Yahoo! Groups : praam Messages : 2-16 of 16

Attention: Important service announcement from Yahoo! Groups

praam · Preston & Eric's Bike Across America

Group Owner [ Edit My Membership ]

	Home
	Messages
	Pending
	Post
	Chat
	Files
	Photos
	Links
	Database
	Polls
	Members
	Pending
	Calendar

	Promote
	Invite

	Management

	= Owner
	= Moderator
	= Online

Messages

Messages Help

Collapse Messages

2-16 of 16 | Previous | Next [ First | Last ]

Msg #

Date | Thread

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Sun Aug 17, 2003 9:32pm
Subject: And we're off!

Day 1 of the Ride Across America is complete! We started at 6:30 this morning when Andy drove us out to the coast (Netarts, near Tillamook) where we dipped our wheels in the ocean (to the much bemused stares of the early morning fisherman) and started the ride by around 9:15am. Aimee joined us for the entire first day as well, which ended up being about 82 miles and 3500 elevation gain to Portland. We took highway 6, then highway 26, and met up with Brea for the final stretch, which included climbing up Barnes over the hill to my condo around 5:00pm. The ride was beautiful with the usual great Northwest scenery, although there were a few too many cars on our route for my tastes. On the bright side, we had a generous shoulder for almost the entire trip. We decided to give ourselves a break and ride without any gear... so I thought it would be a piece of cake, but it was much harder than I expected. I haven't been sleeping well (nervous anticipation of the trip, plus wrapping up work last week), so I'm hoping that that's the cause... we'll find out tomorrow. Having said that, if this is a harbinger of the trip to come, I think we'll be ok: We didn't get started until after 9, we took lots of breaks, and still knocked off over 80 miles/3500 elevation before 5:00. Next stop: Government Camp (day 2), and then on to Prineville (day 3) and east through Oregon for the rest of our first week. This may be my last e-mail for a while, as I don't know when I'll have net access again. Until then... -Preston

From: Aimee Green <[email protected]>
Date: Sun Aug 24, 2003 7:05pm
Subject: Ride update

Hey groupies, :) I'll send occasional updates about Preston and Eric's epic ride. Preston also has asked that I send you two web addresses: http://www.ericshiflet.com/praam/data.html if you'd like check out their mileage and elevation gains (these guys are animals!) and http://www.ericshiflet.com/praam/notes.html to read "Notes from the Road." I just got off the phone with Preston. It's the end of Day 8 for them. He says they decided to take it easy today by pedaling "only" 65 miles. He reports that the most difficult thing for him about the ride so far is his "ass condition." "Out of five stars, today was a two-star butt day," says Preston. "Yesterday was a one-star butt day. I hope tomorrow is a three-star butt day." People have been friendly, and excited for them. Preston and Eric stopped in front of a home in Idaho the other day to retube Preston's first and only flat (Eric hasn't been so lucky - he's had two flats after his tires rolled over some tough thorns). A woman came out and gave them ice water. After talking with them a bit, she told her husband to get their bikes out of the garage because they were going riding. "I think we inspired her," Preston says. ...Also, in another encounter, a man the two of them talked to for a few minutes gave Eric an ice-cold Gatorade and wished them good luck. Best, Aimee __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

From: Aimee Green <[email protected]>
Date: Thu Aug 28, 2003 7:48pm
Subject: Day 12

Hey all,

Presto reports he and Eric are one-third of the way done. They crossed over the Continental Divide today and swung by the Grand Tetons, before completing their 87-mile ride with 4,200 feet of elevation gain. Their topo program told them they faced 9,500 feet of elevation gain, but Preston says he now knows to halve most of the topo's estimates. They've pedaled a total of 1,040 miles so far.

Preston also was in a much cheerier mood tonight on the phone. I asked him about it and he said that's because no drivers yelled, honked or swerved toward him. (Unfortunately, the same can't be said about Day 11). What's more, they rolled into a Super 8 motel around 4 p.m. - leaving them plenty of time to eat and wash up before bed. ...And oh yes, Preston says today was a four-star butt day. He's body already is toughening to the road!

Best,

Aimee

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

From: Preston Joel Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Tue Sep 2, 2003 3:29pm
Subject: Chadron, Nebraska!

