In Memory of Warmer Summers

Hamilton, MT to Lolo Hot Springs, MT

Friendly horn taps: 3

Rude horn honks: 1

Near-miss “brush-back passes”: 1

Miles: 65

Total miles so far: 3,807

The Bitterroot River as we leave Hamilton

First, two housekeeping notes:

1. We are headed into Idaho tomorrow and my information is that I will not be able to post this blog but very intermittently as we will be quite remote going near the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness.  This may last a few days.

2.  If Anne Marie Irizarri is still following the blog, I want to post for your brother, but the picture I have will not work.  Can you please ship a jpeg photo to carl2ride@gmailDOTcom?  Thanks.

We left Hamilton today and made our way north to Lolo and then turned west into the Bitterroot Mountains.  We are approaching the Idaho border and will cross it tomorrow, along with topping out Lolo Pass.  Our mileage tells me we are within a thousand miles of our projected mileage for the trip, and this is quite a milestone for us.

I am exceedingly proud of Sallie and her efforts to make this ride enjoyable, and her determination to make the trip a success.  As one rider put it, “I can only think of perhaps three people in the world I can make it through a trip like this without killing the other person.”  Sallie has been the best companion in a tough jorney, but in some ways, we’ve been doing this for more than 13 years.

Into the Bitterroot Mountains

Today we ran across several cyclists going the opposite direction and we spoke with a few.  There are enough of them at this point that if we stopped with each group or cyclist, we may not finish our own day’s ride.  This makes sense, as the cyclists that start from the west find it too cold and snowy to begin much earlier, particularly this year.

Fred and Bill. Bill is going from Canada to Denver and Fred joined him for a portion of the ride.

When we saw Fred and Bill, they were hammering along with a tail wind. This is Bill's rear wheel, pulling a Bob Trailer. Note the carbon spokes.

This is Jose from Chicago. He's going from Seattle to Boston, to Florida, to San Diego, to Seattle!

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Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Don Leppert

Don Leppert

Don Leppert, from Parma, Idaho was killed in the middle of the early morning hours on February 19, 2005 while delivering papers by a drunk driver.  Don’s death took place on his wifes’s birthday.  He was 42 years old.

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Ordway, CO to Pueblo, CO

Friendly horn taps: 1

Miles: 69

Total so far: 2, 656

Sunset by our camp site at Lake Pueblo State Park

On this ride it takes quite a lot of food to maintain our caloric intake and keep up with the demands placed on our bodies.  Sometimes, I’ve been known to kid around about the topic and say that we ride in order to eat, not the other way around.

Sallie engages some of the locals in Olney Springs, CO. We are far enough away from our starting point now, that when she says she's ridden from the east coast of Florida, their jaws tend to drop.

In the morning, we have prepared ahead of time some instant oatmeal packets, placed into one quart freezer bags.  These are composed of two servings each person, and enhanced with extra raisins, or dried cranberries – Sallie has even tried dried coconut milk before – anything to spice them up.  We use tiny backpacker’s stoves utilizing pressurized isobutane/propane fuel mix.  These boil water in about three minutes.  From that Sallie makes her coffee (using a French press) and I make some herbal tea (I am staying away from caffeine for the journey).  Using the remaining boiling water, we put a measured amount in the freezer bags, and then set them aside to cook in an insulated bag.  When done, there are no dishes to wash.  We try to get bananas for the mornings too, but that is sometimes hit and miss.

Sallie exclaims, "We are in the west now, you can tell."

We have water bottles on the bikes, but our primary source of water is from 70 ounce Camelbak hydration systems.  These ensure we have cold water all day long, as we stop at convenience stores and top them off with ice frequently.  The hazard at the convenience stores getting ice (usually available at the soda dispensers for no charge) is the snacks.  That combines with our need for calories and has to be monitored.  Today for instance, there were no bananas in evidence when we went to the first store, so I got the next best thing – chocolate Hostess cupcakes.  Sallie was good about that stop, but caved in for some blueberry pie at our next stop.  Later, I got some smoked almonds, and one of those Slurpee imitations (small size of course).

A barbecue competition and street celebration in Pueblo. Of course we stopped by!

For lunch we had errands to run in Pueblo, so we ended up going to a local barbecue competition for some overpriced pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, Fritos, and a soda (diet soda is not necessary, but not uncommon).  We closed out the day with another old family recipe at our campsite made in freezer bag style – Ramen noodles, peas, and tuna.  I think there were a handful or two of dry roasted peanuts passed around too.  Oh, and maybe a cookie or two for desert.

