Well, this tour group is really starting to look like we have lived outdoors for over a couple weeks. Everyone has a bikers tan and the sights in the shower are sort of humorous in a way. I always wondered how grandkids, Sam, Ben and Lydia, always had sandal tans in the summer...well, now Grampa knows and he has the same! The air is so dry in this part of the country, that everyone's throat and skin is so dry. Noses are peeling, bleeding, and eyes are like a racoon when the sunglasses are off.
Today was more challenging again....61 miles, with over 2,000 feet net elevation increase. The first half of the ride was through more miles and miles of nothing but sage brush. I did have my first sighting of antelope today. I also saw a couple jack rabbits. We went by 2 groups of windmills again today, only today we were right next to them. They are huge.
The second half of today had the climb to the top of the buttes in the area. This area is again irrigated and the fields have either alfalfa or wheat in them. We are camped at the local high school and actually have some trees for shade. It reached the low 90s again today.
Our tour group is blending as a community and we have gotten to know a lot of new folks. Over last weekend, we lost 3 bikers who had prior committments and had to leave the tour. We also had our first mail call over the weekend, and we received an encouraging card. Your notes and comments posted on my blog are very encouraging to us.
Love to all, P & J.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Boise, ID to Mountain Home, ID
I can't believe that we are entering our 3rd week already. Yesterday the tour worshiped in a Boise park with the Valley Life Community Church. They supplied us with lunch also. Julie and I volunteered along with one other person, to stay befind and provide security while the others went to the worship time. Someone else came back to relieve us so we could go to get lunch there.
Today I felt really strong and made good time, thanks to a strong tail wind the second half of the ride. I had left early to beat the heat again. I left at 7:20 and arrived in the Mountain Home camp site at 11;30. That included a coffee break at the only place along the route today. The landscape is vary barren again. I did see a coyote today. There was nothing between the beginning and end of our ride today, but sagebrush. It reached 98 degrees again this afternoon. Julie got in from her duties at about 4:00. The route was about 55 miles today, with one 1,000 foot climb pretty near the beginning of the day. We spent about 7 miles on I-84 again today.
This town is near an Air Force base and have seen a few F-15s fly over. There are a few clouds in the sky today but only a 4% chance of precipitation. The school where we are camped tonight is very fussy about allowing vehicles near the camp area, so we are not attached to our tent. That is not the first time we have not attached.
We heard that the "goathead" thorns are very bad in the next stretch of the tour tomorrow. I hope that does not mean a lot of flats. Saturdays count of flats was 28.
Love to all, P & J
Today I felt really strong and made good time, thanks to a strong tail wind the second half of the ride. I had left early to beat the heat again. I left at 7:20 and arrived in the Mountain Home camp site at 11;30. That included a coffee break at the only place along the route today. The landscape is vary barren again. I did see a coyote today. There was nothing between the beginning and end of our ride today, but sagebrush. It reached 98 degrees again this afternoon. Julie got in from her duties at about 4:00. The route was about 55 miles today, with one 1,000 foot climb pretty near the beginning of the day. We spent about 7 miles on I-84 again today.
This town is near an Air Force base and have seen a few F-15s fly over. There are a few clouds in the sky today but only a 4% chance of precipitation. The school where we are camped tonight is very fussy about allowing vehicles near the camp area, so we are not attached to our tent. That is not the first time we have not attached.
We heard that the "goathead" thorns are very bad in the next stretch of the tour tomorrow. I hope that does not mean a lot of flats. Saturdays count of flats was 28.
Love to all, P & J
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Ontario, OR to Boise, ID
It got quite cool overnight….around 50 degrees. We did not take a very warm sleeping bag along considering it is summer, so we added some fleece pullovers for the night. I left camp about 7:40 and arrived at the Boise site at around 2:00. It was a 66 mile ride today and it was gently uphill most of the way. We crossed into Idaho, our 3rd state, shortly after leaving Ontario.
It reached the low 90s today. We have not seen a cloud in the sky for the past several days. We had a lot of turns on the route today and had to follow the directions carefully. Boise is the largest city we have come to since leaving Seattle. The last ten miles or so were through the Boise urban area on fairly busy traffic. Julie was parked with the SAG truck at the 50 mile mark today on the edge of Boise. There were 10 acre lots for sale next to her that had a price tag of $299,000. We biked past the Boise State University stadium and are camped on the far end of the city at a high school. There is a strip mall and other stores across the street. We are here for 2 nights, with tomorrow off from biking.
There is a local RCA church that we will be worshiping with tomorrow morning at a park.
The internet satellite dish is still not working, so that is why my updates are posting late. I’ll see if I can find an internet café or such.
Love to all, P & J.
It reached the low 90s today. We have not seen a cloud in the sky for the past several days. We had a lot of turns on the route today and had to follow the directions carefully. Boise is the largest city we have come to since leaving Seattle. The last ten miles or so were through the Boise urban area on fairly busy traffic. Julie was parked with the SAG truck at the 50 mile mark today on the edge of Boise. There were 10 acre lots for sale next to her that had a price tag of $299,000. We biked past the Boise State University stadium and are camped on the far end of the city at a high school. There is a strip mall and other stores across the street. We are here for 2 nights, with tomorrow off from biking.
There is a local RCA church that we will be worshiping with tomorrow morning at a park.
The internet satellite dish is still not working, so that is why my updates are posting late. I’ll see if I can find an internet café or such.
Love to all, P & J.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Huntington, OR to Ontario, ID
I was on sweep team this morning and we had to serve breakfast, cleanup, and load the gear truck with everyone’s bags. The luggage limit is supposed to be 60 pounds, but some are really heavy. Some are using hockey goalie bags, which are huge! I think there is even a goalie in there! It was so sandy and dirty where we had to load that some of us took leg showers before we left on our ride.
