Also, ULTIMATE FRISBEE

As part of my 4-day mid-tour break, I visited two old friends in Boulder, and among many splendid activities (reading at the coffee shop while the Tour plays, lapping up Sherpa stew, bouldering (naturally), creek dipping..)

I caught Noah's ultimate frisbee game. It looked like SOOO MUCH FUN!!

They were like a field full of golden retrievers, just so happy to catch a flying saucer.

I had a good time, appreciating yet another way to sweat up endorphins.

US Mountain Bike National Championships

As part of my mid-tour 4-day break,

I got to go to US MTB Nats and visit my old friend and teammate Jane!

I wanted to mountain bike REAL' BAD by the end of the day and I don't even have a mountain bike! Apparently, that doesn't stop me from wanting to compete in some epic mountain bike races. I like epic and I like bikes, it seems that most blends of the two are enough to strike my fancy.


Jane at start, cool, calm and cute.

Jane up hill, first, fast and fun.

Jane on switchback.. like a CAT!

Jane at car, all done.





THEN.

The Pro Women's Race.

I was very excited to see:

Mary McConneloug

Katie Compton

Georgia Gould


Heather Irmiger, Winner's Glow.

Heather riding into the photographers at the finish.

Victory arms!

Katie Compton riding in.

I didn't take any pictures of the men. :)



Don't let your kids drink Monster.

We Like Our Bikes

This is my house, my transport, my fun.

It moves and carries.

My bed, my pants, my camera.

My hat, my water, my pee rag.

Plastic flying cats.

A feather or two.

A smooth rock.

It labors, it flies.

Rocking and spinning up the pass.

Shivering and drooling back down.

Stable but snap.

A brick and a feather.

Are we there yet?

Let's never get there.

Refreshment

On a 50-mile stretch of no towns to speak of, sometimes the refreshment finds you.

Sitting alongside the road, taking a lunch break, a truck pulled over and offered us cold sodas and watermelon.

*Aaah!

Delicious.

Our lovely rides, glorified.

I found some Photoshop-type features on my lil' camera! Of course, I've been having fun with it.

My very trusty Trek 520.

Mia's ride.

Even though we have kickstands, our bikes still fall over at least once a day. Most times, we just laugh. Most times.

The Random Collection

Totally out-of-order, random photos of bicycle touring life. I'm at the beginning of a 4-day break, so some complete thoughts will soon be coming your way!

Hangin' the laundry. We have a small clothes-pin-less clothes line that has been very handy!

After changing a flat, I liked the contrast of my dirty hands and brilliant nectarine.

Upon arriving at Yellowstone, we found a WHOLE UNOPENED BAG OF SANTITA'S TORTILA CHIPS in the middle of the road! Of course we ate them!

We have been over the Continental Divide SO MANY times, I can't even count.

Morning hair. I look ready for prom!

We did a lot of bear-boxing in Yellowstone/Wyoming.

Gummy worms are the new Gu.

TransAm This and That

Instead of writing a post with a focused concept or a conclusion (though there are some still forming in my head), here are some random favorite photographs and moments.. that's kinda how my brain feels right now, and also, that's all I can do with a 30 minute time slot on a library computer!





After descending toward Ennis, MT-- we thought it looked like the Alps. So Mia, appropriately provided the tune:




HA HA. I got her!









If the conditions are right, we can kill a package of Chips Ahoy AND Donuts in ONE day.








In Montana, I acquired a sun shirt and a COWBOY HAT! The sun shirt not only provides great UV protection, but when on a bike, it circulates air and keeps me cool! The hat (only worn OFF the bike) keeps the sun off both my face and neck. It's a nice quality hat made of palm leaves rather than straw, so it's durable, weather-resistant and Just Darn Cool.




And sometimes, when you're in Grizzley Bear Country and you're afraid of being eaten in the night, there is a really nice family at the camp site next door who will let you sleep in the cab of their truck. :) (THANK YOU!!)