I’ve become fond of saying, “Food is for consumption, not for carrying.”  Food weighs the bike down too much!

One more thing…I take this for granted, so I almost forgot to mention it — I have lost weight on this trip.  We both have.  I don’t want the readers to get the wrong impression with all the snacking reports.

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Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Anthony Veris Maness

Anthony (Tony) Veris Maness

Tony Maness was killed on March 11, 1998 while riding his bicycle to work in the Denver, Colorado area.  Tony was 30 years old

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Larned, KS to Bazine, KS

Friendly horn taps: 1

Friendly cyclists wishing us well: Several hundred

Miles: 54

Total so far: 2,349

Meeting riders from the RAK at Rush Center, Kansas

We encountered the RAK today, otherwise known as the ride across Kansas.  They have something like a thousand riders, and have been conducting the ride for over thirty years.  Their ride is always west-to-east, and the route varies each year.  We intersected their route quite by mistake at  Rush Center, Kansas.

It was fun visiting with the riders.  They were quite interested in our travels and uniformly, they all wished us well.  As we left Rush Center, we rode west while the remaining riders went east on the same road.

The Ride Across Kansas is a seven day supported ride.  Supported means they transport the gear for the riders in trucks to the next evening’s stop, and the riders can travel unimpeded through the day.  The ride organizers arrange for rst stops every 10 or fifteen miles, with refreshments, fruit and snacks for the riders. I understand the overnight towns where the ride stops host a variety of meals and entertainment options for the riders, and they are quite famous for rolling out the red carpet and hosting their evening stop in a big way. There is a woman in my cycling club in Dallas that rides in the Kansas ride every year and truly enjoys the experience.

Sallie and I have been on several supported rides around the country to include, rides in Florida, Georgia, Wyoming, and the “big one”, Iowa’s RAGBRAI, a ride that numbers in excess of 10,000 participants.

One of the riders today engaged me in a conversation and then promptly made a donation to MADD on the spot.  Thank you Kansas!

Otter Creek, south of Rush Center, KS

Sallie and an early morning wheat field

Julie on a rare north-bound stretch with a tailwind

An old barn holding onto residence in a wheat field

The now obligatory Kansas today photo

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Tomorrrow’s ride is dedicated to Jason James Grandon

Jason James Grandon

Jason’s hometown is Paola, Kansas.  Jason was killed in a drunk driving collision at the age of 20 years, on May 19, 2002.  Jason’s father says Jason was his only son and his best friend.  He describes Jason as the son every father dreamed of having.

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Cassoday, KS to Newton, KS

Friendly horn taps: 3

Miles: 41

Total so far: 2,176

We woke up at 4:30 this morning to try and knock out some miles before the wind and heat became too much of an issue.  It’s blowing from the south, creating cross winds (crosswinds are better than headwinds), the afternoon wind gusts are in excess of 40 miles per hour and there are record setting highs throughout Kansas.  We came into Newton, Kansas in good shape, looking forward to another 12 miles to Hesston to stay at the firehouse there.  The Hesston firehouse was reported as having good restaurants, free lodging for cyclists, a kitchen to use, and showers.

The only problem is all that was available at Newton, not Hesston, and is the result of a typo on our maps.  No harm, we caught the error early before departing Newton, decided to stay there and the day resulted in a good short ride in deteriorating conditions.

Oh! I found this gravy machine at a convenience store. Sallie loves all things gravy (not)!

Newton, Kansas train station

Fire Station #2, Newton, Kansas

This is John, going San Fransisco to Yorktown. He was traveling with his cousin who got heat exhaustion in Colorado and had to take over driving duties in lieu of riding.

John and Bill - San Diego to Yorktown, VA http://www.peregrine-house.org

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Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Paul Lawrence Elwell

Paul was my brother for 22yrs. He was a wonderful and fun. He was more like a twin than a brother. I will always miss him. Paul was killed on December 18th. 2003.

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Entering state number 7

Turnback Creek in Dade County, MO

A Dog-faced Squatch?

Calvin Miller, Jr.

Calvin Miller Jr. of Nashville, Tennessee was killed by a drunk driver on June 30, 2010.  Calvin Jr. was a son brother, uncle and a good friend to many.

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