Day Sixteen – Let’s Go Boys!

Day Sixteen – Let’s Go Boys!

Elma to Castle Rock

Daily Brief

Starting fast at first on flats, we hit rolling hills, were rewarded with a 16% downgrade, and found ourselves moving faster with Bob’s sprints.

The Ride

When your body craves fuel, there is nothing like a continental breakfast (which is worth it’s weight in gold). As Bob commented, we probably ate about as much in food as what it cost us to stay there for the night, and it was true. I know I downed 6 bowls of cereal, an English muffin, a bagel, and two glasses of OJ myself, so you can imagine what all five riders did to that breakfast, decimation.

In the morning we also met Eddie. He’s an older fella who’s taking the same route as us, but he’s doing it by himself and is carrying all his stuff (no support van). We are using the same route made by the Adventure Cycling Association, or at least that’s what the map guys says. (Shaun). So far it has been good to us, today was a pretty good ride so I can’t complain.

After getting our fill at breakfast, we started burning our fuel on flats and found ourselves moving quickly. The first part of the day we were averaging about 17-18 MPH. After awhile we starting going up and down on rolling hills. These hills were fun, and with no wind, they felt good too. We would all power up the uphill and enjoy sprinting down the downhill. Speaking of downhill, we hit a trip max speed on a 16% downhill grade. Shaun clocked in at 46.3 MPH. It was to the point where pedaling wasn’t doing much even in the biggest gear.

We have been doing a decent job at staying together. Every so often we separate, especially moving uphill, but we usually wait and recollect so we aren’t too spread out. Chandler has been doing some power climbing and usually is ahead, so it’s nice of him to wait up.

Bob has inspiring the team to move a little quicker as well. Usually he’ll start sprinting ahead and shout something like “Let’s go boys!”, which he did on our last sprint into Castle Rock. Shaun will usually follow his dad when he starts bursting ahead, and the rest of us as well. I think one of these days were gonna stop talking about having quick changes for the front and just do it so we can pick up the pace. Or maybe we’ll just stay in cruise mode.

Ok, probably just cruise mode.

Daily Stats

Distance: 80.4
Time: 5:00
Avg. Speed: 16.1
Max Speed: 46.3

Total Distance: 1118.8

P & C Pushups: 155

Day Fifteen – Picking up the Pace

Day Fifteen – Picking up the Pace

Daily Brief

Kregg finished his leg to Seattle and we picked up Bob Garff (Shaun’s Dad) and Jenni Skeen joined us for a day. Swiftly moving through back roads, we experienced perfect weather and found that our pace quickened.

The Ride

Kregg was done riding with us so we said our goodbyes this morning. He will be missed as will his tactful compliments that helped lift the team from time to time. We wish him a safe flight home to Utah. At the Seattle temple Jenni Skeen joined us. She had heard about the trek from a friend. We’re really glad she joined us because she knew how to get to the city on bike trails and not on the highway. We started at the LDS Seattle temple and Jenni led us to peer 52 where we were going to take the ferry. The bike route was fun and we saw more cyclists on the route then we’ve seen the entire 1,000 previous miles combined. We all resisted the temptation to burn out and show them up.

At peer 52, Bob Garff (Shaun Garff’s father), joined us. He’s riding with us from here down until Lafayette CA, and maybe a little further as well. Between Bob and Jenni, we actually started picking up the pace. Bob’s used to biking with cyclists who race, which explains why he was able to push forward so well. Jenni was just a powerhouse. Unafraid to jump in with 5 other guys and lead the way, she was often found in the front allowing us to draft her.

Cruising on the back roads of Washington, the ride was hilly – but enjoyably so. The hills were just that, hills. We weren’t trekking up mountains or 1,000 feet climbs, it was just gently rolling hills. With our pace quickened, the police officer clocked us at 16 MPH, and that was about our average speed. We made it into Elma, WA with time to spare. It was then that we said our goodbye’s to Jenni and checked into a local hotel. We ate dinner at The Rusty Tractor and went back to the hotel to get some rest for tomorrow.

Daily Stats

Distance: 82.15
Time: 5:31
Avg. Speed: 14.9
Max Speed: 33.2

Total Distance: 1038.38

P & C Pushups: 210

Day Fourteen - Rest and Relaxation

Day Fourteen – Rest and Relaxation

Daily Brief

Another day for some rest and relaxation

The Ride

There wasn’t a ride today as we just relaxing up at Kregg’s parent’s house. We went to church, looked at the ride ahead, caught up on sleep, worked on donations, and made plans. Tomorrow will certainly be more eventful.

Day Thirteen - Sweetest Downhill Ever

Day Thirteen – Sweetest Downhill Ever

Daily Brief

Zoom zoom. Welcome to downhill paradise.

