Hi, everyone! This is a photo website/blog that I will be posting updates and pictures about my cross-country biking trip this April and May. I want to first of all thank all of you who supported me with encouragement, money, and well-wishes as I prepared for this epic journey. There is also an "official" R4WH blog, which can be found at www.rideforworldhealth.org.
Check back here every few days to get an update on where we are and what we are doing and seeing on our journey from San Diego, CA to Washington, DC! :)
It is over!:(
Here I am, sitting on my couch at home watching the Cav's game with Charlie. The ride is over, it is so sad!
Our last few days were good ones, hot and humid, but good rides overall. We did the last of our climbing when we rode into Front Royal, VA. We descended our last mountain that day. It was a really pretty day, we did a lot of riding past vineyards and really cute homes, probably vacation homes.
The ride into DC was awesome! It was a long day, about 90 miles, but not too hilly or anything. We rode right into the Lincoln Memorial, which I had never seen before. It was just a really cool feeling, to finally be done! We got some really great pics.
Then, on Sunday, we rode our bikes into Bethany Beach, DE. That was the most fun. We drove until we had about 25 miles left then rode the last 25 in. We put champagne in our waterbottles and rode right up to the boardwalk. Got off, took off our shoes and socks, picked up our bikes and ran into the water. We were soaking wet! Then we stayed in some condos on the beach that night and lived it up for one more night before leaving.
Monday we drove home, along with everyone else who was at the Delaware Beaches that weekend. It took us about 4 hrs to go 60 miles, once we crossed the Chesapeake Bay, it got much better, but we got home about 1:00 this morning.
So, my adventure is over. It is really depressing. It was the most amazing time, I am so sad it is over. Now I have to graduate and be a real doctor. Yikes!:) Thank you to everyone who supported me on this, it really means a lot!
Day 39 - Appalachia
So, we are in West Virginia! That is our 10th state, which is pretty hard to believe! From Columbus we rode into Athens, OH and stayed with some of the students from OU, mostly medical students. It was nice, Kami, Rachael and I stayed with a girl named Christina. We got to sleep in beds and her shower was at least a 9/10, which was also nice.
From there we rode into West Virginia. Country roooooads. Take me hooooome. To the plaaace, I beloooong! West Virginia..... Appalachia is exactly as I would have expected it to be. Lots of people who are very protective of their property - we have had a really hard time trying to find rest stop places because everyone has signs posted saying "NO TRESPASSING, WILL NOT HESITATE TO SHOOT", and stuff like that. Lots of old men with man-boobs mowing their front lawns with no shirt on, lots of homes that look like they should in no way house a human being. We see these houses, it is a nice house, and then it looks like they collected scrap wood and metal and built on to their house themselves. It's crazy. Lot's of dogs. I saw one house that had like 5 weiner dogs barking in the front yard.
And, it is hilly! Oh goodness is it hilly! Today we did 102 miles in those hills, we climbed as much as we did in the Rockies some days, but we went a lot farther. My legs are beat. I think they are beginning to rebel on me. It's like they've had enough and are refusing to work anymore. Oh well, only three more days of riding for me. I'm on support tomorrow, and then it's just two more days into DC and then one day of riding into Delaware to finish off the trip. Crazy!
Day 35 - O-H-I-O
Hi, all! Writing from Cincinnati, OH now, we are finally in the great state of Ohio!:) The last few days have been exciting, if a bit hilly. In Bloomington, IN, which is different from Bloomington, IL I found out we stayed at Indiana University at some of their campus apartments. It was really nice, we gave the showers a hands down 10 out of 10, warm, good water pressure, and CLEAN!:) It was a long ride into Indiana after 100 mile days the two days before. We rode about 75 miles, I was seriously hurting! My quads were so tender, and it was like my legs just would NOT move, not matter what I did. Either way, I finished, and I got to be on support the next day, so I survived:)
The next day we rode into Cincinnati, I was on support. Leah and I were in the lead van marking the route. It was incredibly complicated and stressful, we kept winding up on gravel roads so we would have to re-route, and then the riders would catch up to us, ugh! Stressful morning, but it got better in the afternoon. They rode about 120 miles into Cincinnati, then we racked our bikes there and drove to the Foley's for dinner. Monica Foley is one of our national riders, and her parents fed us an amazing dinner last night complete with Graeter's ice cream for dessert. We are staying with medical students here in Cincy, which is nice, good showers again!:)
Tomorrow we leave Cincy for Columbus. It's about a 130 mile day, so if I finish it in time, it will be my longest ride so far. We have to be to Columbus by 6 PM, so I'll have to haul it, but hopefully I'll make it:)
Day 33 - Indiana!:)
Hi, everyone! We are just east of the Indiana/Illinois border now, in a little town called Graysville. The people here have been so incredibly nice, it is unbelievable! They are letting us stay in their school gym, we have showers (which we did not have last night), and they made us the most amazing dinner of lasagna, beans, cole slaw, and home made pies for dessert. The one lady who organized most of this, her son got a T-shirt last year and he got a new bike just for this occasion. He is maybe 10 or 11 years old, but he made his Dad drive him out a few miles from our finish and he rode in with a bunch of the riders, which was super cute! In the hall way here there are all of these pictures that one of the classes made for us welcoming us, and they have a big bulletin board that is charting our progress across the country. So cool! The ride today was great too, a little less than 100 miles, not too much climbing or anything like that, and it was a nice day.
