometown(which is kinda odd but cool) where we walked around the arts fair that was happening. I could hardly hide how much i enjoyed basking in the intrigued looks and stares from the people around me. Man its hard not to think of how cool we look rolling in somewhere together. And honestly, while power suits and tuxes are pretty empowering, its hard to beat the confidence boosting of fitting into a good pair of cycling spandex and strutting around with your bike.
By the middle of the day, we had crossed a full 60 degrees of temp into the triple digits. Literally went from freezing to baking in just hours as It got absurdly hot way too abruptly. Thankfully the heat still doesn't affect me too bad the way it does other riders but what was truly horrible was today's downhills in the second half of the day, all of which couldn't be steeper and curvier if they tried.
Apparently they might've done just that when we found the 13% downhill sign. WHAT!? In biker language, the words "thirteen percent downhill" really translates into "Squeeze your brakes and pray for your life". The acceleration on something like that is just terrifying. If you coast for even 3 seconds you'll easily be at 40mph about to hit a tight curve. Not where you want to be. By the time we got to the bottom the place literally reeked of burning rubber from our brake pads. Some chammies may or may not have also been a little moist. The end result of such descents was that by second lunch we were at 750 feet, a full 7,000 feet below where we started this morning!
Highlight was finding a fun yard sale today which we haven't done since pennsylvania, aka where there are regularly intervaled cities, which was a treat. Yes, i did find a women's leather jacket with leopard interior that fit, and yes i put it back against my better judgement.
Had our last town hall today and finalized our grant allocations, which im pretty happy with. We're gonna end up giving 24,000 to about 9 organizations and i was generally pretty impressed with our 32 annoying selves' ability to come to a decent consensus. But the highlight was really the by now tradition of my leading a post town hall activity. This being the last one i of course had to break out the big guns. After teaching "The Self Worth Song" to much acclaim we had a massive game of Birdie on a Wire, where Ryan Farr and Larry emerged victorious. All of these silly activities are a big part of my orientation program FOP, and really special to me. It's been so awesome to be able to share them with another group that is also very dear to me and to have them totally embrace it as our own.
Just remembered, forgot to stretch after riding today. Ugh. So much stuff to do all the time. Its odd when something so personal and important like that becomes just another chore on a trip like this that can get so easily neglected in the bustle of it all. But did do pushups! 100 straight may yet be within reach if Carlie can pester me enough to keep me on track.
Having Miranda back with us riding in the van is great and she's in such a great mood which is superbly contagious. Words cannot express the joy at being a full group again. Am already starting to think of my closing post for this journal which is kind of odd, but relevant i guess since now's as good of a time as any to start reflecting. Jeez, i can only hope it wont be too mushy...
Overall today had a ridiculous amount of climbs at steep grades that all felt like just another. Never in my life have i been more certain that i can literally do whatever I want. And the more i think about it, the more i realize that it doesn't have to be any different even when this trip finally comes to an end.
87 miles. South Lake Tahoe, CA to Auburn, CA
Only 5 more days is what i thought this morning. Better make each one count. Today's numbers definitely made it a hard one to forget.
The day's rest definitely showed itself in my legs. However its too bad i couldn't even feel them given that it was all of 40 DEGREES! leaving Tahoe. Seriously, someone may as well have stuffed ice down my shorts this morning and it still would have been warmer. The day started off with a slight incline to get to the last peak of the Sierra Nevadas. Us being our crazy selves, we happened to locate an old road that ran parallel to the highway that was closed to cars and a mile shorter. Of course the only catch was that it was also a whopping 11% grade. About a third of the group including me ended up taking the detour and the attitude was pretty much "Why Not?" I mean we've done such crazy biking by now that nothing can stand in our way anymore and to be honest we totally beasted up that entire hill without stopping and man it got steep at points. The top was just glorious. Ironically, we all felt a million times better than when we were at the bottom. We finished it and were pretty much like "ok whats next." Man, i can't wait to burn out the cycling team back at school.
Oh yea, and guess who's bag with 5 rips at the corners has finally called it quits. Yea, this guy's. Super thanks to Kelly's mom for the new duffel bag im borrowning and for making me feel just a little bit less vagabondish than i really am.We climbed a little more to the peak at 7,000 and change before THE DESCENT. This was not a typical dowhnill but our final approach towards sea level. What i mean by that is 22 miles of continuous downhill, descending 4,000 feet at about 6%, never dipping below 25mph with the most gorgeous mountain views around us. Shoulder was pretty much non existent and drivers here are noticeably less generous here so that sucked but it was still awesome. Definitely got into my superhero "i feel like im flying" mode. I got so excited to draft behind our van when it passed that i shifted super hard into third gear and ended up pushing my entire chain off the gears which was not so fun, or fast. The whole unbelievable 22 miles down i kept thinking of every damn miserable uphill we've ever had to climb on this trip and who its all been leading to this epic descent. Jenny's odometer we later found out reveals that cumulatively we've climbed about 150,000 feet of elevation on this trip. Can you even believe that?
Maybe you can, but you definitely won't believe Max finding legit the largest pine cone I've ever seen in my life!The riding continued smoothly and into Ryan Ellis' hometown(which is kinda odd but cool) where we walked around the arts fair that was happening. I could hardly hide how much i enjoyed basking in the intrigued looks and stares from the people around me. Man its hard not to think of how cool we look rolling in somewhere together. And honestly, while power suits and tuxes are pretty empowering, its hard to beat the confidence boosting of fitting into a good pair of cycling spandex and strutting around with your bike.
By the middle of the day, we had crossed a full 60 degrees of temp into the triple digits. Literally went from freezing to baking in just hours as It got absurdly hot way too abruptly. Thankfully the heat still doesn't affect me too bad the way it does other riders but what was truly horrible was today's downhills in the second half of the day, all of which couldn't be steeper and curvier if they tried.
Apparently they might've done just that when we found the 13% downhill sign. WHAT!? In biker language, the words "thirteen percent downhill" really translates into "Squeeze your brakes and pray for your life". The acceleration on something like that is just terrifying. If you coast for even 3 seconds you'll easily be at 40mph about to hit a tight curve. Not where you want to be. By the time we got to the bottom the place literally reeked of burning rubber from our brake pads. Some chammies may or may not have also been a little moist. The end result of such descents was that by second lunch we were at 750 feet, a full 7,000 feet below where we started this morning!
Highlight was finding a fun yard sale today which we haven't done since pennsylvania, aka where there are regularly intervaled cities, which was a treat. Yes, i did find a women's leather jacket with leopard interior that fit, and yes i put it back against my better judgement.Had our last town hall today and finalized our grant allocations, which im pretty happy with. We're gonna end up giving 24,000 to about 9 organizations and i was generally pretty impressed with our 32 annoying selves' ability to come to a decent consensus. But the highlight was really the by now tradition of my leading a post town hall activity. This being the last one i of course had to break out the big guns. After teaching "The Self Worth Song" to much acclaim we had a massive game of Birdie on a Wire, where Ryan Farr and Larry emerged victorious. All of these silly activities are a big part of my orientation program FOP, and really special to me. It's been so awesome to be able to share them with another group that is also very dear to me and to have them totally embrace it as our own.
Just remembered, forgot to stretch after riding today. Ugh. So much stuff to do all the time. Its odd when something so personal and important like that becomes just another chore on a trip like this that can get so easily neglected in the bustle of it all. But did do pushups! 100 straight may yet be within reach if Carlie can pester me enough to keep me on track.
Having Miranda back with us riding in the van is great and she's in such a great mood which is superbly contagious. Words cannot express the joy at being a full group again. Am already starting to think of my closing post for this journal which is kind of odd, but relevant i guess since now's as good of a time as any to start reflecting. Jeez, i can only hope it wont be too mushy...
Overall today had a ridiculous amount of climbs at steep grades that all felt like just another. Never in my life have i been more certain that i can literally do whatever I want. And the more i think about it, the more i realize that it doesn't have to be any different even when this trip finally comes to an end.
Shh... "Secret Beach"
Day 66 - Aug 8, 11:41pm
Day Off. South Lake Tahoe, CA
So you know something's off in your life when sleeping in and taking it easy means waking up at 10am. The past two day's off have been epic in their enjoyment and today was no different. It started with the prettiest morning sunshine greeting us as we stepped outside. Walked over to the softball field and watched a few innings to start the day. Man that was awesome. Nothing like seeing a bunch of adults get overexcited about sports.
A crew headed over to this local organic food joint to grab breakfast where i was assured that my breakfast burrito was prepared with only free range eggs. Yes, i could taste the cageless quality and tender loving care afforded these chickens, probably by a happily married overall wearing farmer named Henry MacIntyre, but ordering five of them was not too conducive to the price. As in having 3 extra eggs cost 4.50 when the entire burrito costs 7 was a little bit disconcerting.