And when you need to wash just about EVERY SINGLE THING YOU OWN. You slip on your swimsuit, wrap skirt you just bought for $10, flops and a hat.

And when you need to poop IMMEDIATELY in a National Forest and there is no restroom nearby, you bag it. Good thing we stocked up on dog poo bags!

And we carry chalk to leave camping tips for cyclists, or a good joke on a long stretch of road. "What's brown and sticky?"

A STICK!

Wyoming

I'm in Lander, WY. All the libraries are closed today, as it is a holiday, but the kind man at the grocery store (thanks, JEFF!) hooked us up with the computer at the Best Western after buying us fruit. It's so clean in here!

I've spent the last 10 minutes trying to figure out how to upload pictures onto this thing, but that's not going to happen. Which is too bad, because I'd really like to post video of me racing the horses in Wyoming, or Mia yodeling in Montana (if she hasn't deleted it yet), or of my new and very awesome cowboy hat that is strapped to the back of my bike.

...

I've spent a lot of time on this blog thanking the kind people that have helped me along the way-- I'd also like to thank all of YOU READERS for your comments and support. Unfortunately, I rarely have time to reply to comments, because whenever I get a chance to post, I have to write speedy-speedy fast. But please know, I read them and appreciate them!

Also, if any of you are getting ideas in your own heads to go on a grand bicycle adventure and have QUESTIONS about touring-- please ask! Some topics I'd like to cover are:

• What we're eating.
• Where we're staying.
• How much we're riding.
• What we're carrying.
• And all that jazz.

But as bicycle touring goes, there is no ONE way to do it. You can enjoy as much luxury or LACK thereof as you like. But I'd be happy to share how WE'RE doing it.

On the food front, my new favorite fuels are: gummy worms, Boston Baked Beans (the candy) and donuts.

TransAmerica Tour Update: The Advantage of Undesirable Places

When we stayed at Mare's place in Idaho [THANK YOU, MARE! we had a blast and were quite refreshed], where we

visited with Mare/soaked in salts/got massages/met the neighbors/ate sushi, fritata and rhubarb cobbler/laughed all night/were sent off with fun money(which we're still carefully deciding on how to use!) and I even got a swim suit that I needed (thank you, Katie!)

we left around 2:30pm. Ha.

...

When we stayed in a lumpy front yard of a nice old man's house where the earwigs got into EVERYTHING (including INSIDE the bread) and there really wasn't anywhere to pee

we left around 7 in the morning.

...

Seems like, if we want to get on the road real' early-- we should stay at undesirable places!

TransAmerica Tour Update: Stevensville Pickle

It was a slow day. Late start, a bit hot, and I wasn't feeling great. We didn't get anywhere near where we wanted to go, but we decided to stop in Stevensville, where we thought there would be camping. As it turned out, the camping was closed for business. Hmm.

We rolled around a recently developed suburban neighborhood. There were some enticing spots of grass. A woman passed us by in a shiny pick up truck, smiled and waved. We promptly turned around,

"do you know anything about the camping in this area?"

After learning that she had bicycle toured Europe as a young woman, and meeting her fluffy puppy, she and her husband suggested we try the common grass area just yonder. We checked it out, but it was freshly seeded grass that would've been a mud pit to camp in. Darn.

Plan C. Roam around the Super One Grocery across the street.

"do you know anything about the camping in this area?"

No, I'm not from here, sorry.

"do you know anything about the camping in this area?"

We tried the police department, to see if we could camp in the city park or behind a school. In a small town, this is usually not a problem.

I'm sorry, ladies-- but I can't let you camp in the parks.

Darn again.

A firefighter that we had recently met watched us mope out of the police department.

Have you ladies found a place to stay tonight?

"We're still working on it."

Let me call my wife, you can probably stay at our place tonight.

"!!!"