Yesterday we were in Kimundy, IL. Also a very small but very hospitable town, we rode about 110 miles into that one. They also fed us dinner (pizzas and these amazing home made salads and desserts) and let us stay in their community hall. While we were there, a guy, probably in his mid-twenties with some sort of developmental delay came in to "check" on us. He got himself a plate of food and sat down and started chatting with us. He was really harmless, and kind of amusing. After about 15 minutes the one police officer for the town pulled up and just pointed at the guy's bike and said, "You've got Robby problems, don't you?" He went in and told him that he was not going to be able to sleep over with us, and that we did not need him to patrol the outside of the building like he had been planning to do. He finished his food and left, but he kept circling the building on his bike making police siren noises until like midnight. Haha, we got quite a laugh out of that, but he was nice. The whole town was nice, people kept driving by and saying hi, it was nice.
So, we are having a good time. Off to Bloomington, IN tomorrow, then it's into Ohio already!
Day 32 - In Illinois!
Hello from Kinmundy, IL:) The last two days have been pretty fun, actually. Yesterday we were scheduled to ride about 50-60 miles from Washington, MO into St. Louis. We got all geared up, bikes ready, and it started to lightning. So we had to rack the bikes, quickly, so that no one got electrocuted:) We decided to drive about 20 miles up and see what the weather looked like there. We got about 10 miles or so in and they declared a severe weather watch for the entire area. They were calling for quarter sized hail, 60 mph winds and thunder/lightning. So, instead of risking riding in a hail storm, we decided to drive all the way to St. Louis. The van moved about as fast as the storm, and we got poured on as we unloaded everything. At least we knew then that we called the ride for a good reason:)
We stayed at Wash U in the gym in the medical student dorms. It was pretty good digs, the showers were really nice and it was close to a lot of stuff. The one nice thing was that we kind of got to hang out that day and relax. We did a little shopping, went down town to see the arch, all of that good stuff.
Today we rode out of St. Louis, which was a really pretty ride along the Mississippi River and crossed over into Illinois on Route 66 and rode on into Kinmundy, IL for a total of about 110 miles. It is a tiny town, population maybe 700, so everyone in the entire town knows that we are here. They keep driving/stopping by to say hi, it's kind of cute. One guy, who has some sort of learning disability rode his bike over to say hi. He said he was going to stay with us and help us patrol the area. He no sooner got himself a plate of the food the town donated to us than the probably one police car in the whole town drove up. The officer got out and pointed to the bike and said, "Are you having Robby problems?". It was pretty funny. The guy was harmless, but the officer did tell him that he could not stay over with us and that he did not need to patrol the area, it would be OK:)
So, tomorrow we have another almost 100 miles into Graysville, IN. Another state down:) We are flying through states now that we are a bit farther east! We ride into Columbus this Thursday, which is hard to believe, it's almost over!:(
Day 30 - Washington, MO
Hello, everyone! Sitting on the floor in the YMCA in Washington, MO right now, recovering from another day on support:) It really wasn't that bad today, in fact, I would say it was probably one of the best days on support we have had so far:)
The day after our super-century ride, we rode about 80 miles into Jefferson City, MO. It is the capital of Missouri, so we got to see the capital building. It was a pretty big city as far as cities go. We have graduated out of the very, very flat stuff into the "rolling hills". What they mean by "rollling hills" is really friggin' steep hills that aren't that long but kill your legs after a whole day of them. I swear to goodness muscle groups were shutting down at the end of yesterday. I was mighty sore, that is for sure:)
Today, the riders rode about 80 miles again, this time into Washington, MO. This is also a cool town. We stopped in Hermann, MO, a little German town for lunch. Ryan and I were in the lead van, and we found the absolute perfect spot - right in a park, around the corner from an ice cream shop and across the street from a brewery! We tried all the beers out before the riders got there (it was a sampler platter), and the riders loved it! Many of them had a beer or two and/or an ice cream cone before heading off for the rest of the ride. Once we got into Washington we settled into the YMCA and then headed to Front St. We went to a place called Johnny G's where they had all sorts of local brews on tap. I had another sampler platter, which was also good. They even had a brew from Augusta Brewing Company, which of course I needed to try - it was pretty good!:) The people at the YMCA were nice enough to give us dinner, which was delicious.
