So just a few things I didn't get a chance to mention on the previous post. I would like everyone to keep these two people in your prayers: Arnie Issette and Tyler Buitenwerf both from Michigan. Arnie, as I have mentioned before, has tore his Achilles tendon. He was hoping it wasn't torn so that he could join back up with us in Grand Rapids to finish the tour. He has torn his Achilles and required surgery last Friday and his recovery time is longer than he anticipated. Tyler was in an accident yesterday. He was in a paceline when he hit the rider in front of him. He fell really hard on his shoulder and head. He cracked his helmet and broke his right clavicle (collarbone). He will be going home to Michigan tomorrow and will be having surgery later this week. Please pray for a quick recovery for both Tyler and Arnie as they both are great people that we will/are missing very much.
We have become a community, ONE. And as we lose a single rider from this group of 140+, it hurts. We feel no longer as one. But we know God will watch over and care for us and everyone back home as well. Please pray for continued safety for us. Yes I know we have had some bad accidents, but they could quite easily be a lot worse, these riders were still able to say goodbye. And thank God for that.
ps. Hundreds of additional photos are available at www.flickr.com just search seatosea08
Sunday, July 27, 2008
A sad goodbye
Greetings from Denver, Colorado!!! Yesterday was probably the best day of the tour yet. As for the rest of the past week I'll try a quick recap, it will be spotty as is my memory of the past week. Trust me, when you have a head cold and are stuffed up and biking 140km+ daily you wouldn't remember it all either. But here we go. On Wednesday we left Craig, CO for Kremmling, CO but to get there we climbed what I think was our hardest mountain pass of the tour, Rabbit Ears Pass (elev. 9412 ft). Named for two pieces of rock that are visible on top of a nearby mountain. On the way down the mountain we hit top speeds again and encountered a flock of sheep taking up half the road. Very strange, but funny at the same time. Thursday was our shortest ride of the tour at 55km to Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA at the Rockies (just 10 miles west of Winter Park, CO) the highest resting point of the tour at 8750 ft. Friday we had a farewell service for the 13 people who will be leaving us today from Denver as this is the end of the first stage of the tour. Everyone who is finishing said a little something and someone else also said something about that person. The whole thing was very nice, and after we had Communion. I will miss 4 of them especially as we have rode together on numerous occasions. But we also are having 13 people joining us for the second section (Denver to Grand Rapids).
Yesterday as I said was the best ride yet. The scenery was amazing, the people I rode with were a lot of fun and we got to Denver, finishing our 4th week on the road. We started the day biking through Winter Park on our way to Berthoud Pass, the highest pass we have gone and are going through at 11,307 ft. The altitude over the past week from Salt Lake to Denver has affected a handful of people with altitude sickness unfortunately. Thankfully I didn't feel any affects of the thinner air other than being short of breath once and a while. The way down the pass was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. There is nothing like flying done switchbacks, back and forth, squeezing the tight turns faster than the cars could and letting her rip at 85.5km/hr (Mom I'm completely ok. If it makes you feel better we are out of the mountains and I won't have the chance to even reach anywhere near that speed again). We stopped at the bottom of the pass in the town of Empire, CO at a coffee shop to let our heart rates and adrenaline return to normal levels. We then continued (most of the day was downhill, as we nearly dropped a full mile in altitude from the top of Berthoud Pass to Denver). After another 2 hours or so of biking we stopped in the tourist town of Evergreen, CO very nice. Pretty much immediately out of Evergreen was a tight downhill canyon road pretty much to the outside of Denver (well, technically Lakewood, a suburb of Denver). This canyon was intense!! Tight turns, shifting winds, narrow shoulders, and no room for error. I would seriously consider moving there just for this stretch of road. There is not much that is more exciting than flying down a foot wide shoulder, with cars just passing, traffic coming against, and a rocky cliff edge or plunge into the rapids a few metres over the railing. Not to mention an average speed of 45-50km/hr at the same time. But that was just the riding day.
When we got to Denver Christian School we were greeted with cheerleaders, music, shouting, and clapping. Along with cookies and water and anything you could imagine. We've never had a welcome like this yet. That night me and two friends, Shawn and Brent, decided to go watch a movie. A local had graciously offered to drive us to the theatre. The movie was really good, but ended at 12:30. We had told Paul (the guy who dropped us off) not to pick us up is it would be too late, we didn't even tell him when it was ending. He however came and picked us up anyway. But that's not the end of our night, errrr morning? Anyway, he happens to work at a bakery, but not a small family shop bakery, an industrial sized, loaves of bread on conveyors through the air over our heads bakery. After the tour of the place, which was pretty big and very impressive he decided to give us a downtown tour of Denver at 1:15am. Which was awesome as we are going down there in a few minutes to go downtown and spend the day. So, the shuttle downtown is now leaving. So I must end this. Thankyou everyone again for your support!!!
