Greetings all!
The Across the Rockies crew has been really busy acclimating to the post-bike-trip life, but we just wanted to let everyone know that we made it across the country safe and sound and have had a truly unforgettable and life changing experience all around. Our crew got split up in Colorado and ended up taking different routes across the western half of the country...
Trevor, Mike, Claire, and Calum made it to Oregon and then turned south and rode along the Oregon and California coasts. Trevor, Claire, and Calum ended in Arcata, California, and Mike in Fort Bragg, California.
Nathan, after trekking across southern Idaho and Oregon by himself, met up with Michelle in Eugene, Oregon and together they rode up the Oregon coast, ending their trip in Portland.
Stavros and Dan made it to Portland where, tragically, Stavros' trusty Specialized Sirrus was stolen in front of the public library.
The theft of Stavros' bike was certainly an ironic conclusion to the trip in that one of the most important and reassuring things that we have discovered in the past few months is that the overwhelming majority of Americans (and humans everywhere, we suspect) are kind, compassionate people who are usually willing to help others in need. When we isolate ourselves in our homes and communities and rely on the media for our information about the outside world we start to get a sense that it is a dangerous, unfriendly place, where people are looking out only for themselves. What we have discovered on our trip is that the reality is quite the opposite. When you actually get out there and meet people face to face what stands out is not the differences that might divide you but rather the things you have in common. We are all humans, we all have the same basic needs, we all rely on this planet to provide us with those needs, we are all in "this" together. Whoever stole Stavros' bike had never met Stavros and therefore didn't have to confront the true implications of what he or she was doing. Perhaps if that person had met Stavros, talked with him, learned about what he has done and what he dreams of doing, then Stavros' bike never would have been stolen.
What we have learned, through the countless acts of kindness bestowed upon us by complete strangers, is that if you allow people to realize that you are human they will rarely refuse to help you if you are in need. This gives us hope. The world, it seems, is full of compassion.
On a more specific front, we have been greatly encouraged by what we have seen and learned about Americans' attitudes towards global warming. It seems that everywhere we went we met people that were actively involved in the fight against global warming. From professors to contractors to students to activists - these people all had one thing in common: they were focusing their skills and expertise to help lead America toward a greener future.
We finish or journey with an invigorated sense of optimism about our own personal abilities, about humanity in general, and about our planet.
If you thought that our project was worthwhile, please check out the Trek to Re-Energize America at wwww.trektoreenergize.org. JP Kemmick and others have been working hard trying to organize a massive cross-country climate ride for next summer and they need your help!
To everyone who supported us and helped us out along the way, we can never thank you enough!
Peace and Love,
The Across the Rockies Team
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Zeros in Boulder
We have finally made it to Boulder, Colorado! Since leaving Wichita, Kansas on June 27th we have ridden roughly 500 miles and now we are all chilling out in Boulder, resting up, re-supplying, and getting ready for the final 1,800 mile stretch of our trip. A few things of interest since Wichita...
On June 27th we spent the night in Hutchinson, Kansas at Trevor's uncle's house. Bart cooked us a delicious dinner and we had showers and beds and pillows to sleep on, which was amazing. Thanks Bart!
On June 28th it rained all morning and the crew only rode 15 miles and rested up for a big day.
On June 29th we rode close to 90 miles to Rush Center, Kansas, population 170. We camped in the city park there with some other west-bounders that we had met the night before.
On June 30th we had a weak tailwind and were able to cover 88 miles to Scott City, a fairly large town by our standards (meaning there was a grocery store). We slept in the city park and met an east-bounder who had come all the way from Eads - 105 miles - since that morning. He told us about a guy he had passed a ways back who was roller-blading across the country, self-supported, with a push-cart!
July 1st was a very tough day. We had a mild but debilitating headwind all morning and had only made it 25 miles by lunch time. Luckily, the winds shifted a bit after lunch and we were able to make better time the second half of the day. We crossed into Mountain Time and then about 20 miles later we finally left Kansas and found ourselves in Colorado! Throughout the day the terrain went through a gradual but noticeable change from wheat fields to dessert-like expanses of sand and shrubs. At about 7 (Mountain Time) we rode into Towner, Colorado. Our goal for the day was another town 13 miles further east but it was getting late and it looked like it was going to storm so we decided to stop for the night. We got permission to sleep in a church and we enjoyed bathrooms, chairs and tables, and carpeted floors for a night.
