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Saturday, April 26, 2003 Tuesday, May 06, 2003 JOURNAL ENTRY 3 JOURNAL ENTRY 4 THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2003 Mileage: 50.58 Riding Time: 4 hrs. 13 mins. Avg. Speed 11.9 We traveled from Dickerson, Maryland to Williamsport/Hagerstown, Maryland today. We were on the road at 8:30 a.m. It was a pleasant morning. We rode about 8 miles to Rock Point and stopped for a "C" store breakfast of a ham/sausage/biscuit type thing. We decided to ride the roads today because the trail was very wet. It has been very rainy as you know from yesterday's report. The weather is not good and according to the weather reports we get, doesn't look like it will be good until the middle of next week. The rain began about 9:30 today and continued 'til noon. We got soaking wet. We were riding some serious hills . They weren't long but they were very steep grades as you find in the Appalachians. We stopped for lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Brunswick, MD. The weather cleared and after lunch we rode about 25 miles to Williamsport. It was a rolling hills, sunny, very nice afternoon. About 2 miles out of town however, my free wheel hub body failed and I was out of business, couldn't ride. A very nice guy in a pick-up truck picked me up and took me to a "C" store in town. There, a nice lady gave me information on a local bike shop. However, it was in Hagerstown, MD. A very nice fellow took me up to Hagerstown to the Hub City Sports Bike Shop. There, Brian L. and Chuck fixed my bike and put me back in business. It worked out well. I then rode 5 miles back to Williamsport and took a room in the Red Roof Inn, since it was 7:30. I had dinner from cans as it was easier and did my laundry. I will meet the others in the morning at 7:30 a.m. David JOURNAL ENTRY 5 FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2003 Mileage: 58.96 Riding Time: 5 hrs. 34 mins. Avg. Speed: 10.5 I met Chris and Steve at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast at the Waffle House. We were on the road at approximately 8:30. We proceeded on the C & O Canal Trail. We stopped at Fort Frederick as the rain began to fall. We waited about 2 hours there and the rain never stopped. Meanwhile, we chatted and drank coffee with a retired school teacher named Joyce who was the storekeeper at the Suttler's Store at Fort Frederick. We continued on to Hancock, Maryland on the rail trail in various amounts of rain….sometimes downpour, sometimes steady drizzle. We lunched at Weavers, a very well-known eating establishment in the little town of Hancock. Delicious food, including blackberry pie. We had quite a debate on what to do. Do we stay there or do we continue on? Finally it was decided to continue on the C & O Canal Tow Path to Paw Paw with Larry Brock, a friend of Chris'. The rain then stopped and we kept on to the Paw Paw Tunnel. It was quite a ride in the wet gravel and muddy conditions. We walked the 3,000 feet through the tunnel and rode on in to the Red Rooster Hostel in Paw Paw, West Virginia. I dined in the hostel out of cans. Our host, J.D., is a real nice guy. When we arrive here, we were muddy, grimy, tired, wet and very glad to be here. A hose to wash the gear, a shower to wash us, and a washing machine to wash our clothes. Life is good! So it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 6 SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2003 Mileage: 32.08 Riding Time: 2 hrs. 48 mins. Avg. Speed: 11.4 Miles To Date: 209.51 Up at 7:00 a.m. Big rain most of the morning. Breakfast of egg sandwiches at the general store. We then held an expectations meeting between the three of us at the Red Rooster Hostel to discuss what our various expectations are for the journey, while we waited out the weather. No luck! Finally at 11:30 a.m. we began riding towards Cumberland, Maryland, taking the roads due to deteriorating conditions on the C & O Canal Trail. There were some steep climbs but none very long. Good training fully loaded, both mentally and physically, for what lies ahead. We stopped for a rest during a heavy squall and then continued on, arriving at 2:00 p.m. Had lunch at Burger King, then Larry Brock showed us around his town, including the well-known "Boy and Tow Path Mule" bronze statue at the end of the C & O Canal Trail. The C & O Canal ended the first chapter of our expedition. We then rode on out to Larry's beautiful home where he and his wife Marilyn, daughter, son-in-law and grandbaby entertained us royally with a delicious dinner of bar-b-que chicken, corn on the cob, asparagus, hot rolls and cherry pie. Following a trip to a very poorly run Wal-Mart that would not off-load our digital photos while we waited, we headed back to the house to talk of Sunday's ride and hit the hay. Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers. So it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 7 SUNDAY, May 11, 2003 Mileage: 40.16, Riding Time: 4 hrs 33 mins, Avg. Speed: 8.7 We
began this morning in Cumberland, Maryland, ending this evening in Rockwood,
Pennsylvania. We were up at 6:00
a.m. and on the road at 7:30 a.m. Had
breakfast at Larry Brock's home. We
had a 1,500 feet climb in seven miles out of Cumberland up to Frostburg,
Maryland. We got on the Allegheny
Bike Trail (rails to trails) and rode along the high ridge of the old railroad
bed, crossing the Mason/Dixon Line into Pennsylvania. Along we rode through two tunnels, one a ½ mile long, the
Big Savage Tunnel. In the first
tunnel, I took a fall, slipping on the muddy, wet terrain in the dark.
Got VERY muddy but was OK otherwise.
The others had considerable amusement taking pictures of my muddy
backside. There's still a long way
to go and paybacks are tough. I was
able to wash much of the mud off in a very cold mountain steam. The weather
early this morning up to the Big Savage Tunnel was foggy and damp.
Upon emerging from the tunnel, the weather changed to windy, sunny and
warm. Almost a different climate
with the leaves not as developed as spring continues to push northward. We rode
on into Myersdale, Pennsylvania expecting to find complete services.
We found nothing. What a
dried-up, depressed little town. We
continued on to Rockwood, Pennsylvania where we found little more. We did, however, find a terrific couple, Paul and Jean
Hendershot who keep a bed and breakfast which is where we are staying tonight.
They even agreed to do our laundry, which in my case is quite a
commitment after the fall in the mud. Since
every restaurant was closed, they drove us 12 miles over to Somerset to an Eat
'N Park Restaurant for a buffet dinner.We're close to Shanksville where one of
the planes crashed on September 11, 2001. Also,
one of the miners rescued last summer from the mine shaft near here, lives down
the street from the bed and breakfast. Weather
forecast for tomorrow: rainy, cold
and windy. Will we every get to
camp? So it goes. MONDAY, MAY
12, 2003 Mileage:
75.88 Riding
Time: 6 hrs.
Avg. Speed: 12.5 Rockwood,
Pennsylvania to West Newton, Pennsylvania, overnight at the West Newton United
Presbyterian Church. Up
at 6:00 a.m. and enjoyed a home cooked breakfast by Paul and Jean Hendershot at
their bed and breakfast. On the
road at 8:00 a.m. Very windy with
temperatures in the 50’s. Once we
were back on the trail, rain began to fall.
Cold rain. Boy were we
happy! What would a day be without
rain; and to top things off, a cold raid with 25-30 mph winds.
Fortunately, the trees lining the trail, blocked 2/3 of the wind and
about ½ of the rain, but we still had all our cold weather gear on and were
saturated. We stopped in
Confluence, PA for a second breakfast at Sisters Café.
Very tasty. Then we
continued on the trail parallel to the Youghiogheny River to Ohiopyle State
Park. We visited the tourist center
and called ahead to West Newton to the UP Church.
Pastor Bill listened to my story and then said, “Come on”.
So we proceeded on approximately 40 more miles to West Newton and the
church. We had a
make shift WARM shower, did laundry up the street, had dinner at the Dairy Land
cooked by two young fellows, Ray and Chad.
They were blown away by the notion of our trip, so I gave them the web
address and feel sure they will be checking it out.
Thanks guys. We stopped at
the grocery and returned as the session meeting was adjourning.
The elders seemed thrilled to have us staying in the church tonight and
many stopped to introduce themselves and chat.
All in all, a good end to a cold, chilly, challenging day of riding.
Thanks to all who are helping us along, both physically and spiritually. So it goes. David TUESDAY, MAY
13, 2003 Mileage:
40.01
Riding Time: 4 hrs 1 min.
Avg. Speed: 9.8 We are
staying in McDonald, Pennsylvania and our overnight location is the Gladden
United Presbyterian Church in McDonald. We were up
at 6:00 a.m. and had breakfast at the church.
Chris made oatmeal. We had a
nice visit with Bill Sukolsky, pastor of West Newton UP Church.
He gave me the names of several Presbyterian pastors on down our trail
and we contacted the Gladden Presbyterian Church and Pastor Jonathan Cook Andres
invited us to stay here. We left the church at 9:40 a.m.
Pastor Bill prayed with us prior to our departure. We left town
on Pennsylvania state highways which were very hilly and made our way to
Monongahela and had lunch at Eat ‘N Park.
We proceeded on to library/Bethel Park, Pennsylvania where we managed to
get good and lost looking for the Montour Rail Trail. We finally found our way but not before going 6 miles out of
our way all up hill, steep, steep hills, arriving at Gladden UP Church at 4:30
p.m. Pastor Jonathan Cook Andres
met us and we walked to his home, the parsonage, to shower and have pizza. The session
meets here tonight and Sue, the clerk, brought several snacks for us.
We will sleep in the church. We
complete our first week today having yet to camp in our own tents due to the
lousy weather. The weather was cool and windy today. Fortunately no rain. Forecast
for tomorrow: sunny, windy, and
highs in the mid-60’s. So it
goes. David WEDNESDAY,
MAY 14, 2003 Mileage:
59.88
Riding Time: 4 hr. 54 min.
Avg. Speed: 12.1 McDonald,
Pennsylvania to East Palestine, Ohio Up at 6:00
a.m., breakfast at Gladden UP Church and on the road at 8:15 following a very
warm visit with Jonathan Cook Andres, pastor.
He said they were so happy and inspired by our visit and what we were
doing. We offered to pay for the
pizza dinner they provided the night before but he refused. He felt as though they had received more
from us than they had given. He
said our vision quest ideas would be in his Sunday sermon.
I wish I could hear it. The first
five miles of riding were so nice….hills and sunny cool weather (low 50’s),
then we rejoined the Montour Rail Trail to Corapolis, Pennsylvania.
We had lunch at a BP sub shop then rode down the rust belt of the Upper
Ohio River Valley. My first view of
the Ohio River since last September when I left for Florida.
We rode past one mill after another through Beaver, Pennsylvania and on
to East Palestine to the First United Presbyterian Church. East
Palestine is a nice little town that is very much open for business, unlike some
of the small Pennsylvania towns we visited.
The pastor, J. Ross Slaughter, made us welcome.
He drew free hand a professional quality map of town so that we could
find our way around. We took garden
hose showers out behind the church (brrrrrrrrrr) and walked to dinner at
Judy’s Café, very good. We
stopped at the grocery, laundromat and on the way back, spotted the Village
Bakery and Pie Factory which opens for breakfast at 5:30 a.m.
We will be there! Good day
riding. Good set up tonight.
Life is good. So it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 11THURSDAY,
MAY 15, 2003 Mileage:
82.16
Riding Time: 7 hr. 18 mins.
Avg. Speed: 11.2 East
Palestine, Ohio to Doylestown, Ohio Overnight
location: John and Sonja Brunk’s
home Up at 5:50
A.M. As rain fell outside the
church, we put on all our foul weather gear and walked over to the Pie Factory.
Corn meal pancakes and a veggie omelet and lots of coffee (black, thank
you) helped stoke the legs, lungs and heart we would need today. We were on
the road at 8:30 a.m. The rain had
stopped and we rode over to New Waterford, Ohio.
It soon became apparent that the hills in Columbiana County, Ohio were
formidable, especially with loaded touring bikes much to the surprise of Chris.
There’s an adage in bicycle touring, “When they say it’s flat, it
ain’t. When they say it’s dry,
it’s wet. And whey they say the
winds in the area are always at your back, they’re not”.
In any event, on this particular day, there was no rain and the clouds
began to break up. We proceeded on
through an area known as “Tea Garden” with its restored covered bridge to
North Georgetown where we had lunch in a tavern.
Then on through Maximo, Harrisburg, North Canton, Canal Fulton and
finally to my brother John’s home in Doylestown, Ohio where John, Sonja, and
their daughter Heidi greeted us. The
weather was beautiful, sunny and mild. The farm scenery was pastoral and the
route, over Columbus Outdoor Pursuits Cardinal Trail on county roads, the best
we had ridden so far. Not
withstanding the fine ride throughout the day, we experienced a frog-strangler
thunder storm at 7:00 p.m. We
pressed on through the storm the final 12 miles to John’s home, arriving wet,
tired and hungry. Following dinner
and a shower, we visited until
11:30 p.m. Friday we take our first
rest day. So it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 12FRIDAY, MAY
16, 2003 Doylestown,
Ohio – Off Day Overnight at
John and Sonja Brunks We
experienced our first day off in Doylestown with brother John.
We enjoyed breakfast at a local café where my big brother is one of the
regular “characters”. After a
good bit of kidding around with the restaurant staff, it was on to nearby Akron,
Ohio in John’s car to find a good bike shop (Eddie’s); outdoor store
(Dick’s); and photo shop (Van’s), to buy needed supplies.
Back home to John’s to give the grimy bikes a thorough cleaning.
Boy, what a gritty, filthy mess. Following
the afternoon of working on the bikes, we had dinner with John, Sonja, Heidi, my
wife Pam and mother-in-law June Benedict. Pam
and June drove from our summer home in Chesapeake, Ohio to pick me up so that we
could attend our youngest son Dean’s college graduation over the week-end.
More on that later. Following
dinner, we went back to the house where Steve, Chris, and I had a lengthy map
meeting discussing the anticipated time frame for our arrival at various points
along our route. Also, the specific
route we would follow from Doylestown to St. Louis, Missouri, were we plan to
pick up Adventure Cycling’s new Lewis and Clark Trail. I will take
three days off as mentioned to see son Dean graduate from Bucknell University in
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and then rejoin the group near Xenia, Ohio on Monday
evening, May 19th. So it
goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 13MONDAY, MAY
19, 2003 Pam, June,
my daughter Daria and grandson Collin, son Dean and I all gathered on Saturday,
May 17th in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The weather was gray, cloudy and cool. It felt more November like than May. We had dinner together as we anticipated Dean’s
commencement the following morning. Sunday
morning at 10:00 a.m., to the familiar sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance”,
the Bucknell Class of ’03 proceeded on, down through the assembled family and
friends, professors and administrators, to sit in front of the stage and listen
to the speeches. And, as is the custom on such occasions, to be charged, “to
go out and change the world”. All
of us in the family are justifiably proud of Dean’s accomplishments upon the
occasion of his graduation. The guest
speaker for the day was television journalist and personality Deborah Norville.
Dean remarked there was considerable amount of flap among the students
that an institution the stature of Bucknell would forego inviting to speak
Senator Windbag or some other notable for the likes of Ms. Norville and
her Inside Edition tabloid reputation. For
my part, I thought it was an excellent address.
She used a George Elliott quote, “It’s never too late to be what you
might have been”. This quote,
viewed through the vision quest theme of our sturdy little band of cyclists,
middle-aged men looking back at those very things this year’s grads are
looking forward to, realizing that in the day and time in which we now live life
is, God willing, but half over. Further
acknowledging the need to earn money to sustain life is now largely behind.
Ms. Norville’s address then, at least in this graying dad’s view, beg
the question, “What will captivate one’s imagination, will stimulate the
sense of wonder looking to the future and…how can that calling, whatever it
proves to be, add value to others, particularly those loved ones of the next
generation, Daria, Daniel (Doc) and Dean and their families as they move through
their lives? How will all of this
honor God and the gifts He has given me?”
It’s not the stuff of small talk over coffee, but very much possible as
I unplug from the standard operating procedure of American life and travel
deliberately and simply across our country.
A country whose founding documents recognize the need and right to
“pursue” answers to these questions and more. On the
practical side, it’s a bright blue sunny sky this a.m. as Pam and I drive to
Xenia, Ohio so I may rejoin the others. Despite
the sunny weather, leaving Pam is difficult.
So it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 14TUESDAY, MAY
20, 2003 Mileage:
59.06
Riding Time: 4 hr 25 min
Avg. Speed: 13.2 Xenia, Ohio
to New Miami, Ohio Overnight:
Salvation Army Rejoined the
guys in Xenia, Ohio following three days away for Dean’s college graduation.
Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at Bob Evans.