One smoothie and several conversations with the locals later, Larry, Meryl, Kelly, Julie and I were on our way to Shhh.... "Secret Beach" which was coincidentally located on San Francisco St. Though don't tell anyone i told you that. It was super nice and sandy. Does anyone else love the feeling of grabbing a fistful of sand and having grains flow through slowly? Because its easily a several hours long activity for me whenever i beach it up. Just wanted to do a normality check. Hopefully i passed. Anyway, the water was a great temp and super shallow. You could walk in for half a mile and still not be over your head.
When i say that i did nothing today, i mean it in absolutely the best way. If you had rolled around in the sand for oh say six hours you might begin to understand the glory that was this afternoon. We brought down a New York Times to bask our worldly minds in and were later joined by Jenny, Noah, Kate, Marissa, Paige, and Ryan Farr which only added to the fun. Read an interesting article about how troubled the Post Office is at being expected to turn profit like a private business while still having the ridiculous constraints of a bureaucracy. Did you know... there are 2,000 out of 34,000 total post offices that serve less than 100 people each! (And im pretty sure that about half of those have been along our route)
Larry, Doug and I grabbed monstrous burgers at the Bear Beach Cafe, where the manager was kind enough to make one burger free of charge. The service was very hospitable and sincere and they definitely deserve the business of anyone visiting Tahoe in the future. Also, you once again know something's up when a half pound burger and fries fails to fill you up, let alone leaves you hungry.
We topped off the night with some milkshakes from a local joint served by an interesting girl. Guess what her name was. No really try. You wont even believe. You sure? Well it was "Honey". No joke. The two ids she showed us definitely confirmed it. And yes i do take pride in having resisted the temptation to make a lame joke about her name in front of her. She was very adamant in thinking that we wouldn't believe it which was kind of amusing. Though I'm still trying to understand my inordinate happiness at having simply met someone named "Honey".
Noah had made a big point of using tonight's calm to really allow us to reflect properly on what we've accomplished so far, and what we are seeking to get out of these last few days. The whole group walked out to Secret Beach, the last part of which was down with our eyes closed and our hands on our shoulders. As if we weren't cultish enough already.Yea, it gets mushy here. We laid down in a gorgeous field staring at the starry sky in silence and it was nice to have that moment to breathe in which everything was so still and the pressures of constant peddling were not upon us. Dan M, Lara, Coop and I each shared a short story or poem to the group that we found to be relevant to this journey which everyone unanimously enjoyed. The calm stillness was soothing, though i think that understanding the magnitude of what we've accomplished will for each of us take far longer than an hour in a field.
And SURPRISE! Guess who's back! None other than our marvelous Miranda. I had just stumbled outside in the morning when a car pulled up and she began walking towards us from it. It was one of the best feelings of shock on this whole trip and we all had a huge hug session which was great. She looked awesome and had the prettiest green dress on(oh to have a new wardrobe...). Her spirits were of course through the roof and she was her normal super cheery self. She only needs to wear her shoulder sling occasionally and otherwise looks totally normal. Even better news is that she'll be staying with us until San Francisco. She's been so strong to have gone these two weeks alone and its such a pleasure to be a whole group again and not have to keep saying "32, eh, 31 riders"
Lake Tahoe was gorgeous, but seeing Miranda walk towards us was by far the prettiest sight all day.
Day Off. South Lake Tahoe, CA
So you know something's off in your life when sleeping in and taking it easy means waking up at 10am. The past two day's off have been epic in their enjoyment and today was no different. It started with the prettiest morning sunshine greeting us as we stepped outside. Walked over to the softball field and watched a few innings to start the day. Man that was awesome. Nothing like seeing a bunch of adults get overexcited about sports.
A crew headed over to this local organic food joint to grab breakfast where i was assured that my breakfast burrito was prepared with only free range eggs. Yes, i could taste the cageless quality and tender loving care afforded these chickens, probably by a happily married overall wearing farmer named Henry MacIntyre, but ordering five of them was not too conducive to the price. As in having 3 extra eggs cost 4.50 when the entire burrito costs 7 was a little bit disconcerting.
One smoothie and several conversations with the locals later, Larry, Meryl, Kelly, Julie and I were on our way to Shhh.... "Secret Beach" which was coincidentally located on San Francisco St. Though don't tell anyone i told you that. It was super nice and sandy. Does anyone else love the feeling of grabbing a fistful of sand and having grains flow through slowly? Because its easily a several hours long activity for me whenever i beach it up. Just wanted to do a normality check. Hopefully i passed. Anyway, the water was a great temp and super shallow. You could walk in for half a mile and still not be over your head.
When i say that i did nothing today, i mean it in absolutely the best way. If you had rolled around in the sand for oh say six hours you might begin to understand the glory that was this afternoon. We brought down a New York Times to bask our worldly minds in and were later joined by Jenny, Noah, Kate, Marissa, Paige, and Ryan Farr which only added to the fun. Read an interesting article about how troubled the Post Office is at being expected to turn profit like a private business while still having the ridiculous constraints of a bureaucracy. Did you know... there are 2,000 out of 34,000 total post offices that serve less than 100 people each! (And im pretty sure that about half of those have been along our route)Larry, Doug and I grabbed monstrous burgers at the Bear Beach Cafe, where the manager was kind enough to make one burger free of charge. The service was very hospitable and sincere and they definitely deserve the business of anyone visiting Tahoe in the future. Also, you once again know something's up when a half pound burger and fries fails to fill you up, let alone leaves you hungry.
We topped off the night with some milkshakes from a local joint served by an interesting girl. Guess what her name was. No really try. You wont even believe. You sure? Well it was "Honey". No joke. The two ids she showed us definitely confirmed it. And yes i do take pride in having resisted the temptation to make a lame joke about her name in front of her. She was very adamant in thinking that we wouldn't believe it which was kind of amusing. Though I'm still trying to understand my inordinate happiness at having simply met someone named "Honey".
Noah had made a big point of using tonight's calm to really allow us to reflect properly on what we've accomplished so far, and what we are seeking to get out of these last few days. The whole group walked out to Secret Beach, the last part of which was down with our eyes closed and our hands on our shoulders. As if we weren't cultish enough already.Yea, it gets mushy here. We laid down in a gorgeous field staring at the starry sky in silence and it was nice to have that moment to breathe in which everything was so still and the pressures of constant peddling were not upon us. Dan M, Lara, Coop and I each shared a short story or poem to the group that we found to be relevant to this journey which everyone unanimously enjoyed. The calm stillness was soothing, though i think that understanding the magnitude of what we've accomplished will for each of us take far longer than an hour in a field.
And SURPRISE! Guess who's back! None other than our marvelous Miranda. I had just stumbled outside in the morning when a car pulled up and she began walking towards us from it. It was one of the best feelings of shock on this whole trip and we all had a huge hug session which was great. She looked awesome and had the prettiest green dress on(oh to have a new wardrobe...). Her spirits were of course through the roof and she was her normal super cheery self. She only needs to wear her shoulder sling occasionally and otherwise looks totally normal. Even better news is that she'll be staying with us until San Francisco. She's been so strong to have gone these two weeks alone and its such a pleasure to be a whole group again and not have to keep saying "32, eh, 31 riders"
Lake Tahoe was gorgeous, but seeing Miranda walk towards us was by far the prettiest sight all day.
Milk and Honey
Day 65 - Aug 7, 1 day late
60 miles. Reno, NV to South Lake Tahoe, CA!
Definitely an epic day. Right up there with Trail Ridge and Stumpy Lane. Still can't believe we're actually in California. All the other states have been sorta understandable but to have actually made it into our 18th state is just incredible.
The day started out fittingly enough with a group pic in front of Steve's custom built flame spewing tractor. Who is this guy seriously? While giving me some fishing line yesterday he casually opens a random tool drawer and pulls out these sharp crescents. Yea, they were bald eagle talons. Just happened to be in some corner of his toolshed. For real. Oh and did i mention he routinely rides his motorcycle while standing on the seat? Yea, who else votes for making Steve a new adjective in the English language as in "Dude, that's so totally Steve!"
Within the first 5 pedal strokes today i knew it was going to be a great day. The build day was just what my sore butt and legs needed and i was feeling great back on the bike as Doug, Hillary, and I flew through our first 30 miles to lunch. Though the Hot August Nights car show was a little too appealing for our testosterone filled selves to turn down. We promised to just loop through and head out, but that obviously failed miserably. The cars were just so unbelievably cool, especially this crazy orange 41 Chevy converted ambulance that the dude Henry apparently drives his kids to school in. Talk about incentivizing your kids... The highlight was finding a beautiful electric yellow '72 Corvette Stingray, aka the coolest car in the world, on sale for only 29K. It was reassuring to know that i can possibly afford one AND still have money left over to feed and clothe myself.
