It is almost 3pm on Saturday afternoon. I have taken care of everything I could fit in before the sun was to much to handle. The temperature is only 103 right now but in the direct sunlight it feels a lot hotter then that. I have retired to the couch watching the Golf and writing this blog. The kids are resting and the house is quiet.
I am writing this blog to let everyone know that I have closed my facebook account. I actually did it last Sunday afternoon. It was something I was thinking of doing ever since we completed our ride the end of May. A good friend of mine sent me a txt this morning asking why I de-friended him on FB, I told him i shut it down. His response was "did i have a beef with someone?". That thought never crossed my mind, so in discussing this txt communication with my wife she said it would be nice to let people know that i am not going to be on facebook anymore so people know why I am not on there friend list anymore.
For those who are still reading this, the reason I closed my FB account was so that when i come home from work, or on the weekends i want to be 100% focused on my wife and kids. For 6 weeks I lived on FB, it was my connection to the rest of the world. When I got back to "normal" life it was hard to flip that switch off. i would find myself sitting on the couch after a long day at work and be going through my FB, while my kids are begging for attention in different ways. I didn't want any distractions. For me the answer was to shut it down, i would try different things but i was always drawn to "check my facebook" and i just didn't like it. I am thankful to all my friends and the support they provide to me, and i look forward to continuing those friendships. I can always be reached by e-mail at kyle@popsride.com and if you send my a e-mail I will be more then happy to give you my cell number so we can hang out sometime soon.
I am getting close to doing the same to my twitter account, but for some reason I don't feel the need to check it as often as i did my FB? I know I am weird, but that why you are friends with me!
Since last Sunday I have been able to set my phone(s) on the counter and love on my family without a need to keep a phone with me all the time. Will I ever open my account again? maybe?maybe not? I am not really sure, what I am sure of is I am treasuring all the free time i have with my family as well as the time i have to sit and read and find out more about myself.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Ride debrief - 1 week after beach landing
It is hard for me to believe that one week ago we were in Alpine, CA getting ready to ride the last 35 miles of a 3,100 mile bike ride. 7 days have passed since I rode through the San Diego hills and onto the beach and right into the Pacific Ocean. Just like that it is over, thrown back into the reality of working 10 hour days and the stress that comes along with it.
But the question that I keep getting asked that makes me really scratch my head is "what did you learn on the trip?" or "what did you think about for all those hours on the bike?" They are hard questions to answer. Most of the time my mind just wandered. Some days there was so much to see and take in you were constantly observing, other days you would swear you were just riding on a trainer and the scenery was on a loop. But there were a few things that stood out to me while I was riding, and I will do the best to describe them to you. I will start with the most obvious and then on to the ones I am still processing.
"Damn good riding with you!" one of my favorite quotes from Young Guns. It is also how I feel about riding across the country with Shane and Shannon Stutzman. It was a heck of a ride. We experienced great days together, we experienced some of the hardest days imaginable together. But that was the beauty of it all we did this together, and made it across the United States one mile at a time. When you think about spending 6 weeks with a small group of people it can be kind of scary. Not only did we ride together everyday, we ate together, bunked in hotel rooms/cabins and church floors together. Even on rest days, we went out to eat and walked around small towns together. I don't know about you but at first glance that seems like way too much time to spend together! But I wouldn't trade these guys for nothing. We went in to this as good friends, and as far I am concerned they are like brothers to me now. We had amazing volunteers from coast to coast. Even after days and days together we would still laugh and tell jokes at dinner time.
It was abundantly clear to me that I love my family through and through. There wasn't a minute that went by that I didn't think about them in some way. It was amazing how many things I saw that reminded me of my wife, or when I rode by a park and would think how much fun my boys would have playing there. Sure we had all kinds of technology to keep in contact with. I would text my wife almost every morning and every evening. There weren't very many days that went by that I didn't speak to my wife on the phone. We would set up a skype date at least once a week. It really depended on where we were and if we had a good wi-fi connection. I spent time thinking of how I want to raise my boys to know things boys should know, like how to start a fire, and widdle a tree branch with a pocket knife, change the oil in a car, replace the brakes in the garage instead of taking the vehicle to a garage. It made me want to make sure my wife knew every single day that I loved her and that she was special to me. These things made me smile while I was riding my bike, and that, my freinds, is a good thing!
It's just not worth it! So many things, that we spend time chasing in life, are just not worth it! I am not talking about chasing your dreams and that sort of thing. I am referring more to material things that we find ourselves chasing. Or maybe it is a status? Or a certain amout of Facebook freinds or followers on Twitter. Those are the things that just aren't worth it.
Surprisingly I did spend time thinking about somethings that are worth it and it kept being reconfirmed as the trip went on. Relationships are worth it, that is what matters at the end of the day. Starting with my relationship with Jesus. If my relationship isn't right with him, I am only wasting time trying to do the rest on my own. As I mentioned above, my relationship with my wife and kids matter! My friends are worth it! Relationships are worth it. I heard a missionary from Ruwanda speak 3 months ago and his message was "invest in people" and I couldn't agree more. We need a community of people to support you when you are down, to celebrate with you when you are up. It is the way we were created to be, in community with each other. You never know when you are going to have an opportunity to be that person to someone in need. That is worth it, that is something I want to remebered for. Not that I was the guys that had this and that, what will that amounT to when its all said and done. Invest in people!
I wasn't sure what I would discover about myself on this trip, I thought I would discover what it is I am supposed to do with my life. Not sure why I thought that would become clear to me, maybe that is what I wanted out of it. But that is not what I learned about myself. I am still trying to process so much of it. So I am sorry to say I can't tell you what it is I will be doing for the rest of my life. What I can tell you is that I will be spending it with my family and make the best with whatever situation presents itself to us.
In a way it was fun to return to my normal life. It was fun because I was able to share my adventure with so many people that I came in contact with. Everyone has different questions about the ride. Was it hard? Was it fun? Did your butt hurt? Yes, Yes and Yes! It was odd to me that the first question most everyone asked me was, "how much weight did you lose?" I would just smile and tell them 20 pounds, and I did it eating everything and anything I wanted for 42 days. I am not sure why this was always the first question people ask me. Either they can see it in my face that I did drop some weight, or they look at me and think I should have lost more weight? If you have spent any time around the sport of cycling you would know that cyclist are very thin and light athletes. If you know me, you would know that I am not thin and not light. I like to think I am breaking the mold for cyclist all over the world!
But the question that I keep getting asked that makes me really scratch my head is "what did you learn on the trip?" or "what did you think about for all those hours on the bike?" They are hard questions to answer. Most of the time my mind just wandered. Some days there was so much to see and take in you were constantly observing, other days you would swear you were just riding on a trainer and the scenery was on a loop. But there were a few things that stood out to me while I was riding, and I will do the best to describe them to you. I will start with the most obvious and then on to the ones I am still processing.
"Damn good riding with you!" one of my favorite quotes from Young Guns. It is also how I feel about riding across the country with Shane and Shannon Stutzman. It was a heck of a ride. We experienced great days together, we experienced some of the hardest days imaginable together. But that was the beauty of it all we did this together, and made it across the United States one mile at a time. When you think about spending 6 weeks with a small group of people it can be kind of scary. Not only did we ride together everyday, we ate together, bunked in hotel rooms/cabins and church floors together. Even on rest days, we went out to eat and walked around small towns together. I don't know about you but at first glance that seems like way too much time to spend together! But I wouldn't trade these guys for nothing. We went in to this as good friends, and as far I am concerned they are like brothers to me now. We had amazing volunteers from coast to coast. Even after days and days together we would still laugh and tell jokes at dinner time.
It was abundantly clear to me that I love my family through and through. There wasn't a minute that went by that I didn't think about them in some way. It was amazing how many things I saw that reminded me of my wife, or when I rode by a park and would think how much fun my boys would have playing there. Sure we had all kinds of technology to keep in contact with. I would text my wife almost every morning and every evening. There weren't very many days that went by that I didn't speak to my wife on the phone. We would set up a skype date at least once a week. It really depended on where we were and if we had a good wi-fi connection. I spent time thinking of how I want to raise my boys to know things boys should know, like how to start a fire, and widdle a tree branch with a pocket knife, change the oil in a car, replace the brakes in the garage instead of taking the vehicle to a garage. It made me want to make sure my wife knew every single day that I loved her and that she was special to me. These things made me smile while I was riding my bike, and that, my freinds, is a good thing!
It's just not worth it! So many things, that we spend time chasing in life, are just not worth it! I am not talking about chasing your dreams and that sort of thing. I am referring more to material things that we find ourselves chasing. Or maybe it is a status? Or a certain amout of Facebook freinds or followers on Twitter. Those are the things that just aren't worth it.
Surprisingly I did spend time thinking about somethings that are worth it and it kept being reconfirmed as the trip went on. Relationships are worth it, that is what matters at the end of the day. Starting with my relationship with Jesus. If my relationship isn't right with him, I am only wasting time trying to do the rest on my own. As I mentioned above, my relationship with my wife and kids matter! My friends are worth it! Relationships are worth it. I heard a missionary from Ruwanda speak 3 months ago and his message was "invest in people" and I couldn't agree more. We need a community of people to support you when you are down, to celebrate with you when you are up. It is the way we were created to be, in community with each other. You never know when you are going to have an opportunity to be that person to someone in need. That is worth it, that is something I want to remebered for. Not that I was the guys that had this and that, what will that amounT to when its all said and done. Invest in people!
I wasn't sure what I would discover about myself on this trip, I thought I would discover what it is I am supposed to do with my life. Not sure why I thought that would become clear to me, maybe that is what I wanted out of it. But that is not what I learned about myself. I am still trying to process so much of it. So I am sorry to say I can't tell you what it is I will be doing for the rest of my life. What I can tell you is that I will be spending it with my family and make the best with whatever situation presents itself to us.