Stopped at Xenia Chamber of Commerce and Denise made map copies for us
and helped us locate a place to stay in New Miami, Ohio.
We left on
the Little Miami Bike Trail at 9:40 a.m. The
weather was a warm 69° and cloudy. Thirty-five
miles down the trail we stopped in South Lebanon for lunch.
We left the trail and headed over county roads for New Miami.
The rain began to fall, soaking us through.
Twenty-three miles later, about 3:30, we arrived at New Miami Village
Hall to be greeted by Mayor Katherine Rump-Butler, a lovely lady 75 years of
age. She called a local news
reporter to come interview us. Took
us to the local Salvation Army Post for
showers and to set up for the night, then she and her husband, Ed Butler,
took us out to Golden Corral for dinner, where she picked up the tab.
Following all this, she took our dirty, grimy laundry home and washed it
herself. WOW!
I asked her if she did this because she was the mayor.
“No”, she said, “because I am a Christian.”
God Bless her. This spunky
lady of color, looking after three white guys on bikes, not because she’s
mayor, but because her faith told her she should.
So it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 15WEDNESDAY,
MAY 21, 2003 Mileage:
62.99
Riding Time: 4 hr 55 min
Avg. Speed: 12.6 New Miami,
Ohio to Batesville, Indiana Overnight:
Hampton Inn Up at 5:00
a.m. at the Salvation Army. A cool,
sunny morning. Breakfast at Red’s
Restaurant and on the road at 7:51 a.m. We
rode 18 miles into Oxford, Ohio and had a Starbucks coffee. Things are looking good!
Found a local bike shop, The Bike Center, at 11 W. Church Street, where
owner Marty Creech dropped his other work and took the time to do several needed
procedures to all our bikes. It’s
been tough running with the rain and the grime of the rail trails we used in the
East. He had the bikes running like
tops when he was finished. In
Oxford and the surrounding area, Marty’s the guy.
He understands touring cyclists needs.
We had lunch
at the Bagel Factory, very tasty, then rode on to Brookville, Indiana where we
had a snack. I checked in with my
office via cell phone and we proceeded on to Batesville, Indiana over beautiful,
hilly roads on a great sunny afternoon with a tail wind. Can’t beat it. Chris got in
a bit earlier than Steve and I, and since there was no camping available in
Batesville, he lined up a fine room at a GREAT price at the Hampton Inn. Dinner
at the Chinese restaurant across the street and laundry.
The end of a very good day. We’re
very glad to put the rain behind us if only for the day.
Forecast calls for sunshine the next two days. We can only hope. So
it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 16THURSDAY,
MAY 22, 2003 Mileage:
62.92
Riding Time: 4 hr 18 min
Avg. Speed: 14.6 Batesville,
Indiana to Seymour, Indiana Overnight
location: Hampton Inn Up at 5:30
a.m. Did not sleep much last night.
Breakfast at the Hampton Inn. On
the road at 7:00 a.m. Sunny and
cool. We rode over to Greensburg, Indiana and checked in at the
library for e-mails. The guys took
longer by far than I. We then had a
second breakfast at Stories, a local restaurant of some reputation. I was
getting impatient to get on down the road.
Put in some miles towards the west.
The guys seem to like meandering around country roads, getting miles but
not moving forward towards our goal. I
decided to leave and move on toward the Illinois line.
I will rejoin the guys in a couple of days. So I road on to Seymour and stopped at 3:00 p.m.
I took a motel and had a Burger King dinner as I am quite tired. I met
another cross-country cyclist going east on U.S. Rt. 50. His name was Warren Kirk from Harrison, Ohio.
He left San Francisco on Good Friday and expects to finish in Maryland on
June 2nd. He recently retired from Proctor and Gamble.
He said he was re-dedicating his life to the Lord.
I said it sounds something like a vision quest.
He agreed with me. We talked
some for about 15 minutes and proceeded on.
In 15 minutes we shared each others experiences and we knew that we
shared each others quest. It’s
funny how in a short period of time you can become not only friends of the road
but also friends of the heart. I
hope I sleep well tonight. So it
goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 17FRIDAY, MAY
23, 2003 Mileage:
85.8
Riding Time: 6 hr 34 min
Avg. Speed: 12.9 Seymour,
Indiana to Black Oak , Indiana (near Washington) Up early,
had a hot buffet breakfast at the hotel and on the road at 6:51 a.m..
Rode 12 miles over to Brownstown, Indiana to meet the others.
I spoke with Steve and Chris and explained my desire to get some miles in
on these nice days. It was their
desire to continue on county roads, which can give you 80 miles of riding but
perhaps move you only 40 miles towards your destination.
I’ve become anxious to move on ahead.
So we shook hands and I left on my own heading west. Out on US
Rt. 50, the weather was sunny and mild with light traffic and a good shoulder to
Bedford, Indiana. Bedford modestly
proclaims themselves the “limestone capitol of the world”! I guess we all have to be big at something.
I stopped there after 37 miles for a snack and rest.
As I was enjoying my snack of pie
and coke in a small diner, an older couple at the next table struck up a
conversation with me. They were
quite excited about my adventure. The
man remarked he thought they were having a Lewis and Clark Reincarnation at
Vincennes this week-end if I was interested.
His wife remarked, “It’s not that.
It’s a rededication”. I
asked, “Could it be a re-enactment”? The
old man said, “There you go”. From
Bedford to Shoals, Indiana the terrain became hilly.
The shoulder disappeared when I hit Martin County, so I took to the back
roads from Shoals to Black Oak. The spring
grasses are causing my hay fever to act up so I stopped at 3:30 after 86 miles
to get indoors, shower and seek relief. This
is a small family owned motor court, circa 1950, last remodeled in 1970’s with
fine shag carpet. But all the light
bulbs are in, the water is hot, the air conditioning works and owner Robert
Lents is a nice guy. He even did my
laundry. When he saw
me ride up on the bike fully loaded, he asked how old I was, stating he was 43
and no way could he do that any more, having reached his advanced age.
I asked him, “How old do you think I am?”
He looked at me a moment and said, “Maybe 38”.
I liked that boy right away. In
addition to the quaint quarters, right next door is an Amish Buffet restaurant.
I enjoyed a hearty meal. While
enjoying my dinner and recounting the activities of the day, the music playing
in the background was a dulcimer version of the hymn Be Thou My Vision. That
music always touches my heart and it did again today. Good day. Good
miles. Good room.
Good dinner. Good life.
Thanks to our good God. This
is David. So it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 18SATURDAY,
MAY 24, 2003 Mileage:
60:39
Riding Time: 4 hr 34 min
Avg. Speed: 13.1 Black Oak,
Indiana to Olney, Illinois Overnight:
First Presbyterian Church, Olney Up at 5:00
a.m. and on the road at 6:34 a.m. after eating a breakfast of peanut butter and
bagel and an apple from my panniers. It
was a cool morning with partly cloudy skies and a north wind.
Though I was riding west, the wind was working against me.
I felt tired today following yesterday’s 85 miles, so the pleasure in
riding was minimal. I rode on to
Washington, Indiana and then on to Vincennes.
I had hoped to eat a full breakfast in Vincennes, but before I knew it, I
had ridden up on a by-pass and crossed the Wabash River into Illinois.
So I then rode seven more miles to Lawrenceville, Illinois, a total of 35
miles this morning before I had a proper breakfast of coffee and such.
That was too far and too long to ride before a complete breakfast.
Following an
excellent plate of pancakes and sausage and lots of coffee, I rode on to Olney,
arriving at 12:30 p.m. (Central Time). I
rode around town beginning to look for a place to stay.
I, through a serendipitous set of circumstances, called the interim
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Rev. Laura Reason, and she invited me
to stay here. Following a garden hose shower, washing out my clothes and lunch
from my panniers (peanut butter and bagel, Spaghetti O’s and an orange), I’m
going to rest and hope to feel stronger tomorrow.
This is David and so it goes. David JOURNAL ENTRY 19SUNDAY, MAY
25, 2003 Mileage:
40.93
Riding Time: 2 hr 53 min
Avg. Speed: 14.1 To drive
into Olney or Salem, Illinois in the automobile would be uneventful.
Small mid-western towns, heavily influenced by area agriculture with some
businesses that have closed and moved on, a certain tiredness to some of the
buildings, and in an automobile you’d buy your gas and a soft drink and be
gone without notice. But in self-contained bicycle touring, you look at the town
as a destination for the day. In my
case, because of spotty weather, I ride around the downtown area considering
what accommodations I might secure. I
have been staying in churches, not so much because the weather has been bad the
last few days, but because it’s been such a wonderful way to meet the salt of
the earth heartland people who I otherwise would not encounter.
To learn more of their local culture, customs and to share a sense of
community if only for a day. To
whit! In
Saturday’s journal I mentioned a serendipitous event…church offices are
typically not open for business on a Saturday afternoon, but
as I happened to be riding by Olney Presbyterian Church, I stopped to
rattle the door any way. It was
unlocked. I went in, found
the pastor’s phone number on the bulletin board, called to see if I might stay
in the church and was told, “Why not. If
you’re up to no good, you’re already in the building and certainly
wouldn’t call to report your presence”.
She did dispatch the chairman of the Property Committee to “check me
out” and he helped me find a garden hose next to the building with which to
shower. When she arrived back
in town about 6:00 p.m., she stopped by the church and took me out to a nice
Chinese buffet dinner. We had a
nice visit over dinner, learning about each other and our families. She said she’d take my laundry home with her and bring it
back in the morning. She
allowed me to use the church computer to check my e-mails and the Caloosa Riders
web site. Because rain was expected
in the morning hours of Sunday, I decided to stay and attend morning services to
avoid the rain. So when she arrived
to practice her sermon at about 6:30 a.m., she brought along a large coffee and
pancakes and sausage from McDonalds. Being
a cross country bicycle rider in a small town congregation on a Sunday morning
makes you something of a celebrity/oddity.
But the people embraced me warmly, from the Grumpy Old Men’s Sunday
School class which I attended because they had the coffee, to the children who
were fascinated by my bike and equipment. Following
morning worship, a group that always lunches together insisted I join them for a
hardy lunch and good conversation and fun for the next 90 minutes.
I finally got on the road at 1:30 to do my 40 miles for the day.
The sense of
love and community that you experience with people who were otherwise strangers
before your encounter, causes me to pause and consider why, because it seems to
happen over and over again. And it
occurs to me that most of us, muddling through the routine of our daily lives,
sometimes loose sight of the possibilities and wonder, we, as humans, have
available to us. And when someone
comes along who’s otherwise very much like them and engaged in what appears to
be a larger than life adventure, well, they just seem to want to get involved.
For my part, the touring cyclist, riding into a strange town with the
normal apprehensions of where will I stay and how can I see about my needs, the
willingness of these people to help offers continual hope.
That very
same afternoon, after grinding out nearly 41 miles in a head wind, I stopped in
the town of Salem, Illinois. Pastor
Laura from the Olney Presbyterian Church had arranged for me to call Ed Boyd,
Building and Grounds Superintendent of the Presbyterian Church in Salem.
I did and he came over. He opened the church for me to stay in, gave me a
quick tour, then whisk me away to his home for a shower.
Then it was off to his daughter and son-in-laws for a holiday meal with
his wife, Ida; Ed’s mother, BB; daughters
Amy and Sarah; son-in-law Doug and Amy and Doug’s
new little 10-month old daughter just adopted from Korea. Once again,
you feel part of family, and the sense of community is overwhelming.
So, if you ever have the chance to come into Olney or Salem, Illinois by
bicycle, the lights will be on and the latch string will be out and you’ll
know you’re home. This is David.
So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 20MONDAY, MAY
26, 2003 MEMORIAL DAY Mileage:
91.49
Riding Time: 6 hr 39 min
Avg. Speed: 13.6 Salem,
Illinois to Alton, Illinois (St Louis, Missouri area) Overnight
location: Super 8 Motel Up at 6:00
a.m. and left the church at 7:15 a.m. Made
a quick stop at Ed Boyd’s home to thank him and return the church keys to him.
I then rode three miles out US Highway 50 west to Five Brothers Café for
pancakes, sausage and coffee. At
8:20 a.m., I was finally on the road, a bright blue sky and light winds made for
a wonderful ride. The land was
mostly flat stretching out before me. I
passed many dairy farms with the sweet smell of feed mixed with the country
earthy smells of the cows. A very
pleasant ride with the winter wheat ripening in the Spring sun and from time to
time the fragrance of honeysuckle as I passed a hedge row. Then on an additional 25 miles to Lebanon, Illinois where I
had a peanut butter and bagel and a coke. From
Lebanon, I left Rt. 50, which had served me well the last several days, and
headed north to get above St. Louis and approach Hartford and Alton from a less
traffic clogged direction. Hartford is
home to the Lewis and Clark Trail Head. The
Lewis and Clark Center was closed today, the first day of the tourist season.
Go figure. So I rode on into
Alton and found the Super 8. I had
a very satisfying dinner at the Ponderosa next door.
Ashley, the young lady at the desk, was interested in my ride and agreed
to do my laundry in the motel laundry room even though she wasn’t supposed to.
I’ll take 1 or 2 days off here in the St. Louis area to look around,
check out the Lewis and Clark Center, visit the Gateway Arch and the
accompanying Museum of Westward Expansion before moving on.
I heard from Chris and Steve today.
They’re camping near Effingham, Illinois.
We might get back together as we begin the Lewis and Clark Trail.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 21TUESDAY, MAY
27, 2003 Off Day:
Alton, Illinois (St. Louis area) Lazy morning
at the hotel with breakfast provided. Cathy
Yeaman and Mary Lou, friends from Ft. Myers who live in Springfield, Illinois,
drove down and picked me up at the hotel about 10:00 a.m. and we headed out to
see Lewis and Clark sites in the St. Louis area. We stopped to get photos put on CD and then we went to the
Lewis and Clark Center and found out that it is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Anyway, we drove up to an area of St. Louis known as “The Hill”, an
Italian area, and had a wonderful lunch at a great Italian restaurant.
Interesting new appetizer I discovered, flash fried spinach.
This was a long way from eating out of cans. Then it was on to the Gateway Arch where we watched the Lewis
and Clark film being shown there after which we toured the Museum of Westward
Expansion. It is neat to have
visited Monticello, Washington, DC, including the Jefferson Memorial, cross the
country to the Mississippi and visit the gateway to the west all on my bicycle
and in under 3 weeks. Add to that,
Dean’s graduation from college and I’ve been busy.
I’m now reviewing the Adventure Cycling Lewis and Clark maps and the
Todd Rodgers Lewis and Clark Trail Guide in preparation of beginning the Lewis
and Clark Trail. This is David.
So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 22WEDNESDAY,
MAY 28, 2003 Mileage:
31.92
Riding Time: 2 hr 27 min
Avg. Speed: 12.9 Alton,
Illinois to St. Charles, Missouri Overnight:
Hardy and Kathy Menees’ home, Kirkwood, Missouri Another lazy
morning in the hotel. Had a
continental breakfast in my room. I
left at 1:00 p.m. to ride to St. Charles to meet Chris and Steve. They were running late due to strong head winds from the
northwest. I too was affected by
the wind as I rode on the bike path up the Missouri River.
It reminded me very much of riding along the Ohio River from Proctorville
to Gallipolis, Ohio. I rode on to
Grafton, Illinois and took the Grafton Ferry across the Mississippi River into
Missouri, and then rode on into St. Charles where Maggie, Hardy Menees’
business manager, picked me up in her car and took me to Hardy’s home in
Kirkwood which is off the route. Hardy is an
attorney in the St. Louis area and an avid bicycle rider. He had seen our ad in the Adventure Cyclist for riders and
invited us to spend a few days with him in St. Louis as we passed through.
Another illustration of trail magic.
Once at his home, we met his wife Kathy, a school teacher, and daughter
Annie, a tennis player at Vanderbilt and several of his bicycle friends who came
over for a cook-out. We had a good time talking RAGBRI. He and his friends formed Team Harold and are regulars at the
great Iowa ride each summer. Fun
evening; short miles; good people. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 23THURSDAY,
MAY 29, 2003 OFFDAY at
home of Hardy and Kathy Menees, Kirkwood, Missouri Had
breakfast at IHOP then went once again to the Gateway Arch, this time with Chris
and Steve. In addition, we toured
the Museum of Westward Expansion and then we went over to the Old Courthouse,
another famous landmark in St. Louis. It
is where the Dread-Scott Decision was argued.
