p2p Journal

Day 33 was a hybrid transportation day and a bit of an extra half day of rest for us. We had the morning off before heading to the ferry midday and arriving in Muskegon MI around four. This was to avoid having to do a complicated and complex nested route down through Chicago and surrounding areas. We had beautiful sunny weather for the crossing. From there we rode 38 miles down to Holland. This is our ninth state and we are now in the eastern time zone!

Really great post rest day 85 mile cruise up to Milwaukee. We had lunch at the 50 mile mark. About that time the temperature dropped 10° and it started to rain. The next hour was cold and wet but the rain subsided and we had a really nice 20 mile ride on rail trail finishing off the day rolling into Milwaukee the home of Big Beer and Harley Davidson.

Today has been a relaxing day off getting laundry done, getting a haircut, exploring Madison, watching some US Open tennis and getting a badly needed massage.

Thought it would take a few minutes to answer some recent questions;

Gordon asked what was it that had me decide to go do this trip. The fact is it always lived on my bucket list in the space of “maybe someday, wouldn’t it be nice to..” I always thought it would be too much to try to do on my own though. As I approached retirement I realized I had the time, and fortunately, the resources to find a structured tour to do it - it suddenly became more real. Central to my desire to do it was the physical challenge, the opportunity to see the country in a unique way, and finally having a goal to shoot for to help me get my fitness game on.

Tony asked if the experience at this stage was like when the end of a good book approaches you wish it wouldn’t end… I would say definitely! We have 14 more riding days from completing this journey. I have really gotten into a groove with this group and a routine that I’ve enjoyed. Moving daily from one hotel to the next, spending breakfast lunch and dinner along with some ride time with the others on this trip has led to some great friendships and connections that I’m sure will be with me forever. The feeling of accomplishment at the end will be very rewarding for sure but will come with some bit of sadness that the journey is over.

Short and sweet 53 mile ride into Madison, the capital of WI. Dairy farms and rolling hills all the way..tonight we tour the TREK factory and tomorrow is REST DAY!!

We had a beautiful 118 mile ride today from Austin Minnesota to La Cross Wisconsin. The morning started out with some fog as we rolled out across Rich farmland enjoying a tailwind for a change, making great progress through the transition to the eastern half of the country with the addition of pine trees and rolling wooded Hills.

At our lunch break we then got on a 40 mile rail-bike trail along the river.(see the two videos). The final third of the ride was over some spicy climbs, finishing out crossng the Wisconsin border and the Mississippi river which as we rolled into La Crosse.

This ride clearly transitioned us from the Western half of the nation to the Eastern half in terms of terrain and geography.

Today ended up being a nice ride over to Austin MN. It started out windy and raining but cleared up while the winds stayed moderate as crosswinds. Still lots of pace-line work to be focused on to combat the winds.

Austin is the SPAM capital of the world! There’s actually a spam museum here - Pretty amazing.😳🤣

One thing I’ve noticed as we transitioned from South Dakota to Minnesota we saw a lot more cattle farms and lots and lots of corn and bean fields, just mile after mile after mile in SD. As we transitioned into Minnesota we continued to see cornfields and bean fields but pig production was now the dominant Industry. Definitely a different fragrance in the two states🤣 Just like with Eastern OR and WA I had no appreciation for the scale of South Dakota and Minnesota as agricultural producers. I always had it in my mind that was Iowa, Nebraska in the Central Midwest. This is very similar, but in slightly more northern latitude..

Epically challenging 126 mile ride today that took us from Sioux Falls to Fairmont Minnesota. 16 miles in we went over the state border. We again were essentially on the same road for the entire time passing through many small towns. We faced 20 mile an hour crosswinds that had a headwind component that made progress challenging mentally and physically requiring us to work together to ride in an echelon arrangement to block the wind (see video). Using this technique we were able to average better than 15 miles an hour - even with that it was a nine hour ride with eight hours on the bike!

Today turned out to be a straightforward 75 mile cruise through corn country. This was good because the weather predictions called for potential rain and headwinds neither of which we encountered. We’re all very thankful for this because tomorrow is a big day at 127 miles. We arrived in Sioux City early in the afternoon with spare time to get laundry done and recharge before our push eastward into Minnesota.

Today we passed the halfway point across the United States!

This ride down to Mitchell South Dakota included crossing the Missouri river. 10 days ago we are at its headwaters in Three Forks, Wyoming.

The day started out with heavy dead on headwinds (15-25 mph) that shifted more to crosswinds midway through, which made progress easier. A lot of effort today on good paceline discipline shifting to echelon formation, like birds do to shield from the crosswinds. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we got in early with plenty of time to recover and get organized.

In Mitchell, we saw the famous corn Palace, which is essentially a basketball arena and concert hall whose exterior is covered with artwork formed by, guess what, Corn!🤣

I’ve had some questions on nutrition so I included a video describing the daily uptake.

Today’s ride felt like the toughest one to date on this trip. It was 113 miles of essentially the same straight piece of highway with lots rolling hills. At mile 30 we crossed into Central time!

