OUR LAST DAY! and i got to spend the whole ride with sarah on the same bike, woo! it was maybe the hardest ride ever because we climbed A LOT for being within 55 miles of the beach and this bike was a lot less efficient. The west coast isn’t like the east coast where you could have 200 miles of flatland up to the beach. Sarah and i had a fun time even though it was tough, but it was entirely worth it and i am glad i got to share the ride with her.
SO - imagine this… a family of 31 formed in two and a half months, 12 states + kentucky, many build sites, 4000 MILES, and the west coast is right there! 31 people ready, hot, exhausted, the cold unnoticed, blood pumping, more excitement than we could ever imagine, staring at huge haystack rock in the ocean. Then BAM, we are sprinting as fast as we can into the ocean with all we have worked for - All the people we helped, miles we biked, and the love we sent out for Paige! straight into the ocean. the freezing cold of the ocean unnoticed as we dive in, scream, dance, hug each other, cry, and of course, pop champagne. we all got our bikes for the front wheel dipping ceremony to show we made it. DONE. it’s unreal looking back now. I have never done something so exciting in my life. i shared a lot with all of you bike&builders, stuff i will never forget nor stop telling people… I LOVE YOU ALL WITH ALLLLL I GOT CUS’10
sooo we rode into Vernonia, OR today. we got to pass through Portland on our way so we stopped at a yummy doughnut shop - Voodoo doughnut. there were oreo doughnuts, cocoa puff, huge glazed, anything you can imagine yet i get one glazed doughnut… In Vernonia, Jake, a B&B alum, met up with us so he could drive our van the next day in order for everyone to ride into Cannon Beach together. He also provided us with an awesome tandem bike. the tandem’s purpose is to make it so sarah can ride her last, and most significant day, to the beach tomorrow. she injured her arm in the pile up a few days ago, that i was also in, so she couldn’t ride on her own. I was designated the fortunate man to work with her to get to the beach tomorrow, which i wanted to do anyway. can’t wait!! that night we had paper plate awards. Dave and I got a group award: “most likely to get married if they were gay… or not.” Love it
Photoset with 1 note
our highly anticipated climb through the foothills of mt. hood…. not so epic. The climb was much easier than everyone thought, but the mountain still turned out to be beautiful. the descent was super long which was a nice treat. Speaking of treats we stopped at a well know doughnut shop called Joes… i think. root beer float and two glazed. that night we went out into Portland and checked the sites - cool place.
today we built for Habitat of Portland. painting siding/nailing it in, putting up blue board (my job up on the ladder), making awning for a porch. I got an awesome construction belt from Bob the builder that day. The belt was super helpful being on the ladder 30 feet up when i needed a measuring tape, hammer, button nails, razor, tape, or everything. We got a lot done, as usual, on our last work-site. Thank you Portland Metro/East Habitat!!
the ride into Fossil, OR yesterday was HOT. our day ended with a 9 mile climb in the afternoon heat of the desert. We got to meet some really cool people in this town though. we were provided dinner at a nearby home where many town folk came to talk with us and just have a good time. A group of them played us music on the porch while everyone else ate and met people. Then we got to stay in houses all over the town where we got BEDS! our second bed in 70 days.
“man of constant sorrow” was the riding song for dave, andy, and I today. our ride into Maupin - elevation 1041 feet- had some great descents, that followed some big uphills, of course. at the peak of one hill we got our first view of mt. hood - elevation 11,245 feet. On our way to Gresham, OR tomorrow we get to climb parts of Hood. thank you church people for welcoming us with root beer floats and a variety of other goodies!
3 more riding days / 1 more build in Portland! get some… excitement
i am now 3 hours behind my home’s time. the past few days, 7/23 - today, we have passed through Unity, John Day, and now we are in Dayville, OR. Had my first crash the other day… we were basically riding in a mini peloton, 2 people wide, when the person in the front crashed. I was second in line so i ran over her and went flying into some gravel on the side of the road as about 4 others piled up and the others avoided the crash. I didn’t have a mark on my body somehow, but everyone else came out with minor cuts and bruises. everyone is A okay and riding.
We recently camped next to a lake, in Unity, where we got to swim! In John day yesterday, i had DQ with some people and checked out the solar energy fair.
Today we had delicious pancakes, biscuits/gravy, bacon, sausage, eggs for breakfast thanks to our great hosts. Once in today’s town, we all got milkshakes, went to the park, played in the river, etc. i decided to catch a crawdad for my sister because she would of, had she seen the millions at our feet. i of course put it back after deciding not to boil the bad boy up. we split up over $14000 to 5 different affordable housing organizations tonight - congratulations to them!
got here at 10AM on this short ride day…been relaxing big time ever since. LiveLoveRide - B&B. Have a good one
for my day off i slept in, ate at a delicious Indian buffet in Boise, saw a great movie - Inception, and made dinner for the fourth time for 31 people. good recovery day.