Peace&GodBless
Matt
Yesterday as I said was the best ride yet. The scenery was amazing, the people I rode with were a lot of fun and we got to Denver, finishing our 4th week on the road. We started the day biking through Winter Park on our way to Berthoud Pass, the highest pass we have gone and are going through at 11,307 ft. The altitude over the past week from Salt Lake to Denver has affected a handful of people with altitude sickness unfortunately. Thankfully I didn't feel any affects of the thinner air other than being short of breath once and a while. The way down the pass was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. There is nothing like flying done switchbacks, back and forth, squeezing the tight turns faster than the cars could and letting her rip at 85.5km/hr (Mom I'm completely ok. If it makes you feel better we are out of the mountains and I won't have the chance to even reach anywhere near that speed again). We stopped at the bottom of the pass in the town of Empire, CO at a coffee shop to let our heart rates and adrenaline return to normal levels. We then continued (most of the day was downhill, as we nearly dropped a full mile in altitude from the top of Berthoud Pass to Denver). After another 2 hours or so of biking we stopped in the tourist town of Evergreen, CO very nice. Pretty much immediately out of Evergreen was a tight downhill canyon road pretty much to the outside of Denver (well, technically Lakewood, a suburb of Denver). This canyon was intense!! Tight turns, shifting winds, narrow shoulders, and no room for error. I would seriously consider moving there just for this stretch of road. There is not much that is more exciting than flying down a foot wide shoulder, with cars just passing, traffic coming against, and a rocky cliff edge or plunge into the rapids a few metres over the railing. Not to mention an average speed of 45-50km/hr at the same time. But that was just the riding day.
When we got to Denver Christian School we were greeted with cheerleaders, music, shouting, and clapping. Along with cookies and water and anything you could imagine. We've never had a welcome like this yet. That night me and two friends, Shawn and Brent, decided to go watch a movie. A local had graciously offered to drive us to the theatre. The movie was really good, but ended at 12:30. We had told Paul (the guy who dropped us off) not to pick us up is it would be too late, we didn't even tell him when it was ending. He however came and picked us up anyway. But that's not the end of our night, errrr morning? Anyway, he happens to work at a bakery, but not a small family shop bakery, an industrial sized, loaves of bread on conveyors through the air over our heads bakery. After the tour of the place, which was pretty big and very impressive he decided to give us a downtown tour of Denver at 1:15am. Which was awesome as we are going down there in a few minutes to go downtown and spend the day. So, the shuttle downtown is now leaving. So I must end this. Thankyou everyone again for your support!!!
Peace&GodBless
Matt
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Goodbye Utah
Hey everyone! So first things first.
SEAtoSEA set out to raise $1.5M to help poverty fighting causes both here in Canada and the United States but also worldwide, from Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, etc. So to follow the theme from my previous blog, we have set a new record. Not only by being the largest cross-continental bike tour, but we have also now raised $1.8M!! We have exceeded our goal and have set a new one of $2M.
As for some other interesting facts, we rode to the highest point thus far on the tour yesterday while biking from Park City (east of Salt Lake City) to Duchesne, UT at 9485ft. As we did this we finished our ride through the Wasatch Mountains (also called the Western Rockies). We are now back in, yup you just it, the desert. Today my bike’s temperature in the baking hot sun and frying pan like asphalt reached a high of 48C!!!
The climb on Monday was long, hard, but completed. We first had a 10km downhill which was a really nice start. But after that we had a long climb up the mountain pass for 50km with slopes between 4%-8%. As I said the summit’s elevation was 9485ft. The way down was fantastic, 20km without having to peddle and I reached a new top speed that won’t be disclosed as to prevent my mom from having a coronary. J
Today’s ride was gruelling, another 150km through a hot desert with nothing to see or look at except some strange and interesting rock formations. But thankfully we only have a couple long hauls through the desert before we start making our way up and over the Rockies into Denver on Saturday. Today was harder yet do to a long 20 mile gradual climb into Dinosaur, CO. Also there is a cold bug going around that I’m trying to fight off while biking 140+km a day. Not working so well, makes the rides longer than they should be. But in general I’m doing okay and am thankful that it isn’t worse and I can still ride as is the case with a few people for various reasons.