As for my cycling career! I am excited to see what happens next. We have been invited by The Davis Phinney Foundation, to participate in the Copper Triangle in the Colorado Rockies this coming August. What will happen after that I am not sure. I have been asked many times already if I would do it again. My first response is "Yes, on a motorcycle", and then my next response is that if I did pedal my way across the country again I would go from West to East so that I wasn't fighting the currents as much. But my answer would be yes, I would do it again for the right reason!
I am honored to be part of this and want to thank the Stutzman's for allowing me to join them on this adventure. The awareness and money we have raised for Parkinson's Disease is amazing. We don't plan on stopping either. You will hear from us again in the future. Just like our freinds and family with Parkinson's we just can't stop, we have to keep fighting.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Day 42 - Alpine, CA - Pacific Ocean!!!
Last day of the trip. We schedule our departure 1 hour later then normal to try and peg our 12pm arrival at mission beach. Since my family was staying down the road at a hotel we set the alarms and crashed last night. I had a great nights sleep, I still woke up at 4:30am and just laid there and stared at the ceiling, but that is pretty normal for this week.
We may have set a Worley record for getting up and out the doors. We were very efficient today getting ready! We headed to the church were breakfast was as well as the rest of the crew. We got there and ate breakfast with everyone. Rachael Baderman and Melinda Schlosser had joined us around 7am. They had driven up the night before. My wife and Rachael were driving the SAG (support and gear) vehicle today. Once we all ate, we just sat around and looked at each other. We were all ready to go but we still had 45 minutes until it was time to go. So we did things to stay busy until it was time to leave. We all gathered around the RV and took pictures. Today we had the following riders with us, Myself, Shane, Shannon, Kurt, Kerri and Jordan Ames.Jordan is Carl’s son, and since Carl was not able to ride with us today Jordan Jordan
We rolled out of the church parking lot at 8am and started headed towards the ocean! We rode through the valleys that surroundSan Diego
We made it to our 10 mile out spot we had located the day before. This is the corner that POPs would start riding with us. It also was the spot whereShannon would hope on the tandem with his mom, Mary. We were ahead of schedule by 30 minutes or so. So we waited a few minutes so we would be on time. We also picked up 2 other riders from the local Von's store in San Diego
It was starting to sink in when we turned and road by Sea World. I knew were getting close to the end. I wasn't too emotional; it was just an amazing feeling that we were getting ready to complete a coast to coast bike ride. We finally headed over the bridge that took us toMission Beach Park Phoenix
We hugged and high fived people. By this time everyone on the beach was wondering what was going on. There was a film crew there doing a shot with us so the camera was attracting some attention. But we didn’t really care. The 3 of us who had ridden the whole way headed down to the water to dip our tires in the Pacific, just as we intended to when we left the Atlantic 42 days ago. It was something special to be out there. This was another moment that will not be forgotten.
After that we posed for some more pictures, talked to some more people. Then I realized that I was just standing there. I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do now. I knew we had to get back on our bikes and ride some more for the cameras but that is not what I am talking about. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. For the last 42 days I have had a mission, a goal to achieve. We had just completed that task, reached that goal – what now? I just stood there for a while and took it all in. My kids with my sister-in-law playing in the ocean, my wife was talking to friends and family members. I just stood there.
We received word that we were going to ride for 10-15 minutes while the film crew took some video of us riding around the area. It was a little frustrating waiting for them to setup and get the shots. It took closer to 45-60 minutes to complete but we just kept reminding ourselves that it wasn’t about us and you never know who this video may reach or what it can do. When we were complete we were about 2 miles from the beach, so we headed back to where we had already been. Everyone had left except our immediate family. We packed up our bikes like we have done for the last 42 days and pulled the RV and the SAG out of the busy parking lot.
After we were checked in to our hotel and showered and cleaned up we headed to our party for everyone that was in town. One of Shane’s co-workers was staying at a beach house about a mile from where we finished our ride. It a cool place right there against the boardwalk and the beach. We had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and just enjoyed each others company. After we had all eaten, Rachel had presented us with medals for completing our journey across theUnited States
After we talked everyone for the gifts and hugged Carl Ames presented POPs Ride with BIG check for the amount that his team raised for POPs Ride. The check was for $15,000! We were blown away, we knew Carl was doing all he could to raise money for POPs Ride and he told us one day that he was going to raise that much, and that day was now. He even shared when his daughter was adding it all up with him, it was 14,988 dollars. His daughter asked if it would be okay if she donated $12 to make it an even $15k. It is amazing to see people go out of their way to raise money for this cause.
We had cupcake and cake and hung out on the boardwalk and people watched. We shared stories with each other about the trip and life. A few people went for a walk on the beach, the kids played in the sand. It was a real nice evening. We all headed back to the hotel. I needed to get something out of the RV so I walked down to where it was parked. A few were gathered outside and we talked about what everyone was doing on Sunday. Some are leaving earlier to get back toPhoenix San Diego Phoenix
For all of you that live inPhoenix
Please remember, just because the ride is over it doesn’t mean you can not donate to the cause. Please visit our website if you want to make a donation to one of the charities that we are working with.
So what is next….give me some time to think about this one. Right now I am excited to spend some time with my family. I have missed them! Stay tuned in the next week for a follow up of my transition back into a “normal” life.
You guys rock!
We may have set a Worley record for getting up and out the doors. We were very efficient today getting ready! We headed to the church were breakfast was as well as the rest of the crew. We got there and ate breakfast with everyone. Rachael Baderman and Melinda Schlosser had joined us around 7am. They had driven up the night before. My wife and Rachael were driving the SAG (support and gear) vehicle today. Once we all ate, we just sat around and looked at each other. We were all ready to go but we still had 45 minutes until it was time to go. So we did things to stay busy until it was time to leave. We all gathered around the RV and took pictures. Today we had the following riders with us, Myself, Shane, Shannon, Kurt, Kerri and Jordan Ames.
We rolled out of the church parking lot at 8am and started headed towards the ocean! We rode through the valleys that surround
We made it to our 10 mile out spot we had located the day before. This is the corner that POPs would start riding with us. It also was the spot where
It was starting to sink in when we turned and road by Sea World. I knew were getting close to the end. I wasn't too emotional; it was just an amazing feeling that we were getting ready to complete a coast to coast bike ride. We finally headed over the bridge that took us to
We hugged and high fived people. By this time everyone on the beach was wondering what was going on. There was a film crew there doing a shot with us so the camera was attracting some attention. But we didn’t really care. The 3 of us who had ridden the whole way headed down to the water to dip our tires in the Pacific, just as we intended to when we left the Atlantic 42 days ago. It was something special to be out there. This was another moment that will not be forgotten.
After that we posed for some more pictures, talked to some more people. Then I realized that I was just standing there. I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do now. I knew we had to get back on our bikes and ride some more for the cameras but that is not what I am talking about. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. For the last 42 days I have had a mission, a goal to achieve. We had just completed that task, reached that goal – what now? I just stood there for a while and took it all in. My kids with my sister-in-law playing in the ocean, my wife was talking to friends and family members. I just stood there.
We received word that we were going to ride for 10-15 minutes while the film crew took some video of us riding around the area. It was a little frustrating waiting for them to setup and get the shots. It took closer to 45-60 minutes to complete but we just kept reminding ourselves that it wasn’t about us and you never know who this video may reach or what it can do. When we were complete we were about 2 miles from the beach, so we headed back to where we had already been. Everyone had left except our immediate family. We packed up our bikes like we have done for the last 42 days and pulled the RV and the SAG out of the busy parking lot.
After we were checked in to our hotel and showered and cleaned up we headed to our party for everyone that was in town. One of Shane’s co-workers was staying at a beach house about a mile from where we finished our ride. It a cool place right there against the boardwalk and the beach. We had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and just enjoyed each others company. After we had all eaten, Rachel had presented us with medals for completing our journey across the
After we talked everyone for the gifts and hugged Carl Ames presented POPs Ride with BIG check for the amount that his team raised for POPs Ride. The check was for $15,000! We were blown away, we knew Carl was doing all he could to raise money for POPs Ride and he told us one day that he was going to raise that much, and that day was now. He even shared when his daughter was adding it all up with him, it was 14,988 dollars. His daughter asked if it would be okay if she donated $12 to make it an even $15k. It is amazing to see people go out of their way to raise money for this cause.
We had cupcake and cake and hung out on the boardwalk and people watched. We shared stories with each other about the trip and life. A few people went for a walk on the beach, the kids played in the sand. It was a real nice evening. We all headed back to the hotel. I needed to get something out of the RV so I walked down to where it was parked. A few were gathered outside and we talked about what everyone was doing on Sunday. Some are leaving earlier to get back to
For all of you that live in
Please remember, just because the ride is over it doesn’t mean you can not donate to the cause. Please visit our website if you want to make a donation to one of the charities that we are working with.
So what is next….give me some time to think about this one. Right now I am excited to spend some time with my family. I have missed them! Stay tuned in the next week for a follow up of my transition back into a “normal” life.
You guys rock!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day 41 - Alpine, CA - Last Rest Day!
