Crossing America Journal
Spent all day packing and left at 5:30 p.m. Stayed with the truckers at the top of the Grapevine in Frazier Park, CA.
6/23/04
Drove all day and stayed at a truck stop in Weed, CA near Mt Shasta. We were the only RV among big trucks!
6/24/04
We got ready to go, and the RV would not start! Two mechanics tried to jump it and four tow trucks later, we finally were towed 30 miles to Yreka. We felt like we hit a wall! But, the problem was melted wiring, which was replaced, and we were on the road by 3:00 p.m. Our auto club paid the whole towing bill! Amen. We decided to eat Italian food for carbohydrate loading. The food was great, but the service was slow (the owner waited on us as they were short-handed). We spent the night at another truck stop just north of Salem, Oregon. Earplugs work well when sleeping in trucking parking lots!
6/25/04
Continued north, but was slowed by several RV necessities that had to be taken care of. You just can't rush an RV! We thought we left traffic congestion behind in San Diego until we arrived in Seattle! Had to keep pushing back our meeting with friends for lunch that evolved into dinner. Finally, the wheels of my bike rolled out of Everett at 5:48 pm. Rode 28 miles and spent the night in a Fred Myers' parking lot in Monroe, WA. We appreciate their hospitality!
6/26/04
At last it was time for the big push for 100 miles. Actually rode 90 miles climbing through the Cascade mountain range including Steven's pass, the highest in the Cascades. The ride gave spectacular views including foxglove flowers, beautiful waterfalls, and white water rivers. Kathy found a great Bavarian town as we came out of the Cascades and enjoyed looking around while I rode. We spent the night in Cashmere, WA. They were having their 100th Founder's Day celebration and we joined in the festivities of watching the parade. We stayed in a parking lot with some of the venders that were supporting the celebration. We hope that was ok?
6/27/04
Even though there wasn't a mountain range to ride across, there were two challenging climbs. One was at least seven miles long of straight climbing, and the second was similar. Was pretty hot and arid. I was able to ride 92 miles in spite of feeling pretty tired. We stayed in the sleepy town of Almira next to a park. Both of their restaurants were closed and we only saw 2 people while we were there! For me, it was the best rest that I had gotten the whole trip.
6/28/04
The best riding of the trip so far! I logged 89 miles, stopping north of Spokane, WA. The ride through the city of Spokane for a biker proved to be a little difficult. I got turned around, ended up talking with someone leaving his office by bicycle. I asked him for directions and as we were talking, I looked up at the name of the building which was Department of Transportation. I don't think I could have run into a better person. He even ran back into the office and loaded me up with maps of the area. Thank You Lord! Stayed in a great RV park and really felt like we were "living it up". We used the pool, did laundry, charged all electronics, did some housecleaning and enjoyed full RV hookups. We seem to be fitting in quite well with retirees!
6/30/04
Wet, wet, wet roads and a cooler day. It was a welcome change from yesterday. Installed the lights and clip on fenders for riding on darker and rainy days. Entered western Montana almost with a reverence as one takes in the beauty of the region. Rode 62 miles to Libby, Montana today for 4.36 hours averaging around 13.4 mph. Most of the way was a subtle climb. I can tell as my knees ached some.
7/1/04
We have an extra day planned for rest and decided to take it in Libby due to some soreness that needed to be taken care of. We went into a campground and camped next to a beautiful brook. It turned out to be a good day to take off as it rain off and on throughout the day. After it cleared I went through the bike preparing it for the next segment of riding.
7/2/04
It was a beautiful morning with a cool temperature. It was perfect weather for the next 90 miles as 70 of it is gradual climbing to get to Kalispell. In many places there was not hard shoulder to ride on and I ended up sharing the road with logging trucks and motor homes without any incident. Ended up riding 89.25 miles with an average speed of 14.2 mph riding a total of 6.15 hours. I felt rested and recovered from soreness that had developed a couple days earlier. Kathy and I would both agree that the most beautiful scene of the day was Loon Lake reflecting the mountains like a mirror. We stopped and had lunch there.