Today was only 35 miles, with a tail wind. We did have a 1,000 foot climb right off the bat, but it went down on the other side quite steep and straight. I was able to set a new personal maximum speed record of 46.1 mph. I am feeling more comfortable on those drops, but don’t want to get overconfident. You keep praying, “no flats now, no flats now”.
The scenery changed again today from the barren sagebrush hills, to a wide green valley in the Ontario, OR area, thanks to irrigation. We crossed into the Mountain time zone today and that means we must be making some headway. We are now 2 hours behind our home time. Tomorrow, we will cross into Idaho, staying at Boise for the weekend. It is a 65 mile day tomorrow. The sun is still hot today, but the temps are in the 80s for a high.
Love to all, P & J.
Today was only 35 miles, with a tail wind. We did have a 1,000 foot climb right off the bat, but it went down on the other side quite steep and straight. I was able to set a new personal maximum speed record of 46.1 mph. I am feeling more comfortable on those drops, but don’t want to get overconfident. You keep praying, “no flats now, no flats now”.
The scenery changed again today from the barren sagebrush hills, to a wide green valley in the Ontario, OR area, thanks to irrigation. We crossed into the Mountain time zone today and that means we must be making some headway. We are now 2 hours behind our home time. Tomorrow, we will cross into Idaho, staying at Boise for the weekend. It is a 65 mile day tomorrow. The sun is still hot today, but the temps are in the 80s for a high.
Love to all, P & J.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Baker City, OR to Huntington, OR
It was a pretty short riding day today, I was to the next camp by 10:30 a.m. The mileage was only 45.7 miles, but it was a hot day, The temp reached 96 degrees by mid-afternoon,
We had to ride on I-84 again today and a little farther than planned because the bridge was being replaced on the exit we had planned to exit on. That was a really scary time, as the traffic needed to merge to one lane and the shoulder was between a deep cut rumble strip and the concrete barriers with the truck whizzing by only a few feet away. It was only about 3 feet wide at most. We felt God’s protection, as we do each day, and all arrived safely.
Our camp for the night was in the very impoverished community of Huntington, OR. We are at the high school which looks like it is out of the 1940s. The last graduating class had 5 students. They play football in an 8 man league which is still a stretch. Well, I guess you get playing time anyway. The town has lost all the young people as there are no jobs here. At one time, the population was 5,000 and it is now 500, mostly retired or people on some kind of disability. In its heyday, the town was a railway center. We were able to help out the local few merchants with purchases, and I am pretty sure we pay them for the camping rights.
During dinner at night, a wind came up with not a cloud in the sky. This is not unusual in this part of the country when the temperature cools down at night. While we were eating, one tent broke loose and started rolling over and over, out of the football field, across a street and over a hill before someone ran it down. During the night the winds continued and became more gusty and a lot of people pulled up their tents and slept in the gym. Our tent held up, but it sure did make a lot of flapping noise and swayed a great deal. I had added 4 extra support pole ropes before going to bed, and they held up. It was not a good sleeping night.
We have a short day tomorrow and everyone can sleep in a little in the morning.
Love to all. P & J
We had to ride on I-84 again today and a little farther than planned because the bridge was being replaced on the exit we had planned to exit on. That was a really scary time, as the traffic needed to merge to one lane and the shoulder was between a deep cut rumble strip and the concrete barriers with the truck whizzing by only a few feet away. It was only about 3 feet wide at most. We felt God’s protection, as we do each day, and all arrived safely.
Our camp for the night was in the very impoverished community of Huntington, OR. We are at the high school which looks like it is out of the 1940s. The last graduating class had 5 students. They play football in an 8 man league which is still a stretch. Well, I guess you get playing time anyway. The town has lost all the young people as there are no jobs here. At one time, the population was 5,000 and it is now 500, mostly retired or people on some kind of disability. In its heyday, the town was a railway center. We were able to help out the local few merchants with purchases, and I am pretty sure we pay them for the camping rights.
During dinner at night, a wind came up with not a cloud in the sky. This is not unusual in this part of the country when the temperature cools down at night. While we were eating, one tent broke loose and started rolling over and over, out of the football field, across a street and over a hill before someone ran it down. During the night the winds continued and became more gusty and a lot of people pulled up their tents and slept in the gym. Our tent held up, but it sure did make a lot of flapping noise and swayed a great deal. I had added 4 extra support pole ropes before going to bed, and they held up. It was not a good sleeping night.
We have a short day tomorrow and everyone can sleep in a little in the morning.
Love to all. P & J
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
La Grande, OR to Baker City, OR
Today was an easier day. Only 49 miles and a 1,400 foot elevation climb. A lot of people again left early in the morning to beat the heat. It made the low 90s again today. I left at about 7:15 a.m. and arrived at the Baker City High School, our camp for tonight, at about 11:15. I immediately treated myself to the largest Diet Pepsi I could find. We are camped on the athletic field.
Today we headed toward the Elkhorn Mountains and paralleled them into Baker City. They still have snow at the very top and this is extremely rare per the locals. At lot of us stopped at a small town of Haines City today for a cup or coffee and snack and talked with the locals. As a group, we are trying to connect with the locals and tell them what and why we are riding and pass out a small info card about the tour if they want to find out more. Most people are very approachable and interested in what we are doing. We passed a large number of windmills up on the hills today. This is not the first time. We saw a lot of the blades for new windmills being transported via semi-trailer on the way out to Seattle. You cannot believe how large the blades are. Each blade is transported on an extra long trailer, about 2-3 normal trailer lengths. Each windmill has 3 blades.
There are 2 museums/exhibitions devoted to the Oregon Trail history here. Julie and I had to catch up on some laundry and did not have time to check them out.
Tomorrow I am back on sweep team again and will need to setup for dinner and serve and cleanup and then get up early to setup breakfast and cleanup and be the last group out to make sure all the riders are accounted for.