Today was our last rest day on this adventure. I wish I could say I slept well last night; it would be a lie if I said I did. I haven't had a good night sleep since we left Phoenix
Today went by pretty quick. The group is staying at theChurch of Willows
We headed to the church around 8am to have breakfast with the crew. By the time we arrivedShannon had already had all the bikes wiped down and ready to roll. POPs was cleaning and reorganizing the SAG vehicle. Karen and Jim prepared scrambled eggs, bacon and French toast this morning. We all cleaned up everything that was put out there. After breakfast Shane and I ran into town to find us a pizza joint, a laundry mat and a barber shop to Shane. We found 2 of the 3 places on our trip. What we also found was a small town full of law enforcement. The pastor of the church explained a little of what was going on this weekend. 2 years ago there was an officer involved shoot out in Alpine. The officer fired and killed a hells angel member, the reason why this all took place is information I do not know. This weekend is the anniversary of this incident and apparently the hells angel gang/crew returns to Alpine. I kind you not I saw 25 squad cars driving from one side of town to the other. I felt like I was working security at the Super Bowl in 07 again. However what we didn't find on our outing was a pizza joint. When we made it back to the church we talked to the pastor and he gave a name and number. We called and let them know we would be coming in with a large group tonight, so be ready.
The morning went by very fast and it was already time for lunch. Karen, Melissa and Sarah prepared country ham casserole for us. Again we cleared almost everything that was made. Another great meal by a POPsRide cook! Thank you Karen!
After lunch we talked about the route for tomorrow, answered some e-mails. I took Sarah and the kids and we went to the hotel to try and catch some sleep. It worked for Sarah and the boys, I just laid there as tired as could be and could not fall asleep! We had to wake up my youngest to get him ready to head back to the church for dinner.
We gathered at the church before we headed to dinner. By this time Jerry and Carole Hogg had joined us, they brought their daughter Emily with them too. She is in college and has a feather in her hair. Not really sure what is going on with that, apprentantly it is aCalifornia
Gaetano's Lakeside to enjoy some pizza! The food was great and the company was even better. We were joined by relatives from both my wife's family and Shane's family. Thank you Uncle Dave and Aunt Jann for coming out and seeing us and being part of this journey. You have been extremely supportive and we appreciate that. Also during dinner we were joined my one of our favorite people. Carl Ames and his son Jordan arrived to town and joined us for dinner too. I think we had a total of 26 people for dinner. We shared stories about the trip and life. It was amazing!
This is the 41st day of this trip; we have been out here living on the road out of a duffle bag and a RV for 41 days. It has been much more then I could every have wanted. Just the fact that we have all been together for as long as we have and we still crack jokes every chance we get and smile is something in itself. The different people we continue to meet blows me away. I met someone tonight for the first time and it was like we were old friends. Turns out she reads my blog and was 100% up to date on what was going on. It was awesome!
I do want to thank all you who read my blogs and follow my/our progress. I know I am a horrible speller and my grammar is not correct. But if you know me you know that is who I am, I am far from perfect. But just like me and real life, my blog is similar. You get all of me, bad spelling and all!
Tell you a quick story, about 4 weeks ago one night I was talking to my wife on the phone. I asked her, "Do you think anyone actually reads my blog?" She said I think there is a good amount of people that read your blog. Then she asked me if there was a way that I could check in my blog site. I searched around some and found out that I could find all this information out. It blew me way to see how many page views I was getting. This may not be a lot to some of you "blogger" out there, but to date my total page views is 4,421. My blog has been viewed in 14 countries. I am completely blow away by this and am very thankful that so many would take the time to check it out.
Tomorrow we ride to the beach. I am not sure how I feel about this yet. I am excited to get back to a routine that I get to see my family daily again. However the transition is going to be harder then think. As for tomorrow I am not really sure what I will feel, I will be excited to complete this journey and cross this off my list. Will I be emotional tomorrow when we hit the sand? Maybe? Will I be numb to the experience, probably. I am not really sure. What I am sure of is I will be surrounded by people that I care for and I know care for me.
After we hit the beach and smile for a million pictures, we have to ride some more. A film crew that Safeway (Shane's employer) hired asked us to ride some more and get some riding footage. Not sure how I feel about that. We have pedaled across theUS
If I am not able to blog tomorrow night, I am sorry. It will probably be because I am staying up late watch Justin Timberlake host SNL; don't take it personal, that dude is just funny!
Next time I post I will have completed my journey!
Today went by pretty quick. The group is staying at the
We headed to the church around 8am to have breakfast with the crew. By the time we arrived
The morning went by very fast and it was already time for lunch. Karen, Melissa and Sarah prepared country ham casserole for us. Again we cleared almost everything that was made. Another great meal by a POPsRide cook! Thank you Karen!
After lunch we talked about the route for tomorrow, answered some e-mails. I took Sarah and the kids and we went to the hotel to try and catch some sleep. It worked for Sarah and the boys, I just laid there as tired as could be and could not fall asleep! We had to wake up my youngest to get him ready to head back to the church for dinner.
We gathered at the church before we headed to dinner. By this time Jerry and Carole Hogg had joined us, they brought their daughter Emily with them too. She is in college and has a feather in her hair. Not really sure what is going on with that, apprentantly it is a
Gaetano's Lakeside to enjoy some pizza! The food was great and the company was even better. We were joined by relatives from both my wife's family and Shane's family. Thank you Uncle Dave and Aunt Jann for coming out and seeing us and being part of this journey. You have been extremely supportive and we appreciate that. Also during dinner we were joined my one of our favorite people. Carl Ames and his son Jordan arrived to town and joined us for dinner too. I think we had a total of 26 people for dinner. We shared stories about the trip and life. It was amazing!
This is the 41st day of this trip; we have been out here living on the road out of a duffle bag and a RV for 41 days. It has been much more then I could every have wanted. Just the fact that we have all been together for as long as we have and we still crack jokes every chance we get and smile is something in itself. The different people we continue to meet blows me away. I met someone tonight for the first time and it was like we were old friends. Turns out she reads my blog and was 100% up to date on what was going on. It was awesome!
I do want to thank all you who read my blogs and follow my/our progress. I know I am a horrible speller and my grammar is not correct. But if you know me you know that is who I am, I am far from perfect. But just like me and real life, my blog is similar. You get all of me, bad spelling and all!
Tell you a quick story, about 4 weeks ago one night I was talking to my wife on the phone. I asked her, "Do you think anyone actually reads my blog?" She said I think there is a good amount of people that read your blog. Then she asked me if there was a way that I could check in my blog site. I searched around some and found out that I could find all this information out. It blew me way to see how many page views I was getting. This may not be a lot to some of you "blogger" out there, but to date my total page views is 4,421. My blog has been viewed in 14 countries. I am completely blow away by this and am very thankful that so many would take the time to check it out.
Tomorrow we ride to the beach. I am not sure how I feel about this yet. I am excited to get back to a routine that I get to see my family daily again. However the transition is going to be harder then think. As for tomorrow I am not really sure what I will feel, I will be excited to complete this journey and cross this off my list. Will I be emotional tomorrow when we hit the sand? Maybe? Will I be numb to the experience, probably. I am not really sure. What I am sure of is I will be surrounded by people that I care for and I know care for me.
After we hit the beach and smile for a million pictures, we have to ride some more. A film crew that Safeway (Shane's employer) hired asked us to ride some more and get some riding footage. Not sure how I feel about that. We have pedaled across the
If I am not able to blog tomorrow night, I am sorry. It will probably be because I am staying up late watch Justin Timberlake host SNL; don't take it personal, that dude is just funny!
Next time I post I will have completed my journey!
Day 40 - El Centro, CA - Alpine, CA
This morning after we went through our routines, we made it to our starting point. We were 50 feet below sea level when we started riding. We had to climb back up to sea level and then into Alpine today!
Our route took of on I-8 and the Old US80 today which basically mirrors the I-8
We spent the majority of the day climbing hills, our total ascent for the day was 7,000'. That factors in all the times we climbed to 4000' and then dropped back down and climbed back up.
We stopped for lunch at noon. We were only at 36 miles on the day, that is how intense the climb was. We are normally around 50-60 miles by noon. At this point it was looking like we may have to split this ride up I into two days. Non of us wanted to do this, not sure why. It would be easier to get up with fresh legs on our rest day and ride 20 miles or so? I think it is a mental thing, we don't like not completing something. Since we have hit all the rest of our date and miles we didn't want to end the last full day with not completing our miles. We pressed on!
The afternoon was long, the hills were still there but the grades were not as intense. We pedaled along the US/Mexico border for a while. We saw the fence over in the distance, went through another inspection checkpoint. By 4:30pm we new were about 18 miles out and by this point we knew we were going to complete this ride tonight! and not have to come back out tomorrow. We had one last climb and then according to our logs it was all downhill into Alpine. We climbed up to 4100' again, and then we had a choice to make. We could take the interstate again, or take a smaller highway. We decided that we would take the interstate to save some time.
I tell you the best sight I saw all day was when we started heading down that interstate and saw a sign for a down grade the next 16 miles of 6%. What that means for Kyle is, I can go very fast without pedaling! What that also equates to is I do not have to put out a lot energy and the miles still go by quickly. My energy level was down pretty low by this time, so this situation was perfect.
We finished the ride just after 6pm, another 11 hours day. But we didn't care because we were only 35 miles away from the beach and the completion of this journey. In a way it almost feels like we are complete. Think about it 30 miles away from the end. We have riden 3065 miles in 40 days with rest days mixed into those days. That is something to be excited about!
My family was here yesterday to cheer us on! We have more family and friends coming in tonight. We are planning a dinner for anyone that is around tonight in Alpine! Should be a good time to reflect on the trip!
This past 5 days we have also had the my wife's parents along to drive the RV and cook us meals. It has been fun spending time with them on this adventure.
Thank you again to all of you that have helped along the way and all the encouraging words that you have given. What a blessing this adventure has been!!!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Day 39 - Blythe, CA - El Centro, CA
The word of the day today is TEAMWORK!
I slept extremely well last night at the KOA park model in Bylthe. I did wake up a little early, but because I was out like a light the rest of the night I didn't bother me any.
The first thing I did notice was the wind when I looked outside. It was already blowing pretty well and it was only 6am. Since we had our little "cabin" we had all the breakfast foods in our little kitchen. Once we were done eating we packed it all up and returned everything to the RV.