The one nice thing about always being in the middle of nowhere is that at night the stars are incredible. I’ve hardly ever seen so many before or so clear before. One bad thing about being here in the middle of nowhere is that 95% of the people here are rednecks, meaning that they don’t like bikers on the road and are very ignorant. There were a couple close calls with drivers refusing to move over a little, one lady was nearly hit by a mirror and when they drive past you they hit the gas. Nothing like a lung full of diesel exhaust to keep you going. Just plain old ignorance, and some people wonder why Americans have a bad rep. But we are no out of Utah and the general consensus is that the drivers will be better here in Colorado.
SEAtoSEA set out to raise $1.5M to help poverty fighting causes both here in Canada and the United States but also worldwide, from Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, etc. So to follow the theme from my previous blog, we have set a new record. Not only by being the largest cross-continental bike tour, but we have also now raised $1.8M!! We have exceeded our goal and have set a new one of $2M.
As for some other interesting facts, we rode to the highest point thus far on the tour yesterday while biking from Park City (east of Salt Lake City) to Duchesne, UT at 9485ft. As we did this we finished our ride through the Wasatch Mountains (also called the Western Rockies). We are now back in, yup you just it, the desert. Today my bike’s temperature in the baking hot sun and frying pan like asphalt reached a high of 48C!!!
The climb on Monday was long, hard, but completed. We first had a 10km downhill which was a really nice start. But after that we had a long climb up the mountain pass for 50km with slopes between 4%-8%. As I said the summit’s elevation was 9485ft. The way down was fantastic, 20km without having to peddle and I reached a new top speed that won’t be disclosed as to prevent my mom from having a coronary. J
Today’s ride was gruelling, another 150km through a hot desert with nothing to see or look at except some strange and interesting rock formations. But thankfully we only have a couple long hauls through the desert before we start making our way up and over the Rockies into Denver on Saturday. Today was harder yet do to a long 20 mile gradual climb into Dinosaur, CO. Also there is a cold bug going around that I’m trying to fight off while biking 140+km a day. Not working so well, makes the rides longer than they should be. But in general I’m doing okay and am thankful that it isn’t worse and I can still ride as is the case with a few people for various reasons.
The one nice thing about always being in the middle of nowhere is that at night the stars are incredible. I’ve hardly ever seen so many before or so clear before. One bad thing about being here in the middle of nowhere is that 95% of the people here are rednecks, meaning that they don’t like bikers on the road and are very ignorant. There were a couple close calls with drivers refusing to move over a little, one lady was nearly hit by a mirror and when they drive past you they hit the gas. Nothing like a lung full of diesel exhaust to keep you going. Just plain old ignorance, and some people wonder why Americans have a bad rep. But we are no out of Utah and the general consensus is that the drivers will be better here in Colorado.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Breaking records
Hello again everyone. I know I just put up a post yesterday, but today is worthy of a post of its own. First of all to mention, this tour is the largest cross-continental bike tour to date. With 128 people biking for Seattle, WA to Jersey City, NJ and another 92 taking part in various sections of the tour. And I'm glad to say that this is no longer a tour, but a huge travelling family. Everyone here gets along great and enjoys themselves. Of course like normal people we have our really bad days and our really good days. And also like most people you learn who and who you can and can't bike with for various reasons (either they are to fast, unsafe, or sometimes kinda annoying). But we all look out for each other.
But on to today. Personally I experienced five new records of my own.
Length - New Record: 167km up from 140km (mind you the route roday was a 156km ride. But me and a few others went into downtown Salt Lake City to see a few sights)
Temperature - New Records: 45C up from 42.5C (again remember that the temperature reader on my bike is exposed to the elements. I'll talk about the heat latter)
Time in the Saddle - 7hrs and 7min up from 5hrs and 30min.
Maximum Speed - 77km/hr up from 75.5km/hr
Highest Altitude - 7061 ft up from about 4700 ft
So today we left the town of Willard, UT on Great Salt Lake and rode for about 100km south to Salt Lake City, UT. The first note worthy event was about an hour and a half into the ride. We were following along our maps and directions when we noticed that a road we were told to take didn't exsist. Plus to make things more interesting, we biked on about 4 different Main Streets and pasted about 3 State Streets. So we rode for about 60km not knowing exactly where we were. But we at least knew that we were heading in the right direction, south. After that we biked for quite a bit into Salt Lake City. While there, for the short time we were, we visited the Mormon Temple Square in the downtown area. Very nice place, and also very impressive. Which makes sense as Salt Lake City is the Mormon "Mecca". After that we visited the First CRC of Salt Lake City for lunch. It was awesome, and also our first real break after biking 100km. After that we left the church and headed east for the Wasatch Mountains to climb up a couple thousand feet to Park City, but to be more specific at Jordanelle State Park. But right after leaving the church we started our first climb, which begun at a 14% grade. THAT WAS RICDIULOUS!