I see on the tour site that donations are now at $1.55 million. God is great!!
Love to all, P & J.
Today we headed toward the Elkhorn Mountains and paralleled them into Baker City. They still have snow at the very top and this is extremely rare per the locals. At lot of us stopped at a small town of Haines City today for a cup or coffee and snack and talked with the locals. As a group, we are trying to connect with the locals and tell them what and why we are riding and pass out a small info card about the tour if they want to find out more. Most people are very approachable and interested in what we are doing. We passed a large number of windmills up on the hills today. This is not the first time. We saw a lot of the blades for new windmills being transported via semi-trailer on the way out to Seattle. You cannot believe how large the blades are. Each blade is transported on an extra long trailer, about 2-3 normal trailer lengths. Each windmill has 3 blades.
There are 2 museums/exhibitions devoted to the Oregon Trail history here. Julie and I had to catch up on some laundry and did not have time to check them out.
Tomorrow I am back on sweep team again and will need to setup for dinner and serve and cleanup and then get up early to setup breakfast and cleanup and be the last group out to make sure all the riders are accounted for.
I see on the tour site that donations are now at $1.55 million. God is great!!
Love to all, P & J.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Pendleton OR to La Grande, OR
It was another challenging Tuesday. We biked from Pendleton to La Grande OR. It was a climb of 4,538 feet. We biked toward rolling hills that did not appear too hard, but it was a very steep climb with lots of switch backs. I had it in my lowest “Granny” gear most of the way up. While climbing, we had spectacular views of the area we had come through the previous day, with all the rolling wheat fields way in the distance. The hills we climbed were barren again, with no trees.
Once we finally reached the top, the other side turned into forested, steeper terrain. It was beautiful. We had several more climbs that day through that type of countryside. The road we were on paralleled I-84 for most of the day. There were 2 places that the road did not go on, so we actually biked on I-84 a couple times. That was scary with all the traffic whizzing by and a lot of trucks. Much of that was downhill and I could coast at 30-36 mph. Just before arriving in La Grande, we had a great view of the town below us in the valley, with snow capped mountains in the distance.
We camped in a city park next to an indoor huge swimming pool. That was a special treat. It even had a tunnel water slide. A couple people were unaccounted for at the end of the day, and Julie and I and one young man that had last seen one of the people went back with the pickup truck several miles and checked one of the exits they may have taken by mistake and road about 5 miles down it and found no one. The canyon was so steep we could not call back to our base camp and by the time we arrived back, everyone had show up. Every cyclist is required to sign in at the end of their ride.
It was in the 90s again, but the nights cool down to the 50s and it really sleeps well. The relative humidity has been very low for the past several days. We have generally been following the original Oregon Trail route.
Missing our kids and grandkids….
Love too all, P & J
Once we finally reached the top, the other side turned into forested, steeper terrain. It was beautiful. We had several more climbs that day through that type of countryside. The road we were on paralleled I-84 for most of the day. There were 2 places that the road did not go on, so we actually biked on I-84 a couple times. That was scary with all the traffic whizzing by and a lot of trucks. Much of that was downhill and I could coast at 30-36 mph. Just before arriving in La Grande, we had a great view of the town below us in the valley, with snow capped mountains in the distance.
We camped in a city park next to an indoor huge swimming pool. That was a special treat. It even had a tunnel water slide. A couple people were unaccounted for at the end of the day, and Julie and I and one young man that had last seen one of the people went back with the pickup truck several miles and checked one of the exits they may have taken by mistake and road about 5 miles down it and found no one. The canyon was so steep we could not call back to our base camp and by the time we arrived back, everyone had show up. Every cyclist is required to sign in at the end of their ride.
It was in the 90s again, but the nights cool down to the 50s and it really sleeps well. The relative humidity has been very low for the past several days. We have generally been following the original Oregon Trail route.
Missing our kids and grandkids….
Love too all, P & J
Monday, July 7, 2008
Entered Oregon Today.....
We left the State of Washington behind today and a great weekend camping location. We crossed the Columbia River in Kenniwick on a beautiful suspension bridge. We later rejoined the Columbia River and followed it as a wide lake/river for about 20-30 miles. The water is dammed up farther downstream. There were barren high hills on either side of the valley again. There are many places where powerful pumps draw the river water and pump it up the high hills to land that is farmed.
We left the river valley to head toward Pendleton, OR on highway 37. It was about a 1,000 foot climb up to the top of the high hills. We then went down the Cold Springs Canyon on a very lonely road that had few buildings and no villages for about 15-20 miles. Wheat fields suddenly appeared on the hills toward Pendleton and some has been harvested, some is green, and some is golden and nearly ready for harvest.
I had left a little earlier from camp this morning, as the forecast was for the low 90s and wanted to get some miles behind me before it warmed up. I arrived at the middle school we are camping at a little after 1:00. We are camped on the athletic field on a high hill that has a Best Western in view about a mile across the valley and that is very tempting and inviting.
We had a great lunch and service with the Family of Faith church of Kennewick Sunday morning. Their members had taken the photos and names of each biker on the tour and divided them up so each member had one to two to pray for the entire tour. The pastor’s family had my name on their fridge and I met the pastor’s wife and young son. That was really great. The pastor’s message focused on how we should imitate God’s grace by giving to those in need, without worrying about what we will receive in return, whether recognition or thinking we have earned a better standing with God. That is a timely reminder as there was local press around, covering the tour during the weekend.
Tomorrow looks to be a challenging day of climbing to I believe, LaGrande OR.
Love to all. P & J.
We left the river valley to head toward Pendleton, OR on highway 37. It was about a 1,000 foot climb up to the top of the high hills. We then went down the Cold Springs Canyon on a very lonely road that had few buildings and no villages for about 15-20 miles. Wheat fields suddenly appeared on the hills toward Pendleton and some has been harvested, some is green, and some is golden and nearly ready for harvest.