Today we were doing something new! Today we did a relay ride. Meaning that we all took turns on the road the others rested until it was their turn! The reason we did this is because we knew it was going to be windy today and we knew the mileage was high. We wanted to make sure everyone was involved and we also wanted to save as much energy for the hills tomorrow. The plan was to ride in 20 mile rotations and knock it out! Kurt took the first shift. I went ahead and rode in the RV because I was the 4th rider. Kurt rode his 20 miles plus a few extra. Next up was Kerri and Shannon. They had some hills to tackle and the wind kicked it us a notch. They stuck together and made it through their shift. Next up was Shane - His shift was a little more challenging then the others. He had some more hills and a lot more wind. By this point the wind was up to 20-25mph and gusting into the 30's. It was brutal but he pulled through like a champ. Like I said I had the 4th leg and by this time the wind was really moving. We were sitting in Glamis and at the base of the Imperial Sand Dunes. I started pedaling right into dunes. The wind was gusting at 40mph and the sand was beating against my body. It was really intense. I am not sure I have ever ridden in something as windy and crazy as what I did today. Once I cleared the dunes and the sand stopped beating me up, the ride wasn't that bad. The wind was still there, but it wasn't too abusive!
Shannon pulled double duty today and took the remaining 25 miles. He was my hero this afternoon. He cut through that wind like it wasn't even there. We made to El Centro
Karen fixed us a great meal tonight! Chicken Enchiladas in a skillet = wonderfulness! Thanks Montana Momma for another great meal.
Everyone is wiped out from the wind and ready for bed. Pops went out for a few things and is getting milk shakes from IN and OUT burger. Looking forward to that, and then some sleep.
Tomorrow we ride into Alpine, CA! 30 miles from the beach! Tomorrow ride also includes a big climb at the end of the day. Should be fun! The weather forecast is calling for my wind tomorrow. We are praying for the winds to blow tonight and be calm tomorrow. We will see what happens!
All I know is that we are ready to be in Alpine, and it will have to blow pretty hard to stop us from getting there.
I slept extremely well last night at the KOA park model in Bylthe. I did wake up a little early, but because I was out like a light the rest of the night I didn't bother me any.
The first thing I did notice was the wind when I looked outside. It was already blowing pretty well and it was only 6am. Since we had our little "cabin" we had all the breakfast foods in our little kitchen. Once we were done eating we packed it all up and returned everything to the RV.
Today we were doing something new! Today we did a relay ride. Meaning that we all took turns on the road the others rested until it was their turn! The reason we did this is because we knew it was going to be windy today and we knew the mileage was high. We wanted to make sure everyone was involved and we also wanted to save as much energy for the hills tomorrow. The plan was to ride in 20 mile rotations and knock it out! Kurt took the first shift. I went ahead and rode in the RV because I was the 4th rider. Kurt rode his 20 miles plus a few extra. Next up was Kerri and Shannon. They had some hills to tackle and the wind kicked it us a notch. They stuck together and made it through their shift. Next up was Shane - His shift was a little more challenging then the others. He had some more hills and a lot more wind. By this point the wind was up to 20-25mph and gusting into the 30's. It was brutal but he pulled through like a champ. Like I said I had the 4th leg and by this time the wind was really moving. We were sitting in Glamis and at the base of the Imperial Sand Dunes. I started pedaling right into dunes. The wind was gusting at 40mph and the sand was beating against my body. It was really intense. I am not sure I have ever ridden in something as windy and crazy as what I did today. Once I cleared the dunes and the sand stopped beating me up, the ride wasn't that bad. The wind was still there, but it wasn't too abusive!
Karen fixed us a great meal tonight! Chicken Enchiladas in a skillet = wonderfulness! Thanks Montana Momma for another great meal.
Everyone is wiped out from the wind and ready for bed. Pops went out for a few things and is getting milk shakes from IN and OUT burger. Looking forward to that, and then some sleep.
Tomorrow we ride into Alpine, CA! 30 miles from the beach! Tomorrow ride also includes a big climb at the end of the day. Should be fun! The weather forecast is calling for my wind tomorrow. We are praying for the winds to blow tonight and be calm tomorrow. We will see what happens!
All I know is that we are ready to be in Alpine, and it will have to blow pretty hard to stop us from getting there.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Day 38 - Aguila, AZ - Blythe, CA
I had the worst night last night trying to sleep. I went to bed extremely exhausted and was positive I was going to sleep the night away. When i Laid my head down I was out like a light. I woke up and thought it was time to get up and looked at my watch and it was only 11:45PM, my first thought was great, I slept really good and I still have the rest of the night. The problem was I kept happening every other hour all night long! It was a long night. My 5:30am alarm finally rang and we got up and ready for the day.
As I mention yesterday, the Coyote Flat cafe and bar was serving us breakfast this morning. We all headed over there just after 6am. The staff was there with smiles on there faces and ready to cook us some breakfast. I went with a half order of french toast and it was the right choice. Everything that came to the table was delicious!
We walked back to our motel and started getting our bikes ready to leave. Shannon went ahead and put his skirt on!!! That's right Shannon pulled his skirt up and was ready to ride. You see a while ago Shannon issued a challenge on Facebook that if his friends came up with $500 he would wear a skirt on a bike for 1 day in Arizona! His friends quickly raised the money and that was that, Shannon had to wear a skirt - I am having issues uploading pictures on my blog, so I added a picture on my Facebook account of Shannon and his skirt! Go check it out! If we aren't friends, then I guess we should change that, send me a request!
The ride this morning was perfect. The weather was just right, in the mid 60's, the wind was hardly there and the road was flat. You could see for miles. We burned off the first 15 miles pretty fast. We met the RV and had a snack and regrouped and headed out. We decided to keep the RV closer today, so Jim drove it up 20 miles from our morning stop. Those next 20 miles took forever! The wind had picked up and made the ride more challenging! When we finally arrived at the bus it was approaching 11am. We decided that we would just break for lunch since we were at the bus and it was close enough to lunch time.
After we enjoyed our cold cuts and soda we mounted back up on the bike and started riding west. The wind had increased to a steady 15 mph head wind. We formed a solid pace line and cut through the wind pretty good. We were able to knock off 18 miles pretty quick. Then the wind kicked it up a notch and we started to separate. The broke into 2 groups and kept fighting the wind. We finally made it to our turn and got on the I-10 again. The shoulder was not as smooth as the shoulder in Texas, but it was plenty wide enough and still smooth enough for us. The only problem was the road kept heading straight into the wind. By this time the wind had taken it up another notch and showed no sign of letting up. By this point we point we had broken up and everyone was at there on pace. It was a long haul into Blythe but we all made it safely. We stopped and took picture at both the California state line and the "Welcome to California" signs. It was really great to celebrate another state line crossing today! What an amazing advenure this has been.
We are staying at a KOA tonight and have 2 bunk houses. They are really nice, each house has a queen size bed in a room, with 2 bunk beds as well as coach and a recliner. It also has a kitchen, and a little family room. Again I took pictures, but I am having issues! That just means you will have to invite me out for coffee when I get back and I will bring my picture and I can tell you all my stories face to face!
Arizona! See you when when I return Sunday night. California! Thanks for meeting us with a head wind, but I have news for you. POPsRide will not be stopped! We will be on that beach Saturday, and you will like it!
As I mention yesterday, the Coyote Flat cafe and bar was serving us breakfast this morning. We all headed over there just after 6am. The staff was there with smiles on there faces and ready to cook us some breakfast. I went with a half order of french toast and it was the right choice. Everything that came to the table was delicious!
We walked back to our motel and started getting our bikes ready to leave. Shannon went ahead and put his skirt on!!! That's right Shannon pulled his skirt up and was ready to ride. You see a while ago Shannon issued a challenge on Facebook that if his friends came up with $500 he would wear a skirt on a bike for 1 day in Arizona! His friends quickly raised the money and that was that, Shannon had to wear a skirt - I am having issues uploading pictures on my blog, so I added a picture on my Facebook account of Shannon and his skirt! Go check it out! If we aren't friends, then I guess we should change that, send me a request!
The ride this morning was perfect. The weather was just right, in the mid 60's, the wind was hardly there and the road was flat. You could see for miles. We burned off the first 15 miles pretty fast. We met the RV and had a snack and regrouped and headed out. We decided to keep the RV closer today, so Jim drove it up 20 miles from our morning stop. Those next 20 miles took forever! The wind had picked up and made the ride more challenging! When we finally arrived at the bus it was approaching 11am. We decided that we would just break for lunch since we were at the bus and it was close enough to lunch time.
After we enjoyed our cold cuts and soda we mounted back up on the bike and started riding west. The wind had increased to a steady 15 mph head wind. We formed a solid pace line and cut through the wind pretty good. We were able to knock off 18 miles pretty quick. Then the wind kicked it up a notch and we started to separate. The broke into 2 groups and kept fighting the wind. We finally made it to our turn and got on the I-10 again. The shoulder was not as smooth as the shoulder in Texas, but it was plenty wide enough and still smooth enough for us. The only problem was the road kept heading straight into the wind. By this time the wind had taken it up another notch and showed no sign of letting up. By this point we point we had broken up and everyone was at there on pace. It was a long haul into Blythe but we all made it safely. We stopped and took picture at both the California state line and the "Welcome to California" signs. It was really great to celebrate another state line crossing today! What an amazing advenure this has been.
We are staying at a KOA tonight and have 2 bunk houses. They are really nice, each house has a queen size bed in a room, with 2 bunk beds as well as coach and a recliner. It also has a kitchen, and a little family room. Again I took pictures, but I am having issues! That just means you will have to invite me out for coffee when I get back and I will bring my picture and I can tell you all my stories face to face!