Hey folks, I finally found free Internet access at the public library in Chadron, Nebraska (pop. 5600). We had an "easy" day at only 80 miles today, although a very strong headwind made for slow progress. We are now approximately 1450 miles done. It feels great to be done with the marjority of the climbing, although I am beginning to wonder if the winds of the midwest are just as bad! My body and bike are holding up pretty well. Aimee and Tracy just visited us in Casper, Wyoming, for Labor Day weekend and we were able to knock off 125 miles and 115 miles on consecutive days without any baggage. After looking at our route, we made the decision to send all of our camping gear home (saving anywhere from 5-10 pounds each) and just stay in hotels for the rest of the trip. I had thought that bike camping would be fun, but when you are cranking out the kind of mileage that we are every day, you really need a hotel at the end of the day to clean up and get a restful night's sleep. Plus, with camping fees on the rise and abundant cheap hotels, we really aren't spending that much more to live the luxurious life. As far as the ride so far, Wyoming has probably been the best state. Awesome roads, huge shoulders, very friendly drivers. Nebraska has been very friendly to us as well so far. Oregon and Idaho had lots of trucks and a few inconsiderate motorists (these two starts were also the most "uh-huh"/Redneck), but far and away the trip has been only good encounters. That's all for now. Thanks for all the support, and I'll write again the next time I find Internet access! -Preston

From: Preston Joel Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Thu Sep 4, 2003 6:03pm
Subject: Valentine, NE

It's strange... for the first 15 days of the trip, no net access at all. And then, for the previous 3 days, we've had it in every city! We are staying at a Comfort Inn in Valentine, Nebraska, and they have an old computer in the breakfast room hooked up to the net for guests to use. We are approximately at the halfway point of the trip. Woo hoo! Our mileage completed is somewhere between 1550 and 1600. We also just crossed into the Central time zone which is another big milestone. The biking in Nebraska is good. Nebraska is definitely up there with Wyoming for my favorite biking states so far. Nebraska has a lot fewer cows and a lot more hay than Wyoming. The traffic on the roads is about the same in both states, which is to say not much -- probably 1 car every 10-15 minutes. Nebraska is definitely the friendliest state by far that we have crossed through. I would say that at least 50% of the people going the other way wave or raise their index finger in a "hello" fashion. The shoulders here are huge too, easily wide enough for a car. The only downside to Nebraska is that the roads have huge cracks every 15-20 feet that are a real pain on the bike (ba-bump ... 3 seconds of silence ... ba-bump ... repeat). And the Nebraska wind can make us or break us. Our first two days in Nebraska, we had a strong headwind that really slowed our progress. Today, we had a sidewind that was neutral. We are hoping for a strong tailwind tomorrow to speed us eastward. For those wondering what life on the road is like, here is a typical day for us: 6:00am Alarm goes off. Hit snooze button. 6:10 Eric stumbles into bathroom for 10-20 minute wake-up shower. 6:30 Preston gets up, puts in contacts, takes first #2 of the day. 6:33 Get dressed, apply sunscreen 6:35 Fill up water bottles, mix Cytomax, pack panniers 6:40 Apply "Chamois Butt'r" for maximum butt protection 6:45 Get free continental breakfast (if available) or eat groceries purchased night before if no free breakfast 7:00 Take second #2 of the day. 7:05 Other miscellanous tasks that always spring up. 7:15 On the road! 7:16 We try to knock off 60 miles before lunch, taking a break every 20-30 miles or 2 hours, whichever comes first. The preferred break spot is a small city with a snack store, but the side of the highway often suffices if no cities are forthcoming. 12:00 Stop for lunch break, usually at some hole in the ground that you would never consider stopping for in a car. Unlike the Interstate, the rural highways do not typically feature well known chain fast food restaurants. We often have to make do with whatever we come across, and what we come across is definitely not healthy. At least we're biking a lot to make up for it :) 1:05 Optional third #2 of the day. What can I say, biking 80-100 miles a day really drives up your appetite... 1:05-5 Finish the ride for the day. Same formula as before. 5:00 Try to find reasonable priced motel with hot tub and continental breakfast. Typically spend between $40-60. Take showers, do bike maintenance, grab dinner, hit the hot tub, watch a little TV, call friends and loved ones, and usually asleep by 10:00 in preparation of beginning the cycle anew the next day. Usually too tired to partake of any local area attractions (of which there are few anyway). One last note on Nebraska: I achieved the nirvana I was hoping for on this trip on a stretch of Highway 20 somewhere between Gordon and Valentine today: Picture gentle rolling hills stretching into the horizon under an infinite blue sky with only a hint of clouds. The hills are covered with long grasses that billow in the wind and emit a soothing rustling sound as they move. Crickets, grasshoppers, or locusts are chirping in unison all around you, and they occasionally jump from the grass and bounce off your leg. The occasional cow ponders you suspiciously as you enter its territory. The only sign of human intervention is the very road you're biking on, an endless fence on either side, and the occassional water-pumping-windmill- thingamabobber. The sun is out and it's about 85 degrees, perfect weather for biking. The feeling out there is remarkable -- remote and serene, yet the road beneath you is a safety tether to civilization somewhere. With heart thumping, lungs expanding, and legs pounding like pistons, your bike moves effortlessly up and down the rolling hills, bursting to 25 mph at times as you weave through the hills. With the wind whipping all around you, it's hard to imagine that there is a care in the world, or that there ever will be... Until next time, Preston