Flying Down from Snoqualmie Pass

We awoke in Ensign Ranch, ate breakfast, and suited up. We weren’t sure what the conditions of the summit were going to be as we ascended another 1,000 vertical feet so we dressed for a little chill but also with the hope that if we needed more cloths that the support van would be close. Shaun declared this day the EB Trek’s Alp D’huez, although if it was, it was an Alp D’huez in reverse (then what they do in the tour).

We started up the slope on I-90 and came across some beautiful views. Thick pine tree forests and snow capped mountains with intermittent lakes that were as smooth as glass. We’re definitely not in Idaho anymore. As we biked on I-90 we would feel the sun warmed wind coming down from above, but when ever the wind came through the tree’s it was like getting hit with an artic blast. The air coming through the tree’s was like one last spiteful chilly breath as winter finally lost his hold on the mountains for this year.

As we went upwards we came across ski resorts and snow still on the slopes. I really really wanted to stop and play in the snow, but the snow on either side of the highway was dirty as mud, so that was a no go. Still, I bet that bicycle shoes would make some pretty sweet makeshift sleds.

We summated Snoqualmie pass and all felt fine and ready to take on more. Shaun made the observation that our worst climbing day was still day three, and we had to agree. We have yet to face a climbing day like that one.

Coming over the pass, we started off with reckless abandon. We strayed apart as we each went flying down the descents. Chris and Shaun both clocked in at about 40 MPH. My favorite part was when a Semi slowed down enough for me to draft behind it, and for 20 seconds I grew wings. Chandler lead the group down, but we all got separated, and since Shaun got a flat it took a little while to regroup, which we finally did at exit 47, just past some of the steepest downhill runs.

After we regrouped we continued to cruise downward until we took another break by a mountain stream. We all took a dip, Chandler took a bath. Moving along towards Belmont, we did have some climbs but it was mostly a downhill journey as we came down, 3,000 feet from the summit. We continued to enjoy the scenery, despite the incessant traffic that kept speeding by.

We ended our trek for the day in our planned location at Belmont, and swung up to check out the LDS temple where we were picked up by Kregg’s sister Kelly. She drove us from Belmont to her parents’ home where we are staying the night and Sunday night. (Up in Everett, WA)

Daily Stats

Distance: 67.06
Time: 4:26
Avg. Speed: 15.1
Max Speed: 37.6

Total Distance: 956.23

P & C Pushups: 180

Day Twelve - Longest Day Ever

Day Twelve- Longest Day Ever

Daily Brief

After the fight we had with the weather on day nine, we still had to make up some ground, which we did today. It was the longest day yet in terms of miles and travel time, and riskiest because of darkness.

The Ride

Coming out of Prosser, both Kregg and I (Parry) got flats. We knew this was going to be a long day, so we weren’t too enthusiastic about the flats, but then again who ever is? Either way, we learned that glass likes to chill on the shoulder of roads in Washington. When Kregg got his flat we realized we were out of tubes, so Bonnie had to go buy some and come back with the support van while we took refuge under an overpass. Meanwhile we tried to patch the flats with the patch kit included with the tools that came with the bikes, but then realized they didn’t come with glue. Ok, who’s idea was that? When Bonnie arrived we put in the new tube and I patched an old tube with a patch kit that came with glue.

The ride went smoothly until lunch, which we took at Wal-Mart. After Wal-Mart we got on a road headed straight towards the mountains. At first I thought it would turn to the right, but we kept getting closer and closer until I realized the trail we were taking went through the mountains. We were off the highway and onto a thin two lane mountain road. There were some great views, but the shoulder was almost non-existent, so we found ourselves hugging the shoulder as RVs and trucks kept whizzing by. The wind behaved most of the time, but a few times it hit us pretty hard. At one point it stopped us all dead in our tracks. We literally went from 12 MPH to 0 MPH in just a few seconds. The gust of wind came out of nowhere, but thankfully we were on a flat and not going downhill. There were some pleasant downhill runs, and a lot of winery’s and a small river always to our left. After about 20 miles I was ready to be out of the canyon pass as it just kept going forever. Another 5 miles and we were finally out. It didn’t help that I got another flat due to glass which slowed us down, yet again. (Plus my seat came loose.)

After that we started into canyons that were more spread out valleys. They had bigger farms with pine tree forests towards the top edges of the mountains. We enjoyed the views but sun was setting fast and it was getting darker and darker. Eventually we made it out of the valley run but it was dark. We were still a few miles from Ensign Ranch where we were staying the night. Our solution was to use the support van as a source of light.

We hopped back onto I-90 with the support van in close pursuit with hazard lights on and headlights to show us the way. After what seamed like forever (time travels slower with adrenalin) we took an exit that would take us to Ensign Ranch. It was another 2.5 miles in the dark (the sun was long gone by now), and we followed Shaun, who was following the white line on the road. Thankfully no one was one the random side road but us.

