July 19, 2009, Sunday, Morganfield, KY to Henderson, KY

Photos: Paul's trip ending broken trailer frame in Henderson, KY. Time to call home for a ride! Paul and Tom's last picture together, just south of Henderson, KY. Sonny pedaling his hand bicycle from Yorktown to Seattle.

Tom and I were up fairly early, and we headed toward Sebree on Rt. 65. We met Sonny Neumiller, a biker from Sweattle WA, who is a paraplegic. He was pedaling his hand bicycle, his camping gear, and his wheel chair in a trailer, and by this time, he was more than ½ way to his goal of Seattle, WA. You can read about Sonny at: WWW.crazyguyonabike.com/handcycle WHAT A GUY!!!!

Where 65 joins Rt. 41 alternate, I spotted a sign, “John Joseph Audubon State Park 23 miles” Audubon park is in Henderson, KY. I had heard about this park before, and I wanted to visit it, so I decided that it would be much easier for everyone if I headed north rather than to continue on to Berea as planned. Tom saw the logic in this, but was rather emotional to see us split up because we had been together for more than a month and a half. Tom was determined to continue on to Yorktown.

I turned north toward Henderson, and called Linda who offered to pick me up at Audubon park the next day. Unfortunately, when I reached Henderson, I noticed that one of the frame members on my bike trailer had broken. I felt that this had weakened the Nashbar trailer to the point that if I continued, I would have put myself, and others in danger of a major failure. So, at this point, I decided it was time to end my journey. I walked into the nearby McDonald’s restaurant where I remained for 5 hours, eating, and updating my journal.

My distance today: 31.89 miles, total ride time, 2 hours and 37 minutes, average speed 12.1 miles, and total miles overall 2,890.12, just 110 miles short of 3,000, but who’s counting?

July 18, 2009, Saturday, Carbondale to Morganfield, KY

Photo: One of thousands of Harley motorcycles enroute to Sturgis, KY on Rt. 13 headed to the "Li'l Sturgis motorcycle rally".

Today was cool and cloudy with a light tail wind that allowed us to safely ride the berm of Illinios Rte. 13 for 63 miles to the Ohio River bridge. While we were biking, loud Harley Davidson bikes sped past us by the hundreds. We soon learned that the bikers were on their way to Sturgis, KY to attend the “Lil Sturgis bike rally” . This might be the last year for it because the “Big Sturgis Rally” is sueing it for name infringement. Before crossing the river, Tom and I became separated when I rode down the road to Shawnee town where there was another rally going on. I left after being asked for $10 admission charge. I learned that Sturgis was about 12 miles west, in Kentucky, on Rt. 109. Thank goodness we were headed south on Rte. 65 toward Seebre, KY.

We continued biking past Morganfield, KY where we camped in a nature preserve there, near a lake. Surprisingly, there were lots of horse campers, and fishermen camping here in this free campground. The only drawback for us was that the campground had gravel roads.

Today’s distance: 83 miles.

July 17, 2009, Friday, Farmington, MO to Carbondale, IL

Photos: Amaya and Eric from France, on the road non-stop for 3 years. WOW! Also, we enter Illinois at Chester, the home of Popeye, however he wasn't listed in he local phone book.

After crossing what has to be one of the most poorly maintained bridges in the country, we entered Illinois at Chester. The bridge actually had a pothole in it that went all the way through the bridge, and you could actually see the Mississippi River through it! It was frightening, Tom and I took pictures of one another at the state border sign, and at the, “Welcome to Chester, home of Popeye sign”. We continued south on the river route, and then continued on to Carbondale where we arrived at about 6:00 p.m.

In Carbondale, we stopped at the Phoenix Bike shop where Doug, the owner worked tirelessly on Paul’s bike trying to get it into like new condition. He replaced the broken front grip shifter that had been installed in Kremling, CO., and fixed other smaller problems The price, and his attitude were both in the right place!

Tom and I ate at the local Pizza Hut and spent the night in the Motel Six.

Total miles today: 93.90, 8h 1 minutes pedaling time, 11.7 miles per hour average, and total miles 2,774.

July 16, 2009, Thursday, Ellington, MO to Farmington, MO

I feasted on homemade granola, and fruit while Tom biked into town for breakfast. I got the recipe for the granola so I could make it later. It was delicious.

The route today was relatively easy, except for a couple of gym shoe hills later in the day. I could bike up most of the hills with little trouble. We’re finally getting out of the Ozarks! There were not as many steep hills as the previous couple of days.

West bound bikers had told us that we should stop by the firehouse, where they would surely put us up for the night. Greg Beavers, the city administrator there is a very avid bicyclist. The firefighters, Chris Spradling, Mike Franklin, and Justin Holmes treated us like one of the crew and put us up in the department’s command van. They let us use the firehouse showers, watch TV with them, and told us the best places to eat in town.

Later, a French Couple, Amaya Williams and Eric Schambion, www.worldbiking.info showed up in the rain, wet and ready for showers. They also joined us in the command van. Amaya and Eric have been bicycling across the globe for the last three years. They bicycled the entire circumference of Africa, they have bicycled in the Middle East, Europe, and are now biking from Maine, to Missoula (where Amaya was born), and then they’re headed south to the southern tip of South America. WOW! These are truly the king and queen of the bike gypsies.

Amaya and Eric told us they take a rest day every 6 days or so, and they take two weeks off every 6 months or so. They always use Couchsurfer.org or Warmshowers.org, or camp in city parks. They seldom pay for lodging, and they always cook rather than eating in restaurants.

They offered us several shortcuts in KY, and verified the efficacy of using Rte. 13 to cross Illinois rather than following the Adventure Cycling route.

The firemen told us that the town here is converting the local jail into a hostel for use by bike riders and others who might need it.

Sorry, miles not recorded today.

July 15, 2009, Wednesday, Eminence to Ellington, MO

I biked from Eminence toward Ellington where I was pushing up a steep hill, in the high heat up from the Current River. The hill was extremely steep! A couple named Donna and Garland picked me up on this steep slope. I needed little convincing to get into the truck with them. I was wet from sweat today, more than I was wet from the rain yesterday. They dropped me off at Halls restaurant in Ellington where I ate for an hour or so on the salad bar, and the fried chicken. Tom finally showed up hot and hungry.

Tom called Jonathan Swyers, Ellington, MO who is registered on the Warmshowers.org web site. Jonathan picked us up in his pick-up truck within about 10 minutes from the call, and took us to the local grocery store. I bought some fruit for the house, but they would accept nothing else.

At the house, we met Jonathan’s wife Alyssa, and their two daughters Ella, 3, and Demi, who is just a few months old. Jonathan and Alyssa made us feel very welcome in their home. Jonathan, and his father, who is on vacation now, are avid adventure racers, so they love bicyclists.

Today’s total for Paul was just 15 miles, and about 23 miles for Tom.

July 14, 2009, Tuesday, Houston, MO to Alley Emenence, MO

Photo: Tom from New York, biking, and raising money for brain tumor research.

We left Houston in a light rain. Tom, the reporter joined us at the local McDonalds, and decided to take a rest day to avoid riding in the rain. We continued on in the rain, which only increased for most of the day, especially on Rte. 16, which was winding, narrow, and with no berm. Tom was nearly run down by a speeding semi truck that braked hard to avoid Tom and a pickup truck which was headed in the other direction. We met the truck driver a few miles later, and learned how much some truck drivers hate us bike riders! This driver thinks the only safe way for us is for bike riders to get off the road whenever trucks pass! We pulled up the road a short way in Summerville where we had some lunch, and tried to dry off.

We eventually turned left at Summerville, and headed for Alley Springs, MO. From there where we rented a room at the Riverside Motel, used a drier at the Laundromat, ate and reviewed maps. We finally located the shortcut that Tom (from NY’s) shortcut which cuts across the bottom of Illinois, and then crosses the Ohio River and Connects with route 65. This route probably saved us 30 miles.

We pedaled today 49.79 wet miles, averaging 10.9 MPH for 4 hours and 33 minutes. My total mileage is now 2,595 miles.

