Day 49 --Going up?

August 8, 2004

ROUTE: Brattleboro VT to Manchester NH
DISTANCE:  85 miles               
WINDS:  WNW 10-15

WEATHER: Couldn't be better...55 at departure and sunny all day.  High 82         
TERRAIN: Lots of verticals today         
TOTAL CLIMBING: 6100 feet...our biggest vertical gain the whole trip

The theme of the day was, "Going up?"  If the riders liked the climbing yesterday, they'll love today.  It was only 1 mile from the motel when the road started to go up right at the New Hampshire state line.  It's hard to believe we are only a couple days from our journey's end.  It seems just like yesterday we left Astoria as a group of strangers and now we are about to finish.  Some people think it's a long way from Oregon to New Hampshire...actually, it's only a bike ride.

When we woke for departure, there was a sinister fog lurking in the hill tops surrounding the motel.  As the riders were eating breakfast, I took a quick jaunt down route in the van to see if it was safe to leave as early as we needed to.  With all the climbing and the long distance, it would have been tough to make it to Manchester in time for dinner if we had to delay our departure much.  As it turned out, 3 miles from the motel it was beautiful...sunny skies and comfortable temperatures greeted the riders as they entered our last state.

 We dodged the weather bullet, but we did have another concern today.  We had a total of 6,100 feet of climbing (our biggest climb day of the ride)...not bad for only an 80 mile day.  While the terrain was hardly ever flat around here, most of the climbing was on three challenging hills...two before the first SAG and the last one, Joe English Hill, about 10 miles from the finish.  Oh, I forgot about Pitcher's Mountain right after the first SAG which took us to the highest point of the day...1,880 feet.  The term "mountain" in the name should be enough to give you an idea that the road probably went up somewhere,  but I've been accused of "forgetting" lots of significant climbs when I do route rap [--or passing them off as mere "rollers" SSW].  The riders have a different definition of a hill than mine, so I stand guilty as accused I guess.

Even though it was a strenuous day overall, the route was beautiful when it was out in the country.  At the top of the second climb, we rode along a tree lined road that provided much needed shade on a warm, muggy morning.  Here in the east, it is a stark contrast from what we had out west where you could see for 30 miles in any direction and the climbs were usually graded to 7% or below.  Here, you can't see farther than 50 yards in any direction for all the trees and the climbs go straight up sometimes 10-15%...this country's amazing.

Being in the van, I set up about half way up the second climb to encourage the riders as they struggled up the pitch.  It was a tough climb but I think everyone felt a great sense of accomplishment when they got to the top...whether they rode up or walked.  The people who decided to walk were having as much trouble pushing their heavy bikes up the slope as they did riding.  At one point, I gave Pam a push to get her started again.  There was an awful lot of heavy breathing going on as I watched them ride by.  At one point, I was standing at the top taking photos when I heard a steady "Huh, huh, huh, huh" at the familiar cadence of about 34 a minute.  It was Neal coming up the steepest part of the slope panting so hard that I could hear him a half mile away.  I told the rest of the riders they may want to stagger their arrival to the top because they were breathing so hard if they all got there at the same time, there wouldn't be enough oxygen in their immediate vicinity for them all to breathe.

I am always amazed at how much stronger everybody has become since we left Astoria.  I would say that most of these people wouldn't have been able to climb the second major climb today when we started this ride.  Now they have legs of steel and lungs to match.  It's been fun to watch them get stronger throughout the ride.

They got through the toughest part of the route with flying colors today.  We've come across the country and ridden on just about all kinds of terrain and conditions...flat open spaces, tough mountain passes, headwinds, tailwinds, rain, shine, humidity, and through construction.  Today is the type of day they will remember when they talk to their friends when they get home.  They won't remember where they were when they were on flat ground with nice conditions.  They will remember the tough days as the ones that developed the character of the ride and gave them the most sense of accomplishment.  I know the days I remember from my crossings are the ones that made me uncomfortable or made me dig deep to finish the day.  It takes all kinds of days to make a trip, but the "character building" days are the ones that make the person and make you remember the journey.

