Today finds me in Wenden, AZ, which is a smallish town with a cafe, a grocery store, and not a whole lot else except for the elementary school in which we are staying. A lot has transpired since my last posting, all of it involving the state of Arizona. However, we will be staying in Blythe, CA tomorrow, thus dealing with our last state line. Then we will be in the land of sun-drenched beaches and such, although we will still have four riding days and desert/mountains to conquer.

The Grand Canyon

Leaving Tuba City (our stop after Kayenta), we embarked on a ride that would nominally be 57 miles to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where we would camp. However, we found out in the middle of the day that groups are not allowed to camp at that site, and the other campsite onn the canyon rim was full. So our 57-mile day became a 95-mile day: We had to bike along the rim and out of the park to stay at another campground. Still, seeing the Grand Canyon that day was amazing, and in some ways better (it was at the end of the ride instead of the beginning). The canyon itself was breathtaking, and was on an incomprehensible scale — the views of the canyon seemed more like paintings than reality.

After riding the canyon rim, we arrived at the Ten-X campsite, and it immediately started raining. The downpour did not abate until sometime in the early hours of the morning, and everything was wet. For my part, I hose-showered in the midst of the downpour and crawled into my tent at around eight, not to emerge until the next morning. It was a generally miserable experience, but it was also definitely a lot of fun.

Prescott

We spent a day building with Habitat in Prescott, which was fun – Aunt Betty came and built with me for much of the morning. We were building an erosion control wall, and unfortunately I got my finger crushed by an errant rock. A few minutes later (ironically, while drinking Gatorade), I passed out and fell onto a pile of rocks. I’ve never really passed out like that before, and now I have cuts on my face and a story that I will never live down.

A descent, and some real desert

Out of Prescott, we descended some 3,000 feet on some incredible switchbacks. As we went down, one could feel the temperature increasing. The high for our day into Wickenburg was 107, and it will only get hotter. We are in some genuine desert now, with Saguaro cactuses and overwhelming heat. It is quite flat, with mountains far away on every horizon. The heat is going to make the next few days really hard, but we will get through. Almost there!

So…since my last posting I have conquered the Rocky Mountains (an amazing experience) and am now in the desert of the American Southwest. The Rockies were amazing, and well worth all the hard pedaling it took to get to (and over) them. And the desert is simply indescribable. I will try to give a breakdown of events.

Buena Vista to Gunnison – 85 miles

This day saw us over the Monarch Pass, which at 11,300 feet was our highest elevation of the trip. We climbed nearly 4,000 feet to get there, and the climb (specifically the beginning of the climb) was the worst I had ever felt on a bicycle. I nearly was to the point that I couldn’t handle it – I felt sick and utterly destroyed. Luckily, I stopped at a sketchy campsite partways up and refilled my water bottles and added some Nuun (an electrolyte supplement). It’s amazing what that did to me, and I finished the climb at my normal pace. It wasn’t slow from that point, but it was agonizing.

On the descent, it started raining hard as I was about two thirds of the way down (afternoon thunderstorms are commonplace in the Rockies). It was extremely sketchy descending in the rain – I couldn’t slow down enough. But we got (slowly) to the bottom and stopped in a gas station to warm up. For the last thirty miles, I rode alone, quite fast, with a tailwind. That stretch was amazing.

Looking back (East) from the summit of Monarch Pass

Gunnison to Ouray – 104 miles

Another century in the Rockies. We started off with a light rain, which thankfully soon cleared. We then found ourself riding alongside the Blue Mesa Reservoir (an amazing vista). The ride was incredibly pretty through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and finally, about 50 miles later, into Ouray. Ouray is known as the “Alps of the Rockies” because it is at 7,500 feet or so and surrounded by sheer cliffs and 14,000 foot mountains. The place is indescribable, but it surpassed all of my expectations.