In just moments, we went from a real pickle to staying at an empty nester's house, eating fruit and showering! To top it off, they sent us off with some fun money which we promptly spent that morning on a delicious breakfast at the Internet Coffee Station in downtown Stevensville. THEN, the kind ladies at the Coffee Station even sent us off with free AMAZING cookies!


/before

after.

TransAmerica Tour Update: More Eating

Last night we ate at Fetty's Cafe in Wisdom, MT. We don't eat 'out' very often, because it's more expensive than spreading peanut butter on a Fig Newton. But anyhow, we ate at Fetty's to escape from the awful swarms of mosquitoes that thrive in the gigantic marsh land that is Big Hole Valley, MT. These skeeters swarmed us even WHILE we rode our bicycles! Dang.

So we hid in Fetty's and tossed calories down our throats and caught up on some post cards. The folks at Fetty's were so friendly and accomodating, that they even iced and packed a breakfast for us in our lil' lunchbox so that we could hit the road in the chill morning before the mosquitos woke up.

Anyhow, so we each had a cold, but satifsfying breakfast burrito and hash browns for First Breakfast.

For second breakfast, I put down two donuts, 4 or 5 Chips Ahoy cookies, a banana and a half, a cup of milk and a little bit of coffee.

The 6-pack of donuts is already gone, and if the storm we're sitting out decides to pass us anytime soon, we'll easily polish off the rest of the Chips Ahoy. They're already about 3/4 gone.

Not Overly Pampered

Before you start to think that Mia and I have been overly pampered on our tour because we got massages from Mare, or scooped out of the rain by a family in a pick up truck or because the coffee shop gave us each a free huge cookie or for getting an uphill tailwind out of Baker or any of these things..

we've also shaken hoards of earwigs from everything we own, counted over 2 dozen mosquito bites on just one of my legs, eaten questionable 69cent freezer burritos and 50% of our trip so far has been in the rain!

But it makes every real bed we get to sleep in feel like heaven.

TransAmerica Tour Update: QUADS

Here are my quads during the first week of our trip.

Here are my quads the 3rd week.

I like to think that it's not the shadows that are popping.

TransAmerica Tour Update: FOOD

We're eating a lot of food.

This cold can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli was absolutely delectable after climbing a wet pass. In fact, I was so convinced that it was the best hard-hitting snack food, that I bought another can for future use atop a new pass. But a lukewarm can on a hot day? It was just not the same.

When we arrived in Baker City, OR, we rode right into a biker ralley! No, LEATHER, not lycra. Fortunately for us, this meant concession boothes aplenty! We had pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob and were treated to an elephant ear! (Thanks, Joy!)

The most economical way for us to eat is at the grocery store. The problem, though, is that we often leave the grocery store with really heavy sacks that we have to load onto our bikes! To fix this, we just eat more of it.

Bread, it's a staple.

Oh, and donuts. Applesauce donuts. It's okay to eat them before you've paid for them if you still have the box, right?

Running low on stove fuel, we concocted cold pizzas.

And if you're really fortunate, even after you've scrounged around in your food bag for a eclectic dinner, a kind soul (Thank you, Ann Mary!) will feed you a fresh meal!

But even after you've had a burger & curly fries, you gotta top it off with an ice cream bar!

MORE "Women Who Ride"

So, awhile ago, I was selected as one of five "Women Who Ride" to represent Trek's women's program. Well, I may be one of five women who "OFFICIALLY" ride (for Trek).. but there are all sorts of 'women who ride'! ..and I think that's the point of Trek's program. So here are just a few that I know or have recently met:

JULIANA
Juliana has world champion stripes and national champion stars to her name. She's burned rubber on the velodrome (banked cycling track) when cycling, much less sports, were "unusual" for women to do. This has made Juliana ONE TOUGH (not to mention fast) WOMAN. These days, she's still sets course records (such as on an off-road full Ironman course) and has taken to mentoring young women athletes.

