this is america.

August 5th ... more photos

2010-08-05T15:12:00.001-07:00

Fenway Park

2010-08-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

August 5 ... this morning we visited my high school in Andover Mass, then it was off to Fenway Park .... I pedaled onto Yawkey Way at 2:17 pm then around the block to meet the support team at the Ted Williams and Teammates monuments. It was pure joy to be at Fenway with my bike. We took GianCarlo to the RedSox store to get his official game hat ... the exact same one that the players wear.

This blog ends here but not before I give the biggest hugs in the world to Nini, GianCarlo and Grace ... the greatest support team in the world.

August 5th ...

2010-08-05T04:03:00.000-07:00

In a few hours the last stage of Le Tour de L'amerique will start. It is 57 days since the first stage left the start line under a bridge in Astoria Oregon.

more photos of the merrimack valley

2010-08-04T19:59:00.001-07:00

y

2010-08-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Brattleboro to Lowell Ma.

2010-08-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

August 4th ... just one day left on the tour de l'amerique. Today the ride took me from Brattleboro to Lowell. During the first 40 miles some of the hills had 13 degree grades, more than any of rides in the cascade, sawtooth, teton or rocky mountains. The greatest support team in the world spent the day exploring the Merrimack River Valley and Lowell.

Tomorrow the tour will end at Fenway Park home of the Red Sox Nation.

Albany to Brattleboro Vermont

2010-08-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

August 3 .... 76 miles ...4635 feet of climbing ..... well it has been a long time since I have had climbs like today. I used gears that I had not used since the Rockies. At one point there was a 10% grade. Well, this is why it is called the green mountain state. Lots of quaint villages and maple syrup stands everywhere. The support team explored Bennington and Nini posed with the local moose. Tomorrow, we head to Massachusetts.

little to albany

2010-08-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

August 2 ... Richard and I set out in a pouring rain which more or less continued for the first 35 miles until we reached Amsterdam. Our destination was the Albany Airport because Richard had a 2:55 pm flight back to San Francisco. We made good time and reached the airport at about 1 pm where the support crew was waiting for us with a change of clothes... and Richard's baggage. Needless to say this is the best support crew in the world. This evening we headed to Albany to view the center and to eat blazing spicy burritos. Tomorrow, we head to Vermont

Baseball hall of fame

2010-08-01T18:54:00.001-07:00

syracuse, rome and baseball in one day

2010-08-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

this morning we visited syracuse university where my great aunt and my mother went to school. The old section of the campus is stunning. Then we went over to Rome (new york that is) and to San Pietro or Saint Peter's as they call it. After that, we headed to the vaticano of baseball, the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. On the way back, in the middle of Amish country, there was an outstanding Russian Orthodox Monastery.

white sausages

2010-07-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

today we came within 2 miles of riding a century but we did get to get Zweibels' white sausaages. The support squad visited the museum in Palmyra which had an awesome guide ... he posed with richard and me.

tomorrow we are going to shorten our ride for the best of all reasons: to visit the baseball hall of fame.

Erie canal day 1: Biking Bliss

2010-07-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

July 30th ... Richard Choi arrived in Buffalo after flying all night and we headed straight to the Erie Canal for a 70 mile ride. Obviously, sleep deprivation has no effect on Richard ... I could hardly keep up with him. We did get lost and ended up in Greece ......... New York of course. Tonight we ate at Dinosaur in Rochester which has been featured on the Food Channel. We tend to rely on the Food Channel rather than the Michelin Guide or Zagats. Tomorrow, we head back to the Canal for another day of riding bliss ... no cars, no noise except when they raise the bridges for a boat.

under the falls ... erie canal

2010-07-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

July 29th ... today we viewed the falls from below by taking an elevator down the equivelant of 17 floors ... we also drove over to Lockport to check out the Erie Canal ... starting tomorrow our bike route will take us on the tow path of the canal from Lockport to Albany for more than 350 miles. We should arrive in Albany on Monday. A bit of history about the canal: It was built between 1817 and 1825 to connect the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. The 363 mile long canal was dug by hand and over a thousand men lost their lives in the process. The rise from the Hudson to the Niagara River is over 550 feet. Originally 83 locks were used to raise and lower boats.