Lunch's wonderful leftovers from the night before, the first non-pbj meal in about 300 miles, only confirmed the day's awesomeness. Now for some reason as we went to do our 2,000 foot climb into Lake Tahoe, Noah, Doug, Larry, Noah and I found ourselves wearing adult diapers over our chammies for the rest of the ride. To be totally honest, it's still unclear why, but everything seems rational in the moment, right?...
Oh and the top of the mountain was called "Spooner Summit". Could you ask for a better photo-op?
The climb was a decent 10ish miles, which doesn't even register since its basically our job by now. The descent down was fabulous and totally exhilirating. Having that massive, and i mean ginormous, lake come into view out of nowhere was one of those total "Whoa, how the hell did this get here!" moments. It was just pure, stunning, glistening liquid beauty.
As we saw more and more casinos clumped we could tell the nevada border was ending and then in the middle of a packed main street we saw the tiniest sign about 20 feet up proclaiming entrance to California. Basically, the most anticlimactic sign of the whole trip. Well, since we were going too fast to take a picture, we made sure to let the whole neighborhood know that we were entering. I don't think there was a single person in that packed downtown area who didn't turn their head when me and everyone else started letting out our yelps of euphoria at having crossed the border. It was just so intense and one of those "i clearly can't do anything BUT pump my fist in the air" moments. Glorious is perhaps the only word that fits. And that reminds me, I have yet to ingest any milk and honey since being here.
We're staying across the street from the school's baseball field, and at night i went over with Max and Larry to watch a co-ed softball community league play while eating dinner. It was pretty spectacular to just chill out like that see a fun casual game. Really brought me back to my fun days of little league. Totally affirmed my burning desire to be one of those cheery, wise, story-filled 70 year old little league umpires one day. Talk about thinking ahead...
Tomorrow's a day off, meaning sleep in, and can't think of a prettier place to do it. THey've been intensely awesome so far and i think this is what we need to get us through our last 5 awesome days of riding.
60 miles. Reno, NV to South Lake Tahoe, CA!
Definitely an epic day. Right up there with Trail Ridge and Stumpy Lane. Still can't believe we're actually in California. All the other states have been sorta understandable but to have actually made it into our 18th state is just incredible.
The day started out fittingly enough with a group pic in front of Steve's custom built flame spewing tractor. Who is this guy seriously? While giving me some fishing line yesterday he casually opens a random tool drawer and pulls out these sharp crescents. Yea, they were bald eagle talons. Just happened to be in some corner of his toolshed. For real. Oh and did i mention he routinely rides his motorcycle while standing on the seat? Yea, who else votes for making Steve a new adjective in the English language as in "Dude, that's so totally Steve!"
Within the first 5 pedal strokes today i knew it was going to be a great day. The build day was just what my sore butt and legs needed and i was feeling great back on the bike as Doug, Hillary, and I flew through our first 30 miles to lunch. Though the Hot August Nights car show was a little too appealing for our testosterone filled selves to turn down. We promised to just loop through and head out, but that obviously failed miserably. The cars were just so unbelievably cool, especially this crazy orange 41 Chevy converted ambulance that the dude Henry apparently drives his kids to school in. Talk about incentivizing your kids... The highlight was finding a beautiful electric yellow '72 Corvette Stingray, aka the coolest car in the world, on sale for only 29K. It was reassuring to know that i can possibly afford one AND still have money left over to feed and clothe myself.Lunch's wonderful leftovers from the night before, the first non-pbj meal in about 300 miles, only confirmed the day's awesomeness. Now for some reason as we went to do our 2,000 foot climb into Lake Tahoe, Noah, Doug, Larry, Noah and I found ourselves wearing adult diapers over our chammies for the rest of the ride. To be totally honest, it's still unclear why, but everything seems rational in the moment, right?...
Oh and the top of the mountain was called "Spooner Summit". Could you ask for a better photo-op?
The climb was a decent 10ish miles, which doesn't even register since its basically our job by now. The descent down was fabulous and totally exhilirating. Having that massive, and i mean ginormous, lake come into view out of nowhere was one of those total "Whoa, how the hell did this get here!" moments. It was just pure, stunning, glistening liquid beauty.
As we saw more and more casinos clumped we could tell the nevada border was ending and then in the middle of a packed main street we saw the tiniest sign about 20 feet up proclaiming entrance to California. Basically, the most anticlimactic sign of the whole trip. Well, since we were going too fast to take a picture, we made sure to let the whole neighborhood know that we were entering. I don't think there was a single person in that packed downtown area who didn't turn their head when me and everyone else started letting out our yelps of euphoria at having crossed the border. It was just so intense and one of those "i clearly can't do anything BUT pump my fist in the air" moments. Glorious is perhaps the only word that fits. And that reminds me, I have yet to ingest any milk and honey since being here.
We're staying across the street from the school's baseball field, and at night i went over with Max and Larry to watch a co-ed softball community league play while eating dinner. It was pretty spectacular to just chill out like that see a fun casual game. Really brought me back to my fun days of little league. Totally affirmed my burning desire to be one of those cheery, wise, story-filled 70 year old little league umpires one day. Talk about thinking ahead...
Tomorrow's a day off, meaning sleep in, and can't think of a prettier place to do it. THey've been intensely awesome so far and i think this is what we need to get us through our last 5 awesome days of riding.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
San Francisco, the new Ithaka?
Day 64 - Aug 6, 6:08pm
Build Day. Reno, NV
Working at a habitat site today for our very last build day. The houses were pretty much done and we were mostly doing things like painting and landscaping. Its interesting to think of how in contrast, our very first build day involved working on the foundation of the house. On par with this crazy desert weather it was in the 60s today and was basically fall. It was so crazy since it had been 100+ here all last week. It only reiterated how much i love the concept of change, and how im looking forward to the fall(but only the first two weeks, not the unnecessary cold after that).
While today was very laid back you can't help but be a little disappointed when there aren't enough jobs for everyone, especially when the only work is vaccumming and sweeping. Its kind of like did i really bike across the country to vacuum a carpet? But thats sorta just a side thought and it was cool to see the entire block of habitat houses next to each other. They were really nice actually. Waht i really liked was the front lawns made with different types of gravel which was really aesthetically pleasing while obviously saving on silly water bills.
Another side note, riding in a car on the highway to the build site after yesterday's biking was almost freaky. Its literally been two months since i've gone on an actual car ride and its crazy how such simple things like that are so weird after a trip like this.
Reno is interesting. It is currently hosting Hot August Nights, which is a huge car show, so seeing all the cool hot rods on the road these few days has been real fun. Its basically like a mini Vegas or Atlantic City. Its just so weird the way so much of the downtown life here is focused on flashy lights, liquor, and gambling. Kinda made me wonder of the ridiculousness of casinos and places like Vegas in general. Its cool that its our first metropolis since 400 miles ago but totally didn't vibe with me.
Thanks so much to mom and dad to an awesome mail drop. More protein bars than my liver can handle but not really, thats a complete joke. They sent an awesome poem by Constantine Cavafy about Odysseus' journey to Ithaka after Troy and the importance of enjoying your travels, etc. It really spoke to me, and I actually think with one week left its the perfect time to have received it. Really looking forward to reading it to the group tomorrow. Might try and permanently attach it to my bike or something.
And speaking of crazy journeys, check out this video i randomly came across: http://vimeo.com/4636202
We've got a pretty intense climb tomorrow, like Colorado status, and then a day off! LIfe is good right now, my sore butt not so much, but oh well, the ride continues.
Build Day. Reno, NV
Working at a habitat site today for our very last build day. The houses were pretty much done and we were mostly doing things like painting and landscaping. Its interesting to think of how in contrast, our very first build day involved working on the foundation of the house. On par with this crazy desert weather it was in the 60s today and was basically fall. It was so crazy since it had been 100+ here all last week. It only reiterated how much i love the concept of change, and how im looking forward to the fall(but only the first two weeks, not the unnecessary cold after that).
While today was very laid back you can't help but be a little disappointed when there aren't enough jobs for everyone, especially when the only work is vaccumming and sweeping. Its kind of like did i really bike across the country to vacuum a carpet? But thats sorta just a side thought and it was cool to see the entire block of habitat houses next to each other. They were really nice actually. Waht i really liked was the front lawns made with different types of gravel which was really aesthetically pleasing while obviously saving on silly water bills.Another side note, riding in a car on the highway to the build site after yesterday's biking was almost freaky. Its literally been two months since i've gone on an actual car ride and its crazy how such simple things like that are so weird after a trip like this.