Arizona! See you when when I return Sunday night. California! Thanks for meeting us with a head wind, but I have news for you. POPsRide will not be stopped! We will be on that beach Saturday, and you will like it!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Day 37 - Phoenix, AZ - Aguila, AZ
This morning we had to wake up extra early to be at our starting location. The reason we had to be there earlier then normal is because one of our local television stations was going to have a camera crew on site. We got up early and got ourselves ready. Today there were 4 people from my house traveling to the RV to then travel to starting location. We all made it to the RV on time and pulled out on time. Good start for the day!
As always we were going to start riding where we finished riding on Friday. That was the Bicycle Vibe on 27th Ave and Carefree Highway. The drive up there was quick because of the time in the day. The traffic was really light. When we pulled into the parking lot we saw 2 things that surprised us. The first was the camera crew was already in the parking lot. The second was our good friend Carl Ames came riding in the parking lot on his bicycle proudly wearing his POPsRide jersey. We all embraced Carl, he had driven up to the area and then went for a bike ride. He also wanted to ride out with us for a mile or so, it was so encouraging to see him that early and that excited to see us! For the most part we went about our normal routine, getting the tire pressure just right, POPs was busy getting the water bottles filled and on every ones bikes. It was close to 6:30am when they started prepping Shane to go live with a local TV anchor. The camera man asked all the riders to get in the background and pretend like we were working on bikes, or getting them ready. We couldn't hear what the anchor was asking Shane and it was hard to hear Shane's responses but we were sure Shane did a great job. Later in the day someone had sent us an e-mail with the link to the video in it. We all huddled around my phone and watched it in the middle of the desert....Here it is
http://www.kpho.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4696012
The ride today was really good. The mileage was low, i think it was a total of 66 miles into Aquila. The wind did start to blow around 11am, but it was a cross wind and not nearly as bad as it has been in the past weeks. We stopped in Wickenburg to make sure everyone was okay and made the decision to go ahead and go to the end location and then eat lunch. We did that and made it to the RV around 1pm. We had lunch and then checked out our accommodations for the night. We had to make a few minor modifications but was able to get everyone in a bed and comfortable.
Dinner was at the Coyote Flat Cafe and Bar tonight. They had given us 12 meal tickets for both dinner tonight, and breakfast in the morning. They had a great menu and even better food. I look forward to eating breakfast there in the morning. They are opening extra early for us to come by and eat.
Today was also special because it is my wife's birthday! She also was part of our POPsRide crew today too. She was the SAG driver today and was out there on the side of the road helping POPs keep our water bottles full and our energy levels high. Thank you babe for giving up your birthday to come and help us out!
Tonight Auntie M and Aunt B came out to pick up Sarah and to have dinner with us. They also brought my boys out. We all enjoyed dinner and Coyote Flats also baked a cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to Sarah and wished her a happy 21st birthday! Love you Babe!
I am very tired tonight, and I think it is from the weekend and not from today. The ride wasn't hard and I didn't have to burn any extra energy to complete it. I think the last 2 days are just catching up with me. It is only 8pm but I think I am going to close my eyes and see what happens.
As always we were going to start riding where we finished riding on Friday. That was the Bicycle Vibe on 27th Ave and Carefree Highway. The drive up there was quick because of the time in the day. The traffic was really light. When we pulled into the parking lot we saw 2 things that surprised us. The first was the camera crew was already in the parking lot. The second was our good friend Carl Ames came riding in the parking lot on his bicycle proudly wearing his POPsRide jersey. We all embraced Carl, he had driven up to the area and then went for a bike ride. He also wanted to ride out with us for a mile or so, it was so encouraging to see him that early and that excited to see us! For the most part we went about our normal routine, getting the tire pressure just right, POPs was busy getting the water bottles filled and on every ones bikes. It was close to 6:30am when they started prepping Shane to go live with a local TV anchor. The camera man asked all the riders to get in the background and pretend like we were working on bikes, or getting them ready. We couldn't hear what the anchor was asking Shane and it was hard to hear Shane's responses but we were sure Shane did a great job. Later in the day someone had sent us an e-mail with the link to the video in it. We all huddled around my phone and watched it in the middle of the desert....Here it is
http://www.kpho.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4696012
The ride today was really good. The mileage was low, i think it was a total of 66 miles into Aquila. The wind did start to blow around 11am, but it was a cross wind and not nearly as bad as it has been in the past weeks. We stopped in Wickenburg to make sure everyone was okay and made the decision to go ahead and go to the end location and then eat lunch. We did that and made it to the RV around 1pm. We had lunch and then checked out our accommodations for the night. We had to make a few minor modifications but was able to get everyone in a bed and comfortable.
Dinner was at the Coyote Flat Cafe and Bar tonight. They had given us 12 meal tickets for both dinner tonight, and breakfast in the morning. They had a great menu and even better food. I look forward to eating breakfast there in the morning. They are opening extra early for us to come by and eat.
Today was also special because it is my wife's birthday! She also was part of our POPsRide crew today too. She was the SAG driver today and was out there on the side of the road helping POPs keep our water bottles full and our energy levels high. Thank you babe for giving up your birthday to come and help us out!
Tonight Auntie M and Aunt B came out to pick up Sarah and to have dinner with us. They also brought my boys out. We all enjoyed dinner and Coyote Flats also baked a cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to Sarah and wished her a happy 21st birthday! Love you Babe!
I am very tired tonight, and I think it is from the weekend and not from today. The ride wasn't hard and I didn't have to burn any extra energy to complete it. I think the last 2 days are just catching up with me. It is only 8pm but I think I am going to close my eyes and see what happens.
Day 35 & 36 - Rest Days - Phoenix, AZ
I did my best to sleep in Saturday morning. After such an eventful day on Friday I figured I was sure to sleep well. I did sleep well, I just didn't sleep very long! I woke up at 5:30am and was just laying there thinking of all the things I needed to get done. Not long after I woke up my boys came running and jumped in to bed with my wife and I. We laid in bed for a while and finally got up and made some coffee. I thought it would be fun to run over to Dunkin Donuts and get the kids some donuts and spend some time with the family. We spent the morning doing little things like that. I had an appointment with my barber at noon, so I headed over there to get a hair cut. He took care of me and cleaned me up and I think I almost look good now!
Today was also the arrival of our new RV driver and our new cook. I like to call them my in-laws! They flew down with my sister-in-law and are with us for the week. We made a trip over to Shane's to introduce them to the mother ship and to inventory what food we had left. When we were over there we ran into my brother-in-law Mike Seeberger. We headed back to our house and Mike and I put in the making of Top Gun. It was pretty cool to see all the behinds the seen footage for the movie, we had to stop it because it was getting hard to hear. But I will definitely be watching the rest of that sometime in the near future. We had a house full of people over for dinner. It was really great to be surrounded my family and people that care for you and what you are doing. Sarah made a baked pasta dish that I ate way to much of, and my Mom brought over a lemon dessert that I again ate way to much of. I slept much better Saturday night!
Sunday I woke up again at 5:30am and decided I was going for a bike ride. My legs were stiff and I felt like i needed to do something. As I was getting ready my 5 year old came waking by and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was going for a bike ride. He asked if he could come with my me. It was early and I knew the traffic would be low so I told him to quietly go get some clothes on and we would go for a ride. I tell you it was the best hour I spent in a long time. We rode over to a canal path and rode to Rio Vista park. We talked about things, he asked me a million questions. We had a blast together. On the way back he came up with a plan, he told me that I should give him my bike when he is big enough so he could ride it. The main reason was because it had water bottle holders and his didn't. I told him it was a deal, when he was big enough he could have my bike. That made his day!
We all headed to church around 8:45am, It had been 5 weeks since I had been to my church. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was there again. I missed the preaching, I missed the community. It just felt like I was going to a place where I was home. It was so good to give hugs and share some stories with people. Pastor D had a great sermon for us, and Brad and crew did a fantastic job of leading us in worship. It was definitely something that was missing from my life over the last while. I am excited to return to a regular church schedule in a few weeks.
We headed to grab lunch down the street from church. It was just the family and a good friend. We shared some laughs and enjoyed each others company. We all had things we needed to do in the afternoon, so we headed home as soon as our plates were clean. I headed back to Shane's to meet Jerry Hogg there. Jerry was meeting my father-in-law at the RV to give him the run down on the mother ship. I was there to help get things put away and ready for Monday morning. Things took longer then I planned in my head. A very good friend of ours at church had offered to give me a massage Sunday afternoon. She is a masseuse, so I didn't want to miss out, but when I looked at my watch and saw that I was already late I figured I should just call her and tell her I need to pass. When I called her and told her I needed to pass, she extended to offer to be available anytime I needed her to be that evening. Bless her heart, I did everything I could to finish up and get over there! I made it there just before 6pm, my body needed that massage and it felt so good. She even did a lot of stretching with me and I found some parts of my body that didn't want to stretch! But after a few minutes of being worked on, they were moving again. Thank you Lynda! You helped me relax and that was exactly what I needed yesterday!
I went home and grabbed some food and locked my self in the bedroom. Not to be anti-social, but I needed to finish repacking and I needed to go to sleep. When I final closed my eyes the only thing I remember was the alarm going off!
Today was also the arrival of our new RV driver and our new cook. I like to call them my in-laws! They flew down with my sister-in-law and are with us for the week. We made a trip over to Shane's to introduce them to the mother ship and to inventory what food we had left. When we were over there we ran into my brother-in-law Mike Seeberger. We headed back to our house and Mike and I put in the making of Top Gun. It was pretty cool to see all the behinds the seen footage for the movie, we had to stop it because it was getting hard to hear. But I will definitely be watching the rest of that sometime in the near future. We had a house full of people over for dinner. It was really great to be surrounded my family and people that care for you and what you are doing. Sarah made a baked pasta dish that I ate way to much of, and my Mom brought over a lemon dessert that I again ate way to much of. I slept much better Saturday night!