The Blue Mesa Reservoir

Ouray to Durango – 78 miles

We climbed over 3,000 feet out of Ouray on the steep, winding road through Red Mountain Pass. The crest of the climb was at over 11,000 feet. We also climbed two more mountain passes that day, and saw some of the most beautiful views I have ever experienced. The descents were amazing too – safe roads with long sight lines and smooth pavement. I reached 46 miles per hour, shattering my previous speed records. All in all, though, I was simply in awe of the mountains for the entire day.

Looking down on Silverton after beginning our second climb.

Building in Durango

We built with Habitat for a day in Durango. The city was awesome – very outdoorsy. Unfortunately, the church that we stayed at was a reluctant host at best. We were lucky we got to stay indoors. But the build site was fun, and I had Indian food. I also was lucky enough to meet Cole’s friend John, who works in a Durango bike shop and owns the largest collection of bikes I had ever seen. Even more remarkable, most of them were pulled from the trash and fixed up impressively. A great day.

Durango to Cortez – 45 miles

Finally, a really short day. We started with a climb out of Durango – never had 2,000 feet of climbing passed so quickly. Even though John Bailey (Cole’s friend), and Samuel for that matter, smoked me impressively, I still thought I had gone pretty fast. We got in to Cortez early, and had a much needed rest day.

Cortez to Red Mesa, AZ – 65 miles

We were definitely in the desert for this day, wihich included heat and spectacular views of mesas on the horizon. We stopped off at Four Corners and some of us decided to climb a smallish mesa. There were some spectacular views at the top. Even with all that, we arrived at Red Mesa (a high school on the side of the road, and little else) at 1:45, and proceeded to nap all afternoon. I hadn’t realized how tired the Rockies had made me.

Red Mesa to Kayenta – 54 miles

A somewhat short day, but beautiful desert scenery, and not overly hot. It is remarkable how little there actually is here on the Navajo Indian Reservation. After arriving, the group went on a tour of Monument Valley, which was nothing short of spectacular. These are the vistas that are always associated with the Southwest, but seeing them in pictures does not do them justice. The scale of the buttes and mesas was immense…it was something I did not even know existed on planet Earth.

After dinner, a few of us decided to climb the hill overlooking town. Scales can be decieving out west, we found out – it was much bigger than it looked. Still, we were treated to impressive views at the top. The experience was immensely worth it. Only a few days to the Grand Canyon – I am loving Arizona.

By some measures, a lot of time has elapsed since my last posting. But the last ten days have gotten us from just out of Arkansas to the Rocky Mountains, so it really seems like no time at all. For my part, I have not had the internet access to continue updating as regularly as I would like…but a lot has transpired since my last posting. Here are the highlights:

Kansas was windy.

Actually, so was Oklahoma, and into Colorado. Basically the plains states were hot and headwind-y. I had never had experience with headwinds before the trip, but they have been discovered to be worse, in many ways, than mountains. Unrelenting as well. Kansas was also more rugged than I expected, and in some parts very picturesque. Other areas were very flat and dusty (except for the vast expanses of irrigated farms). I saw my amber waves of grain, but the enduring experience of the heartland will be working as hard as possible in a paceline against the wind, and moving at 10 miles per hour.

I missed mountains.

I saw the Rockies in the distance our second day in Colorado. Flatness is somewhat overrated, and I was excited for a change in scenery. Plus, climbing mountains provides a sense of accomplishment unrivaled in the world of biking. I was excited to be to this point in the nation — I biked to somewhere I had only ever flown to. Insane.

Broken bikes are no fun.

My bike broke a few days into Colorado. Specifically, the bottom bracket (which contains the bearings on which the pedals turn) just wore out. All of a sudden, at mile 70 of a century, my pedals became a whole lot harder to turn, and I realized that the next few days would be interesting. I biked with the broken part the next day (it was a challenge), but I was lucky enough to borrow Angela’s bike for the day into Colorado Springs. Gladly, it is now fixed, and I’m so glad that I can pedal normally now.

Shared misery can be kinda fun.