Reno is interesting. It is currently hosting Hot August Nights, which is a huge car show, so seeing all the cool hot rods on the road these few days has been real fun. Its basically like a mini Vegas or Atlantic City. Its just so weird the way so much of the downtown life here is focused on flashy lights, liquor, and gambling. Kinda made me wonder of the ridiculousness of casinos and places like Vegas in general. Its cool that its our first metropolis since 400 miles ago but totally didn't vibe with me.
Thanks so much to mom and dad to an awesome mail drop. More protein bars than my liver can handle but not really, thats a complete joke. They sent an awesome poem by Constantine Cavafy about Odysseus' journey to Ithaka after Troy and the importance of enjoying your travels, etc. It really spoke to me, and I actually think with one week left its the perfect time to have received it. Really looking forward to reading it to the group tomorrow. Might try and permanently attach it to my bike or something.
And speaking of crazy journeys, check out this video i randomly came across: http://vimeo.com/4636202
We've got a pretty intense climb tomorrow, like Colorado status, and then a day off! LIfe is good right now, my sore butt not so much, but oh well, the ride continues.
Pool Party!
Day 63 - Aug 5, 1 Day late
66 miles. Fallon, NV to Reno, NV
Last day of biking for this stretch, finally. Its been 11 days straight of biking, our longest stretch of the trip, and its about time for a break. After such a monster day yesterday i thought today would just roll by but guess how well that went. The terrain was decently flat but I guess its sorta like how the closer you get to a bathroom the worse you have to go. The biking was just a bit harder than i was expecting.
Fortunately our wonderful hosts in Fallon loaded us up with as much eggs and pancakes as we could fit. The result of several mornings without protein basically resulted in half a dozen eggs complementing my 5 pancakes.
Took a nice long lunch break in which the Regatta continued with "No-ah rider day" with activities including the Meryl and Larry chammy butter competition along with the Anne-Lise off during which we saw who could pronounce her name best. Hillary and I secured a victory for the Black Pearl yet again by stopping to buy a baguette just for the event.
The day was okay until we were forced to bike on I-80 since the other option was a 45 mile detour. When i say biking on I-80 i really mean the scariest, most miserable biking of the trip consisting of ridiculous standstill headwind combined with rumble strips and only 4 feet of clearance from hundreds of 18 wheelers. Yea, try 26 miles of that. Oh and the hunger upon finally finishing was not the best.
Just as the sun seemed ready to set upon my gloomy day, a fresh ray of hope shined in the form of a POOL PARTY! hosted by friends of our host. They had this beautiful huge house with an amazing inset pool and terrace in the backyard, jacuzzi and all, topped with a wonderful spread of food. It took me a burger and a hot dog before i could start functioning like a normal human and begin eating for real. Eating watermelon in the hot tub -> Brainmelting!
Also, Happy 20th Birthday George! No more teenage irresponsibility for you!
We're staying at this guy Steve's house whose awesomeness i can only attempt to describe. Think rugged firefighter, registered pyrotechnician, experienced welder, and adrenaline enthusiast all in one. And add to that an immaculate taste in interior design. The guy has motorbiked the entire perimeter of Mexico not to mention his routes across the country and does custom welding art for fun. Did i mention that he has the largest flame launchers at the Burning Man festival every year. Think of someone casually storing two 10 foot flame spewing howitzer cannons in their garage. Yea thats Steve. And to top it all he's one of the most awesomely calm and softspoken guys I've ever met. Oh yeah, and he singlehandedly fixed our busted trailer. The first 10 minutes upon arriving in his house was basically a chorus of oohs and aaahs. Thank you Steve!
66 miles. Fallon, NV to Reno, NV
Last day of biking for this stretch, finally. Its been 11 days straight of biking, our longest stretch of the trip, and its about time for a break. After such a monster day yesterday i thought today would just roll by but guess how well that went. The terrain was decently flat but I guess its sorta like how the closer you get to a bathroom the worse you have to go. The biking was just a bit harder than i was expecting.
Fortunately our wonderful hosts in Fallon loaded us up with as much eggs and pancakes as we could fit. The result of several mornings without protein basically resulted in half a dozen eggs complementing my 5 pancakes.
Took a nice long lunch break in which the Regatta continued with "No-ah rider day" with activities including the Meryl and Larry chammy butter competition along with the Anne-Lise off during which we saw who could pronounce her name best. Hillary and I secured a victory for the Black Pearl yet again by stopping to buy a baguette just for the event.
The day was okay until we were forced to bike on I-80 since the other option was a 45 mile detour. When i say biking on I-80 i really mean the scariest, most miserable biking of the trip consisting of ridiculous standstill headwind combined with rumble strips and only 4 feet of clearance from hundreds of 18 wheelers. Yea, try 26 miles of that. Oh and the hunger upon finally finishing was not the best.
Just as the sun seemed ready to set upon my gloomy day, a fresh ray of hope shined in the form of a POOL PARTY! hosted by friends of our host. They had this beautiful huge house with an amazing inset pool and terrace in the backyard, jacuzzi and all, topped with a wonderful spread of food. It took me a burger and a hot dog before i could start functioning like a normal human and begin eating for real. Eating watermelon in the hot tub -> Brainmelting!Also, Happy 20th Birthday George! No more teenage irresponsibility for you!
We're staying at this guy Steve's house whose awesomeness i can only attempt to describe. Think rugged firefighter, registered pyrotechnician, experienced welder, and adrenaline enthusiast all in one. And add to that an immaculate taste in interior design. The guy has motorbiked the entire perimeter of Mexico not to mention his routes across the country and does custom welding art for fun. Did i mention that he has the largest flame launchers at the Burning Man festival every year. Think of someone casually storing two 10 foot flame spewing howitzer cannons in their garage. Yea thats Steve. And to top it all he's one of the most awesomely calm and softspoken guys I've ever met. Oh yeah, and he singlehandedly fixed our busted trailer. The first 10 minutes upon arriving in his house was basically a chorus of oohs and aaahs. Thank you Steve!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Longer
Day 62 - Aug 4, 9:30pm
110 miles. Yes, 110. Austin, NV to Fallon, NV
You read correctly. 110 miles. Third Century so far. I can't help but think back to when i went on this one training ride with my school cycling team. There was this one guy who did about 40ish miles and wanted to take it easy since he was doing a century the next day. I remember thinking whoa this guy is so hardcore. But that doesn't fly now. We warm up to a century with a week of 70 mile days, followed by more, not to mention the crazy heat, headwind, hills, and saddle sores we deal with. So basically I've officially come a long way from my naive training days and i think thats pretty much the story of everyone here. I'll at least try not to scoff the next time i ride with my school's team.
In honor of our mileage, today was the "longest" day of the ongoing Regatta where endurance was tested. In short, if you won an event today, its very likely that at some point we highly doubted your sanity for at least a little bit. Some highllights:
Steven came in with an incredible 40 miles of hands free riding up and down hills and against headwind. My five miles didn't quite pull it out on that one.
Meryl pulled 16 miles on her granny gear(lowest gear) while Carlos and Libby pulled an outrageous 65 miles on their highest gear.
Sonya went 17.3 miles riding with only one foot and to give you a sense of how big all the margins were(and thus how crazy all the winners were) the next closest in this category was 4 miles. A similar ridiculous margin held for Max's 26 miles standing up.
Noah obviously won the "only speak by singing" category with a solid six hours, while Paige carried through in the Pig Latin competition.
What took the cake though was Dennis'(on the left) amazing 6 hours and 13 minutes of playing copycat to everyone he rode with which was easily the funniest thing we've seen all week. While we assumed it was just verbal, he willingly copied every single physical aspect and riding style of his victims ruthlessly.
And since 4 of the 8 winners were from the Black Pearl it makes sense that we stand with a crushing 421 points compared to our closest competitor, the Santa Maria with 291. Nothing like imaginary points to drive bored bikers to insanity...
Even besides the Regatta today was just crazy. More of the same pretty mountains and valleys, and more of the same ridiculous heat and headwind. I couldn't even pay attention to the scenery around me for a good part because i had to keep my head down to distract myself from the neverending road in front of me. It was actually the first day i relished riding into the headwind(somewhat) because since yesterday it has become so clear how this ridiculous stretch is our final challenge, and how much i just want to kick it in the face and prove our worth.