From: Aimee Green <[email protected]>
Date: Thu Sep 4, 2003 10:00pm
Subject: Day 20

Hi all,

At the risk of offending anyone who may have roots in eastern Wyoming or western Nebraska, these regions are not interesting - at all! I had a great visit with Preston over an extended Labor Day weekend, simply because it was good to see him and witness him and Eric in action on their grand journey. Despite the lack of population centers or what I'd consider beautiful scenery, Preston and Eric seemed quite content with the rocky brown dirt, sagebrush, grasses and mild hills of the region. Except Saturday during a downpour (when Eric exhibited his California tendencies by declining to leave shelter :) the skies were blue or only partially cloudy. Preston described it as "cycling through one big screen saver," which is kind of what it looked like!

While Eric and Preston got up early to set off biking on Sunday and Monday, Tracy (Eric's wife) and I took our time getting up, working out in motel gyms or watching a little cable TV. Then we drove to meet up with them for lunch. My favorite lunch spot of the trip was in a town with 10 people living in it. This restaurant had dozens of stuffed and lacquered rattlesnakes for sale. Most were frozen in aggressive poses, with their bodies coiled and their fangs showing. I also was surprised to see the Confederate-flag lighters and other memorabilia for sale next to the snakes, although Preston and Eric seemed kind of used to it. We all chuckled at the sign next to the cash register that said something about "vegetarian" being another word for "bad hunter."

Preston and Eric had quite a ride on Monday. In an effort to avoid the 75 mph traffic of the freeway, the two of them ventured out onto country roads. Unfortunately, one of them turned to gravel/dirt and turned out to be something like 17 miles long. They looked like they'd really been through something when Tracy and I met up with them. But they did seem to enjoy the horses and deer that they pedaled past. Apparently, deer are all over eastern Wyoming. They just roam around ranchers' fields. They also mentioned that there were plenty of dead jack rabbits on the road, squashed by cars. ...That evening, Eric was forced to replace a tire that was wearing through at spots.

Tracy and I made it a few dozen miles into Nebraska (a place I thought I'd never visit), before eating lunch with Preston and Eric one last time. The section of western Nebraska (near Crawford, pop. 1,500) we were in was actually kind of pretty (interesting rock formations). We marveled at an add in the "summer edition" of the local newspaper (apparently it only comes out four times a year) advertising a charming 1,800 square foot house + full basement for only $34,000!

Best,

Aimee

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

From: Aimee Green <[email protected]>
Date: Sun Sep 7, 2003 1:36pm
Subject: Day 21

Yesterday Preston and Eric polished off Nebraska and spent the night in Sioux City, IOWA! These guys are moving fast: 127 miles yesterday, the longest day of their trip so far. Preston and Eric were invited to their first home-cooked meal on of all places, a soybean farm! They ate lunch with the farmer (who had befriended them after a short chat), his wife (a teacher) and their kids. They learned that cattle are going for a very good price - cheaper than the farmer can raise them himself. And that soybeans are grown to be converted into a fuel source. What an education they're getting! Aimee __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

From: Preston Joel Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Thu Sep 11, 2003 11:11am
Subject: Muscatine, Iowa