The end of our 8-day stretch of continuous riding came spectacularly with a 124-mile ride into Colorado Springs. Thanks to an endless series of flat tires and sundry other malfunctions (Cole’s bleeding nose, etc.) the ride took much longer than expected for our group. We actually ended up as the last people in, having spent 13 hours to complete the trip (more than 5 of those not riding). The major event of the ride occured 25 miles from the end of the ride, when we were forced to stop riding by a thunderstorm coming over the mountains. Our group was hit by a dust devil, which actually blew us off the road. Everyone was okay, and it was one of the cooler things that had ever happened to me. Still, though, rather dangerous.

Following the mini-tornado incident, we sought shelter at Mystic Meadows, a kind of mountain events center. We were denied said shelter by the owner, so we spent the storm huddled on the deck, cold and miserable. But we made it, and it was okay. The whole experience was very out of the ordinary, and I am glad that I was able to share it with the people I did. One of the defining rides of Bike and Build, to be sure.

Colorado Springs was pretty cool.

And an endless expanse of suburbia, built on hills facing the front range of the Rockies, so you can see just how sprawling the city is. But the views and natural surroundings are great, so even this undistinguished city manages to be quite picturesque. I was excited to see Aunt Mary Anne, but my cousin Emma had a baby while I was in Colorado Springs, so a visit was not possible. Still, I am excited to see Tessa Michelle when I pass through Denver on my way back from the west coast.

The Rockies are Crrrazy.

Today was the first day in the Rockies — a century out of Colorado Springs, over three mountain passes, and to Buena Vista. The mountains were gorgeous, and the climbs weren’t too bad. We passed through South Park valley, which (much to my consternation) had a vicious headwind. Because of the adverse wind, progress was slowed markedly. The trip was made harder by the fact that we were at altitude, and it seemed hard to get enough oxygen at times. My heart was pumping quite fast…if anything will help my cardiovascular fitness, it is climbing the Rockies. The big pass is tomorrow — a huge climb up to 11,300 feet and the summit of Monarch Pass and the Continental Divide. If the altitude doesn’t kill me, the experience will be amazing.

I can’t believe I am doing this!

Another state down.

Arkansas was finished a few days ago, with our ride from Fayetteville to Grove, Oklahoma. We had a few build days in Little Rock, which was by all accounts an awesome city. I look forward to returning someday, if I have the chance. We stayed in downtown, which gave us time to explore the city. We even appeared on the news, and were given free tickets and recognized at a baseball game. The experience surpassed my expectations for the state of Arkansas.

Another mountain range.

Arkansas contained another surprise – the Ozarks. I had always pictured western Arkansas as more or less flat, with a few hills. The Ozarks, much to my surprise, were genuine mountains, complete with 1200-foot climbs and exhausting, slow bike riding. Also, there were motorcyclists – a lot of them. They are smaller than the Appalachians by a good deal; apparently, they are the oldest mountains in the northern hemisphere. However, we dealt with the entire mountain range in one 94-mile day, so that was exciting.

A double century.

After arriving in Fayetteville, exhausted and sick of climbing, a few intrepid early arrivals and myself biked six extra miles around town. Our goal was a capstone and unlikely-to-be-repeated achievement: Two 100-mile days, back-to-back. The day before had been my first century ever, and the whole experience was exciting.

Two riding days later, we find ourselves in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Some notable events along the way include a short visit to Missouri (and seeing the marker where Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri intersect). Also, there was an incident in which my newer tire simply destroyed itself on the road (a rip occured on the inner bead of my tire, and I had a huge bulge in my wheel). Needless to say, I had to do some on-the-road repairs, and buy a new tire (grudgingly). What with a broken pair of sunglasses (with new ones necessary), it was an expensive week.

Bartlesville itself was cool. We had a day off, which allowed us some rest and recuperation. It was either a large town or a small city (not sure which), and it basically exists because of the oil industry — it is the headquarters of the ConocoPhillips corporation. We saw their corporate museum (a bunch of propaganda). I was also pleased to find that Bartlesville is home to one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s larger creations, the Price Tower.

