Red Rocks and Hoodoos

Cedar City, Utah was our last stop before we encountered our new buddies, the Rocky Mountains. It started as a small Mormon town in the 1800s and has grown considerably in recent years to what it is now. We were lucky enough to have our bikes tweaked, catch a movie, and sleep in beds on this particular night. For any of you horror movie fans out there, 1408 will absolutely rock your scary world and make you wonder how Steven King has not had his children taken away by social services. We woke up at a reasonable hour the following morning and devoured a huge breakfast before beginning the most intimidating climb on the journey thus far. The 22 mile stretch from Cedar City to Cedar Breaks, Utah boasts a 4,500 foot vertical gain and unbelievable red rock cliffs around winding curves. Sections of the climb were very challenging and we felt extremely victorious upon reaching the summit. Our pace ended up being much faster than we anticipated and gave us a nice chunk of time to check out Cedar Breaks National Park. The changes in landscape that we witnessed from one side of the mountain to the other were absolutely mind-blowing. We went from the flat dry desert to expansive pine forrests and these amazing world famous red rock canyons.
This area of the country is home to so many national parks and houses what must be some of the most beautiful rock formations in the entire world. The ride down from Cedar Breaks to Panguitch was very rewarding and it was impossible to keep our eyes from wandering all along the horizon in every which direction. We were so ecstatic to have reached this part of our trip, and little did we know that we had seen nothing yet.

This morning (Thursday), we roused again and headed towards Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon. We had heard that the scenery only gets better as you travel east across southern Utah but I figured the people telling us these fallacies must have been delirious. Strangely, it appears I was wrong for officially the first time in my entire life. They were correct. We started with a 15 mile section of typical contours and views. Then, all of a sudden we rolled into Red Canyon. Spires of rock shot up on either side of us and the morning sun coaxed fiery red and orange tones out of the iron filled rocks. An awesome bike path led us through the 3 mile tour of this national monument and allowed us to take our sweet time for photo ops and jaw-drops without worrying about semis cleaning our clocks. We continued on to the base of Bryce Canyon and hopped on a shuttle to explore the grounds of our next national park. The formations were similar to those which we had seen earlier in the day, however the sheer size of the Bryce rim and canyon must have dwarfed the predecesssor fifty times over. We ambitiously took on a hike down into the canyon with our national hiking association approved steel toed wal-mart flip flops. Normal folk were obviously blown away by our bold athleticism. Countless photo shoots were in order and we ended up spending almost 4 hours climbing around and enjoying ourselves. The shuttle trip down put little baby Josh right to sleep and after a quick meal we were "happily?" back on the road. 40 miles remained between Bryce and where I am writing from now, Escalante. The first portion was down, followed by about a 10 mile ascent and matching final coast down into port. To our surprise, a mile stretch of the uphill threw a knuckleballing 16 degree pitch at us! This would be meaningless to most of you (myself included 3 weeks prior to now), however our steepest grade up to this point was around 9 degrees...just to put it into perspective. Towards the top, I was rejuvenated by a flag waving encouragement ceremony spontaneously put on by our good friends the Swedes. The rest of the crew was close behind and we had conquered our last summit for the day. Daniel and Nisse, our favorite foreign companions accompanied us all the way downhill into town and are here with us now enjoying dinner and some card playing. Tomorrow we will be blessed with the wonderful company of our amazing moms and Ben. We have been waiting for this day for some time now and only a short 28 mile ride stands in our way. I hope summer is treating everyone extremely well and promise more good stories to come.
Cheers,
Mike

Utah!

Poor Mike. He had to wake up at 4:00 again to start our 84 mile ride from Baker, Nevada, to Milford, Utah. Here's what happens when we ask Mike to wake up so early:

Sunrise rides are beautiful! And getting some big climbs out of the way while it's still cool out is the way to go. As soon as we crossed the border into Utah, the landscape came alive.

We saw cows, antelope, and tons of bunnies. I guess they'd heard the word from the bull and didn't dare stand up to us (so no roadblocks). It's much more interesting to ride mile after mile when you have new things to look at! Even the mountains in Utah seemed a little different from those in Nevada. Maybe we were just psyched to get there.

At the top of the last climb before reaching Milford, we stopped for lunch at Frisco, one of the better ghost towns we've come across. It was a mining town in the late 1800's and has been deserted since about 1920. Lindsay has now gotten her wish. She loves ghost towns.

Today we completed our 2nd map when we arrived in Cedar City. The town has a whopping 20,000 people - we played in traffic for a while before getting used to having so many cars around again. With so many people comes a bike shop - good news, as we had our tires filled properly and bikes prepared for the mountains that await us.