Anyway, the rest of the climb up Emigration Canyon was relatively easy. At the top, another church had set up a refreshment tent. They were the angels at the top of the mountain. After that was some easy coasting downhill for abit until we got onto I-80. That climb kicked me in the face. You knew the grade was steep when transports were inching past, there were also 6 trucks that had over heated and pulled off. The heat was unbarable. My thermometre read 45C at one point. It might not have been that hot, but it felt like it. The sun was cooking you from above, the black asphalt was pushing the heat right back up beneath you. And to make it worse there was zero breeze, as we crawled up. At the top there was an elevation marker reading 7061 feet. The rest of the ride was very beautiful as it looks like we have left the Sonoran Desert as it is actaully green here. We also biked past the site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, alpine events. I saw the skeleton tracks, super jump ramp and many many ski runs. We are now in Jordanelle State Park, with an awesome view of the Jordanelle Reservoir, beach front camping and all.
Anyway, it's getting late, today has been great. And I'm off to bed and ready to enjoy Zondag in off.
Peace&GodBless
Matt
ps. I miss all you guys back home! But I'm now a third of the way across. I couldn't do it without he support from my friends, extended family, Mom & Dad, Tracy & Rob, Britt, my bro Matt, and with the strength from up above.
But on to today. Personally I experienced five new records of my own.
Length - New Record: 167km up from 140km (mind you the route roday was a 156km ride. But me and a few others went into downtown Salt Lake City to see a few sights)
Temperature - New Records: 45C up from 42.5C (again remember that the temperature reader on my bike is exposed to the elements. I'll talk about the heat latter)
Time in the Saddle - 7hrs and 7min up from 5hrs and 30min.
Maximum Speed - 77km/hr up from 75.5km/hr
Highest Altitude - 7061 ft up from about 4700 ft
So today we left the town of Willard, UT on Great Salt Lake and rode for about 100km south to Salt Lake City, UT. The first note worthy event was about an hour and a half into the ride. We were following along our maps and directions when we noticed that a road we were told to take didn't exsist. Plus to make things more interesting, we biked on about 4 different Main Streets and pasted about 3 State Streets. So we rode for about 60km not knowing exactly where we were. But we at least knew that we were heading in the right direction, south. After that we biked for quite a bit into Salt Lake City. While there, for the short time we were, we visited the Mormon Temple Square in the downtown area. Very nice place, and also very impressive. Which makes sense as Salt Lake City is the Mormon "Mecca". After that we visited the First CRC of Salt Lake City for lunch. It was awesome, and also our first real break after biking 100km. After that we left the church and headed east for the Wasatch Mountains to climb up a couple thousand feet to Park City, but to be more specific at Jordanelle State Park. But right after leaving the church we started our first climb, which begun at a 14% grade. THAT WAS RICDIULOUS!
Anyway, the rest of the climb up Emigration Canyon was relatively easy. At the top, another church had set up a refreshment tent. They were the angels at the top of the mountain. After that was some easy coasting downhill for abit until we got onto I-80. That climb kicked me in the face. You knew the grade was steep when transports were inching past, there were also 6 trucks that had over heated and pulled off. The heat was unbarable. My thermometre read 45C at one point. It might not have been that hot, but it felt like it. The sun was cooking you from above, the black asphalt was pushing the heat right back up beneath you. And to make it worse there was zero breeze, as we crawled up. At the top there was an elevation marker reading 7061 feet. The rest of the ride was very beautiful as it looks like we have left the Sonoran Desert as it is actaully green here. We also biked past the site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, alpine events. I saw the skeleton tracks, super jump ramp and many many ski runs. We are now in Jordanelle State Park, with an awesome view of the Jordanelle Reservoir, beach front camping and all.
Anyway, it's getting late, today has been great. And I'm off to bed and ready to enjoy Zondag in off.
Peace&GodBless
Matt
ps. I miss all you guys back home! But I'm now a third of the way across. I couldn't do it without he support from my friends, extended family, Mom & Dad, Tracy & Rob, Britt, my bro Matt, and with the strength from up above.
Friday, July 18, 2008
The adventure thus far
Hi everyone. I'm sorry it's been a week since my last post. And what a week it has been. Last time I wrote we were in Ontario, OR. Since then we have cycled through Boise, ID, Mountain Home, ID, Gooding, ID, Burley, ID, Snowville, UT, and now we are in Willard, UT.
So let me start at the beginning. We left the city of Ontario, OR and crossed over the Snake River into Idaho early that morning. From Ontario, until just two days ago when we crossed some mountains into Utah, we have been biking through whats called Treasure or Magic Valley due to the hugely extensive amount of irrigation that literally makes the desert bloom. Treasure Valley was a nice break from the mountains as it was just as flat as back home in Southwestern Ontario. Most days have been at temperature extremes. At night it drops to 8-10C and the by 4pm it warms up to 35-40, and it is still very very dry. My bottom lip is a witness to that by the damage that has occured to it. But I've learned to remember to take care of it.