I spent the latter part of the day fixing my bike and taking care of randomness. Tomorrow is the start of an eight-day stretch of riding that includes two centuries and our longest day of the trip: 124 miles. It will be a trying period, but it will take us to Colorado Springs, which should be exciting.

So, today we crossed the Mississippi. That in itself was exciting, because I haven’t seen the Mississippi (if I can recall) since going to Minneapolis when I was approximately five. We crossed an extremely sketchy interstate bridge (the only two bridges west out of Memphis are I-40 and I-55). Luckily, there was a pedestrian walkway.

I was glad to be out of Tennessee, and I had never been to Arkansas, so that was exciting. My first impressions, though, were underwhelming. West Memphis was a gigantic truck stop, and we spent most of our 87 miles on a flat, unevenly paved road (U.S. 70) parallel to I-40. We were in the middle of nowhere, the road never turned, and the wind was in our face. A taste of things to come, perhaps? Of course. We were working so hard, yet going so slow — it’s amazing what difference air resistance makes. Cole and I decided that rolling hills are preferable to such a headwind. But we’ll have headwinds all across the plains, so might as well get used to it.

The first 30 miles felt so easy…it’s amazing the difference a day off makes. After mile 30, though, I just wanted to get the ride over with. I was sweating up a storm, and it was just way too hot. Unfortunately I got a flat tire and had to change it out in the heat…not exactly the most exciting circumstance. But I’m here (Brinkley, AK) now.

So, now to bed, to rise at 5:30 and bike to Little Rock!

So, I believe the last time I posted on this blog was in Asheville, over a week ago (10 days to be exact). I’m terribly sorry, and I will try to keep the posts flowing more regularly in the future. Unfortunately, most nights I have not had internet access, and when I do, there is usually much that needs to be done (inasmuch as internet is more present in significant places). So…a lot has transpired since my last post — plenty of building, mountains, and a nasty crash. I’ll try to fill in the cracks.

Tuesday, June 3th
Build day in Asheville
I was glad to recuperate to some extent from the Blue Ridge Parkway while staining some molding.

Wednesday, June 4th
Asheville to Gatlinburg: 90 miles
The most eventful day of our trip thus far, and also the hardest. Our ride had a total of 17,000 feet of climbing. It was exciting, though, because it took us out of Asheville, and we climbed to 5,000 feet twice, dropping back to 2,000 in between. The second climb, in the Smoky Mountains National Park, was particularly rewarding — it was long and hard, but we got to cross the state line at the top and had a 15 mile downhill into Gatlinburg. I, however, had the unfortunate luck of crashing at the very top of the downhill — a car came over the yellow line, I skidded out, and my tire exploded.  I hit the road really fast, so I have some mean abrasions. I also screwed up my bike and had to ride in the van for the rest of the ride. However, I was lucky, and I didn’t get injured enough to prevent me from biking the next day. Apparently, missing 15 miles of downhill for a crash does not take away from the achievement of biking all the way across the country. I was still bummed, though.

Thursday, June 5th
Gatlinburg to Maryville: 40 miles
Cole, amazingly, helped me true my wheel back to a tolerably rideable condition, and I did some painful things to clean my wounds. Result: I was able to ride into Maryville. My knee was the worst, but it was mostly superficial, so it didn’t really hurt (more than it just hurt in general) to bike. Luckily, it was a short ride, though. We arrived in a bike shop, and the owner was able to fix up my ride. My rear wheel was pretty badly out of true, and my back brake was shot. Between that and a new helmet (my old one was cracked), I spent about $120 bike maintenance.

Friday, June 6th and Saturday, June 7th
Build Days in Maryville: Days to rest and recuperate from hard riding (and crashing) while staying in college dorms. It’s like a vacation!

Sunday, June 8th

Maryville to Sweetwater: 37 miles

I accomplished this ride in a paceline with Samuel and Travis, and we finished in under two hours. So we arrived at 11 am at our host site, which was a National Guard Armory — sadly, without air conditioning. The first of seven straight days of riding.