About 40 miles in we had a herd of 8 Antelope run from our far left, crossed the highway 100 yards ahead of us and disappeared over the hill to our right - spectacular!

During the last third of the ride we had a pretty stiff headwind. The onset of heat was delayed by high clouds, fortunately. It was one of those days where by mile 80 you really wanted to get off the bike. Several in the group actually did and rode the van to Oacoma from mile 75. Pace-lines were the norm for the day and we had 11 of us one point teamed up against the wind.(good video above of what it’s like out there)💪

A big day of riding today across the Badlands of South Dakota. Before we did so though we passed through Box Elder, the home of Ellsworth AFB and the future first B-21 Raider base!!🏴‍☠️🇺🇸🇺🇸💪🚀

About a third of the day was spent riding through Badlands National Park which was remarkable for its desolate beauty. I had never been here and was really struck by the uniqueness of the rock formations and terrain. The balance of the ride was long, long straight roads to the horizon. We had mostly good tailwinds and hot dry weather.

We stopped in Wall SD for lunch and took a spin by Wall drug, which is the biggest tourist trap in this part of the state🤣 In Badlands national Park, we saw mountain goats and prairie dogs, which are very prevalent. These prairie dogs are very resourceful creatures.

I also drank 10 bottles of water while riding just to stay hydrated! We are hearing that tomorrow will be mostly headwinds, which will be a very different experience than today…😳

We had a fabulous rest day in Rapid City today. For reference the first B21 base is Ellsworth AFB 10 miles from here.

Today I was able to arrange a trip with the Black Hills tour group to see Mount Rushmore, Sylvan Lake, and Crazy Horse. Seven of us took the tour and really enjoyed the history and views of these incredible monuments. Mount Rushmore has been on my list of places to go for many years and was finally able to experience it! We also saw some Longhorn cattle and a baby buffalo of all things.

It was also really awesome to ride around in an air-conditioned bus and not be peddling and bicycle down the highway. The rest day was badly needed by all.

The 75 mile ride from Spearfish down to Rapid City was absolutely beautiful. We had 4000 feet of mostly gradual climbing before we got to lunch. Along the way we rode along by streams and rivers through forests surrounded by incredible rock formations that even included some mountain goats! We also passed through several small mining towns, by some beautiful ranches and custom homes that were for all intents and purposes in the wilderness.🤠

Gillette to Spearfish did not disappoint… 108 miles 4600 feet putting us in our sixth state South Dakota! The highlight was multiple views of Devil’s Tower - especially of interest for me as my dad actually climbed it in the 50s. It was also a central character in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

We are coming up on our second full rest day in Rapid City SD day after tomorrow. Today was day 19 on the trip and we are approaching the midway point. So far this trip has been rich and transformative experience in multiple domains beyond expectations: The experience and beauty of America up close and personal for every mile, the people we are riding with and meeting along the way, the physical challenge of it, and the nutrition, preparation, recovery cycle for 47 days straight! As my friend Carlos said: I won’t be the same Doug that left Portland OR when I get to Portland ME!

We rode 108 miles from Sheridan to Gillette Wy. This was the tale of many rides. The first few hours were through beautiful ranch country, surrounded by mountains, rivers, streams, green fields and pastures. After lunch, we transitioned into an open expanse of more arid country with many rolling hills. A route took us right by the 9th largest coal mine in the country.. Wyoming produces 35% of US coal. The fun really began though in the last 20 miles when a big rain squall that have been following us unleashed a torrent that caught some of our riders who had the shelter in place. In my case I was slightly ahead and was aided, in some cases nearly blown off the road, by massive tailwinds and crosswinds. At one point I was going 40 miles an hour on a flat piece of highway literally without peddling! It was the fastest 10 miles I ever rode, but sketchy when occasional big gusts will come in at an angle - everybody survived the excitement and got in safely with many stories to tell.

Today is likely to be one of the biggest highlights of the trip… We had a massive 20 mile climb of 6000 feet up to Bighorn Pass in Wyoming. Light rain and clouds were rolling in all morning which made for amazing clouds, texture, and views, along with a wet summit and portion of the descent. And we saw a Moose!

Wow, the weather tides turned for us today! We had a 20 mile stretch of direct headwinds and steady rain across the plains of Montana as we entered into the great state of Wyoming. I didn’t have the benefit of a paceline for about 15 miles during the headwind, which was just absolutely brutal! We have had perfect weather up to this point so it was a good chance to adjust to a new set of conditions as we certainly will have more in the future. Overall, a good day: 90 miles and 2500 feet a good precursor to Big Horn pass which at 9500 feet will be one of our toughest climbs on the trip tomorrow.

A long cruise across the wide open spaces of Montana was the order of the day… We covered 109 miles and 2600 feet. Most of the climbing was in the morning and the rest of the day was flat with very gradual downhill lots of wind 15 minutes before we arrived at the hotel the skies opened up with the torrential rain, which was our first rain of the trip.