So really really super cool. We're sitting at lunch only to all of a sudden hear the sky rumble and have two navy fighter jets zoom over us! So amazing, first time ever seeing anything like that. But thats not it. About 30 minutes later we're riding and from our right a deafening quaking precedes this fighter jet which passes like 500 feet away from us. I kid you not that i thought an 18 wheeler had snuck up on us and was about to run us over and end my life. No joke. So unbelievably cool to see it pass by that close. Those machines are just incredible. You know that pilot was having some fun with us. We continued seeing them for the rest of the day but never that crazily close again.
We later also passed a sign pointing to the "Navy Centroid Facility". Now as if the word centroid isn't sketchy enough, when the Navy has a base 300 miles inland, you know somethings up. Well we found out that they apparently have a huge elite fighter pilot base here where all aircraft carrier pilots pass through at least once. 3 other riders further up saw a fake village get legitimately firebombed by those same planes from before, as in bam boom huge destruction fireball attack. Yea, and we thought the desert was boring.
The wierd meter spiked even higher when we came across "the Shoe tree" which is this huge tree(also the only tree) completely covered in hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of shoes that have been thrown on it. Apparently a couple was driving through when they had an argument. The wife threatened to walk back alone when the husband threw her shoes up the tree inspiring a slew of others. Hooray for patriarchy? Either way it was actually unbelievable. So many shoes!
It was only fitting? at this point for Sonya to unflinchingly devour a 3 pound Monster burger at this crazy diner winning a t shirt. To think, only the third woman to ever do so.
We crossed over a decent hill and ran into some really intense lightning in the distance(like actually scary) and some brief intense rain which we started booking it out of finishing the last 25 miles at a solid 20+ mph pace. Kelly, Julie, Doug, and I actually beasted the entire 45 mile stretch from second lunch to the host barely stopping which felt amazing. Even better was seeing an actual group of sand dunes 2 miles or so off the rode. Like aladdin status wavy sand hills. it was so cool and Dan M who climbed up them said they were of course wonderful. At that point, with the jets firebombing, the crazy lightning and rain, the sand dunes, the shoe tree, the monster burgerand our delirious mileage, I probably wouldn't have been that surprised If we had seen Elvis himself drive up next to us.
We had an actual host today, the methodist church, for the first time in over a week and it was overwhelming. Not only is there dinner AND breakfast which is hard to show enough gratitude for, but we're finally around so many nice old folks who actually love and care for us. So nice! A close second was remembering what a traffic light looks like after 200+ miles without one.
But yea, our hardest day is over and the trip is basically downhill from here. Except of course the 4,000 feet we climb up the Sierra Nevadas. But mentally, there are so few days of riding left, and each one is that much easier and enjoyable as a result. Starting with 63 into Reno and our build site tomorrow!
Bonus video of the downhill race we completed today
110 miles. Yes, 110. Austin, NV to Fallon, NV
You read correctly. 110 miles. Third Century so far. I can't help but think back to when i went on this one training ride with my school cycling team. There was this one guy who did about 40ish miles and wanted to take it easy since he was doing a century the next day. I remember thinking whoa this guy is so hardcore. But that doesn't fly now. We warm up to a century with a week of 70 mile days, followed by more, not to mention the crazy heat, headwind, hills, and saddle sores we deal with. So basically I've officially come a long way from my naive training days and i think thats pretty much the story of everyone here. I'll at least try not to scoff the next time i ride with my school's team.
In honor of our mileage, today was the "longest" day of the ongoing Regatta where endurance was tested. In short, if you won an event today, its very likely that at some point we highly doubted your sanity for at least a little bit. Some highllights:
Steven came in with an incredible 40 miles of hands free riding up and down hills and against headwind. My five miles didn't quite pull it out on that one.
Meryl pulled 16 miles on her granny gear(lowest gear) while Carlos and Libby pulled an outrageous 65 miles on their highest gear.
Sonya went 17.3 miles riding with only one foot and to give you a sense of how big all the margins were(and thus how crazy all the winners were) the next closest in this category was 4 miles. A similar ridiculous margin held for Max's 26 miles standing up.
Noah obviously won the "only speak by singing" category with a solid six hours, while Paige carried through in the Pig Latin competition.
What took the cake though was Dennis'(on the left) amazing 6 hours and 13 minutes of playing copycat to everyone he rode with which was easily the funniest thing we've seen all week. While we assumed it was just verbal, he willingly copied every single physical aspect and riding style of his victims ruthlessly.And since 4 of the 8 winners were from the Black Pearl it makes sense that we stand with a crushing 421 points compared to our closest competitor, the Santa Maria with 291. Nothing like imaginary points to drive bored bikers to insanity...
Even besides the Regatta today was just crazy. More of the same pretty mountains and valleys, and more of the same ridiculous heat and headwind. I couldn't even pay attention to the scenery around me for a good part because i had to keep my head down to distract myself from the neverending road in front of me. It was actually the first day i relished riding into the headwind(somewhat) because since yesterday it has become so clear how this ridiculous stretch is our final challenge, and how much i just want to kick it in the face and prove our worth.
So really really super cool. We're sitting at lunch only to all of a sudden hear the sky rumble and have two navy fighter jets zoom over us! So amazing, first time ever seeing anything like that. But thats not it. About 30 minutes later we're riding and from our right a deafening quaking precedes this fighter jet which passes like 500 feet away from us. I kid you not that i thought an 18 wheeler had snuck up on us and was about to run us over and end my life. No joke. So unbelievably cool to see it pass by that close. Those machines are just incredible. You know that pilot was having some fun with us. We continued seeing them for the rest of the day but never that crazily close again.
We later also passed a sign pointing to the "Navy Centroid Facility". Now as if the word centroid isn't sketchy enough, when the Navy has a base 300 miles inland, you know somethings up. Well we found out that they apparently have a huge elite fighter pilot base here where all aircraft carrier pilots pass through at least once. 3 other riders further up saw a fake village get legitimately firebombed by those same planes from before, as in bam boom huge destruction fireball attack. Yea, and we thought the desert was boring.
The wierd meter spiked even higher when we came across "the Shoe tree" which is this huge tree(also the only tree) completely covered in hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of shoes that have been thrown on it. Apparently a couple was driving through when they had an argument. The wife threatened to walk back alone when the husband threw her shoes up the tree inspiring a slew of others. Hooray for patriarchy? Either way it was actually unbelievable. So many shoes!It was only fitting? at this point for Sonya to unflinchingly devour a 3 pound Monster burger at this crazy diner winning a t shirt. To think, only the third woman to ever do so.
We crossed over a decent hill and ran into some really intense lightning in the distance(like actually scary) and some brief intense rain which we started booking it out of finishing the last 25 miles at a solid 20+ mph pace. Kelly, Julie, Doug, and I actually beasted the entire 45 mile stretch from second lunch to the host barely stopping which felt amazing. Even better was seeing an actual group of sand dunes 2 miles or so off the rode. Like aladdin status wavy sand hills. it was so cool and Dan M who climbed up them said they were of course wonderful. At that point, with the jets firebombing, the crazy lightning and rain, the sand dunes, the shoe tree, the monster burgerand our delirious mileage, I probably wouldn't have been that surprised If we had seen Elvis himself drive up next to us.
We had an actual host today, the methodist church, for the first time in over a week and it was overwhelming. Not only is there dinner AND breakfast which is hard to show enough gratitude for, but we're finally around so many nice old folks who actually love and care for us. So nice! A close second was remembering what a traffic light looks like after 200+ miles without one.
But yea, our hardest day is over and the trip is basically downhill from here. Except of course the 4,000 feet we climb up the Sierra Nevadas. But mentally, there are so few days of riding left, and each one is that much easier and enjoyable as a result. Starting with 63 into Reno and our build site tomorrow!
Bonus video of the downhill race we completed today
Faster
Day 61 - Aug 3, 6:05pm
70 miles. Eureka, NV to Austin, NV
The Regatta entered its "fastest" stage today beginning with a baton, or tire pump, relay race to lunch. The standard strategy for the teams was to space out riders a few miles apart. But then again, these were the teams that lost. The key was to keep the baton moving at all times and to pass it at full speed between riders. The Black Pearl saw a valiant extraordinary, actually unbelievable effort from Hillary and Dennis who rode the baton 40 miles from the host to lunch. They would pass it off for a mile to our teammates and then take it back and sprint ahead since they're the fastest riders. The riding was really great this morning and it was actually super exhilirating to be sprinting frantically with Dennis and Hillary next to me trying to make ground. I went for a few miles with them but they were just jetting at 20+ for literally all 40 miles which was insane. Even more insane was that Sean singlehandedly carried his baton from the host, caught all the way up to Hill and Dennis, and was in a dead heat with them for 30 miles before pulling ahead in the end. The kid is a machine plain and simple. As he passed me after i had slowed down, i sprinted full out to try and get behind him and catch his draft but couldn't even get near him even though he had already been sprinting for 10 minutes and i had been resting. It was crazy.