7/3/04
We will be here in Kalispell for a couple of days. Some friends from Michigan are attending a family member's wedding here and we will be able to spend time with them. Nav Staff, Stan & Joye Nolte will arrive today and hook up with us from Kalispell to Minnesota. It will be fun to share some of our experiences with them. By the way, we are loading up on some funny and not so funny motor home experiences. But, we are learning. So far we haven't burned the thing down yet, but the trip isn't over either. Ha!
7/4/04
Cloudy skies and some rain, yet fireworks throughout the night. Firework stands are everywhere around this state. Rode 30 miles in the cold, wind and rain out to West Glacier Park where Stan and Joye met with us. Also, some good friends from Michigan joined our camp, coming in with another RV. We enjoyed meeting several RV couples at the 4th of July Ice Cream Social in the campground. I think most of those folks thought I was crazy riding across America.
7/5/04
Explored Glacier National Park with Stan & Joye in the morning. Began a ride to cross the Continential Divide in the afternoon. The summit, called Maria's Pass, was 5216 feet. Early in the climb, encountered my second flat tire. Rode 55 miles at a top speed of 35.5 mph. Stayed in the small town of East Glacier looking back onto the mountains that we had just crossed. I felt good about getting through the mountains. Now it is down hill for a long time. Amen!!!
7/6/04
Best riding day so far. The weather was cloudy, in the mid-70s and I enjoyed a tail wind. Road 115 miles at a top speed of 43 mph, averaging 21 mph. The motor home was having a hard time keeping up with me! Stan provided a support vehicle, keeping me hydrated and fed. I read a discription of this area of the country that the distinctive aspect was the horizion with the occasional grain silo. They were right! Stopped in the nice little town of Chester, MT. Folks are real friendly here . . . just ask Joye!
7/9/04
Left Glasgow around 8 a.m. But, before leaving, met a couple of sisters in their 60s who ride bicycles all over the country and carry all of their equipment on their bikes. They were eager to share some advice for the next day's travel. The day went pretty well, the road surface was varied, some rough, some narrow, and it was hilly at times too! The heat increased today into the 90s. Today was the first day that I felt fatigue setting in and wasn't enjoying myself. It was the sixth straight day of riding with four of those days being over 100 miles each. The big event for me was that I rode my first 1000 miles. Very satisfying! I got in 105 miles at a top speed of 32 mph. I was in the saddle for 7.15 hours, with an average speed of 15 mph. The sounds of trains are never very far away. One can understand why they call this, "The Great Northern Route." The highlight for the girls today was riding on a buckboard over to the pay phone. The locals are always friendly. Tomorrow we will make it a short day, riding over to Williston, ND and have lunch with Jerome and Cynthia, whom we know from our military ministry days.
7/10/04
After crossing into North Dakota, we had to adjust to a time change, so we decided to ride out at 9 a.m. rather than 8 a.m. and let ourselves catch up slowly. Rode 46 miles to Williston, ND and met with our friends. Went into an RV Park early and just crashed. It felt to have the afternoon off really rest. My top speed was 27 mph, averaging 14.1 mph, and in the saddle 3.13 hours. Wow, the roads a big improvement from what the last several days have been. The highlight for me today was finishing the 700 miles to cross the entire state of Montana! Even though it wasn't a full day, it was still my seventh straight day of riding. The sleeping was difficult as we had one terrific wind and thunderstorms throughout the evening. Impressive!
7/11/04
Rode out of Williston shortly after 9 a.m. and ran directly into headwinds. At least the road surface was good. Progress against the headwinds was slow, only about 8 to 9 mph in the morning. The fields were bright with yellow plants that we found out were canola. I had my sixth flat tire that slowed me up as well. After lunch, the winds died down somewhat and I was able to make better progress. Stan decided to ride 15 miles and picked the best part of the day except he ended up climbing out of a six mile river valley. There were rain clouds all around us throughout the day, but it never rained except for a couple of sprinkles. Ended up riding 67 miles with a top speed of 28 mph, averaging only 13 mph. Was in the saddle 5.2 hours. Even though the riding wasn't too spectacular, I did find the location of creak in my bike and was able to fix it. That creak was like Chinese Water Torture! Even though I had 20 mph headwinds, it was better than a hot, humid, still day. We stayed in Stanley, ND and found that almost everything in town was closed, as it was Sunday. We did find a city RV Park and took in another evening of wind and thunderstorms throughout the night. SoCal readers may be interested to know that the last few days we have been paying 1.87 per gallon for gas!
