Day Thirty Three - Stanford

Day Thirty Three – Stanford

San Francisco (Lafayette) to Watsonville

Daily Brief

Tragedy on the bikes, components breaking, tires popping, ash falling from the sky and a blood red sun, but it was worth it for our meeting at Stanford with EB kids and their families. (And let’s not forget those doctors, nurses, and Lynn and Gary Anderson from EBMRF)

The Ride

So, I’m giving up writing in the third person. “I” refers to Parry from here on out. Keen? Good.

The day started off alright, no signs in the skies of impending tragedy just an innocent sunny California morning beckoning cyclists back onto the streets. We recollected our group at the BART station to take the train towards Stanford. It was there we met the news reporter who interviews Shaun and Chris and took shots of us riding around. That’s when we got our first flat as Russ (Chandler’s cousin joining us for the next few days) got a flat. It wasn’t too big of a deal since we weren’t in any sort of hurry…yet. After the news interview we hopped onto BART and made our way through the city towards Stanford.

After getting off of BART we started riding towards Stanford but we weren’t sure about the route. Our faithful captain, Shaun, knew the name of the street that we were supposed to turn on but it came much closer then it should have. Rocky thought it was the right road but Shaun still wasn’t sure. That’s when bicycle tragedy struck. It figures that the first time on the trip we need to be some place by a certain time that things go awry. So, as we were putting along, amidst the storm of confusion of direction, Shaun decided to ask a friendly crossing guard for directions. A seemly innocent maneuver, but the problem was, I was next to him, so as he turned right and I continued straight, the gap between us closed rather rapidly, and I didn’t just fall into the Gap, I slammed into it. It wasn’t even a close nick, it was more of a full on squall and the minnow was lost, er, I mean, and the bicycle was dead. I went down fast and was mostly ok. Now I have two sore knee’s, but don’t despair, the power of Advil saved that day. So, my rear derailleur was completely dead. Thankfully the ingenious professor, AKA Rusty (Chandlers uncle) got it to work in one gear so I hobbled to a bike shop where I got it replaced for about the price of a new boat.

After the collision and reroute to the bicycle shop we were now running late (we had been running early) to get to Stanford. So, while I was waiting for my bike to be fixed everyone split towards Stanford. Bob (my uncle) came and picked me up after the bike was fixed and he dropped me off with the group. Meanwhile Rocky had taken off from the group to try to find a bike shop for me, then he returned to where we had been, and then he got lost trying to find his way to Stanford. Also, as we were on our way to Stanford, for some still unknown reason Chandler and his uncle Rusty took a random left turn and ended up at Stanford later then the main group. The main group (or what was left of them), hustled their buns and arrived at Stanford at about 12:30.

At Stanford we met outside with a group of EB kids and their families. Gary and Lynn Anderson of EBMRF were their as were the doctors from Stanford. We had a filling lunch, and Lynn Anderson gave some nice comments and introduced the great doctors who gave some encouraging remarks. After the Doctors the riders had a turn at the microphone and then Lynn gave some closing remarks. During and after all the remarks we sat and ate with the EB families and took pictures with some of the kids. The kids were all such troupers. As hard as it was for us to get it together and get to Stanford, many of the families had woken up earlier, driven longer and suffered more to be there.

I don’t know what to say about the experience at Stanford, just that it was a real eye opener, motivator, and humbler. I think we would all do a little better if we remembered these kids, and what they go through just to live.

After the meeting at Stanford we continued our ride for the day. It went well until the thorns hit with fury and took down two tubes in moments. Chandler and Russ both replaced their tubes in a jiffy and we were on our way again. Later Chris had to replace his tube from a slow leak as well. The next challenge was when we turned right to go towards Watsonville. We had to get over Hecker Pass which meant a decent climb. The climb wasn’t too bad, but the further we went the more foggy and smoky it got. Halfway up Bob broke his shoe clip so he had to replace it before continuing on. As we went upwards the sky was dark from the clouds, and the smoke from the wildfires. As we got into Watsonville we all started getting ash in our eyes as we rode. The final leg of the day (that only Chris, Parry, and Rusty road) we were constantly blinking from the constant ash bits in our faces. (well, at least I was, Chris was wearing glasses, I don’t know about Rusty). We actually split up tonight, Shaun and his family went to stay at a hotel, everyone else stayed at Chris’s aunt’s house.

What a day!

Daily Stats

Distance: 92.57
Time: 5:54
Avg Speed: 15.7
Max Speed: 37.6

Total Distance: 2081.20

P&C pushups: 270

Day Twenty Nine - Day Thirty Two : Still chillin in CA

Day Twenty Nine – Day Thirty Two

The team is separated and relaxing in their respective locations, waiting for their reuniting later this week. Aside from that nothing really happened. Shaun was with Faith, Chris was at home, Chandler was with family, and Parry played games and hung at his Uncles house.

