A Biblical Plague, Dude

Talked with Ben last night. He complained about two things: Humidity and a plague of bugs.

Having been raised in the desert, then gone to school in San Fransisco, Ben just really is not designed for heat and humidity. Apparently Laura and Noah are not much phased by equal temps and humidity (as in both are over 90), but it is killing Ben. After a day of riding and sweating, he says his hands look as pruney as they did after he spent an hour in the bathtub as a little kid. Oh, and his sweat shorted out the iPod he had in his back pocket.

Although he sees lots of roadkill (and I overheard all four of them discussing the connection between size and stench when we were in Pueblo), what seems to be really bugging him are the bugs. Flies, caterpillars and grasshoppers of Biblical plague levels are no fun when on a bicycle. (My teeth feel nasty just thinking about it!) I guess I don't need to worry about his protein consumption any more.
This is a picture I found online about the Mayflies in his area because he didn't take any pictures of the bug plagues (or at least hasn't shared them).

 

But here is an endangered species he did take a shot of: a LIVE armadillo on the road.














All I can say is you know things must be nasty if he says this was the BEST shower ever. Of course, there may have been some snark in that comment.

But, despite all the misery, people are still great. As he says, where else but in Kansas can one be handed corn from random strangers?

He is out of Kansas now, though, and well into Missouri. In fact, he should cross into Illinois tomorrow. Won't stay there for long, as that is where he departs from Laura and Noah (I am sure he is not looking forward to that) and heads up to St. Louis to catch the train back to New Mexico for his best friend's wedding.

I suspect that after two weeks in the desert, he will have an even harder time adjusting to the heat and humidity on the rest of his journey. He said this weather has been much harder on him than anything he faced in Nevada.


People keep asking me what kind of mileage are they putting in on a daily basis. Here is the mileage info that Laura shared on her blog:

Day 26

Captain’s log, star date 07.01.2014

Blanding, UT to Dolores, CO – 86 miles that turned into 95 miles.

We lost Noah.
 Day 27
Captain’s log, star date 07.02.2014
Dolores, CO to 25 miles up the road
Day 28

Captain’s log, star date 07.03.2014

Rico, CO to Placerville, CO

Day 29

Captain’s log, star date 07.04.2014

Placerville, CO to Montrose, CO

Day 30

Captain’s log, star date 07.05.2014

Montrose, CO to Sargents, CO

Day 31

7/6

Sapinero, CO to Sargents, CO

Day 32

Captain’s log, star date 07.07.2014

Sargents, CO to Cotopaxi, CO – 60 miles

Climbed Monarch Pass!

Day 33

Star date 07.08.2014

Cotopaxi, CO – Westcliffe, CO – short miles

Day 34

Star date 07.09.2014

Westcliffe, CO to Pueblo, CO – 71 miles

Day 35

Star date 07.10.2014

Pueblo, CO – Rest Day

Day 36

Star date 07.11.2014

Pueblo, CO to a place with a nice lady who puts up bikers – 67 miles

Day 37

Star date 07.12.2014

A place with a nice lady who puts up bikers to Eads, KS – 65 miles

Day 38

Star date 07.13.2014

Eads, KS to Scott City, KS – 108 miles

New state!

Day 39

Star date 07.14.2014

Scott City, KS to Alexander, KS – 76 miles

Day 40

Star date 07.15.2014

Alexander, KS to Nickerson, KS – 108 miles

Nickerson: Home of the Worst nights sleep.

Day 41

Star date 07.16.2014

Nickerson, KS to Newton, KS – 50 miles

Day 42

Star date 07.17.2014

Newton, KS to Eureka, KS – 75 miles

Day 43

Star date 07.18.2014

Eureka, KS to Walnut, KS – 90 miles

Day 44

Star date 07.19.2014

Walnut, KS to Golden City, MO – 75 miles

New state!

Day 45

Star date 07.20.2014

Golden City, MO to Ash Grove, MO – 40 miles

Day 46

Star date 07.21.2014

Ash Grove, MO to Hartville, MO – 76 miles

Day 47

Star date 07.22.2014

Hartville, MO to Alley Spring, MO – 76 ish miles.. maybe?

Day 48

Star date 07.23.2014

Alley Spring, MO – 33..

Good People Abound

I was thinking about some of the stories Ben has told about his ride so far. Totally restores my faith in humanity.

Like the couple who helped him in the Sierras, giving him a lift and sharing a campsite with him.

Like the couple in Nevada who gave him water when he rode on to a campsite without any water.

Or like any of the other numerous folks who have generously shared water and Gatorade with them along the way.

Like the man in Fallon who offered his home to Laura and Noah (and all his negative advice!)

Like the man who was in a suit on a bicycle leaving a funeral, saw and dragged Ben to a store and bought him a quart of ice cream. Just because.

Like the couple who invited Ben's entire group into their home, let them shower and wash all their clothes. Took them four wheeling and fed them dinner.