Boise, ID was a very nice city, with some attractive older downtown areas. The people were also great. Me and a few friends visited the Boise Zoo at a local park that Sunday afternoon. The next day we cycled to Mountain Home, ID. A very deceiving name, as there are no mountains, the town is in a very large valley. You can see the mountains in the far distance both on the east and west, but nothing other than that. When we got there a group of 30+ of us went to the town sports bar to watch the end of the 13th stage of Le Tour de France and to have a drink.
From Mountain Home we left for Gooding, ID. This is the start of a bunch of really good days. I biked with a man of the name Ad de Bleij. He is from The Netherlands and has been working for the CRWRC in Haiti for the past 26 years. We probably talked for at least 2 1/2 hours straight about his work and about Haiti in general. I learned a lot from this man, and a lot about possible future paths for myself. If you know me, you might know that working overseas with an agency somewhere were there is no health care has been an interest, so Ad and I talked about the work some health agencies do. This helped me. We stopped in a the tiny town of Glenns Ferry, ID for a coffee at a gas station, that was really good. I was also in Bliss that day. No, really we rode through a town called Bliss. A really worn down place of 276 people, didn't quite live up to its name.
From Gooding we rode to Burley, our last stop in Idaho. W visited a huge dairy farm operation just outside Gooding that had about 3000 cattle in total, 1700 milking. They milked 1700 cattle, 3 times a day, with the average cow giving 10 gallons of milk a day. They had a huge rotating horizontal wheel that dozens of cows would be on at one time. They would walk on at one spot where a worker would start milking the cow. This of course is done by machine. By the time the cow gets to were they started the milker releases and the cow walks off. Very effiecent. We then where riding and suddenly (I mean this in the very sense of the word) we came upon the Snake River Canyon. A huge hole essentially dug out in the landscape. Very beautiful! And the size was incredible! We then biked into Twin Falls where the Twin Falls Reformed Church greeted us with Subway, chocolate milk, and ice cream bars. We then biked and saw Shosone Falls, very nice once again. Once we got to Burley a couple friends and myself where photographed and interviewed about the tour by the South Idaho Press and we made the paper (http://www.southidahopress.com/articles/2008/07/18/news/local/9267cycling.txt).
The ride from Burley, ID to Snowville, UT was pretty much uneventful. It is our longest ride to date at 140km, spending 5 1/2 hours on the bicycle seat. The terrian was barren, the wind was against us, and we where up hill for a good portion of the ride. But we eventually got to Snowville, and when we did we doubled the town's population of 170. The size of the town also meant no showers. So we made some. With a tarp, a hose, and some ingenuity. Yesterday was also a sad day for us, as we our loosing one of our riders. A guy named Arnie. Arnie seems to have the most drive and one of the biggest hearts here. But as old injuries seem to come up time and time again (an old curling injury in his case) he thinks he has torn his Achilles tendon. Which means he cannot bike anymore in fear of completely snapping it. We will all miss him.
And today, to finish this long post, was awesome. We rode another 108km to Willard, UT where we are camping next to Great Salt Lake, however our corner has been cut off from the main lake and is fresh water. And boy did it feel good to have a swim after the long ride.
So to end this, the journey has been incredible. I'm feeling great, minus sore knees and a sore butt. And I'm looking forward to the day off in Salt Lake City.
Peace&GodBless
Matt
So let me start at the beginning. We left the city of Ontario, OR and crossed over the Snake River into Idaho early that morning. From Ontario, until just two days ago when we crossed some mountains into Utah, we have been biking through whats called Treasure or Magic Valley due to the hugely extensive amount of irrigation that literally makes the desert bloom. Treasure Valley was a nice break from the mountains as it was just as flat as back home in Southwestern Ontario. Most days have been at temperature extremes. At night it drops to 8-10C and the by 4pm it warms up to 35-40, and it is still very very dry. My bottom lip is a witness to that by the damage that has occured to it. But I've learned to remember to take care of it.
Boise, ID was a very nice city, with some attractive older downtown areas. The people were also great. Me and a few friends visited the Boise Zoo at a local park that Sunday afternoon. The next day we cycled to Mountain Home, ID. A very deceiving name, as there are no mountains, the town is in a very large valley. You can see the mountains in the far distance both on the east and west, but nothing other than that. When we got there a group of 30+ of us went to the town sports bar to watch the end of the 13th stage of Le Tour de France and to have a drink.