We had lunch at Max and Irma’s downtown then on to Hartford to tour the
Lewis and Clark Center. Finally!
If you recall, it was closed both Monday and Tuesday. Following
that, we drove back to Hardy’s to enjoy dinner with his family.
Later he took us to his office where he practices law.
A wonderful building which he has restored of which he is very proud. It was a very relaxing day with wonderful weather.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 24SATURDAY,
MAY 31, 2003 Mileage:
68.94
Riding Time: 5 hr 23 mins
Avg. Speed: 12.6 St. Charles,
Missouri to Hermann, Missouri Overnight
Location: City Park, Hermann There was no
report for yesterday, May 30th, as we were taking an off day and
there wasn’t anything to report. Today, we
were up at 5:15 a.m. Hardy Menees
drove us over to St. Charles. We
had breakfast at Denny’s….a Grand Slam.
We then took pictures of the Lewis and Clark statue that was just
dedicated a couple of weeks ago. Good
fun. We then said our good-byes and
great thank yous to Hardy. He and
his family were so gracious and so helpful to us for the past three nights. Off we went
on the Katy Trail, the rail trail that runs along the Missouri River.
One could feel the history as I thought of the Ken Burns film and the
book “Undaunted Courage” by
Stephen Ambrose. The thought of
riding, for us and for many people in our time, a bike across America seems to
be a great challenge and a great feat; and yet, when compared with the perils
and misery experienced by the original Corp of Discovery, it’s almost nothing.
The other side of the coin would be, if the soldiers who made up the Corp
of Discovery and Meriwether Lewis and William Clark could come back and
experience life as we know it today. They
would be sorely challenged to keep up with the multi-tasking and the various
things that make our lives so hectic. It
is interesting to think about as we ride along the Katy Trail. The weather
was cloudy and breezy but thankfully no rain.
We rode along with the smell of an occasional hog farm and scent of
honeysuckle, we saw Indigo Buntings and other interesting birds.
We lunched in Augusta from our panniers and then on to Marthasville,
McKittrick, and finally to Hermann.
A little town with a great German heritage. We are
camped at the City Park which is very comfortable…warm showers and adequate
toilet facilities, very grassy and tree studded campgrounds. There are a good
number of locals picnicking and enjoying a Saturday get together in the city
park. It appears we will be very
comfortable here. There is an
interesting assortment of restaurants to choose from and as of yet we have not
decided where we will eat tonight. So finally,
after five nights in the St. Louis area, we are back on the road and actually
beginning the Lewis and Clark Trail. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 25SUNDAY, JUNE
1, 2003 Mileage:
58.87
Riding Time: 4 hr 2 min
Avg. Speed: 14.5 Hermann,
Missouri to Jefferson City, Missouri Overnight
Location: Hotel Deville Up at 5:50
a.m. A neighbor at the campground
in Hermann who was intrigued by our little enterprise brought over a pot of
perked coffee which was very welcome. After
breaking camp, we rode our bikes into Hermann and had breakfast at a local
café. We were on the road by 8:30.
I rode Missouri Rt. 94 which runs pretty much parallel to the Katy Trail between
Hermann and Jefferson City. The
others rode the Katy Trail for reasons that I don’t quite understand. The road had very little traffic, was smooth, and I enjoyed
the pleasant views of the farm country. About 11:00
a.m., just 10 miles short of Jefferson City, I had the first flat of our tour.
I unloaded the bike and took the time to patch the tire and then rode on
into Jefferson City. I visited the State Capitol grounds then had lunch at the
Backyard Burger, some sort of regional burger chain. I then waited for the others.
They arrived about 3:00. Steve, one
of our group, had arranged for us to stay at the National Guard Headquarters for
the State of Missouri here in Jefferson City.
Some sort of snafu prevented this, so Roger Green, the Sargent Major of
the State of Missouri, arranged for rooms in a very nice hotel here in Jefferson
City. He then presented us with
medals of excellence. Not bad for
someone who never even had a physical during the draft.
This is called coining in National Guard parlance. We then went
out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant where my fortune told me “life to you is
a dashing and bold adventure”. Well,
I don’t know about that, but things are going pretty well in the Missouri
State Capitol. This is David.
So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 26MONDAY, JUNE
2, 2003 Off day due
to rain Overnight
Location: First United Presbyterian
Church, Jefferson City, Missouri Rain, rain,
go away! Owing to the rain today, I
decided to layover. I wanted to
visit my dad’s boyhood home in Elston, Missouri, nine miles out of Jefferson
City. As well as my grandparents
and great-grandparents graves which are there as well. A rainy day dampens ones enthusiasm for such adventures so I
decided to try and wait out the rain. Steve
stayed with me. Chris and his son,
Drew, who joined us in St. Charles to ride the Katy Trail, pressed on as Drew
must be back to work in Kansas City on Thursday. Following
breakfast this morning at the hotel with the Sargent Major, Roger Green, we
called the First United Presbyterian Church’s pastor Rudy Beard to arrange a
place to stay tonight. He
graciously invited us to stay here. It
was then on to visit the State Capitol building where we met Representative Bill
Deeken in the hall. He arranged for
his legislator assistant, Mary Beth Bruns, to give us a private tour of the
capitol grounds. This
included the Whisper Balcony at the top of the Rotunda with breath-taking
views below of the inside of the building and then the outside balcony at the
top of the dome with equally breath-taking views of Jefferson City, the Missouri
River and the surrounding country side. The
folks here in the “Show Me State” have been very gracious to us. I told Rep.
Deeken, who’s district includes my ancestral homeplace, that there are a
number of Brunks buried in the Elston Cemetery.
And, should a close election require their services, I’m sure they
would be glad to help out and give him a helping hand since he had been so
helpful to their descendent, me. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 27TUESDAY,
JUNE 3, 2003 Mileage:
51.79
Riding Time: 4 hr 21 min
Avg. Speed: 11.8 Jefferson
City, Missouri to Boonville, Missouri Up at 6:00
a.m. Breakfast at the Town Grille
then back to the church. The theme
for today’s activities could well be a quote from Hodding Carter, “There are
two lasting gifts we can give our children…the first is roots; the second,
wings”. Before
leaving the church, the director of the Vacation Bible School asked if we could
give a brief talk to the children about our trip.
Their Bible School theme this year is Lighthouse Kids.
I told the children we were traveling across America by bicycle.
There was a chorus of oohs and ahs.
I asked them if they could remember New Year’s Day 2003.
Many hands went in the air. I
then asked them if they could remember Easter 2003. More hands went up. I
told them it will take us about the same amount of time from New Years to Easter
for us to ride across the country on our bicycles.
More oohs and ahs and nodding of heads as the teachers looked at their
charges. I told them I knew they
were studying this week in their classes how church and God could be a
lighthouse. I said that even though
we aren’t sailing on the seas, we needed lighthouses also as we ride our
bikes, and here in Jefferson City, Missouri their church has been a lighthouse
for us. And there have been many
other lighthouse churches that have helped us and taken care of us as we have
proceeded on our journey. The
pastor, Rudy Beard, then thanked us for our visit, wished us well and had a
prayer with us and all the children. As we left,
there were hand shakes all around and well wishes from all of the staff and many
of the parents who were present. Rudy
recalled once a number of years ago worshipping in First Presbyterian Church,
Huntington, my home church, while on vacation.
He also told me Ernest Trice Thompson, Sr., the father of our former
pastor at First Church Huntington, was one of his seminary professors.
Small world. At 9:00 a.m.
we were out on the road in a misty London fog but thankfully no soaking rain.
It was eleven miles out to Elston, Missouri, over beautiful rolling
hills. Now, Elston is so small that
both city limit signs could be put on the same pole. But, if you are a Brunk
from this line of the Brunk family, it’s a big town, for it was there that my
great-grandfather moved from Ohio. It was there that my grandfather was born and my father was
born and where he lived until he was 12 years old.
It’s on the breasts of those Missouri hills that my great-grandparents,
George and Abby Austin Brunk, my grandparents, Roy and Mary Ellen Van Hooser
Brunk, as well as my Aunt Lorette are buried.
So any time I have a chance to visit the little cemetery next to the
country church in Elston, it’s special. But
in this time and place on a coast to coast bicycle trip, it was especially
meaningful. Then it was
on three more miles to the farmstead that was my forefathers home and livelyhood
and my father’s boyhood home from birth to age 12.
And, setting next to that farmstead, the one room school house Concord
School (now a Pentecostal church) that lived large in Brunk family lore.
My father had such a love and romance with this place of his birth and
boyhood that each of his children have a certain reverence for it all.
Talk about roots. And all of
this occurring in my own family along the trail first blazed by Lewis and Clark. Following
the visit to my roots, we proceeded on to Boonville, Missouri. The weather continued to be dreary and overcast but
thankfully it never rained. Once in
Boonville, we met First United Presbyterian Pastor Jeff Martin and his 5-year
old son Asher. We enjoyed a Chinese
buffet dinner and showered at theYMCA. Steve
took our dirty laundry to the Laundromat and here I am writing as I consider my
roots and what wind will lift my wings looking forward. This is David. So
it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 28WEDNESDAY,
JUNE 4, 2003 Mileage:
70.89
Riding Time: 5 hr 22 min
Avg. Speed: 13.1 Boonville,
Missouri to Higginsville, Missouri Overnight
Location: Classic Motel (First
Presbyterian Church, Higginsville Hosts) Up at 5:45
a.m. Had a pot of coffee at the
Boonville Church. Walked to
breakfast at the Riverside Café. On
the road at 8:40 a.m. We rode on
about 20 miles to Arrow Rock on a beautiful mild sunny blue-skied day.
In route we overtook a retired couple, Bill and Jill, from Austin, Texas.
They have bicycled toured all over the world and were just beginning the
Lewis and Clark Trail. They were
riding their way into shape so they weren’t doing as many miles as we.
We hope to see them again down the road, but for now, we proceeded on. Following
our break at Arrow Rock, we rode on about 15 more miles to Marshall, Missouri,
were we had lunch at the Café and Grille, a very plain looking establishment
from the outside, but they served wonderful food and outstanding coconut cream
pie. The staff and patrons were all
very interested in the bicyclists and there was lots of good-natured chatter
going back and forth during the lunch hour.
Following lunch, the Missouri hills flattened out and Steve and I rode at
a very good clip with a nice tail wind the rest of the way into Higginsville,
Missouri. At our final
break at Alma, eleven miles out of Higginsville, Pam caught up with us in her
car. She had left the farm in
Chesapeake at 6:15 a.m. and driven 675 miles.
We were both thrilled to see each other and look forward to the next
several days together as she follows us before she returns to Ohio to ride GOBA
with some of our Florida friends. After
arriving in Higginsville, we found the First Presbyterian Church. I had spoken with Erica Harley the pastor last night from
Boonville. She invited us to stay
but when we arrived she had made arrangements for us to have rooms in this near
by motor court. We feel almost
guilty accepting this level of hospitality but given the miles we put in today
we didn’t protest too loudly. It’s
most comfortable. We all look
forward to having breakfast with Erica tomorrow morning. Following
dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, it’s time for rest.
We have a 70-mile day planned again tomorrow and rain is in the forecast.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 29THURSDAY,
JUNE 5, 2003 Mileage:
65.43 Riding
Time: 4 hr 43 min
Avg. Speed: 13.8 Higginsville,
Missouri to Smithville, Missouri Overnight
Location: First Baptist Church Up a little
after 5:00 a.m. Drank coffee in
room and got organized. Watched a
little TV. Met Steve for breakfast
at 8:00 a.m. at the Bay Leaf Café. We
were expecting Erica Harley, pastor of First Presbyterian Church to join us but
for some reason she didn’t arrive before we left at 8:45.
She’s much like the Good Samaritan who saw our need, took care of it,
and moved forward. If you check the
web-site Erica, thank you and your congregation so much for your hospitality. It was a
sunny and cool morning and we rode through pretty farm country over to Richmond,
Missouri where we stopped and took a break and had an ice cream.
We then continued to Excelsior Springs.
The road after Richmond was not nearly as nice and the stone and gravel
trucks coming and going from a local quarry were a real aggravation.
We stopped for lunch at Excelsior Springs.
Pam met us with the car and she had picked up some fruit, cottage cheese
and other things that were a welcome addition to our regular peanut butter and
bagel diet. From
Excelsior Springs it was 23 miles over to Smithville on Missouri Highway 92.
Route 92 looked like a strip of ribbon candy….up and down through
rolling farm land the entire way. It
was really a good work out and we were greatly helped by Pam following close
behind us in the car. There was no
shoulder on Rt. 92, and while this aggravated some motorists, it made for a more
comfortable and safe ride for Steve and I.
As rain is
in the forecast for tonight and in the morning, I checked with the First Baptist
Church in Smithville and Pastor Pete Hill invited us to spend the night in their
building. We showered at nearby
Smithville Reservoir Campground. We
talked to Chris on the phone and he will pick Steve up tomorrow following our
ride into Atchinson, Kansas so that he can participate in his National Guard
drills in Independence, Missouri. We
also anticipate having our bikes checked over by Scott at Smithville Spokes Bike
Shop tomorrow before heading out. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 30FRIDAY, JUNE
6, 2003 Mileage:
19.48 Riding
Time: 1 hr 40 min
Avg. Speed: 11.5 Smithville,
Missouri to Atchison, Kansas Overnight
Location: Atchison Motor Lodge Up at 6:00
a.m. It had rained all night but
was clearing in the morning. Had
coffee at the church and breakfast at Loemans Café.
We left the church at 9:00 a.m., intending to stop at the bike shop for a
few minutes to have our chains checked and I wanted to have new handlebar tape
put on. Scott at Smithville Spokes
Bike Shop is a very nice guy but can’t work and talk at the same time, and
Scott does like to talk. Consequently,
at 11:15 and several long stories later, we proceeded on.
We had a head wind today and similar ribbon candy rolling hills.
After the delay this morning, I was really out of the mood to ride.
Ten miles later hunger began to creep upon us so we stopped and had lunch
out of our panniers and out of Pam’s car as she was following along with us.
About ten miles later at Platte City, just 20 miles short of our
destination of Atchison, Kansas, I’d had all the riding I cared for today.
So, when Pam came around the corner, I flagged her down and took a ride
into Atchison, where we took a room at the Atchison Motor Lodge. Atchison is
a little working class town situated on the Missouri River at the western most
bend. It seems to have a lot of
railroading and agriculture. We
will take two days off here as Steve has National Guard drills.
The plan is to resume riding bright and early Monday morning.
I hope after two days rest, I will feel renewed and ready to continue. For now, I am looking forward to the break.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 31SATURDAY,
JUNE 7, 2003 Day Off:
Atchison, Kansas A tale of
two cities: It was the best of
times, it was the worst of ….wait, I think someone may have used that line.
Smithville, Missouri is a formerly sleepy little agricultural town on
Smithville Reservoir (a Corp of Engineers project) situated twelve miles north
of Kansas City and near Interstate 35. I
say formerly sleepy agricultural town. Currently,
the Kansas City sprawl is pushing northward and beginning to take over
Smithville. New homes and
sub-divisions are springing up and the people moving in are not natives of the
town. The lake brings recreationalists from throughout the area.
Economic prospects are bright, but with the encroaching development, the
history and culture of what once was Smithville will inevitably change. Atchison,
Kansas is situated in the western most bend of the Missouri River where Lewis
and Clark camped on July 4, 1804. It’s
the birthplace and childhood home of Amelia Earhart. The home of Benedictine College and Abbey where the Catholic
community of priests and brothers have lived and educated young people
practicing their vows since 1857. It’s
a community rich in agriculture and railroad history and the home of Mid-West
Grain Products, a company that converts grain into alcohol products for gasohol
as well as medical purposes. Not
being conveniently located near an interstate, some of the onslaught of urban
sprawl has not affected the community. The
big issue among local merchants has been how to prevent Wal-Mart from expanding
their local store to a supercenter thus having a negative impact on many of
their shops. While most
of us, accustomed to modern city life were we to find ourselves moving to the
greater Kansas City area, we might find Smithville a beautiful place to live and
purchase a home. But, if you are
interested in viewing or living life much as it was during the 20th
century prior to the homogenization brought on by interstate highways, cable
television and digital communication, Atchison, Kansas is a wonderful town to
spend a couple of days. They’re
proud of their history and culture steeped in their faith, largely Roman
Catholic, and seem to be going about business of life in a way reminiscent of
the ‘40’s, ‘50’s, and ‘60’s. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 32SUNDAY, JUNE
8, 2003 Day Off:
Atchison, Kansas Up about
7:00. Had breakfast at the Time Out
Restaurant. Roots and Wings,
Chapter 2. I wrote on Tuesday, June
3rd, about visiting my father’s birthplace and the graves of my
ancestors on my father’s side. Today,
Pam and I drove (I know, it doesn’t have the weight since we didn’t do it on
a bicycle) approximately 50 miles off route to Kansas City, Kansas to visit the
graves of my grandparents on my mother’s side, Henry Peter and Mary Lizzie
Arnold Honeyman, as well as an aunt who lived less than a year, Mabel Honeyman. We then
drove over to look at and take pictures of the home my mother lived in from
early childhood through the first several years of her marriage to my father.