Sunday I woke up again at 5:30am and decided I was going for a bike ride. My legs were stiff and I felt like i needed to do something. As I was getting ready my 5 year old came waking by and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was going for a bike ride. He asked if he could come with my me. It was early and I knew the traffic would be low so I told him to quietly go get some clothes on and we would go for a ride. I tell you it was the best hour I spent in a long time. We rode over to a canal path and rode to Rio Vista park. We talked about things, he asked me a million questions. We had a blast together. On the way back he came up with a plan, he told me that I should give him my bike when he is big enough so he could ride it. The main reason was because it had water bottle holders and his didn't. I told him it was a deal, when he was big enough he could have my bike. That made his day!
We all headed to church around 8:45am, It had been 5 weeks since I had been to my church. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was there again. I missed the preaching, I missed the community. It just felt like I was going to a place where I was home. It was so good to give hugs and share some stories with people. Pastor D had a great sermon for us, and Brad and crew did a fantastic job of leading us in worship. It was definitely something that was missing from my life over the last while. I am excited to return to a regular church schedule in a few weeks.
We headed to grab lunch down the street from church. It was just the family and a good friend. We shared some laughs and enjoyed each others company. We all had things we needed to do in the afternoon, so we headed home as soon as our plates were clean. I headed back to Shane's to meet Jerry Hogg there. Jerry was meeting my father-in-law at the RV to give him the run down on the mother ship. I was there to help get things put away and ready for Monday morning. Things took longer then I planned in my head. A very good friend of ours at church had offered to give me a massage Sunday afternoon. She is a masseuse, so I didn't want to miss out, but when I looked at my watch and saw that I was already late I figured I should just call her and tell her I need to pass. When I called her and told her I needed to pass, she extended to offer to be available anytime I needed her to be that evening. Bless her heart, I did everything I could to finish up and get over there! I made it there just before 6pm, my body needed that massage and it felt so good. She even did a lot of stretching with me and I found some parts of my body that didn't want to stretch! But after a few minutes of being worked on, they were moving again. Thank you Lynda! You helped me relax and that was exactly what I needed yesterday!
I went home and grabbed some food and locked my self in the bedroom. Not to be anti-social, but I needed to finish repacking and I needed to go to sleep. When I final closed my eyes the only thing I remember was the alarm going off!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Day 34 - Miami, AZ - Phoenix, AZ!!!
3:50am is too early for an alarm clock when I am on vacation from work. However that was the time our alarm rang this morning. It was not fun waking and getting ready so early, but we had a full schedule and knew it had to be done. A good friend of our and fellow cyclist woke up even earlier then we did to drive up to Miami from Phoenix to ride back with us. Justin Haines met us in the parking lot and was ready to roll with us! Everyone was very punctual and at breakfast on time and ready to roll out of the parking lot at 5am sharp.
We headed out of town on and the sun was just starting to illuminate the dark sky, after our first mile it was already bright enough that we didn't need our headlights. We left them on for safety reasons only.
If you live and Arizona and has traveled from Miami/Globe to Phoenix you know that there is a good size hill between the them the only way to get back is to go over it. That is what we tackled first thing in the morning. We headed up that hill. The conditions couldn't have been better, it was cool out and the wind was sleeping in! When riding is a big group and climbing hills you have 2 different types of climbers. You have your fast get it over with climbers, and you have your slow and steady climbers. I fall into the slow and steady climber column. We discussed this the night before that we would all climb at a pace that was comfortable to us and then regroup at the top, and that is exactly what we did.
The RV was 13 miles up the hill and waiting for us. Also waiting for us was Jordan Knight, Jake and Casey's brother. We were once again excited to see a new face and welcomed him to the ride. We all refueled and because of our time table we made it quick and got back on our bikes and kept riding. When we started our decent we broke up and headed down at our own individual pace. I teamed up with Justin Haines and we headed down the mountain at a pretty good pace. Since my computer stopped working in Comfort, TX I do not know what I topped out at, but I know that Justin's computer registered 49.8 mph. It was fast and refreshing.
Once we reached the bottom of the hill we regrouped and headed into Apache Junction. Check out this short video to get a peak at what we do out there!
We were moving along at a fast pace and made great time into the valley, the only thing that was holding us up was the all the flat tires we were getting. We have 6 flat tires in a 10 mile stretch. It was a little frustrating. But we got them all changed out and got back on track quickly. We rolled into lunch at 78 miles around 11am at Tempe Marketplace. We were an hour ahead of the schedule we set the night before. Mona had all of our sandwiches prepped and ready for us the minute we stepped in the bus. We all ate and had something to drink and got back on the bikes. Even though we were an hour ahead of schedule we wanted to make sure we stayed that way and didn't get complacent and miss our arrival time at the Bicycle Vibe.
Once every ones water bottle were full and sunscreen reapplied we headed out of the parking lot and from Tempe to Scottsdale. A few miles after leaving lunch a car pulled up to us and it was a cyclist that wanted to ride with us. He had heard about the ride and checked out the route online and found a place the he could met us and ride into the finish with us. His name was Ken and he rides with the Southwest Bicycle Cycling Club, his name was Ken and he rode from Tempe all the way to the Bicycle Vibe with us. Thanks for coming out and supporting us Ken.
Not long after we picked up Ken, We saw 3 more riders on the side of the road. Teresa Filleman, Peggy and Buck. They 2 are from the SWBCC. A special thanks to Teresa over the last 5 weeks. She has been very encouraging on our trip! Thanks Teresa!!!
They were a huge help as they knew the bike path along the 51 much better then we did. They rode with us for 7 miles. This was the largest group of riders that we have had on this ride. We had to get a picture of this right!
At this point when we parted we were about a mile from our next stopping point to pick up POPs on the Tandem. When pulling out of this park, 2 guys got flat tires. So we all pitched and got them changed ASAP so we could keep moving. As it turns out this was a blessing, because my wife was navigating across town to meet us at our next stopping point to surprise me. We finally reached Union Hills and headed west towards Cave Creek where we were schedule to stop. As I pulled into the parking lot I had to do a double take because I swear I saw my oldest son getting out of our car and running towards me. I quickly rolled up to the car and at this point my son was already there and jumping in my arms! We both had tears rolling down our cheeks. It was a moment that I will not soon forget.
We headed out of town on and the sun was just starting to illuminate the dark sky, after our first mile it was already bright enough that we didn't need our headlights. We left them on for safety reasons only.
The RV was 13 miles up the hill and waiting for us. Also waiting for us was Jordan Knight, Jake and Casey's brother. We were once again excited to see a new face and welcomed him to the ride. We all refueled and because of our time table we made it quick and got back on our bikes and kept riding. When we started our decent we broke up and headed down at our own individual pace. I teamed up with Justin Haines and we headed down the mountain at a pretty good pace. Since my computer stopped working in Comfort, TX I do not know what I topped out at, but I know that Justin's computer registered 49.8 mph. It was fast and refreshing.
Once we reached the bottom of the hill we regrouped and headed into Apache Junction. Check out this short video to get a peak at what we do out there!
We were moving along at a fast pace and made great time into the valley, the only thing that was holding us up was the all the flat tires we were getting. We have 6 flat tires in a 10 mile stretch. It was a little frustrating. But we got them all changed out and got back on track quickly. We rolled into lunch at 78 miles around 11am at Tempe Marketplace. We were an hour ahead of the schedule we set the night before. Mona had all of our sandwiches prepped and ready for us the minute we stepped in the bus. We all ate and had something to drink and got back on the bikes. Even though we were an hour ahead of schedule we wanted to make sure we stayed that way and didn't get complacent and miss our arrival time at the Bicycle Vibe.
Once every ones water bottle were full and sunscreen reapplied we headed out of the parking lot and from Tempe to Scottsdale. A few miles after leaving lunch a car pulled up to us and it was a cyclist that wanted to ride with us. He had heard about the ride and checked out the route online and found a place the he could met us and ride into the finish with us. His name was Ken and he rides with the Southwest Bicycle Cycling Club, his name was Ken and he rode from Tempe all the way to the Bicycle Vibe with us. Thanks for coming out and supporting us Ken.
Not long after we picked up Ken, We saw 3 more riders on the side of the road. Teresa Filleman, Peggy and Buck. They 2 are from the SWBCC. A special thanks to Teresa over the last 5 weeks. She has been very encouraging on our trip! Thanks Teresa!!!
They were a huge help as they knew the bike path along the 51 much better then we did. They rode with us for 7 miles. This was the largest group of riders that we have had on this ride. We had to get a picture of this right!
At this point when we parted we were about a mile from our next stopping point to pick up POPs on the Tandem. When pulling out of this park, 2 guys got flat tires. So we all pitched and got them changed ASAP so we could keep moving. As it turns out this was a blessing, because my wife was navigating across town to meet us at our next stopping point to surprise me. We finally reached Union Hills and headed west towards Cave Creek where we were schedule to stop. As I pulled into the parking lot I had to do a double take because I swear I saw my oldest son getting out of our car and running towards me. I quickly rolled up to the car and at this point my son was already there and jumping in my arms! We both had tears rolling down our cheeks. It was a moment that I will not soon forget.
My youngest was sleeping in the back of the car. My wife got him out and when he woke up and looked at me he instantly reached his arms out for me and I grabbed him up and kissed them both! With both boys in my arms I gave my wife a hug and kiss and was the happiest man on the corner at Cave Creek and Union Hills. My mother was with the family too. She has been one of my biggest fans over the last 5 weeks. Sending my text and posting encouraging messages on Facebook. We hugged and shared a moment!