Riding into Ensign Ranch, we were all relieved to unpack our stuff into the bunk house, scarf down tons of soup, and crash for the night. The day started at around 9:00 AM and ended at around 10:15 PM and we traveled an incredible 122.3 miles, the longest distance any of us had ever traveled on a bicycle in one day. Today was definitely the longest day ever.

Daily Stats

Distance: 122.3
Time: 9:38
Avg. Speed: 12.6
Max Speed: 32.9

Total Distance: 889.17

P & C Pushups: 150

Day Eleven - Downhill at Dusk

Day Eleven – Downhill at Dusk

Daily Brief

Morning was a slow start due to some bicycle tune ups. After we got going we made decent time, entered into Washington, and didn’t stop for lunch or dinner (did anyone else notice that?). Finally, we had an amazing downhill run at dusk and found ourselves in Prosser.

The Ride

In the morning we got our bikes fixed at a Pendleton, After that we took the 84 to the 395. On the 395 we crossed into Washington. This time Parry’s bike made it in first. To get into Washington we crossed the Columbia river. The biggest bridge we’ve crossed so far, it also had the best view. As we soaked up the scenary we continued on until eventually ending up on the 21 north. Our final destination was Prosser, not what we had origainally intended, but a minor adjustment due to day nine. (Yakima was our original intended location)

Prosser was at the bottom of an awesome downhill run. We took a moment to enjoy the view from the top. The sun was melting into the horizon casting its last rays across the valley beneath. After appreciating the sunset for a minute or two we took off one by one, rocketing towards it. Kregg says to ‘mark him at 50 [MPH]…I think I heard a sonic boom behind me…’.Actually, we were going at about 33 MPH. No one was trying to pedal (except Kregg) because we were all enjoying not having to. Riding into town on our carbon fiber stallions, the next job was finding a place to lay our tired heads.

We headed toward the first steeple we saw, which was a Baptist church. The youth minister told of us a few places we could try and offered the lawn if we needed it. Riding further into Prosser we came to a park, which was closed. By this time Chandler had counted 7 police cars that were parked or passing by us. We went a little further and Kregg decided to get a room in a Hotel. Bonnie got one as well. The rest of us crashed on the floor. (No sleeping in the car tonight!)

Daily Stats

Distance: 79.32
Time: 6:16
Avg. Speed: 12.6
Max Speed: 33.4
Total Distance: 766.87

P & C Pushups: 210

Day Ten - Deadman's Pass

Day Ten – Deadman’s Pass

Daily Brief

Riding through pine tree’s with snow on the ground, you would think it was November, not May. Surviving the coldest day yet, the only thing to warm us was the hope of a hotel and the golden beams of mercy lighting up the sky in front of us as we passed through dark skies and merciless weather.

The Ride

As we started the day there was a little bit of a drizzle. Winding through the mountains we stated to climb, and climb, and climb. As we forged our way upwards we entered a pine forest, and moving up found snow. It was hard to believe, but scattered all around us was white, late may, snow. Chris and Parry made it to the top and waited for the others at the van. Everyone else was a little late coming up to the top because Chandler had a flat, and no one else with him had a tube. Taking a moment to break at the top, and changing the tire it got colder, and since we weren’t moving, we all got really cold. What really chilled us off though was the downhill on the other side. As we descended it started to rain. We descended a ways then it was back onto highway 84 to ascend up again.

Moving up 84, it continued to get colder, and with the rain we were soaked and muddy. Riding up we saw a sign for “Deadman’s Pass”, not the most comforting sign when you’re cold, wet, and the winds just picked up again. We took a moment to rest at Deadmans’ Pass rest area. I took the moment to use the hand dryers to dry myself off. Kregg missed the turnoff, so the rest of us didn’t stay long and went to catch up with him. Moving the last of the way up the mountain we saw golden beams of mercy up ahead, sunlight fighting through the dark clouds overhead. At first we couldn’t tell how far away the light was, but it meant warmth, so we pushed for it. Coming over the peak we saw that the light was beaming through over into the next valley, but even if it was that far away just seeing it gave us some warmth.

The Sign at the top was another classic, 6% downgrade next 6 miles. The final descent from the peak was awesome, a bit hard to see with the rain and a tad windy, we still clocked in at a max speed of about 40 MPH.

Flying into the valley below, we came to Pendelton. Chris and Chandler had gone ahead and, not knowing where to meet us, had done a lap of the town. Kregg, Shaun and I (Parry) found them again and we all went to a hotel. We cleaned the mud off our faces, and peeled off the wet dirty spandex and rain gear. Then we got dinner at a Chinese place that had pretty good portions, probably in part due to the fact that Chris talked to our server in Chinese. Then we went back to the hotel and crashed.

