Cycling to Manifest Destiny

We finally have the pictures you all have been waiting for: http://community.webshots.com/album/424441706rHhViw

Anyway, we finally rolled into San Fransisco at about 1:30 on friday the 12th of august after 6 weeks and 6 days of biking. The Rest of Nevada went quite well with a lot of cloud cover and then our last rest day with a friend of Alex's in Carson City, Nevada was quite nice. After that we climbed the Siera Nevada mountains and descended into the California Valley. We passed though Mr. Wooten's home town and saw his old highschool. We finnished the Adventure Cycling route in Valejo, California, then added a celabratory ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and down to the beach. The 12th happened to be Alex's B-day, so we went over to The Wooten's relative's place in San Fran and enjoyed a very relaxing afternoon and evening of celebration. Check out the Webshots pics, and thanks everyone for keeping up with us!

Update 9: SAN FRANSISCO!!! ...we made it! don't worry, there will be lots of updates and pictures posted... soon.

UPDATE 8

EAT. SLEEP. RIDE. EAT SLEEP RIDE EATSLEEPRIDE EASLEEIDE ESLEDE SLDE SD............

Update 7 August 4th

We are in Ely, Nevada today taking our second-to-last rest day. Since Escalante, we had one long day of climbing that got us most of the way up our last 10,000+ ft. mountain. We stopped the next night at a pleasant mountain campground. I think that this night was the highest elevation of any night on the trip at about 8,500 ft. The next day we finnished the beautifull climb over and through Cedar Breaks national park. From the top, we had a monster descent into Cedar City, Utah. The other notable part of this day was that we got lost for the first time on the trip, adding about 15 miles to our day. We figured it was not to bad though, since we had made it over 3,000 miles without getting lost. We stayed that night in a pavilion in a small town that I don't remember the name of, but the pavilion was good, because it stormed most of the night. The next day we headed out to cross into Nevada. Nevada has turned out to be one of the coolest states we have been in so far, with the temperature rarely getting above 80 degrees, but we hear it often gets above 120 degrees, so we are keeping our fingers crossed. Thats all for now, we head out into the desert tomorrow. Peace. Update 6 July 30th

We are in Escalante, Utah today taking a rest day. We have been riding though some different and amazing terrain in the last few days. Three nights ago we camped by ourselves in the middle of a red rock canyon. It was totally isolated, but we had a good time galavanting about the rocks and ravines that were all around. Ben managed to entertain himself for over an hour by chasing a lizard. Two days ago Alex fell off of his bike while trying to be an acrobat. He had some road rash and bruises, but seems to be functioning fine. The day before yesterday we also rode through "Luna Mesa" which was aptly named, because it really looked like the moon, and it has about the same number of people. Yesterday we had a large climb in the morning that kept looking like it was going to end for about 10 miles, then in the afternoon, we rode over a hogback with cliffs falling off both sides of the road as we descended into a gorge. Once down in the gorge, we took our siesta by/in the river that ran though the gorge. Alex scared away an elderly couple while bathing naked in the stream. I (wes) fell asleep on a rock in the middle of the stream, and my jersey which I had taken off while I slept floated down the river. Thats all for now folks. Thanks for keeping up with us. Shout out to NAVYLIGHTS and my Aunt Linda who is recovering from surgery. Peace. Update 5

Sorry this is a brief update. We are in Dolores Colorodo, near the border with Utah. We have just had some intense days of mountain riding, through beautiful areas. We reached the highest point on our trip 2 days ago at the Monarch Pass (well above 11,000 feet) and then descended into true colorodo rockies territory. Yesterday we had two impressive climbs and got back up to 10,222 feet at the lizard head pass. we've been really cold on some of these days as temperatures are very low when it rains (we rode throuhg rain yesterday as well). We have been above a mile high for about a week now, and are all well acclimated to the altitude. Tommorrow we will enter Utah and descend towards the Colorodo river before climbing back up towards Nevada. It is unlikely that we will update before then. Sorry I had to remove some pictures, but they are slowing the site too much. Stay tuned and wish us luck in the desert!

Update 4

Colorado Springs, Colorado.

We were always looking forward to Missouri and Kansas, counting on the flatlands to help us recover from some brutal days in the mountains of Virginia and hills of Kentucky. These days instead proved to be some of the most difficult yet, with extreme temperature, winds, and a nice little mountain range called the Ozarks.

Just west of the Mississippi, we entered the Ozark mountains, small but steep mountains that are quite hot. We powered out some long days here, and were able to get some pretty high speeds in thanks to longer sightlines. Most of the hills were “rollers” or ups and downs similar to a roller coaster. On one of the longest descents, we all hit speeds above 50 mph, with Ben clocking 53.3 mph (a trip high).

Populations are noticeably less on this side of the Mississippi, with much more open space between towns. It took us three days to get through the mighty Ozarks which we had laughed at on the map. We arrived in Kansas and were very happy to see that it is a very flat sate with virtually no hills, only “rises”. The heat was noticeable here, as was the sun- trees are increasingly less common.