I had left a little earlier from camp this morning, as the forecast was for the low 90s and wanted to get some miles behind me before it warmed up. I arrived at the middle school we are camping at a little after 1:00. We are camped on the athletic field on a high hill that has a Best Western in view about a mile across the valley and that is very tempting and inviting.
We had a great lunch and service with the Family of Faith church of Kennewick Sunday morning. Their members had taken the photos and names of each biker on the tour and divided them up so each member had one to two to pray for the entire tour. The pastor’s family had my name on their fridge and I met the pastor’s wife and young son. That was really great. The pastor’s message focused on how we should imitate God’s grace by giving to those in need, without worrying about what we will receive in return, whether recognition or thinking we have earned a better standing with God. That is a timely reminder as there was local press around, covering the tour during the weekend.
Tomorrow looks to be a challenging day of climbing to I believe, LaGrande OR.
Love to all. P & J.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Hello for Tri-Cities WA
The tri-cities area is composed of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick. We are camped in a park along the Columbia River. The river is very wide here, and it is dammed up here. The Yakima River has joined in with the Columbia, and the Snake River joins in not too far downstream.
We had a pretty easy day today, 50 miles on a slight down grade for most of the way and only one long hill climb. I felt really strong today and tried to push it a bit and was in our new camp by 11:15 a.m. We are in a shady park and it is really pleasant camping here. Each day I arrive before Julie does from her SAG duties and I get our tent out of the gear semi and have camp setup by the time she gets in. The Kennewick church welcomed us with lemonade and cookies at the park. Tomorrow, we will worship with them right next to our camp.
Some of us couldn’t wait for showers today, so we bathed in the Columbia. The shore is rocky and the water is cold, but it felt so good to get cleaned up and cooled down, even though it did not get as hot as it had been earlier in the week.
Julie got into camp just before 3:00 p.m. and caught a van shuttle going to a local health club for showers.
Tomorrow is a day off and some of us are feeling like we have had it pretty easy the past couple days. The local church people have opened their homes to a limited number of riders that want to sleep in a real bed for a couple nights. All those slots were taken. They are also offering boat rides to us and shuttle services to local malls and merchants as needed. That is great of them.
Lots of flats today but don’t have the total count yet. Besides counting flats and accidents each day in our evening peleton meeting, we have a statistic of the day….like, how many cases of beer bottles along the way, or how many and what kind of creatures were spotted, dead or alive, number of semis we met, etc. I made my suggestion of statistic of the day to Chaplain Len who leads the meeting, and said that I had counted a dime and later two pennies along the bike edge today and that even more amazing, being Dutch, or more specifically Frisian, is that I did not stop to pick them up. Chaplain Len, who is quite the card, said that HE DID!!, at least the dime…..he said there is a limit to what he will stoop for and figures he must need it more than everyone else!!
Love to all. P & J.
We had a pretty easy day today, 50 miles on a slight down grade for most of the way and only one long hill climb. I felt really strong today and tried to push it a bit and was in our new camp by 11:15 a.m. We are in a shady park and it is really pleasant camping here. Each day I arrive before Julie does from her SAG duties and I get our tent out of the gear semi and have camp setup by the time she gets in. The Kennewick church welcomed us with lemonade and cookies at the park. Tomorrow, we will worship with them right next to our camp.
Some of us couldn’t wait for showers today, so we bathed in the Columbia. The shore is rocky and the water is cold, but it felt so good to get cleaned up and cooled down, even though it did not get as hot as it had been earlier in the week.
Julie got into camp just before 3:00 p.m. and caught a van shuttle going to a local health club for showers.
Tomorrow is a day off and some of us are feeling like we have had it pretty easy the past couple days. The local church people have opened their homes to a limited number of riders that want to sleep in a real bed for a couple nights. All those slots were taken. They are also offering boat rides to us and shuttle services to local malls and merchants as needed. That is great of them.
Lots of flats today but don’t have the total count yet. Besides counting flats and accidents each day in our evening peleton meeting, we have a statistic of the day….like, how many cases of beer bottles along the way, or how many and what kind of creatures were spotted, dead or alive, number of semis we met, etc. I made my suggestion of statistic of the day to Chaplain Len who leads the meeting, and said that I had counted a dime and later two pennies along the bike edge today and that even more amazing, being Dutch, or more specifically Frisian, is that I did not stop to pick them up. Chaplain Len, who is quite the card, said that HE DID!!, at least the dime…..he said there is a limit to what he will stoop for and figures he must need it more than everyone else!!
Love to all. P & J.
Friday, July 4, 2008
It’s rainy in Sunnyside!!
We received some rain during the night camping in Yakima last night, along with thunder and lightning. It was not a storm and not that much rain, but the tents were pretty wet when we had to pack them away in the morning. It was sprinkling during breakfast and during the first hour of riding. It was the first time that the bikers had to put on their rainwear for riding.
We continued along the Yakima River today into the wide Yakima Valley. The area is very dry and only averages about 8 inches per year and we were part of the exception with the rain we experienced. This area is now farmable, thanks to diversion of the Yakima River into various canals for irrigation. The valley now grows grapes, apples, cherries, pears, and lots of hops. The hops grow on long strings from the ground to high rows of support legs and cabling.
Along the route today, the Faith Community Church in Zillah hosted a great break of snacks and wonderful fruit. We had a short ride today and I was at our Sunnyside Chr. High School camp for tonight, by a little after 11:00. There were a few people along the route today that had signs out and cheered us on. Everyone used the day to dry out their gear and clean the road grit off their bikes and themselves. It is amazing how dirty your legs get when riding on wet roads. I’m familiar with tan lines, but these are dirt lines. I cleaned my bike chain today and am ready for tomorrow.