It's really hard to believe how far we've come and how close we are to done. I am really going to miss all of these people once I get home. It will be lonely being all alone every day at home until intern year starts:( It has been so much fun, though!:)
Day 28 - 110.8 miles
So, for my first day back on the ride, we had a nice 110.8 miles to go. It was actually supposed to be slightly less than 100 miles, but we got lost early in the morning, so we tacked on like 10+ miles, which was OK. I felt really good, I don't know about everyone else who didn't have the whole weekend off like I did:)
Today was actually a really nice ride, we went pretty quickly (onlly took us about 7.5 hrs to finish). We did, however, get chased by a goat. That's right. A goat. We rode by a farm and the dog came out barking all loud and stuff, but it was not the dog that took off down the road after us, it was the goat, Buttercup. Two of our rider took her back to her owner so she wouldn't get hit by a car. I would have just left her but I'm not what you'd call an "animal lover":)
So, we are in Sedalia, MO tonight, at a REALLY nice Methodist Church. We might go out for a Margherita or two to celebrate Cinquo de Mayo, but I think it will be an early night. We are all pretty dead:)
Day 27 - I'm in Columbus for a bit
So, for a change in pace, this time I am sitting on my couch in my living room next to my husband. I left the ride for a few short days to come home for my cousin Josh's wedding this past Saturday, but before I get to that, let me fill you in on what has been happening on the ride for the past few days.
We have been FLYING across Kansas it seems! From Ness City, we rode to Lyons, which was another 100 mile day. It started out kind of sucky - we had a headwind and it was cold and damp, which seems to be the universal theme of Kansas for us. But, we set up a really sweet paceline with most of the team which really helped us to pick up the pace, and it made it fun. Every mile or so we would rotate counterclockwise, so I was riding next to someone else on the team. A few people affectionately referred to it as speed dating on the bike, which it did sort of feel like. But it was actually a lot of fun in weather that would have otherwise not been fun at all. Later in the afternoon it cleared up and became sunny and less windy, so it was nice. We made it the 100 miles in about 8 hours, which, considering the way the morning started out, we were all pretty pleased with. I was pretty sore after the ride to Lyons, though. It was the first time I had ridden 4 days in a row without taking any time off for events or days off or anything like that, and my legs were feeling it! The next day I was on support though, so I was happy about that.
The next day the team rode from Lyons to Herington, KS. The weather was, again, not great. Even more windy and this time actually raining. Sometimes it is good to be on support:) That was also Friday, so at about lunchtime (we stopped in a super cute Swedish town, I can't remember the name right now though), we racked up some riders for our event in Herington and took off. We dropped the riders off at the middle school there for their event, and then Branden drove me, Clare, and Katie to the airport in Kansas City. I flew home on Friday, got in around 11:00 PM. Saturday was Josh and Liz's wedding, which was a TON of fun (you can check out my facebook for pictures from that).
I was supposed to fly back into Kansas City last night, Sunday, but after waiting at the airport for 2 hours for out plane to leave the ground in Baltimore, I found out that I was not going to make my connection in St. Louis, so I had to rebook my flight for today. It's a good thing we have a day off in Kansas City, so I'm going to fly in today (I missed our event there, but that isn't the end of the world), and we will ride out tomorrow, this time in Missouri!!! I'm happy to leave Kansas, the whole state seems to smell like cow manure:)
Only two more weeks and we will ride into Columbus, and only one week after that we are riding into DC. Pretty incredible how fast this is going! I'm still having the time of my life though:)
Day 23 - Ness City, KS
Hey, everyone! I am sitting in the gym at the high school in Ness City, KS right now. We have come a long way since the last time I updated!
We left Denver on Monday, it was snowing like crazy there when we left! We drove back to Pueblo and took off from there. The weather was much more agreeable, which was good:) From there we rode the approximately 50 miles or so to Ordway, CO. There was a stockyard right by the high school, so the whole place smelled like manure, but it did the trick. I guess we usually ride all the way to Eads, which is about 60 miles farther, but we couldn't find housing there, so we stopped in Ordway. The next day we rode to Eads, in a 25mph headwind, which took forever, and then racked the bikes from there and drove to Leoti, KS where we were staying that night.
Then today we rode our bikes the 83 miles or so to Ness City, KS. Today was greaty, nothing like yesterday when we were plodding along at 10mph in a headwind. We cruised along today at about 15-20 mph all the way into town. We had an event at the "hospital" here, and then hit up a townie bar for a few $2 Coor's Lights before heading to the high school for the night.
We have passed a lot of stockyards here in Kansas. It is honestly making me want to be a vegitarian. It is disgusting how these cows live before they are slaughtered. I was talking to one of my good friends on the ride who is a vegitarian, and I think it's kind of like smoking. I know that it is the right thing to do - it is better for the environment, it is the humane thing to do (I am not against eating animals, just against how they are treated), but I'm not quite ready to make that jump. I think Charlie will have a heart attack if I decide to swear off meant, but he will live. For now, I think I'll continue eating my burgers, but maybe someday:)
That's all for now, I will talk to you all later! xoxo!
Day 20 - Pueblo/Denver, CO
Greetings from Denver, CO!:) I am sitting at an adult day care center in Denver, CO as we speak, enjoying my time off in Denver.