Second Place was not too bad especially since i was able to complete my secret challenge at lunch which was to get as many people as possible to say "That's the fastest tent I've ever seen" Sounds difficult i know. But victory was all the sweeter when i led the entire group in a sing a long under the guise of a "group activity" only to fit that line into the lyrics. The result was a ton of confused stares while Paige and Ryan were cracking up. Perhaps i shouldn't feel so happy at having manipulated 30 people so easily like that.
The Regatta continued with the fastest climb and fastest descent events. Because i value my knees, i definitely did not volunteer for those. I was proud though to have caught up with a group of decent riders halfway up the mountain who had left 10 minutes before me at lunch, which in biking time is an eternity. It was 6 miles at 6% which is so damn long. Every bend just brought more uphill into visibility. At the top we cheered the racers as they finished and especially Carlos who just beasted everyone with an astounding 30 minute time. Dennis and Max were close behind to score a second and third place victory for the black pearl. Kelly closed the group but still got the celebratory water dumping as you can clearly see.
Just as we entered the obligatory sweet descent, the mountains decided to cut it short with guess what, yet another summit. It really did suck but whatever. The downhill was really curvy so the fastest descent race was postponed indefinitely. It occured to me today how this last stretch in Nevada is really pushing us to our limits unlike every other part of the country. The 4 Hs to beware of in cycling are Heat, Hills, Headwind, and Hiney. This has been the only part of the country where all four are being ruthlessly pitched against us at once. It's pretty cool to think of it as a culmination and our "final test" before the prize so to speak. It only adds to our feeling of indomitability.
In a group like this something inevitable is the consentual pairing up of certain individuals. Given that I'm talking about this in a public blog that my parents read you can guess that I am not included in this category. I think its really cool and nice in a way that people are happy together and enjoying each other's company. And i think that the personalities all end up matching very well. However there is still a part of me that can't help but feel that it detracts from the overall group dynamic. As in sometimes i feel its more like several groups of two rather than one big group of 32 and that bothers me i guess. But then again so says the loner. I could talk for a long time about this topic but I'm sure that if i were in a different position in regards to this i would also hold a different opinion. And that for me is actually the most interesting point I've taken away from it. I think the way your standing affects your outlook on a situation is extremely interesting if not the permanent source of worldwide political conflict. Its interesting to think then how much free will we really do have over our opinions.
Off to discuss our grant allocations with the group.
70 miles. Eureka, NV to Austin, NV
The Regatta entered its "fastest" stage today beginning with a baton, or tire pump, relay race to lunch. The standard strategy for the teams was to space out riders a few miles apart. But then again, these were the teams that lost. The key was to keep the baton moving at all times and to pass it at full speed between riders. The Black Pearl saw a valiant extraordinary, actually unbelievable effort from Hillary and Dennis who rode the baton 40 miles from the host to lunch. They would pass it off for a mile to our teammates and then take it back and sprint ahead since they're the fastest riders. The riding was really great this morning and it was actually super exhilirating to be sprinting frantically with Dennis and Hillary next to me trying to make ground. I went for a few miles with them but they were just jetting at 20+ for literally all 40 miles which was insane. Even more insane was that Sean singlehandedly carried his baton from the host, caught all the way up to Hill and Dennis, and was in a dead heat with them for 30 miles before pulling ahead in the end. The kid is a machine plain and simple. As he passed me after i had slowed down, i sprinted full out to try and get behind him and catch his draft but couldn't even get near him even though he had already been sprinting for 10 minutes and i had been resting. It was crazy.
Second Place was not too bad especially since i was able to complete my secret challenge at lunch which was to get as many people as possible to say "That's the fastest tent I've ever seen" Sounds difficult i know. But victory was all the sweeter when i led the entire group in a sing a long under the guise of a "group activity" only to fit that line into the lyrics. The result was a ton of confused stares while Paige and Ryan were cracking up. Perhaps i shouldn't feel so happy at having manipulated 30 people so easily like that.
The Regatta continued with the fastest climb and fastest descent events. Because i value my knees, i definitely did not volunteer for those. I was proud though to have caught up with a group of decent riders halfway up the mountain who had left 10 minutes before me at lunch, which in biking time is an eternity. It was 6 miles at 6% which is so damn long. Every bend just brought more uphill into visibility. At the top we cheered the racers as they finished and especially Carlos who just beasted everyone with an astounding 30 minute time. Dennis and Max were close behind to score a second and third place victory for the black pearl. Kelly closed the group but still got the celebratory water dumping as you can clearly see.Just as we entered the obligatory sweet descent, the mountains decided to cut it short with guess what, yet another summit. It really did suck but whatever. The downhill was really curvy so the fastest descent race was postponed indefinitely. It occured to me today how this last stretch in Nevada is really pushing us to our limits unlike every other part of the country. The 4 Hs to beware of in cycling are Heat, Hills, Headwind, and Hiney. This has been the only part of the country where all four are being ruthlessly pitched against us at once. It's pretty cool to think of it as a culmination and our "final test" before the prize so to speak. It only adds to our feeling of indomitability.
In a group like this something inevitable is the consentual pairing up of certain individuals. Given that I'm talking about this in a public blog that my parents read you can guess that I am not included in this category. I think its really cool and nice in a way that people are happy together and enjoying each other's company. And i think that the personalities all end up matching very well. However there is still a part of me that can't help but feel that it detracts from the overall group dynamic. As in sometimes i feel its more like several groups of two rather than one big group of 32 and that bothers me i guess. But then again so says the loner. I could talk for a long time about this topic but I'm sure that if i were in a different position in regards to this i would also hold a different opinion. And that for me is actually the most interesting point I've taken away from it. I think the way your standing affects your outlook on a situation is extremely interesting if not the permanent source of worldwide political conflict. Its interesting to think then how much free will we really do have over our opinions.
Off to discuss our grant allocations with the group.
Chug, Chug, Chug!
Day 60 - Aug 2, 11:47pm
78 miles. Ely, NV to Eureka, NV
Aside from Red Cloud, Nebraska Eureka comes pretty close to being my favorite town name of the trip. Today i thought i might try some riding alone to see if it altered my experience of the trip. I got about 25 miles out which was the farthest I've ever done solo and it was pretty nice actually. The wide open desert doesn't lend itself to too much soloing for fear of going insane, but being the only human within a 15 mile radius in that crazy desert is a really interesting feeling you can't get too often. It was especially cool when right after a downhill I was able to sustain 35-37mph for a while from my own pedaling, which induced that awesome superhero-like feeling i always get at those speeds.
Even better though was at the start of the day when i was again having ridiculous trouble pedaling i actually found a problem with my tire rubbing. I fumbled with it and soon enough i was actually cycling and not just inflicting masochistic pain on my legs. Its kinda nice to know that i wasn't going insane last week, but unfortunate that i had to put up with that tire rubbing for so many days. Even more unfortunate are the stupid drivers(especially of humongous RVs) who don't bother moving into the other lane while passing us when they're the only car on the road for miles. Seriously man, what the hell is so hard about that. As you can guess, some of them have been way too close for comfort lately. I'd say 90% of the drivers are fortunately very generous but its those really scary 10% that stick in your memory.
While the open desert is nice and all, i think its very clear that US-50 is starting to take its toll on us. Its just the same mountain basin, mountain basin constantly. Being able to see 10 miles of desolate road in front of you that seemingly never ever gets closer is also just unbelievably demoralizing. On top of everything the basins are just full of headwinds that combined with the ridiculous visibility just crushes my soul sometimes. The crosswind can get especially bad and i swear i thought i was going to eat it today when the wind pushed my bike a full 5 inches over. Imagine pedaling slanted to the left like that trying to cut the wind for your life for a good few miles after just having climbed a mountain and expecting a break. Yea I dont want to either. Oh yeah, and the road isn't exactly littered with ice cream shops either.
Today the Regatta took it up a notch with the eating and drinking contests with competitors from each team. Sonya drew victory for the Black Pearl with 5 PB & J sandwiches but Doug from the USS Enterprise stole the show by chugging a full 3 liters of water. Disgusting and unnecessary on both counts, yea. Oh boredom...
Getting in early is awesome and so destressing and i've been making a point of doing it this week much to my happiness. As a result i got to replace my chain today(and learn how to) which will definitely pay off in saving later expenses. It still amazes me how remarkably complex bikes are and how much serious maintainance needs to be invested in them as a result. Its definitely given me a better perspective on how to treat and maintain cars and other vehicles in the future.