more Niagara photos

2010-07-28T14:00:00.001-07:00

July 28 Niagara Falls NY/Ontario

2010-07-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

Last night we made it to Niagara Falls after a long drive from Cleveland. Had to make up the time we spent in Moab and the Rockies. Our hotel, the Giacomo, is a lovely combination of art deco and Mayan architecture. Cara and Chris have been giving us awesome attention. Today, I headed over to Canada to check out the views and the bike shops. Found a great shop run by Sadru and Amir Kassam who grew up in Uganda and have been in Niagara Falls Ontario for 35 years and their shop is still going strong. We got completely soaked on the Maid of the Mist cruise into the falls. Great fun!

biking cleveland

2010-07-27T05:52:00.001-07:00

The support crew wants me to post more bike pictures ... so here are some from my ride along Lake Erie in Cleveland

2010-07-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

July 26 Columbus to Cleveland

2010-07-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Last night we took the good advice of the Food Network and went to Schmidt's in Germantown, Columbus Ohio .... we went straight at the Bratwurst and the Cream Puffs.

Today we arrived in Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Wonderful exhibits on the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and Motown.

More photos of Indianapolis

2010-07-25T14:14:00.001-07:00

indianapolis July25

2010-07-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

This morning I rode out to the Major Taylor Velodrome which was built to honor the greatest cyclist of all time. Later we visited the Indiana State Museum and walked along the canals both of which are splendid examples of urban planning and revitalization.

Bloomington to Indianapolis

2010-07-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

July 24th ... before leaving Bloomington, we visited the movie home of Dave and his cat Fellini.

The ride to Indianapolis was memorable ... not for the length (59.5 miles), not for the altitude (practically sea level), not for the wind (almost non-existent) but for the HEAT ... it was between 93 and 103F for almost the whole ride. Never have ridden in heat like this.

We are in Indianapolis to honor the greatest cyclist who ever lived: Major Taylor

Best bike movie ever made

2010-07-23T18:13:00.001-07:00

today's blog is devoted entirely to the best bike movie ever made: Breaking Away. Today we visited some of the locations where the film was made and tried to recreate some of the scenes.

For those who have not seen the movie, here is a quick summary: Dave Stoller is an aspiring cyclist who learns that the best cyclists are Italian --- ok, the film was made 30 years ago. So he tries to turn himself into an Italian: he shaves his legs, sings opera and eats zucchini. He enchants an Indiana U coed, Katherine whom he calls Katarina, by singing to her in Italian in front of her sorority. There is a brawl between Dave and his friends and the frat boys at Indiana over Katarina which takes place at the student union bowling alley and the student beer hall. The matter is finally settled at a bike race between Dave and his friends and the frat boys. The local boys are known as cutters bcs their fathers all worked at the local quarry. Today we tried to recreate some of the scenes. Nini plays the role of Katarina.

Many thanks to the folks at Revoluation Bike and Bean for helping us find the locations and to Farm Bloomington for feeding us so well tonight. It was the best meal we have had on this trip.

July 22 Chicago to Champaign

2010-07-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

This morning we explored Lincoln Park which lies in front of our hotel ... The Conservatory and the Zoo were the focus of our exploration ... That afternoon we drove to Champaign the home of the University of Illinois which has an enormous and lovely campus ... tomorrow it is back to biking as we head to Bloomington Indiana where they filmed the best bike movie ever made "Breaking Away." We plan on visiting many of the locations where it was filmed.