July 13, Monday, Marshfield, MO to Houston, MO

Photo: We cross into Menonite country. Paul substitutes for a horse.

We woke at about 5:30 a.m. to discover a rather dense fog. With deep valleys and hills every quarter mile or so, we decided that fog would be dangerous, so we slept in, here at the Palace motel, so we snoozed until 6:30 a.m. We ate breakfast in the room followed by a 29 mile ride to an all you can eat lunch for $5.75 at Hartville. I ate and tipped well! I was hungry again at the end of the day in Houston, MO in Texas county MO where we called the Sheriff, and were advised to cam at the Westside park and pool where we showed and camped. The ups and downs made me very hungry!

At the park, we met a guy named Tom who’s bicycling to collect for brain tumor research, collecting through a web site www.lifestooshorttour.net in memory of his cousin Rich Risley, who died of a brain tumor on 4/12/2009. Tom plans to write a book about his ride. Tom B and Tom the journalist talked about their experiences until about midnight. I turned in much earlier.

July 12, Sunday, Greenwood, MO to Marshfield, MO

Today, I decided that Missouri must be 47% uphill, 47% downhill and maybe about 6% flat. What a chore to pedal through the Ozarks. I counted 23 distinct hill crests in only six miles!

Total miles today, 69.6, pedaling time 6.53, average speed 10.1, overall total, 2,476.83

July 11, 2009, Saturday, Gerard KS, to Greenwood, MO

Photo: We cross the Missouri border. It's roller coaster time!

We spent our last night in Kansas, and now we’re entering Missouri, and the hilly Ozarks. The Ozarks made me very happy that I had decided to end my trip in Berea, KY rather than continuing on to Yorktown. After all, I have nothing to prove to anyone, and nearly 3,000 miles is a large enough taste of cross-country bicycling. Tom still plans to continue on and finish the trip. He’s a lot more determined than I am.

On the other hand, I’ve decided several things, first, my recumbent is rather sluggish going up hills. It has a much longer wheelbase than a traditional bike, so when uphill speeds get down around 4.5 MPH, it’s very difficult to keep upright. Several times during the trip, I lost concentration, and wound up crossing two lanes of traffic. There were no close calls, but it was a bit frightening. Furthermore, the recumbent is less efficient at delivering power to the pedals because the rider can’t get his weight over the pedals. Third, the Appalachian Mountains are much steeper than the higher Rockies. However, we were about to learn that the relatively short Ozark Mountains were very hilly, and very steep! In fact, I wore out a set of bicycle shoe lugs walking my bike up quite a few of them.

Today at about 4:15 a.m. a loud, windy storm woke us in our tents in our park shelter. I got up and struck my tent anticipating a horizontal rain storm which never came, so I slept on the picnic table until about 7:30 a.m. The wind and rain continued for a couple of hours, but no rain came. We ate a snack and headed out to Pittsburgh, KS., about 25 miles away where we at a nice breakfast at Harry’s café. A customer told us it was the best breakfast in town. We agree, it was GOOD, and inexpensive.

At 3:00 p.m., we ate lunch in Golden City, MO after corssing the MO border. This rest. is excellent! There were low prices, and a varied menu, including every type of homemade pie imaginable. I had beef brisket, breaded tomatoes and cottage cheese for $6.70, and then had pecan pie for desert, and then I noticed a rhubarb pie in the pie case. I haven’t had rhubarb pie since dad died in 1967, so I had to have a piece. It was so delicious, and brought back memories to the point that it brought tears to my eyes! Food has never before caused both tear ducts and saliva glands to function simultaneously! It appeared that, except for the restaurant, the town is very nearly a ghost town.

We stopped at a 1950’s era motel in Greenood, MO with 2 beds and a concrete block room with DTV for $34 cash.

Today’s miles: 66.5, total miles 2407, total pedaling time 5 hours and 58minutes.

July 10, 2009, Friday, Toronto SP to Girard, KS.

We rose at 4:45 a.m., and tried to get on the road at the same time as John and Jan. By about 5:10 a.m., we saw them biking, very well lit, out of the park. We couldn’t believe it, because we were only about half done getting ready. I called to them, and they replied that they had even had their corn flakes and milk! They’re a picture of British military precision.

Tom and I left at about 5:50 a.m., still in the dark, but later than Jan and John. We followed Rte. 105 around, about a mile and a half off course. After getting advice from a pick-up truck driver, we headed to Girard, saving quite a few miles, maybe 10?

Enroute to Girard, we stopped at St. Paul, and we both mailed some of our heavier items back home, including my sleeping bag, and some winter clothes that I had packed for the mountains. This reduced my weight by almost 11 pounds. Tom cut his weight by about eight pounds.

We camped at the Girard City Park and Pool. When we arrived, the pool was closed, but it opened again at 6:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. We took a shower, but unfortunately, there was no hot water! What a shock to the system!

Temps were nearly 100 degrees today, so the reduced weight helped us quite a bit.

Total miles today 87.16, total overall 2,338.56, pedaling time, 7 hours and 53 minutes, average speed 11 mph.

July 9, 2009, Thursday, Cassoday to Toronto KS

Today’s ride took us to Toronto Cross Timbers State Park at Rt. 54 at Rt. 105. We stopped for dinner at the Lizzard Lips Café and General store run by a nice orlder couple, both of them very bicyclist friendly. They gave us each a small plastic lizard, saying they’ve given thousands of them away to cross country bike tourists.
We met our British friends, John and Jan Bell at the State Park, with John studying maps. He designed a route that would save us quite a few miles in KS by going south to Girard on Rt. 105 (It turned out that this was a mistake. Rte. 105 actually ended just on the other side of the dam from Rte. 105. This caused us to get a little lost the next morning, but we still saved quite a few miles generally following John and Jan’s route). The actual route was to go directly south, and then to take 47 directly east to Girard.

We also decided to follow John and Jan’s example and attempt to get onto the road by 5:10 a.m. or so, after getting up at 4:45 a.m.

Today’s ride average 8.7 miles average into the wind and heat.

Today’s ride 60.8 miles with 6 hours and 59 minutes in the saddle. WOW!

July 8, 2009 Wednesday, Hutchinson, KS to Cassoday, KS

We camped at the County store and gas station and convenience store at a picnic table. There was no charge, but as it became dusk, tom was admiring a distant lightening storm and while was doing that, a neighbor warned him that the storm he was watching, was very dangerous, and advised us to move inside. The neighbor suggested that we ask the local minister for shelter. We quickly struck our camp, while Tom asked the minister. He said he couldn’t take us in, but suggested the local rooming house. We biked there in the darkening night, and paid a reasonable price for the single bedroom. We watched the weather alerts, and were alarmed to find that the storm had deposited a large amount of rain and hail over Wichita, KS. Some of the hail was as large as a baseball, and had smashed windshields of quite a few cars there. We were glad to be inside for the night.

Today’s total 71 miles.

July 7, 2009, Tuesday, Great Bend to S. Hutchinson, KS

We biked from Great Bend after sleeping until 10:00 a.m. as a partial rest day. The sleep did us good. We biked past 8:00 p.m., ending on Rte. 50 in South Hutchinson, KA. Few people here were aware of the campground, but luckily the council was in session, so the police chief gave us his permission to sleep in the city park by the ball fields.

The wind for the day was from the southeast at about 15 MPH. We struggled to maintain 9.9 MPH average during our easterly journey. When we turned south, our speed was reduced to about 7.5 miles per hour.

Today’s ride was 70.5 miles.

July 6, 2009, Monday, Ness city to Great Bend, KS

Photo: The "skyscraper of the plains" in Ness City. Attractive building, but a little short for it's name.

We left ness City Park early, heading for Learned, KS, but enroute, we stopped for luch, met a couple of guys from Dayton who suggested an alternate route, stopping overnight in Great Bend, KS. This avoided a bit of wind (maybe), and brings us back to the Adventure Cycling route at Nickerson.

I had real trouble generating enough energy to fight the wind.