Highlight today was seeing a christmas tree in the desert today, as in a pine tree covered in garland and ornaments in the middle of nowhere. I guess we're not the only ones who get bored out here... Also when showering in the pool building two dudes came in with gas masks yelling that chlorine had leaked and then ran out screaming frantically when they saw us. Now imagine experiencing all that while naked and scrubbing yourself in the shower with 3 other dudes. Such a good moment!
Oh and can't forget Pancake Summit!
As for a facial hair update, i've apparently acquired the loose nickname of wolverine, which i suppose can't be totally bad. I'll see how its received back in the real world but I'm really thinking of leaving it for a while after the trip. I really value change in hairstyles and i've never done this before so why not. Now if only i could find some adamantium claws...
78 miles. Ely, NV to Eureka, NV
Aside from Red Cloud, Nebraska Eureka comes pretty close to being my favorite town name of the trip. Today i thought i might try some riding alone to see if it altered my experience of the trip. I got about 25 miles out which was the farthest I've ever done solo and it was pretty nice actually. The wide open desert doesn't lend itself to too much soloing for fear of going insane, but being the only human within a 15 mile radius in that crazy desert is a really interesting feeling you can't get too often. It was especially cool when right after a downhill I was able to sustain 35-37mph for a while from my own pedaling, which induced that awesome superhero-like feeling i always get at those speeds.
Even better though was at the start of the day when i was again having ridiculous trouble pedaling i actually found a problem with my tire rubbing. I fumbled with it and soon enough i was actually cycling and not just inflicting masochistic pain on my legs. Its kinda nice to know that i wasn't going insane last week, but unfortunate that i had to put up with that tire rubbing for so many days. Even more unfortunate are the stupid drivers(especially of humongous RVs) who don't bother moving into the other lane while passing us when they're the only car on the road for miles. Seriously man, what the hell is so hard about that. As you can guess, some of them have been way too close for comfort lately. I'd say 90% of the drivers are fortunately very generous but its those really scary 10% that stick in your memory.
While the open desert is nice and all, i think its very clear that US-50 is starting to take its toll on us. Its just the same mountain basin, mountain basin constantly. Being able to see 10 miles of desolate road in front of you that seemingly never ever gets closer is also just unbelievably demoralizing. On top of everything the basins are just full of headwinds that combined with the ridiculous visibility just crushes my soul sometimes. The crosswind can get especially bad and i swear i thought i was going to eat it today when the wind pushed my bike a full 5 inches over. Imagine pedaling slanted to the left like that trying to cut the wind for your life for a good few miles after just having climbed a mountain and expecting a break. Yea I dont want to either. Oh yeah, and the road isn't exactly littered with ice cream shops either.
Today the Regatta took it up a notch with the eating and drinking contests with competitors from each team. Sonya drew victory for the Black Pearl with 5 PB & J sandwiches but Doug from the USS Enterprise stole the show by chugging a full 3 liters of water. Disgusting and unnecessary on both counts, yea. Oh boredom...
Getting in early is awesome and so destressing and i've been making a point of doing it this week much to my happiness. As a result i got to replace my chain today(and learn how to) which will definitely pay off in saving later expenses. It still amazes me how remarkably complex bikes are and how much serious maintainance needs to be invested in them as a result. Its definitely given me a better perspective on how to treat and maintain cars and other vehicles in the future.
Highlight today was seeing a christmas tree in the desert today, as in a pine tree covered in garland and ornaments in the middle of nowhere. I guess we're not the only ones who get bored out here... Also when showering in the pool building two dudes came in with gas masks yelling that chlorine had leaked and then ran out screaming frantically when they saw us. Now imagine experiencing all that while naked and scrubbing yourself in the shower with 3 other dudes. Such a good moment!
Oh and can't forget Pancake Summit!
As for a facial hair update, i've apparently acquired the loose nickname of wolverine, which i suppose can't be totally bad. I'll see how its received back in the real world but I'm really thinking of leaving it for a while after the trip. I really value change in hairstyles and i've never done this before so why not. Now if only i could find some adamantium claws...
Avast, the Black Pearl sets sail
Day 59 - Aug 1, 9:56pm
Baker, NV to Ely, NV
Is it really August! Crazy that I'm literally only 16 days away from being back at school. Though, as Dan Marotti so eloquently expressed, given that each bike and build day is so chock full of stuff it actually counts for 4-5 days itself, meaning there's really a whole month left.
Could feel within the first mile that today would be good. I was going on an incredible seven hours of sleep and my legs felt great, as in the pedals actually turned when i pushed down. Am so glad that things are turning around and that I've been so happy lately. I mean life in my view is really just a connected, alternating series of happy and sad moments, and i suppose its up to us which ones we choose to focus on. This trip has definitely had some of the lowest lows and highest highs of my life and its interesting how the two have gone together. Of course the latter moments are the ones that really stick best with me.
A little less desolation today but still the same basin-mountain pattern with one nice climb in the middle of the day. Climbs are still tough but its cool that we're at the point where we can be like "oh whatever, its just another 5 mile 6% climb" which probably would sound crazy to me a few months ago.
Also cool i think is how the extreme desolation of Nevada is really bringing the group together just as the rockies and all of our other challenges have. Today was the official start of the Nevada Regatta which has been wonderfully masterminded by our own Paige and Ryan Farr. Basically its a humble attempt at us keeping our sanity by keeping us busy with silly challenges.
The four teams are the Titanic, USS Enterprise, Santa Maria, and of course the best, the Black Pearl. Today they introduced a few challenging(read: ridiculous) trivia questions about Nevada which you basically can't answer without asking locals and getting funny looks. Even more daunting however is the outstanding Scavenger hunt with about 40 or so challenges ranging from riding a mile on a rumble strip to locating and carrying a bottle of urine to getting a kiss from a local. Yea, it gets boring out here. It's not called the loneliest road for nothing. So far the intensity of the competition has been almost scary. I checked off the riding hands free for a mile and also snapped a picture of a dead coyote. I'm mildly excited to win eternal glory but mostly happily amused by the whole endeavour. That basically means I'm not as willing to ride 10 miles in my lowest gear or urinate while riding my bike or eat bread with chamois butter as some braver souls are.
Its awesome though and so cool to see the group having so much fun with something so ridiculous. Super props to Paige and Ryan.
Today Carlie and I pulled yet another Subway donation as well as $20 from a supermarket which bought 15 loaves of bread which was super cool. Got in pretty early and could relax and take my time. Feels great.
Arg, avast, I be called to walk the plank for a meeting of the Black Pearl, Farewell for now Mateys
Baker, NV to Ely, NV
Is it really August! Crazy that I'm literally only 16 days away from being back at school. Though, as Dan Marotti so eloquently expressed, given that each bike and build day is so chock full of stuff it actually counts for 4-5 days itself, meaning there's really a whole month left.
Could feel within the first mile that today would be good. I was going on an incredible seven hours of sleep and my legs felt great, as in the pedals actually turned when i pushed down. Am so glad that things are turning around and that I've been so happy lately. I mean life in my view is really just a connected, alternating series of happy and sad moments, and i suppose its up to us which ones we choose to focus on. This trip has definitely had some of the lowest lows and highest highs of my life and its interesting how the two have gone together. Of course the latter moments are the ones that really stick best with me.
A little less desolation today but still the same basin-mountain pattern with one nice climb in the middle of the day. Climbs are still tough but its cool that we're at the point where we can be like "oh whatever, its just another 5 mile 6% climb" which probably would sound crazy to me a few months ago.
Also cool i think is how the extreme desolation of Nevada is really bringing the group together just as the rockies and all of our other challenges have. Today was the official start of the Nevada Regatta which has been wonderfully masterminded by our own Paige and Ryan Farr. Basically its a humble attempt at us keeping our sanity by keeping us busy with silly challenges.The four teams are the Titanic, USS Enterprise, Santa Maria, and of course the best, the Black Pearl. Today they introduced a few challenging(read: ridiculous) trivia questions about Nevada which you basically can't answer without asking locals and getting funny looks. Even more daunting however is the outstanding Scavenger hunt with about 40 or so challenges ranging from riding a mile on a rumble strip to locating and carrying a bottle of urine to getting a kiss from a local. Yea, it gets boring out here. It's not called the loneliest road for nothing. So far the intensity of the competition has been almost scary. I checked off the riding hands free for a mile and also snapped a picture of a dead coyote. I'm mildly excited to win eternal glory but mostly happily amused by the whole endeavour. That basically means I'm not as willing to ride 10 miles in my lowest gear or urinate while riding my bike or eat bread with chamois butter as some braver souls are.
Its awesome though and so cool to see the group having so much fun with something so ridiculous. Super props to Paige and Ryan.