After 2,200 miles, we have finally reached the Mississippi River! The days recently have been wearing us down and we have decided to take a badly needed (and luxurious) full rest day here in Muscatine, Iowa, located on the eastern border of Iowa. Tomorrow, we will cross over into Illinois. Muscatine is one of the largest cities we've been in at 20,000 population. It seems like a good place for a furlough. We have had way too many 110-120 mile "death march" days recently and our bodies are definitely in need of some recovery time. The mental demands of constant life "on the go" are also wearing. It was nice to sleep in this morning, and to have time to find a library with Internet access, do laundry, get a haircut, etc. We may even catch a movie at the local movie theater. On the bright side, we are definitely in the home stretch. We should be pulling into Manhattan/Times Square in almost exactly two weeks! We are planning on doing the final jaunt of the entire trip out to the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, 27 September; if you are interested in riding the final 30 miles with us from Manhattan to Coney Island, leave me a voicemail on my cell phone and we can work out logistics. A few notes on Iowa... this is one great biking state! Highway 20 had been our constant companion for almost the entire trip, but upon leaving Sioux City, we quickly learned that roads in Iowa have no shoulder at all. This is not good news for a bicycle trying to share the road with cars and trucks whizzing by at 65 mph. We quickly retreated to the side roads of Iowa and discovered what thousands of RAGBRAI (see www.ragbrai.org) participants already know: The country roads of Iowa have extremely low traffic, beautiful views, and gentle rolling hills. One downside of the backroads is that services are hard to come by. The transportation network in America has definitely shifted to supporting the large thoroughfares. Food and often even water are sometimes difficult to procure on the back roads. We usually only have one lunch option a day for a hundred mile stretch (the only other option would be to take a significant detour to a major highway, where countless services would be available). Of course, in grave situations, there are plenty of farmhouses that we could call upon to help, but thankfully the need has not arisen yet. I cannot say enough good things about the people of Iowa and Nebraska. When Eric and I rode past the state sign into Nebraska, we chuckled at the tagline, "The Good Life". Having spent the last 9-10 days in Nebraska and Iowa, I can definitely attest to the fact that the people here do indeed make this the good life. Here are few memorable encounters: In Merriman, NE, we met our first young ranger (age 25 or so), Brady Hanks. He was a very gregarious fellow who approached us at a gas station and asked us all about our trip. We told him all about our trip, and he told us all about life on the ranch (for example: They only get 4 hours sleep a night for 2 months straight during "calving season"). After speaking with him, it's not hard to see why people like the cowboy life, with its constant challenges and rewards, all in the great outdoors. Brady also had an insatiable work ethic. He mentioned that he wouldn't want to be rich because he wouldn't know what to do with himself... he would probably just starting working again to keep busy! In Plainville, NE, a man named Burt Lingenfelter saw us snacking outside a gas station and, after a few minutes, invited us to his house down the street for lunch. Burt and his family are farmers (farms have slowly been replacing ranches as we head east from Wyoming); they grow predominantly corn and soy beans, which are converted to ethanol at a plant a few miles from town, or fed to cattle. They made us delicious BLT sandwiches with produce grown behind their house. We had a very enjoyable time visiting with them and sharing details about our lives. We are very grateful to them for taking us into their house as it definitely lifted our spirits and reaffirmed the goodwill of humanity. One of our favorite cities so far has been Grinnell, Iowa, a quaint little college town in the middle of Iowa. It was here that we found the best bike store of the trip, "Bikes To You", where the proprietor (Craig) didn't hesitate to drop what he was working on and look at our bikes for us. An annoying ticking sound has been plaguing me for the last several hundred miles and Craig was the only bike mechanic who was able to fix the problem for me! It turns out that a tiny metal shaving had somehow worked its way into my rim and was banging around causing all the noise. Craig is definitely the Jedi master of bike mechanics and I thank him every time my wheel rotates without that annoying tick! Lastly, just yesterday we ran into two awesome retired gentlemen in Montezuma, Iowa, Cecil Flander and Vern Vander Leest. We were sitting down enjoying a quick snack when these outgoing guys joined us at our table and asked us all about our trip. Both were retired after a life of farming, and, despite going on 80 years old, exhibited the very essence of vitality. These are the sort of knee- slapping, bellowing guys that you would invite out with you when you want to have a good time. You could almost sense that these guys wanted to jump on some bikes and come along with us. And, despite our protests, they insisted on giving us $10 to treat ourselves to something on the way to the east coast. That's the midwest for ya! This has gone on pretty long, so I'll draw to a close for now. The unabridged version of our journey will be available after the trip concludes :-) Preston

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Thu Sep 11, 2003 11:16am
Subject: [Fwd: Hello from Muscatine, Iowa]

Here is Eric's update; he wrote this as I was writing mine, so there may be some duplication, but also a different perspective! --Preston ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: Hello from Muscatine, Iowa From: "Eric Shiflet" <[email protected]> Date: Thu, September 11, 2003 11:41 am To: [email protected] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We've decided to take a rest day in Muscatine, Iowa. Muscatine is a thriving metropolis of 22,000 people which is about the third largest city we've stayed in. It's on the banks of the Mississippi River, just next to Illinois. This is the first area I've been in since Oregon where there are trees as far as the eye can see. From Idaho through Nebraska it was grassland and sage brush of the high desert. Then farm land of corn and soy beans through most of Iowa. Crossing the Missouri River seemed a demarcation between "The West" and "The East" of America. Now, crossing the Mississippi River seems be a gateway to a much more humid and rainy region, and the last 1,000 miles of our journey. There are 2,200 miles already under our wheels and far fewer to go than we have already seen. I am looking forward to the accomplishment of completing the ride and returning to my home in beautiful California, but it is regrettable that the end of the journey is only two weeks away. Iowa has been a friendly, generous and beautiful state to us. The drivers on the country roads are amazing. They will actually pace us up the hills to avoid driving into potentially hazardous traffic, then wave at us (nicely) as they drive by. And every time we stop to refill the water bottles the local farmers tell us great stories about the land, what they're growing and are really excited about our trip. For example, Nebraska farms use irrigation systems while Iowa generally does not. As Cecil (a farmer I met) said, "Iowa gets what the good Lord sends us." I'm guessing that it must rain a bit more in Iowa than it does in Nebraska. Tomorrow we enter Illinois and begin our final push to New York City. As most of the people I've met so far have observed, and I tend to agree, those last few miles into Manhattan will probably be the most dangerous. Middle America is definitely the heart land of our country with good people worth visiting and talking to. - Eric PS- as usual, check my web site for updates: www.ericshiflet.com --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