Yesterday the bikes rode the approximately 80 miles from Cotopaxie, CO into Pueblo. I was on support, and it was kind of a hectic day for us. One of the riders had to go to the airport in Denver early that morning, and we had an event mid-day in Denver, so we had riders and vans all over the place between here and Pueblo. It was really fun though, Ryan and I drove the sweep van, we had about 8-10 riders to support, and it was a really nice day - lots of sun, it even got up to around 80 degrees in Pueblo by the time we got in.
They finished the ride and we loaded them all up into the van and drove the two hours into Denver to the adult day care center where we are staying. They are being so nice to us here - we get breakfast and dinner every day we are here, laundry, cots to sleep on, warm showers - the WORKS! Last night we just kind of hung out, it was Jeff's 30th birthday, so we went out and had a few drinks and a cake, but nothing too exciting.
Today we had our first Solidarity Ride in Colorado Springs. We all had to get up and be ready by 6:00 AM, which is becoming all to common of a theme on this ride recently. Then we drove the hour and a half or so to the ride. It was sort of a flop - we only had one rider, but the rider that we did have was really enthusiastic and excited for us to come back next year so he could recruit more of his cycling buddies to ride. So, we will see. It is hard to plan and recruit for an event when you don't have anyone locally to sort of champion for you. Either way it was a nice ride through the Garden of the Gods and Colorado Springs, so no one really minded too much. The one in Columbus is usually a success, mostly b/c we can do a better job advertising it I think.
Anyways, so we have the rest of today and all of tomorrow off. I don't even know what to do with myself really!:) Might read a book, catch up on my sleep, who knows! Monday we ride out and will shortly be entering the great state of Kansas. It is insane, after weeks of climbing we are going to be spending the next 5 days or so going downhill, which should be fun! I'm ready to end a day with an average speed above 10mph!
Day 19 - Cotopaxie, CO
Well, here I am, this time in the computer lab at Cotopaxie High School in Cotopaxie, CO. It has been an intense few days of climbing... From Telluride we went to Montrose, which was mostly downhill with only one climb, and it wasn't too bad. We stayed in a church's gym, we got to go to Coldstone for ice cream, and there was a Walmart, so it was pretty high class!:)
From there, we made the trek to Gunnison, CO. Also a very cute town, but the ride there was a bit more grueling. There were two really pretty significant climbs, we totaled over 5,000ft of climbing that day, which was kind of insane. And I went kind of hard, considering I knew what was coming today, but whatever. I was plodding along at about 6 mph up one hill. Then my friend Ryan came up behind me and started screaming "Move your ass, KB!" So, he pulled me along at about 7-8mph, but I was feeling it today. Oh well, if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger, right? Haha:) Then last night we stayed at Western State College in Gunnison. We even got cots to sleep on, which was awesome!:) We went out for dinner at the Gunnison Brewery, I had fish and chips and a lager, they were all really good!:)
Today we rode from Gunnison to Cotopaxie, CO. We rode through the continental divide, which was an awesome accomplishment! We climbed about 4,000 ft total, but our elevation got up to 11,300ft or so. I think the elevation more than anything else was killing me, but we did it! Then it was a nice downhill all the way into Cotopaxie.
I am rocking a pretty awesome bikers tan right now, which some of you will be able to see in a week or so at Josh and Liz's wedding. It's pretty hot:) Tomorrow we ride into Denver, CO, I'll be on support, and we are there all weekend. I'll try to upload some more pictures this weekend and call those of you that I have been neglecting! Love and miss you all, talk to you soon!
Day 16 - Telluride, CO
So, I'm sitting on a couch in one of our very nice condos in Telluride that were donated by our local contact here. He is a nice contact to have - a realestate agent here in Telluride and also an avid cyclist, so every year he lets us stay in three of his empty condos for free while we are here. It is really nice - hot water, laundry, very high class as far as R4WH standards go:)
Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful ride through Lizard Pass on our way from Dolores to Telluride. We climbed to about 10,300 ft, it was a pretty gradual climb, but the altitude was a killer. My legs were OK but I was breathing really hard. I think we are all getting a bit more used to it though. But to go up through the Rocky Mountains like that - it was breathtaking it was so beautiful! I just feel so lucky to be able to go on this trip, it has all been so much fun.
So we have today off here in Telluride, so I'm going to go check out the town here in a bit, maybe grab some lunch. Then it's off again tomorrow. We will be in Denver by next weekend, and then we have a few more days off, so that will be fun.