We got a late start in the morning because we were so comfortable in the church. But the morning riding was fast and we covered a quick 39 miles to Eads, where we took a long lunch and library break. From Eads we left the TransAmerica trail and began our detour to Denver. Our plan was to ride either to Wild Horse or Aroyo for the night, but we had no idea what was in either town and a quick google search had revealed that there were no gas stations or stores. From Eads we headed North for 20 miles to Kit Carson. The water in Kit Carson tasted really bad and there were no open stores so we filled up our water-bottles anyway because we knew there might not be water where we were going. About a mile out of Kit Carson we ran into some construction where they were laying down a new concrete road. The construction workers wouldn't let us ride through so we had to get shuttled in pick-up trucks 4 miles to the end of the work zone. By then it was getting dark and an ominous storm was looming on the horizon, so we rode a quick 9 miles (with the help of a tailwind) into Wild Horse, probably doubling the town's population as we entered. We got some clean water from a woman and her father and they said it would be OK if we camped next to the abandoned school-house. But when we got on the internet we saw that the storm was going to be a big one and might even become a tornado, so we decided to find better shelter. At Claire's suggestion we moved to an abandoned Kwanset (sp?) and waited for the storm. It hit at around 10:10 pm the rain and wind was intense but we managed to stay pretty dry under the Kwanset and luckily there was no tornado.
Woke up in the Kwanset on July 3rd and realized how filthy the place was. We left feeling pretty dirty and looking forward to showers in Denver, where we were hoping to arrive on July 4th. We had another tailwind and made great time to Limon, about 85 miles East of Denver. We took a break at a Wendy's in Limon and met a really nice motorcyclist from Denver named Bear who gave us $50 and told us to buy dinner on him. From Limon we rode on Interstate 70 for about 7 miles (apparently bikes were allowed on this stretch) and then got off onto scenic highway 87. Once we got on 87 the winds became unfavorable and the road started to get reall hilly so our pace was slowed. After about 10 miles the weather started to turn bad so Mike stopped at a place called "Sunset Ranch" and asked the owner if we could sleep in his barn to avoid the storm. He said it would be OK so we called it a night and rested up for the last 60 miles to Denver.
We woke up early on July 4th eager to get to Denver. The road West was quite hilly and at one point we climbed to around 6,400 feet - over a mile higher than Denver. But despite the hills the riding was beautiful and towards the middle of our day we came up over the crest of a hill and caught our first glimpse of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. It was strange to think that a few days ago we had been riding through flat Kansas prairie. After about 65 miles we finally arrived in Denver at the Mike's girlfriend Alice's house. Alice and her Mom and step-Dad cooked us an amazing dinner and we were finally able to take much needed showers. That night we rode down to Washinton Park and watched the fireworks explode over the Rockies.
We spent July 5th in Denver running errands. On the morning of July 6th, Alice's step-Dad Lance took us on a tour of a house that he is building for himself and Alice's Mom. It is called a "Passive House", and Lance is hoping that it will use net-zero energy. The idea is that it is extremely well-insulated and the placement of the windows allows natural cooling and heating. The small amount of energy that will be needed to heat the house in the winter will be provided by a heater the size of a blow-dryer coil. Lance also plans on using solar panels if necessary. We were all really excited to see the house and we wish Lance and Kay-Kay the best with the rest of the construction!
On July 6th we cheated and took a bus up to Boulder in order to avoid riding through the sprawl of Denver. So now we're chilling out in Boulder for a while getting ourselves ready for our next stretch of cycling. It looks like some of the group is going to leave Boulder on July 8th and some are going to stay longer, but we all plan on meeting back up again in Yellowstone.
On June 27th we spent the night in Hutchinson, Kansas at Trevor's uncle's house. Bart cooked us a delicious dinner and we had showers and beds and pillows to sleep on, which was amazing. Thanks Bart!
On June 28th it rained all morning and the crew only rode 15 miles and rested up for a big day.