Chicago Day 4 .. day and night

2010-07-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

July 21st ... off to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the German submarine U505 captured during WW II .... then over to the Field Museum of Natural History to see mammoths and mastodons ... the titans of the ice age ... made us famished so we headed over to Greektown for dinner ... then to the Pritzker Pavillion for a concert ... this is a fun fun city

it's fun being a tourist in Chicago

2010-07-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

July20th ... today was devoted to the Art Institute and the surrounding parks.

chicago

2010-07-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

July 19th ... This is the support team's first visit to Chicago ... no time for biking when there is so much to do and see ... the public art in the plazas is stunning: Dubuffet, Chagall, Picasso, Miro, Calder and the extraordinary piece in millenium park by Kapoor which we call "the egg" although locals call it "the bean." We will be here until Thursday so no bike news until Friday, but we will update the blog each day as we explore this wonderful city.

more milwaukee/support team arrives at hotel chicago

2010-07-18T17:31:00.001-07:00

support team visiting Milwaukee

2010-07-18T17:23:00.001-07:00

July 18th AM

Milwaukee to Chicago

2010-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

July 18th ... 95.6 miles ... the rain gods were kind ... despite incessant threats of thunderstorms, only a few harmless drops fell. For the first time in ages, there was no corn along the route. Happily for me, I entered Chicago via Clark Street which took me to Wrigley Field, the home of the Cubbies. I arrived at the hotel before the support team and checked us in.

The support crew visited the downtown Milwaukee, the Harley Davidson museum and the Mars Cheese Castle.

sunset in Madison/county fair

2010-07-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

more milwaukee/inside the museum

2010-07-17T19:36:00.001-07:00

milwaukee

2010-07-17T19:28:00.001-07:00

July 17th ... the big surprise of the trip: Milwaukee ... today we spent most of the day at the Milwaukee Art Museum ... it blew us away: there are over 1400 works on view and it is housed in a breathtaking building by Santiago Calatrava which has been hailed by many critics as one of the five most important buildings of the 21st Century ... it has one of the best collections of German Expressionism in the world ... the wings of the building open and close at noon ... just stunning to see with Lake Michigan as the backdrop ... before leaving us for San Francisco Mike Larsen visited the country fair in Madison and captured a lovely sunset.

more madison photos

2010-07-16T17:55:00.001-07:00

July 16 Rest Day Madison

2010-07-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

We spent the day touring the capital building which is a lovely edifice ... then we were off to the State Street fair for Bratwurst and Gelato ... then a tour of the U of Wisconsin Campus

More dells to madison photos

2010-07-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

The Dells to Madison

2010-07-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

July 15th ... easy ride, the wind was behind us and the shoulder was wide. The Dells is like Las Vegas for Kids .... Water- themed parks and rides for as far as the eye can see ... same kind of kitch as Vegas but fun to see ... the support team arrived early and headed to the museums in Madison ... tomorrow is a rest day ... there is the University and a county fair to visit

more pix at the bike museum

2010-07-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

the support squad at the Sparta Museum

2010-07-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

la Crosse to the Dells

2010-07-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

July 14^th … La Crosse to The Dells … 92 miles … The wind gods were quite naughty today … nothing but constant head and cross winds … The La Crosse River Bike Trail was quite lovely … The support team headed to the Museum in Sparta which claims to be the bike capital of America … tomorrow we head to Madison

more photos from La Crosse

2010-07-13T19:30:00.001-07:00

La crosse support squad photos

2010-07-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

all things amish etc

the Great River Road

2010-07-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

along the mississippi by bike

Great photo day- Rochester to la Crosse

2010-07-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

July 13th ... we sure had fun taking photos today ... I must have stopped 20 times along the 96 mile ride to La Crosse and the support team was trigger happy as well. The corn seems to grow a foot a day . The ride into Wisconsin took me across the Mississippi and then along the Great River Road into La Crosse. Along the way I stopped for freshly picked blueberries. The support team found all things Amish.