We've decided to take a rest day in Muscatine, Iowa. Muscatine is a thriving metropolis of 22,000 people which is about the third largest city we've stayed in. It's on the banks of the Mississippi River, just next to Illinois. This is the first area I've been in since Oregon where there are trees as far as the eye can see. From Idaho through Nebraska it was grassland and sage brush of the high desert. Then farm land of corn and soy beans through most of Iowa.

Crossing the Missouri River seemed a demarcation between "The West" and "The East" of America. Now, crossing the Mississippi River seems be a gateway to a much more humid and rainy region, and the last 1,000 miles of our journey. There are 2,200 miles already under our wheels and far fewer to go than we have already seen. I am looking forward to the accomplishment of completing the ride and returning to my home in beautiful California, but it is regrettable that the end of the journey is only two weeks away.

Iowa has been a friendly, generous and beautiful state to us. The drivers on the country roads are amazing. They will actually pace us up the hills to avoid driving into potentially hazardous traffic, then wave at us (nicely) as they drive by. And every time we stop to refill the water bottles the local farmers tell us great stories about the land, what they're growing and are really excited about our trip. For example, Nebraska farms use irrigation systems while Iowa generally does not. As Cecil (a farmer I met) said, "Iowa gets what the good Lord sends us." I'm guessing that it must rain a bit more in Iowa than it does in Nebraska.

Tomorrow we enter Illinois and begin our final push to New York City. As most of the people I've met so far have observed, and I tend to agree, those last few miles into Manhattan will probably be the most dangerous. Middle America is definitely the heart land of our country with good people worth visiting and talking to.

- Eric

PS- as usual, check my web site for updates: www.ericshiflet.com

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Fri Sep 19, 2003 10:31am
Subject: Chardon, Ohio