We overnighted at the Budget Inn in Kreat Bend, KS

Total miles today 64.65, average speed 11.3

July 5, 2009, Sunday, Lioti to Ness City, KS

Photo: A mountain of grain in the Great Plains.

We were up at 5:00 a.m. this morning, but Tom had a flat again. He pumped it up again, only to have the tire lose air again win just 4 more miles. We visited a local gas station, and used a pail of water to find and fix holes in all three of Tom’s tubes, and then after about 45 minutes, we were on our way again.

We found a British couple, John and Jan Bell, just a few years older than us resting on the road about an hour away from the gas station. John had been a navigator in the British Air Force, and had served as a military attaché in Quito, Ecuador for three years. He was a very interesting guy, and Jan was very nice. John had cycled across Canada, and had taken a 4 month trip the entire length of Africa. This was Jan’s first long bike trip, from West to East on the Adventure Cycling Trans America route. John said the Canada trip was easier due to the lower mountains in Canada.

After we parted, I realized that they probably had a copy of the Adventure Cycling Trans American route map 8, which we had lost, somehow. We caught up with them, so we caught up with them, and ate lunch with them while Tom copied the map set at a local supermarket.

We rose the next day at 5:00 a.m., in the dark, a bit too early, maybe. We biked to Ness City, where we camped in the City Park, where there were two teens who were playing firecracker toss with one another. This was kind of like a hot potato toss that could blow a finger off! We later ran into a British camper who had also stayed here, and an seven year old girl told him he had to leave the park because he was a hippy. When he refused, she started throwing sticks at him. Rather than stop the little girl, she started throwing sticks at him.

Today’s pedaling was perfect except for the persistent, but less severe head wind.

Total miles 85 today.

July 4, 2009, Saturday, Eads, CO to Lioti, Kansas

Mountain time ended, and Central time began after one county into Kansas. I’m now one time zone from home. The morning breeze from the northeast built into a head wind that reduced our average speed to 10 MPH. I spoke to Linda who informed me that my friend Jerry Messer and brother Bill wanted to meet us and ride a bit near Berea.

We reached Lioti around 6:00 p.m. where we found a campground at the Wichata County Fairgrounds where a local rodeo was going to start at 7:00 p.m.. We pitched our tents outside the rodeo arena, and then attended the rodeo, eating concession food during the rodeo. This was very interesting, and fun to watch, and really was a great way to celebrate Independence day!

Total miles for the day 81.95

July 3, 2009, Friday, Fowler, CO to Eads, CO

Photo: Another classy motel! But isn't travelors spelled with an E? Hope they got a discount on the sign!

We were up at 5:00 a.m. to get an early start and to avoid the heat. A large breakfast fueled us, but took time from our early start. We were near Kansas and in a new Central Time zone, our third for this trip. We had a slight tail wind for a change, in the heat.

Our trip ended in Eads

Today’s total was 83.1 miles

July 2, 2009, Thursday, Canon, CO to Fowler, CO

Photo: Florence, my home town, just in a different state.

We left Canon at about 7:00 a.m., and relied on the prevailing winds to blow us to Pueblo, but once again, winds from the southeast prevailed, slowing our progress!

We pedaled to Fowler, CO, and then stayed in a small, but not recalled town name, where we overnighted at Bushy’s motel, owned by a former Kansas State patrol officer and police chief in a small town after he retired.

Today’s total 87.57 miles, average mileage 11.4 mph, 7 hours and 38 minutes in the saddle.

July 1, 2009, Wednesday, Fair Play, CO to Canon, CO

Photo: The cheapest, but best motel in town!

Today’s ride took us mostly downhill from Fair Play via Rte. 9, and Rte 50. When we left Fair Play at about 7:15 a.m., the temperature was about 33 degrees. We had lunch at Guffey, and by the time we reached Canon, CO, the temperature was 90 degrees. We stayed at the Colorado Motel in Canon.

Today’s miles 80.5

June 30, 2009, Tuesday, Silverthorne, CO to Fair Play, CO

Up at 4:30 a.m.. Todd drove us to Silverthorne to recover my bike and trailer. Enroute to Suzie and Chris’s home, we saw, and followed a Moose that was wandering through their neighborhood. We went to the Wilderness outdoor store in Dillon to have a new tire installed, but that store had no repair facility. They directed us to Frisco, 5 miles up hill where Clay, the bike mechanic took care of us. Clay installed a new tire and we were off to Breckenridge, enroute to Hoosier Pass, our highest crossing of the Continental Divide at 11,500 feet.

As the hill got steeper and steeper, Gary from the Alzheimer group passed me as I was putting on my gym shoes, needing to walk up this long, high pass. I summitted the pass, glad to get to the top, and the rest of the Alz. Group summitted, extatic about their achievement. We took pictures, and then started our downward progress from the summit to a little town of Fair Play, which was formerly known as South Park. The town, and some of its residents, are the model for the HBO cartoon series, also called South Park. We camped in South Park with all four members of the Alz group, after participating with publicity pictures with the town’s mayor.

Total miles today: 41.

June 29, 2009, Monday, Rest day in Boulder, CO.

Photo: Tom poses with nephew Todd, and his wife Kitty.

We slept in to 10:00 a.m., and woke to a great breakfast. The only thing I did not rest from today was satisfying my voracious appetite! Kitty and Todd took Tom and I on a tour of Boulder, a beautiful, and progressive city with great downtown bars and restaurants.

Tom got a massage for his aching back, and neck which seemed to have spread from his injured ribs. He was also experiencing some dizziness. The therapist thinks it is all related to Tom's broken ribs. He recommended daily stretching. Paul nearly succeeded in his quest to regain all of his lost weight in one day. What a wonderful day of rest, relaxation, and exploration. Thank you Todd and Kitty!!!!

No miles today, all rest.

June 28, 2009, Sunday, Kremling to Silverthorne, CO

Photo: Still life in Kremling.

Today’s ride was mostly uphill, but we had a tail wind most of the time. Tom was far ahead, as usual.

I called and told him we were to turn right at county road 30, but he missed the sign and continued on Rt. 9, which was very narrow and very busy. I biked around CR 30 for 10 miles around the Green Mountain reservoir, which was a beautiful ride with free campgrounds all around. There was a hydroelectric dam impounding the lake with several small islands. I met 8 to 10 cross country bikers along the ride, along with several local bikers who were there for the scenery. I met Tom at the end of CR 30 at the second intersection with Rt. 9. A local biker assured us that the road would open up in a couple of miles with a fairly wide berm. Tom was really happy that he made the passage on Rt. 9 with no injury from the many cars or trucks.

At Silverthorne, Tom’s nephew Todd and his new wife Kitty, who is from Laos near Thailand.

At Silverthorne, Tom’s nephew Todd and his new wife Kitty, from Laos near Thailand. We biked to Suzie and Chris’s house in Silverthorne where we stored my bike and trailer. Suzie and Chris are good friends of Todd and Kitty, and are both avid bikers and also enjoy most of the outdoor activities in the area. Thank you very much Chris and Suzie for helping us to have a great rest day in Boulder!

Chris and Suzie seem to have their priorities in order. Inside the house, there are two mountain bikes hanging from the ceiling, one in the entrance foyer, and one in the living room.


Todd and Kitty took us to their home in Boulder, which is cradled deep inside a canyon near Boulder with a near vertical rock wall bordering he back yard with a creek running through the front yard. The canyon is probably about 200 feet wide, wall to wall at Todd’s house, encompassing, the road, the creek, the house, and the back yard.

We had dinner of Cosco Lasagne. Having just discovered that both Tom and I had lost 15 pounds each during the trip, Tom and I ate heartily. By the next day, after eating, drinking and resting for a day my weight came back up to 170 pounds, up from 159 ½ pounds!

Total miles 41 today.

June 27, 2009, Saturday, Walden, CO to Kremling, CO

Today was a good sunny, warm day with no major problems, except that I broke a cable on my front derailleur, so I only had a single speed for my front chain rings. We pedaled from Walden City Park at about 8,200 ft. elevation to Willow Creek Pass (another of quite a few crossings of the continental divide), down to a the lower altitude of Kremling, CO. at about 7.400 ft. elevation.