PS our friend Malcolm Dixon from Adelaide Australia on corn:

"You are riding through my type of country, I don’t mind the corn because it usually indicates that the terrain is OK!"

more pix mankato to rochester

2010-07-12T17:11:00.001-07:00

could not do this trip without the support squad

mankato to rochester mn

2010-07-12T17:05:00.001-07:00

July 11th ... our ride took us along 93 miles of more corn, soy and lakes ... the support team had a much better day of photo ops ... tomorrow we cross over into Wisconsin

more pix Worthington MN to Mankato

2010-07-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

The support team found plenty to do today

july 11 worthington mn to mankota mn

2010-07-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

today was the longest ride so far ... 120 miles or 192 km ... of course most of it was on roads lined with corn or soy ... but today there were also the lakes, after all this is the land of 10,000 lakes ... the local farmers told us that some pieces of farm equipment run $500,000 and can be operated remotely. One of them joked that he was going to move to Arizona and harvest his corn via remote from his golf cart ... tomorrow we head to Rochester MN the home of the Mayo Clinic.

more pix from Sioux Falls to Worthington MN

2010-07-10T20:47:00.001-07:00

and of course there are lots of pigs

Sioux Falls to Worthington

2010-07-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

July 10th ... back riding with our friend Mike Larsen who flew into Sioux Falls last night. Good to have him along ... been a bit lonely riding solo. Mike picked a great city to start in. Sioux Falls has about 20 miles of bike trail along the river ... our ride out of the city took us right by the falls before we headed east to Worthington. Once in the countryside, there were fields of corn and soy as far as the horizon. As Mike ( our resident poet) put it, the fields shimmer like velvet. The support team ---Nini and GianCarlo --- had good fun at the Falls Park.

more pix from Lincoln Highway

2010-07-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

toward the east end of Nebraska, we crossed the Missouri River and then headed into Iowa before turning North to South Dakota

july 9th ... the Lincoln Highway Nebraska

2010-07-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

We skipped the interstate and rode across Nebraska on the Lincoln Highway which was constructed almost 100 years ago as the first US transcontinental ... in places, they have kept the original bricks ... for hundreds of miles the highway runs parallel to the Union Pacific tracks and trains pass at the rate of about 30 per hour. And, of course, the corn and the silos and the processing factories ... tomorrow we ride again from Sioux Falls to Worthington MN

Denver: Rest and Repair

2010-07-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

July 8 ... today was a rest, repair and travel day. This morning we all visited the Performing Arts

Center which was modeled after South Bank in London. Then I was off to the bike shop for repairs and Nini and GianCarlo visited the Arts Center ... in the afternoon we head NE to Nebraska where we followed the Lincoln Highway which was the first transcontinental road running from NYC to SF. The highway follows the railroad ... 10,000 cars a day run thru North Platt. More travel tomorrow ... we head to Sioux Falls to pick up our friend Mike Larsen from SF

support team at Monarch Pass Pics

2010-07-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

monarch pass 11,312ft ..3448 meters

2010-07-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

July 7 ... this morning we started out from the Tomichi Creek Trading Post Chuck Wagon and climbed almost 3000 feet up to the Monarch Pass at 11, 312 feet. I thought I could see Fenway Park in Boston from the Pass. The support team was waiting for me at the top. Could not do this without them. They rode the Gondola to the top of the mountain. We are spending the night in Denver.

ouray pics

2010-07-06T21:18:00.001-07:00

black canyon national park ..ouray

2010-07-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

jul6 ... another day and another national park ... black canyon was awesome ... then we were off to Ouray which claims to be the Little Switzerland of American ... no pix of Nini or GianCarlo bcs they forgot to take pix of each other while I was biking ...