We're all especially excited for Friday, when Lindsay's and Mike's and Josh's moms and my fantastic boyfriend Ben come for a visit! We've been told that southern Utah is something to see, so we're looking forward to seeing it with them.

Hello to everyone at home and to all the friends we've met along the way,

Chey

p.s. Nikki and Jared, we wish you were here!

...and more desert

So Mike did manage to wake up at 4:00. Good job, Mike. The climb out of Eureka to begin our 78 mile day was challenging, though not quite "literally straight up" like one local told us it would be. Throughout the day, we rode up and down mountains and across basins and looked forward to the downhill into Ely. As we learned that afternoon, Nevada is not only the king of the fakeout summit. It's also the king of the fakeout downhill. At times I felt like I was being blown back up the hill and out of Ely by the wind. When we got into town, we found a restaurant, ordered our usual waters and sodas, and collapsed into our chairs. After talking with a couple biking from Kansas to California about our ride, another couple approached us, said they were impressed, and bought our lunch. Just one example of how generous people have been along the way.

After a good night's sleep, we took off for Baker, where we finally left Highway 50. And this time the afternoon downhill was legitimate. Thank goodness; it was hot! (You can tell it's hot when the M&M's and the block of cheese melt and reform overnight.) Though Baker is a town of 100 people, it's also home to a national park and the Lehman caves. The caves were too tempting and worth a day off. Fun fact: the last owners of the cave dressed up in caveman outfits to give tours. And no, we didn't see any bats. Too bad.

The Desert

The rest of our night at Middlegate proved to be very interesting and we left town having met a number of very unique individuals. One who Josh interacted with taught him about the ancient secrets of rattlesnake hunting.

In the morning we had a huge breakfast and picked up some final tips before taking off. The beginning of the ride presented a formidable mountain range so we were sure to pack at least a gallon and a half of water per person. Towards the beginning of the Ascent, we were lucky enough to run into a true nevada style roadblock. By this we mean an angry hot bull was stubbornly challenging our manhood. As usual, I (Mike) refused to succumb to the bull's request to halt and challenged back with a booming moo. The ladies were quite impressed and the bull seemed to quiver in anticipation of the showdown. Despite our building concern, he eventually folded and granted us passage.

By late afternoon, the sun was beating down upon us with all of its intensity and we could not wait to arrive in Austin, NV. The climb up the final hill into town was one of the steeper ones we have encountered and made us truly appreciate a cold drink when we finally completed it. While in town that afternoon, we shot some pool with a few of the locals and heard wild tales of the "Nam" days and other such adventures. We came across a beautiful place in town to watch the sun go down, and soon after called it a night so that we could wake up nice and early.

Again, a quick breakfast started our next day and we hit the road heading eastward. Many more abrupt mountain ranges and expansive basins in between were in store. Eureka was our final destination on this afternoon, and we quickly made our way to the public pool when we heard rumors of its existence. We were allowed to camp at an awesome park in town which had running water and numerous picnic tables for us to prepare dinner and breakfast the following morning. We camped out with our route buddies David and Zack who provided great conversation and company throughout the night. We went to sleep very early on this particular night and all had devestating nightmares about rising at 4 the next morning...(at least I did...)

Old Middlegate

W just took our well needed day off. Beds, showers and air conditioning never felt so great or were more needed.

Monday morning we left the comforts of Fallon and moved into the hot desert. Unfortunately ten miles into our ride our navigator Jared injured his knee. We then made the decision to turn around and head back to Fallon to look for a doctor and figure out what to do. So after another night of comfort and tough decision making Jared sadly had to leave the group and head home due to his knee injury. This was an arduous decision for him and the four of us deeply feel the loss already.

Today is Tuesday and we headed out early to try to beat the heat. Ha. Like we had a chance of that in the desert. Along the ride we traveled across endless salt flats which resembled snow fields. Lindsay insisted on walking on them to see what it felt like. The answer: soft then crunchy in case you where wondering. Alongside the salt flats we saw that local kids had spelt their names and initials in black rocks as they contrasted the pure white salt. Following last year's riders' tradition, Chey had the great idea of writing our own message in the salt. Rather than describing it, the picture is worth a thousand words:

At the end of the salt fields we encountered the largest sand castle in the world. It was in the the shape of a mountain. It is known as Sand Mountain.

Fighter jets cruised by us, as the Top Gun flight school was right near by. We all yelled Iceman, Maverick, and Goose, spending the next hour quoting scenes from Top Gun. Mike tries to act like he is too cool like Iceman, but he is not.

Our day ended on the loneliest highway in America (Highway 50 East of anyone in their right mind) at a reasonable hour of 12:00 after 60 miles or so in Old Middlegate. The population was 18 but that was corrected and chalked in with the new population of 17. RIP.