On the way, we stopped at Hot Springs, CO for lunch in a Dairy bar, and then stayed overnight in the Hotel Easton in Downtown Kremling, which was a boarding house, in a room with two beds, and a restroom with shower down the hall. It was old, but adequate for the price.

Total today 80.5 miles

June 26, 2009, Friday, Riverside, WY to Walden, CO

We ate breakfast in Riverside at a nice Western restaurant bar, and after breakfast, I discovered another slow leak flat. I fixed one of the holes, but missed another!

After 12 ½ miles enroute to Walden, CO, the rear tire went flat again (flat number three). As I started to fix the tire, it started to rain again! I replaced the tube with my spare, but as I pumped it up, the tire started foaming at the rim. Apparently, I had failed to properly patch that tube from the first flat. It appears that the only way to properly patch a tire is to immerse it in water to look for bubbles! At this point, after working for an hour in the cold, and rain, with two damaged tubes, I decided I would need to just pedal along, adding air when necessary until we reached our final destination for the day, when along came another helping had.

Mr. Plaitt, the owner of a local 4,000 acre ranch picked me up in his pick-up truck and took me to his dry garage. We found the leaks in my tubes, using the water immersion method, and patched them. At this point, the tires, wheels and tubes were all wet, but I reassembled them again, and pumped them up to 100 pounds using Mr. Plaitt’s compressor. Things were perfect until POW, the tire bead pushed passed the rim, and blew a large hole in my tube! I dried the tube, tire, and rim, and re-installed the tire, this time inflating it to only 55 pounds. This time, it held air. I was back on the road after about 2 hours or so.

Tom, on the other had, was cold and wet. He had tried to stay warm, but the only way he could do so, was to lay down in a ditch on the side of the road. When I next heard form him, he was already in Walden. He bought a new tire and tube from a hardware store as a spare, just in case my tire blew again. While in the hardware store, he found a guy named Keith with a pickup truck who was willing to come and get me. I could have gone on by myself, but the ride seemed like a better idea at the time. I gave Keith some gas money.

We bicycled past the Welcome to Colorado sign, but it was raining too hard to stop for the picture, so we decided to take a photo of a Colorado sign as we left the state.

We stayed in the Walden City Park tonight, and had dinner at a local restaurant with Dave Shuey, and his wife. They were staying at a remote B and B some 12 or so miles outside of town.

Total miles for Paul 18, and for Tom about 48.

June 25, 2009, Thursday, Rawlins, WY to Riverside, WY

Today, we had flat tire number two on Paul’s rear tire on I-80. A small steel belt fragment had lodged in the tire, and punctured the inner tube in several places. I changed the tire, removed the metal fragment, but unfortunately, I only found one of the leaks. The others would haunt me for a couple of more days.

Brother Jerry B called while we were on Rte. 130. I told him about the flat on the expressway, which freaked him out, and I also told him that we had just found six rattlesnake road kill on the road, which freaked him out even more. Tom had cut the rattle off one of the dead snakes as a souvenir.

We had a nice lunch today near the N. Platte River. We met John F. Watson, Jwats2561Agmail.com, a retired fireman from Denver, CO who was riding a Co-Motion road bike. Riverside is 7200 ft. above sea level.

We made it to Riverside, WY where we camped in a light rain.

Total miles today: 61

June 24, 2009, Jeffrey City to Rawlins, WY

Picture: Tom Ekholm, a Great Divide biker from New Zealand shows his sun protection: Lady's black panty hose sections. It really works, but looks a little strange. It works, so Tom could care less about the looks.

We met Thomas Ekholm and Julie Williams, both from New Zealand. They were riding the Great Divide trail from Canada to Mexico. Thomas is pretty creative. He wears the brim of a wide brimmed hat, and the legs of two pairs of black ladies panty hose on his arms and legs to eliminate the need for sun block lotion. He looks pretty silly, but on the Great Divide, who cares?

We crossed the great divide twice today. It was a rather hot and dry, and tiring day.

Today’s miles: 71.

June 23, 2009, Carol leaves us

Picture: Motel in Jeffrey City WY. What a strange place this town was!!!

Carol left us early for the airport. We’ll miss her! Tom got a call from her. She had taken Kendall and Rachael back to Ft. Watachaie to retrieve their bikes, but discovered that Rachael’s bike had been stolen from the storage room. Who knows what they’ll do now?

Tinika Velthorst, FIETSTREK.NL and her boyfriend are biking here on a four and a half month holiday from the Netherlands. They were also camping in the Lander City Park, but her boyfriend is confined to the tent due to a case of diarrhea. Apparently that's going around! Tinika had seen me in one of my jerseys from Amsterdam, and introduced herself because she thought I was a fellow countryman.

While we were packing, Carol called us with good news. The grocery store owners discovered who had stolen Rachael’s bike, and they recovered it, no worse for the wear.

We biked to Jeffrey City, WY, a little town built during the 1950’s for uranium mining. Then, the town had 5,000 residents, but now, it has only 50. It looks like a ghost town, with boarded up buildings, and would be an excellent site for a Steven King novel.

Tom had flat number six today, number two on his new Kevlar, Specialized Armadillo tire. by now, the tread had separated, and we were pretty sure that a small, pebble actually caused the flat!!! The tread had completely separated from the carcass of the tire. What a rip off!!!

We stayed in a motel with no hot water, no AC, and a weathered old sign, from the 1950’s. It was Eerie! The local bar, the Split Rock Tavern, was the only thing that looked like it had any maintenance at all during the last 50 years. We ate dinner and breakfast the next day at the Split Rock, but we were glad to get out of town! We paid $30 for the room, but wouldn’t have if anything else were available!

While here, we met David Shuey, who was raising money for Arthritis research. His blog is http://community.arthritis.org/david9/blog. David had raised $50,000.

It felt good to get out of this ghost town. We were swarmed by Mosquitos every time we stepped outside.

Today’s mileage was 61.14, mostly uphill. Total overall: 1,238.

June 22, 2009 Monday, Mountain Lodge to Lander, WY

Picture: Red Rocks in cowboy and Indian country.

Enroute we took pictures of two bikers, Joe Mantel, and Heather Vosburgh who had gone from Richmond, VA to Key West, FL, to Tempe AZ, and then to the Grand Canyon, using the Adventure cycling Great parks of the West, the Grand Canyon Connector, and the Western Express routes.

The ride today was gloriously downhill with little wind! Today, we met Greg from the UnforgettableJourney.org who had had a bulging flat tire at about mile 70 today. We had a good night at the city park, but Kendall and Rachael, the other members of the Alz crew had gotten a late start this morning, so they stopped at Ft. Watachaie, left their bikes in a grocery store storage room, and then got a ride to the Lander city campground from some touring friends who just happened to be in the area.

We camped in Lander at the city park, at the invitation of a City Council Member. We biked to the swimming pool, in a school nearby, where we paid $2.00 for a shower.

Total miles today: 100.08.

6/21/2009, Sunday, Yellowstone to Lava Mountain Lodge, WY

Photo: Mountains as we leave Teton National Park.

Back to nearly full strength, Tom and I biked on to the Lava Mountain Lodge. It was Fathers Day, and I enjoyed calls from my kids Denise, Jeff, and Mike. Pam, thirteen time zones away in Korea sent me a text message. We biked, mostly up and over the 9658 ft. Togwotee Pass which consisted of about ten miles up a mostly 4% grade. It wasn’t bad, especially with Carol carrying our bags. The reduced weight made our bags feel like they were motorized!

The weather was beautiful until we reached Togwotee Pass, when a light rain turned to face stinging hail, followed by damaged pavement, followed by a bit of lightening, and a constant temperature drop. We reached the top, and sped down a 12 mile grade. On the way down, Pinnacle Bute, at 11,516 ft revealed itself. It was quite an impressive sight, but Tom missed it, possibly because it might have been cloud covered when he sped by.