On June 29th we rode close to 90 miles to Rush Center, Kansas, population 170. We camped in the city park there with some other west-bounders that we had met the night before.
On June 30th we had a weak tailwind and were able to cover 88 miles to Scott City, a fairly large town by our standards (meaning there was a grocery store). We slept in the city park and met an east-bounder who had come all the way from Eads - 105 miles - since that morning. He told us about a guy he had passed a ways back who was roller-blading across the country, self-supported, with a push-cart!
July 1st was a very tough day. We had a mild but debilitating headwind all morning and had only made it 25 miles by lunch time. Luckily, the winds shifted a bit after lunch and we were able to make better time the second half of the day. We crossed into Mountain Time and then about 20 miles later we finally left Kansas and found ourselves in Colorado! Throughout the day the terrain went through a gradual but noticeable change from wheat fields to dessert-like expanses of sand and shrubs. At about 7 (Mountain Time) we rode into Towner, Colorado. Our goal for the day was another town 13 miles further east but it was getting late and it looked like it was going to storm so we decided to stop for the night. We got permission to sleep in a church and we enjoyed bathrooms, chairs and tables, and carpeted floors for a night.
We got a late start in the morning because we were so comfortable in the church. But the morning riding was fast and we covered a quick 39 miles to Eads, where we took a long lunch and library break. From Eads we left the TransAmerica trail and began our detour to Denver. Our plan was to ride either to Wild Horse or Aroyo for the night, but we had no idea what was in either town and a quick google search had revealed that there were no gas stations or stores. From Eads we headed North for 20 miles to Kit Carson. The water in Kit Carson tasted really bad and there were no open stores so we filled up our water-bottles anyway because we knew there might not be water where we were going. About a mile out of Kit Carson we ran into some construction where they were laying down a new concrete road. The construction workers wouldn't let us ride through so we had to get shuttled in pick-up trucks 4 miles to the end of the work zone. By then it was getting dark and an ominous storm was looming on the horizon, so we rode a quick 9 miles (with the help of a tailwind) into Wild Horse, probably doubling the town's population as we entered. We got some clean water from a woman and her father and they said it would be OK if we camped next to the abandoned school-house. But when we got on the internet we saw that the storm was going to be a big one and might even become a tornado, so we decided to find better shelter. At Claire's suggestion we moved to an abandoned Kwanset (sp?) and waited for the storm. It hit at around 10:10 pm the rain and wind was intense but we managed to stay pretty dry under the Kwanset and luckily there was no tornado.
Woke up in the Kwanset on July 3rd and realized how filthy the place was. We left feeling pretty dirty and looking forward to showers in Denver, where we were hoping to arrive on July 4th. We had another tailwind and made great time to Limon, about 85 miles East of Denver. We took a break at a Wendy's in Limon and met a really nice motorcyclist from Denver named Bear who gave us $50 and told us to buy dinner on him. From Limon we rode on Interstate 70 for about 7 miles (apparently bikes were allowed on this stretch) and then got off onto scenic highway 87. Once we got on 87 the winds became unfavorable and the road started to get reall hilly so our pace was slowed. After about 10 miles the weather started to turn bad so Mike stopped at a place called "Sunset Ranch" and asked the owner if we could sleep in his barn to avoid the storm. He said it would be OK so we called it a night and rested up for the last 60 miles to Denver.
We woke up early on July 4th eager to get to Denver. The road West was quite hilly and at one point we climbed to around 6,400 feet - over a mile higher than Denver. But despite the hills the riding was beautiful and towards the middle of our day we came up over the crest of a hill and caught our first glimpse of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. It was strange to think that a few days ago we had been riding through flat Kansas prairie. After about 65 miles we finally arrived in Denver at the Mike's girlfriend Alice's house. Alice and her Mom and step-Dad cooked us an amazing dinner and we were finally able to take much needed showers. That night we rode down to Washinton Park and watched the fireworks explode over the Rockies.