From Mountain Home we left for Gooding, ID. This is the start of a bunch of really good days. I biked with a man of the name Ad de Bleij. He is from The Netherlands and has been working for the CRWRC in Haiti for the past 26 years. We probably talked for at least 2 1/2 hours straight about his work and about Haiti in general. I learned a lot from this man, and a lot about possible future paths for myself. If you know me, you might know that working overseas with an agency somewhere were there is no health care has been an interest, so Ad and I talked about the work some health agencies do. This helped me. We stopped in a the tiny town of Glenns Ferry, ID for a coffee at a gas station, that was really good. I was also in Bliss that day. No, really we rode through a town called Bliss. A really worn down place of 276 people, didn't quite live up to its name.
From Gooding we rode to Burley, our last stop in Idaho. W visited a huge dairy farm operation just outside Gooding that had about 3000 cattle in total, 1700 milking. They milked 1700 cattle, 3 times a day, with the average cow giving 10 gallons of milk a day. They had a huge rotating horizontal wheel that dozens of cows would be on at one time. They would walk on at one spot where a worker would start milking the cow. This of course is done by machine. By the time the cow gets to were they started the milker releases and the cow walks off. Very effiecent. We then where riding and suddenly (I mean this in the very sense of the word) we came upon the Snake River Canyon. A huge hole essentially dug out in the landscape. Very beautiful! And the size was incredible! We then biked into Twin Falls where the Twin Falls Reformed Church greeted us with Subway, chocolate milk, and ice cream bars. We then biked and saw Shosone Falls, very nice once again. Once we got to Burley a couple friends and myself where photographed and interviewed about the tour by the South Idaho Press and we made the paper (http://www.southidahopress.com/articles/2008/07/18/news/local/9267cycling.txt).
The ride from Burley, ID to Snowville, UT was pretty much uneventful. It is our longest ride to date at 140km, spending 5 1/2 hours on the bicycle seat. The terrian was barren, the wind was against us, and we where up hill for a good portion of the ride. But we eventually got to Snowville, and when we did we doubled the town's population of 170. The size of the town also meant no showers. So we made some. With a tarp, a hose, and some ingenuity. Yesterday was also a sad day for us, as we our loosing one of our riders. A guy named Arnie. Arnie seems to have the most drive and one of the biggest hearts here. But as old injuries seem to come up time and time again (an old curling injury in his case) he thinks he has torn his Achilles tendon. Which means he cannot bike anymore in fear of completely snapping it. We will all miss him.
And today, to finish this long post, was awesome. We rode another 108km to Willard, UT where we are camping next to Great Salt Lake, however our corner has been cut off from the main lake and is fresh water. And boy did it feel good to have a swim after the long ride.
So to end this, the journey has been incredible. I'm feeling great, minus sore knees and a sore butt. And I'm looking forward to the day off in Salt Lake City.
Peace&GodBless
Matt
Friday, July 11, 2008
Operation Desert Storm
So, this will be quick as I'm writing to you from a very comfy couch in a small coffee shop called 'Jolts & Juice' in downtown Ontario, OR. Tomorrow we will be leaving this state for Boise, ID. My experience in Oregon has been hot, dry, and fun. The entire time here in Oregon from Pendleton to La Grande to Baker City to Huntington to here in Ontario we've been biking through more of the Sonoran Desert. It has been very hot and as dry as a popcorn fart. The hottest my thermometre on my bike has reached has been around 40C (104F). But I have to say, the people of Oregon have been the kindest and happiest people we have met so far.
Last night was interesting. We were in the very small and sadly impoverished town of Huntington, OR and were perched on top of a hill over looking the town of about 500 people from a football field with desert surrounding on all sides. Well, as luck would have it the wind picked up, and boy did it not let up. The wind was intense, picking up the finest of fine and driest of dry dust I've ever seen and blowing it in large clouds against and through our tent town. It was crazy!! My tent sadly lost the battle and collapsed on me, however I wasn't asleep yet anyway, as the fly was making far too much noise in the wind to ever entertain the idea of rest. So I let nature win the battle I now call Desert Storm and slept with the a small group of other defeatents on the school gym floor.
The ride is still surprising me everyday, I've learned not to expect anything and to be ready for whatever is around the next hill.
Peace&GodBless
MattRekman
Flat tire count: 159... 3 of which are mine :(
Last night was interesting. We were in the very small and sadly impoverished town of Huntington, OR and were perched on top of a hill over looking the town of about 500 people from a football field with desert surrounding on all sides. Well, as luck would have it the wind picked up, and boy did it not let up. The wind was intense, picking up the finest of fine and driest of dry dust I've ever seen and blowing it in large clouds against and through our tent town. It was crazy!! My tent sadly lost the battle and collapsed on me, however I wasn't asleep yet anyway, as the fly was making far too much noise in the wind to ever entertain the idea of rest. So I let nature win the battle I now call Desert Storm and slept with the a small group of other defeatents on the school gym floor.