Again, a place that lives large in family lore.
We stopped by the location where the house once stood where my mother was
born. We also located the church my
mother grew up in and where she and my dad were married June 2, 1935.
From there, we headed over to the other side of Kansas City, Kansas to
drive by the house where my father lived from age twelve until he married Mom.
Sadly, the house is now in a run down slum area with many poor people and
impoverished conditions everywhere. Happily,
Habitat for Humanity houses are springing up throughout the neighborhood.
Perhaps one day it can regain its status as a healthy working class
neighborhood as it was in the days of my father’s youth.
And even my own. I recall visiting my grandparents there when I was a small
child. Somehow visiting these areas
of my family roots always touches me and gets me back in focus as to who I am
and where I’ve come from. It was a
pleasant spring day and to continue the tour of old homes and cemeteries, we
drove over to Kansas City, Missouri where my Aunt Lillian and Uncle Victor (my
mother’s sister and brother-in-law) are buried.
Interestingly, the two Honeyman girls married one a Ralph Brunk and the
other a Victor Brunke. Following
dinner in Kansas City, we returned to Atchison where I got my things organized
to begin riding again Monday. Pam
and I then drove out to a nearby campground and the Forest of Friendship (where
trees from all 50 states and many foreign countries) are planted to commemorate
Amelia Earhart. It’s a high point
overlooking beautiful farmlands with the wheat beginning to turn amber as it
ripens and the sun begins to set. It’s
been a pleasant break from riding the last couple of days and wonderful to be
back with Pam. I realize how much I
miss her and tomorrow she returns to our home in Chesapeake as Steve, Chris and
I proceed on. This is David.
So it goes.
JOURNAL ENTRY 33MONDAY, JUNE
9, 2003 Mileage:
57.08
Riding Time: 3 hr 44 min
Avg. Speed: 15.2 Atchison,
Kansas to Falls City, Nebraska Overnight
Location: Camping in Stanton City
Park, near Stanton Lake Up at 5:30
a.m. Breakfast with Pam and also
with Chris, Steve and Drew at the Time Out Restaurant next to our motel.
It was then good-bye to Pam. I
will miss her. She is my “one true thing” in life; and one of the points
of clarity I have reached as I have been separated from her on this journey and
it’s visible to me while we are apart, is how important she is in my life.
I hope that she is back with me soon as we continue on our journey. The three of
us were on the road at 8:00 a.m. Blue
sky, gently rolling, prairie farm scenery, and are you ready…tailwind.
Like the beer commercial says, “it doesn’t get any better than
this!” We rode 25 miles to
Horton, Kansas where we took a break; 12 more miles to Hiawatha, Kansas where we
stopped at Dairy Queen; then on 20 more miles to Falls City, Nebraska where we
arrived at 1:00 p.m. We found the
City Park at Stanton Lake. Set up
camp. Showered and washed out our
clothes and hung them up to dry. The
stiff, dry, south wind should dry things quickly. As we head
north, we are moving into prairie country.
We saw today the amber waves of grain as a cross wind created the effect
of moving the vast wheat fields. It
was thrilling to witness. The smell
of new mown hay. The meadow larks,
killdeer, red-winged black birds. As well as hawks sailing lazily over the
fields shopping for dinner. It was
a wonderful day to ride. It felt
good to be here in this place at this time.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 34TUESDAY,
JUNE 10, 2003 Mileage:
55.9
Riding Time: 5 hr 31 min
Avg. Speed: 10.1 Falls City
Nebraska to Nebraska City, Nebraska Overnight
Location: Home of John and Kathy
Dueling, Pastor
First Presbyterian Church Up at 5:45
a.m. following a slam bang thunderstorm that struck about 1:20 a.m. in the
morning and lasted past 2:30 a.m. If
it had been any stronger, it would have recorded on the Richter Scale.
In my life, I have been in worse thunderstorms but never when I was
sleeping in a tent. Fortunately,
all three of us stayed dry. We
quickly packed up our things and headed to a local café for breakfast.
We were on the road at 8:30. The sun was
shining. It was a beautiful morning
but the wind that was at our back yesterday making us feel light-hearted and
poetic was now blowing about a steady 20 miles an hour in our face.
If pain gives birth to poetry, there may be a poem there someday but
certainly not today. We rode on 35
miles to Brownville, where we had lunch. At
Brownville, the Steamboat Trace Trail begins and runs 20 miles to Nebraska City.
When given a choice, I almost always opt for the road over rail trails.
My feeling about rail trails are they are better left for horses but with
the wind as it was today, we reasoned that the trail might give us some
protection, so we set out. About
three miles in, we came to approximately a 300 yard stretch where the trail was
washed out and due to the heavy rains of last night, was a solid bog of clay. Before we knew it, our wheels where mired over the rim.
Our shoes became big clods of clay.
The clay stuck to the wheels, jammed in the brakes, fork and drive train.
Now, these are touring bikes fully loaded weighing close to 100 pounds.
We had to drag the bikes through this stretch and then pull all the clay
out when we got back to gravel. This
created quite a mess on our hands and legs.
When we were finally able to break the wheels free, we proceeded on.
On up the trail, a good sized locust tree had come down in the storm
across the trail. The tree was too
large and heavy to move, so the two of us had to lift the bikes, one at a time,
over the tree and debris to the other side.
When we finally got to the end of the trail twenty miles later, we
thought we had but a couple of miles into Nebraska City.
Wrong. That couple of miles
was actually four miles, all up hill, and can you guess, into that headwind. The first
stop when we got into town was a coin-operated car wash to clean the bikes up.
Now, most bike manuals don’t recommend using a high pressure car wash
to clean your bike; but then, most bike manuals don’t recommend wallowing in
clay either. The bright spot was
that John Dueling, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, drove out to meet us and
escorted us to his home where we showered, visited a while and then went out to
a nice Italian dinner with he, his wife Kathy and his 18 year old son, Pete. Now, I’m
sure next winter when we’re sitting around with our bicycle friends in Ft.
Myers recalling all of our great accomplishments in cycling over the summer,
that I’ll enjoy recounting the events of today, multiplying them by a factor
of 2.5 (as most of us usually do), but for now, it was a tough day and I’m
tired. This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 35WEDNESDAY,
JUNE 11, 2003 Mileage:
57.56 Riding
Time: 4 hr 41 min
Avg. Speed: 12.2 Nebraska
City, Nebraska to Council Bluffs, Iowa Overnight
Location: Lake Manawa State Park Up at 6:20
a.m. Breakfast with Pastor John
Dueling at the Sunrise Café. John then gave us a tour of First United
Presbyterian Church before we left at 8:30 a.m.
Steve and I rode on to Percival, Iowa where we encountered Chris. Chris had taken a different route yesterday to see some sites
in Iowa. We rode on
and it was a fine morning, sunny and mild with a slight head wind.
At Pacific Junction, Iowa, I had my second flat of the tour. The only
flats of the three of us so far, have been mine.
It was a small piece of wire picked up in the side wall (probably from a
steel-belted truck tire). I quickly
patched the tire with Steve’s help as well as the help of a lady who lived in
the house we were working in front of. She
and her children brought out a pail of water for me to more quickly find the
leak. We then rode into the center of the little town.
I bought a Diet Pepsi in the tavern, the only business in town.
We then went to the town park where we ate lunch from our panniers. From Pacific
Junction, we rode on into Council Bluffs. We
found Chris eating spaghetti in a local tavern.
Steve needed to get some things from nearby Wal-Mart.
He had lost his electric razor somewhere.
I don’t know how you lose something like that as big as it is nor does
he, but nevertheless, he needed to replace it.
He bought the things he needed and we found a Golden Corral nearby and
refueled. Lake Manawa
Park is close, so we took a campsite here.
It’s a nice park with a crude and hard scrabble clientele. Underneath, they’re all nice as we have chatted with
several who are interested in our ride. We
think the lake is an oxbow in the Missouri River system. We look across the lake at the Omaha, Nebraska downtown
skyline, where the college world series begins this week. Chris’s
spaghetti from the tavern wore off so just like Lewis and Clark, he picked up
his cell phone and called Vermilion’s Pizza and had delivered to our campsite
a salad, pizza, and root beer. Life
is rough. Rain is in the forecast
for tomorrow morning so we will try to be flexible as to route and distance.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 36THURSDAY,
JUNE 12, 2003 Mileage:
111.39
Riding Time: 8 hr 20 min
Avg. Speed: 13.3 Council
Bluff, Iowa to Sioux City, Iowa Overnight
Location: Morningside Presbyterian
Church Up at 5:00
a.m. Left camp at 5:45 and rode
four miles into Cracker Barrel for breakfast.
Following breakfast we stopped at Home Depot for gutter nails to use as
tent stakes. On the road at
7:30. The weather
looked threatening but no rain had fallen where we were yet. We rode in the cool cloudy morning over to Missouri Valley,
Iowa and onto Mondamin. Just
missing rain before or after in cases. In
certain areas, rain had already fallen and the road was very wet….enough to
get our bikes dirty but little other consequences. We had lunch in Mondamin and decided to go for a century.
The weather was favorable, cloudy and cool.
So I got a Sioux City telephone directory and called ahead to Morningside
Presbyterian Church and Pastor Roger Graf
said, as so many of his counterparts have before on this tour, “Come on”.
So we
arrived late. After 7:00, just as
he was going into a meeting. He
told us one of the committee members would take us to his home for showers after
while. While we waited, we had
bar-b-que sandwiches and milkshakes at nearby Dairy Queen.
Steve’s enjoying his endorphins. Chirs
is asking, “Why in @#@#%% did he ever do this”?
And I’m anxious to get my shower, but moving right along.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 37FRIDAY, JUNE
13, 2003 Mileage:
48.94
Riding Time: 4 hr 9 min
Avg. Speed: 11.7 Sioux City,
Iowa to Vermillion, South Dakota Overnight
Location: Lion’s Club Park Up at 6:00
a.m. Coffee at the church.
Chatted briefly with Roger Graf, pastor, and then rode to Timothy’s
Restaurant for breakfast. Following breakfast, we rode on to the Lewis and Clark Center
in Sioux City. Enjoyed our visit
and at 11:00 a.m. we began our ride. Sunny,
warm good day. We rode out
of Sioux City and up to Jefferson, South Dakota, a cute little town where we had
lunch at the White Horse Saloon. As
we rode out of town on a road that had most of the pavement scrapped off in
preparation for repaving, Steve had a pinch flat.
He fixed it but missed the second hole so when it went flat right away
again he had to repeat the whole process. It
took close to an hour. We continued
on to Elk Point, South Dakota where we found an old-fashioned drug store,
complete with soda fountain. WOW!
A real chocolate milkshake with enough left in the mixing tin to fill the
glass again. If you’re ever in
Elk Point, be sure to stop in at Edgar’s’
When we left the drug store, the weather had clouded over and was
threatening rain. We ran into
another cyclist from Colorado who was doing the Lewis and Clark Trail on a
recumbent and staying mostly in motels. I
believe his name was Richard. We
had a nice chat and then rode on into a headwind to Vermillion, South Dakota,
home of the University of South Dakota. So far, no
rain. We’re camped at the
Lion’s Club Park. We showered at
the National Guard Armory next door. Had
dinner at the Silver Dollar, wall-eye, baked potato, and huge salad bar. Very good. Now
I’m doing laundry. Good day.
Short miles. So far I like the farm scenery in South Dakota. Vast
expanses of farm land dotted with silos and grain elevators.
Friendly people in small towns and the railroad running through to
transport the agriculture products. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 38SATURDAY,
JUNE 14, 2003 Mileage:
72.68
Riding Time: 5 hr 21 min
Avg. Speed: 13.5 Vermillion,
South Dakota to Springfield, South Dakota Overnight
Location: Camping in City Park Up at 6:00
a.m. Cloudy morning. Breakfast at the High V Supermarket, in a very nice
restaurant facility on the premises. High
V is a Des Moines supermarket and they are very nice stores. Was on the road at 7:30.
Chris and Steve left earlier than I, as I had slept late this morning.
They were nearly ready to go by the time I was ready to go to breakfast. I rode 23
miles into Gayville, South Dakota where I caught up to them. I then rode on ahead into Yankton. It was a nice little town with 13,000 plus people.
I stopped at the library to do my e-mail; stopped at the store to pick up
a few things; then rode on through the cloudy morning to Lewis and Clark Lake.
This is a large Corp of Engineers dam that has provided a lake in this
area of South Dakota for recreational purposes.
I rode a bike path around and through the lake area and at that point
caught up with Chris and Steve again as they had moved through Yankton more
rapidly than I. We lunched
out of our panniers along the road. We
got into Springfield about 3:00 p.m. We
found the City Park in which to camp; Libby’s Restaurant for dinner; and the
Twist and Shout for ice cream after dinner.
We visited the first one-room school house in the Dakota Territory that
was along the road today. The
weather is now clear for a while we hope. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 39SUNDAY, JUNE
15, 2003 Mileage:
60.21 Riding
Time: 4 hr 14 min Avg.
Speed: 14.2 Springfield,
South Dakota to Armour, South Dakota Overnight
Location: Camping in Lions Club
Park Up at 5:45
a.m. Had a good sleep in nice
campground. Rode two miles to a
“C” store for coffee and a doughnut before riding 12.5 miles to Tyndall for
a proper cyclist breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes and coffee.
Everyone in the place was very friendly and interested in our trip.
We finally got out on the road at 9:30 a.m. and rode about 27 miles into
Wagner, South Dakota. It was a sunny and increasingly hot morning with a cross wind
and a slight, continuous rise in elevation, enough to make us feel tired as it
looked almost flat. It was very
discouraging. When we
arrived in Wagner, we found a “C” store for a soft drink and a rest. As we
were leaving, Chris suddenly decided he was hungry and Steve decided to eat
also. It was 12 noon and I wasn’t
hungry and as it was getting hot, I decided to proceed on.
I rode on another 27 miles to Armour and stopped for lunch at 1:30 at a
convenience store. I had a good
ride with a tail wind and moving clouds that seemed to follow me granting a good
deal of shade while allowing the countryside to remain sunny.
It was very nice Following
lunch, I saw the Lions Club Park and decided to stop for the night.
I left the guys a voice mail and will rejoin them tomorrow.
For now, I have a great place to camp (I’m the only one in the park).
A place to eat dinner and breakfast in the morning and I hope to have a
good rest tonight. This is David.
So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 40MONDAY, JUNE
16, 2003 Mileage:
84.73
Riding Time: 5 hr 37 min
Avg. Speed: 15.0 Armour,
South Dakota to Chamberlain, South Dakota Overnight
Location: Bel-Aire Hotel Up at 5:00
a.m., packed up and rode over to the “C” store at 5:25 for a breakfast of
cereal and doughnuts and coffee. That
all they had. The clerk said the
coffee was on him. I was on the
road at 6:15 a.m.. It was a
sunny, beautiful morning with south winds.
I had 85 miles to do today and 46 were with a cross wind with rolling
hills and about 40 with a tail wind and no appreciable hills. Fortunately, most of the 46 miles into the cross winds came
early. I proceeded on to Platte
where the others stayed last night, 31 miles against a head wind, and had a
second breakfast. The guys had just
left when I arrived. I met two young men riding from San Francisco to Chicago.
They were college students. One
named Aaron graduated from Fairland High School near Huntington, West Virginia
in 2000. His father was the
Methodist minister in Proctorville, Ohio. Small
world. After I ate,
I rode on hard with the tail wind. From
Platte, north to Chamberlain, there is a great deal of nothing.