We're in Chardon, Ohio, approximately 30 miles from the Pennsylania border! After cycling well over 500 miles in 5 days, we had planned on taking a rest day today, but were considering a short jaunt over to Linesville, PA, which is apparently a bicycling mecca and the start of a state-wide official bike route. We woke up to pounding rains from hurricane Isabel this morning, however, and quickly opted to take the day off and rest up before the final push to NYC. We will be rendezvousing with my mom and aunt tomorrow (they'll join us until the end), and are looking forward to riding the final days unencumbered by heavy panniers. Much has happened since Iowa. It rained almost the entire time we were in Illinois, especially on our first day there. Except for a 1-hour downpour outside Boise, this was really the first inclement weather that we had encountered on the trip. Unlike the Pacific Northwest rains that I am accustomed to riding in, the rains in the Midwest are warm, and thus it didn't bother me that much and I actually found it to be a refreshing change of pace. It was also reassuring to know that this was as bad as it was going to get, and it wasn't really that bad. Eric, on the other hand, being of a Californian disposition, did not enjoy the rainy conditions one bit. Early on in the ride, I found him waiting for me under a giant tree, drenched, shivering, and with a deranged look in his eye like a feral animal. Luckily, the rains passed in a couple of days and we were back to our usual sunny riding conditions by the time we left Illinois. It has been fun to pass through the eastern states so quickly. It took us 2 riding days to pass through Illinois, 2 days for Indiana, and 3 days for Ohio -- a nice change of pace from the 6 days per state of the west! The states have also been becoming increasingly dense. This is nice because convenience stores (with vast supplies of Pepsi and donuts) are plentiful, but bad because there are a lot more cars on the road. Navigation and route finding also pose more of a challenge with so many road choices. Directions from the locals are often not helpful, because they are always given from the perspective of a car driver. With more people come more roads, however, and it's often possible to take advantage of an extensive network of side roads that automobiles eschew because they are not as fast or as direct as the highways. Ohio, in particular, has an awesome grid of roads that reminds me of a piece of graph paper. North-South and West-East roads crisscross the state and provide excellent passage for bikes. Our first morning in Ohio, we were only passed by 10 vehicles (half of which were farming equipment) in 4 hours of biking! Western Ohio ranks right up there with Iowa in terms of best states for riding in ... except that Ohio is much flatter! For those of you who have been following my butt status, you will be pleased to learn that I have had "5 star" butt days for the last week or so. It seems that my derriere has finally learned to cope with 7-8 hours of saddle time per day. The rest of my body has toughened up as well. The only real soreness I have left is my hands, which are starting to feel the cumulative pounding of 2,800 miles of travel (the area between my thumb and pointer finger is especially sore as my default riding position is "on the hoods"). And, despite a nutritionally despicable diet consisting almost entirely of fatty and/or fried foods -- not my fault, you try eating healthily on the road! -- my body fat has dropped to a very low level. My leg muscles have also become very defined. For example, my calf muscles have separated into distinct sections and the blood vessels have risen to the surface to better supply oxygen. If I were to shave my legs, I am sure I could start to resemble a body builder (well, at least in my dreams) :-) Mentally, while the trip is still very enjoyable, I am looking forward to wrapping things up next week. The biking part is great, but living out of motels for the last 5 weeks has grown wearisome. The days are growing quite short as well, and we now barely have enough sunlight to finish a long biking day before rolling into town and starting our standard shutdown procedure for the night: Shower, hot tub to soothe muscles (if available), dinner, laundry (every third day), journal writing, communication, plan the next day's route, and lights out around 10pm to get up at 6am the next day for breakfast and to be on the road shortly after dawn. I'll wrap things up with the following revelation from the road: For the most part, a bike trip is a solo experience: You, the bike, the road, the slowly changing scenes around you, and countless hours with only your thoughts on hand. On occasion, while gazing at the passing countryside, I will discover another solitary creature, the eagle, soaring the thermals beside me, looking for lunch or perhaps just enjoying the sunshine. The eagle commands the skies, and I am in command of everything that surrounds me as well. A feeling of unbounded power and the possibility of the infinite envelops me, the result of undertaking such a vast journey, of "living the moment" all day every day amidst the abundnant splendor of our world. Yet, as night falls or with the first drop of rain, I am reminded that I am still ruled by a hierarchy of needs -- the need for shelter, warmth, food. And the fleeting hubris of power is replaced with insignificantness in the vastness of the universe. I believe that true contentedness lies at the confluence of these two emotional rivers... and now that I have found it, my only hope is that I have cached enough of it away so that I can return to that place as the need arises when life resumes back in the normal world... Until next time (probably from NYC!), Preston

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Fri Sep 19, 2003 10:38am
Subject: [Fwd: Hello from Chardon, Ohio]

---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: Hello from Chardon, Ohio From: "Eric Shiflet" <[email protected]> Date: Fri, September 19, 2003 10:02 am To: [email protected] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We've now covered over 2800 miles and have about 500 miles to get to New York City. The last week has been challenging from the weather. We had a storm from the West move through last weekend and now we're taking a rest day because Hurricane Isabel is moving through and dropping much rain. The winds have generally been against us and slowing us down most of the days. We rode through Cleveland yesterday, which is the only major city we go through, except Portland and NYC of course. I suggest anyone bike touring not to ride through a major city. The most dangerous part of the trip so far has been suburbia. The suburban drivers are not cautious like city drivers and are not courteous like the country drivers. But we made it through safely to the beautiful country of eastern Ohio just before the rain fell. This trip has been an exercise in isolation and endurance (riding hard for hours on the road) and also in socialization (relying on others for food, lodging, directions). I am sad to see the end of the trip in sight, only six more riding days until we hit New York City. But I do miss San Francisco, my home, friends and family a lot and look forward to returning. It's an odd duality that seems to split one's personality: the desire to ride more, begin the adventure again and yet the comfort of home, wife and friends is impossible to overcome. It reminds me of a Tom Paxton song: If you see me passin' by And you sit and you wonder why And you wish that you were a rambler, too Just nail your shoes to the kitchen floor Lace 'em up and bar the door Thank your stars for the roof that's over you We will be entering Pennsylvania tomorrow morning for (almost) the last state to travel through. (we have brief encounters with New Jersey and New York) Pennsylvania seems very biker friendly with an official bike route to take us into NYC. In addition to the challenge of the weather, route finding has been difficult and slowing us down. I look forward to a predetermined route that is biker friendly. Now that it is getting close to autumn, Pennsylvania should be beautiful with the changing colors of the leaves and the coming signs of winter. This will truly be a fitting end to our long and rewarding adventure. We plan to ride across the George Washington Bridge and enter Times Square on Thursday. Then on Saturday, we will officially end the trip with a short bike ride from Times Square to Coney Island where we will dip the bicycle wheels that once touched the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic. All of you who have been following our trip will be with us in spirit as we reach that milestone. - Eric PS - web site updates at www.ericshiflet.com --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

We've now covered over 2800 miles and have about 500 miles to get to New York City. The last week has been challenging from the weather. We had a storm from the West move through last weekend and now we're taking a rest day because Hurricane Isabel is moving through and dropping much rain. The winds have generally been against us and slowing us down most of the days.