Tonight's activities included our final dinner together as a group.  I put together a slide show of over 400 of the 5,000 photos we've taken since leaving Astoria.  After reliving our photo memories, we gave everyone time to express their feelings about the ride and what they got from their experiences.  As the riders began to speak, emotions were high as some used humor while others were more introspective to express their feelings for each other and how they felt about their accomplishment.  Each thanked the staff in their own way for the support during the last 50 days and stories were revealed to the group concerning uses for "bag balm," roommate idiosyncrasies, and little items of interest that made us laugh as we tried to put them into context.  The Docs and Team E did a good job of imitating the staff by highlighting our idiosyncrasies and Team Entrepreneur did a Star Trek skit (right)...there were others, including Andrew's song about riding across America (see below).  Every skit was enjoyed by all.  It was a fun evening.

Everyone had a different reason for doing this ride and I'm sure there were times they all questioned their sanity for even thinking about doing such a thing.  But now that it is nearing an end, they all can be proud of their accomplishment.  I told them on day 1 they would stretch their comfort zone beyond their imagination and they did that.  They endured heat, cold, rain, traffic, and headwinds all across the nation.  They rode in conditions, that if they were at home, they wouldn't even think about getting on their bike.  It's amazing what we'll do when we have to ride to our next meal. They have joined the elite fraternity of riders that have crossed the US on a bicycle...I salute them all for their grit, good nature, and final success.

My final thoughts for the evening were for Paul Bippen who was finishing his dream of crossing the country and was unable to be here because of a broken wrist going into the Dells.  Even though he could not be with us in person, he surely was with us in spirit and I'm sure he will he will finish his dream of crossing the US on his bicycle on another occasion.  But for us, tomorrow we press on to the finish.  I reminded them we were not through with our journey yet and to stay focused for another day.  I also reminded them to savor the day and to take their time to enjoy the the last miles of their incredible journey.  After tomorrow, they will be getting back to their "regular" lives and this adventure will be over, but tonight we rest for our last assault on our destination.  Check back and share in our jubilation.   See you then.

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: 

• "Is this a great day, or what?"     
• "I think I'll go in my lowest gear...darn, I'm already in it!"      
• "I'm leaving my bike at the first yard sale I see."      
•  "I scraped my nose on that hill."      
• "My pitch meter registered 19% on that climb...but I may have been doing a wheelie!"     
• "Can we have another week...please?"     
• "If that Joe English guy isn't dead, I'd like to kill him!" (Neal while climbing Joe English hill near the end of the day)

Andrew's tribute to the journey (to the tune of America the Beautiful):

                                                           Across America North 2004

We ride across America,
Most people think we're nuts.
Our tender parts have been rubbed raw,
Now we all have sore butts.
America by Bicycle,

The ride's well worth the fee.
But please dear Mike
Some here would like
More meat and less spaghetti.
Cov is our nutritionist,

She makes us fill our plates
With all the food that's on her list,
Mostly carbohydrates.
America by Bicycle

You know that we love ya.
But listen, Cov,
We all would love
More pie, less lasagna.

We ride up steep winding hills
And in the pouring rain,
And even when the headwind chills,
We're really into pain.

America by Bicycle
Now hear our proudest boast,
We have no fear
In any gear,
We ride from coast to coast.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Julie puts the final kabosh on the last cherry pie
at the second SAG...sure was good pie.

Laura practices a more traditional, but just as effective,
approach to putting away the desert.  I thought I told them
to start cutting back.  As I study this photo, I see she has...
only 3 servings of cake on that plate instead of the normal 5.

Susan and Robert doctored up the warning sign to better
describe the conditions on the second climb of the day.

Bill Gaither presented the Freightliner awards to the riders
who toted the most "ton-miles" on the entire ride. 
Cory amassed over 490 ton-miles during the trip to take
 top honors while Robert and Paul were close behind. 
Mary Jo won the "Most Efficient" (lightest) title ahead
of Patricia and Julie.

Team E did a skit about the staff...I didn't know we were that predictable...
Liisa  made binoculars from paper cups (around her neck) and imitated
Susan's birding to a tee; Stephen imitated my route rap and did a better job
being Mike than Mike.

These guys celebrated the top of the last climb...I didn't have the heart to tell them they were celebrating a bit early.  Just around the corner was another good one...and we still have tomorrow.