Daily Stats

Distance: 80.95
Time: 6:44
Avg. Speed: 12.0
Max Speed: 39.1

Total Distance: 687.55

P & C Pushups: 120

Day Nine - The Tempest

Day Nine – The Tempest

Daily Brief

The Weather gathered her forces and mounted an attack on our little band of bicycle riders, who formed a retaliation effort, although in the end they were still set back a little.

When fierce winds become your enemy (The Ride)

In only stands to reason that after the smoothest day of bicycle riding we needed to be tested. Today was that test (I hope). In the morning there was hills and wind. The rolling hills were doable. We could have handled that. It was the face blasting winds that drove us up the wall, or back up the hill as the case may be. We had to pedel just to keep moving going downhill, so you can imagine what the up hill climbs were like. We took multiple rest breaks to recuperate and gather our strength. As we continued our valiant efforts against the prevailing winds, we were getting close to our lunch location when near freezing rain began pelting us. Soggy, stung and worn-out we made it to a McDonalds where we took shelter for lunch.

Lunch was provided again by Bonnie, making the group happier day by day for the great idea of having Chanlder’s mom drive the van. That and she keeps an eye on us fella’s while still letting us be guys biking across the western united states. Yeah, it’s like that.

So, we hid in McDonalds against the onslaught of ever increasing rain. We waited and waited but the rain kept coming. We still had 40 miles to go and we were already dead tired from the morning skirmishes against hills and headwinds. I looked up online and found that we had been facing gusts of wind of up to 37 MPH. I was fine with staying right there, but the day was moving on and something had to be done. After about three hours the riders began to prepare for the inevitable. Slowly, ever so slowly, we started making motions to head back outside. I can’t remember who started it, I think it was Shaun and Chris. They began to suit up for bike VS. weather combat. On came the leg warmers, hats, headbands, gloves, rain jackets, extra shorts and toe warmers. Chandler and I got some plastic gloves from the McDonalds people to put under our short bicycle gloves to keep the water out (and they worked great!). After we geared up we had Bonnie lead us out to battle with a prayer for safety and relief.

As we jumped back into the rumble we found relief as the rain let up to a drizzle, then it disappeared! Praise be! Our prayers were answered and we continued on, still facing some tuff winds and hills, but we forged ahead. To either side we saw snow capped mountains, and darkening clouds. I wouldn’t doubt if one of them lead to Moordore. As evidence of the destined wind I spotted about 50 or so electircty gernating windmills to our right, far away on the landscape. We conquered about 20 more miles, then took a rest in a little town called North Powder. The rest turned into a re-evaluation, and with it the decision to stay there for the night. As we were unpacking our gear into the local motel the rain started up again, and we knew we had made the right decision.

While the wind and rain pushed us back by 20 projected miles, we still made a good effort and took plenty of ground. We have until Saturday to make up for the lost 20 miles, a feat that one favorable day of bicycle riding could more then make up for. Heck, if it was like yesterday we could make it up in our sleep!

Here’s for a good one tomorrow…

Daily Stats

Distance: 71.78
Time: 6:15
Avg. Speed: 11.5
Max Speed: 23.9

Total Distance: 606.6

P & C Pushups: 150

Day Eight - Getting To Nowhere Fast

Day Eight – Getting to Nowhere Fast

Daily Brief

We left the Gwilliams house, had our fastest day yet and ended up with plenty of time to do whatever we wanted to, in the middle of nowhere.

The Ride

Leaving the Gwilliams house we hit the 84 fast, and kept moving fast. In fact, we cruised through 60 miles by lunch time at 12:30. Bonnie provided lunch from Taco Time which we all enjoyed, along with an hour or so to nap and relax. After that we hopped back on our bikes and were done with the ride by around 3:30 PM. This was probably the smoothest day yet. Finding ourselves with plenty of time we worked on some fundraising details, played Hearts and Euchre, and tried to make our way into the Snake river. This time only Shaun made it all the way in the river. It wasn’t just because it was cold, the river was low so it was muddy and all kinds of soggy presents kept floating our way. The Burrs and bugs didn’t help.

Just for the record, Chandler won hearts, Chris was a close second. Bonnie and Parry took the Euchre game against Chris and Chandler.

Oh, and it’s great to be rolling down the highway and Shaun starts yelling out NO. NO. NO. It caught me off guard at first. It’s not because he disagrees with you, or because we are going the wrong direction. He’s got this hands free head set thing and he uses the voice activation as he’s riding to talk to people.