7/12/04
We have clear, cool skies today with fresh air from the rain last night. But, the best thing was the winds reversed and gave me a 20 mph tailwind that I took advantage of. I actually rode 178 miles...over half the state of North Dakota today! My top speed was 36 mph with an average speed of 21 mph. Was in the saddle 8.3 hours! Wow, what a great day of progress! I think that I will sleep tonight. Stan picked up some inner tubes and handlebar tape at the bike shop in Minot. When the owner heard what we were up to, he gave us a discount. Thank You! Today, we passed through the town of Rugby, the geographic center of North America. Stan, Joye and Kathy took pictures in front of the tower that marked the spot. They are true tourists!
7/13/04
Today we left around 9:15 from Devil's Lake, ND even though I should have been tired from the big ride yesterday, I was still wide awake at 1:00 a.m. Using the Internet and accessing our website has been a challenge as well. We had been up late because we sent in some updates and lost it, so we had to retype it onto the computer we were using at the RV park. We didn't get done till 12 a.m. Today, we went into Grand Forks, ND, and have another state down! I rode 86 miles with a top speed of 29 mph, averaging 18.4 mph. Was in the saddle 4.38 hours. Even though I thought I had found what was causing the creak in my bike, it gradually came back over the next couple of days, so we went into a bike shop in Grand Forks. They took the front of my bike apart, cleaned everything, lubed it, and even re-taped my handlebars. They didn't charge me, just asked that I would sign their book of long distance riders who pass through. We have encountered a few single women riders who are doing cross-country riding without any support. Sapphire came into our RV park tonight looking for a place to pitch a tent. I had passed her up yesterday without being able to talk to her. She was riding from Washington to Boston. We invited her to dinner and shared stories of our riding experiences. There aren't many who have this kind of experience to share with.
7/14/04
Today, I rode to Bemidji, MN which is Paul Bunyon's headquarters. The riding today was wonderful! Good weather, gentle breezes, and great road surfaces. Bemidji was Stan and Joye's destination and tomorrow they will go south and visit friends. We will miss them as we begin the second half of our journey, as they sure helped us get through some lonely stretches. Stan took his last ride today and rode the most he has done yet, some 38 miles! But, he forgot the sunscreen, so was a little red when he was done. I rode 108 miles with a top speed of 25 mph, averaging 17 mph. Was in the saddle 6.21 hours. There were no flats and nothing went wrong except there were a few segments of road construction where the riding was rough. It did prove that my creak was taken care of! As we move east, we are seeing towns closer together, and hopefully we will have better communication by cell phone and Internet.
7/15/04
Said good bye to Joye & Stan. Got off to a late start around 12:30. Had worked at trying to use the campground's Internet, but with no success. I am amazed at how difficult it still is to get reports to my website! Rode 67 miles with a top speed of 26 mph, with an average speed of 18 mph, and was only on the saddle 3.4 hours. Rode through some swamps on each side of the road with rough road surface. I didn't feel like I was making good time and was feeling a little bored. I decided to step into the peddles and work a little harder through the swamp area. Kathy was able to stop at a few shops along the way and call family. We found an RV site and decided to call it a day, as rain was approaching anyway. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day for mileage. We had evaluated the night before and I need to hit pretty close to 100 miles per day for the rest of the trip. Pray for good weather, roads, health, and mechanical equipment to keep working! Thanks!
7/16/04
Rode from Warda, MN to Ashland, WI Today. It was a cloudy but humid day. I made good time in the morning to Duluth. We had a little scare with the motor home as the engine raced a couple of times. Not sure what it was, but it seems to be working OK now. In the afternoon, I ran into headwind, hilly countryside, and humidity. I was able to ride 110 miles with a top speed of 29 mph and an average speed of 16.2 mph. Was in the saddle for 6.43 hours. At the end of the day, we stopped at the Great Lakes Welcome Center and looked around for a few minutes. It was a beautiful structure and had a lot of information in it. Kathy is enjoying the accent of the locals and says she keeps seeing people that remind her of the folks in our home church in Traverse City, MI. Must be the Scandinavian heritage! Well, I finally did it. . . I left the bike lock for the rack on top of the spare tire. Kathy drove some 60 plus miles and when I happened to check that area out, the lock was still there. Kathy claims it shows that she is a great driver. Amen!