more pix from arches

2010-07-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

july 5th ... pix from Arches National Park

2010-07-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

pix from canyonlands national park

2010-07-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

july 4th pm

2010-07-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

happily, our detour has taken us to Canyonlands National Park ... and tomorrow to Arches National Park ... this sure beats crossing eastern Wyoming and South Dakota ... in some of the photos we are looking down on the Colorado River Canyons that we traversed earlier in the day on our river expedition

more colorado pix

2010-07-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

pix from colorado exped

2010-07-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

colorado river expedition

2010-07-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

July 4th ...we set out at 6:30 am ... a German couple dressed as Uncle and Auntie Sam came along ... the rock art was stunning and,of the course, the river and its many canyons

provo to soldier summit and on to Moab

2010-07-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

July 3 .... this morning rode from Provo to Soldier Summit ... 7447 feet ... on reaching the pass the temperature was 90 plus but fortunately there was little wind ... normally there is a fierce head wind ... Great to have the support team looking after me ... after reaching Soldier's Summit we headed on to Moab ... tomorrow we will take a boat on the Colorado River and then visit Arches National Park

Le tour will resume

2010-07-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Le Tour shall resume from Provo Ut. up over the Soldier Summit (7440 feet) ... after that Le Tour will head to Arches National Park and then on to the Rockies (Monarch Pass) ... we have rerouted to avoid eastern Wyoming and South Dakota ...

the tetons on the way down

2010-06-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

almost as high as you can get on a road bike

2010-06-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

before turning around, the challenge of Togwotee remained. Togwotee Pass (pronounced toe-go-tee) (el. 9658 ft/2944 m) is a mountain pass located on the continental divide in the Absaroka Mountains of the United States, between the towns of Dubois and Moran Junction, Wyoming in the Jackson Hole valley. The grades were not nearly as severe as Teton Pass (5-6 versus 9-10) and the vistas were stunning. This is the most beautiful climb I have ever done ... going up there were enromous rock formations. At the Continental divide lies the Mountain of Two Oceans ... the name is obvious. Going down, the Tetons laid on the horizon.

TRIP ABORTED

2010-06-27T05:59:00.001-07:00

June 27 ... we had to abort the trip because we do not have a driver for the SAG wagon. Thanks for watching.

TRIP ABORTED

2010-06-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

June 27 ... we had to abort the trip because we do not have a driver for the SAG wagon. Thanks for watching.

Images from Jackson Hole

2010-06-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

After the fright of the downhill, we were starving and headed to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and Steakhouse for some Elk soup and steak. MMMMMMMMMMMMM!

More Pictures Swan Valley to Jackson

2010-06-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

2010-06-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

June 25th ... this morning at the crack of dawn Emmanuelle headed back to the bay area ... we will miss her greatly as we head east from Jackson to Boston ... we will continue this blog as it has given us such pleasure ... before reporting yesterday's ride, I would like to again thank Emmanuelle for organizing this part of the trip ... it could not have been better.

As for yesterday, it was the best of rides and the worst of rides . First the best, the ride from Swan Valley to Victor was stunningly beautiful ... from Victor up to the pass at 8431 feet was a bit disappointing due to the incessant stream of RVS, campers, trailers and trucks all of which sprayed diesel fumes on the hapless cyclists who were navigating the 10% grades.

The worst part for me was the ride downhill which was more than 5 miles of 10%. About halfway down my carbon rims overheated and warped and my front tube blew out. Happily, I was able to stop without falling and got a ride to Fitzgerald's Bike Shop who were extremely helpful. I will have to send my front wheel back to Reynolds for a new rim but I was not hurt so that is a small price to pay.

Over the next two days, Rita (Nini) and I will visit Yellowstone and Teton National Parks then back on the bike to traverse the Continental Divide at Togwotee Pass (9000 plus feet)

from surf town to ski town... and back to the bay

2010-06-24T22:11:00.001-07:00

teton pass lived up to the hype. consistent 10% grades up and down for miles. now too tired to update with pics from the last two days but will do so tomorrow... from san francisco... ahh. just in time for pride.