Tonight, our cooks had the night off and the Sunnyside CRC put on a great Mexican feast, along with strawberry shortcake and ice cream for us at the local Christian grade school. Then afterwards, they invited us to their church for root beer floats and the 4th fireworks are right across the road.
Julie was able to phone home today and some of our kids and grandkids were keeping our pool clean! We miss everyone, especially on the holiday. We had a couple of the Canadians in our group go to Walmart and buy a whole bunch of tiny American flags and we all mounted them on our bikes and SAG vehicles today. Good for them, as they are very proud of their country and they just celebrated Canada Day a few days ago.
Today, as the day progressed, it cleared out and is now beautifully clear and the air is now cool and dry. Should be great sleeping in our tent tonight.
Tomorrow is not a huge day as we go to Kennewick which is about 50 miles on down the Yakima Valley….which we learned tonight is really part of the Sonora Dessert that starts in Mexico and stretches all the way up to Canada between various mountain ranges.
Oh, by the way, we had a total of 22 flat tires today, and I had one last night that was discovered just before going to bed. Rick Gritters helped me change it. Apparently, there is a local thorn called a goathead, that likes to flatten tires.
Love, P & J.
We continued along the Yakima River today into the wide Yakima Valley. The area is very dry and only averages about 8 inches per year and we were part of the exception with the rain we experienced. This area is now farmable, thanks to diversion of the Yakima River into various canals for irrigation. The valley now grows grapes, apples, cherries, pears, and lots of hops. The hops grow on long strings from the ground to high rows of support legs and cabling.
Along the route today, the Faith Community Church in Zillah hosted a great break of snacks and wonderful fruit. We had a short ride today and I was at our Sunnyside Chr. High School camp for tonight, by a little after 11:00. There were a few people along the route today that had signs out and cheered us on. Everyone used the day to dry out their gear and clean the road grit off their bikes and themselves. It is amazing how dirty your legs get when riding on wet roads. I’m familiar with tan lines, but these are dirt lines. I cleaned my bike chain today and am ready for tomorrow.
Tonight, our cooks had the night off and the Sunnyside CRC put on a great Mexican feast, along with strawberry shortcake and ice cream for us at the local Christian grade school. Then afterwards, they invited us to their church for root beer floats and the 4th fireworks are right across the road.
Julie was able to phone home today and some of our kids and grandkids were keeping our pool clean! We miss everyone, especially on the holiday. We had a couple of the Canadians in our group go to Walmart and buy a whole bunch of tiny American flags and we all mounted them on our bikes and SAG vehicles today. Good for them, as they are very proud of their country and they just celebrated Canada Day a few days ago.
Today, as the day progressed, it cleared out and is now beautifully clear and the air is now cool and dry. Should be great sleeping in our tent tonight.
Tomorrow is not a huge day as we go to Kennewick which is about 50 miles on down the Yakima Valley….which we learned tonight is really part of the Sonora Dessert that starts in Mexico and stretches all the way up to Canada between various mountain ranges.
Oh, by the way, we had a total of 22 flat tires today, and I had one last night that was discovered just before going to bed. Rick Gritters helped me change it. Apparently, there is a local thorn called a goathead, that likes to flatten tires.
Love, P & J.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Yackity Yack...we're in Yakima!!
Ahhhhhh....an easier day today! Only40 miles and mostly down Yakima Canyon with just a couple climbs. I tried to start early today because of the heat and I hit the road at about 8:00 a.m. I was in the camp in Yakima by 11:30 and, yes it did get hot again today....it was 99 at 3:00. Julie and I took the pickup over to a Burger King to avoid the heat and drink as much diet coke as I could on refills. We then stopped at a Wal Mart to replace one of our foldup chairs that someone inadvertantly thought must b e theirs.
Yakima Canyon has desolate high hills on both sides and a large Yakima River running along side the route. The scenery was barren, but overpowering in its vastness. The are big horn sheep in the area, but did not spot any. There is one man on our tour who is a forester, and he gives us things to look for in plant life and wildlife for the area we are going through. He did say that we are now in rattlesnake country!
Everyone is lazing around this afternoon to beat the heat. The school we are at is air conditioned, so some are playing cards on the floor. Some of the young folks get on there bikes and check out the local town after riding for the day.....oh to be young again.
A lot of people connect to the internet to update blogs and email families every day at the end of the day. Some of the schools have a wireless network we can use or we can sit outside and find an electical outlet near the media trailer to connect the our satellite hookup. Now I am sitting in the shade doing just that. A volunteer work team left a little while ago to help at a local charity agency for a few hours.
Thats it for now. We hope it cools down enough to sleep tonight.
Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement. It keeps me going.
Love to all, P & j
Yakima Canyon has desolate high hills on both sides and a large Yakima River running along side the route. The scenery was barren, but overpowering in its vastness. The are big horn sheep in the area, but did not spot any. There is one man on our tour who is a forester, and he gives us things to look for in plant life and wildlife for the area we are going through. He did say that we are now in rattlesnake country!
Everyone is lazing around this afternoon to beat the heat. The school we are at is air conditioned, so some are playing cards on the floor. Some of the young folks get on there bikes and check out the local town after riding for the day.....oh to be young again.
A lot of people connect to the internet to update blogs and email families every day at the end of the day. Some of the schools have a wireless network we can use or we can sit outside and find an electical outlet near the media trailer to connect the our satellite hookup. Now I am sitting in the shade doing just that. A volunteer work team left a little while ago to help at a local charity agency for a few hours.
Thats it for now. We hope it cools down enough to sleep tonight.
Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement. It keeps me going.
Love to all, P & j
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Boy, it’s hot!!