Like the crazy woman who told Ben and Laura to wait on her porch for the rest of their group, then took Ben shopping in order to get the best price on a fleece pullover.

Like the lovely young woman who came by their campsite at 5:00 in the morning, after a horrific thunderstorm, with hot coffee to share with the group.


Like all the people in Kansas who support all of the cyclists riding the TransAmerica Route. 


Like my friend Joanne Schenck (whom I haven't seen in YEARS) who contacted friends of hers in St. Louis and they are letting Ben store his bike and gear in their garage while he comes home for a wedding.


And like Danielle, Henry, Mick, Noah and Laura who were total strangers until they met on the road and rode together, supporting each other while they could.

My family likes to joke about how "People are no damned good . . . ain't you glad we ain't people?" But really, people are wonderful.

Dust in the Wind. . .Kansas

 Crossed one more state and entering Kansas. Now that he is almost all the way through, Ben says he likes Kansas better than Colorado. He likes the countryside as well as the people. He says they are more real than Coloradans.

 But apparently their road crews don't know how to paint stripes on the highways!

 Ben, Noah and Laura have parted ways with Mick because they need to put in more miles each day than Mick wants to. But they must still have some psychic link because this is Ben's picture, and . . .

. . . this is Mick's shot of the exact same barn!

 Ben says in the past couple of days they have passed six different prisons. I had no idea Kansas was The Prison State. And here I always thought they were The Sunflower State.

 Ahh, the joys of riding  a bike in the wind. And yesterday it was not only windy, but rainy the whole day. Ben said all their bike bags are waterproof, so their gear has stayed dry.

Ben took this shot for KHS, the company who made his bike. He used to ride for a KHS sponsored bike team, so we told them what he was doing. They asked for a picture.


Ben says they will cross into Missouri tomorrow. Then, on the other side of the state, he will send Laura and Noah on their way to the Atlantic, and he will head north to St. Louis to catch Amtrak. He will come back for a couple weeks to be Best Man in his best friend's wedding, then go back to St. Louis and continue his ride. Joanne Schenck is a friend of mine who is following Ben's route. She has good friends in St. Louis and they have offered to let Ben store his bike and gear in their garage while he comes home. People really ARE wonderfully generous.

I had worried that when he returned to the trail, he wouldn't find any other cyclists to connect with. But Ben says this portion of the trail, called the TransAmerica Route, is so heavily traveled that he won't have any problems meeting folks. He also said this section is sooooo much easier than the Western Express that he almost feels like he is cheating on this leg. All of the tiny towns they go through are set up to cater to cross-country cyclists, with city parks that have showers, and people who have set up hostels just for the cyclists.

His first experience with that was in a small Eastern Colorado town. Their Adventure Cycle map pack includes information about where to stay in towns along the way. In this town the directions said to go to such-and-such gas station and ask for Ilana. Ilana turns out to be an Australian who has fixed up several old trailers with stoves and bunks that she lets cyclists crash in. Ben helped her fix some fence line in exchange for a night's sleep.

Then in Newton, KS, they stayed in a bike shop that lets cyclists sleep, shower, do laundry and use their tools for $10 each. (Mick actually took this picture when he went through a few days later).

Although Ben is enjoying this leg, I think he is very glad he began on the Western Express. He likes the sense that he beat the elements and successfully proved himself tougher than Nevada.

We all join up in Pueblo. . . loads of fun.

We had so much fun meeting up with Ben and is companions in Pueblo this week. The only real hitch in the visit was the challenge they faced getting from where they came into Pueblo to where we had a campsite! They did not want to ride up I25, but there was no direct route otherwise. It took them about three hours, maybe longer, to get from the southwest corner of town to our campground just north of town. So much for a rest day!

This is Ben, looking a bit scruffy and unshaven, but still happy.










This is the bunch right after they wandered all over Pueblo trying to get to the RV. Mick had to stop off at a Verizon store so he came on later, having found a MUCH better route to get to the place.

Do you see the big bowl of fruit (behind the Hard Cider can)? we filled it to over flowing with fresh fruit, and it was empty by the time we ate Ed's delicious vegetarian lasagna for dinner.

Mick and Noah are enjoying the comfy seats in the RV.

 Marshall sitting at the picnic table in our totally enclosed and nifty RV site. Well, maybe nifty isn't the word. It was VERY hot, and the sun shade we had been promised had blown away in a storm the night before (which Ben's group said was so intense that they figured they would all blow away with their tents). But being able to set up their tents, and spread out their bikes and gear made it worthwhile. I don't think I will go back to Pueblo any time soon (too hot and buggy by far) but this visit was worth it.

Mick is trying to sample micro-brews all across the country. He prefers that they be on tap and brewed on location, but he seemed happy with the two types of New Mexico beers we brought him (Santa Fe Brewery and Alien Ale from Moriarty).