We took a rest day in Toronto Lake State Park, outside of El Dorado Kansas. Despite 100 degree temperatures, it was nicer by the lake. The day after, we set out early along a gravel road, which we thought might be a problem. But we got back onto the pavement safe and secure and continued. A few miles later we passed two riders going East who cautioned us to “watch the gravel” (on the road, where they were repaving using gravel and tar…. Unfortunately we were not warned about the tar)…

So we started riding through tar and gravel us to an inch and a half deep. I went ahead to where I thought the road surface would be better and turned around when I got there to see Wes Ben and Bill all standing around in the road about a half mile back. I stood in the shade of a bush and watched Ben carry his Trek Madone (Lance Armonstrong’s bike) toward me. A guy working on the road gave me a rag and I noticed that my legs were covered in tar, as was my bike. Ben came up, nearly black from the tar, with his dura ace derailer dangling down from his frame (this is a top notch component). It was a bad morning. We feared that bens carbon fiber frame was also broken (this was a 5,000 $ frame). No one said anything as we called George and headed to a nearby shop in Wichita. None of the mechanics would touch bens bike for fear of really breaking the frame, but the shop owner confidently told us he could “bend it back”. We were skeptical, particularly after he made us all take a moment to pray for the frame. After grabbing lunch across the street, we returned to find bens bike resurrected. We got on the road and pulled out 70 miles for the day.

Two days later we faced our biggest challenge: Hot Kansas summer weather combined with a stiff cross-headwind (a wind that blows against you and on your side). After a night of bad sleep caused by two truckers parking near our tens and leaving their engines on we set out. With temperatures in the low 100s and winds of 20-30 mph we crept along the road at 10 mph or less. The relentless winds pounded us all day, and we wound up completely exhausted in another city park (we have been camping in many city parks, which is free, and usually offers a bathroom- but rarely a full shower- our musk is indescribable). Wes negotiated with a nearby motel owner and secured us a room for less than 40$, so we eagerly slept there.

The next night we met Wes’ parents, Renee and Dave Lyons, in yet another city park. They brought us a wonderful meal which we devoured (According to Ben’s heart rate monitor, we burn roughly 4-5000 calories a day while on the bike). Wes’ Mom had rented a bike and brought a tent so that she could ride the next day with us (the last flat day into Pueblo Colorado, at the foot of the mountains. We set out in the fog the next morning- oh the terrain in Colorado slowly changed from fertile fields to high plains and then desert- also there was a half hearted sprint at the Kansas/Colorado border, which I was able to capture and declare “I’M NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE”. (this comment and many variations of it have been made nearly1000 times by members of our group).

Anyhow we set out with Wes’ mom and were rolling along quite well when a touch of wheels sent her tumbling to the ground. Concerned we all gathered round and ask her if she was ok, if we should take a break etc. Like a true road warrior, she got right back on the bike (after some minor adjustments- the wheel turned out to be irreparable) and we continued. We got up with some other riders on this day as well, and passed through Arlington, Colorado (for those that don’t know, we have all spent a good portion of our lives in Arlington, Virginia). We battled intense temperatures again. The only thing that exceeded the 105 degree temperature was the 108 miles we rode. We met Wes’ family and drove up to Colorado springs for today’s break during which we visited the Garden of the God’s and relaxed. Special thanks to the entire Lyons family for hosting us, feeding us and showing us around.

PHOTOS

ALSO, George finally has a picture. see below. Our directeur sportif lifts a massive rock in the Garden of the Gods..

UPDATE 3

From Boonville we rode the rolling hills of Kentucky towards horse country (There are some fine lookings steeds about this area of the nation- particularly those clad in spandex). After about our 90th mile of the day, we ran into some serious weather and arrived at a lake which had an RV campsite nearby. we were too tired to continue, so we figured we would ask if there was anything available. We pulled up in the midst of an evening feast and asked if we could camp. We were told that yes, we could "go primative" (aka live without electricity and air conditioning in the RV)- then we were invited to join in the feast. So we ate with a hoard of very festive kentuckians (some more intoxicated than others) They invited us to karaoke later that evening, but we only stopped by for a second. One man told us we could come knock on his trailer at any time if we had needs, and then went to great lengths to explain that location of his trailer to use, asserting that "you dont want to go into that one next to mine.... i mean i'm a redneck, but he'll shoot you"....

OH one side note... we've been living with fireworks each night from the 2nd of july through the 6th. some nights people are lighting them so close by it feels like we are at war and being shelled. Other nights they are more distant. we have likely seen a few thousand dollars worth of fireworks displays over the last few days, and slept a few hours less each nigth as a resulst...

On the morning on July 4, we cruised through the Lincoln Homestead, where Lincoln's parents had lived and been married, we ended up in the town of his birth. A long days ride later we ended up in Hodgensville Kentucky, where we were told to contact the police and ask if we could set up behind the local high school in some sort of park. Now, being that it was the fourth of july, we had trouble finding a cop, but finally suceeded, and he told us that the community pool was right there, but was locked because of the holiday. so we set up our tents and set off a few firecrackers that we had found along the road (again, fireworks= everywhere in kentucky). and then we did what any rational cyclists would do after a 100 mile day. we broke into the swimming pool to take showers. Wes' navy training proved particularly useful in this endeavor, as did Ben's climbing abilities (he made it in through the roof of the women's locker room).. Again, firewoeks boomed in the night..