Monday, June 9th
Sweetwater to Dunlap: 85 miles
We crossed the Tennessee River and rode up a fairly significant mountain ridge before ending up at the (air-conditioned) National Guard Armory there. All in all, an extremely hard day.

Tuesday, June 10th
Dunlap to Sewanee: 42 miles
Dawes Mountain Road was in the first few miles of the trip, and it was epic. Over a thousand feet of climbing in only a few miles — at a 12% grade. Parts were so steep that I was on my lowest gear, standing up, and wishing I could quit or something. Fortunately, I made it to the top. We camped out on the campus of the University of the South, by a lake. Dinner was at the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, which was a sort of religious gated community of vacation homes. One of the members had a daughter in Bike and Build a few years ago.

Wednesday, June 11th
Sewanee to Pulaski: 90 miles
An eventful day: I was sweep, and the first half of the day was great. We rode the first few miles in a large group with locals, and then Suze and I chilled in a coffee shop. We went to the historic Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, where by a quirk of fate, they can’t sell their product (Jack Daniel’s is manufactured in a dry county). Later in the afternoon, Suze got involved in an accident with a car (left-turning car didn’t see her). Luckily, she was okay, though the car and the bike got beaten up. I had to finish the sweep day without my partner — it was sad. But I’m glad she was okay.

We stayed in dorms that evening and had dinner at the mayor’s house. He was awesome, and the evening, all in all, was great. And then I crashed, early.

Thursday, June 12th
Pulaski to Adamsville: 95 miles
Another high-mileage day. But the route was glorious — we rode for miles on TN 203, which had new pavement and no cars. And it was fast. Even with the freak downpour at mile 80, it was a great day.

Friday, June 13th
Adamsville to Bolivar: 37 miles
A short day, and a needed one. We rode with some awesome speed today, and I got in and took a nap. Only one more day till Memphis, a day off, and the Mississippi. Who’s excited? I am.

I’ll keep you updated.

Never would I have thought that this was possible, but I biked over mountains today (and yesterday). I have always dreaded the mountains, but now I think they may be doable, seeing as I completely owned them thus far.

Now don’t get me wrong — they were hard…about the hardest thing I have ever done. But I climbed 10000 feet yesterday, and 12000 today, and we got nearly as high as one can go on the east coast — over 5600 feet. These mountains can be done.

First, a brief recap of the days since I left Chapel Hill and internet access. Our ride to Winston Salem was 85 miles, and hot. My brother and dad were going to bike with the group, but Neil’s tire blew out, so they joined us at lunchtime. Still, they rode 40 miles…and the entirety of the next day (77 miles to Taylorsville). It was great to have them along, and great to see the rest of the family in the evening. Yesterday was our first mountain – we climbed 67 miles straight into Blowing Rock and up the flank of Grandfather Mountain. And today we biked 80 miles, 70 of which were on the Blue Ridge Parkway. That just makes me feel amazing and completely hardcore…I couldn’t have done this a few weeks ago.

Random note: Tonight we ate dinner at the house of riders Sam and Maggie Kovach. It was delicious, all the more so because it was our first experience with real vegetables (not iceberg and baked beans) for some time.

Lastly, a few thoughts on climbing:

1. Granny Gears: Having a compact crankset sucks for hills. Here’s wishing I had lower gears.
2. Slow and steady: If you feel like the world is moving by exceedingly slowly, it is.
3. Agony is expected on climbs of a high grade or long length.
4. Cursing the mountain is a bad sign.
5. Only disjointed thought processes are entertained, and random hill-motif songs are entertained. For example “Climb Every Mountain” and “It’s All Downhill From Here.” Sum 41 never sounded better.

Tomorrow is a build day, which is good (allows our legs to recover. We’ll need it for our 17000 feet of climbing to Gatlinburg on Wednesday.

I’m so excited!