Day Twenty Eight - Chillin in CA

Day Twenty Eight – Chillin in CA

The Day

Chandler had left yesterday to go to Sacramento to stay with family but the other riders remained in Lafayette. It was a usual Sunday with church and family. Chris, Shaun and Parry did a fireside in the evening for those interested about our Trek. Ashley Powell did a fine job conducting and we all enjoyed Lynn Andersons comments, which she gave after we watched the EB video.

Day Twenty Seven - The Return of the Riders

Day Twenty Seven – The Return of the Riders

Bodega Bay to San Francisco

Daily Brief

With a total of 19 riders, it was quite the group ride. We saw more bicyclists then we’ve seen for the entire rest of the trip combined. Riding into San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge we meandered our way to a BART station and took the train out of the city.

The Ride

Starting in Bodega Bay we had 17 riders, or at least we thought we did. We all just started and forgot that Ashley was still checking out of the hotel! Well, he caught up with us at our first turn when we stopped to regroup. The bicycle mass would always split apart into several groups when the ride commenced, and then every so often we would recollect. Personally I used the time to talk to some of the other riders and it was enjoyable. Bob returned to the riding group today as well as his son, one of the original EB Trek 2001 riders, Rocky. Rocky was feeling a little sore from his long absence on the bike, but was doing a good job of keeping up.

Eventually we stopped outside of Point Reyes for an extended break to eat and regroup again. After that we set out and made our way toward the Golden Gate Bridge. Before the bridge we distributed EB Trek T-shirts to everyone so we looked united, and some of Chandlers extended family joined in with us. We got a few head turns as our huge mass made our way into San Francisco. The bridge was tight so there wasn’t a lot of room to pass people or go fast, but it was a nice view over the ocean and it was cool to look down on the city.

Coming off the bridge the riders wound their way to a BART station and returned home. Some of the riders split off into taxi cars or on other stops but we (the team) got off in Lafayette. After that we made it all the way to Shuns drive way, which was quite steep, but not as painful as I would have thought. We were cheered on by our fans at the top, the family members of the riders. After summiting at Shaun’s house we ate some food, watched a movie about EB, and relaxed for the night.

Chandler went to Sacramento with Bonnie and his family to relax for the next few days before our press conference at Stanford. Chris is staying with his Parents, and Shaun and I are staying with Shaun’s Parents.

Daily Stats

Distance: 77.36
Time: 5:06
Avg. Speed: 15.2
Max Speed: 43.0

Total Distance: 1988.63

P&C Pushups: 240

Day Twenty Six - Riding the Wind Up

Day Twenty Six – Riding the Wind Up

Fort Bragg to Bodega Bay

Daily Brief

The day went by fast, and so did we. The Coast provided some huge winds, huge drops, and tight turns. That’s mostly all there was too, from start to finish.

The Ride

In the morning we loaded up at the continental breakfast. We all had had a nice nights rest due to Cecil Pill who hooked us up with the Hotel. It was the first time I had a bed to myself for at least a month. After we left Fort Bragg we hit cruise control and didn’t take a full on rest until 43 miles into the day. We ate some snacks then kept moving because it gets cold along the coast when you aren’t moving. We must have been doing well because some other bicycle riders we passed made the comment “You must be training for something!” At lunch we took a rest in a little town that was all closed down. Chilling on the steps of a closed down market, we met some other cyclists. They had come from Philadelphia and were returning for a total of a 9,000 mile journey. We were impressed.

As we continued on, we came across some steep drops and climbs. The road was narrow and the drops were huge and the turns were tight. We probably would have hit it faster except for the wind gusts that were 30+ MPH at times. Bonnie said that cows were usually a road danger, which is why she was surprised they were just chilling right off the road, with nothing in-between them and us. The traffic didn’t help things but we still had some really fun runs. The view to our right was fantastic. There were cliffs to the ocean and rugged rocks piercing the surface of the ocean. We were hundreds of feet up so we could see far along the ocean. The one good thing about the wind was when we were climbing up the hills it gave us an extra push. It almost felt like we could ride the wind up the hills, and I’m sure if we had a sail we could have.

Ashley pushed ahead of the group after lunch and gave us the hook up in Bodega Bay for a place to stay. When we arrived we set our things in the hotel room, and went for the hot tub, which to our delight had super jets. It was just enough to help our sore muscles feel better. The pool was warm and was almost like a hot tub itself. After that, we cleaned up and Bonnie had Chris and Shaun pick up some Pizzas. We ate and relaxed, getting ready for the ride tomorrow.