Yes we have arrived in jackson

2010-06-24T20:39:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow's start

2010-06-23T15:03:00.001-07:00

rise and shine as we head up 10% grades over Teton pass!

heading to teton pass

2010-06-23T06:02:00.000-07:00

over the next two days we will climb the teton pass ... 8,431 feet (2570 m) ... the grades will reach 10 degrees so this is quite a good challenge ... fortunately emmanuelle broke the ride into two segments ... first day (today) over to Swan Valley and then tomorrow we ride over the pass into Jackson .. we will have great weather unlike our ride over the Galena Pass ... will post pictures when we arrive in Jackson.

arco to idaho falls through the nuclear scape

2010-06-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

zeke joined us from logan, ut after a grueling bus + bike + support car adventure from his house to arco yesterday. phil and rita took the day off the explore the moon, while zeke and i rode through the birthplace of nuclear power generation in america... exciting stuff. we passed the first nuclear power plant ever built, two roadkill rattlesnakes, and lots of sagebrush. hopefully the gamma rays didn't permeate too deeply. there were literally no stores or towns on the entire 68+ mile trek, we had lunch on a knoll of sage brush off the side of the road. here are some highlights:

zeke ready to ride

mr. pickles has a competitor here in arco

we skipped the tour

straight out of the simpsons

one of the buttes

hailey to arco... a recap

2010-06-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

no "wifi" as they call it in arco so now updating from idaho falls the last couple of days. yesterday we descended out of the wood river valley past some amazing ranches and modern design and into the northern section of the great basin desert and more irrigated agriculture, and finally passing through the craters of the moon national monument. no towns to stop at for lunch... but some great moonscape and farm life.

pics:

apparently rosebud was also a cafe

house on the prairie

stream crossing

filling up the plane at the texaco. phil thinks we should get one of these for the support team!

some horses have it better than others

craters of the moonscape!

coming into arco

2010-06-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

this is phil's 1st entry and rita (nini) and I would like to thank emmanuelle for creating this stunning trip and blog ... it has been good fun to spend nearly two weeks with our niece ... sadly she will be leaving us and the hinterland on June 25th ... we will miss her greatly

red fish lake to hailey through the hailstorm...

2010-06-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

last night i was too tired to update the blog after waking up at the unseasonably early hour of 6am, for the sole purpose of avoiding the wind and rain, only to head straight into it (thanks weatherman!). the first twenty miles out, we hit rain, a strong headwind and hail before we stopped for breakfast at smiley's ranch and to dry out for a bit, hoping the rain would let up. no such luck as we climbed to the top of galena pass (8768'... not that i'm counting) through the inclimate weather. the descent from the top was especially challenging since i left my full length gloves in the car... i had to stop every mile to warm up my frozen fingers. We were able to warm up again at galena lodge at the base of the steep descent, where they had a fire and crowded dinning room full of father's day brunchers.

From there, it kept raining all the way to ketchum. phil made the rounds at all the bike shops, getting various adjustments and work done on his bike. When I caught up to him, it was sunny and blue skies. I stripped my rain gear and we enjoyed the 11 mile slow descending bike bath to hailey, which looked to be straight out of a real estate brochure for multi-million $$$ getaways complete with riverside views and golf courses. was very lovely.

pics of the day are mostly gray, due to the rain... sadly no great highlights as we traversed incredibly scenic country, but here are a couple:


could not figure out what type of bird this is, but it's cool lookin'


coming up galena pass in the rain

saying goodbye to the salmon river valley

the trees seemed to weather the storm much better than i

self portrait at the top of galena summit. ready for the freezing cold descent!


coming into ketchum, blue skies over the wood river

today we head through the craters of the moon national monument over to arco, id. should be a more mellow ride with better weather. we meet up with my friend zeke tonight, who will join us on to jackson hole.

rest day seems so long ago!

2010-06-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

too tired to add anything but pics right now... enjoy the post-rainbow, dusk series


it's tough being so cute

calm water is a bit deceiving


"i thought america was supposed to be warm in the summer! I'll go back to italy next year."

rest days are nice....