Hello from Ellensburg, MT. Today was a shorter distance ride, just under 60 miles, but had a couple tough climbs. The first one was a 4,000 foot climb up to the top of the pass, on Hwy 97. The second climb was shorter in terms of elevation change, but was pretty steep and the temperature got really hot after we lost altitude from the first climb. By the time we reached Ellensburg, it was 101 degrees (but a dry heat!!). The landscape changed drastically today and we are now in high plateau desert, with very few trees and a lot of sagebrush. The town of Ellensburg is larger than I thought it might be and is a nice clean town with trees and greenery in this valley. The high school we are using to camp at is very new and nice. We are using their showers and a lot of us have our computers plugged into wall outlets in the school, which is air conditioned by the way. I might put our mattress in the school for tonight!
On a typical day, everyone starts rousing at 5:00 – 5:30. Breakfast is at 7:00 and everyone packs a lunch for the day to take on the bike. Some people start as early as 7:30 on their ride. Every 10 days or some we are assigned to a “sweep” team. On those days, the team assigned for that day needs to help set up for dinner and cleanup at night, and then the next day gets up early to help serve breakfast and cleanup after breakfast. The team needs to be the last group out of camp and must make sure all riders along the route are accounted for and not left behind. When we arrive at the night’s camp, we need to sign in so they know who is and is not accounted for.
Dinner is at 6:00 p.m. After cleanup, we have what we call a peleton meeting and recap the day and experiences. We usually find out how many flats there were that day, yesterday was 11 with the same person having 6!! Apparently there was something poking through the tire that they did not see and it kept making flats. I have not had amboi flat yet, but let’s not bring that up. We have had a couple incidents….one lady hit a post on the bike path the first day and had a slight concussion and took a couple days off. One young man could not get his cleats released in time and twisted his ankle pretty bad and took today off.
After the peleton meeting, we break into assigned small groups of 5-6 and discuss the meditation for the day from the “Shifting Gears” devotional book, and have prayer time together. Everyone is pretty eager to hit the sack by 9:00 for the night.
Tomorrow is a shorter day and not much elevation climbing. We should arrive in Yakima pretty early in the afternoon. A short day will be good for everyone, considering the last 2 days. There is opportunity for a limited number of volunteers to help at an agency relating to helping those in need and poverty. This will happen at various cities along the tour route.
Love to all, P & J.
On a typical day, everyone starts rousing at 5:00 – 5:30. Breakfast is at 7:00 and everyone packs a lunch for the day to take on the bike. Some people start as early as 7:30 on their ride. Every 10 days or some we are assigned to a “sweep” team. On those days, the team assigned for that day needs to help set up for dinner and cleanup at night, and then the next day gets up early to help serve breakfast and cleanup after breakfast. The team needs to be the last group out of camp and must make sure all riders along the route are accounted for and not left behind. When we arrive at the night’s camp, we need to sign in so they know who is and is not accounted for.
Dinner is at 6:00 p.m. After cleanup, we have what we call a peleton meeting and recap the day and experiences. We usually find out how many flats there were that day, yesterday was 11 with the same person having 6!! Apparently there was something poking through the tire that they did not see and it kept making flats. I have not had amboi flat yet, but let’s not bring that up. We have had a couple incidents….one lady hit a post on the bike path the first day and had a slight concussion and took a couple days off. One young man could not get his cleats released in time and twisted his ankle pretty bad and took today off.
After the peleton meeting, we break into assigned small groups of 5-6 and discuss the meditation for the day from the “Shifting Gears” devotional book, and have prayer time together. Everyone is pretty eager to hit the sack by 9:00 for the night.
Tomorrow is a shorter day and not much elevation climbing. We should arrive in Yakima pretty early in the afternoon. A short day will be good for everyone, considering the last 2 days. There is opportunity for a limited number of volunteers to help at an agency relating to helping those in need and poverty. This will happen at various cities along the tour route.
Love to all, P & J.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Latest from the Cascades
Sorry that we have not updated you in a couple days, but the schedule has been hectic and the satellite link was down last night.
Sunday was a day that started with worship as a group and training the rest of the day and another worship service with area Seattle churches, at the U of W ballroom. It was 92 degrees in Seattle that day and most air conditioning does not run or exist out here.
Monday, we biked over to the Golden Beach Park on the Puget Sound and had our rear tire dipping ceremony and were off on our first day. The Seattle area churches gave us a great breakfast on the beach. The remote broadcast link did not work that day, sorry. We biked 48 miles the first day to Sulton, WA and camped out at the High School athletic field. What a great site of tent in our traveling tent city. The temp on Monday reached 95.
Today was a difficult day for all. We had a 79 mile day and the first half was up the Stephans Pass to 4,150 feet, all from zero. Wow, what a long, hard climb. One guy in our group that has done a couple Rocky Mountain week long rides said he never had such a hard day in his Rockies experience. Most of the second half was downhill and I reached 40 mph before getting a little nervous and eased on the brakes. There was a little crosswind and I do not need a bad experience. Some people did not get in until supper time. Today the scenery was spectacular. The Cascades are beautiful....filled with evergrenn and foilage and snow capped peaks. There was occasional snow in the ditches as we rode by. We were usually next to a roaring mountain river with very turbulant waters.
Tomorrow is another tough day with another 4000 foot climb and leave the beautiful Cascades for the high level desert plateau of WA and ID.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support and blogs comments. We feel you prayers!!!
Love, P&J
Sunday was a day that started with worship as a group and training the rest of the day and another worship service with area Seattle churches, at the U of W ballroom. It was 92 degrees in Seattle that day and most air conditioning does not run or exist out here.
Monday, we biked over to the Golden Beach Park on the Puget Sound and had our rear tire dipping ceremony and were off on our first day. The Seattle area churches gave us a great breakfast on the beach. The remote broadcast link did not work that day, sorry. We biked 48 miles the first day to Sulton, WA and camped out at the High School athletic field. What a great site of tent in our traveling tent city. The temp on Monday reached 95.