At Mountain lodge, there was a singing cowboy who entertained us with cowboy tunes. We rented a comfortable cabin, but with no plumbing.

Kendall, and Rachael, of the Unforgettable Journey bicycled past this location. They said they got muddy and frightened in a lightening storm while biking out of Yellowstone on road that was under construction. We had driven over the same section of road, and we were happy we had Carol with us to transport us over the bad road! What a mess!

There was a vividly colored rainbow coming down from the pass. Carol said it was the most vivid rainbow she had ever seen. It seemed to be resting on the side of the hill, and was extraordinarily wide.

At the Mountain lodge, we met Jim the most authentic looking cowboy we have seen yet. He’s a former jockey, who works at the Mountain Lodge. In 1966, he won a large purse in Chicago, which he used to pay of his parent’s home. Jim said he has a horse from Ohio. You can lift up his tail and see the “O”.

Total miles today, 58.7; 8 miles of it over a damaged gravel section of road, over the pass.

6/20/2009, Saturday Tetons and Jackson Hole.

Pictures: Paul relaxes at Jenny Lake, Jackson Hole, Antelope Antler Arches.
Another day at Flagg. We drove to Jackson Hole, past the Tetons, which Carol informed us means, “breasts” in French. We also marveled at Jenny Lake, a relatively small, but beautiful body of water with the Tetons rising abruptly, and beautifully from the lake’s western shore.

Jaskson is a pretty town with a small town park in the center. Each of the four entrances to the park has a large arrangement of antlers, formed as arches at each corner of the park. It was beautiful! I was doing much better, but not quite to full strength yet.

6/19/2009, Friday, Rest Day #2 at Yellowstone and Flagg Lodge

Photo: More steamy pictures from Yellowstone, the mega volcano!

Tom biked from Canyon CG to Flagg Resort and lodge. I was still weak, so I rode with Carol. I slept in the cabin, while Tom and Carol toured, and then went they on a float trip on a calm section of the Snake River.

6/18/2009 Thursday, Rest Day, Yellowstone

By morning, I was feeling a little better, but not yet back to normal, so we drove to the Lake Lodge for Breakfast. This old 1920’s era lodge is built from huge timbers. The windows are mostly original. After breakfast, the diarrhea returned, so I crawled back into the tent where I stayed until 7:00 p.m.. This was really frustrating for me because I had hoped that our visit to Yellowstone would be the highlight of my trip. Inside the tent, I listened to the rain, watched the hailstones falling down my rail fly, and slept. Temperatures each night here dropped well below freezing at our 8,000 ft. plus altitude.

June 17, Wednesday, to Yellowstone

Picture: Bison with calf in Yellowstone. Hot spring in Yellowstone.

At breakfast at the campground, I ordered two pancakes. This was a real mistake because a single pancake covered the large plate on all sides. I tried eating both cakes anyway, but there was no way! We broke came and headed to West Yellowstone on Rte. 287, but on the way realized, too late, that I had a case of diarrhea. It took me half an hour to clean up and get back on the road. Tom, who was far ahead, as usual, had already arrived in West Yellowstone by then, and had been calling me for a while, but I was in a no service area. I explained the situation when I arrived, feeling weak and tired.

We stopped at the Yellowstone Visitors Center where I bought a senior pass for the National Parks, and we made reservations for the Canyon Campground for three days. We biked the additional 40 miles but I felt very weak, both from the diarrhea, from the increasing altitude, and the hill enroute to Canyon Campground. I had to stop and rest every half-mile or so, and then I was very frustrated at the sign that said, “steep grade, next three miles.”

Luckily, Tom found a couple with a pickup truck who stopped, and loaded me, and my bike and gear into their truck, and then drove me, and later Tom, who was well ahead of me, to Canyon CG.

I didn’t get their last names, but the kind couple who picked us up were Robin, and Dave. They were both in their early 60’s, and Robin was driving. Dave, who was recovering from a stroke, was the passenger. Dave could not speak very well, but seemed very alert, mentally. I offered them both gas money, but they thanked me and refused. Yet, another pair of trail angels!

Tom built a fire, but I just built my tent and crawled in, where I remained, mostly for the next two days.

Carol arrived later than she thought she would in her rented Nissan station wagon. Still weak, I stayed in the tent, and greeted her from inside the tent.

Mileage for the day, about 66 miles, mostly uphill

June 16, 2009, Tuesday, Ennis to near West Yellowstone.

Photos: Earthquake lake in Yellowstone, and Tom B as we enter Wyoming in Yellowstone National Park.

We slept in a bit, had a decent, but a little expensive breakfast at the Ennis Café, and biked 49.5 miles with no services along the way. The restaurant in Cameron, and all other locations along the way were either closed for the day, or closed permanently. Most of today’s pedaling was slightly uphill, even when it looked downhill, it was uphill. We camped at the campfire lodge resort, which has a West Yellowstone address even though its 23 miles away from West Yellowstone. The elevation of our campground was 6487 Feet, an altitude gain of 1487 feet over Ennis.

Today's miles 49.5 miles, overall 966.34, saddle time, 4 hours and 54 minutes.

June 15, 2009, Monday, Dillon to Ennis

Photo: Beautiful view on the downhill to Ennis from Virginia City.

We met Sherry and Steve Mayhew who are biking from Logan, UT to Eugene OR. Steve is 62, and his wife Sherry is 52. We biked past Virginia City, and then over a steep pass, and down a 10 mile mountain to Ennis where we met Kelley,

Blog: fromheretoacadia.blogspot.com. She’s camping in her car. She sold her house in the Yukon, where she just got her B.S. degree in tourism management from Vancouver Island University. She’s traveling in the US for 2 weeks and then she’s going to get her masters degree in Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Kelley's quite a thrifty camper.

June 14, 2009, Sunday, Jackson to Dillon, MT

Photo: A taco bus in Dillon. We didn't eat here, but it was colorful.

We had breakfast at Rose’s café in Jackson with better and cheaper food than the hotel. I had a huge breakfast burrito for only $5.00. We had lunch at the McDonald’s in Dillon, and overnighted at the Sundowner motel. I talked to Linda, and left a Birthday message for Pam on her voice mail. We met Greg, one of the alzheimer’s group in Dillon. In addition to being a musician, he’s also a bike racer, so he was way ahead of the rest of the group. I spoke to Linda and left a happy birthday message for my dughter Pam.

We met Greg, one of the Alzheimer’s trio. Greg’s the bike racer of the trio. Rachel and Kendall are still far behind. At the Sundowner, Tom was having trouble using the Wi Fi, so Michelle, the clerk loaned Paul her personal laptop. It’s amazing how kind and trusting people have been on this trip! I tried to send a journal email with Michelle’s laptop, but it failed like the one from last week, so I gave up on keeping people updated in detail, and instead, settled on an occasional email until we get home.

We biked 49.52 miles today. Overall 839.38 miles.
915.

6/13/2009 Saturday, Sula to Jackson, MT

Photo: Tom "The Duke" at handicapped parking site at Chief Joseph Pass ranger station.

We left Sula campground at about 9:00 a.m., and in about 13 miles, biked up chief Joseph Pass with the last five miles gruelingly steep! A guy heard Tom's broken rib story, and commented, "Wow, that guy has grit!" From then on, he became "The Duke"!

We took photos at this 7,000 ft. plus pass with a backdrop of snow. Tom made snow angels in his super sweaty bike togs. The ride down the other side of the pass was nice at first, but then it leveled off a bit too much. The scenery is spectacular here in Big Hole. Big just doesn’t describe this Bitter Root Mountain ringed canyon, which is actually a high desert, but today, it rained a good part of the day. We had lunch at a small town named Wisdom, named for a local creek that has now changed its name, then on to Jackson, MT, in the head wind and sporadic rain.

We visited the Big Hole battlefield where the Nez Pierce were attacked by the US Cavalry, and many native Americans were slaughtered because they did not want to be confined to a reservation. It was a pretty sad story.

We stayed the night at the Hot Springs Hotel, which looks like a western cowboy movie set. Our Alzheimer’s group stayed here too in tents, but the proprietor let them stay in a room due to the cold. They appreciated the beds and hot showers.