7/17/04
Left Ashland around 7:15. Didn't really sleep too sound as we were in a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night and people were coming and going (it was open 24 hours). Started the morning with a flat tire before I even took the bike off the rack. There were two little strands of steel poking through the tire into the tube. It is amazing what can cause a flat. It was a big day for me as I finished up Wisconsin and rode into my home state of Michigan. I ran into two different sets of riders today that gave me the information that I needed to decide about riding Highway 28 versus Highway 2 through the upper-peninsula of Michigan. One set of riders were Canadian and I was able to ask them about Highway 17 to Montreal and they said it was OK for biking. It was encouraging how God gave me the information just in time for Kathy and me to make our route decisions. I rode 113 miles today with a top speed of 30 with an average speed of 15.3 mph. Was in the saddle for 7.23 hours. The road surface was good, but had afternoon headwind, so I had to work hard to get my miles in today. I ran into a bunch of bike riders going the other way today and finally I asked one who they were as I haven't seen that many riders at any time on my trip. Come to find out, they were in a 100 mile race. Seemed funny to me as I'm trying for that much everyday. Ha.
7/18/04
Had a great day of riding with beautiful scenery of Lake Superior. The air was cold and crisp in the morning and it made me want to ride slowly so, that I'd not get too cold. The ride today was mostly flat, but around Munising, there were climbs. Going through Munising brought back memories for both of us: Kathy remembered taking family vacations as a child, and in 1972 we took our honeymoon in the Upper Peninsula. Of course if you are in the U.P., you have to have a pasty (kind of a pot pie). Kathy ordered meat filled ones, but as we were eating them, we realized they were vegetarian (just carrots and potatoes) instead. Not great . . . oh-well, next trip. I ended up riding 111 miles with a top speed of 33 mph, averaging 15.9 mph. Was in the saddle for 6.56 hrs.
7/19/04
Last night we spent the night some 40 miles from where my mom grew up. It was tempting to go and visit relatives, but it was late and there was too much to do for the next day's ride. Today is a big day for us as we are meeting our moms in Sault St. Marie. They are driving up to see us from Traverse City (3 hours south). It is also our last day in Michigan before I start Canada. The roads were mostly flat, half good and half bad. I was able to ride 108 miles with a top speed of 29 mph, with an average speed of 16.5 mph. Was in the saddle 6.32 hrs. We arrived around 4 P.M. and actually found our moms easily. They had told the motel owner what we were doing and he allowed us to park there and gave our moms the biggest room he had in case we wanted to sleep or shower there too. (We loved having a real shower.) Our moms had already scoped out the local restaurant and told them what we were doing as well. Wow, the pressure of celebrity statusÉ
7/20/04
During breakfast, I asked the waitress about Canada and how difficult it was to cross. Her comments worried me some, but we drove through into Canada without any problems. We should have mailed out our bills before leaving the U.S. as when we went to mail them from Canada a lady told us we'd have to buy Canadian stamps. It made sense, but was a little frustrating as we had to find a Post Office. I'm always chomping to get riding and see things like that as "burning daylight". I finally started riding around 11 a.m. The roads are not very wide for biking and I even felt the suction as semi-trucks passed. I was able to ride 81 miles with a top speed of 31.5 mph, averaging 15.8 mph. Was in the saddle 5.05 hrs. I really enjoyed the countryside and viewing the river and bays. Today was sort of a downer in some ways, first getting info that worried me about entering Canada and then saying good-bye to our moms. We stopped for the evening in Blind River at a free City RV park. I'd liked to have gotten my 100 miles in, but I think we made the right decision to stop as it was 6:00 and the next town would have been another 24 miles. A new challenge for us is using Canadian money and thinking in terms of kilometers (instead of miles) and liters (for buying gas). We are also learning some French!!!