We stayed with Juliana in Eugene, where she not only fed, housed us and let us borrow her car-- but we were also invited to dig through a pile of her "back in the day" spandex that included such prizes as her rubber USA Cycling Team skinsuit and other champion jerseys. Most jerseys we put aside were for juniors on my junior cycling team or new Whitman cyclists without much gear, but I put one aside for myself: a So Cal Women's Kilo Champion jersey. It reminds me to be thankful for what women like Juliana have done for women like me today. And it reminds me to continue to stand up for women athletes everywhere. Thank you, Juliana!

BEV
Bev is one example of a woman athlete who doesn't rest on her laurels. Bev owns and runs Bella Main Street Market in Baker City, OR. She and her shop of delectables support the local 3-day cycling stage race, Elkhorn Cycling Classic. At the finish you'll find an organic spread of fruits and bars and chocolate milk. That's totally awesome and well-appreciated after a 100 mile final stage, but what's REALLY cool is that her shop MATCHES the prize money of the men for the women! That's right. At Elkhorn Cycling Classic, the women get the SAME prize money as the men. This is, unfortunately, highly unusual, even (or especially) on a professional level. Thank you Bella! I bought a Bella cycling wind vest to spread the cool news on you gals.

MARE
Okay, so I've talked about women who go zip-zip on their bicycles-- but that's not the only form of bicycling out there, you know. Sometimes going cruise-cruise is just the way we want to ride. Mare goes for night cruiser rides with her lady friends and sometimes even the dogs go with. The pace is far from hot, but the company is great. If you've read this blog for awhile, you'd know that I've even started a ride like this called Bike Thyme. We pedaled around town, brought picnic lunches and stopped by local farms for snacks and tours! Oh, it was lovely.

We are currently taking a rest day at Mare's beautiful place in Idaho and we have been seriously pampered and loved. Since we've been here, we've enjoyed root beer floats, a salt soak, a full massage, sushi at the new sushi bar, and a night of laughs among rhubarb pie and sweet whiskey sippers. We've been looking forward to staying with Mare since before we ever pedaled a stroke on this trip, because Mare is just such a deeply creative, sharply intelligent and warmly compassionate woman. She inspires me to grab onto my life and take it for a ride, rather than passively watching it slip away. Thank you, Mare!

Travelling on Kindness

THANK YOU:

• Joy & Ray, for inviting us to sleep in their vacant motorhome, filling us up and sending us off with sustenance. We enjoyed our time with you!
• The young woman who gave us COLD water and cheese sticks on our first hot day!
• To Angel, the handsome man that gave us water at the top of a sizzling climb.
• The lady at the Cambridge gas station, for giving us two chimichangas, two tortas and a hot dog for only $3! Wowza, what a bargain. And then I had a Snickers ice cream bar.
• The kind woman that offered to let us stay in her family's extra bedroom whist we were pulled over, looking at our map.
• The motorcyclist who (jokingly) offered to let me "hang on" to get up the rest of the climb.

and I do know that there have to be more!

To everyone that has helped us on our way: we carry your kindness with us. THANK YOU!

Tour Thoughts and Bits

THUNDER STORMS
We've had to run away from 4 of them already. Solutions thus far:

1. barn
2. fairgrounds
3. library
4. OR Dept. of Transportation shelter.

GETTING THE HANG OF THINGS
We're STILL trying to get the hang of getting out of camp early so that we can pull into camp early and have that extra hour or two to dawdle or relax-- instead of rushing to make dinner and immediately hitting the sack. The trouble is that EEEEVerything takes longer than you think: cooking, eating, laundering, organizing, planning, grocery shopping and, of course, RIDING.

THE BEST YET
Hwy 26 out of Mitchell to Dayville (John Day River area). I felt swallowed by rock. Of course, I had my camera out to take a picture of this, take a picture of that, then I went 'round the corner and..

oh..

I stopped taking photos. I just had to look.