Today was a difficult day for all. We had a 79 mile day and the first half was up the Stephans Pass to 4,150 feet, all from zero. Wow, what a long, hard climb. One guy in our group that has done a couple Rocky Mountain week long rides said he never had such a hard day in his Rockies experience. Most of the second half was downhill and I reached 40 mph before getting a little nervous and eased on the brakes. There was a little crosswind and I do not need a bad experience. Some people did not get in until supper time. Today the scenery was spectacular. The Cascades are beautiful....filled with evergrenn and foilage and snow capped peaks. There was occasional snow in the ditches as we rode by. We were usually next to a roaring mountain river with very turbulant waters.
Tomorrow is another tough day with another 4000 foot climb and leave the beautiful Cascades for the high level desert plateau of WA and ID.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support and blogs comments. We feel you prayers!!!
Love, P&J
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Arrived at U of Wash Huskyland
Today we arrived in Seattle and checked into the dorm we are staying at for the next couple nights at U of Wash. Saturday, we will need to transfer to another dorm just a couple buildings away to join the others of the tour there. We met one other biker that came in today, Bob Winkel, from Waupun, WI....the town Julie and I lived in when first married and before we moved to MI. A few other tour guys are here in the dorm also....the ones that drove the gear truck and mobile kitchen and one of the CRWRC vans.
Julie and I took a 3 hour tour of the city with a guide to hit the high points. We saw various neighborhoods, the Pike St. Market, waterfront, downtown buildings, fishing terminal, Sleepless in Seattle houseboat, locks and fish ladders, and a history lesson from a good guide. The city is very scrunched together, as there is only so much real estate, being surrounded by water and mountains. The real estate is very expensive and the homes have very small lots. There is very little lawn mowing needed here. Today is was cool, in the 60s, but mostly sunny. We had a partial look at Mt. Rainer today and could see the middle section, but not the bottom or top. Apparently there are few days to see it all clearly.
Tomorrow, we plan to return to the Pike Street Market area and walk around and have some fresh seafood for lunch. There are a lot of bikers in Seattle and maybe tomorrow I will get my bike out and see if Bob Winkel wants to go for a ride. Also, a lot of people will be arriving via flights tomorrow and will be shuttled to the campus here. Maybe there is something we can help out with tomorrow and tomorrow night.
That's it for now.
Love, P & J
Julie and I took a 3 hour tour of the city with a guide to hit the high points. We saw various neighborhoods, the Pike St. Market, waterfront, downtown buildings, fishing terminal, Sleepless in Seattle houseboat, locks and fish ladders, and a history lesson from a good guide. The city is very scrunched together, as there is only so much real estate, being surrounded by water and mountains. The real estate is very expensive and the homes have very small lots. There is very little lawn mowing needed here. Today is was cool, in the 60s, but mostly sunny. We had a partial look at Mt. Rainer today and could see the middle section, but not the bottom or top. Apparently there are few days to see it all clearly.
Tomorrow, we plan to return to the Pike Street Market area and walk around and have some fresh seafood for lunch. There are a lot of bikers in Seattle and maybe tomorrow I will get my bike out and see if Bob Winkel wants to go for a ride. Also, a lot of people will be arriving via flights tomorrow and will be shuttled to the campus here. Maybe there is something we can help out with tomorrow and tomorrow night.
That's it for now.
Love, P & J
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Almost there!!
Today we put on another 715 miles and made it to Ellensburg WA. We are less than 2 hours from Seattle now. We went through some very long, narrow canyon roads today in MT, ID and open plateaus in WA. Most of the mountain streams and rivers are quite high and fast as there is a lot of snow melt coming from the peaks. All the major mountain ranges that we have passed yesterday and today, the Big Horns, Crazies, Rockies, and Cascades all have a lot on snow on the peaks for this time of year. At one time we had considered going up to Glacier Natl Park on our way, but ruled it out on account of distance and time. Well, at breakfast this morning a couple told us they had just come from there and the "Going to the Sun Road" is not open all the way through the park because of snow and they could only go part way and then had to turn around. So, we are not feeling as bad about not being able to do it.
Today it hit both of us, as to how long we have been sitting and riding in the truck to get to Seattle, and that now the tour will be doing this on BIKE and even longer than MI to WA. That is sobering and scary. We will just need to focus on one day, the next camp at a time.
Today we are thankful for the beautiful country that God has given us and the opportunity to participate in this adventure.
P & J
Today it hit both of us, as to how long we have been sitting and riding in the truck to get to Seattle, and that now the tour will be doing this on BIKE and even longer than MI to WA. That is sobering and scary. We will just need to focus on one day, the next camp at a time.
Today we are thankful for the beautiful country that God has given us and the opportunity to participate in this adventure.
P & J
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Big Sky Country
We put in a big day today. Left Sioux City IA at about 8:00 EDT and stopped tonight in Billings MT, a 819 mile day. Today we saw a lot of wide open country in SD and WY. We saw lots of antelope and a few mule deer. Tomorrow will bring new and beautiful scenery, after Bozeman MT, as we have never gone through the part of the country beyond Bozeman. I have been to the Bozeman area a couple times elk hunting.
Love to all....
P & J
Love to all....
P & J
Monday, June 23, 2008
Seattle or Bust!!
This is really happening!!
We left home about 7:00 this morning and drove til about 7:30 tonight. We made it to Sioux City, IA, 690 miles. We kind of putted along at 65 MPH to conserve on petrol. Gas is cheaper in IA... I paid $3.77 (am I really saying $3.77 is a bargain??) for 89 octane, which was cheaper than 87 octane. Go figure. E85 is cheaper yet...$2 something a gallon. We had a stopage on I-80 about an hour west of Chicago. Traffic both ways came to a complete stop and everyone was out of their vehicles looking up the road ahead. I had my binocs along and could see about a mile ahead that at least 2 semi trailers were overturned and one was burning. After sitting there about 1/2 hour, I cut thru the median grass and backtracked about 3 miles to an alternate route and bypassed the accident scene. Traffic was backed up for miles. Tomorrow we plan to make into MT, maybe around Bozeman....we'll see.