We spent July 5th in Denver running errands. On the morning of July 6th, Alice's step-Dad Lance took us on a tour of a house that he is building for himself and Alice's Mom. It is called a "Passive House", and Lance is hoping that it will use net-zero energy. The idea is that it is extremely well-insulated and the placement of the windows allows natural cooling and heating. The small amount of energy that will be needed to heat the house in the winter will be provided by a heater the size of a blow-dryer coil. Lance also plans on using solar panels if necessary. We were all really excited to see the house and we wish Lance and Kay-Kay the best with the rest of the construction!
On July 6th we cheated and took a bus up to Boulder in order to avoid riding through the sprawl of Denver. So now we're chilling out in Boulder for a while getting ourselves ready for our next stretch of cycling. It looks like some of the group is going to leave Boulder on July 8th and some are going to stay longer, but we all plan on meeting back up again in Yellowstone.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Additional Blogs
For more blogging from the road, check out Claire Brisendine's blog at http://mmmmclaire.livejournal.com/ or Mike Rhodes' at http://clockworko.blogspot.com/
Wichita, Kansas
Greetings everyone! We apologize that we haven't updated the blog in a while. We think that our feet are finally off the ground with this project, and we hope to be updating a lot more in the near future.
The entire crew hasn't been together until the week before last. Our time has been full of side trips, and just a few minor injuries that have left the group temprarily fragmented. Nonetheless, we're finally all together and making good time! From western Virginia, most of the group headed into Kentucky, which was not our favorite state. There were lots of hills, lots of angry dogs, and lots of angry coal truck drivers barreling down the road. Stavros and Daniel missed the eastern half of Kentucky due to a detour down to Asheville.
After Kentucky we rode through southern Illinois, a beautiful area with lots of national parks, lakes, and vineyards. We took a "zero" in Carbondale, Illinois where we were hosted by some extremely generous couchsurfers named Ashley Cline, Felipe Panchiera, and Aur Beck. We would like to thank them for taking us in, giving us a place to stay, and showing us a great time in Carbondale. Aur (who is the chief technician for Advanced Energy Solutions) provided the group with a solar panel, a 12 volt battery, and some more equipment so that we can power a boombox and charge cell phones and ipods as we ride.
And then there were the Ozarks. Most people think that the Rocky Mountains would be the hardest part of a cross country bike ride, but that's not the case. A fifty or so mile stretch of the Ozarks was the hardest part we've ridden so far, and we've been told that's the hardest stretch of the entire trail. The reason is that the hills are so much steeper than in the Rockies or the Appalachians (even though the relief isn't as great), so that you actually end up climbing more in the Ozarks than in a day of Appalachians or Rockies. However, Missouri was perhaps the most beautiful place we've seen so far, which made up for the difficult terrain. We've never seen water so clear. However, the weather was nuts in Missouri. It seems that every day and every night there's a 30% chance of thunderstorms, and we had several times where they came out of nowhere, got everything soaking wet, and disappeared back into nowhere.
And finally, we are in the great city of Wichita, Kansas! Our stove fuel is very low, and it was worth a sidetrip here to resupply. The first thing that struck us about Kansas is how hot and windy it is. It's not all that flat yet, but it's getting flatter with every mile. The direction and speed of the wind will determine how fast we can get through Kansas. For the most part, the wind has been from the south so far, which has given us a cross-wind. As long as the wind doesn't pick up from the west, though, we should be able to cover lots of miles in Kansas.
Some members of our group have made side trips into cities along the way, with Wichita being one of them. It's interesting that the most inaccessable places to bikes are the places that the most people want to go to. Today, we had to ride 60 miles on Kansas Rt. 54 (which is kinda like an interstate, but bikes are allowed on the shoulders) to get into Wichita. The ride was tough, and the traffic for the most part was unaccomodating, but now that we are in town, we're not finding it any easier to get around. Wouldn't it make sense for cities to be the most accessible to bikes? The roads in Wichita, St. Louis, and Springfield, MO (the biggest cities we've visited) were all clearly made only with cars in mind.
We will head to Hutchinson, Kansas tomorrow, and hope to be in Boulder, Colorado around July 4th. Peace!
The entire crew hasn't been together until the week before last. Our time has been full of side trips, and just a few minor injuries that have left the group temprarily fragmented. Nonetheless, we're finally all together and making good time! From western Virginia, most of the group headed into Kentucky, which was not our favorite state. There were lots of hills, lots of angry dogs, and lots of angry coal truck drivers barreling down the road. Stavros and Daniel missed the eastern half of Kentucky due to a detour down to Asheville.