7/21/04
Left Blind River at 6:50 a.m. with great weather. After a couple of hours, the roads filled up with all kinds of trucks on those narrow roads that I have already described. As we went into the afternoon, it became hot, humid and I encountered headwinds. It was a good day mileage-wise but I worked hard to get those miles. I ended up riding 130 miles with a top speed of 31 mph with an average speed of 15.5. Was in the saddle for 8.25 hrs. It was the hardest day yet!
Slept at a campground on Lake Nipissing, which is one really big lake. I spent half a day riding along just a part of it! It rained all night and I kept waking up wondering what I should do about riding on those narrow shoulders, if it was still raining. God cleared things up by early morning and by the time I got on the road, they were dry! Amen!
7/22/04
Today we met John and Sarah (Canadians) who were from Calgary, and were riding from Vancouver to Newfoundland. They had been on the road for 45 days and are facing a lot more days of riding! It is always fun to exchange information and experiences with other riders. Well, I don't know if they call them mountains as someone warned me about the "hills" around Mattawa, but all afternoon I felt like I was riding straight up one long hill after another in humid weather. Thankfully, I felt strong and attacked the hills and did pretty well for the day. I was able to ride 96 miles, with a top speed of 38.5 mph with an average of 16.5 mph. Was in the saddle 5.47 hrs. We found a campground on the Ottawa River. I had just showered, taken a short nap, and eaten dinner when John and Sarah rolled into our campground for the night. We shared our leftover food with them and enjoyed their company for an hour or so. I was able to loan them some tools to clean their bike chains. There's nothing like a clean well oiled chain! I have to tell on KathyÉwhen we were about to quit for the day, I ran into her driving towards me, I thought "wow, a motor home just like ours", and then I saw Kathy. I radioed her asking her what she was up to. She had pulled into a little store to check our campground books for a place to stay, and had gone onto the road going the wrong way. I'm glad that was all it was, and not her deciding to go back to California!
7/23/04
Kathy and I stayed up late watching a movie on our laptop. It was one of those so so movies that made you wonder why you keep watching it, especially when you need to get up early the next day. Well, actually we did sleep in till 7:30. Wow, was it cold this morning, I completely dressed with arm and leg warmers, gloves and coat and when I hit the street, I was glad that I was wearing everything! Today was a difficult day of riding with more and more cars and trucks going by me in pulses of up to 40 at a time. It really wore me down and finally about 6 miles before the restricted highway that goes to Ottawa, I gave up and put the bike on the rack. It was one of those days where you felt if you kept going like that, that you'd get hurt. By the way, I had been the only biker on that road for hours. "A crazy American," I imagine the local drivers were thinking. If you are wondering what Canadian road that I've been on, it is Highway 17. I rode 106 miles with a top speed of 32.5 mph with and average speed of 17.4 mph. Was in the saddle 6.04 hours. Kathy drove us through Ottawa (which has a population of about 785,000 people) at 5:00 PM on a Friday. Not the best idea! We ended up in Casselman on the other side some 70 miles from where we put the bike on the rack. After evaluating the riding that I'd been experiencing, we decided to drop south tomorrow back into the USA. I was never really sure of the right route from Ottawa to Montreal and to the states anyway. I'm sure there is great riding in Canada, but I picked the wrong route and experienced very tedious, unsafe riding. We praise God for His protection! Thank you to those of you who are praying for us!
7/24/04
Left Casselman for the states on route 138 to Cornwall. It was a beautiful day with a tail wind and a good road surface! Rode the 20 miles to the border and loaded up the bike to cross back to the U.S. Wow!!! Upstate New York has great roads for riding! They even have "Shared Road w/ Bike" signs all over the place with wider paved shoulders than the lanes! We rode through quaint towns, and had the freedom to use our cell phones (in Canada it was roaming charges if we used the cell phone). We rode from Canada, to New York and entered Vermont. Not a bad day! It was a tiring day as it was all uphill and was also against the wind. We ended up camping on Grand Isle in the middle of Lake Champlain! We stopped riding around 7:30 p.m. and I was exhausted. I rode 111 miles with a top speed of 26.5 mph, with an average speed of 14.9 mph. Was in the saddle for 7.26 hrs. There were lots of shops that Kathy would have liked to have visited, but they were closed. I guess I will have to take her back sometime.