It was a good fast ride though. I
stopped to fill my water and eat a light lunch from my panniers at about the 57
mile mark. A nice farm couple filled my water and allowed me to sit
under their shade trees. They farm
1600 acres there. The last
eight miles were in a hard head wind and I arrived hot, tired and hungry at the
Subway Shop where the guys said they would wait for me.
As I walked in, Chris said he didn’t thing they could wait for me to
eat. They wanted to ride 30 more
miles to Ft. Thompson, as they had only done 50 miles with a tail wind.
I told him very quickly what I thought of that idea.
They did wait while I ate then rode on any way.
I took a room here to rest and get refreshed.
Steve seems to think Chris has ADD.
He is difficult to communicate with and seems to pop off at times without
thinking. Steve has his own agenda,
centering around his National Guard drills.
We shall see how things work out long term. This is David. So
it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 41TUESDAY,
JUNE 17, 2003 Mileage:
30.12
Riding Time: 2 hr 56 min
Avg. Speed: 10.2 Chamberlain,
South Dakota to Pierre, South Dakota Overnight
Location: First Methodist Church This was an
interesting day. I was up at 5:30
a.m., had breakfast at a good café in Chamberlain.
Had a nice chat with the locals in the café and then on the road by 8:00
a.m. It was sunny
and had the promise of a very warm day on the South Dakota prairie.
As I began riding, I felt somewhat tired and I was a bit disappointed in
my riding colleagues as a result of what had happened yesterday.
The winds had also shifted today, from the northwest.
A head wind and two long climbs out of Chamberlain and then 15 more miles
of head winds to Ft. Thompson had worn me down.
I just didn’t have the edge today and it would be 65 more miles in a
head wind to bring me close to the town of Pierre and that without any small
towns along the way in which to become refreshed. So, SO, I decided to expand my adventure and I hitched a
ride. What an interesting thing to
do, but as they say, “Don’t try this at home”.
The first
person to stop and pick me up right away in a bright shinny new pick-up truck
was a young South Dakota state trooper who was vacationing in the area and
fishing. Very nice guy. We put my bike in the back and we had an interesting chat as
he took me part way. When he let me
out, the next individual to pick me up was an old farmer in a rattle-trap old
red pick-up truck. He took me eight
miles and let me out. The third
ride came from a couple of
professors from Huron on their way to a meeting in the state capital of Pierre.
We had a very nice chat as they drove me the final 40 miles into town. They dropped
me off at a Burger King where I had lunch.
During lunch, a tall interesting gentleman and his wife stopped to chat
with me about my trek. They saw my
Lewis and Clark jersey and were interested.
We had a brief encounter and went our way. From there, I proceeded to the bike shop to have a new chain
and cassette put on; went next door to the barbershop to have my hair trimmed.
Then decided to find a place to stay.
I rode to City Park and it was very sunny and very hot so I decided
against camping. While riding
around town and looking about I saw a church steeple so I rode up to the First
Methodist Church and spoke to one of the pastors, Genie Butler.
I explained my situation and she said they would be happy to let me use
the house next door that they used
for Sunday School rooms and is fully equipped with showers.
I thanked her; accepted the key; and came over to move in, set up, shower
and clean up. Following
that, I went next door to meet the other pastor, Howard Grinager.
I was told Pastor Grinager was an avid bicyclist and was out training
this afternoon for a Habitat bike ride he was doing in Minnesota later this
summer. When I saw him walk out the
church door, I realized it was the same gentleman that I had the encounter with
at Burger King. While we were
talking, an attractive middle-aged woman pulled up in a car.
She said she had seen me around town earlier and thought I needed some of
the cookies her mother had baked and sent home with her, so she gave me a
chocolate chip cookie. This woman
spoke of working on Mike’s campaign to the pastor and as I looked back and
forth between them, I realized the Mike they were speaking about was the
governor of South Dakota. In this,
the smallest capital of the 50 states, people are on a first name basis with the
governor. So, with
well wishes from Pastor Howard and my new friend Lori Thompson, I headed over to
meet the guys in City Park and go to dinner.
We had a nice chat and cleared the air and I felt better.
On the way to dinner, I had, count them, my third flat of the tour.
We went ahead and ate dinner and following dinner I pumped the tire up
and quickly rode back to the church to change the tire and clean the bike. I somehow always feel better after cleaning the bike up and
putting things in order. So after
riding up Central Avenue to Prospect Street to check and make sure all the gears
were shifting properly, I watched a beautiful sunset over the South Dakota
capitol and felt the prospects were looking up again on our Vision Quest Tour
2003. By the way,
the city of Pierre is one of only three state capitals not located on an
interstate highway. Can you name
the other two? This is David.
So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 42WEDNESDAY,
JUNE 18, 2003 Mileage:
12
Riding Time: 1 hr 20 min
Avg. Speed: 9.0 Day Off Overnight
Location: First United Methodist
Church Up at 7:00
a.m. and had breakfast with Chris and Steve.
Then back to the church to do some map work…route out and plan the next
couple of weeks on the tour. Then
rode up to the library for a group map meeting so we could compare notes and
came to some sort of consensus. It
looks like Steve will try to move his National Guard requirement and drill up to
Helena, Montana’s National Guard station from Missoula, Montana, thus making
it easier for the group as we’ll get to Helena before Missoula. We then had lunch at a Chinese restaurant; sat, chatted and
visited for a while. We rode over
and took a self-guided tour of the South Dakota capitol building.
It’s a very beautiful building that was built for a million dollars in
the early 1900’s and now is valued at over $58 million. This is a
very beautiful and most interesting city. The
small town of about 13,000 has such a friendly and intimate feel for a state
capital. It’s very neat and
well-maintained with all the usual memorials you’d expect, but in such a
pretty setting. Now I’m getting
ready for dinner and then the laundromat and hope to feel fresh for a good ride
tomorrow. When Chris
and I went to dinner, we met a couple, LaValle Lynn and Ron Zell from Santa
Rosa, California, who are riding a tandem over the Lewis and Clark Trail.
They are riding a carbon fiber Kelsey tandem pulling a bob trailer,
averaging over 100 miles a day, and staying in motels.
We chatted with them over dinner and had a nice visit.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 43THURSDAY,
JUNE 19, 2003 Mileage:
101.83
Riding Time: 7 hr 14 min
Avg. Speed: 14.1 Pierre,
South Dakota to Selby, South Dakota Overnight
Location: Hilltop Motel Up at 5:00
a.m. Met the guys at 6:15 in a café
for breakfast. On the road at 7:30
a.m. It was sunny, mild and the
wind was from the south-southeast at 5-10 miles per hour early; picking up to
20-25 miles per hour later in the day and continuing throughout the day.
The high temperature was 84°.
We rode together through the morning hours.
There were no towns between Pierre and Gettysburg, South Dakota which was
our destination, so we carried plenty of food and water.
We stopped for lunch and to fill our water at a farm where we saw some
life. The farmer said he
farmed 2000 acres but that wasn’t large out here.
One farm in the county was 36 sections, and each section was 640 acres.
You do the math. There were many abandoned farmsteads along the way but
the fields were healthy and growing. I
guess consolidation is occurring in rural America as well as in corporate
America. We came to a
turn that would take us to Gettysburg in 16 miles and a very strong head wind or
we could take another turn and ride 35 miles to Selby in a tail wind.
We chose the longer miles with the tail wind.
So, 102 miles after we departed and at 6:02 p.m., we arrived tired and
hungry but none the worse for wear. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 44FRIDAY, JUNE
20, 2003 Mileage:
74.93 Riding
Time 3 hr 47 min
Avg. Speed: 19.8 Selby, South
Dakota to Hazelton, North Dakota Overnight
Location: Camping in Hazelton City
Park Up at about
6:30 a.m. Had breakfast at the town
café and talked to Steve and the tandem couple we have seen several times
lately. Slow morning following
yesterday’s century. Back to the motel to shower and pack up.
On the road at 9:30 a.m. BIG TIME
TAIL WIND TODAY! 30 miles per hour
in the morning, increasing up to 50 miles per hour in the afternoon.
One of the strangest experiences I’ve had since I’ve been cycling
seriously. When you were stopped,
the wind was howling and blowing about you with sand, grit, and dirt everywhere.
But when you’re underway, you’re moving at the speed of the wind and all is
calm and quite. There’s no
sensation and you feel the hot prairie sun beating down on you and yet the
wonderful sensation of almost effortless speed. We fairly
flew up to Mound City, 16 miles, in about 30 minutes; then to Herrod for a
break. The newspaper editor spotted
us and interviewed us, taking a picture for her story. We rode to the North Dakota line and took pictures.
Then on to Strasburg, North Dakota where Lawrence Welk was from.
We stopped for a snack, riding on through Linton to Hazelton. In the book
of Isaiah, the scripture says, “They will soar on wings like eagles”.
That came to mind today as we rode along racing with the clouds that were
overhead and that were moving faster aloft then we were on the ground.
Hazelton,
North Dakota is celebrating this week-end their centennial. So a town of 278 residents has swollen to 5 or 6 times that
many for the big week-end. I think
at least half of the town was trying to have dinner at Joe’s Diner, the only
place in town, when we were there tonight.
The City Park had a good many RV’s, all with at least 2 or 3 cases of
beer setting outside. I began to
wonder if anyone would get any sleep once the celebrants had consumed much of
the beer. But the wind proved
to be a greater deterrent to sleep At this
extreme western edge of the Central Time Zone, this far north before the summer
solstice, it was not full dark until nearly 11:00 p.m.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 45SATURDAY,
JUNE 21, 2003 Mileage:
50.9
Riding Time: 3 hr 24 min
Avg. Speed: 14.9 Hazelton,
North Dakota to Bismarck, North Dakota Overnight
Location: Colonial Motel “A way out
here, they have a name for wind and rain and fire”.
That, of course, is the first line of the song, “They Call The Wind
Moriah”. Well, a 50 mile per hour
south wind is a rare and thrilling experience for a northbound cyclist, but
tenting in it is quite another story. It
was hard to sleep with the tent bending and shaking. I did manage 4 or so hours of sound sleep. Up about
6:00 a.m. Had breakfast in the
Cenex “C” Store in Hazelton. Joe’s
Diner didn’t open until 9:00 a.m.; in a farm town, go figure? On the road at 8:00 a.m.
The big time tail wind continues for 14 miles. Sadly our route now turns cross wind for 35 miles into
Bismarck. Still, I was in town by
11:00 a.m. and had lunch at Wendy’s. Found Dakota
Cyclery, where Loren and Jen Morlock and their family run a first class local
bike shop. I bought a new rear tire
to replace the worn one I put on in Hagerstown, Maryland.
I asked Jen if I could clean my bike up after I put my tire on and she
gave me a handful of rags. Their
son took my new chain, purchased in Pierre and which had gotten thoroughly dirty
in 225 miles of howling winds, and cleaned it while I cleaned my bike, chain
rings and cassette. Jen then
pointed out several things that would be useful for us to know while visiting
Bismarck. We stopped
for an early dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant (the best we have enjoyed on
this tour). We rode across the
bridge to Mandan and took a room for two nights in the Colonial Motel.
Even though we took a rest day Wednesday in Pierre, I thought it would be
interesting to look around North Dakota’s state capital while we are here.
Steve arrived later this afternoon from a side trip he took looking for
information on his great-grandparents who homesteaded near Pollack, North
Dakota. He is camping in the motel
camp ground. This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 46SUNDAY, JUNE
22, 2003 Mileage:
11.6
Riding Time: 1 hr 13 min
Avg. Speed: 9.4 Day Off Overnight
Location: Colonial Motel Where will
we go this year on vacation? Familiar
question asked by many of us as we look towards the summer months.
The old standard beach or perhaps a headliner city….New York, San
Francisco, Washington, DC, Orlando, Bismarck, North Dakota.
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA? Are
you mad? Bismarck and Mandan are two cities that face each other
across the Missouri River with a total population of about 70,000.
Bismarck, the state capital, is steeped in history dating back many
thousands of years before the Corps of Discovery tied their boats up along the
Missouri River shore to winter near the Mandan Indians.
There is much history to discover here abouts, but Bismarck is also a
city with an attitude…; as in GOOD ATTITUDE!
Consider, I
have had a slight problem with my Brooks saddle (that’s bike seat for the
uninitiated). No one in any of the
local bike stores I have visited has dared tried to fix it for fear of breaking
the leather and thus ruining the seat. Following
a day off visiting the state capitol, North Dakota Heritage Museum, library and
excellent Chinese buffet (2nd day in a row), we stopped by Dakota
Cyclery, Loren and Jen Morlock’s
Bicycle Emporium and Good Karma Café, to check out my seat situation.
Jen and her daughter helped me try several new seats.
None suited, so Jen looked for a used Brooks.
Eureka! Found one!
Young Kyle, part-time wrench (bike mechanic) took it off the old vintage
bike it was on, cleaned it up and I tried it.
Close, but no cigar. So Kyle
carefully examined my old seat. He
quickly diagnosed the problem. He
took his tools and with the skill of a surgeon, fixed it.
This 16 year old young man solved my problem.
Jen refused to charge me and wished me well on our tour. So, if on
your vacation this year, you can forego the culture and the worry of Broadway,
Mickey Mouse and the crowded beach scene. If
renewing your faith in your fellowman and the belief that people can actually
live together in community with each other sounds compelling, then I nominate
Bismarck, North Dakota for your consideration and I’d start my search at
Dakota Cyclery. Thanks guys.
You’re the best. This is David. So
it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 47MONDAY, JUNE
23, 2003 Mileage:
47.46
Riding Time: 3 hr 53 min
Avg. Speed: 12.1 Bismarck,
North Dakota to Washburn, North Dakota Overnight
Location: Scott Wood Motel A cloudy and
cool morning with the threat of rain and a slight head wind.
The big winds of last week are behind us for now.
We were on the road a bit after 8:00 a.m. with Hazen, North Dakota as our
destination. There’s not much out
there after you leave Bismarck. We rode 47
miles to Washburn, North Dakota, had lunch, and then visited the Lewis and Clark
Center and the reproduction of Fort Mandan.
It was near this very point where the Corps of Discovery spent the winter
of 1804-1805. Both the center and
the fort were very interesting. By
the time we had finished our tours, it was nearly 4:00 p.m.
A great debate ensued about what we should do…stay or move on.
When we planned toady’s mileage, we didn’t allow for such a long
visit to the center and fort. The guys wanted to ride on to Hazen and camp.
I figured it would be nearly 7:00 p.m. before we got there and besides I
was tired. I never really got my
kick today. I felt kind of sluggish
all morning, so I told them to ride on if they wanted to. I was taking a motel here in Washburn. I hope to get a good rest tonight and ride strong tomorrow
over to Killdeer, North Dakota, 86 miles, and meet the others.
For now, I’m tired. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 48TUESDAY,
JUNE 24, 2003 Mileage:
71.81
Riding Time: 4 hr 59 min
Avg. Speed: 14.3 Washburn,
North Dakota to Killdeer, North Dakota Overnight
Location: Mountain View Motel The high
plains of North Dakota can be a vast and lonely place with gray low clouds;
temperatures in the high 50’s, low 60’s; rain threatening; and a moderate
cross wind. There wasn’t much out
there once I left Washburn and the comfort of my motel.
The motel clerk last night was very helpful. As she dried my laundry, she showed me a picture of her
daughter, a National Guard member, serving in Iraq.
She had coffee ready in the lobby at 5:00 a.m. this morning.
That, along with a hardy breakfast from the Dakota Farms Restaurant next
door, and I was feeling good and on the road at 7:00 a.m. Central Time. As you leave
Washburn, you cross the Missouri River into Mountain Time.
As I rode along, I was climbing slowly and the landscape began to change,
taking on a high plains look as I moved further west river.
Gone for the most part were the cultivated farms.
Replaced by vast grassland ranches with occasional herds of cattle. Even with the bleak weather, I felt good and was riding
strong. I was hoping the rain would
hold off. Forty-seven
miles into my ride, I stopped in the little town of Golden Valley for lunch.
I encountered Hank Becker, Pastor of the Church of God there, as he was
leaving the grocery store/social hall and I was getting my bike ready to ride.
The usual conversation ensued…where’d you come from? Where you going?
And why? He told me all about
himself and how he’d pastored a church on Pine Island near Ft. Myers. He also explained how it was that there were more Christians
in Mercer County, North Dakota than some of the other counties here abouts.