At this point I was ready to ride another 100 miles if that is what it took. I was running on pure happiness! From this corner we had approximately 18 miles until the finish. We were still way ahead of schedule. We pulled out and started towards Carefree HWY. We made quick work of Cave Creek and turned the corner at Carefree and headed west. Along the route my family kept leapfrogging us and holding out signs we rode past! I had the biggest smile on my face every time we past them!
We knew we were still ahead of schedule so we had the RV stop at 7th street and we pulled in there and stopped for 30 minutes so that we hit our time we had already told so many people. Everything was going better then we could have planned for. 118 miles and we were ahead of schedule! A big thanks goes out to Jake, Casey and Jordan Knight. They pulled us through the valley and are a major part of getting us to the Vibe on time. Thank you guys!!!!
We rolled out of our staging area and headed over one last hill for the day! We came over the familiar hill and the end of the day was insight. As we approached the left turn into the parking lot we could see people out at the corner. The closer we got, the more people we saw. When we finally entered the parking lot it was obvious there were a lot of people there! It was incredible, so many family and friends had come out to support us and cheer us on! We all started shaking hands and hugging necks and laughing and smiling. It was great time! Thank you to Kerri Stutzman and everyone else that was a part of planning and making this party happen. and a special thank you to everyone that came out to support us. It was great to know what we have been out here doing for the last 33 days is just as important to some of you as it is to us. THANK YOU!
The best part of the day for me was being able to be with my family. Even though technology has allowed us to see and talk to each other. It had been 5 weeks since we were all face to face. There is no greater feeling then being with the ones you love. That is what is all about!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Day 33 - Safford, AZ - Miami, AZ
My alarm was set to go off at 5:30am this morning, but with the time difference I awoke at 4:30am and just laid there and stared at the ceiling until it started buzzing. Since I was wide awake getting ready this morning was a breeze. I was up and ready in record time.
This morning we were surprised by Carl Ames and Cassey Knight with new POPsRide jersey for the entire team! They are slick, we all got dressed and were looking good. Thanks guys!
We were scheduled to leave at 7am from the same spot we stopped at last night. We were riding with the Rally for POPs crew and we were all excited to continue our journey! We started riding and headed down the road to Thatcher, AZ. We were scheduled to stop at the Safeway in Thatcher at 7:30am. They were providing us with donuts and coffee. Safeway also provided water for us on the rest of our trip. I can not remember the total amount, but it is a ton of water! Thanks Safeway for keeping us hydrated! Once we took some photo and talked to some folks there we started riding our bikes again.
This morning we were surprised by Carl Ames and Cassey Knight with new POPsRide jersey for the entire team! They are slick, we all got dressed and were looking good. Thanks guys!
We were scheduled to leave at 7am from the same spot we stopped at last night. We were riding with the Rally for POPs crew and we were all excited to continue our journey! We started riding and headed down the road to Thatcher, AZ. We were scheduled to stop at the Safeway in Thatcher at 7:30am. They were providing us with donuts and coffee. Safeway also provided water for us on the rest of our trip. I can not remember the total amount, but it is a ton of water! Thanks Safeway for keeping us hydrated! Once we took some photo and talked to some folks there we started riding our bikes again.
We headed out on the open road. For some reason the scenery has been really pretty the last few days. I am not sure if it is because I am used to it? But the mountain have gotten bigger and the dessert looks more like a dessert. Our end point for the day was Miami, AZ just past Globe, AZ. The ride was full of rolling hills that keep our legs alive and our heartbeats up. We all stopped and ate lunch right at 50 miles. We all piled in the RV and enjoyed cold sandwiches prepared by Mona. Once we all were fed and ready to roll we headed out of the lunch stop and on to the final destination for today.
Things were a little interesting and frustrating after lunch. We headed out and after 5 miles we hit some long hills, not very steep - just long. The other problem was they were recently repaved and sprayed with oil. The road was okay but the shoulder was really nasty. When you hit the shoulder it almost felt like you had a flat tire? It was really weird, I went ahead and switched over to the road and figured I would try my luck with traffic instead of drive on that shoulder. We all stopped at the top of the hill and I noticed everyone was checking there tires. I looked down at mine and noticed the same thing on my back tire as they had on there. They were covered with tar. It was caked on the tires. It was so thick it was actually cutting into one of the guys frame. It took us many attempts but at the end of the day a butter knife was the best way to get the crap off the tires. Never a dull moment while riding cross country on a bike.
The rest of the ride went pretty quick and we made it safe and sound to our hotel in Miami, AZ. We all took some time and cleaned our bikes to make sure they were ready for tomorrow morning.
Tonight we had a big dinner for the entire group. Mona prepared a Spaghetti and meatball, with a salad and some fresh bread. It was enough to feed a army of men, or the POPs Riders and friends. Did I mention she prepared all this from the RV. Amazing I tell you!
After dinner we had a meeting with the group, we needed to discuss the ride tomorrow from Miami to Phoenix. We have a huge day in front of us. The total mileage is 118 on the day and we have a 30 minutes window we are trying to hit at the end of that 118 mile day! We decided that we will leave 2 hours earlier then our normal time of 7am. So the alarm is set for 3:50am! what the heck, that doesn't sound fun at all. But in order to be successful it is what needs to be done.
That's all for tonight, I need to get as much sleep as possible tonight!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Day 32 - Silver City, NM - Safford, AZ!
Good bye New Mexico and hello Arizona.
It was border line freezing this morning coming from the guy that wear bike shorts everyday. My phone said it was 39 outside when we left Silver City. The air was crisp and the wind was calm. We headed out through town and discovered there was more to Silver City then the few streets we saw the day before. Heading out of town meant we were climbing again, surprise! surprise! It was anything nasty just steady climbs. The view were pretty and we knocked the miles off one by one. At mile 37 or so the wind started picking up again but it doesn't get us town, we have come to expect it. at mile 48 we made a left on to NM78. The first road sign we saw had to Arizona cities on it and that excited me! We rode this rode to our lunch stop just shy of the AZ border. We ate a quick lunch and got back on the bikes! We knew that the Rally for POPs team was waiting for us at the border and we wanted to see them.
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| from left to right - Carl Ames, Shanon, Shane, Casey, Jake, Kyle W., Keith, Kyle C. |
Once we reached the top is when it got really fun. Coming off this mountain was extremely fast, I know Shannon said we was hitting 40mph trying to catch me. Since my computer stopped working in Comfort, TX I am not sure what my top speed was but I think I hit 45+ today. The road actually has a name in the cycling world, it is called the Devils Backbone. I am guessing because it is steep and has a lot of curves? It was fun. Once we got down to the desert floor it was fighting the wind again. It was strong and coming right at us. I spent most of the afternoon riding with Carl and we battled the wind together. It was a good combination. We finally rolled into Safford and we had a very large welcoming there! There were a group of 8-10 people there with signs and cheering! I was really cool. We got a bunch of group pictures that hopefully someone post. One of the girls there is the daughter of a good friend of mine. She goes to school out here and came by to support POPs Ride! Her name is Michaun Hancock! It was cool to see a familiar face, we all ate dinner together and I was able to chat with her for a while. I great ending to a great day!
Since we changed time zones again, I need to get some sleep, we have another day full of climbing and then one more ride into Phoenix! Now that I am in Arizona and realize how close I am to Phoenix it is making me miss my family even more. But Friday afternoon will be here before I know it and I can hug my family and spend some time with them before I head off to the Pacific Ocean!!!
Hope every ones week is going good! It is almost over, hang in there!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Day 31 - Silver City, NM - Rest Day
Rest day in Silver City, NM today and boy did my legs enjoy it! I attempted to sleep in but I still woke up at 5:30am and just laid there and stared at the ceiling. I made it to 6:45am or so before I grabbed my phone to see what is going on in the world.
I got up and made my bed, and got dressed for the day. Word reached our cabin that breakfast would be at 9am so I took care of a few things and picked up my book and settled in for a bit. I headed to the RV at 8:45am or so and could smell the bacon and sausage cooking. Mona took care of us this morning! Pancakes, eggs, sausage and bacon! I cleared everything on my plate and some. After breakfast we cleaned up and headed into downtown historic Silver City. There wasn't a lot going on at 10:15am on a Tuesday morning in Silver City. We did find us a bike shop that had a few things we were needing. Cool shop, we spoke to guys a while and talked about the route we were taking tomorrow and they gave us the layout and what to expect. One thing they all said is it is a pretty ride. After we stocked up on a few things we walked the street ducking into different shops. I picked up a few used books at a few shops. We talked a lot of store owners, sharing stories. We walked down one side and up the other. When we almost came full circle we spotted a tattoo shop. Mona wanted to go get a tattoo, I told her I would go with her! So we headed in the shop to get tattoo's. The owner/artist was a very interesting characters. He moved at a turtles pace and looked to be 70+ years old. Mona flipped through the books and was trying to find something. At this point I was thinking in my head that I was not letting this guy tattoo me. So I said, "you know I am going to wait to we get to San Diego." We walked out and of the shop. Mona accused me of chickening out. I thought a little harder and I have always wanted to add to my tattoo on my arm so I told here I would go in there if she really wanted to and let him add to my existing tat. We decided we would all head to lunch and figure something out for Mona to get.
We walked down to Nancy's Silver Cafe and pulled some tables together in the little cafe. We all order and sat back and waited for our food. Then much to Mona's delight 11 wildland fire fighters walked in to the cafe. I stopped one of them because I saw the logo on his shirt and they were all from Flagstaff. So we chatted for a brief moment. At this point Mona had totally forgot about getting a tattoo and was a little preoccupied.
After we ate Mona and I decided that the old man would take to long and we all wanted to get some R&R this afternoon instead of sitting in a chair. We did the next best thing which is went to Walmart! It has been a long time since I stepped into a Walmart. I needed to get a new pair of ear buds and new body wash. We grabbed a few other things and headed back to the camp. The rest of the day has been pretty low key.