Daily Stats

Distance: 109.75
Time: 6:10
Avg Speed: 17.6
Max Speed: 49.1

Total Distance: 1911.27

P&C Pushups: 120

Day Twenty Five - Tight Turns

Day Twenty Five – Tight Turns

Garborville to Fort Bragg

Daily Brief:

We hardly noticed the 1,200 foot ascent but the downhill was a blast. Tight turns, fast runs, even cars couldn’t go much faster then us. Then we came out onto a sunny coastline with rolling hills. At night we met Brandon who has EB. His Grandfather, Cecil, provided us dinner and a place to stay in a local motel.

The Ride

We started the days ride around 9:00 AM. The road we took was a little rough at first; we even had a little bit on a dirt road. It hooked back up with the 101 and we took that. Then we eventually made our way to the 1 and wound around the hills. We hardly noticed that we were climbing 1,200 feet in elevation. Perhaps it was that the up hills were offset by some downhill runs so we never got the feeling that we were really moving up, or maybe it was because we were talking so much. Either way, it went by quickly.

We passed through Legget, than had some great downhill runs. The road was narrow, and had tight turns. This was the first time we had to use our brakes to keep from flying off the road. What a rush. Even the Cars had a hard time going much faster then us. Chandler actually drafted a jeep most of the way down. Bonnie met us at the bottom and we took a break. That’s when we made the backpack cam. I had been trying to video tape the downhill ride, but it was hard to ride the tight turns with one hand. What we ended up doing was putting a tripod into my backpack and turned the camera on for the next downhill run. It wasn’t as twisty, but it was still a lot of fun. The video didn’t turn out, but the one where I held it did.

After we emerged from the second long downhill run, descending almost to sea level, we came to the ocean. It was a huge blue sky and seven shades of blue underneath reflected in the ocean. We cruised along the coast for the rest of the day ending up in Fort Bragg with plenty of time to spare.

In Fort Bragg we stayed in a motel 8 inn. The accommodations were set up by Cecil Pill, the grandfather of Brandon who has EB. Cecil also provided the entire team dinner and was a very hospitable host. The team appreciated his support and kindness in providing us food and shelter for our stay in Fort Bragg. Brandon, the boy with EB is 14 years old and is just graduating from middle school. He is in MESA, gets great grades and lives out of the city where it is nice and quiet. He was a cool kid. In talking to his mother, we agree that he, like many EB kids is not only brave, but helps the rest of us to keep a good perspective on life. Brandon’s example of positive attitude shows that we can be happy in whatever circumstance we may be in.

After dinner we gave Cecil and his family team t-shirts, retired back to the hotel and rested up for the remainder of the evening.

Daily Stats

Distance: 71.64
Time: 4:48
Avg. Speed: 14.9
Max Speed: 42.7

Total Distance: 1801.52

P&C Pushups: 200

Day Twenty Four - Avenue of The Giants

Day Twenty Four – Avenue of the Giants

Arcata to Garberville

Daily Brief

A sunny day, winding our way through red woods, we went through the biggest tree still alive, and ended by a nice time.

The Ride

We loaded up in the morning at a continental breakfast. That would be the main meal of the day since we wouldn’t take another meal until after we arrived in Garberville. The day was just a delight. We went along 101 for awhile then turned off and went through the red wood forests, including the “Avenue of the Giants”. It was all very picturesque with our little bicycle team riding in-between these giants. Trying to look up at the tree tops presented a challenge, as they were so high that you would lose a sense of where the road was. The ride all in all went really smooth. It was bright and sunny with minimal head winds, which we only faced in any measurable degree on the highway.

We had a first in the trip today. We have never biked through a tree, much less a tree that is 5,000 years old and the biggest in the world (In some fashion, not sure which). It was kind of like biking between trees, only not so many.

Upon arriving in Garberville, we relaxed in the hotels hot tub (thanks to our good friend). We started discussing what we thought of when we biked. Here is the break down, Chandler thinks of making businesses or selling services. Chris thinks of friends. Shaun thinks of Faith, and about getting married, and all that jazz. I (Parry) make up stories and scenarios. Now this is just when we aren’t listening to books on tape or just zoning out, or thinking about other stuff, but those who know us will find this familiar. Oh, and we got some free cheese from the hotel (It was wine and cheese tasting, we just went for the cheese.)

Daily Stats

Distance: 83.62
Time: 4:58
Avg. Speed: 16.8
Max Speed: 35.3

Total distance: 1729.88

P&C Pushups: 120