The ride is still surprising me everyday, I've learned not to expect anything and to be ready for whatever is around the next hill.
Peace&GodBless
MattRekman
Flat tire count: 159... 3 of which are mine :(
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Beauty in the deceiving emptiness
WOW. I'll do my best here, but it is an impossible task to sum up the last couple days in words and even in pictures. Ever since we left the Cascade Mountains from Leavenworth, WA the landscape here has become overwhelmingly more barren and brown. Which makes sense now that we are riding through the northern part of the Sonoran Desert. But even in the barren, what one might call a wasteland, it is incredibally beautiful. Life almost seems more amazing here then else where, simply because it is so very dry. Of course as irony would have it, we got our first day of riding in the rain here in the Sonoran Desert while headed for the town of Sunnyside, WA.
We've been riding alongside the Yakima River the last couple days and it is quite amazing what they have done here. Irrigation canals run all throughout the river valley here, feeding the countless orchards and vineyards that line the Yakima River. We even rode through the apple juice capitol of the world, Selah, WA. On our 4th day I believe, we rode through the Yakima Canyon. Which was simply one the most absolutely stunning places I've been to. the way the river is lined with viberant greens, which is quite suddenly surrounded by an imensity of brown. The canyon cliffs sore out alongside the river, with trails winding up them from the Longhorned goats that live here. Yesterday we stayed our journey along the Yakima through some more cliff land. Except these cliffs were different, they weren't along the river but much farther back and made of lava rock. But still beautiful. Some friends and myself decided to go climbing up one of the cliffs and boy, was the view from on top spectacular, we could see for miles down both sides of the river valley.
The climate here is unbelieveable. Yesterday as we biked from Sunnyside to Kennewick the temperature was hovering around 40C, the thermometre on my bike even read 42.5C at one point!! Keep in mind there is virtually no humidity here, which also means that water is just sucked out of you at an incredible rate.
We are now resting for the weekend in Kennewick, WA and are camped out alongside the Columbia River, which is very cold yet refreshing. We also had our Celebration Rally today, which was very nice. We where also treated to music from a group of a half dozen refugees from Burma, they were very good! Anywho, it is time I should go. As I said earlier, one cannot explain this trip in words and not even in pictures. But pictures help explain it a litte. If you would like, I have a lot of pictures posted already on my Facebook page, you can check them out.
Peace&GodBless
MattRekman, thankyou all for your continued support and prayers!
flat tire count: 53 at last count (I have had only two flats, both yesterday. One was from a tiny rock and another from a horrible thorn called a Goat's Head. You'll probably hear more about them, as they are the arch enemy of cyclists).
We've been riding alongside the Yakima River the last couple days and it is quite amazing what they have done here. Irrigation canals run all throughout the river valley here, feeding the countless orchards and vineyards that line the Yakima River. We even rode through the apple juice capitol of the world, Selah, WA. On our 4th day I believe, we rode through the Yakima Canyon. Which was simply one the most absolutely stunning places I've been to. the way the river is lined with viberant greens, which is quite suddenly surrounded by an imensity of brown. The canyon cliffs sore out alongside the river, with trails winding up them from the Longhorned goats that live here. Yesterday we stayed our journey along the Yakima through some more cliff land. Except these cliffs were different, they weren't along the river but much farther back and made of lava rock. But still beautiful. Some friends and myself decided to go climbing up one of the cliffs and boy, was the view from on top spectacular, we could see for miles down both sides of the river valley.
The climate here is unbelieveable. Yesterday as we biked from Sunnyside to Kennewick the temperature was hovering around 40C, the thermometre on my bike even read 42.5C at one point!! Keep in mind there is virtually no humidity here, which also means that water is just sucked out of you at an incredible rate.
We are now resting for the weekend in Kennewick, WA and are camped out alongside the Columbia River, which is very cold yet refreshing. We also had our Celebration Rally today, which was very nice. We where also treated to music from a group of a half dozen refugees from Burma, they were very good! Anywho, it is time I should go. As I said earlier, one cannot explain this trip in words and not even in pictures. But pictures help explain it a litte. If you would like, I have a lot of pictures posted already on my Facebook page, you can check them out.
Peace&GodBless
MattRekman, thankyou all for your continued support and prayers!
flat tire count: 53 at last count (I have had only two flats, both yesterday. One was from a tiny rock and another from a horrible thorn called a Goat's Head. You'll probably hear more about them, as they are the arch enemy of cyclists).