7/25/04
Because of the price of the campground, on Grand Isle, and my need for some rest, we decided to leave around 10:30. Today was a beautiful day with clouds and no winds, but I climbed all day with about 20 miles more climbing tomorrow. I rode 67 miles with a top speed of 38.5 mph, with an average speed of 14.1 mph. Was in the saddle of 4.4 hrs. I lay down after dinner, woke up at 11:00 just in time to go to bed. I guess I was really tired. Kathy found the Old Round Church in Richmond, VT. She also found some beautiful villages and took pictures. I must say, as set as I am on getting to my destination, when I get to one of the villages, I slow down and look at all of the buildings and gardens. I have a lot of beautiful pictures stored in my mind!
7/26/04
Today was just a beautiful perfect day in VT! The scenery was fantastic as I worked through the White Mountains. At least half my day was climbing lots of short steep hills that made you work. Somehow, it didn't matter that much as I was just enjoying all that I was seeing. I also knew that after today, the climbing was over for this trip. This was also another three state day riding from VT, through NH and then entering ME! It makes you feel like you are making progress! I entered ME at 3:45 p.m. with a big smile on my face! We stopped in Hanover, ME. I rode for 102 miles with a top sped of 36.5 mph and an average speed of 13.9 mph. Was in the saddle for 7.17. It was just a perfect day. We have about 165 miles left. The weather forecast is for rain tomorrow afternoon and the next day, so I'm not sure just when we will finish. Kathy keeps asking me if I want a break as this is the 23 consecutive day of riding. So if we have a very rainy day, I might take it off as the next day's forecast is for clearing. We'll seeÉ
7/27/04
Woke up early with rain hitting the roof and thought the forecasters were 24 hours off. By the time I was ready to ride, it was dry, but after I started riding, it began to drizzle off and on. It was great to ride next to the woods and hear the rain fall through the trees, and look out on the river and watch the rain hit the water. After about 40 miles, it stopped and the rest of the day, it was just humid and cloudy. Today was my last long day, riding 101 miles with a top speed of 33 mph, with an average speed of 14.6 mph. Was in the saddle for 6.54 hrs. I had another flat tire around 88 miles and noticed the back tire had a hole in the side where the inner-tube was trying to push through. I changed it later making it five tires and at least eight inner-tubes replaced. We rode to Newport, ME and had read the "old HWY 2" was pot-holed and in bad shape for the next 20 miles to Bangor. I tried to ride it, but to find any smooth surface you had to ride in the middle of the road, so we abandoned that stretch. I was transported by RV to where we are camping in Holden. I just have about 35 miles to go and I will have arrived at the destination. Kathy has noticed a bunch of different signs warning about Moose on and near the highway. The funny part is each sign that she spots makes the Moose look angrier than the last one. She keeps looking for one. I'm kind of hoping that she doesn't find one as I'm not sure what she will do with it. She also continues to spot all of these antique stores, but can't stop as she needs to keep up with me. It's not that I can go faster than her, but by the time she breaks camp, brings up food and water every so often, and plans the next meeting point, she doesn't have much time for herself. After we get to Bar Harbor, I owe her a couple of stops; actually I owe her a lot more than that.
7/28/04
We finished! It rained hard last night and we woke up to drizzle and fog. We decided not to start too early and just wait to see if the weather would clear. Finally around 11:00, we headed out with drizzle and fog. It was only 30 miles, so we were excited and relaxed about the ride in. Then, there it was, the welcome sign for Bar Harbor! Kathy was there with the camera to film my arrival. So, for the day, I rode 30 miles, with a top speed of 25.5 mph, and averaged 12.6 mph. Was in the saddle and 2.2 hours. We ended up riding a total 2874 miles and only transported by the RV over restricted highways or bad roads of about 150 miles. Our average mileage was 90. I lost 10 pounds in the 32 days of riding.
We celebrated in Bar Harbor with a victory dinner. Kathy tackled a whole lobster and I had my favorite, prime rib. The day was gray and cool, but it didn't dampen our spirits. We give praise to our Lord for safety and provision all the way. We thank Him for allowing us to have this great adventure! Thank you for your faithful prayers and encouragement! California, here we come! See you soon!