Almost there!!! 3 days into Phoenix, 2 rest days there, then off to San Diego! We still have 700 miles to go, so the work is not over, but looking at the big picture, we are almost there!!!
Thank you again to all of you that have supported us and continue to do so!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Day 30 - Kingston, NM - Silver City, NM
The alarm was not a friend of mine this morning. I had a comfortable bed and did not want to separate from it this morning. To make sure I didn't snooze the morning away I reached over and turned the bedside light on remind me to get up. I was surprised when I swung my legs out of bed, the majority of the soreness and pain was gone from the previous afternoon ride up to Kingston.
I broke my morning routine and had more then just cereal this morning. I had half a bagel and a piece of fresh baked bread that I immediately started to smell the moment I got out of bed. I knew the day was going to filled with hill climbing and that I would need all the energy to get me to the top of the mountain and to Silver City. Once we all ate breakfast we got all our equipment ready to go and gathered out front for a prayer of safety over us and the rest of the crew.
Wednesday will be a great day, and I personally can't wait for it to get here. I will explain more tomorrow! Have a great Tuesday everyone! Be on the look out for someone to help during your day. You never know, it just might turn your day around too!
I broke my morning routine and had more then just cereal this morning. I had half a bagel and a piece of fresh baked bread that I immediately started to smell the moment I got out of bed. I knew the day was going to filled with hill climbing and that I would need all the energy to get me to the top of the mountain and to Silver City. Once we all ate breakfast we got all our equipment ready to go and gathered out front for a prayer of safety over us and the rest of the crew.
Today was different in that we didn't really have a warm up. You see Kingston sits at 6,000 feet, so when we rode the 200 yards to the end of main street and got on the only road in or out of Kingston you start climbing very quickly. As I took the first 20 pedal strokes I could feel my legs beneath me, they felt alive and ready to go. That was a good things because we had a lot of hills to climb. The first 8 miles would carry us to the top of Emory Pass and to 8,200 feet. It was full of switchbacks cut into the side of the hills and making a path right to the top. I had my Ipod on and listen to David Crowder Band a majority of the way. I did lean on some Amy Lee from Evanescence to help out. Something about her voice.. Much to my surprise we made it up to the top pretty quick considering this was we were on day 5 of a 5 day run. Your legs came to life when we needed them. The view from the top was breathtaking. To stand up there and look as far as you can see and to know you just rode across that valley was something I won't soon forget. If you look in the valley below you can see Kingston were we rode out of this morning.
The only bummer about standing up there and admiring the view was cold air blowing us around. By the time we reached the pass the wind was really moving. Thankful coming up the mountain we were somewhat shielded from it. On the top, we were fair game! We loaded up on water and food while we were up there and then headed down the backside. This is were it got both fun and scary for me. The descent was steep and fast, both things that I enjoy. When I am going down a hill I don't use my brakes that often. Weird really, I am afraid of roller coasters, but going 40 mph down a hill on 2 wheels don't make me shake at all? Anyway I am working this road back and forth coming down switchbacks and s-curves just humming along. I am heading into a blind right corner and I set up just like my Carmichael Trainer taught me. I was on the center yellow and I found the axis point and dove for the white line to get me out of the corner carrying the max speed it had to offer. When I hit that white line and I came out of the corner I was meet my a black cow standing on the edge of the road! The scary part was when I saw him, I scared him and watched his rear end buck up and his feet kick up. I hit my brakes and because I came out of my saddle my back tire locked up and now I am sliding and this cow is now trying to cross the road. I came to a stop and he stopped and we just stared at each other. I can't remember what I said but I said something to him. I stood there for a few minutes to motion to Shannon that there is a freaking cow in the road - proceed with caution! Once Shannon got there he ran it off the road and we started riding again. After another 2 miles down the road I am coming around a left corner and when I clear this corner there are 9 deer all hanging out in the road. There were 4 on the right side and 5 on the left. Well I was on the right center and the 4 on the right all sprang into action and darted to the left. We missed by 10-12 feet, which sounds like plenty of room except when you are moving down there hills as fast as we do - you can close 12 feet pretty fast. I worked so hard all morning to keep my heart rate under control and in a few short miles these animals had it racing!
The last 27 miles were up and down hills. The wind had now picked up to a steady 20 mph and gusting at 35 mph. If you have never ridden in winds this strong before, then you are lucky and I wouldn't suggest it. We did what we are now trained to do - we just rode and rode until we arrived at our end spot. It was very exhausting! We arrived at the RV park we will be staying at for 2 nights about 30 minutes after noon.
Tomorrow is a schedule rest day and since we finished early in the day, we took advantage of the time and knocked out the choirs. Shannon took care of the bikes. Mona washed our cycling clothes here at the RV park and Shane and I headed into town for Ice Cream! Ha! Just kidding, we headed into town to a laundry mat to wash the sheets and towel and regular clothes. We heard from a little birdie in the RV park that the dryer there didn't work to well. Since we have had enough bad experiences with dyers on this trip, we took the birdie's advice and went to the laundry mat. The cycling clothes were fine because they all air dry. The laundry mat was by far the nicest on the trip so far. I took my book and read a few more chapters and Shane took a nap in his chair. Once everything was dry and folded up we headed back to home base.
Mona prepared a great dinner for us tonight. It was Mona version of hamburger helper, except she made it all with the real ingredients and even added a little Mona flare to it. The best part was there was a ton of it and we all loaded our plates up! Some of us twice! After dinner I retreated to our cabin on the property and put my clothes away and spent some time on the computer.
Tomorrow as I mentioned we have off. I think we are going go to some shops, there are a few things we need to pick up. After that I plan to spend as much time off my legs as possible.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Day 29 - La Mesa, NM - Kingston, NM
First and foremost - Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms reading this blog. You guys are amazing! I want to thank my mother for all of her support while I have been on this ride. Her encouragement has been very helpful on those hard days. I also want to thank the mother of my children, Sarah you are my hero! We have 2 amazing boys and you are doing a great job shaping their little minds! I am sorry I wasn't able to be there today to celebrate Mothers day with you and the boys, you will have to take a rain check! Love you.
Today was a tough day for me mentally and physically. I think because it was Mothers day it made it a little hard for me. I was thinking of my mom, and my wife and all these things were going on in my head, it was just a little overwhelming. I had to remove myself from our daily routine at lunch and try and clear my head. It was a weird feeling. One thing that has become clear to me on this trip is I want to be a better family man. I want to be a dad that is at his kids practices and games, I want to be there for dinner with my family. These are things I am genuinely missing right now.
Today was a tough day for me mentally and physically. I think because it was Mothers day it made it a little hard for me. I was thinking of my mom, and my wife and all these things were going on in my head, it was just a little overwhelming. I had to remove myself from our daily routine at lunch and try and clear my head. It was a weird feeling. One thing that has become clear to me on this trip is I want to be a better family man. I want to be a dad that is at his kids practices and games, I want to be there for dinner with my family. These are things I am genuinely missing right now.
The morning went by quickly again. The roads were smooth and fast. Not much wind out that early. We saw a lot of people heading into little restaurants and it looked like it was family taking there moms out for breakfast! It made me think of my wife and kids. Like I indicated above, it was hard to stayed focused this morning. We stopped for lunch at Hatch, NM. When I rode up to the RV there was a camp chair outside and in the shade. I decided to just sit out there and clear my head. I leaned my head back against the RV and dozed off for a few minutes. It was peaceful in the shade. I could hear the hustle and bustle of the little city in the background, but not that bad. Mona brought my sandwich out and I just ate out there.
When we headed out for the afternoon ride we were on the same farm road, except the wind had decided to mess with us again. It was a fierce cross wind and we knew at that point it was going to be a long afternoon. We did get a little break when this John Deer tractor passed us on the road. We were able to use it to block the wind for a few miles. Probably not the safest thing to do, but it was sure fun!
And that was it for the highlight in the afternoon. It was all business after that. We headed straight into the wind for a good 15 miles and it was gusting right in our faces. It was an all out battle of will and determination. It is extremely defeating to be putting out such an effort to be pushed straight back. It was so bad that on the downhills you still had to pedal because the wind wouldn't allow you to coast. We rode right up to the base of the hills. When we got there you could see the road winding up the side of the hills. All you can do is down shift and keep going.
The good news is the scenery was very pretty up in the hills.
We finally arrived at the Black Range Lodge and we were more then excited to be here. I can only speak for myself but that afternoon 52 miles ride has to be one of the hardest days for me on the bike. It has been since Florida when my legs and knees actually hurt right now after getting off the bike. Lots of stretching and Dr. Hoys for me tonight. The best part is we are in valley and have another 2,000 feet of climbing in the morning to make it over the pass. The view from the top is supposed to be great, so that is what I will be focusing on is the view from the top! Today was the 4th riding day in a row, and normally tomorrow would be a rest day, but this is a 5 day run, so we have a 50 mile day tomorrow and then we get a rest day. I am sure my legs will be more then ready for that rest day!
Like I said we are at the Black Range Lodge, and it is rumored to be haunted by Sam the one armed Handyman. A few years ago the history channel came and did a reenactment of the ghost stories that are out there. I personally don't believe and that sort of thing. But according to the grounds keeper they have a lot of folks come by and stay with all there audio equipment and camera to try and catch something on film. Me, I plan on sleeping hard tonight. If any ghost come in my room, do what you want, just don't wake me up!
There is a line from a TV show I was that I keep running through my head when I see a big climb, it cracks me up every time. So I found it on youtube and thought I would share it with you. It is the first line with Amy Poehler thinks she gets stuck with a needle. Hope it makes you laugh too!
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