Finally, a real accomplishment…we reached Chapel Hill yesterday. It has been an exciting few days since my last posting: Belhaven to Greenville (58 miles), Greenville to Wake Forest (a 79 mile hard slog), and a 39 miler into town. The 79 miles was particularly terrible (it was the first day we had to deal with hills), but I felt pretty accomplished finishing the final ascent.

Now we are in the midst of two days of building with Orange County Habitat…or, at least, if it stops raining soon. We are off the build site for a few hours while it clears up, but hopefully we will get out again before the end of the afternoon.

Days=2

Miles=101

Amazingness abounds. Yesterday was our first riding day. We woke up at 5:15am and got everything ready to go. After packing the trailer, we left (aptly) for a funeral home to take pictures. Apparently the group last year stayed at the funeral home…ominous? I think yes.

Anyway, after that bad omen, we proceeded to the beach for a wheel-dipping ceremony…rear wheels in the Atlantic Ocean, and then we went on — 66 miles to Swanquarter. We started at 10am — that’s 4 hours in biking shorts before the end of the ride.

We had a police escort over some extremely huge bridges — 5 miles long for one of them. And then it was deserted road for 50 miles. We passed both an Air Force and a Navy Bombing Range.

But, long story short: Arrived in Swanquarter, dead tired, felt amazing, good dinner. Yess.

Today began, bright and early. Well, it wasn’t bright. Just early. Actually, it was rainy. So, the day started off wet. Wet, and I was riding sweep. As in, I had to wait for everyone. I was forecasting doom and gloom, but luckily things started clearing up after a while. Still, I was glad that I wrapped my camera (absurdly) in wax paper. Need ziplock bags.

Anyway, it was clearing up, and most of our 35 miles was gorgeous. And slow. Nevertheless, we arrived just after noon. The late afternoon could be best described as Belhaven Hospitality Extravaganza. I couldn’t have begun to imagine such nice people. An incredible couple opened their showers (and hot tubs) to us, with much fanfare. They had the greatest view of the intercoastal waterway. Fantastic.

Then, dinner was donated…it was a potluck affair (huge), and the whole community came out to wish us well. It was really ridiculous/amazing, and it earned Belhaven the #1 spot so far on “places I’d most like to stay.” They set a high bar.

Leaving the outer banks. Actually, a promotional shot by the Tourist Board in front of the visitor center.

Our Trailer!

Renee, Angela, Maura, and Becky

Kanasas

Suze, Emily, and Devin, by the Atlantic

Desertedness

Day 1 = done!

Bikes in a hallway after day 1

A sarcasmical welcome. I do like buildings, though…

The Alligator river. The bridge was the only hill today. Was it a hill, really? Not so much

A group of us with Helen & Bud, the oweners of fantastic showers and a hot tub the envy of all Belhaven

Dan C, looking happy.

Belhaven kids

So, I have finally grouped up with Bike and Build!

I drove up to Nags Head on Tuesday with fellow rider Claire Waller. It was a 7-hour drive, and seemed a bit extreme for the lead-up to a bike trip. The morning after arriving at the coast, Claire and I took a 40-mile bike ride for training purposes or something like that. We then went to Nags Head Church, which was kind enough to house us for two nights. The first day was spent meeting our group, team-building, and such. It was great to finally meet the people I had been training so hard to join.

Today, we woke up bright and early for a session on bike maintenance techniques with the owner of Outer Banks Bicycles. We also talked to a guy named Jack, who is a 68-year old area native and ultramarathon cyclist. Jack imparted his knowledge on us, and was kind enough to lead us on our first “shakedown” ride, which was about 11 miles each way to the Bodie Island Lighthouse. While there, we met the son of the former lighthouse operator (he’s in his 90s now). It was a great trip. Our evening consisted of a pot-luck dinner, a presentation about Bike & Build, and bike repairs like crazy. I’m looking forward to actually starting tomorrow!

Jack with the former lighthouseman’s son.

The Bodie Island Lighthouse