Today’s ride 59.44 miles Total 789.81, total pedaling time 6 hours and 39 minutes.

June 12, 2009 Missoula, MT to Sula, MT

Photo: The Bitterroot Mts., just outside Missoula, MT

Up at 6:15 a.m. and off to Sula. This was a very pretty ride with the snow capped Bitter Root Mountains to the west, as we traveled south, with lower, more distant mountains to the east. The Bitter Roots stood like giant class 10 rapids in a river of rock, each miles apart. The highest mountain in the range was Mt. Ward at 9,010 ft. near Darby.

We overnighted at Sula Campground, mini golf, restaurant, grocery. Nothing else was in town except the rain and at least a million blood thirsty mosquitoes.

Here, we met four young people biking east, collecting money for Alzheimer’s disease research under the name, The Unforgettable Journey at www.theunforgettablejourney.org. Kendal, Greg, and Rachael are musicians. Kendal’s father, who remained in Washington, D.C. would arrange for their lodging along the way, and would also arrange for the group to perform for nursing home patients in homes along the way. They were all college-trained musicians. These were very nice people who we encountered several more times as we headed east.

Just outside of Missoula, we also met Scott as he was biking from his home in Ft. Lauderdale to Alaska, then to S. America. He was carrying 75 pounds of gear on his bike, including a laptop!

Today: 85.75 miles, overall 730.27 miles.

June 11, 2009 Thursday, Rest Day.

Tom went to an urgent care near the hospital in Missoula, which confirmed the two broken ribs. The doc told him that it’s usual for broken ribs to flare up after a few days to the inflammation and fluid build up over time. The doctor said it would be beneficial for Tom to keep on biking, but that he might experience another episode with spasms at the fracture site, but she also prescribed medication for the pain.

Tom and I visited the Adventure Cycling office where we had a guided tour of the office and bike museum, and photo session for Adventure Cycling history books.

A review of our maps shows that tomorrow’s ride will start the big climb from 3000 ft. of elevation at Missoula, to Chief Joseph Pass at 7241 ft. then down to a little over 6000 feet and back to big hole pass at 7360, and then down to 6000 feet again, and up to badger pass at 6760 feet, then down to twin bridges at 4800 feet and then up to another unnamed peak at about 7000 feet, then down to Ennis at about 5000 feet, and up again to West Yellowstone at about 6800 feet. Sounds like fun!

June 10, Wednesday, Powell to Missoula, MT

The big "M" at the U of Montanna Campus, Missoula, MT.

This day began at about 3:00 a.m. when I needed to leave the cabin to water a nearby tree. When I came back, I realized that I had accidentally allowed the cabin door to close behind me. I gently knocked, but there was no answer. It was getting cold, standing there only in my undershorts, so I knocked harder and called out to Tom, who screamed out in pain because he couldn’t get out of bed due to rib pain. At this point, if he was not sure before he was now positive that his ribs were broken, not just bruised. After Tom was finally able to struggle to unlock the door, I dug into my first aid bag and gave him some Advil. At this point, I assumed that the trip was over, and we’d need to find our way home via some transportation other than our bikes. Later in the morning, I woke to find Tom dressed for biking, and feeling well. What a surprise!

Enroute to Missoula, we crossed Lolo pass. It was quite a long pedal, but we were both able to make the climb. At the top, Tom talked to a park ranger about the location of a clinic where he might be able to have his ribs x-rayed. An older motorcyclist overheard the conversation, and then asked me if I was with the guy who climbed up the Lolo pass with broken ribs. The old guy said, “my god, that guy has grit!” From then on Tom gained a new nickname, “John ‘the Duke’ Wayne”.

We had perfect weather for today’s ride, with an occasional slight head wind. After Lolo, we followed a small, but fast moving stream toward Missoula. The slight downhill along the stream had us riding very fast!

When we reached Missoula, Tom discovered another slow leaking flat tire. We called Advanture cycling which directed us to a local bike shop where Tom bought a Specialized Armadillo tire, which contains Kevlar webbing, hoping to prevent future flats, but unfortunately, the tire only last a few hundred miles before the tread separated, and Tom had two more flats with it, one due to a small pebble!!

Once again, Gary Bohman came through for us. He had arranged for Tom and I to stay in Missoula near the University of Montana in the campus ministries, just adjacent to the main entrance to the university. John Lund, the minister there had been Gary’s minister in Vancouver before being transferred to Missoula. We stayed the night, and the next day, while Tom had his ribs x-rayed. The doc told him that it’s usual for broken ribs to flare up after a few days to the inflammation and fluid build up over time.

Total miles today 61.51, overall: 638.93.

June 9, Tuesday, Rest Day, Finally!

Photo: Tom studying maps at Lochsa Lodge Cabin near Lochsa R.

Paul had no energy, so he stayed in bed until past noon, while Tom continued, biking 10 miles back to soak in one of the hot springs we had passed about 10 miles back. He was hoping that the warm waters would bring some relief to his aching ribs. I had no energy for even 10 more feet of additional biking! While Tom was hiking from the road to the hot spring, the confronted a moose, almost face to face. It didn’t seem to mind, so Tom took a picture. The front half of the moose filled most of the frame!

This was a great rest in a beautiful place!

June 8, Monday Lowell to Powell

Photo: The Clearwater R.

It started raining early so we decided on a rest day. The proprietor at the Three Rivers lodge gave us the keys to her van so we could drive across the bridge, in the rain to a restaurant for breakfast. We counted this as another random act of human kindness.

The skies cleared during breakfast, so we headed east on our bikes up a slight grade. Paul’s legs were crying out for a rest, but Tom’s were feeling stronger. As we headed for Powell, we passed a couple of trails leading to hot springs, but light rain showers and the need to reach Powell prevented us from stopping. We overnighted at Lochsa Lodge in a small cabin with two beds, but no plumbing. But the price was right!

Total mileage today for Paul 68, total miles 577.37. Tom continued biking about 10 miles back to bask in one of the hot springs we had previously passed. I had no energy for even 10 more feet of additional biking!

June 7, 2009, Sunday, Orfino to Lowell

Photo: L to R August and Kate Bush, our trail angels of the trip! and Tom B.

August woke us early with a breakfast of eggs, Huckelberry Pancakes, and homemade huckleberry syrup made form berries that he had harvested from the woods himself, plus homemade apple cider made from apples he had harvested nearby in an abandoned apple orchard. He had used a friend’s cider press to make the cider, and had about 15 gallons stashed away in his freezer. Kate joined us for breakfast, and asked our permission to say a prayer of thanksgiving. She actually thanked God for bringing guests to her new kitchen table. The prayer nearly brought tears to my eyes! The table decoration consisted of several sprays of Syringa, which August had picked from the nearby woods for Kate. Syringa is the state flower of Idaho. What a kind, and loving couple!!!

We rode today in balmy 70 degree weather under partly cloudy skies on nearly level roads. We lunched at a town called Kamiahim at a restaurant bar, bowling alley, where we met Katz, who was married to a Nez Pierce Indian. We later learned that Nez Pierce is French for Nose Pierced. The trip from Kooskia and past Syringa was enjoyable until the last 4 or so miles when it cooled and rain fell, mixed with a few hail stones.

At lunch, we had another offer for lodging from a rather intoxicated hunting guide, sporting homemade tattoos. He’s a guide at a hunting lodge at MM 123 on Rte. 12. He promised to feed us and put us up at the lodge. He was depressed that his job was to bait areas around the lodge to lure bears so paying customers could shoot them. Then he had to skin the bears, and prepare the meat. He hated to see animals suffer, but that was his job. He seemed to imply that his drinking resulted from his depressing job. He was still at the bar when we biked away, and we worried he might run us down as he drove under the influence toward his place of employment.

Lowell welcomed us with the Three Rivers Lodge, motel, restaurant, rafting service, and campground. At this point, the Clearwater river became the Lochsha River. Tom negotiated a discount on a cabin, saving us from enduring each other’s company in a queen sized bed. We could have camped, but it was raining! Laura, the proprietor, is a professional clown, who still goes on the road when she needs extra cash. Her husband is also a professional clown. They’ve toured the world together.