After Kentucky we rode through southern Illinois, a beautiful area with lots of national parks, lakes, and vineyards. We took a "zero" in Carbondale, Illinois where we were hosted by some extremely generous couchsurfers named Ashley Cline, Felipe Panchiera, and Aur Beck. We would like to thank them for taking us in, giving us a place to stay, and showing us a great time in Carbondale. Aur (who is the chief technician for Advanced Energy Solutions) provided the group with a solar panel, a 12 volt battery, and some more equipment so that we can power a boombox and charge cell phones and ipods as we ride.
And then there were the Ozarks. Most people think that the Rocky Mountains would be the hardest part of a cross country bike ride, but that's not the case. A fifty or so mile stretch of the Ozarks was the hardest part we've ridden so far, and we've been told that's the hardest stretch of the entire trail. The reason is that the hills are so much steeper than in the Rockies or the Appalachians (even though the relief isn't as great), so that you actually end up climbing more in the Ozarks than in a day of Appalachians or Rockies. However, Missouri was perhaps the most beautiful place we've seen so far, which made up for the difficult terrain. We've never seen water so clear. However, the weather was nuts in Missouri. It seems that every day and every night there's a 30% chance of thunderstorms, and we had several times where they came out of nowhere, got everything soaking wet, and disappeared back into nowhere.
And finally, we are in the great city of Wichita, Kansas! Our stove fuel is very low, and it was worth a sidetrip here to resupply. The first thing that struck us about Kansas is how hot and windy it is. It's not all that flat yet, but it's getting flatter with every mile. The direction and speed of the wind will determine how fast we can get through Kansas. For the most part, the wind has been from the south so far, which has given us a cross-wind. As long as the wind doesn't pick up from the west, though, we should be able to cover lots of miles in Kansas.
Some members of our group have made side trips into cities along the way, with Wichita being one of them. It's interesting that the most inaccessable places to bikes are the places that the most people want to go to. Today, we had to ride 60 miles on Kansas Rt. 54 (which is kinda like an interstate, but bikes are allowed on the shoulders) to get into Wichita. The ride was tough, and the traffic for the most part was unaccomodating, but now that we are in town, we're not finding it any easier to get around. Wouldn't it make sense for cities to be the most accessible to bikes? The roads in Wichita, St. Louis, and Springfield, MO (the biggest cities we've visited) were all clearly made only with cars in mind.
We will head to Hutchinson, Kansas tomorrow, and hope to be in Boulder, Colorado around July 4th. Peace!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
It's a lot more difficult than we anticipated giving online updates on the road, but, by popular demand, here is a day-by-day of Across the Rockies so far:
Thursday, May 22:
Trevor, Nathan, Stavros, Claire, Calum and Michelle met at 9 AM at the News Channel 6 Station. News cameras, family members, and friends sent off our loaded-down bikes, and we set off up Bike Route 1 through Ashland where we met up with the Transamerica Trail (Bike Route 76). The trailers and panniers definitely made travel a bit more difficult than anticipated, and we also learned that staying together as a group would be quite a task with so many of us. The trail was beautiful; riding around Lake Anna in the early evening was probably the highlight. Nathan, Stavros, and Michelle made it to the awesome fire station in Mineral Virginia after a few minor mis-turns along the trail where we were greeted with hot showers, access to a kitchen, TV, washer/dryers, and anything else we could possibly need. Charlie, a high school EMT at the Mineral station, showed us around and made us all feel welcome, even offering to let us sleep inside if we wanted. Claire, Calum, and Trevor were not quite so fortunate; they got a bit lost in Bumpass, and at nightfall, a nice man allowed them to camp on his property.