Love and miss you all!:)
Day 15 - my third day on support
So, I'm sitting outside the Senior Center in Cahone, CO today, waiting for our event to start in about an hour. Quite a bit has happened in the last few days, so let me fill you in!:)
We left Hanksville and rode our bikes to Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah. It was a 100 mile day for us with quite a bit of climbing, unfortunately. I rode. And I finished!!! My first century ride, I think my odometer said like 100.05 miles or something like that. I was so proud of myself! It was quite cold that day too, the third leg of the trip was miserable - it even started to hail on us, but I finished! Yay! That night we camped out for our last night. It was an intereting one, we got snowed on that night, so it was kind of cool and very cold to wake up in a snow covered tent. My sleeping bag kept me really warm though, so Santa Claus did a good job picking one out:)
The next day we had about a 60-ish mile ride into Monticello, UT. My knee had started to hurt on the 100 mile day, but it wasn't really getting worse and I wanted to finish to I kept going. I woke up that last day of camping though and could hardly move it. As I walked around, it got a little better, so I decided to give it a go. I started riding and it was pretty stiff, but sometimes things get better as you ride. That was not the case yesterday. It definitely continued to hurt, just as bad as it did in the morning and worse than the day before. Plus we were riding uphill into an awful headwind. I decided to call the day at around mile 27, trying to give my knee a chance to heal. We stayed at a Catholic Church and the parishoners made us the most amazing taco dinner ever! It was much appreciated!
Today I am on support again, and they are doing a pretty fast 60 miles into Dolores, CO. We have two events today, our first is here in Cahone, where they are feeding us lunch. Our second is once we get to Dolores, we are going to another Catholic church for a spaghetti dinner and will be talking with the parishoners there. We are staying in a high school tonight, which should be fun b/c it is actually their prom tonight as well:)
Tomorrow it is off to Telluride, CO. We do have a day off there and are staying in condos, so I'm hoping to be able to keep this updated more now that we are back into civilization (sort of).
Much love to you all, talk to you soon!
Day 12 - Hanksville, UT
So, a few more days down, a few hundred miles behind us, and here I am again. This time sitting in the preschool room at Hanksville Elementary School.
The last few days have been fun. We rode out of Cedar City a few days ago, I was on support that day. It was a grueling day - lots of climbing, but the sky was crystal clear and the scenery was AMAZING! They climbed all the way up to 9900 ft, and everyone did a fantastic job, most people finished the climb, which was really amazing! They put in about 95 miles that day, and we ended in Kodachrome Basin State Park in Cannonville, UT (population 148). Kodachrome was so gorgeous, we had showers, and it did not rain, so we were overall very happy with that:)
The next day we rode out to Boulder, UT, which was about 73 miles or so. The ride was amazingly beautiful! The canyons and red rock formations in Utah are just breathtaking! Boulder was interesting. We stayed in homestays. Kami and I stayed with Brin and Dave and their daughter Larkin. They moved out here about 10 years ago when Larkin was 6 weeks old. They built their house from materials they found on their land, and they built the entire thing themselves. They do not have electricity, they use solar power only - to heat water, light the house, and run the refrigerator. They do have a gas stove. Their house is a room about 10'x10' with a little kitchenette along one wall and a table and sofa in the other part of the house. Brin and Dave sleep in the loft above this living area, and Larkin has her own little house that is a few yards from the main house, which is really cool. They have a separate bath house that has all these windows looking out over the desert, which was nice but sort of revealing when you are trying to take a shower. Kami and I had the option of staying either in the greenhouse, which was literally a greenhouse, or the "guest shack", which was literally a guest shack - a bed, only three walls, none of which would have kept out any sort of element. We chose the greenhouse, so we slept among the tomato and basil plants. It was very cozy and we had the most amazing pesto for dinner, I ate waaaaay too much. It was interesting, they were very nice people though.
Then this morning we woke up and it was snowing. Big, huge snowflakes. We had breakfast at Hell's Backbone Grill - a locally owned organic restaurant - we all had oatmeal that was the best oatmeal I have ever eaten, oh my goodness was it delicious! We had an event this morning at Boulder Elementary - they have 12 kids total, and then we actually drove the first 33 miles that we were supposed to ride over Boulder Mountain because it was a complete blizzard - white out conditions in some parts. Kind of scary, but once we got over the mountain it was just cold, so we rode the 50 miles from there into Hanksville, UT. I hit my new top speed on my bike today - 44.48 mph! We were supposed to stay in Goblin Valley State Park, but the weather forecast was not good at all, so the school that some of us spoke at this afternoon was nice enough to let us stay here. Thank goodness. Camping in a snowstorm is something I could do without:)
So, tomorrow it is off to someplace else in Utah, I'm not exactly sure where yet because we haven't been told and I haven't looked it up yet. There is a big climb though I am told, so it should be fun:)
Day 9 - Cedar City, UT
So, I am standing in the kitchen in St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Cedar City, UT right now as the rest of my teammates sleep. Today we rode into Utah, which was fun, it's always fun to enter another state!:) Cedar City is where Southern Utah University is (I think that's what it's called), so there is a bit more civilization here, which is nice because I'm not sure we're going to get much more civilization until Telluride next week.
Today we rode 81 miles - my farthest so far. I was proud of myself, there was a fair amount of climbing we had to do, and then whenever we got to downhills it seemed like there was a head wind that made it impossible to just coast down, so you had to keep peddaling. That is always frustrating, but it's OK, I made it! No showers today, but the people here at the Episcopal Church have been very good to us. We had half the team go to their potluck lunch after their Easter service this morning. They bought quite a bit of merchandise, which was awesome, and they also left all of their leftovers for us to feast on later, which was AMAZING! The support group for today did awesome, we had a whole Easter dinner complete with ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, and bread - it was sooo good after that long ride today. We even had cookies and cake for dessert!