The town consists of a bar, tree, rusted model T, and some of the nicest 17 people I have ever met. We have spent the day in a bar that has been here since 1859. The bar is equipped with food, grocery, video store, ice cream, gift shop, shower, pool table and a TV. I don't know why we don't have the all in one stop in the East. The reason I think is that it is so freaken hot out here that once you go inside you never want to leave.

We will spend the rest of the night here playing pool and cards and having the locals teach us things I never knew I want to know, but am happy I know now. Chey "Billiards" Beach is cleaning up at the pool table!

The Descent and the Desert

After our first hour of riding, we finally reached Carson Pass. Our first victory over the mountains! Soaring down the mountains was amazing - the thrill of the warm sun with the chilly breeze from the speed was awesome. The views we passed on the way down made the climb worthwhile. Passing from California into Nevada was like night and day. Trees and foliage on one side, desert and tumbleweeds on the other. We rode five feet from a huge buck and passed a helicopter heading off to fight a forest fire. While in Carson City, we passed a pick-up truck with a couple that happily waved to us. We didn't think much of it until a few hours later, when they pulled up into our campsite and said they'd been looking for us. Turns out that Jodi and Shawn (sorry if spelled wrong) are also cyclists who have toured the country. They were excited to see other cyclists who carried their own supplies and offered to help us out with anything we needed. After a trip to the grocery store and the local repair shop, they hung out with us and offered tips for the ride. While at the campsite, we "showered" in a faucet that was 16 inches off the ground and most likely scared away the family that was picnicking nearby.

We left the next morning and played leapfrog with the Journey of Hope cyclists and their extensive support team who made it clear that their water was not for us :-). We spent a few hours at a reservoir oasis in the middle of the desert (quite a tease from where we first saw it) and wrapped up our ride in Fallon, Nevada. A day of rest and we're off to conquer Highway 50, the "loneliest road in America." Wish us luck!

The Climb

The trip from Placerville, CA, to Cooks Station (not to be mistaken for a town; "station" is appropriate) was a lesson in bike maintenance. The 30 miles of uphill road proved to be quite the match for our tires (Lindsay: 2 flats, Chey: 3 flats, Josh: 1 flat + 1 broken pannier, Jared and Mike: 3 hours of waiting at the intersection of Omo Ranch Road and Slug Gulch Road. Priceless). We eventually made it to Cooks Station, home to Logger Larry and his many colleagues. After a night of camping, we pedaled up to Kirkwood at 8,000 feet. Along the way we passed Silver Lake, which made for a nice mountain dip. It's gorgeous. We spent the afternoon and evening playing cards and making conversation with the locals (one of whom gave a $20 donation to Lea's) at the Kirkwood Inn, then spent the night in tents behind the inn. After a chilly night, we woke up to ice-coated tents and the last climb up to Carson Pass.

Placerville, CA

We began our ride this morning on a Davis, CA style bike path - complete with several of the few cyclist-specific traffic signals in the USA! We continued on a lovely car-free path almost all the way to Placerville. The trail took us through Old Sacramento, which is a beautiful old mining town. Just before noon, we ran into a runner who invited the five of us to his house for a swim during lunch. Heavenly is the only word to describe a midday dip after cycling in triple digit heat. The hills in the afternoon were our first true taste of the Sierra Nevadas, and they tested our strength and will power. We ultimately prevailed, and ended on a small, winding road that took us into Placerville. We pulled into the parking lot of a camping store, and finally allowed ourselves a cold drink and much-deserved rest. A family that we met in the store kindly offered to house us for the night, and we gratefully accepted. After hitting the local burger joint and consuming nearly our own weight in hamburgers, we coasted the last mile of our day to their house, where we were able to shower and were entertained by the tricks of the one and only "Walker Magic Man" (the family's six year-old son). All in all, we made it through a tough day and felt great about beating the first challenges of our trip. We were happy to be indoors and drifted off to sleep, thinking about the mountains that were in store the next day...

News from Sunny Davis, CA!

The trip has officially begun! We arrived at San Fran International yesterday afternoon, reassembled the bikes, grabbed a quick bite and headed to the ferry. After landing in Vallejo, CA, we rode 20 miles to Cordelia, where we camped in a lovely hay field riddled with ticks behind the local Best Western. Our first night in the "wild" went well, minus Jared's tick friend and torticollis! We allowed ourselves to sleep until 8 this morning, had an awesome meal at Dennys and then hit the road. After a beautiful 55 miles (60 with our "detour") through vineyards, apricot groves and past the world's most delicious strawberry stand, we arrived in Davis.