Consequently, they were getting more rain this year and were expecting
good crops. Now I’m
not sure God works that way. My
theology is a bit different, but if Brother Becker is right, I thought they may
be just a couple prayers short of a downpour the way things looked. So, I got right on out of town, heading for the county line.
About 24 miles later, I rode into the little town of Halliday in Dunn
County and wouldn’t you know it, it began to rain.
I’m not sure how that all adds and subtracts in Brother Becker’s
book, but after the rains we had back east, I thought I’d hitch a ride and
avoid the mess. So, at
12:12, I put my kickstand down and my thumb out.
The first pick-up truck by, Bill Tveit, picked me up and drove me 6-8
miles to where he was turning off. Nice
guy. Sales rep for farm equipment.
He explained to me how all these little towns on the plains are seven
miles apart. That’s because when
the railroads where put through over 100 years ago, the steam engines had to
stop and take on water every seven miles. When
he let me off, it was raining pretty hard.
So I continued to ride down the road checking my rear view mirror
constantly. About a mile later, I
saw a van coming, so off I jumped and out went my thumb.
Two guys who installed carpet, in an old van, were the perfect answer to
my prayer. My bike easily fit in the back of the van out of the rain and
they drove me on into Killdeer, our destination for the day, and right up to the
front of the motel. I never even
got their names, but they sure did enjoy considering what it must be like to
ride a bicycle across America. The motel
clerk here showed signs of being less than helpful, but when pressed, agreed to
dry my laundry if I washed it out in my room.
So with prayers for the North Dakota farmers to get rain and those of us
riding bicycles through North Dakota not to get rain. This is David. So
it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 49WEDNESDAY,
JUNE 25, 2003 Mileage:
19.13
Riding Time: 1 hr 45 min
Avg. Speed: 10.8 Killdeer,
North Dakota to Williston, North Dakota Overnight
Location: First Union Church North Dakota
is nine months of cold weather and three months of bad sleighing.
The Sentinel, Russell, Bottineau County, North Dakota 1/17/1908 The path of
the pioneer is not so much anymore the crossing of untouched land, but is a path
of knowledge through education that opens up unknown truths about ourselves.
Jeffrey Barber, sculptor Both of
these quotes that I recently read in Bismarck, came to mind this morning, as
following breakfast, I set out over high hills on the high plains, in a head
wind and spitting rain in 46° temperatures, on this Vision Quest ’03. What, so
far, has David learned? The first I
have expressed earlier: my love and
affection for my wife Pam, how I miss her and desire to be with her.
In fact, today she is in route to join me on the journey.
Second: after 33 years with
MetLife, good years where I have grown and learned so much as I have
accomplished much in my business, I realize I put unremitting pressure on myself
to achieve, but for what? Who
really cares in the long run. Eventually,
as the sermon illustration goes, it will all go “back in the box”. All your trophies will turn to trash. So the lesson? Enjoy
the moment, it won’t last. On that
note, I, sharp as a whip, noticed this was not the sort of day to “enjoy” a
bike ride, so why push myself to “achieve” “x” number of miles. So taking a queue from recent days, off the bike and out with
the thumb. Kenny Sample, an oil
services sales rep, driving his Dodge pick-up from him home to Williston, North
Dakota, happened by. He stopped and
we had a delightful time chatting as we drove on to Williston. Thanks Kenny. And
once in Williston, Pastor Sheldon Sorenson of First Union Church invited me to
camp in the church basement while I waited for the June thaw. This is David. So
it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 50FRIDAY, JUNE
27, 2003 Mileage:
51.17
Riding Time: 4 hr 14 min
Avg. Speed: 11.9 Williston,
North Dakota to Culbertson, Montana Overnight
Location: Kings Inn Motel Following a
rest day on Thursday, the 26th, I was up early. Breakfast at Ginger’s Café in Williston, where two
scrambled eggs and a platter sized pancake sets you back $3.15. Value is alive and well in North Dakota.
Twenty-two
years ago today, our son Dean was born. Hard
to believe how fast time flies. So
if you, the reader, are planning an adventure or vision quest of your own, I
ask, “When are you going to do it and what are you waiting for?” I was on the
road at 8:15 a.m. As I climbed a
few long hills out of Williston, low clouds were moving in from the west.
There was a pretty good head wind. I’m
not very good at judging wind speed, but the forecast called for 15-20 miles per
hour winds. About 8 or 10 miles out of town, the rain began to fall and I
was grinding out the miles not having much fun. Then out of
the gloom, I saw a bicycle with a rider clad in his yellow rain gear.
We stopped to hail each other and chat briefly.
His name was Mark and he was a member of the Adventure Cycling Northern
Tier Tour that left Anacortes, Washington on May 27th bound for Bar
Harbour, Maine. He informed me
there were 11 riders total and I’d be seeing them as I proceeded on.
At the 30-mile mark, I stopped at Bainville at a café for lunch.
A number of Mark’s fellow riders were there eating as well, including
Will Mosare, the group’s leader. We
all had a nice time talking while we ate. It
was fun, if only for a brief time, to participate in the group dynamics of an
11-person tour. Such was my
experience on my first tour with Adventure Cycling in 1997.
Before I left the café bound for Culbertson, Montana, Steve and Chris
rolled in and were enjoying the group as well.
After lunch, the weather cleared and my spirits were lifted as well with
the sunshine and the encounter with another group off on their own adventure. I rode on
for about 10 miles in the head wind and stopped along the road to take a break
and check my cell phone for messages. One
informed me that Pam had just moments earlier crossed the Montana line.
I rode on towards my destination, stopping to take a few pictures of the
large number of beehives we’ve seen through the Dakotas and now Montana
setting in the corners of the vast fields of grasses.
As I got back on my bike to ride the final three miles into Culbertson, I
caught sight in my rear view mirror of a familiar while Town and Country van. On the original Lewis and Clark expedition, William Clark
used the phrase as they caught sight of the Pacific, “Oh, the joy!”
My sentiments exactly as Pam pulled up next to me and we stopped for an
embrace before proceeding on to Culbertson, Montana.
In
Culbertson, we visited the local museum; the Breaks of the Missouri, beautiful
hills and bluffs carved over time by the river; then had dinner.
I look forward to sharing the adventure with Pam moving forward.
I’ll have to make a decision in a couple of weeks when Pam must leave
for a week to fulfill a commitment to the Bicycle Tour of Colorado. Do I take the week and go with her to Colorado and then pick up
where I left off at the end of the week or do I continue on with Steve and
Chris. I guess we’ll cross that
bridge later. As I look
back over the last seven weeks, it’s hard to imagine we’ve traveled from the
steps of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. and as of today, entered the
state of Montana. By entering
Montana, it seems we’ve truly entered the west.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 51SATURDAY,
JUNE 28, 2003 Mileage:
58.92 Riding
Time: 4 hr 33 min
Avg. Speed: 12.9 Culbertson,
Montana to Wolf Point, Montana Overnight
Location: El Rancho Campground Up at 6:30
a.m. Had coffee at the motel.
Met Chris and Steve and Dick and Tom (2 cyclists that camped with Chris
and Steve). They are doing the
Adventure Cycling Northern Tier, but on their own.
One of the fellows is a 67 year old college professor at the University
of Houston and the other is a retired 69 year old Mennonite from Colorado
Springs. They teased me about
really roughing it in a motel. I
think they were a bit envious but they do seem to be having a good time. On the road
about 8:20. It was cool and cloudy
and we had a 15-20 mile per hour head wind.
The guys had already left, so I rode on at a comfortable pace for about
20 miles to Brockton. Pam caught up
with me in the van at about the same time that we encountered the guys just
finishing a break. We rode on about
15 more miles to Poplar where we had lunch.
By then the sky had cleared and it was indeed a Big Sky Day in Montana. In route to Poplar, we encountered five young women pulling
Bob trailers. All recent college
graduates, who were doing the Northern Tier.
It was fun to visit with them for 15-20 minutes. They were attractive young women out for a big adventure
before going on to grad school or beginning careers. We continued
on to Wolf Point, arriving here about 3:15.
We set up camp at El Rancho Campground and RV Park.
The guys arrived shortly after I did.
We had dinner at the Old Town Café and dessert at The Freeze.
We then picked up a few things at the grocery store and returned to camp
to shower and enjoy the rest of the evening. We are
riding along US Highway 2 in eastern Montana, commonly known as the high-line,
as it closely parallels the great Northern Railroad now BNSF which was the
highest railroad line across the United States.
As we ride along, we see train after train going in both directions,
including Amtrak passenger trains. I
think bound from Seattle to Chicago and back. If the prevailing westerly winds
hold, we're apt to have headwinds until we get to the mountains. This is David. So
it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 52SUNDAY, JUNE
29, 2003 Mileage:
51.87
Riding Time: 3 hr 14 min
Avg. Speed: 16.0 Wolf Point,
Montana to Glasgow, Montana Overnight
Location: Shady Rest RV Park It was 12
noon Mountain Time when we walked out of Bergie’s Café and Gifts and heard
the haunting sound of a train whistle, as the Amtrak Empire Builder moved across
the high prairie towards Seattle. I’ve
always felt there was a certain romance to train travel, based on three parts
historical accounts and one part personal experience…the observation car, the
sleeper car, and of course, the ever popular dining car.
But then the folks on the Amtrak train had not just devoured an
old-fashioned Italian style chocolate milkshake with a mixing tin added so full
it filled the glass two more times. Pam
had a bowl of ice cream; and for some reason, the owner brought a man-size piece
of apple pie ala mode and placed it on the table, compliments of the house.
The only thing I envied the Amtrak passengers were they had a diesel
locomotive to pull them to Glasgow and I had to pedal.
It had been
a clear, starry night in Big Sky Country where dawn comes early…about 4:30
a.m. We were up at 5:30.
Pam cooked oatmeal for the entire crew on the Coleman stove and we
enjoyed Star Bucks coffee from our Mr. Coffee plugged into the electrical outlet
for the RV’s. Then it was off on
the road on a fine morning with negligible wind, high blue skies and sunshine.
As I’ve stated before, there’s not much out here but rolling prairie,
the railroad, and an occasional herd of cattle, but on a day like today it was a
grand ride. I’d take a break or
two for a snack and rest with Pam who would be waiting alongside the road in the
van. We proceeded on for our
meeting with Mr. Bergie and the Amtrak train. After our
ice cream stop, we rode on for about 15 miles, arriving in Glasgow at
approximately 1:00 p.m. and set up camp at the Shady Rest.
The breeze had picked up this afternoon, which was refreshing in camp.
Fortunately our miles are behind us for today.
So if you want to view the vast expanses of the west from the window of a
railroad car, much as you would in a movie theater, Amtrak is the way to go. But if you would like to experience the same countryside up
close and personal with enough left over to refill your glass two more times,
then pump up your tires, lube your chain, and pedal on out to Big Sky Country.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 53MONDAY, JUNE
30, 2003 Mileage:
71.69
Riding Time: 4 hr 28 min
Avg. Speed: 16.0 Glasgow,
Montana to Malta, Montana Overnight
Location: Edgewater Inn Motel Up early
this morning (4:50 a.m.). We had
over 70 miles to do today and the forecast was for hot weather.
That, coupled with the prevailing westerly winds, indicated an early
start. Pam fixed breakfast for she
and I in camp. I must say it was
delicious and a very welcome change from restaurant food. I met the guys at the café where they had eaten and we were
on the road by 7:00 a.m. It was a
beautiful, sunny morning and fortunately the wind was blowing out of the east.
We sailed along at a good rate of speed and minimal effort to the town of
Hinsdale (30 miles at an average of 17.8) where we stopped and took a break.
Pam caught up to me with the van just as I pulled into the convenience
store, so I was able to sit in the van and enjoy Bing cherries, cottage cheese
and crackers and some yogurt. We
rode 13 more miles to Saco, stopping at the restored schoolhouse that Chet
Huntly had attended. This site has
special memories for Pam and I as we’d stopped there 17 years ago on a car
camping trip when Dean, now 22, was but 5.
It’s funny how we enjoy simple little things as time goes on more than
the original experience. We rode on
to Sleeping Buffalo Rock where Pam was waiting on me. This is a rock formation that resembles a herd of sleeping
buffalo. This is a sacred place for
the Native Americans in this area. Pam
noticed, as she was there before I arrived, that some of the Native Americans
who would stop by would leave tobacco on the rock. After I arrived and was taking a break, she mentioned this to
me. About that time, a van load of
Native American young people from Ft. Peck Community College Science and
Technology Class arrived. I walked
over and asked the leader of the group about this tradition.
He had one of the young women explain it to me.
If I remember the story correctly, tobacco is a sign of peace and
friendship to the Indians. Most of
us know how they would smoke the pipe ceremonially with each other and visiting
whites years ago. Today, they go to
the rock to pray for the health and welfare of their families and the spirit of
their departed family members and the tobacco is an offering of peace to the
Great Spirit. Following the
explanation, I asked if I could have a picture with them.
So the entire group piled out of the van, including small children, and
we all lined up in front of the rock and Pam took our picture. They were
interested in where I came from as they wanted to know whose lives they were
touching. Following the encounter
at Sleeping Buffalo Rock, we proceeded on towards Malta. Unfortunately
the wind had turned around and the last 20 miles were a real grind.
The high temperature today was over 100° and with a
hot dry wind it was daunting. We
arrived in Malta about 2:30 p.m. Pam
and I had no intention of camping in this heat.
We took a motel immediately. Steve
and Chris thought they would camp, but an hour later, Chris threw in the towel
and took a room himself. For several
days we’ve been hearing about a 76 year old cyclist doing the Lewis and Clark
Trail who would pass through various communities ahead of us.
Today we caught up with him as he took a layover day here in Malta.
His name is Earl and he’s from Omaha, Nebraska.
I don’t know much about him other than he’s traveled all over the
world by bicycle. Chris and Steve
had more conversation with him at the campground.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 53MONDAY, JUNE
30, 2003 Mileage:
71.69
Riding Time: 4 hr 28 min
Avg. Speed: 16.0 Glasgow,
Montana to Malta, Montana Overnight
Location: Edgewater Inn Motel Up early
this morning (4:50 a.m.). We had
over 70 miles to do today and the forecast was for hot weather.
That, coupled with the prevailing westerly winds, indicated an early
start. Pam fixed breakfast for she
and I in camp. I must say it was
delicious and a very welcome change from restaurant food. I met the guys at the café where they had eaten and we were
on the road by 7:00 a.m. It was a
beautiful, sunny morning and fortunately the wind was blowing out of the east.
We sailed along at a good rate of speed and minimal effort to the town of
Hinsdale (30 miles at an average of 17.8) where we stopped and took a break.
Pam caught up to me with the van just as I pulled into the convenience
store, so I was able to sit in the van and enjoy Bing cherries, cottage cheese
and crackers and some yogurt. We
rode 13 more miles to Saco, stopping at the restored schoolhouse that Chet
Huntly had attended. This site has
special memories for Pam and I as we’d stopped there 17 years ago on a car
camping trip when Dean, now 22, was but 5.
It’s funny how we enjoy simple little things as time goes on more than
the original experience. We rode on
to Sleeping Buffalo Rock where Pam was waiting on me. This is a rock formation that resembles a herd of sleeping
buffalo. This is a sacred place for
the Native Americans in this area. Pam
noticed, as she was there before I arrived, that some of the Native Americans
who would stop by would leave tobacco on the rock. After I arrived and was taking a break, she mentioned this to
me. About that time, a van load of
Native American young people from Ft. Peck Community College Science and
Technology Class arrived. I walked
over and asked the leader of the group about this tradition.
He had one of the young women explain it to me.
If I remember the story correctly, tobacco is a sign of peace and
friendship to the Indians. Most of
us know how they would smoke the pipe ceremonially with each other and visiting
whites years ago. Today, they go to
the rock to pray for the health and welfare of their families and the spirit of
their departed family members and the tobacco is an offering of peace to the
Great Spirit. Following the
explanation, I asked if I could have a picture with them.
So the entire group piled out of the van, including small children, and
we all lined up in front of the rock and Pam took our picture. They were
interested in where I came from as they wanted to know whose lives they were
touching. Following the encounter
at Sleeping Buffalo Rock, we proceeded on towards Malta. Unfortunately
the wind had turned around and the last 20 miles were a real grind.
The high temperature today was over 100° and with a
hot dry wind it was daunting. We
arrived in Malta about 2:30 p.m. Pam
and I had no intention of camping in this heat.