Friday, May 23:
Trevor, Claire, and Calum set off early along a short-cut from Bumpass to Mineral to meet the rest of the group, allowing Nathan, Stavros, and Michelle a lazy morning around the Mineral fire station waiting. Claire's hips and knees were hurting, so she and Calum stayed around the fire station to talk to an EMT, and Michelle, Trevor, Stavros, and Nathan set off along a "short-cut" to Charlottesville. The EMT had good news for Claire that she could keep riding on her knee. For the rest of us, once again, a beautiful ride, but the road had a lot more traffic than the trail roads themselves. Made it to Charlottesville by evening where we rid ourselves of any unnecessary weight from our trailers and panniers for the big mountain rides to come.
Saturday, May 24:
The Charlottesville crew went to the Charlottesville farmer's market and the grocery store this morning to stock up for the ride, and then met up with Dan and his friend Luke from the UVA Cycling Team. Dan's bike needed some work, so he and Luke went to the bike repair shop while the rest of us headed off to face the ever-growing foothills and climb our first mountains of the trip. After the steepest climb of the trip up Afton Mountain, we ended up at the bike house of June Curry, the infamous cookie lady. We had a wonderful time listening to her stories of the trail over the years and Afton when it was a booming railroad town, exploring the museum of a bike house plastered with 32 years worth of memorabilia, postcards, and newspaper articles from the trail, and eating the delicious foods (not just cookies!) with which she kept the bike house stocked. On the way up the mountain, Trevor could barely bike because his achilles tendon was hurting so badly, so he put it on ice and decided to take a day off at the cookie lady's house the next day to wait for Claire and Calum who had just made it to Charlottesville.
Sunday, May 25:
Nathan, Michelle, Stavros, and Dan wished the cookie lady and Trevor goodbye to tackle the huge climb onto and on the Blue Ridge Parkway (counting the ride up to Afton, we went uphill for close to 12 miles without a break). We could not have asked for better weather to ride the parkway -- the visibility was great for all of our incredible mountain views. We stopped at the Humpback Rock museum to listen to some bluegrass in the afternoon. Michelle and Nathan made it almost to Lexington when they got lost and had to get a bed along Route 11 as it was getting darker, and Dan and Stavros made it to Vesuvius on the down-side of the parkway where they met the preacher at the local church, who fed them a nice meal and invited them to camp on his property. Claire and Calum met Trevor at the cookie lady's in Afton. Trevor's heel still didn't feel one hundred percent to ride in the morning, so his mom planned to come get him for a break and a doctor's visit in the morning.
Monday, May 26:
We took Memorial Day easy to meet up in Lexington and run some much-needed errands. As Stavros and Dan were casually riding the last few miles into Lexington, they ran into a couple who lived just outside Lexington who had ridden the trail together last summer. They invited offered them a ride to their home to stay for the night, and when Stravros told them that there were two others in Lexington, they extended the offer to Nathan and Michelle as well. A few hours later, Alan came back with his bike rack, and we miraculously fit four bikes, two trailers, and two sets of panniers into his small car. We rode on windy gravel roads up a mountain to their lovely home, where Deb fed us a delicious meal and dessert. They gave us all kinds of great advice for the road, access to their wealth of bike tools and outdoor gear, and an entire floor of their home to use as our own complete with bedrooms and beds and showers. We were utterly overwhelmed by their generosity and our luck. Stavros even got to play a guitar. Claire and Calum made it to Vesuvius where they met up with the same preacher that Stavros and Dan had seen the night before. Trevor was bummed to have to go back to Richmond to rest his heel.
Tuesday, May 27:
Alan and Deb fed Stavros, Dan, Michelle, and Nathan french toast and coffee at 6 AM and then dropped us back off on the trail outside Lexington. We were thrilled to get an early start and beat some of the afternoon heat. We stopped by the James River in Buchanan about halfway along our route and then made it to Troutville, where Cecil met us in the public park to show us around, give us some tips, and tell us all the facilities that were available to us. All of us were exhausted from the day's ride and barely managed to make ourselves dinner before collapsing asleep. Stavros talked to the Pew Environmental lobbying group who asked us to detour by Jim Webb's office in Roanoke in order to lobby for the new global warming bill in the Senate. Claire and Calum made it to Buchanan (only a few miles behind the first part of the group).