The real highlight came when Chandler made a prairie dog trap. Using common household items, he engineered the classic pull string trap that you would think only works in movies and cartoons. It was comprised of an upside down laundry basket propped up by a stick. A string was attached to the stick so when you pulled the string it would move the stick and make the basket fall. At first the bait was an entire thing of Peanut Butter, but we had an uproar about using perfectly good peanut butter, so it was decided that only a few crackers with peanut butter would be used. And the results…we caught one! Don’t worry though, we let him go, although he probably didn’t make it though the night. Coyotes came and dug out some Prairie dogs holes in the night.

As a side note, we’ve also discovered that Chandler can sleep anywhere, anytime. All he has to do is prop his head up with his arm and he’s out, in McDonald, in the Van, anywhere.

Daily Stats

Distance: 81.45
Time: 5:02
Avg. Speed: 16.1
Max Speed: 31.9
Total Distance: 534.82

P & C Pushups:150

Day Seven - In Heaven

Day Seven – In Heaven

Daily Brief

Our First rest day, and our bodies are doing their best to recover from the weeks riding.

Chillin’ in Boise

Chris and Eric Gwilliam provided us shelter and food. We woke up to a Belgium waffle breakfast complete with homemade whip cream and strawberries. Now, they know how to do breakfast right, and the brownies Chris made were amazing. If you’re ever in Boise, you know where to go for brownie recipes. There was also cheesy eggs and an Idaho morning potato hash-brown type dish. Come to think of it, those were the first potatoes we’ve had in Idaho so far.

After breakfast we were introduced to Mario Kart on the Wii, Chris Rains beat us all. After Mario Kart it was on to church, which we enjoyed. The ward was great and we met Scotty Squire who works at the Power Bar plant and is going to hook us up with some Power Bars. That was music to my ears. After pounding up mountainous hills it really helps to have something of substance to refill your body.

After Church we just set to doing all the stuff we had been putting off all week, like finding places to stay next week, and working on contacting friends about what we are doing.

Even though we haven’t ridden today, all the riders are still feeling their sore muscles and skin. I think our bodies are reminding us that we just pedaled 450 miles.

Day Six – Shadows Getting Longer

Daily Brief

Starting in Bliss, we made our way to Glenn’s Ferry for lunch. It was smooth riding until the wind and hills picked up, just about the time that we thought we couldn’t take any more. Thankfully the smooth asphalt of Boise provided a little relief as we finished up our longest run yet.

The Day

We woke up and said our finals goodbye’s to Carsten, our first driver. From here on out his mother (Bonnie) will be driving the support vehicle. We’ll miss his quirky antics and hook-ups, like getting random jelly beans from the guy who fixed the vans tire for only $14.00 (Day two). We left Bliss at about 10:30 AM and jumped onto highway 84. After awhile we got tired of 84. There was the usual traffic but the rumble strips (alert strips) were cutting across almost the entire shoulder where we were riding, so we only had about a foot between the rumble strips and the far right lane of the highway. We decided to hop back onto highway thirty.

Highway thirty proved to be painful. It was hot, hilly and windy, although we did enjoy some of the scenery. Green alfalfa fields made it look like we were somewhere with water, like Kentucky. Aside from that it was fairly barren. We crossed a lot of empty space, and decided to get back onto the 84. Before we got back onto the 84 we came to Mountain Home and took lunch. Everyone had McDonalds except Parry, who decided to try out Chandler’s suggestion and go for some cold soup. Not bad, not bad at all, just make sure not to do the condensed kind.

Heading out of Mountain Home Chandler caught sight of a bike shop, Tony’s bike shop. He turned off and told us to go ahead. We went a little further and waited, and waited, and Chris and Parry went back to the bike shop. When Chris and Parry arrived back at the bike shop Chandler was just in the middle of getting his bike fixed. He had lost the use of three of his gears because of a broken derailleur part. Tony fixed him up, spent an hour on his bike, and only charged Chandler the original $12.00 quote. Thanks Tony!

Meanwhile, Shaun and Kregg had gone ahead and started onto the 84 again. Chris, Parry, and Chandler jumped on the 84 and eventually caught up. The 84 was worse then before and shifty winds kept catching us from different sides. No drafting angle was perfect, or could keep us protected from the menacing winds.

At a random exit we met up with the support Van. Bonnie (Chandler’s mother and new Van driver) had already filled up the water jug with ice cold water which we all very much enjoyed. At the support Van we evaluated our progress and realized we had 29 miles to go. We were exhausted from the wind and the 70 or so miles we had already traveled. We ate doughnuts, and hit the road again.

As we took on 84 again the sun was getting lower, our shadows were getting longer. Whether we moved or not, our shadows would grow and grow until darkness took over the sky and made our ride dangerous if not impossible. Thankfully we found relief in Boise. Smooth asphalt, and a lack of headwind helped propel us forward to our destination, which was actually Meridian (a little past Boise itself by a few miles). In the last few miles the sun was low in the sky and started to blind us. We rode into the sun for about half an hour and made it to Meridian. We arrived at the Gwilliams house, the kind souls that were going to let 5 sweaty, dirty guys take over their attic. We crashed in front of their house as the sun was saying its final goodbyes and waited as the Gwilliams made it home. After some much needed showers, Shaun and Kregg went to Carabas and the rest of us ate some Mac N Cheese. We talked, watched the season finale of The Office and got some much needed sleep.