Tomorrow I am on support as we ride from here, through the mountains to Tropic, UT. It is going to be one hell of a day on support. The riders are going about 95 miles (hopefully) with some serious climbs into some seriously high elevations. I think they are riding up to almost 10,000 ft tomorrow morning early, and it is supposed to be around 35 degrees out when they leave. It's not as much climbing as day 2 was, but it is higher elevation, which will make it harder. Plus, the climb is over about 15 miles on a two lane road with absolutely NO shoulder or turnoffs, so people are going to have to finish or walk their bikes to the top, b/c we can't safely rack them on the road. Oh, and Ryan, one of my fellow support team members, checked the weather a few minutes ago, and there is a decent chance they are going to run into some snow up there. We are also camping tomorrow night, so I'm REALLY glad I have my warm sleeping bag! Should be interesting.
So long for now, I need to get some shut eye. For those who are wondering, my butt does hurt, and it is not getting better yet. It is chaffing something fierce, but I think I need a new saddle - a bunch of us do. Some people are bleeding, I am not that bad, so I'm not complaining all that much. We're going to place an order with roll: soon and get that taken care of hopefully!:)
Panaca, NV - the snow storm in the mountains
As I am writing this, I am standing by the window in a firehouse in Panaca, NV because that is the only place that I can actually get internet access, but considering the patchiness of my cell phone reception, I am actually amazed that I am even getting any access:)
Our ride out of Vegas was an AWESOME one! 75 miles and it was almost all downhill or flat, I think we were averaging over 17mph. Considering that we have been averaging somewhere around 10-13 given the hills we have been climbing, it was amazing to just cruise along.
We all finished yesterday, and we stayed in the local high school in Alamo, NV. The ride was really pretty, and we all got in pretty early, so it was nice to have some time to relax together as a team. We loaded baked potatoes and pasta for dinner, played some knockout on the basketball court and watched a movie using our projector. So, overall, a good day:)
We knew that it was supposed to rain today and not be overly warm. We heard about 40 degrees in the morning, going up to about 58 degrees as the day went on. However, it not only rained, but as we went through the mountains that laid between us and our destination, it started to sleet. And snow. I was so thankful to have Branden with me. He is over 6 feet tall and rode ahead of me most of the way. It was nice because he was blocking the wind and some of the sleet/snow, however, it also means I got to eat a lot of the water from the road that his bike was kicking up. That part was not so cool, but it was a tradeoff.
About 40 miles in or so (it was supposed to be about a 70 mile day) the support team for the day decided to call the ride, given the fact that the road we were on had a speed limit of 70 mph, lots of semis, snow, and no shoulder. I think it was probably the right decision. I was so cold, it took forever to warm up. So now it is early and we are already here, so we can again relax. The town we are in is dry, but the next town over is not, so we are thinking about going and hitting up a townie bar tonight for a beer or two, might as well, right?:)
Tomorrow we are off to Cedar City, UT. I should get cell phone reception there, at the very least I would think. Apparantly AT&T isn't all that great for small town USA. I can't imagine it would be very profitable to put a cell phone tower in these places. We passed not one town from Las Vegas to Alamo, and very few today. The smallest town I have seen so far was Baker, CA, population of 148. We spoke at the high school there, the kids were really cool:)
So that is all for now, I will try to write and call as I can. Hopefully it will get better soon:)
Las Vegas, NV
Hi, everyone! Sorry I haven't been able to update recently, after we left LA we didn't have any internet connection really until now. I didn't even have phone reception for most of that time:)
So, to fill you all in, we left LA on April 4th and headed to Hesperia, CA. Oh. My. Goodness. What a ride! It was supposed to be a 95 mile day through the San Gabriel mountains. We had already heard that previous years riders claimed that this was the hardest day of the entire ride, so we were sort of prepared. We climbed. And we climbed. And we climbed. There were a few descents, but they were few and far between. By about 5:00 PM we had made it to the Mile High Cafe, about 62 miles into the ride, and we made the decision to call it for the day. We had to be to Hesperia to give a talk to the church there by like 7:30 or so, so we racked up the bikes and drove the rest of the way. I can't say anyone was too upset, it was absolutely grueling. We stayed at the church hall, there were no showers but we did have a kitchen they let us use, so that was nice.
Day 3 took us from Hesperia, CA to Barstow, CA where we stayed at the local community college. They did not have a kitchen, but they did have cold showers, which was better than no shower after our stent in Hesperia. The ride was not a bad one at all, only about 45 miles of rolling hills with some decent descents. Everyone finished that day, so we were all pretty proud of ourselves.