The next day spectacular riding weather (cloudy with showers) helped us cover another hundred miles to Utica Kentucky, where we were lucky enough to get lodging in the local volunteer fire department. they had air conditioning, a kitchen and even a television. It was fabulous

July 6 we made it across the Ohio river and into Illinois, where FINALLY flat fields and flatter roads greeted us. We ended up being extremely tired in Harrisburg, Ill. where there is no campground. So we stayed in our first motel (After Wes creeped the hotel clerk out by offering him 20$ to camp in the parking lot and was rejected). Again, a fireworks show lit up our window....

July 7 we finished off Illinois, and crossed the mississippi into Missouri.. We have taken more pictures now, but I am unable to post them at this time. we'll get them up at some point. We are now Staying with Bob and Mary-White Lucy, the Grandparents of our good friend Will, who has also been helping us out with this site. The hospitality they have shown us is unbelievable, and we are very thankful. (They live in St. Louis, about an hours drive off of the route). Today, July 8, we are planning on seeing the St. Louis arch and fixing up our bikes at a local bike shop.

We have had a number of adventures involving Dogs (we were warned about two dangerous pitt bulls one day and used the van as a shield to ride past them for about a half mile. Ben and I (Alex, I've been doing most of the website updates) have caused some herds of cows to start stampeding alongside us by mooing at them as we go by...

George has been the MVP of the trip so far. He is always at a checkpoint ahead of us with food prepared for us. We are eating roughly 5 sandwhiches per day, as well as dinner and breakfast, and 5 or more powerbars. Having a sag wagon has been perfect as we also drink incredible amounts of water...

We may not be able to get online again until we have reached Colorodo, where we plan to take another day off to spend time with Wes' family. I will defiantely load pictures up at that time.

Again, Thank you to the Lucys!

UPDATE 2

DAY FOUR – After visiting Virginia Tech, (one of many Virginia colleges we visited: UMW, UVA, VMI, Washington and Lee, VaTech, Radford, Virginia Baptist College) we set out towards Mt. Rogers (the tallest peak in Virginia). We stayed a beautiful campsite on the side of a mountain after a solid day of ups and downs of the very steep Appalachian.

The next morning, we descended into Damascus and rode through a morning downpour, and continued through the morning rain to other ridges. In the after noon we had two serious climbs over ridges and then found ourselves 10 miles from the nearest campground. Over the last 10 miles we encountered 2 of the steepest hills yet, and then slept soundly at Breaks interstate park on the border of Kentucky. The 108 mile ride featured nearly a mile and a quarter of vertical climbing. And put us partially in Kentucky

Day 7 – so far in ken riding has been very hilly and we have decided to take a rest day on July 2. We have had true Kentucky fried chicken and encountered many friendly locals. Yesterday while riding through the rolling hills a ATV being driven by a large man with a young teen clinging to the back of the man shot into the road out in front of us. It appeared that the boy was trying to do a stunt and stand up while riding. It was only after his left hand pulled his trousers down to reveal his white butt that we realized what had just occurred. Before we could react the ATV sped back into the woods and down a hill off the road.

Currently we are staying at a Presbyterian church Booneville Kentucky where they have a special setup for cyclists.

UPDATE 1: Monday, June 27 We've cleared the first ridge of the appalachian mountains. We are staying with friends of Wes,(The Dorel's- to whom we are very greatful), expecially considering the fact that we sought refuge in their house after a thunder/hail storm took us by surprise in the last 15 miles of our ride.

On day 1 we safely made it from Fredericksburg to Charlottesville (The University of VIrginia Rotunda) after a full day of riding. It was kinda hot... but overall not bad. rolling terrain and beautiful landscape. Some slight issues with dogs chasing us down the road, but we managed to outsprint them. Camped out south of CHarlottesville and got on the road in the morning.

Day 2 we climbed to Rockfish gap, a few thousand feet. Once at the gap, (just south of skyline drive) we rode down the blue ridge parkway, which stays on top of the ridge (there was a lot of unecessary climbing along this road, but it was stunningly beautiful) We had an awesome descnet all the way to LExington, where we camped again.

Today we road towards CHristiansburg over very hilly terrain, and as aforementioned got caught in a storm. Every one is adjusting to the new schedule of sleeping when its dark and waking as the sun comes up (only around 545 now). We're all well, and I apologize that we havn;t loaded any pictures, but we havn't taken very many yet, and they are loaded on a different computer. We have a few more kinda brutal mountain days immediately ahead of us before things flatten out towards the mississippi. But hey, we;re sleeping soundly

Thundershowewrs forcasted all week. WE look forward to it. OUr next update may be in some time as we are unsure whether or not we will be around an internet connection. This is the travel log of our Cross Country journey. Assuming we can access the internet with some regularity, we'll try and update it weekly.

We plan to start our trip on June 25, 2005 and hope to arrive in San Francisco in mid August.