Sunday afternoon I got a bike ride in with my grandson, Tyler, and Pete Drost. Tyler is planning to join me from Grand Haven to GR when the tour bikes through West Michigan and Pete Drost also plans to ride along with the tour sometime in West Michigan.
That's it for now. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
P & J
We left home about 7:00 this morning and drove til about 7:30 tonight. We made it to Sioux City, IA, 690 miles. We kind of putted along at 65 MPH to conserve on petrol. Gas is cheaper in IA... I paid $3.77 (am I really saying $3.77 is a bargain??) for 89 octane, which was cheaper than 87 octane. Go figure. E85 is cheaper yet...$2 something a gallon. We had a stopage on I-80 about an hour west of Chicago. Traffic both ways came to a complete stop and everyone was out of their vehicles looking up the road ahead. I had my binocs along and could see about a mile ahead that at least 2 semi trailers were overturned and one was burning. After sitting there about 1/2 hour, I cut thru the median grass and backtracked about 3 miles to an alternate route and bypassed the accident scene. Traffic was backed up for miles. Tomorrow we plan to make into MT, maybe around Bozeman....we'll see.
Sunday afternoon I got a bike ride in with my grandson, Tyler, and Pete Drost. Tyler is planning to join me from Grand Haven to GR when the tour bikes through West Michigan and Pete Drost also plans to ride along with the tour sometime in West Michigan.
That's it for now. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
P & J
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Patience Tested
Well, this past week sure did not go the way the training schedule and packing schedule were layed out. It started with 5+ inches of rain overnight on Saturday night that caused some flooding in our finished basement. It was limited to one bedroom, closet, and bath and did not harm the walls, just carpet soaked. But, took time to move all the furniture out, wet vac out the water and try to dry it all out. We ended up having the carpet sanitized and professionally cleaned and have a couple industrial blowers going all weekend and a dehumidifier going all the time. Can't wait for the next electric bill.
Then, on Tuesday night, I came down with something. My body just ached, stomach was rumbling, and had to lie down to keep it together. I missed work on Wednesday, made it back to work for Thurday, and then the bug hit again on Friday and I stayed home from work again and missed a golf outing on Saturday. Bummer!!
So, I not only lost valuable training time and packing time, I now need to recoup some lost strength.
I'm having one of the Spirit's fruits tested.
Then, on Tuesday night, I came down with something. My body just ached, stomach was rumbling, and had to lie down to keep it together. I missed work on Wednesday, made it back to work for Thurday, and then the bug hit again on Friday and I stayed home from work again and missed a golf outing on Saturday. Bummer!!
So, I not only lost valuable training time and packing time, I now need to recoup some lost strength.
I'm having one of the Spirit's fruits tested.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
My 1st "Century"
I managed to complete my first 100 miles bike ride...though not without a battle against heat, humidity, and wind. I biked in the Grand 100 for the 1st time on June 7. The tour route was described as having gentle rolling hills. Well, the person that wrote that was probably riding the route in a car! It was a very pretty route and the hills I am talking about are out in the orchards near the Sparta area and Dale Sprick's buffalo. They may be gentle and they may be rolling, but they were also quite a challenge in the humidity.
I made a mistake on the route and followed the wrong group of riders and missed the turn for the upper loop that makes the course 100 miles. I ended up finishing on the 65 mile loop route. So, I packed up my bike, rode home, jumped back on the bike and put another 35 miles on in Allegan County. By that time it was the hottest part of the day and I needed to stop about 3 times to rest up and cool down. On my second stop, I layed down on the front lawn of the Benthiem elementary school, in the shade of a small maple tree. It was breezy and the shade helped cool me down and I think I even dozed off a minute.....only to be waken by someone calling out...."You ok?...you ok?". I looked up and it was one of Allegan County's finest, getting out of his cruiser and coming toward me!! I assured him I was ok, just resting, and thanked him for checking. It must have been my crimson face that called his attention to me.
Anyway, I completed my first 100 mile day/ride!! Now I know how much pain will be coming in Iowa, when we face 3 consecutive days of 100+ miles in the middle of the summer.
I made a mistake on the route and followed the wrong group of riders and missed the turn for the upper loop that makes the course 100 miles. I ended up finishing on the 65 mile loop route. So, I packed up my bike, rode home, jumped back on the bike and put another 35 miles on in Allegan County. By that time it was the hottest part of the day and I needed to stop about 3 times to rest up and cool down. On my second stop, I layed down on the front lawn of the Benthiem elementary school, in the shade of a small maple tree. It was breezy and the shade helped cool me down and I think I even dozed off a minute.....only to be waken by someone calling out...."You ok?...you ok?". I looked up and it was one of Allegan County's finest, getting out of his cruiser and coming toward me!! I assured him I was ok, just resting, and thanked him for checking. It must have been my crimson face that called his attention to me.
Anyway, I completed my first 100 mile day/ride!! Now I know how much pain will be coming in Iowa, when we face 3 consecutive days of 100+ miles in the middle of the summer.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Check Out This Support!!
The company I work for has been very supportive of my trip. They have even added a link on our company website to highlight my trip. Check it out at www.lodeso.com and click on the over-burdened biker cartoon (me!! just ask my wife when I am packing for a trip). It has a neat map that shows the daily stops of the tour and can be viewed as a road map, satellite, or combo. This link is being seen by our customers, agents, and others on a national, daily basis.
Thanks Lodeso!!
Thanks Lodeso!!
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