Daily Stats

Distance: 103.00 Miles
Time: 6:48
Avg. Speed: 15.1
Max Speed: 35.21

Total Distance: 453.37

P & C Pushups 125

Day Five – Idaho’s Eden

Daily Brief

Highway 30 took us through country bugs, black rock canyons and climbs, by the beach of the Snake River, and all the way into Bliss.

Burley, Bliss and Bugs

Starting out from Burley we decided to take a more scenic route, highway 30. At first the scenery was nice, but it was a tad hard to enjoy as we were constantly running into bugs. There is nothing like looking down to see seven flies stuck on your arm. Thankfully no one swallowed any, although we sure tasted some.

We took lunch in Twin Falls Idaho. The highlight was the conversation about Shaun’s Ski boat, and our plans to use it when we get to California. Let me attempt to recreate the moment for you. Carsten asked Shaun, “How does it fill the back tanks if it’s a waterski boat?”

Shaun answered authoritatively, “It’s a Mastercraft pro star 209”

Everyone “ohhhhhhhhh well of courseeeeee”

Chris “So it pretty much does your laundry too…”

As we continued onwards, there was the usual ups and downs, but what killed us was a black rock canyon. The Landscape looked like something out of a classic star trek show, it was an alien desert scattered with dark black rocks everywhere, like someone just dropped a cargo plane full of black rocks all over the place. As we came into it, the road climbed up, and up, and around the corner into up oblivion. We hit it fast, but it winded us so we had to down shift and take it a pedal at a time. Eventually, after what seamed like forever, we made it to the top. We took the moment to rest and recuperate and survey the landscape and check out the electricity generating windmills.

We were rewarded for our efforts up the long climb up the black rock canyon when later we came across my favorite sign yet. There is nothing like seeing “6% grade next three miles”, especially when it is all downhill. We cruised down the miles in what seamed like moments in probably the fastest three miles we’ve traveled yet.

Continuing on highway thirty we came across the Snake river again, which met at a little beach front at the Snake River resort. We hopped off our bikes, out of the hot sun and into the Snake River. It was so cold that I lost my breath for a moment. Chris decided he didn’t want to risk the wet spandex, a good maneuver - while the rest of us plunged in. We swam around a little, skipped a few rocks and watched the wakeboarders. After that we were on our way again. It didn’t take long to dry off in the hot sun.

The route continued to provide us some nice downhill runs, and Kregg made good use of them. Flying to the front of the line, he cruised down in his rocket red jersey and we managed to keep up. Cruising down highway thirty, it had been taking us longer then we thought to get to Glenns Ferry, so Shaun had us stop a moment as he talked to some locals. We found out that we had 27 miles to go, and it was already late in the day. We realized that wouldn’t be ale to make it before dark so we had to readjust our plans. The next closest town of any size was Bliss. Chris was positive the name was bad news. I called him on it, but he said, “I just say those things to lower everybody’s hopes…for all I know Bliss is the Eden of Idaho.”. And so, that’s where we went, the Eden of Idaho.

“Eden” had a 24 hour gas station / restaurant, two hotels, and an onramp to highway 84. We checked out ‘Eden’s’ grass for camping, but it didn’t look to promising, so we gave into the idea of a hotel. Shaun scouted out both. One was going to give us three beds and a decent rate. The other hotel wasn’t such a decent rate. Shaun was also a little put off by the office being in a room…and the room having a half naked man on the bed, as his wife (giving them the benefit of the doubt) answered the door to barter with Shaun about prices…so, the first hotel was very nice. We took showers and relaxed and enjoyed sleeping in a real bed.

Daily Stats

Distance: 92.37 miles
Time: 5:53
Avg. Speed: 15.7
Max Speed: 34.7

Total Distance: 350.37

P&C Pushups:150

Day Four – The Sweet Summit

Daily Brief:

After a beating on day three, we ascend to the Sweetzer summit, cruise on through some of the most beautiful roads we’ve experienced yet, and met the Snake river for the first time.

The Highest Summit

We arose well rested from our trip through Hades on day three, thanks to a Sister Miller and the good Bishop of Snowville who provided a place for us to sleep. We got a decent start on the day, biking off at around 10:00 AM. The start of the journey was a little hilly, but we had some good downhill runs so no one was complaining. Then the road started to turn upwards again, but with a wide shoulder and not too intense traffic, we all just chatted our way up. Shaun and I (Parry) got to talking about everything from desert memories at Philmont, to Snowy memories at Park City, to plans for new memories. Kregg and Chandler were chatting it up as well, and somehow Chris survived our reminiscing. We continued up and up until we came to the top. The Place was Sweetzer summit, the highest elevation we’ve been yet. We took the moment to rest and survey our surroundings. Chris made the comment that there was “No rest for the weary”, and I had to agree, although today’s climb seemed a little more manageable.