Mick is keeping a journal of his adventures. When he has time he transcribes it into his blog on Crazy Guy With a Bike site. But his last entry there was made the day after they met up with Ben in Cedar City, Utah.

We knew Noah needed a different bike, but we honestly didn't realize how bad it was. He rode the hardest part of the trip across America (The Sierras, Nevada and The Rockies) on a 1978, women's 10-speed Schwinn  with steel wheels (which Ed says don't work well with brakes). We are so impressed by that guy's strength and fortitude. But we also hope he enjoys the last half of the trip on a better bike. 

After a day of resting, switching bikes for Noah, and browsing the Riverwalk in Pueblo, the crew needed to get back on their bikes and head for Kansas. Mick tends to leave earlier than the others because he wants to go a bit slower and take a rest during the hottest part of the day (he is a smart man!). We got up to give him coffee and some of Ed's good bread with peanut butter before he headed off around 6:00 a.m. You can just barely see Noah in his hammock in the background.

The rest of the crew didn't get up until around seven, then we fed them eggs and more of Ed's bread (and brown rice tortillas for Ben). Once they started getting ready, Ben had so much to do he took forever to get ready.

Noah is loading up his new bike.

Laura is done and waiting. . .

 . . . while Ben starts to change right there behind his towel, before he is reminded he can go into the RV and be properly modest!

 

And Laura is still waiting. . . 

 

And Ben is still packing up

 

Ben is still packing up his stuff, and He says, "OK. I'm ready." We look over at Noah and Laura who have not budged an inch. I get the impression they have heard the "I'm ready now" line before! Funny how quickly we can learn someone's quirks when traveling together. No one else would know these guys only met up a few weeks ago as perfect strangers. They are such a great fit together, making  pretty good family. Thank heavens they have had Mick to keep them in line!

OK! Last minute double check of route and all. . . Mick has sent a text to let them know the route we planned for them to leave town is OK (even if they do have to ride north for two miles to get to a road to cross over and head back south).  Ben says they will now stay on Highway 96 all the way across Kansas.

  

And they are off! Laura says that Ben rides standing up most of the way.

This tunnel went under the freeway. As we came into town in our 12 feet tall RV, we had to drive through it. The sign said the tunnel was 13 feet tall. We found ourselves hoping no one miss measured. Ben and crew had to ride through it on their way out, but I imagine it is a bit less scary going on a bike. Well, unless a car comes from the other direction.

As they headed on down the highway towards Kansas, Ben said he heard Noah singing. "Oh I went through the desert on a bike with no name. . ."

Montrose for the Fourth

Funny thing, now that Ben has riding companions, I don't get nearly as much information from him as I used to!

 The group crossed into Colorado  the other day during an incredibly long ride. Ben said he was in the bike saddle for 13 hours.

Noah was particularly exhausted at the end of that day. Looks to me like he didn't even have the energy to put up a tent.














But they found a great bike shop in Dolores called Lizard Head Cycles who worked on Noah's bike, fixing several issues. Not sure what all was wrong with the bike, but Ben said their attempts at en-route repairs left the repair guy laughing rather rudely at the bike. But he was magical and fixed everything for them.

While at the shop they ran into some cross country cyclists who were riding with a support vehicle. For some reason they really irritated Ben, so the next morning he showed them what real touring is all about. There was a steep hill outside of town, and he passed every single one of them on his fully loaded bike, making fun of the fact they didn't even have more than a bottle of water on their bikes. Then, to add insult to injury, at the top of the hill he stopped long enough to swap his rear tire with his front tire to more evenly distribute the wear. He told them, "Of course I have the tools to do this. Who would ride across America without basic stuff to change a tire?" He really can be pretty obnoxious!

The next night they stayed in a campground near Placerville, and then rode to Montrose for the Fourth. They needed to get into the campground by 2:00 for some reason, so Ben rode on ahead to make sure they got a spot. The person working the desk was going to charge them $60 for a tent site because they had multiple tents. Ben said he looked over at a ginormous family tent with about 12 people and asked how much they were charged. She decided he might have a point and cut the charge in half.

We think we might drive up and meet them in Pueblo or Lamar Colorado next week, since that's just a five hour drive away. We have even offered to give Noah a different bike if he wants it, since he has had so many problems with the one he is riding.

I think Ed has enough bikes and bike related stuff to share, don't you?

Lots of pictures

Haven't really had a chance to talk with Ben, but he sent several pictures. I will upload them here for your viewing pleasure, although I don't know where most of them were taken.

The group is about ready to head into Colorado.

I am not sure who is happier he met up with some great folks, Ben or his mom and aunts!

 This is Hite Recreation Area, which is on the northern tip of Lake Powell.

 YIKES! This is the second picture of a snake. I doubt this one is a bull snake though!

 

 This waterfall is at Calf Creek, and Ben said it made a great shower that day.

 

I can see why he said he ended this day with a win.