2010-06-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

some pics from our day off yesterday at red fish lake lodge:


view from the marina


view from the kayak


my cousins on their birthday aahh. so sad there was no lasagne on the menu at red fish lake lodge


whiskey with the elk


internettin' away

lookin' for my pot a gold

the other side of the rainbow

red fish lake, sawtooth wilderness, eedaho'

2010-06-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

well we made it!

as soon as i saw the couch, i collapsed. day nine practically did me in! today i'm lounging on the red fish lake marina, resting my sore muscles and slowly uploading pics from our climb yesterday. later on i may take a dip or a kayak in the lake. or i may just take another nap. rita and phil are off to sun valley to drop of grace at the airport so she can make it home in time for her mother's 94th b-day. We will miss her greatly. now chauffeur nini is completely at the helm. cuidado!

mr. hemingway's apparently took inspiration from these appropriately named mountains. steep, rugged, and still covered in snow. yesterday i don't think we were expecting such a long and treacherous climb.

It started out rather mild, continuing up the south fork of the payette, passing the hot springs and vistas of the mountains in the distance. Once the river took a turn, so did the grade of the road, ascending to 7200 feet at banner summit. Once there we were told it was all downhill the rest of the way to stanley (another 25 miles). Well the first four miles lived up to that promise, after that it was rolling up and down for 21 miles with a strong headwind. The alpen meadows and mountain backdrop was breathtaking, despite the pedalling challenge. We rolled into Stanley, grabbed a beer to celebrate, before making the last six mile push to the lake.

Tomorrow we follow the salmon river up and over the galena pass (8700' i think) and then down past sun valley and into hailey. hopefully my legs will have recovered by then!

some highlights from yesterday:

moonlight over haven hot springs

the trio as we prepare for our departure

little do we know what's ahead

geothermal at its best

looking ahead

velocar ready to roll

making it look so easy!

he crosses the gates!

and we're at the top!

coming into the valley

big sky

some cows have it better than others

ninucia!

was sooo tired i couldn't even finish my trout

dusk at the lake

in other news, it's garfield's birthday today, an event highly anticipated and lavishly celebrated every year by phil. I'm guessing we'll be eating lasagne tonight!

Stanley!!!!

2010-06-18T16:15:00.001-07:00

Six more miles to the lake. can we make it?

haven hot springs... day 8

2010-06-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

today we followed the south fork of the payette river up to lowman, id, home of some great hot springs and 13 rib dinners. was a gradual incline upstream, a welcome break from mt. google we encountered yesterday. stopped at the chevron in garden valley for some fried chicken and potato salad for lunch... before soaking in the hot pools and devouring a couple of pigs... seems tourism is down in these parts, which is great for us with the lack of rv traffic. we eagerly await the snowy peaks of the sawtooths, which should come into view tomorrow as we ascend to stanley and take our first rest day at red fish lake lodge.

some highlights from today:

leaving riverside depot in horseshoe bend

nini prefers farm equipment over the subaru apparently

raging rapids of the payette

heading upstream

roadside falls

relaxing in the mineral baths.... great recovery!

a recap of day 7.... ontario to horseshoe bend

2010-06-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

we made it to horseshoe bend id last night... after a 13+ mile detour up a steep hill to a gravel road that was partially underwater... had to turn around and get back on the highway. we have lost faith in both google and garmin to direct us in the hills. at least it got our hearts pumping with that 11% grade. as soon as we got to the top of the hill, a rancher told us we best turn around or else navigate 11 miles of gravel, partially submerged in water.

was a great day otherwise. once we got back on the hwy, we just followed the payette river gently upstream until the river makes a dramatic u-turn (hence the horseshoe). some highlights of our first day in idaho:


top of the "google" hill


phil displaying the temperature change in the potato state

water wheelin'

crossing the state line

phil pointing out the dirt road we were directed to by our overpriced electronics

sunset at the bend

We made it to the hot mineral baths!