We rode through Cleveland yesterday, which is the only major city we go through, except Portland and NYC of course. I suggest anyone bike touring not to ride through a major city. The most dangerous part of the trip so far has been suburbia. The suburban drivers are not cautious like city drivers and are not courteous like the country drivers. But we made it through safely to the beautiful country of eastern Ohio just before the rain fell.

This trip has been an exercise in isolation and endurance (riding hard for hours on the road) and also in socialization (relying on others for food, lodging, directions). I am sad to see the end of the trip in sight, only six more riding days until we hit New York City. But I do miss San Francisco, my home, friends and family a lot and look forward to returning. It's an odd duality that seems to split one's personality: the desire to ride more, begin the adventure again and yet the comfort of home, wife and friends is impossible to overcome. It reminds me of a Tom Paxton song:

If you see me passin' by
And you sit and you wonder why
And you wish that you were a rambler, too
Just nail your shoes to the kitchen floor
Lace 'em up and bar the door
Thank your stars for the roof that's over you

We will be entering Pennsylvania tomorrow morning for (almost) the last state to travel through. (we have brief encounters with New Jersey and New York) Pennsylvania seems very biker friendly with an official bike route to take us into NYC. In addition to the challenge of the weather, route finding has been difficult and slowing us down. I look forward to a predetermined route that is biker friendly. Now that it is getting close to autumn, Pennsylvania should be beautiful with the changing colors of the leaves and the coming signs of winter. This will truly be a fitting end to our long and rewarding adventure.

We plan to ride across the George Washington Bridge and enter Times Square on Thursday. Then on Saturday, we will officially end the trip with a short bike ride from Times Square to Coney Island where we will dip the bicycle wheels that once touched the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic. All of you who have been following our trip will be with us in spirit as we reach that milestone.

- Eric

PS - web site updates at www.ericshiflet.com

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Thu Oct 2, 2003 1:46pm
Subject: We made it!

On September 27, we officially brought our 6-week, 11-state, 3418-mile odyssey to an end by dipping our bicycle wheels into the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island, New York! A couple of days earlier, we had celebrated an "almost-end-of-the-trip" moment when we rolled into Times Square in Manhattan. We were fortunate to have the company of our loved ones and friends to help us celebrate the accomplishment at both places. I will be posting pictures, trip statistics, and other neat multimedia presentations over the next few weeks (I'll send out a note when these are ready). In the meantime, here are my notes from the final week of the trip: We crossed into Pennsylvania giddy with excitement -- this was the last big state that we would have to cross, and then New York City would be only a hop, skip, and a jump away. We were also excited to experience the much-touted Pennsylvania bicycle route system. Indeed, we saw a "PA Bike Route Y" sign a few hundred feet after crossing the state line, and these trusty signs would accompany us all the way to the New York border. After 5 weeks of having to do our own route finding, it was nice to sit back and just follow the signs. Ahhhh, Pennsylvania: It was the best of riding, it was the worst of riding. If you haven't been there, Pennsylania is an extremely hilly state consisting of countless valleys and hills ranging as far as the eye can see. Only a few major arteries cut from west-to-east across the state, fed by countless capillaries that reach out into the surrounding hills, but do not really go anywhere of substance. Out of necessity, the bike route often followed US Route 6, a major thoroughfare that carried tons of car and truck traffic and often had a less-than-adequate shoulder. For most of the times that we were on Route 6, it was some of the worst riding conditions that we had on the entire trip. We didn't have any bad experiences (not even a "rude honk" to speak of) and the riding conditions were no worse than riding in any major metropolitan area, but it was a harsh change after weeks of idyllic country roads. When possible, the bike route would venture onto the backroads, where we would find some of the best that the country has to offer for a cyclist: Very low traffic, beautiful rolling hills, postcard-perfect farms with hay and cows, rivers, ponds, all encased in arboreal splendor. The hills are ubiquitous (the region is referred to as the "Endless Mountains"), but each individual hill is not too big or arduous (less than 5 minutes climbing max). The cumulative effect of the hills does sneak up on you -- far and away, our biggest elevation gain days were in Pennsylania, weighing in at 3980, 4540, 6880, and 6460 vertical feet gained. This climbing is in addition to knocking off between 95 and 121 miles on each of those days. I can honestly say that I don't think I could have done it if I hadn't been in killer shape after 5 weeks on the road and if my mom and aunt hadn't been accompanying us those final days and carrying our gear for us in their car. Our brief trip through upstate New York treated us quite well. It was pretty much the same as the best parts of Pennsylvania, except with a much better shoulder to ride on. To tell you the truth, I was pretty surprised at the quality, quantity, solitude, and beauty of the outdoor experience available less than 50 miles from NYC. Unfortunately for our weary bodies, NY also shares the hilliness of PA and our last day before Manhattan was exhausting. We also stayed in the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel, worst motel of the trip, the sort of place where you wonder if you are going to be killed in some sort of midnight drug-deal gone bad. Needless to say, we were raring and ready to go the next day for our short (~30 miles) and glorious ride into Times Square. We followed Route 9 along the Hudson River, crossed briefly into NJ for a few miles, and then met up with Eric's friend Nat at the George Washington Bridge. Nat was our trusty navigator and escorted us over the bridge into Harlem, and then down along Riverside Park along the western coast of Manhattan. Around 95th Street, we cut over to the center of the island and continued through Central Park. We picked up Broadway at the southern tip of the park and continued south to Times Square where Eric's friend Peter, my mom, dad, aunt, and Aimee were all waiting to celebrate our arrival. Riding through Manhattan was an exhilarating experience, not only because it feels like you are in a giant video game, with six lanes of cabs whizzing by, abundant skyscrapers, and glitzy lights everywhere, but also because we had made it! The Ride Across America was essentially complete. Riding through the Big Apple was definitely a high point of the trip and a perfect way to end our epic journey. It seemed like only yesterday that I was riding the first tenth of a mile away from the Pacific Ocean, thinking to myself, "what kind of crazy thing am I doing here?!" Stay tuned for trip pictures and associated statistics, as well as a final e-mail or two on takeaways from the trip and "What I've Learned" from life on the road. -Preston