Today: 55.81 miles, total so far 509.35

June 6, Saturday, Pomeroy, WA to Orfino, ID

Photo: Me, the new beard, and the Idaho state line.

Thanks to the burrow, we woke at 5:45 a.m., twenty minutes before the alarm sounded. A short hill climb brought us up to about 2800 feet elevation, letting us know that we were getting closer to the mountains. The climb was followed by an exhilarating five-mile descent to about 900 ft. elevation. A few flat miles later, we finished our first Adventure Cycling map book at Clarkson, WA, and then we continued to Lewiston, ID. A bike shop owner directed us to a Waffles and More restaurant, where coincidentally, our waitress, Laurie moonlighted as an Adventure Cycling trip leader, who bikes to work each day. She helped us with our map options, and even offered the use of her house, should we pass that way.

As Laurie suggested, we took the river route from Lewiston, which took us along the Clearwater River and through Myrtle and Lenore, and into Orfino, ID. On the way, we had a great adventure. Along the way, my fender loosened, and scraped against my tire requiring quite a bit of time to get it properly adjusted! Then came more

Then, just outside of Lewiston, Tom fell onto the road, breaking two ribs. He fell because highway 12 was being widened. Part of the widening process meant that the berm had been cut off at the edge of the road and replaced by a soft bed of very loose gravel, which trapped Tom's front wheel, causing him to go down into the road. Luckily there were no cars coming at the time.

Then I gained the experience of changing a flat rear tire. This took a while because I hadn’t ever changed it before. Then, as we headed east, it started raining. Then about 8 miles from Orfino, in a rain storm, one of Tom’s tires went flat. He thanked God that at least there was no lightening. Seconds later, BOOM! Now, he discovered that both of his inner tubes were flat. He couldn’t patch either in the rain! This created one of our best human kindness stories:

About two miles ahead, I found a Ron Browning, Highway #12, Lenore, ID, with a pickup truck who was willing to go back to pick up Tom. As he started to head west to pick up Tom, we saw Tom and his bike headed east in a mini-van driven by Kate Bush. Mrs. Bush, whose husband was working overtime, at the moment, at the local dam, had stopped to help Tom, and offered her house to both of us. We were a bit concerned that her husband August might not be so welcoming of us, but Kate assured us that her husband would do the same thing. With no other good option, Kate took Tom, and Ron took me to Kate’s house in Orfino. Neither of them would accept money from us, even for gas money. We took showers, and then took Kate to her favorite restaurant where Kate bought carry-out for August.

It was a little unnerving when Kate left the restaurant with Tom and I in her car just as August, on his way home from work, fell in right behind Kate as we headed toward the Bush home. Kate pulled in the driveway first, followed by August who exited his car and marched up the walk, and onto the porch and nearly into the front door. Kate watched, and then called to him, asking him to say hello to their two bicycling guests. His attitude changed from indifference to friendliness, and he welcomed us into his home.

August is a mechanic at the nearby Dworshak Reservoir dam, which at 724 feet high is one of the tallest of it’s kind in the US.

Miles today 72.98, trip: 453, 12 MPH average

June 5, Friday, Walla Walla, WA to Pomeroy, WA

Photo: Late 19th Century courthouse in Pomeroy, County seat of Guillford Co., WA.

We woke to clear skies, and beautiful weather. It’s good to be out of the windy gorge. We had a continental breakfast at the motel, and headed out after Tom repaired flat tire number two. We had a little trouble finding the route out of Walla Walla, but finally found a tunnel under the road that took us out of town. The road east was a long, slight grade, with little traffic, flanked by wheat fields. Massive watering operations, pumping water from wells, keep the wheat green. I wonder what will happen if the wells ever dry up.

We had delicious dinner at a biker bar in Pomeroy, WA, including clam chowder, large chef’s salad, and peach pie alamode for Paul’s desert. Tom began his, “Paul you really eat a lot” comments, but that soon ended when we discovered that we were both losing quite a bit of weight due to all the pedaling. Lesson learned: Eat well, or you'll lose muscle mass after all the fat's gone!

We biked three miles east to the Guillford County Fair Grounds where we camped with access to showers and rest rooms. It was free, and quite nice. A nearby burrow’s braying woke us early the next morning as surely as a rooster might have.

70 miles today, 10.2 MPH average. Not bad considering Tom's flat tire.

June 4, Thursday, Umatilla, OR to Walla Walla, WA

Picture: Lunch Break at Hat Rock State Park, L to R Justin, Tom, Tatia, Priscilla Walsh. Across the table: Paul and Peggy

Tom, Priscilla, Justin, Tatia and Peggy met us early at the Umatilla campground where Tom was repairing his first flat of the trip. Tom and Priscilla had Sun recumbent bikes, while Justin rode a dirt bike. Peggy and Priscilla followed while Tom Walsh, Tom Bohman, Paul B., Justin and Tatia biked through Umatlla to Hat Rock State park, about nine miles away, where we enjoyed a nice lunch together.

Justin now works for an Oil Exploration ship. He worries about reduced oil exploration due to falling oil prices.

After lunch at Hat Rock, the wind from the south east continued, only subsiding for a few miles at the Washington Walla Walla county line. We arrived at Walla Walla at about 6:15 p.m., where we found a room at a budget inn at about 7:15 p.m. We were lucky to get into the hotel because was watched a very strong thunderstorm as we ate dinner in a local Mexican Restaurant. The winds have subsided, but more thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow.

Miles today 59.58, overall 319.4

June 3, Wednesday, Washington State to Umatilla, OR

Photo: Our campground in Umatilla, OR.

Up at 6:30 a.m. again for the slow push of our bikes back up he gravel hill to Rte. 14. The strong head wind continued to hold our forward progress to 10 mph. We pedaled to West Roosevelt where we spoke to the proprietor of a mini-mart who expressed surprise because the winds usually blow here from the west to the east. We didn't know if he was just pulling our legs or not, because we had head winds here for 3 solid days! In another 30 miles, we stopped at Patterson where we enjoyed a delicious blue plate special.

During today's ride, we noticed hundreds of brand new wind powered electric generators slowly spinning from the wind coming from the east. It's amazing how huge these things are. It's amazing how hot, windy and desolate this area is. You'd think there be more people along the scenic Columbia, but the conditions make the desolation understandable.

As we approached Umatilla from the north of the Columbia, we were directed to a bicycle/pedestrian only ramp which ran beneath the I-84 bridge. This was much safer than attempting to cross with traffic.

I had spoken to Priscilla Walsh who planned to meet us there the next morning with my cousin Tom, his son Justin, his wife Tatia, and Tom’s sister Peggy. We camped at a marina/campground in Umatilla.

Today's ride was 64.8 mile for the day, averaging 10 MPH, for a total trip distance of 257.6 mile.

June 2, Tuesday, Hood River, OR to Wash. State

Campsite at about mile post 120 in WA state, just east of Biggs Dam.

We rose at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast at a local bar. After we headed through the City of Hood River, we realized that if we had traveled a few miles past the Vagabond Inn, we could have saved quite a bit of cash on our first night of paid lodging, by renting a cheaper room in Hood River. From here, we headed east on the Columbia R. historic highway for about 8 miles. These beautiful road is open only to joggers and bicyclists, and believe me, we saw quite a few of both. Twenty-seven miles later we entered “The Dalles”, which is the French name for “rapids” which use to be here before the Columbia River was dammed to harness its power for electricity. Then we pedaled 10.5 miles on I-84. We lunched at Biggs, OR and crossed the Columbia at the Biggs Dam, crossing into Washington, and then went up the hill to the north side of the gorge. The hill up from the gorge was steep and busy. Tom was able to pedal up, but I had to walk due to the steep climb, and heavy traffic. My recumbent is much more difficult to power up hills due to its lower center of gravity, long wheelbase, and the fact that the rider cannot stand over the pedals for additional power.