CURRENTLY
At the wonderful Dayville Community Presbyterian Church, where they have been welcoming cyclists for years. They offer shelter, shower, laundry, kitchen and kind people to look after you. Thank you!!

HURRIED UPDATE TWO!*updated again

*I tried putting these order, but internet access is limited, so I'm just writing these up quick!

THANK YOU, MOM & DAD!

My Mom & Dad came to Astoria (our starting point) and treated us to a hotel the first night, all sorts of yummy food and were a BIG help in figuring out all the little problems that came up-- and there were quite a few.

THANK YOU, DEBI & JIM!

Debi & Jim drove us ALLLLLL the way to Astoria, and included stops in Hood River and Portland for gear we still didn't have! We were even treated to a most delicious scone and quiche for good measure.

Example of delicious food being eaten.


At the waterfront.

Me!

..Okay, then the trip finally started. Or, I guess it was already "started" all along.

Mia @ Cannon Beach. We spent a little tooo long there. We ended up having to really BOOK IT (..aaaand take a short cut) to make to our campsite that night!

Shoes.

THANK YOU, MARK!

Our first guest rider! Mark had TWO beach houses to look after, so he let us stay in one! AND he even fed us, then joined us for part of the ride! We had fun with Mark.

Ummm. A storm just kicked us out of our campground. Or at least that's what the falling branches said. We slept in the barn. On pigeon-pooped couch cushions. It was pretty plush at the time.

Sand dunes! Fun for the toes.

Sun circle thing. We both agreed that there was a name and reason for it.

Some coastal riding.

THANK YOU, LINDA!

Thank you Linda, for giving us $50 of fun money! Our first treat: MILKSHAKES! They were AWESOME. Real house made ice cream with real fruit!

This is what you do at the top of a pass.

On Santiam Pass.

Lunch at the falls.

THANK YOU, JEFF!

A Sierra Nevada rep, Jeff, gave us TWO six packs of beer!! We each had only one that night, then we left 4 for the camp hosts and I carried six over Santiam Pass!

THANK YOU, JULIANA!

Melanie is another TransAm rider, to the left. Juliana, right, was the BEST and saved our butts from the big storm! She lent us her car to do errands in Eugene, got us good grub to eat and let us dig through her giant pile of SWEET spandex from the days she smoked the velodrome! We pretty much crashed at her house for two days after our first hectic week of riding. We're still trying to get our heads screwed on straight, but we're getting there.

Waiting out the thunderstorm in a big ol' barn. We had to yell to hear each other.

I'm a flower.

Also, more THANK YOUS go to:

DAVE & SUSAN, for housing us and stuffing our bellies.

TAMMY & DANIELLE for taking us in when storm clouds threatened.

It's good to discover that people are wonderful.

First Update!

[The first on-the-road update of my bike tour across America!]

Oh, dear. Our first REAL mountain pass tomorrow. Going up Santiam. Hm.

The touring has been a bit slower, harder, and more hectic than we had anticipated. But fortunately, people are kind and all of these things will improve over time.

I really need to tuck into bed to get a good night's sleep for our first REAL big day tomorrow.. but hopefully I will have some wonderful photos and silly stories up soon!

It's 3am

It's 3 in the morning. I've sorted through my colored pencils and have eliminated half of them. I haven't managed to eliminate any of my FOUR journals, though. 

My vision probably is as blurry as this photo.

We are sorting, resorting, finding, washing, labeling and listing. 

We'll have more time on Saturday afternoon in the hotel my parents have treated us to (thanks, mom and dad!!) before shoving off Sunday morning to ride 4200 miles (not all at once, of course). On Saturday, we'll be able to give the bikes a final groom, write down addresses, pick up stamps and all those last minute things. But surely, we wouldn't want to leave the house without our beloved bike shoes or comfy bike shorts or any of the essentials that we have carefully gathered.

We've made our lists,

and we're checkin' it a bajillion times.