On Day 4 Leah and I stayed back to put on a little health fair in Barstow near the college's bookstore. It went pretty well, we got some donations and sold some merchandise, so it was worth it. While we did that, the rest of the team started on their first century ride - it was a little over 100 miles through the Mojave Desert to Kelso, CA. Leah and I caught up with them at around mile 40 or 45, so I didn't actually ride a century, but I'm not sure my legs would have carried me that far:) It was REALLY hot, and REALLY dry, we had a couple riders call it quits due to lack of urination or heat exhaustion, but the support team was working their butts off to make sure we had enough water and power bars, so I really do give them props, it was not an easy day to be on support. The scenery that day was AMAZING! It was so beautiful, it almost made you forget how much your butt hurt!:) We camped in the desert that night, which was really cold, and again, no showers.
Day 5 I was on support as the riders rode about 85 miles from Kelso, CA to Tecopa, CA. The day did not start that well, our directions included something about turning down an unnamed dirt road to take them to the starting point - we never did find that dirt road, despite trying really hard. As a result, they got to cut about 12 miles off the ride, so they only road about 70 or so, but, again, I don't think anyone was too upset about that. This ride was also through the desert, so then we were working our butts off to keep them hydrated. It was nice though, they had a good tail wind and the ride was mostly flat or downhill. Tecopa was interesting though. We were camping out for the second night in a row and right as we pulled into the campground the winds REALLY picked up. I slept in the van that night, many people did brave it in the tents, but the dust and sand being blown around was terrible, all of our stuff and ourselves were coated in a thin layer of dust. The one really great thing about Tecopa was that they have hot springs there, so we got to sit in the hot springs for awhile, which was nice for our aching muscles, and they did have showers:)
By the morning of Day 6 the winds had died down enough to let us ride out from Tecopa, CA to make the approx. 75 mile journey into Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas, NV. Wahoo! One state down, and we are FINALLY back into civilization where you can get internet connection and cell phone service. And a hot shower, as many hot showers as you'd like in fact, I've already taken two in the last 12 hours. Haha! We went to a show last night after we got in, Cirque de Soleil Mystere. I'm afraid I slept through like half of it, as did the rest of the team. It didn't start until 9:30, and we have honestly been going to bed pretty much right after dinner, we are so worn out from the long days on the bike. The parts that I did see were amazing though, most of it seems like it should be impossible, so it was very impressive.
Today we have a day off here in Vegas. I just got back from talking to a group of high school freshman with half of the team while the other half went to talk to some medical students from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Sin city is interesting - lots of lights and scantily clad women, lots of gambling. I am not sure I'd ever come back, but I am so grateful for a bed to sleep in and a hot shower right now, I can't even tell you:)
Overall things are going well. I think as a team we are getting stronger, I know I certainly am. My butt is also getting sorer, but I think that will improve with time:) Tomorrow we head out to Alamo, NV. No promises as to the next time I can update this - I hear rumor that we were staying at some high schools, so they may have internet access we can use.
Day 1 - San Diego to Los Angeles
So, day 1 is done and I am still alive. I know that I am sort of overly dramatic about these kinds of things, but I think it actually helps me mentally - then when I don't do so bad I feel better about myself:) Anyways, today was supposed to be about 75-80 miles, from San Diego - we started at Torey Pines State Park where we dipped our back tires in the Pacific Ocean, to Huntington Beach, CA (just a bit south of LA).
So we started the day off at our homestay in San Diego and rode to Torey Pines State Park where we got to dip our back tires in the Pacific Ocean. It was fun, everyone was really pumped, and we even saw dolphins in the water, which was cool:) Now, before the ride, my longest ride had only been 30 miles, which I realize is a bit of a problem. We finished 30 miles at about 10:00AM when we reached our first rest stop. I was doing really good up until then. At about 40 miles, my legs started to get really tired. I was fine on the downhill (obviously, you don't have to try very hard there) and when it was flat (I was able to clip along at about 16-17 mph) but the uphills were KILLING me! Seriously, I would be totally beat by the end of a not very big hill. And I have realized that I am not a very good climber. I am fine with the endurance stuff, but the anaerobic stuff I will have to get better at as the ride goes on. Anyways, I managed to power through. We were supposed to be to Laguna Beach by 1:00PM for lunch, we were told that was about 60 miles in total. However, it was almost 68 miles, and I did not get there until after 2:00PM, and I was in the middle of people to come in, some people didn't get there until almost 3:00!
Since we are staying with families in Pasadena, and they had organized a BBQ for us that started at 5:00PM, we actually had to call off the rest of the ride from Laguna Beach to Huntington Beach. It ended up being OK for my anyways, b/c Kim couldn't get out of work early to meet me anyways. So we called it at 68 miles, which is 38 miles longer than my longest ride of 30 miles, so I was pretty proud of myself. My legs are VERY tired, and I am exhausted.