At the top of the gorge, the wind began its constant push against us. The winds held us to ten miles per hour or so as we headed east. We had been very wrong in our assumption that in pedaling from the west coast to the east the prevailing winds from the west would benefit us. WE WERE VERY WRONG!

Gary found us pedaling hot and tired at mile 107 on highway 14, not far from Biggs. Gary has a part time job delivering vehicles between car dealers, so he was able to find us pushing against the wind at mile marker 104, where we found a sign, “No gas for 82 miles”, so we knew that there would be no services for quite a few miles. It seemed that we had been pedaling for many miles, but we could still see the Biggs dam. DAMN! Naturally, Gary was a welcome sight. Gary, our first and best angel of our journey, traveled ahead, and found us a nice place to camp at mile marker 120, on hwy 14. He also took Tom back to Biggs, OR to the restaurant where we had eaten lunch about three hours ago. Tom bought us both a boxed dinner for each of us for our dinner. We camped under bright stars, ate dinner, listened to the lake water lapping against the sandy shore, and watched an eagle circle overhead searching for his dinner. Paul rinsed his sweat stained clothes in the lake before we slept under the stars.

Today, we biked 70 miles, averaging only 10 miles per hour into the headwind. We’re in the treeless zone now, so the wind has nothing to deter it.

June 1, Monday, Back on the Road

Photo: Multnomah falls on the Columbia R. Gorge

Once again, but with less fanfare, Gary, and the Intruder motor home got Tom and I back on the road and onto a bike trail in Portland. Admittedly, we cut our trip short by a few miles, thanks to Paul's leg cramps, but not by much, so who cares? In a few miles, we entered the Columbia River Scenic Highway where we enjoyed Chanticleer Point with its outstanding view of the Columbia Gorge. We had a great view of the Vista House, and then a few miles later, we had a great view of the Gorge from the Vista House. We continued on, and took pictures of Bridal Veil Falls, and the extremely beautiful Montnomah Falls. Spring rains this year added to the drama of all the falls and streams in the area. We ate Charburger at Cascade locks, at the restaurant of the same name.

A little bit later, to our surprise, our Adventure Cycling route took us onto Interstate I-84, which was a little scary. Later on though we decided that expressways, with their large berms are often safer than some of the less traveled, but narrow, bermless, and winding roads we would encounter later.

We finished today’s ride at 60.3 miles in Hood River, OR, overnighting at the Vagabond Inn where we spent more money than we wanted to spend. Lesson learned: Check several places, or you'll pay top dollar for similar quality. Today’s ride time was 4 hours and 49 minutes.

May 31, Sunday, We’re Off!

Photo: Tom and I have just dipped our rear tires into the Pacific at Ft. Stevens State Park on the Oregon Coast, ready for a similar front tire dipping in the Atlantic in 11 weeks or so

Mike, Karen, Tom and I comfortably overnighted in Gary and Peggy’s recreational vehicle. The next morning, while Mike and Karen headed back to Seattle, Gary and Mark took Tom, Jeff and I, and our bikes, in Gary’s motor home, to Ft. Stevens, Oregon where we met Tim, Kate and Girls and then dipped our rear wheels into the Pacific Ocean, anticipating a similar ceremony in the Atlantic Ocean near Yorktown, VA in eleven weeks or so.

We started heading east from the park, with tail winds pushing us forward, but to our dismay, we’d soon discover that tail winds are a rare occurrence for eastward bike riders! We all stopped for lunch at the Lumberjack Rest. after 20 miles or so, and then we stopped again at mile 40 where Kate, and girls picked up Tim. Jeff, Tom and I continued for a total of 61.5 miles where Gary had to rescue us because Paul’s old legs were cramping up so badly that I could hardly walk. I suppose I spent too much time sitting on the train, partying the night before, and oh yea, I didn’t bike at all for the two weeks Linda and I spent visiting Pam in Korea just before this trip started. Stand by for more lame excuses later, but at least the cramps never returned after day one.

Tom, Jeff, and I re-boarded the Intruder motor home, where I bothered them with periodic screams of pain from the cramps. We headed back to Gary and Peggy’s house to rest our legs (especially mine).

May 30, 2009, Saturday, Party Time!

The photos are: My son Mike and his lovely bride to be Karen, Tim and Kate Yarbrough and family, and Mt. Ranier taken from the window of the train.

Tom's older brother Gary picked us up at the Vancouver Amtrak station, where we got a bit of a tongue lashing from the folks at the station because they were not supposed to off load oversized luggage there. We sould have gone all the way to Portland for that service. But how were we to know that? Oh well, all's well that ends well! The employees were not happy, but we were relieved because our boxes looked nearly the same as they did when loaded.

Gary took us to his Vancouver home we met his wife Peggy, and son Mark who all helped Tom and I re-assemble our bikes. My recumbent is a little more complicated to re-assemble, so it took a bit longer for me. Gary and Peggy prepared a very appreciated, and delicious lunch. While I was still re-assembling, my son Mike and his fiancée Karen arrived. Karen flashed her gorgeous, and breathtaking engagement ring. It was great to see them. Linda can’t wait to visit them soon.

Tom’s nephew Jeff, his wife Devon and 18-month-old daughter Zelda arrived followed by my first cousin, once removed, Tim Yarbrough, his wife Kate and their three beautiful daughters Abbey, Elizabeth Ann, and Alley. Jeff's an artist, environmentalist, and world traveler, and very interesting to talk to.

This evening, Peggy and Gary treated to a wonderful send off dinner of salmon, roast beef, and many other delicious side dishes and beverages. This was the royal treatment for two overage bicyclists, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Several of Gary and Peggy’s friends and neighbors also attended, including Matt and Susan, Joe and Robin, and probably some others that I've missed. They all made us all feel very welcome!

May 29, 2009, Day two on the train

We spent a mostly cold sleepless night wishing we had brought our sleeping bags with us for the cool nights on the train. We woke at daybreak in North Dakota 1 ½ hours behind schedule due to uneven tracks, but we feel pretty good anyway. The ground is flat here, near Minot, but the uneven tracks have made the train slow down as it sways from side to side on the slightly uneven tracks here. With the dry weather here, farmers are forced to leave one field fallow, while they plant wheat in the other, mostly in long strips of land. According to the docents, spring and winter wheat, and barley are the only profitable crops. Occasionally, we’d spot a prong horned antelope. It's 40 mph top spped, makes it the fastest animal in North America.

The train continued for hours on end across the flat plains until we entered into the front range of the Rockies, and into the Bob Marshall Wilderness area, a place where there are no roads, and only horse and foot traffic are allowed.

In the evening we crossed the continental divide at Glacier national park where the train climbed to a mile high in altitude, and was surrounded by mountains and fast running clear streams.

The photo, from the window of the train, is a stream where the plains start to end.

May 28, 2009, All Aboard!

Carol took pictures as we left Tom’s house at about 7:00 a.m. We arrived at Union Station at 12:30 p.m., Chicago time where we met my son Jeff, and then drove into the bowels of Union Station to the package receiving area where we watched our bikes being loaded with a fork lift while hoping that we packaged our bikes to be bomb proof. With Tom and I, and our bikes and gear safely loaded onto the Empire Builder Train, we headed west.

Two years go, Linda and I had taken this same two day train ride from Chicago to Seattle, taking advantage of this inexpensive, and scenic journey as a way to visit both Jeff in Chicago and son Mike in Seattle. However, this time the train would eventually split in eastern Washington state, with half the train going to Portland, OR, and the other half continuing on to Seattle, WA. Tom and I rode second class to keep costs low, and as a result, we had trouble sleeping through the two nights on the train. First class can be relatively inexpensive, but only if you book early.

As we settled onto the train, and it gained speed toward the west, we started meeting some very interesting people. At dinner, we met a guy who retired from GM at 38, moved to Montana where he started a log home factory, and recently invented a machine that makes hunting arrows much more accurate. He hopes to make millions from his recent patent. He’s also a hunter who seldom eats any meat except for game that he personally harvests from the wild.