Today we made our way into Ontario, Oregon, home of the invisible thorns. I say this because i got a flat in my rear tire due to these tiny thorns, as did the majority of the riders today. Then Andy pulled a thorn from my front tire allowing me to acquire my second flat within two minutes of each other. everyone waited at the state line today for our last state picture… which is not on my camera. A&W burger, fries, and float was a delicious treat 12 miles from our host site. Off to a new time zone tomorrow!
My sister Anna’s 21st birthday today. I love you!!!!!! :) enjoy your time at the beach mom and dad
stanley, ID was our destination on the 18th. the whole ride, we followed the river in between mountains. We even passed through a tiny town, Clayton, with a population of 26. The little town had all their essentials: liquor, postal office, fire station, tie-dye shirts, and 5 homes. Dave and i spotted hot springs while riding and got in them. It was entirely worth it. Once in town, Dave and I checked out the local festival and ate at a restaurant - meatball sub and tots - while watching the tour de france. I was on dinner crew tonight and i burnt the stew… woops. camping tonight.
cold cold morning on the 19th. Stanley is know for having some of the coldest mornings in America. The hour and a half of getting ready in the morning consisted of jumping around a lot. the riding was cold for a while two so i went fast to warm up. some mountains before the first lunch of our 92 mile day had bright green grass and dead trees from a forest fire years earlier. The ride was a tough one, consisting of a few mountains to climb, but many awarding descents to follow. I skipped second lunch since i was far in front of the van, so i had to stop and ask a nice fellow for water at a campsite. Andy and i got lunch in town where i got some pancakes and an omelet. That night our dinner crew made breakfast for dinner - TONS of pancakes, sausage, eggs, hash browns - success this night. three breakfasts in one day for me.
today, the 20th, dave and I finished our ride into Boise, ID in less than two hours - a short 38 mile ride - so we have had a lot of chill time. around ten, many of us ate breakfast at goldies in town. The breakfast i had was the best ever: bacon/spinach omelet, hash browns, maple sausage, and a biscuit. now dave and I are bloggin’ here at Thomas Hammer coffee shop. Cookin’ dinner again tonight + day off tomorrow. 9 more days of riding, 1 more build day, last day off tomorrow. winding down
(i may add more later….i don’t understand macs sometimes)
yesterday we rode into Arco, ID. I succeeded at riding 25 miles with no hands! the road was perfect and wind was minimal. About twenty miles from Arco a few of us stopped to check out the first nuclear reactor in the world called EBR-1. It was in the middle of nowhere. In town we stopped at pickle place where i ordered a burger and some fries - delicious. I later came back for a shirt and a boysenberry milkshake. That was the 3rd pickle restaurant we have run into, therefore, providing us with a third pickle dance (examine the pickle’s stance).
Today - Challis, ID. Much of the day was windy, as we have gotten a lot of in the west. There were many pretty sights such as the canyon we rode through where the road looked like it just stopped. The best part was our host. It was a christian retreat right next to a river and huge mountains. Emma and I climbed one of the mountains right when we got in - very steep climb that led to a 360 view of the area. Dave met us at the top too. Dinner from our hosts was amazing. Everything was so fresh and yummy… thank you.
our bike ride into idaho falls was an eventful one. We started off the day with a 6 mile climb, at 10% grade, up Teton pass. It was a steep/tough climb but everyone made it and cheered each other on at the top. We all danced at the top and prepared for a 10% grade downhill - soooo fun. at about mile twenty, all 31 of us stopped at the Emporium for huckleberry milkshakes - delicious and nutritious for the 86 mile day. Our hosts that night were sooo kind. It was the first time a host made all 31 of us get up in front of them and answer questions for 20 minutes, but it was fun/funny because they were a goofy crowd.
The next day we all went to the new location for idaho fall’s Habitat for Humanity restore. The new store was much needed - we got to see firsthand how much space the old store lacked. now they will be able to take in more donations and be more organized. We painted walls, wood finished the outside of the building, and took apart the sign on the roof that had the old building’s logo. It was our first time not building but we got A LOT done. After the build, dave and i checked out the wolf museum which was all about dogs. it was interesting. Then we all headed to the pastor’s house for a delicious BBQ where we saw ourselves on the news, played some volleyball and badminton, and just enjoyed the company. the night was finished with a ride back to the church in the pastor’s 65 mustang while listening to his mp3 collection of 60’s music. Great two days in idaho falls
to spice our century ride up, our leaders split the 31 of us into groups to compete in a photo scavenger hunt. the competition was split between yesterday’s ride and the day before that. our team was enthusiastic about it and we took all of the photos - some are uploaded here. We are showing pictures tonight to see who wins. i think team USA - me, alyson, kristen, will, and caroline - will win :)
otherwise, the past two riding days with team USA were beautiful. We are taking a day off at a family’s house here in Jackson, WY today. Many camped in the yard but some slept in the garage. The view from their house is amazing… right next to horse/cow pastures and the Teton mountains - which we will be climbing through tomorrow. Our hosts are awesome, letting us stay at their house, and even driving us through Teton Park to see some bison, moose, and the mountains. great thanks to them
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