Wednesday, May 28:
Dan, Michelle, Stavros, and Nathan woke up to driving rain, rode to the far side of Roanoke with some problematic directions that ended up keeping us on crowded roads where cars weren't remotely accustomed to bikers or accomodating of them. We barely noticed because it was so rainy and cold. When we finally got to Senator Webb's office (a little behind schedule thanks to the rain and traffic), his aide had already left the office, so we passed on our wishes to the nice receptionist Debbie and faced the storm once again. We finally met back up with the trail after our twenty-mile detour and got so cold and demoralized that we spent a couple of hours in a gas station a few miles past Salem before the rain settled down and we could go on. Were met in Christiansburg by Steven Dickens who led us by bike to his parents' home in Radford and gave us encouraging words to keep us going for the last few miles of our longest day yet (almost 70 miles), where we were fed and housed and wonderfully welcomed. Steven rode the Transamerica trail in 1976, the year the trail was made and shared old photos from his trip with us. Claire and Calum made it to Blacksburg.
Thursday, May 22:
Trevor, Nathan, Stavros, Claire, Calum and Michelle met at 9 AM at the News Channel 6 Station. News cameras, family members, and friends sent off our loaded-down bikes, and we set off up Bike Route 1 through Ashland where we met up with the Transamerica Trail (Bike Route 76). The trailers and panniers definitely made travel a bit more difficult than anticipated, and we also learned that staying together as a group would be quite a task with so many of us. The trail was beautiful; riding around Lake Anna in the early evening was probably the highlight. Nathan, Stavros, and Michelle made it to the awesome fire station in Mineral Virginia after a few minor mis-turns along the trail where we were greeted with hot showers, access to a kitchen, TV, washer/dryers, and anything else we could possibly need. Charlie, a high school EMT at the Mineral station, showed us around and made us all feel welcome, even offering to let us sleep inside if we wanted. Claire, Calum, and Trevor were not quite so fortunate; they got a bit lost in Bumpass, and at nightfall, a nice man allowed them to camp on his property.
Friday, May 23:
Trevor, Claire, and Calum set off early along a short-cut from Bumpass to Mineral to meet the rest of the group, allowing Nathan, Stavros, and Michelle a lazy morning around the Mineral fire station waiting. Claire's hips and knees were hurting, so she and Calum stayed around the fire station to talk to an EMT, and Michelle, Trevor, Stavros, and Nathan set off along a "short-cut" to Charlottesville. The EMT had good news for Claire that she could keep riding on her knee. For the rest of us, once again, a beautiful ride, but the road had a lot more traffic than the trail roads themselves. Made it to Charlottesville by evening where we rid ourselves of any unnecessary weight from our trailers and panniers for the big mountain rides to come.
Saturday, May 24:
The Charlottesville crew went to the Charlottesville farmer's market and the grocery store this morning to stock up for the ride, and then met up with Dan and his friend Luke from the UVA Cycling Team. Dan's bike needed some work, so he and Luke went to the bike repair shop while the rest of us headed off to face the ever-growing foothills and climb our first mountains of the trip. After the steepest climb of the trip up Afton Mountain, we ended up at the bike house of June Curry, the infamous cookie lady. We had a wonderful time listening to her stories of the trail over the years and Afton when it was a booming railroad town, exploring the museum of a bike house plastered with 32 years worth of memorabilia, postcards, and newspaper articles from the trail, and eating the delicious foods (not just cookies!) with which she kept the bike house stocked. On the way up the mountain, Trevor could barely bike because his achilles tendon was hurting so badly, so he put it on ice and decided to take a day off at the cookie lady's house the next day to wait for Claire and Calum who had just made it to Charlottesville.
Sunday, May 25:
Nathan, Michelle, Stavros, and Dan wished the cookie lady and Trevor goodbye to tackle the huge climb onto and on the Blue Ridge Parkway (counting the ride up to Afton, we went uphill for close to 12 miles without a break). We could not have asked for better weather to ride the parkway -- the visibility was great for all of our incredible mountain views. We stopped at the Humpback Rock museum to listen to some bluegrass in the afternoon. Michelle and Nathan made it almost to Lexington when they got lost and had to get a bed along Route 11 as it was getting darker, and Dan and Stavros made it to Vesuvius on the down-side of the parkway where they met the preacher at the local church, who fed them a nice meal and invited them to camp on his property. Claire and Calum met Trevor at the cookie lady's in Afton. Trevor's heel still didn't feel one hundred percent to ride in the morning, so his mom planned to come get him for a break and a doctor's visit in the morning.