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
All things big and small.
Ok so the internet connection wasn’t up to par. So I’ll put Day 1 &2 together here.
Day 1 – Seattle, WA to Sultan, WA 83km
We started out the day early, around 7am we got all of our stuff loaded onto the gear truck and headed out to Golden Garden Beach; which had a beautiful and had a very nice view of the Olympic Mountains. We also had an amazing breakfast of muffins, danishes, fruits, yogurt, cereal, and an assortment of juices which was put together by the local churches. After breakfast we all headed down to the water for the tire dipping celebration which was incredibly unifying and kind of surreal. It was and still is a little hard to believe we are, a group of 149 right now, are biking across the continent!
The first day was a hot one, although nice and cold by the coast which we biked alongside for about 20km before leaving the city. The sun only grew stronger throughout the day, even against our best efforts of keeping cool by creating a strong breeze on the downhill, which wasn’t incredibly high just steep. I reached a top speed of 63.1km/h, which still stands as the fastest yet, despite today’s downhill. All in all, the first day went well. Despite two major falls, one by an older lady who suffered a minor concussion, and another by a fellow named Art who has a bit of a sprained ankle.
Flat tire count after one day: 9 (not my count, but the entire group’s)
Day 2 – Sultan, WA to Leavenworth, WA 127km
Today was very tough. Not just because of the distance, but the climbing we did. We started out the first 50 km in gentle terrain, slowly gaining altitude with a hill here and a downhill there. We passed through some small towns along the way: Gold Bar, Baring, Skykomish, and Index (which had a 10 foot Bigfoot statue). Very nice places. The landscape today was beautiful. Snow-capped mountains, snow melt streams, waterfalls, raging rapids, and gentle rivers. As the titlw says, "All things big and small" it surely applies to the wonder and beauty of the creation. Everything praises God in their own way. The huge mountains seem to leap into the heavens, and the dozens of icecold waterfalls alone the road sing with their splashes of joy. However the landscape was also gruelling. We climbed through the Cascade Mountains via Stevens Pass. About a 15km, all uphill, 6% grade climb to a maximum of 4061 ft in altitude at the top (keep in mind we started the day around 160 ft).The downhill was nice, although the wind was against on the other side of the mountain which made it tough. But we made it which no serious falls, yet tired. I’m off to bed now and waking up early tomorrow morning to head out for the next mountain pass.
Flat tire count: 20
Day 1 – Seattle, WA to Sultan, WA 83km
We started out the day early, around 7am we got all of our stuff loaded onto the gear truck and headed out to Golden Garden Beach; which had a beautiful and had a very nice view of the Olympic Mountains. We also had an amazing breakfast of muffins, danishes, fruits, yogurt, cereal, and an assortment of juices which was put together by the local churches. After breakfast we all headed down to the water for the tire dipping celebration which was incredibly unifying and kind of surreal. It was and still is a little hard to believe we are, a group of 149 right now, are biking across the continent!
The first day was a hot one, although nice and cold by the coast which we biked alongside for about 20km before leaving the city. The sun only grew stronger throughout the day, even against our best efforts of keeping cool by creating a strong breeze on the downhill, which wasn’t incredibly high just steep. I reached a top speed of 63.1km/h, which still stands as the fastest yet, despite today’s downhill. All in all, the first day went well. Despite two major falls, one by an older lady who suffered a minor concussion, and another by a fellow named Art who has a bit of a sprained ankle.
Flat tire count after one day: 9 (not my count, but the entire group’s)
Day 2 – Sultan, WA to Leavenworth, WA 127km
Today was very tough. Not just because of the distance, but the climbing we did. We started out the first 50 km in gentle terrain, slowly gaining altitude with a hill here and a downhill there. We passed through some small towns along the way: Gold Bar, Baring, Skykomish, and Index (which had a 10 foot Bigfoot statue). Very nice places. The landscape today was beautiful. Snow-capped mountains, snow melt streams, waterfalls, raging rapids, and gentle rivers. As the titlw says, "All things big and small" it surely applies to the wonder and beauty of the creation. Everything praises God in their own way. The huge mountains seem to leap into the heavens, and the dozens of icecold waterfalls alone the road sing with their splashes of joy. However the landscape was also gruelling. We climbed through the Cascade Mountains via Stevens Pass. About a 15km, all uphill, 6% grade climb to a maximum of 4061 ft in altitude at the top (keep in mind we started the day around 160 ft).The downhill was nice, although the wind was against on the other side of the mountain which made it tough. But we made it which no serious falls, yet tired. I’m off to bed now and waking up early tomorrow morning to head out for the next mountain pass.
Flat tire count: 20
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