We took a motel immediately. Steve
and Chris thought they would camp, but an hour later, Chris threw in the towel
and took a room himself. For several
days we’ve been hearing about a 76 year old cyclist doing the Lewis and Clark
Trail who would pass through various communities ahead of us.
Today we caught up with him as he took a layover day here in Malta.
His name is Earl and he’s from Omaha, Nebraska.
I don’t know much about him other than he’s traveled all over the
world by bicycle. Chris and Steve
had more conversation with him at the campground.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 54TUESDAY,
JULY 1, 2003 WEDNESDAY,
JULY 2, 2003 Mileage:
88.81 Riding
Time: 6 hr 28 min
Avg. Speed: 13.6 Malta,
Montana to Havre, Montana Overnight
Location: El Toro Inn We were at
the doors of the café when it opened at 6:00 a.m.
It was a sunny clear day and the forecast called for hot temperatures and
northwest winds at 10-15 miles per hour. We
had a long day planned, so we wanted to be on the road early and stick together,
to the extent one can with a loaded touring bike.
We wanted to draft each other. We
were on the road at 7:00 a.m. We
rode 20 miles to Dodson where we took a break.
The going was slow but following each other and rotating, helped quite a
bit. From Dodson,
we pushed on to Fort Belknap about 22 more miles and took a break for lunch at
the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation Rest Area.
The cool of the morning had passed and it seemed as though we were in for
a hot afternoon, grinding into the headwind; but as we left Fort Belknap, the
wind had subsided and our speed picked up.
Our spirits and attitude began to elevate. We rode into Chinook at about 1:30. It was near
the town site where Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians was finally caught and
surrendered to the U.S. Cavalry. Realizing
that the life they had known as a free Native American Tribe and realizing as
chief, he was presiding over the end of a nation, and because of their inability
to overcome the superior strength of the American Cavalry, that he had failed
utterly. He spoke the famous
emotional words that have echoed down through the decades, “From where the sun
now stands, we shall fight no more forever”. Through the
years I have heard that quote and been inspired.
But, to ride along over these vast high plains and consider what was
really going on in the lives of these proud people and how my white forebearers
were on the other side of the issues, it brings no great pride and a great sense
of loss of what all the Native American Tribes experienced. In Chinook
we paused for the now requisite chocolate milkshake and encountered four college
age east bound cyclists from Tucson, Arizona who had left Astoria , Oregon a
little over three weeks ago traveling the Northern Tier towards Bar Harbour,
Maine. They regaled us with tales
of how they camped along the road; lived mostly on a diet of tuna mixed with
packets of mayonnaise they had picked up from fast food restaurants; proudly
explained they had showered only twice since leaving the west coast and with all
this were averaging close to 100 miles a day.
It was fun to talk with them and enjoy their youthful enthusiasm but I,
at my advanced age, feel more comfortable with a shower daily and a more
balanced diet. When we
arrived in Havre, Pam and I decided to get a motel room to avoid the heat.
The guys decided to camp. There
was some discussion at dinner about how to proceed from here.
Steve’s need is to get as close as possible to Missoula by July 12th
to fulfil his National Guard requirement. My
desire was to spend some time looking around in the mountains of Montana,
especially now that Pam is with me. We
have had an interest in the Rocky Mountains for many years and the mountains of
Montana we have yet to explore. With
our goals differing from Steve’s needs, it made sense for us to separate from
them at least for a time. So Steve
and Chris rode off Wednesday morning towards Ft. Benton and Pam and I took an
off day here in Havre. It felt good to sleep late (8:00 ha ha) in a motel; enjoy
a leisurely breakfast and then explore some of the historical points in and
around Havre. Utilizing
the high bluffs in the area near the Milk River, the Indians used to drive herds
of buffalo to their death, thus turning the area into a giant meat packing
facility. The ruins of this area
have been more carefully preserved than in other areas in the Rocky Mountains
west. We also spent some time
looking around the railroad station and yards, photographing trains, including
the Amtrak Empire Builder. It’s been
a pleasant day in little Havre on the high plains of Montana. Forecast for tomorrow is for westerly winds 20-25 miles per
hour and temperatures near 80°. That
will be a stiff crosswind as our route turns south towards Ft. Benton and Great
Falls. This is David.
So it goes. Webmaster
Jeff Brim plans on enjoying some vacation time for the next week or so in Mexico
thus future journal entries won’t be posted until after July 12th. JOURNAL ENTRY 55THURSDAY,
JULY 3, 2003 Mileage:
74.37
Riding Time: 5 hr 50 min
Avg. Speed: 12.6 Havre,
Montana to Fort Benton, Montana Overnight
Location: Pioneer Lodge Motel Up before
5:00 a.m. We were at the 4B’s
Restaurant before 6:00. It was a
sunny, mild morning with temperatures in the high 50’s.
On the road before 7:00 a.m. From Havre,
the route turned southwest on US Highway 87.
I climbed out of Havre on a long gentle hill back up to the high plains
paralleling the Bear Paw Mountains to the east. These are the first glimpse of mountains we have seen on US
Highway 2 toward Havre and Meriwether Lewis mistakenly thought them the Rocky
Mountains when the original Corps of Discovery passed this area in 1805.
We proceeded southwest across the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation with
the wind blowing about 15 miles per hour from the west.
It was slow going and with any type of constant headwind you have to
develop a new mental attitude to enjoy the ride.
As I worked to overcome this obstacle, I thought of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition slogging upstream at only 8 miles a day, not having the advantage of
a paved road, and the high tech equipment that I enjoyed today. And Sacagawea
was of certainly no more help to the Corps than my Pam was to me as I’d look
ahead every five miles to see the van parked along side the road with
refreshment, rest, and encouragement waiting.
I continued south through Big Sandy and then down sweeping descents
totaling 2 ½ miles into Loma where we hid the bike in the tall grass and drove
the van less than a mile up a dirt road to Decision Point.
This is where Lewis and Clark were forced to decide which of three
streams was the main channel of the Missouri River… the Marias River running
to the north, the Teton River running to the west or what proved to be the right
choice running to the southwest. You
Lewis and Clark scholars will know that all of the Corps, save the two captains,
favored proceeding up the Marias River. The
two captains thought, correctly, the southwesterly stream to be the proper
choice. And this being a military expedition, the Corps followed their directive
without descent and encountered the Great Falls of the Missouri a day later. We proceeded
on to Fort Benton and took a room at the Pioneer Lodge Motel, a historic old
building on Front Street overlooking the Missouri River. Fort Benton is a town that seems to be more than steeped in
history. It seems, to the outsider,
to exist mainly to preserve its history. The
proprietors of the Pioneer Lodge proudly display a 1989 picture of news anchor
Tom Brokaw who stayed here while visiting Fort Benton.
The hotel is decorated with a great many paintings of the history of this
area. Pam and I stayed in the
Charles Russell Room with a great many Russell prints hanging on the wall.
Overall, it was a taxing day of nearly 75 miles in a headwind but a
comfortable room and a good dinner at Bob’s Restaurant brought it to a
pleasant close. This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 56FRIDAY,
SATURDAY, SUNDAY JULY 4, 5,
6, 2003 Mileage:
94.88 (7/5)
Riding Time: 7 hr 7 min
Avg. Speed: 13.2 Fort Benton,
Montana to Great Falls, Montana (7/4) Great Falls,
Montana to Helena, Montana (7/5,6) We had a
slow lazy morning after we awoke on July 4th.
There was no place open for breakfast, but the Pioneer Lodge had muffins
and cinnamon rolls. We enjoyed
those and visited with some of the other guests in the motel.
When I went to put my cycling clothes on, my cycle shorts split apart at
the seams. I had already developed
a hole in my other pair so things weren’t looking encouraging.
I was later told that Deet, contained in the bug spray we had been using,
can cause spandex clothing to deteriorate.
In any event, having no cycle pants, we loaded the bike and drove on 36
miles to Great Falls. We stopped
at the bicycle store where I bought two new pairs of riding shorts.
The upside of this happenstance was that it allowed a day of sightseeing
of Lewis and Clark interests in the Great Falls area.
We spent several hours at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center
overlooking the Missouri River. Probably
the largest and best Interpretive Center of the several I have visited so far on
this trip. We met Carol and Dieter
Hohnke from Ann Arbor, Michigan, a retired couple, who are doing the Lewis and
Clark Trail self-contained from west to east.
We had a delightful time comparing notes and recommendations as we
passed, going in opposite directions. We
then drove 16 miles out in the country to visit the Great Falls of the Missouri
River, a spectacular sight that was a huge impediment to the Corps of Discovery.
The events of this day raise an interesting point of consideration to
those of us who enjoy touring by bicycle. That
is….is this a historical tour or a bicycle tour?
Given the remoteness of many of the important sites on the Lewis and
Clark Trail and finite amount of time and energy, it is difficult to see all the
points of interest when traveling by bicycle alone.
Since Pam has joined me with the car, we have more range and opportunity
to explore Lewis and Clark during times when I am not riding or when points of
interest are not convenient to the bicycle trail.
In any
event, we had an enjoyable 4th of July and were in bed at the Crystal
Inn well before the fireworks as I had planned a long ride on Saturday, July 5th. Saturday,
July 5th, following breakfast at the hotel, I was on the road at 7:10
a.m. A bright sunny morning with a
formidable cross/headwind. The
route today from Great Falls to Helena was on a frontage road paralleling
Interstate 15, proceeding over the familiar Montana landscape from Great Falls
to Ulm and on to Hardy. From Hardy
to Wolf Creek, the frontage road and interstate traveled through Wolf Creek
Canyon, a very beautiful 33 mile stretch of lightly traveled road right along
the Missouri River. For much of the
way, I was able to ride along behind the car, about one bike length, and thus
increase my time from 8/9 miles per hour to 15/16 miles per hour.
I don’t like to do this, it’s not recommended, but for much of the
way there was hardly a car going in either direction so it did allow me to make
better use of that finite energy source. From Wolf
Creek, the bicycle trail enters Interstate 15 and I did two climbs, one of 1200
feet and the next 1600 feet, before a long sweeping downhill into Helena,
Montana’s capital. Today, Pam was
literally the wind beneath my wings; as without her help, I would not have been
able to complete the nearly 100 miles. We
took a room at Motel 6 for three nights as we plan to explore around Helena.
We then refueled at Golden Corral and turned in early. Sunday
morning we spent doing some personal paper work and I cleaned my bike,.
We then drove out to the Gates of the Mountains area and took a boat tour
of the very beautiful limestone canyon which Lewis and Clark passed through as
they ascended the Missouri. It’s
been a good three day 4th of July weekend.
We look forward to looking about the city of Helena tomorrow.
This is David and Pam. So it
goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 57MONDAY, JULY
7, 2003 Helena,
Montana Day Off Another day
off in Helena. We had a late
breakfast, and while Pam went to the mall to get her hair done, I went to visit
the Montana State Capitol and State Museum.
I was surprised when I walked inside the building at the striking
resemblance it bore to the South Dakota State capitol in Pierre.
I later learned on the guided tour, it was the same architectural firm
that designed both buildings. After
visiting the Capitol, I visited the Montana State Museum.
Both were very interesting to me, particularly the Charles Russell
paintings housed in both buildings. It was
interesting to note that Montana was largely settled by people traveling by
steamship or railroad. Wagon trains
were not necessary since the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers presented navigable
waters. Helena, like Pierre in
South Dakota, has a warm and friendly small town feel.
When the locals speak of Judy, they’re referring to Governor Judy
Martz. The added attraction, at
least by my way of thinking, are the mountains surrounding the Helena Valley and
are visible from nearly any vantage point. After I
picked Pam up, we had lunch then returned to the Capitol and Museum so she could
enjoy a more abbreviated visit. Following
that, we took an early evening trolley tour of Helena showing us many of the
government buildings, historic homes, and other interesting points throughout
the city of 30,000 people. As the
trolley returned to the State Capitol, a free concert was in progress on the
Capitol grounds. We went to dinner
and turned in. Tomorrow it’s back
on the bike in search of Lewis and Clark. This
is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 58TUESDAY,
JULY 8, 2003 Mileage:
33.49
Riding Time: 1 hr 42 min
Avg. Speed: 19.7 Helena,
Montana to Three Forks, Montana Overnight
Location: Broken Spur Motel The ride
today was fast and short. I left
the motel in Helena about 8:20, heading south/southeast towards our destination
of Three Forks. There was a
considerable tailwind early; and by the time I took my first break at Winston, I
had averaged 17.7 for 20 miles. There
was a storm brewing and I happened to be in front of the weather pattern that
was pushing behind me. From
Winston, there is essentially a 13-mile downhill to Townsend. It’s a gentle, flat descent but as the front picked
up intensity, so did my time. By
the time I stopped to take a break in the car with Pam in Townsend, my average
was up to nearly 20 miles per hour. Remember,
this is a loaded touring bike weighing nearly 100 pounds. While I was
sitting in the car eating, the weather caught up to me. Dirt and dust flying about and the rain began to fall.
I wheeled the bike across the street to the post office, resting it under
the eve of the building. I
then took shelter in the car to wait out the storm.
About an hour later, it didn’t appear it was going to clear.
A motorist pulling a camper said a series of strong storms were expected
to move through the area throughout the day.
So, even though I really hated to do it, what with the tailwind, the
rain, lightening and thunder, along with my desire to minimize the “misery
factor” (as explained in earlier entries), forced me to load the bike in the
van and we drove the remaining 35 miles to Three Forks and took a room at the
Broken Spur Motel. Again, the
upside to the weather concern, allowed extra time for sightseeing.
After a quick shower, Pam and I drove 20 minutes east on I-90 to Bozeman.
As many of our friends know, we have had an interest in the Rocky
Mountains for many years. So,
the opportunity to visit a town heretofore unknown to us with two downhill ski
areas close by, was not to be missed. We
drove out to Bridger Bowl and looked around; then back into Bozeman and likewise
drove about town and Montana State University.
After dinner in Bozeman, we headed back to Three Forks.
Frankly, neither one of us were impressed with Bozeman.
However, we were both
greatly impressed with Helena. It’s also
become apparent that since Pam joined me and we left Chris and Steve last week,
that the scope of the tour has expanded greatly.
Partly because of the availability of the car, partly because Pam and I
are free to pursue particular interests of our own, and partly because we are
not under a deadline relevant to Steve’s National Guard duties.
It has a much different feel than prior to Pam’s arrival, but I am much
happier in this arrangement where I can ride and we can share the experiences
together. This is David.
So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 59WEDNESDAY,
JULY 9, 2003 Mileage: 50.06 Riding Time: 3 hr 47 min Avg. Speed: 13.1Three Forks,
Montana to Dillon, Montana Overnight
Location: Sundowner Motel We had
breakfast at our motel and left at 8:10. From
Three Forks to Cardwell was a very beautiful ride passed Lewis and Clark Caverns
with mountains paralleling the road on both the east and west.
We were heading generally south. There
seemed to be a slight headwind, but it didn’t have much of an effect.
At Cardwell, we paralleled I-90 on a Frontage Road to Whitehall where we
headed south on Highway 41. It was
my feeling that the mountains to the west would block the wind, but boy was I
wrong. The mountains to the east
and west created a canyon-like effect and the wind came up the valley right in
my face. It didn’t
seem to me that it should have had the effect it did on me. It was blowing perhaps 10-15 miles per hour; and while
that’s something to be overcome, it’s certainly not as daunting as some I
have experienced to date. In any
event, it just wore me down. I’m
thinking it might have been the inadequate continental breakfast at the motel.
It certainly can’t be that I’ve ridden too much lately.
I had two days off in Helena and a light day yesterday with a tailwind. When I
arrived at Silver Star, the 50-mile mark for the day, I said, “That’s it”.
Got in the car and rode the remaining 35 miles to Dillon, our destination
for the day. We took a room at the
Sundowner; I showered and then laid down for a nap.
I do feel a bit frustrated this evening in not understanding why I would
feel so fatigued. Perhaps it’s a
mental thing after two months on the tour.
Whatever, tomorrow’s another day and I hope to do better.
This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 60THURSDAY,
JULY 10, 2003 Dillon,
Montana to Dubois, Wyoming (by car) Following my
experience Wednesday of being fatigued, I realized it wasn’t a physical but a
mental fatigue I was feeling. I’ve
been living out of my panniers on the bike since May 7th and I was
mentally tired of the day by day grind, even on my days off.