Monday, May 26:
We took Memorial Day easy to meet up in Lexington and run some much-needed errands. As Stavros and Dan were casually riding the last few miles into Lexington, they ran into a couple who lived just outside Lexington who had ridden the trail together last summer. They invited offered them a ride to their home to stay for the night, and when Stravros told them that there were two others in Lexington, they extended the offer to Nathan and Michelle as well. A few hours later, Alan came back with his bike rack, and we miraculously fit four bikes, two trailers, and two sets of panniers into his small car. We rode on windy gravel roads up a mountain to their lovely home, where Deb fed us a delicious meal and dessert. They gave us all kinds of great advice for the road, access to their wealth of bike tools and outdoor gear, and an entire floor of their home to use as our own complete with bedrooms and beds and showers. We were utterly overwhelmed by their generosity and our luck. Stavros even got to play a guitar. Claire and Calum made it to Vesuvius where they met up with the same preacher that Stavros and Dan had seen the night before. Trevor was bummed to have to go back to Richmond to rest his heel.
Tuesday, May 27:
Alan and Deb fed Stavros, Dan, Michelle, and Nathan french toast and coffee at 6 AM and then dropped us back off on the trail outside Lexington. We were thrilled to get an early start and beat some of the afternoon heat. We stopped by the James River in Buchanan about halfway along our route and then made it to Troutville, where Cecil met us in the public park to show us around, give us some tips, and tell us all the facilities that were available to us. All of us were exhausted from the day's ride and barely managed to make ourselves dinner before collapsing asleep. Stavros talked to the Pew Environmental lobbying group who asked us to detour by Jim Webb's office in Roanoke in order to lobby for the new global warming bill in the Senate. Claire and Calum made it to Buchanan (only a few miles behind the first part of the group).
Wednesday, May 28:
Dan, Michelle, Stavros, and Nathan woke up to driving rain, rode to the far side of Roanoke with some problematic directions that ended up keeping us on crowded roads where cars weren't remotely accustomed to bikers or accomodating of them. We barely noticed because it was so rainy and cold. When we finally got to Senator Webb's office (a little behind schedule thanks to the rain and traffic), his aide had already left the office, so we passed on our wishes to the nice receptionist Debbie and faced the storm once again. We finally met back up with the trail after our twenty-mile detour and got so cold and demoralized that we spent a couple of hours in a gas station a few miles past Salem before the rain settled down and we could go on. Were met in Christiansburg by Steven Dickens who led us by bike to his parents' home in Radford and gave us encouraging words to keep us going for the last few miles of our longest day yet (almost 70 miles), where we were fed and housed and wonderfully welcomed. Steven rode the Transamerica trail in 1976, the year the trail was made and shared old photos from his trip with us. Claire and Calum made it to Blacksburg.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Across the Rockies Part 1: Yorktown Virginia
Trevor, Stavros, and I (Nathan) spent last weekend in Yorktown and Williamsburg filming for Part 1 of our video series on global warming and alternative transportation. Stav and our film maker, Zan have just finished editing it and it is now viewable on YouTube, at acrosstherockies.org or right here.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Across the Rockies First Progress Post
Being the first post, there isn't much to report, the website should be up soon at www.acrosstherockies.org
We would like to thank everyone who has given us their help and support with getting this project moving. We would especially like to thank Lea Dutton and globalstewards.org for their help with the website.
We are currently working on applications and talking with companies and groups to (hopefully) acquire various forms of support and sponsorship for our project. We are also riding our bikes and doing our best to help out the environment.
That's all for now,
-All of us going across the rockies!
We would like to thank everyone who has given us their help and support with getting this project moving. We would especially like to thank Lea Dutton and globalstewards.org for their help with the website.
We are currently working on applications and talking with companies and groups to (hopefully) acquire various forms of support and sponsorship for our project. We are also riding our bikes and doing our best to help out the environment.
That's all for now,
-All of us going across the rockies!
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