After Sweetzer we kept on cruising, and finding an alternate route into Burley thanks to the clerk at a gas station we set out again. The alternate route proved to be a great idea and we came across some of the best road we’ve found yet. Smooth pavement, light traffic, and gently rolling hills with a slight overall descent made our last leg into Burley a memorable one. Once we started into the gently rolling hills we had to let loose, unity was somewhat splintered and I found myself pounding down the road and finding a rhythm that I often enjoyed running cross country. It felt so good, it was like an all new type of freedom.

Arriving in Burely we made ourselves at home on the towns entrance sign (It was surrounded by nice grass, and was great to lay out on.). After just biking in the open country, everyone had their cell phone’s out in minutes and were getting all the updates.

We biked a short distance to a campsite next to the Snake river, and some few brave souls even made it into it, Kregg and Parry that is. After some much needed showers we ate and crashed in our tents. We probably would have slept in the open again if it weren’t for the mosquitoes.

Daily Stats

Distance: 77.53 miles
Time: 5:15
Avg Speed. 14.8
Max speed: 34.2

P&C Pushups: 150

Day Three – Hills from Hades

Daily Brief

Winding our way from Brigham City to Snowville, we started in flat paradise and ended with tough climbs and blasting winds. The team was beat, and by 9:00 PM, Shaun, Kregg, and Carston were out.

Upwards! Onwards! Forwards! – But mostly upwards…

We were sleeping comfortably in our sleeping bags, under the open skies when we got an early morning wake up call at 7:30 AM. Everyone except Shaun (who was in the van) got hit by the sprinklers as we were still half asleep. That really woke us up! We then took time to let our stuff dry, jumpstart the van (after the battery died), and change in the church after a friendly maintenance guy let us in. Breakfast was provided courtesy of Carry and Amy (Shaun’s sisters), who had sent food up with Carsten.

Leaving Brigham City we were in cycle paradise. There was only a slight breeze, flat open road, beautiful skies and green mountains. We took the first twenty miles hardly breaking a sweat. By around 1:00 PM we were half way done and took our lunch outside a rocket research facility. We piled in 7 kinds of soup to make some kind of super soup that we downed without a second thought.

Riding with beautiful skies, no wind, and open road. [Left to right is Chandler, Shaun, Chris, Kregg, and Parry)

What we saw in front of us.

Resting before we discovered our first hill. (Parry is doing marine rest)

A few miles later and we began to

ascend up towards Snowville. After big hill number one we all took a break before a bend in the road. It was a monster to climb so we took a moment to recover. Shaun was convinced that after the bend it was downhill with the wind to our backs all the way. Chris was convinced that it was going to be a climb. Chandler and Parry took the lead and went around the bend to discover the biggest climb we’ve seen yet. You know it’s going to be good when you’re already climbing up a hill, and you can see a hill growing on the road in front of you. After hill number one there were four more hills, and with the wind blasting our faces off, we slowed down considerably. As Shaun aptly put it, it was windy as all sheesh.

Watching Chandler lead, you could see him riding at an angle to the ground. It almost looked as if the wind would take the wheels right out from underneath him. Thankfully it didn’t and we all made it to Snowville, some ahead of others. We lost a little unity as the first group was half an hour ahead of the tail, but it was hard for Chandler, Parry and Chris to go slow up the windy hills that just kept egging them on. Today was probably the second biggest ascent of our entire trip.

Chandler definitely gets the windshield award for being so big that whenever you send him to the front of the group it’s like your drafting behind a windshield. Drafting makes all the difference, especially when your engine is your legs.

We ate dinner at Mollies café, one of two sit down restaurants in Snowville. Huge portions helped feed our lion like appetites, but I (Parry) think I’m gonna grab some pineapple right now. It’s amazing how much food and water you can consume when you’re burning three times the number of calories as a normal person in a day.

As a side note, Carsten (Van support guy, and Chandlers younger brother), says that the pain is becoming so intense he’s not sure if he can take it, yet we all know he loves to drive around the county side, take pictures of cows, and sleep all day. Here is proof.

Moo

I found about seventy more pictures like this one when I downloaded the pictures for the day…

Daily Stats

Distance:60.61 Miles
Time: 4:37
Avg. Speed: 13.1
Max Speed: 33.2

Total Distance: 180.47

P&C Pushups: 175

Day Two – Feeling the Burn

Daily Brief

It’s only day two and our legs, faces, and arms are already stinging. As we raced against the sun, we made it into Brigham City without much daylight left, recovered in a Wendy’s then made our way to a church’s lawn for the night.