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Sun Oct 12, 2003 0:23pm
Subject: Pics from Oregon (days 1-6) are up!

I'm finished sorting through the pictures from the first week, which takes us through Oregon. I apologize for taking so long, but I just got back from a week in Yosemite and also had to spend some time writing a photo viewer for my web site and adding captions to all the pictures.

I have sorted the pictures into three buckets: If you want to see only the best pictures, choose short. If you have more time, you can choose medium, long, or even all (which shows everything, even blurry or duplicate photos). The longer albums contain all of the pictures from the shorter albums, so there is no need to view the shorter albums if you view the longer ones. Lastly, you can see all of the pictures at once (although very small) by selecting thumbnails. You should also select thumbnails if you are having trouble viewing the pictures with the other links.

Oregon Pictures (Days 1-6)
Short album
Medium album
Long album
All pictures
Thumbnails

If you are having trouble with the links above, all of the pictures are accessible via www.prestonhunt.com/raam as well. Let me know if you run into any problems viewing the pics.

-Preston

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Sun Oct 19, 2003 8:16pm
Subject: Next batch of pictures are up (days 7-35, Idaho-Ohio)

Hello all,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have been slaving away all weekend, sorting through pictures and adding captions, and they are almost all done. Days 7 through 35 are now complete, which covers Idaho through Ohio. Only Pennsylvania and New York remain (well, and technically about 30 minutes or so in New Jersey).

Please go to my website at http://www.prestonhunt.com/raam/ to view the pictures.

As before, I have divided up the pictures into short, medium, and long albums. I highly recommend the medium album as the best one to choose as it captures the true spirit of the trip. However, I realize that folks are busy and in that case you should choose the short album to see only the best pictures.

I've also posted some interesting trip statistics to the web site. For example, our longest mileage day was 126.87 miles.

I hope to have the final pictures posted by the end of the week, as well as one final post containing final thoughts about the trip.

Thanks,
Preston

From: Preston Hunt <[email protected]>
Date: Thu Oct 30, 2003 9:02pm
Subject: Pictures through NY are up

Hello faithful followers of the ride across America, I have almost all of the pictures cataloged and captioned now, all the way through the end of the bike ride to Coney Island. I have a few dozen "after trip" photos that I'll be posting soon. In the meantime, check out the PA, NY, and NJ pics at www.prestonhunt.com/raam Preston

Check all - Clear all

2-16 of 16 | Previous | Next [ First | Last ]

Msg #

Date | Thread

Collapse Messages

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail
	Welcome, chango [Sign Out, My Account]
		Groups Home - Help