2010-06-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

2010-06-16T14:40:00.001-07:00

... After we discovered gravel. Boooo

2010-06-16T14:39:00.001-07:00

You can't trust the google in these parts says the rancher....

i can see idaho from here...

2010-06-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

john day to ontario = >132 miles and 5500 feet up of hard grueling cycling!

what could have been was not for us. luckily we have a great support team who dropped us of at mile 65, right in front of the ironside post office. that made our day doable and brought us into ontario still walking. the first stretch we saw more cows than cars, it was a pleasant descent through ranch country. stopping off in brogan for some chili, biscuits and tamales for lunch. the later half was more dust, trucks and headwinds than expected... up there with the portland suburbs.

off in search of a five blimp dinner in preps for the start of our trek up to the sawtooths over the next three days (not sure if we'll have wifi for a bit).

oh and ps. we are now on mountain daylight time. so adjust your clocks accordingly!

day 6 in pics

2010-06-15T18:55:00.000-07:00


some of the wildlife on the road

lucky luke con il postino d'ironside...

farm life

lunch stop in brogan, rode by it and had to do a u-turn to get my chili

it's onion country.. mmm can't wait for dinner

day five...

2010-06-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

mitchell to john day. 69 miles and some climbing here and there. maybe 3000 feet? it was a steep uphill after breakfast, followed by some of the most scenic vistas and tight canyons we've seen so far, descending 2000 feet over 30 miles, quite a nice pace. here are some highlights:

pretty red dirt

top of the pass, looking down

we have seen a lot of the other type a biker... on this trek

shoes in a tree

we followed the john day river for most of the day

lunch in dayville

day four... a recap

2010-06-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

madras to mitchell = 76 miles, 4000ish feet of climbing, desert, forest, desert. watch out for the rattlers on your way down the mountain, i almost ran over one sunning himself in the highway.

we spent last night in the beautiful town of mitchell, oregon, straight out of a hollywood western. no wifi or att to speak of. surprisingly a lot of bikers, some doing over 200 miles/day... but not too many full time residents to speak of. not much traffic on the road either which was a welcomed break from the greater portland area.

here are some highlights of our trek through the ochoco forest:

leaving the cascades at our backs.... seems like so long ago

thinking of you nicole : )

pretty birdies and red barns on the reservoir

this was a long haul up (30 +miles), and thrilling 12 mile descent into the painted desert

those ksyriums sure do look big...

... but not quite as big as the people in mitchell, apparently!

the lone pine cafe and lodge....

black bear diner in madras, a five blimp* rated establishment

*phil and rita are putting together a special guide.

phil's new dinner friend

2010-06-14T22:26:00.001-07:00

Oh yes, this is America....

2010-06-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Back on the cell towers...

2010-06-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

To post a pic of dayville, or.

Earlier advice for the trip here from Mitchell: "watch out for rocks
and rattlers"

Prineville lunch

2010-06-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Filler up

a summary

2010-06-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

day 3 = 72 miles of mostly climbing over mountain passes with a nice downhill in the middle and then a killer ascent out of the deschutes canyon at around 6pm. around 5000 feet on the up and up.

was definitely the most scenic day so far. we went from a lush rainforest, up and over the cascades (with a pit stop to catch the first half of the us vs uk game) to a beautiful meadow, down into a scenic river valley, then back up again to the top of mesa where we are laying our heads to rest. and it was our first day of sun!

the next few days we'll be in the high desert, going up and down and through the lava fields, should be interesting. : )

day three pictures please

2010-06-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

leaving rhododendron oregon.. and their rhododendrons behind

mt hood was with us all day... this is on the way up.

when we were still feeling good...

first pass of the day... not too bad.

second pass... not that we were counting (i won't bore you all with a pic of the third)

driving lessons for nini

mt. hood is now on our backs...

fly fisherman in the deschutes

god i hope that was the last hill!

back to the beginning again

Mt. Hood in the morning....

2010-06-12T11:57:00.001-07:00