Red, White, and Blue

The Wirthlins sent us off right with a huge breakfast complete with pancakes with whip cream, fruit salad and eggs. A great start to day two.

The team with the Wirthlins before we started our journey for the day.

By the end of the day we were all feeling the burn, but most of that didn’t come from the 60 or so miles traveled, but because we forgot lesson one our mothers taught us when going to the beach, to put on enough sunscreen! I think someone said we looked like hairy tomatoes. My arms were definitely some kind of burnt red, next to a pasty winter white. I will not forget my sunscreen again.

Kregg Rogers (Shauns brother in law) joined us today and will be riding with us until Seattle. All in all, the day’s ride went fairly smoothly. It was a little hilly, and some parts were buggy but aside from that we moved along alright. We passed by temple square on our way out of SLC and took as many frontage roads as we could, asking for direction from a police officer or friendly locals when needed. Eventually we had to hop onto the highway and stayed safely on the right side. As we were going under an overpass we got our first flat when Kregg popped his tire. Just about everyone jumped into help, and the flat was fixed in no time. That was the only real mishap of the day.

Making our way to Brigham City we began to lose daylight, and the blue sky was slipping into dusk, but thankfully we were close to our destination. Ill equipped for night time travel, daylight is precious. Part of the reason for the lateness was because we started the day’s ride at 1:00 PM, and because our legs haven’t adjusted to biking all day yet –

In Brigham City we took refuge in a Wendy’s restaurant. The team took up the entire back corner of the restaurant with our sprawled out bikes and bodies. We were starting to get worried since all our supplies were in the Van, which Carsten was driving up from Provo. It was getting cold outside and Shaun and Chandler were thinking about getting a hotel. Thankfully Carsten arrived at 10:10 PM and the Wendy’s people didn’t seam to mind letting us stay until ten minutes after close.

As a side note, Chanlder went to check out the hotel and the lady told him that if we did drugs, or tried to sneak in people she would call the cops…Chandler, maybe its time to cut that beard…

After Wendy’s we found a nice spot of grass outside a local LDS church and took to sleeping. We just put out a tarp and threw some sleeping bags down. It was time to recover and get some quality sleep in.

Daily stats

Distance: 68.66
Time: 5:03
Avg. Speed: 13.6
Max Speed: 36.8

Total Distance: 119.86

P&C Pushups: 75

Day one - Trial by hail

Provo to SLC

The Day in Review

The day began with four rock hard and enthused EB Trekkers, and ended with jelly legs and even more enthusiasm. Deseret News and ABC 4 News did great morning coverage of the kickoff, and most important, we had a few friends support us. Jamie Hartley, Vanessa and Zach Stoop, all of whom have EB where there to support us as we began our 2,600 mile trek. They are a great source of inspiration for the riders. Jamie said to remember her when in pain or sore, and it gave a great perspective to our ride. The Wirthlins, close friends of Chandler and Shaun gave us tons of food and a place to sleep. It's the first time Parry has had a bed in weeks.

Hail, Headwinds, and The Hill. (The ride)

We almost made it outside the parking lot. Parry, who was still getting used to the clip in pedels (for the first time in his life), fell over and tasted a little concrete. The only thing hurt was his pride, and really. not even that. It only happened once more, I swear. As we were assaulted by hail in orem, we continued strong. Shaun got hit by a drive by splashing, but thankfully we were only moments from our lunch stop at Cary and Kregg's house. Coming around the point of the mountain into the Salt Lake Valley, up at thanksgiving point, we came across some serious headwinds. We battled up the hills, sticking close to the edge of the narrow two land road as huge trucks kept flying by. Chris and Parry made it to the top first and caught pictures of Chandler and Shaun making it up the last of the climb.

In SLC we made our way to the Withlins home, which happened to be up a climb so steep we thought about strapping on some climbing harnesses. The Hill was intense, we were in the lowest gear all the way. It seemed like walking might be faster, but we pressed one up that sucka, and its gonna be a sweet morning start. The last 20 meters Parry and Chanlder had a race to the finish. In interest of Trek unity, were just gonna call it a tie, plus I'm the one writing this (Parry).
Shaun was feeling the climb, and had to take a few side road breaks, but I'm giving him a break for how long I drafted behind him.

The Strong winds brought the team close together, almost tire to tire in fact. We plan on trying to stick close during the trek and take our time each day. Day two, Craig will be joining us, so we'll see how the unity continues...

Daily Stats
Distance: 51.2 miles
Time: 3:59
Avg. Speed: 12.6 MPH
Max Speed: 32.2 MPH

Total mile: 51.2