The homestays are wonderful. Apparantly, Therese, who is the one who organized it, her brother-in-law rode two years ago, so they (and their neighbors) continue to put us up when we come to LA, whichy is amazing. We get a bed to sleep in and a real shower, they feed us breakfast and they are even going to do our laundry tomorrow - such nice people! And it was so cute, when we got here they had a big banner that said - "Welcome Ride for World Health!". They gave us such a spread too - it was so great to have real food, fresh vegetables, and wonderful wine and desserts after living on basically macaroni and cheese, bagels, and pizza for the past few days!:)
So, all-in-all, a success I think. I posted some pictures from today. I am not savvy enough on my bike to take pictures when I'm riding yet, but maybe by the end:) We have a day off tomorrow, and we'll have an event that day at USC's medical school. Then Saturday it's off to Hisperia, CA!
Mt. Soledad
Our last day of orientation, tomorrow morning we take off for LA. I have finally posted a few pictures for you all to see what we have been up to. We gave a lecture this morning at UCSD, it went pretty well, so we were all happy about that.
This afternoon we went on our second and final group ride before the real ride starts. We went to Mt. Soledad. Oh. My. God. It was about a 1.5 mile climb, at about a 15% grade. On the way down I think I got up to 36 mph with my brakes on the whole time. It was the most ridiculous hill I have ever climbed either on foot or on a bike. But, I made it! Kami and I were partners, we stopped about 7 times we approximated, but we did NOT walk. Many of the riders from last year told us that this was the toughest hill of the entire ride, so the fact that I made it and didn't pass out makes me feel like the rest of this, though it's going to be painful, may not be impossible.
Now just a bit more orienting tonight, then off to LA bright and early tomorrow. We are riding into Huntingon Beach in the afternoon, so hopefully Kim Gaiser and I can meet up and get a cup of coffee or someting before we get in the vans to go to our homestay in Pasadena. We have a day off on Friday, we have an event at USC that day, then on Saturday we will have one of the toughest days on the road. About 90 miles, 50 of which are uphill. Should be interesting.
Holy Crap.
So, two days of orientation down, and I am thoroughly terrified!:)
Everything has really been going well, I think everyone is getting along really well, and all of the people that have more bike experience have been really helpful and patient with those of us who do not have so much bike experience. We all went to sing karaoke last night, and people got pretty into it, so I think we will have a good time together!
However, the terrifying part. We went on a group ride today, only about 15 miles, no big deal. We went down this HUGE hill, I think I was seriously going like 40 mph on my bike. The hill ended in the Pacific Ocean, which was beautiful, and we turned a corner to go into the park. There it was. A really big hill. I mean really big. I didn't know it was possible to go 5 mph on my bike and not fall over. But I did, and we all made it to the top. Only one person fell, and only one person stopped on the hill. So it was quite a feat. But I don't think I have ever been breathing so hard in my life. Then, Christian, who did the first week of the ride last year, told us about day #2 on the ride. Apparantly not a single person finished last year, it got dark and the support vans had to go get them. According to the map, it is approximately 50 miles uphill. Are you kidding me? We are not even to Colorado by then! I think I'm probably going to cry. Perhaps a lot, we will see:)
The other thing - we got our uniforms yesterday. And I had ordered XS shorts, because I have S shorts at home, and they are a bit big, so I thought XS would be ideal. I think they would be tight on an 8 year old. I managed to wrangle myself into them, but I swear, every bit of fat on my body from my toes to my waist has been pushed up and over the top of the shorts, giving me the most attractive muffin top imaginable. And the jersey is a bit short. It is not going to be pretty! Hahahahaha:) I do have my shorts from home, so I can always wear those if it is really inappropriate - I don't want to scare off potential donors!:)
Ah well, the fun has begun. Tomorrow we have more orienting and a lecture at UCSD. Then we are off very early Thursday morning. What have I gotten myself into?!:)
I made it!!!
So, I suppose this is it! I'm in San Diego, about ready to start our first day or orientation. It's really hard to believe that it is here already, but it is exciting!
The plane ride wasn't so bad. The leg between St. Louis and Las Vegas was probably the most turbulent ride I have ever had. The guy next to me used up like 4 barf bags, the poor thing, I felt so bad for him. And the landing was a bit scary. Mom, I'm pretty sure you would have used at least a few barf bags, I thought I might lose it.
But, I got here last night, safe and sound at about 11:30PM. Today we have a lot of stuff to cover - education, logistics, how not to get hit by a car. Should be fun:)
Almost Go Time
So. I have taken my last exam of my last clinical rotation of my last year of medical school. Terrifying and exciting all at once! Now all that lies between me and my M.D. is 3,700 miles of road.
I haven't even started packing yet... that will be for tonight and tomorrow morning. I have all of my stuff though, I just have to get it together. Today I'm going over to Clare's to help them pack up the vans and say goodbye. Then tomorrow is Ellen & Max's wedding (which I'm super excited about), and Sunday, around 5PM, I'm getting on a plane headed to San Diego. There will be three days of orientation (to the ride, each other, our lectures, etc...) before we take off on April 2nd.
I'm am fully prepared to wish death for myself at certain points and to be completely convinced that I must have gaping holes in my butt. But, I think by the time I find myself back in Columbus on May 15th I will be in shape and so happy that I have taken advantage of this opportunity!