In my situation, there is no deadline to reach the Pacific Coast.
Even though, on several occasions, I have been a bit disappointed in
myself when I would grow tired and not have the desire to finish the day’s
ride (usually because of headwinds) it seemed a good time to take a break. With Pam’s commitment as a volunteer at the Bicycle Tour of
Colorado coming up soon, I decided to put the bike in the van and accompany her
to Colorado; participate in the Bicycle Tour of Colorado; and then, if all goes
well, return to Montana and complete the ride to the Pacific Coast.
So, we
proceeded on, heading south to West Yellowstone, Montana and on through the
Park. It’s been 17 years since we
visited Yellowstone Park and the Grand Tetons.
It’s like being at Disney’s Frontierland, only the animals are real.
People everywhere. Bear jams
on the road (an animal is spotted, everyone stops and grabs their cameras hoping
to get a good close-up shot and traffic comes to a halt).
If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were in an RV convention.
Anyway, we drove on through Yellowstone and the very beautiful Grand
Teton National Park on to Dubois, Wyoming. Heading into
West Yellowstone, we encountered some of the riders on Adventure Cycling’s
TransAm Tour, including Fran, their leader, who was one of my classmates in the
Adventure Cycling Leadership Training Class this past April in Richmond,
Virginia. Fran, a very capable and
winsome EMT/firefighter in Colorado Springs, told me the group began in Virginia
with 12 riders and had diminished to six. For those of you who have not done long-distance,
self-contained touring, please know that rewards for such travel are great but
so are the stresses. Accordingly,
groups frequently will break apart before they reach their destinations.
Such is the case with our little band of three.
I talked to Steve and Chris today on the phone and told them I would not
be joining them in Missoula and wished them well. Some
reflections on our group: First of
all, Chris and Steve are both fine individuals and I’ve enjoyed getting to
know them these past two months. Not
withstanding this, I believe unless you are well known to each other in advance,
three is too small a number to allow for adequate group dynamics and personal
goals to be accomplished within the group.
As any parent can tell you, three children playing together generally
leaves an odd man out. Further,
Steve and Chris rode from Bismarck, North Dakota to Missoula, Montana in 18
consecutive days without a day off for rest or very much time to experience the
areas through which they passed. It
had become apparent to me in Havre, that Steve’s need to complete his National
Guard commitment was going to supersede anyone else’s goals or objectives.
While I respect his commitment, to me this seems to create limiting
pressures within a group, especially a small one. Also, my desire for Pam to join me and shadow the group,
created an element that was unexpected by
the others and thus had an impact on the group as a whole.
The beauty of our independent group was that we were free to come and go
without any financial loss or hardship to the others.
Financially, we were all on our own from day one without any pre-paid
tour fees. As I take
time to travel to Colorado and participate in the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, I
will try to continue to file reports. It
might be interesting to contrast, through my eyes, self-contained bicycle
touring with supported state tour rides with large numbers, i.e. 1500 plus
riders. Then when Bicycle Tour of
Colorado is completed, back to the panniers on a solo ride from Montana to the
Coast. All of this is part of an
adventurous summer with bends in the road I didn’t anticipate in May. Stay tuned! This
is David. So it goes.
JOURNAL ENTRY 61FRIDAY, JULY
18, 2003 Monday, July
14 Mileage:
67.13
Riding
Time: 5hr 39min
Avg. Speed: 11.8 Royal Gorge
to Guffy Roundtrip Tuesday,
July 15 Mileage:
50.30
Riding Time: 3hr 2min
Avg. Speed: 16.4 Royal Gorge
to Salida Colorado
Springs, Colorado It’s been
a busy eight days. I’ll try to
summarize the events as briefly as I can (my family says I’m not very brief).
Ah well, here it goes. From
Dubois on Friday morning, we proceeded diagonally across the state of Wyoming
from the northwest to the southeast. Wyoming
is a vast state of mountains and open grazing lands and vast areas of moonscape
type topography. While it
might be rich in minerals and natural resources, it does not seem to have any
agricultural use. There appears to
be no water thus little vegetation. We
passed through areas that were intersected by several wagon train trails of
westward expansion, i.e. Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, Pony Express and others I
can’t recall. We stopped briefly
for ice cream in Laramie and a quick look around town and the University of
Wyoming and drove on to the state capital of Cheyenne, where we spent the
week-end with Dick and Betsy Krahenbuel. Dick
was my leader on my Southern Tier across America Break The Cycle Ride in 1997
and we have remained good friends and have toured together on several occasions
since that time. We had great fun
reliving many of our past experiences and catching up on each other since last
we toured together in the spring of 2002. From
Cheyenne, we proceeded southward into Colorado through Denver, Colorado Springs,
and then westward to Canon City and the Royal Gorge.
We camped there for four nights in a campground we had enjoyed in the
summer of 2000. The weather has
been generally hot recently in Colorado with highs many days near or exceeding
100°.
On Monday, I
rode from the Royal Gorge to the little town of Guffy, a climb of approximately
2,500 feet in approximately 25 miles. It
was a great climb and a great descent back to camp.
On Tuesday, I rode from camp 50 miles west to Salida, paralleling the
Arkansas River (whitewater area) through Big Horn Sheep Canyon, a climb of maybe
1,000 feet. Because of a tailwind
up the canyon that day and because there were no steep areas, it felt almost
like I was descending and I averaged 16.4 It
was a beautiful ride. We had lunch
in Salida, visited the library to check our e-mails, and enjoyed a milkshake at
a local candy store. I had half a
notion to ride up Monarch Pass, one of Colorado’s many major climbs, as I was
feeling good that day. But, weather
was brewing and pushing over the mountains, so we decided to drive up the pass
to the Continental Divide and take a look around.
As we headed toward the pass, we spotted a couple in full bicycle riding
attire hitchhiking along the road. We
stopped to see if we could help as several others have stopped for me this
summer. We encountered Tom Voorhies
and his friend Mary Jo from Aspen. Tom
and Mary Jo had been doing a mountain bike loop and he took a pretty good
tumble, injuring his ankle. He
seemed to be in no immediate danger and wanted a ride to the top of the pass to
retrieve his car. We gave him a
lift and had a nice chat about our bicycling experiences as we drove to the top
of the mountain. His first stop
upon returning to Aspen was going to be his orthopedic surgeon to get a full
assessment on his ankle. Tom, we
wish you well. We took a
look around the Visitor’s Center on top of the Divide, took a summertime look
around Monarch Ski Area, and then drove the 50 miles back to our camp near the
Royal Gorge. The windy, stormy
mountain weather made cooking problematic in camp so we headed into Canon City
and “dined” at Taco Bell. Wednesday,
I took off from riding and we drove seemingly to the top of the world to Cripple
Creek, Colorado. We enjoyed our
visit to the historic Cripple Creek mining area and drove around the Colorado
high country back roads. Very
beautiful. A few days
ago at Dick Krahenbuel’s, I awoke with a stiff neck.
It had been troubling me ever since.
While stopping for gas in Divide, we noticed across the road a
chiropractor and massage therapist sign. Pam
suggested I might have it looked at since Bicycle Tour of Colorado presents some
very challenging climbs and nagging aches or pains could compound the challenge.
An hour and half later, following treatment by Dr. Powpow and his wife
Melanie the massage therapist. I
felt some relief. I hope this
doesn’t hinder me on the BTC ride. We have
enjoyed our camping and our campfire every night.
This is indeed beautiful country, the Rockies, and though the days were
hot the low humidity allowed cool sleeping.
We had, as oft times the case, a variety of varied and interesting
neighbors in camp, including a group from Tuscon, Arizona who are experienced
whitewater rafting guides. They
offered to take Pam and I down the Arkansas River through the Gorge,
but we declined. Pam, because as she days, “she doesn’t do water”; and
even though I would have liked to have taken them up on their offer, it was time
to move on and we couldn’t fit it into the schedule.
Thursday, we
broke camp and drove into Colorado Springs and checked into a motel.
We picked Shirley Sterz and Millie Mitchell up at the airport as they
arrived from their homes in Wisconsin and Florida, respectfully.
Shirley and Millie, along with Pam and Tracy Wells, who arrives this
evening from Maineb, are volunteers on BTC.
We, along with their husbands, are all part of the Caloosa Riders and
spend many hours together cycling in Florida during the winter months.
Last night we had a fun evening of dinner and show at the Flying W Ranch,
a chuckwagon type dinner on a tin plate and a tin cup, along with a cowboy,
country western, gospel show under the stars.
Today, we toured the U.S. Olympic Training Facility here in Colorado
Springs. A very impressive campus
and operation. It’s felt good
these last number of days to be enjoying some riding as well as vacation-like
experiences. Tomorrow the BTC
participants gather and register here in Colorado Springs for a challenging 400
mile, 7-day loop tour that begins Sunday morning.
I’ll try to post periodic reports going forward. This is David. So it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 62SATURDAY,
JULY 19, 2003 Colorado
Springs, Colorado There’s an
excitement in the air at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs as the first
of the staff and participants in the 2003 Bicycle Tour of Colorado began to
gather. Registration was not
scheduled to begin ‘til 2:00, but tents were popping up across the campus like
dandelions following an April shower. New
friends and old friends meet and greet and catch up on events, both cycling and
otherwise, since last they met. I,
for example, while browsing through the BTC merchandise section of the
registration area, encountered a woman who asked me if I ever rode a tandem.
Evidently, I looked like someone she and her husband had met on a tandem
rally in Florida. I explained I
don’t ride a tandem but I am from Florida.
Turns out, she and her husband, Mary Francis and Dave Bacon, live in St.
Petersburg, Florida. Dave is an attorney there and very close to and knowledgeable
about Stetson College of Law, where son Dean is enrolled this fall.
We had a delightful and warm chat and promised to get together later in
the week. Such are the connections
that develop in our cycling world. As
participants began to register, one of the traditions unique to BTC is how the
riders carefully pour over the route maps, particularly the topographical
charts. After all, this is Colorado
and most every day includes challenging climbs.
This year for example, on Day 2 we’ll climb 9,807 feet Squaw Pass;
11,140 feet Juniper Pass; and then ascend Mt. Evans, 14,264 feet; with an
exciting 4,000 feet descent into Idaho Springs.
You follow that the next day with Loveland Pass at 11,992 feet.
Such is the intensity of the climbing on this tour, but when you’ve
completed successfully a BTC, there’s a great personal satisfaction. This
contrasts to self-contained touring in a small group in that the excitement and
anticipation prior to the tour is not shared with 1,500 fellow riders.
There’s not a support staff of several hundred volunteers; and
generally the ride goes through the mountains, limiting the amount of climbing
in any short period of time. In self-contained touring, I have felt a great sense of
freedom at the trailhead, knowing that with only what I have with me and under
my own power I will traverse the geography to be covered on the tour.
But at the Bicycle Tour of Colorado and other supported tours that I have
participated, there’s a great sense of reunion and family as you gather with
like-minded people for a “vacation” type event.
I particularly feel a sense of coming home in Colorado, since our family
has spent many happy days here both winter and summer; on the snow and on the
bicycle. This is David. So
it goes. JOURNAL ENTRY 63TUESDAY,
AUGUST 19, 2003 Chesapeake,
Ohio Now let me
see, where was I…..when last I wrote in the journal about my Vision Quest 2003
Adventure, it was July 19th and I was in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Today is August 19th and I am at home on our farm in
Chesapeake, Ohio. When last I
wrote, I had expected to complete the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, then proceed on
to Dillon, Montana and complete a cross country tour along the Adventure Cycling
and Todd Rodgers outlined Lewis and Clark Bicycle Trail.
I would have finished in Astoria, Oregon perhaps today.
Instead, and quite obviously, my plans took another course. Beginning
the Bicycle Tour of Colorado on Sunday morning July 20th was a very
up experience, riding through Colorado’s Garden of the Gods and on to our
first overnight in Evergreen. It
was a beautiful day with some challenging climbs.
The elevation has a very real effect on those of us who do not live above
5,000 feet. The next day included
Squaw Pass and Juniper Pass with breathtaking views from the top.
For those with the inclination, an optional ride up 14,264 feet Mt. Evans
was available. I passed on Mt.
Evans and enjoyed the big downhill into Idaho Springs.
The next day Loveland Pass was on the menu.
A pass I had looked forward to climbing on a bicycle, since we had driven
over it many times both winter and summer.
But while riding from Idaho Springs up to the foot of the Front Range
climb, I began to get a bit weak and nauseated.
I stopped often to rest; but at a rest stop, decided to get in a sag
wagon to avoid any more negative effects of the altitude.
I really didn’t like doing this and was surprised that the altitude had
affected me in this way. I’d
never really had a problem with this in the past.
In any event, when I arrived in Frisco, our overnight stop for two nights
as Wednesday was to be a day off, via sag wagon, I realized that, at least in
part, my “sickness” was due to weariness. Recounting
my activities in the first half of 2003, I noted I had spent most all my time
riding and preparing for this summer tour.
I had been “on the road” continually since May 7th and the
prospects of getting on the bike and riding yet another day had, for the moment,
lost it’s appeal. It’s at this
point that cognitive dissonance sets in. You
see, I’ve been one of those people, Type A, who ALWAYS finishes what I start.
My career has been a string of consecutive and increasing levels of
accomplishment/production over more than 30 years.
Since becoming involved in cycling, I’ve completed nearly two dozen
bicycle tours, including a cross country in 1997.
As is the case in all of our lives, there are some days you “just get
up and do it”, despite your lack of will, or perhaps with only your will to
see you through. Prior to
splitting up with Steve and Chris, we were one day engaged in conversation
considering how we expected to feel when we had completed our tour. Both Chris and Steve allowed that there would probably (not
uncommon for long-distance tourists) be some level of mild depression.
In fact, as the conversation progressed, neither one wanted to talk about
it any more. Such was their joy in
participating in the tour and desire not to have it come to an end.
I, for my part, had a much different expectation.
On my first tour in ’97, I felt much the same as Chris and Steve do
now; but since that time, I’ve been blessed in being able to engage in these
types of activities at will, not just during a vacation or special sabbatical
period as is usually the case. Consequently,
when the tour ends, I am not
compelled to return to a job and am free to move on to the next adventure.
I, therefore, had more a sense of great expectations to complete the tour
and then consider, “What next?” While
thinking all this through in the hotel room in Frisco, I recalled an essay I had
read comparing life to a train trip, where the passenger eagerly anticipates the
destination and does not enjoy the stops or vistas along the way.
The essayist concludes that “Life is a journey, not a destination, to
be enjoyed each day as it unfolds”. And
punctuating her piece with a haunting statement, “The station will come soon
enough”. Those of you
who have been patient enough to read this far must be saying, “By George,
David, what’s your point?” I’m
beginning to wonder myself. Seriously,
the point is that at this time and in this place, I was ready to put the bike
away and do something different. To
continue to ride would be focusing on the destination and not enjoying the trip.
And so…for the remainder of BTC Week I rented a car to try and avoid
conflict with Pam and the girls’ schedule.
I wanted to enjoy the mountains without the need to climb each one.
When the tour ended, we spent the weekend in Colorado Springs and then
returned to our farm in Chesapeake, Ohio. Having last
been here in September, 2002, it takes a while to readjust. But, it’s wonderful to see those friends of the heart and
family that have been a part of my life for so many years. I’ve been back on the bike for several rides these last
three weeks. And on at least two
occasions, once when the heat and humidity were particularly oppressive, and
another when I was caught in a downpour, I was so glad that at the end of the
ride I could put the bike in the garage. Then
I could go into the house, not just any house, but my home, clean up,
mellow out and not face the rigors of the end of day activities one faces on
tour. Do I hope to do
self-contained touring again? As my
friends in the Dakotas would say, “You betcha”.
Just because you find yourself tired at the end of the day doesn’t mean
you don’t look forward to an active day tomorrow.
Where and when will the next tour be?
Say tuned. You know, Lewis
and Clark didn’t complete their “tour” in one year. For the rest
of this summer, Pam and I hope to visit family in Ohio, Tennessee, and
fly to San Diego for a visit with my sisters, Mary who lives there and Carol who
will be visiting from Madrid, Spain, and then return to Ft. Myers by early
October. If you’ve been following
along with my journal entries throughout the summer, I hope you enjoyed the
ride. This is David, thank you for
your time, this time, until next time. So
it goes. |