In the lead up to lunchtime, we had an awesome pace-line of 11 of us going along at 20 miles an hour just eating up the distance. And to our left a herd of horses got stirred up to pursue us on the other side of the road - check out the videos!

Beautiful 50 mile ride today down to Bozeman from Three Rivers. We had a great opportunity to stop by a park that overlooks the convergence of the three rivers (Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson) forming the Missouri river. This was an important stop on Lewis and Clark’s journey across the west. Along the path there were all these bird houses each with a different theme. Check out the video!

AND - Kelly rode further than me today in Jasper - you badass!! 3900 ft over 59mi!!!💪 I’d better get back to work🤣

Very picturesque ride from Helena down to three Forks today. 88 miles and 3500 feet over lots of rolling Hills along a river through the mountains, spectacular big scenery. I got really present to the immense beauty of this place!

(I’ve included in the photos above the dashboard for when we’re climbing for those of you who like to geek out on the data.)..and Kelly had a big day in Lake Louise herself with 69mi and 2200ft!

A beautiful day riding from Missoula to Helena the capital of Montana. It was 116 mile ride climbing 6500 feet the first 4000 feet gradually spread over 90 miles. I was fortunate to get in with a good group and we really cruised but a mile 80 I had to slow down and get ready for the big hill which did not disappoint! Countryside is rolling hills with Mountains all around rivers, forests - beautiful!! And, Kelly had a big day too with 57 miles and 3700 ft in Lake Louise a few hundred miles north of where I’m at.

This was an “easy” ride day on down to Missoula MT from Lola (37mi). A welcome transition to our first day off of four during the whole trip. Today we got off the bikes and went tubing and drinking beers down the Missoula river before a group dinner and a night out to see the Spring Dusters country band in downtown Missoula Main Street which was packed with all the kids coming back for school. Missoula is a fun town!! (Meanwhile Kelly is up in Canada on a Banff/Jasper BR trip with Anne..at least we’re in the same Longitude!) Monday we go at it big time with another BIG day, Missoula to Helena!

Day 9 was a really big day, and from what the Guides say, one of their favorite rides. I can see why as it was gradual steady rise through beautiful forests for 90 miles before big climb up to Lolo Pass. The majority of the time was spent along the Clearwater river gaining 2000 feet, but with the cool beauty of the stream running along side. 6500 feet of climbing over 115 miles which made for a long day but a satisfying way to transition to a short day tomorrow followed by a rest day in Missoula. The first 90 miles were particularly fun as I was able to get in with a group of four of us that were equally matched to hold a paceline over that distance which allowed us to really make time!💪🚲🚀

Another great day that started out cool and ended up hot, lots of climbing (5600’) 80 mi over rolling Hills including a 16 mile 2500 foot climb! Scenery continues to boggle the mind in its vastness and scale. As we are staying off the interstates and mostly on state highways, backroads where we see the small western towns with cowboy history and Ag based economies. I feel the texture of it far more when up close than when I’ve zoomed by on the highway - really appreciating a whole new world.

Another epic century, this one through Western Washington, finishing just over the line in Idaho. Amazing views of endless fields of wheat in this western expanse and we’re not even in Montana or North Dakota yet! I did not realize the scale of wheat production in this part of the country. We finished back at the Snake river in Lewiston and are set tomorrow to head up to Nez Perce country as we transit across Idaho.

Another beautiful day, passing through the eastern region of Oregon into Washington state finishing out in Walla Walla. Good tailwinds and warm weather as we covered 70 miles in the rolling Hills of western wheat country. We have been blessed by superb conditions, great food and company!

Another amazing day! Really feeling strong coming off a big climbing day yesterday - 90 miles and 4500 feet today, much mellower. We continue through the western part of Oregon, miles of Amber Waves of grain! We have had beautiful weather, cool in the morning and warming up throughout the day. By the way, you’ll note that Sinclair dinosaurs are big hit in this part of the country!🤣

Today was the second biggest climbing day of the entire trip. We did 7800 feet over 95 miles and a big chunk of it was at mile 70… We have been blessed with incredibly good weather tail winds and great riding. (Video is from this am) After leaving the Columbia Gorge midday, we started heading into the western part of Oregon - very rural with endless rolling Hills through Wheat-fields and windfarms. I wasn’t completely sure of my fitness level over sustained periods but felt great after today after 300 total miles so things are on a good track. I am really enjoying this experience seeing so many new places up close.

Today’s ride from Portland down to the Columbia River Gorge was full of spectacular scenery and beautiful riding as we descended. Only 75 mi and 3500 ft but full of interesting terrain, bike trails and waterfalls.

Our first of 17 centuries throughout the trip was today and it was a beautiful ride through the pine forests of Oregon. Prime logging country was in full view. We had sunny cool temperatures, and smooth roads. Awesome!!

Today was our initial shakedown day to figure out our bikes and ride down to the ocean to officially start the ride in the Pacific! Beautiful sunny day - 25 of us in the group - already meeting some amazing people and are ready to start doing some big rides tomorrow!