We are staying here with the Rea-Wilkes family, who have been absolutely wonderful. We lounged by the pool and played catch for hours with their dog, Lucy, before showering and devouring an awesome home-cooked meal. We were then treated to a tour of the city, AKA the UC Davis campus, which houses the Enology School, a state-of-the-art large animal oncology unit and Bee Biology Road - who knew they existed! We are all a little sore, have a couple scraped knees and cannot wait to do it again tomorrow... Placerville, here we come!

It's Finally here!!!

Jared's Blog: "I cant believe it's finally here"

June 6, 2007
It seems like the planning stages of this trip have been going on for as long as medical school, but it never really felt like we were actually going to do it. But it's only 3 days until we fly out to San Francisco. I can't believe it's finally here.
The Coast to Coast 2007 send off was this morning at the health center. Ben Ristau, one of last year's riders, kicked it off with a reminder about why he started coast to coast last year and to tell us to make sure that we use the miles of pedaling as time to reflect. (I think I will be more focused on the top of the hill and not losing balance on an overloaded bike). John Namnoum, president of Lea's Foundation (www.leasfoundation.org), gave some kind remarks about our efforts, the connection between UCHC and Lea's, and, of course, a few laughs about sore butts and bikes. Carolyn Runowicz, MD, the director of the Neag Cancer Center, backed John's comments and gave us her best wishes from herself and from Lance Armstrong who seems to be backing our efforts. Keat Sanford, UCHC's one and only Assistant Dean of Admissions, gave his best from the medical school family and offered his hospitality to us over the summer when he and his wife meet us for a day to ride along. (Points for a warm comfortable bed). Lastly, Lindsay Brown, one of the lovely lady riders, gave a quick speech. A few hundred pictures and some hugs and farewells later and it was over. All and all a great showing and we hope to see everyone back on the return ceremony in August (more information to follow).

Just wanted to quickly give out a general itinerary. Of course, it is subject to change because of weather, sleep, or an occasional tourist attraction. We will start by dipping our bikes into the Pacific and end by doing the same in the Atlantic.

6/11: San Fran --> Davis, CA
6/12: Davis --> Placerville, CA
6/13: Placerville --> Cook's Station, CA
6/14: Cook's Station --> Kirkwood, CA
6/15: Kirkwood --> Dayton, NV
6/16: Dayton --> Fallon, NV
6/17: OFF
6/18: Fallon --> Middlegate, NV (Population: 17 and falling)
6/19: Middlegate --> Austin, NV
6/20: Austin --> Eureka, NV
6/21: OFF
6/22: Eureka --> Robinson's Summit, NV
6/23: Robinson's Summit --> Major's Junction, NV
6/24: Major's Junction --> Baker, NV
6/25: Baker --> Wah-Wah Valley, NV
6/26: Wah-Wah Valley --> Cedar City, UT
6/27: OFF
6/28: Cedar City --> Cedar Break, UT
6/29: Cedar Break --> Tropic, UT
6/30: Tropic --> Boulder, UT
7/1: Boulder --> Hanksville, UT
7/2: Hanksville --> Hite, UT
7/3: Hite --> Blanding, UT
7/4: Blanding --> Dolores, CO (Happy July 4)
7/5: OFF
7/6: Dolores --> Telluride, CO
7/7: Telluride --> Montrose, CO
7/8: Montrose --> Parlin, CO
7/9: Parlin --> Coto Paxi, CO
7/10: Coto Paxi --> Pueblo, CO
7/11: OFF
7/12: Pueblo --> Eads, CO
7/13 (friday the 13th): Eads --> Scot City, KS
7/14: Scot City --> Larned, KS
7/15: Larned --> Newton, KS
7/16: Newton --> Toronto, KS
7/17: Toronto --> Pittsburgh, KS
7/18: OFF
7/19: Pittsburgh --> Marshfield, MO
7/20: Marshfield --> Eminence, MO
7/21: Eminence --> Ozora, MO
7/22: Ozora --> Harrisburg, IL
7/23: Harrisburg --> Evansville, IN
7/24: Evansville --> Louisville, KY
7/25: OFF
7/26: Louisville --> Cincinnati, OH
7/27: Cincinnati --> Columbus, OH
7/28: Columbus --> Millersburg, OH
7/29: Millersburg --> Hermitage, PA
7/30: Hermitage --> Warren, PA
7/31: Warren --> Mansfield, PA
8/1: OFF
8/2: Mansfield --> Carbondale, PA
8/3: Carbondale --> Poughkeepsie. NY
8/4: Poughkeepsie --> Farmington, CT
TBD: Farmington --> Mystic, CT

Follow our google map to stick with us. We will let you all know about changes.