Today Carlie and I pulled yet another Subway donation as well as $20 from a supermarket which bought 15 loaves of bread which was super cool. Got in pretty early and could relax and take my time. Feels great.
Arg, avast, I be called to walk the plank for a meeting of the Black Pearl, Farewell for now Mateys
Up and Down and Up and Down Again
Day 58 - July 31
82 miles. Milford, UT to Baker, NV
As if getting out of bed hasn't been hard enough in the mornings, doing so from an ultra comfy mattress didn't make things easier. The real motivator was getting back to that dinner where they were treating us to breakfast, which for me meant three huge fluffy pancakes and sausage. Three pancakes you say? To give you a sense of scale, this was probably the first meal i haven't finished on this trip and that says a lot. What a diner.
Being one of the first ready to roll out in the morning was really nice. Didn't have to feel the stress of rushing to make sure i leave with a group. The riding was decent and my legs weren't too bad until it became clear that we were doing a straight but subtle climb for 13 miles. Those long super subtle climbs are the worse since your mind thinks its flat and just totally messes with you, i think ive mentioned this before. That summit sign couldn't have been more welcome.
That downhill though, It was uncomparable to anything else on this trip. It was seven miles of straight downhill with no pedaling at about 25mph. There were maybe 25 cars in both directions all day today so the road was super deserted and on top of that the visibility was unreal. As in from the summit and all the way down, we could see the same road we would be on for the next 30 miles. Look closely in the pic to see what im talking about. The whole day was just this huge up and down of mountains, basins, mountains, basins.
Steven and I climbed again to lunch, where the sweat started pouring and the downhill afterwards was again satisfying. Its hard to describe how hilarious this was but there was literally one tree in the entire second basin we descended into. We're talking 30 miles of desert here. You could see it for 10 miles in either direction. Well Steven and I decided that it was Siesta time and took the prettiest 30 min nap ever under it. The silence out there is so intense. Its the kind where its so quiet that you actually hear ringing in your ears. Ugh great nap. The abandoned house next to the tree(again, the only structure for dozens of miles) added an awesome creepiness factor.
Pretty solid riding overall and just so much preoccupation with how overwhelming this desolation was. All Colin Hood, Steven and I could do was ponder how you could literally do anything you want out here and no one would ever know. The suggestions for carrying through with that got a little outlandish to say the least and you probably would rather not hear them. I mean you know somethings up when you need to weave between the lane dividers just to keep from getting bored. Whenever we called out car back, we had to clarify with "oh wait its actually 2 miles back" Also found a few carcasses which were not all the way decomposed as we unfortunately found out firsthand, so still no cow's skull.
Crossed into Nevada and the Pacific Time Zone towards the end. Crazy to think how i can't just get on the phone and call my friends since the times are so wacky. Soon we'll be on US - 50 for all of Nevada, "the loneliest road in america" You can't help but be a bit disconcerted when you see t shirts in stores saying "I survived US - 50!" Yea its gonna get that crazy.
But one thing Utah did put out before we said good riddens actually made me scream with delight. Can you guess? How closely have you been following the blog? What have i really wanted to see changed about roads as mentioned in my older post?
COLORED ROADS!!! All of a sudden there was a pavement change and the road became this amazing maroon for several miles until the Nevada border. I could hardly contain my excitement and didn't even know how to express such extreme happiness. It must've been like Ryan Farr jumping into a pool of free Cliff Bars.(inside rider joke) OK, but seriously think like actual effective health care reform getting passed. We're talking epic happiness here.
Baker is really interesting. Susan who gave a great dinner told us how the state is trying to drain the underlying water to bring it to Las Vegas and the residents are desperately fighting it since 1989. If the state wins, Vegas will probably have a few more golf courses, but this whole basin will turn into a dust bowl meaning environmental destruction, lung problems, and all sorts of nasty things. It was really eye opening to see what our need for growth has come to and to what extremes and sacrifices we will put others through for our own personal benefit.
Found this super cool cafe with all sorts of imported drinks and foods that totally didn't make any sense in a place with 300 residents in a 100 mile radius. Anyway, read a good part of todays New York Times and was so high off the brief intellectual stimulation. It was just so awesome to feel normal like that again in a way i can't describe. Interesting op ed on how the internet is like the new NYC in terms of people going there to make it big, the disorientation, etc.
Updated blog today which was good, and camera is nice to have. Also! did 2 consecutive sets of 50 pushups today. Big personal physical milestone. The trip just keeps amazing me at how its really not just about exploring the country but also exploring ourselves and our limits(or past limits i should say). Hmm...
82 miles. Milford, UT to Baker, NV
As if getting out of bed hasn't been hard enough in the mornings, doing so from an ultra comfy mattress didn't make things easier. The real motivator was getting back to that dinner where they were treating us to breakfast, which for me meant three huge fluffy pancakes and sausage. Three pancakes you say? To give you a sense of scale, this was probably the first meal i haven't finished on this trip and that says a lot. What a diner.
Being one of the first ready to roll out in the morning was really nice. Didn't have to feel the stress of rushing to make sure i leave with a group. The riding was decent and my legs weren't too bad until it became clear that we were doing a straight but subtle climb for 13 miles. Those long super subtle climbs are the worse since your mind thinks its flat and just totally messes with you, i think ive mentioned this before. That summit sign couldn't have been more welcome.
That downhill though, It was uncomparable to anything else on this trip. It was seven miles of straight downhill with no pedaling at about 25mph. There were maybe 25 cars in both directions all day today so the road was super deserted and on top of that the visibility was unreal. As in from the summit and all the way down, we could see the same road we would be on for the next 30 miles. Look closely in the pic to see what im talking about. The whole day was just this huge up and down of mountains, basins, mountains, basins.Steven and I climbed again to lunch, where the sweat started pouring and the downhill afterwards was again satisfying. Its hard to describe how hilarious this was but there was literally one tree in the entire second basin we descended into. We're talking 30 miles of desert here. You could see it for 10 miles in either direction. Well Steven and I decided that it was Siesta time and took the prettiest 30 min nap ever under it. The silence out there is so intense. Its the kind where its so quiet that you actually hear ringing in your ears. Ugh great nap. The abandoned house next to the tree(again, the only structure for dozens of miles) added an awesome creepiness factor.
Pretty solid riding overall and just so much preoccupation with how overwhelming this desolation was. All Colin Hood, Steven and I could do was ponder how you could literally do anything you want out here and no one would ever know. The suggestions for carrying through with that got a little outlandish to say the least and you probably would rather not hear them. I mean you know somethings up when you need to weave between the lane dividers just to keep from getting bored. Whenever we called out car back, we had to clarify with "oh wait its actually 2 miles back" Also found a few carcasses which were not all the way decomposed as we unfortunately found out firsthand, so still no cow's skull.
Crossed into Nevada and the Pacific Time Zone towards the end. Crazy to think how i can't just get on the phone and call my friends since the times are so wacky. Soon we'll be on US - 50 for all of Nevada, "the loneliest road in america" You can't help but be a bit disconcerted when you see t shirts in stores saying "I survived US - 50!" Yea its gonna get that crazy.
But one thing Utah did put out before we said good riddens actually made me scream with delight. Can you guess? How closely have you been following the blog? What have i really wanted to see changed about roads as mentioned in my older post?
COLORED ROADS!!! All of a sudden there was a pavement change and the road became this amazing maroon for several miles until the Nevada border. I could hardly contain my excitement and didn't even know how to express such extreme happiness. It must've been like Ryan Farr jumping into a pool of free Cliff Bars.(inside rider joke) OK, but seriously think like actual effective health care reform getting passed. We're talking epic happiness here.
Baker is really interesting. Susan who gave a great dinner told us how the state is trying to drain the underlying water to bring it to Las Vegas and the residents are desperately fighting it since 1989. If the state wins, Vegas will probably have a few more golf courses, but this whole basin will turn into a dust bowl meaning environmental destruction, lung problems, and all sorts of nasty things. It was really eye opening to see what our need for growth has come to and to what extremes and sacrifices we will put others through for our own personal benefit.
Found this super cool cafe with all sorts of imported drinks and foods that totally didn't make any sense in a place with 300 residents in a 100 mile radius. Anyway, read a good part of todays New York Times and was so high off the brief intellectual stimulation. It was just so awesome to feel normal like that again in a way i can't describe. Interesting op ed on how the internet is like the new NYC in terms of people going there to make it big, the disorientation, etc.
Updated blog today which was good, and camera is nice to have. Also! did 2 consecutive sets of 50 pushups today. Big personal physical milestone. The trip just keeps amazing me at how its really not just about exploring the country but also exploring ourselves and our limits(or past limits i should say). Hmm...
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