Camping in Nevada
I am so far behind at this point I don't think I will catch up soon. Camping is a strange and wonderful experience. After a long hard day of riding we must unload all the gear. This includes all the riders bags, and bedding as well as the food bins, cooking utensils, two extra jumbo sized coolers, and the camp stove, propane tank, tents etc etc. You get the idea.
Now we must figure out what to feed 23 plus very hungry riders. Thankfully Cory struck a deal on many cans of almost expired turkey chili at the local convenience store. I think someone mentioned stocking up for Y2k! You remember that don't you?
On this particular day our team was on support for the riders from Bolder to Hanksville UT. We managed to put together an edible supper of doctored up turkey chili and veggie chili made from one very large can of tomatoes, two packages of taco seasoning, several cans of re-fried beans, can corn, garbanzos, mmm my mouth is watering. It is a good thing everyone was extremely tired and hungry. I do not think there was much left.
With full bellies everyone settles down in their tents and sleeping bags. Many chose to sleep under the stars. The night sky is glorious with no city light to fade the stars. Sleep tight because we will be up at dawn to begin again. Peace, Marianne
Route 66
John Steinbeck referred to Route 66 as "the Mother Road" in his classic novel, The Grape of Wrath. Route 66, originally an interstate from Chicago to Los Angeles, proved to have quite a wrath of its own. Ever since a parallel interstate was built to replace Route 66, the historic Route 66 has been severely neglected!
Good news: very few cars travel on that road.
Bad news: there were approximately 13 miles of rocky unpaved concrete with large craters that made riders swerve through both lanes in an attempt to find semi-smooth riding surface.
Route 66 definitely left its mark on Ride for World Health riders (Cory has a pretty gash on his thumb, Carissa has a sweet bruise on her left thigh just like the one on the girl who slid into home plate in "A League of Their Own," and I have a nice scratch on my chin after taking an Ang Lee style skid on gravel).
The best news of the day, however, is that all riders completed their first century ride (100-miles) despite the rocky start...literally. The Mother Road gave us some great battle scars but couldn't break our spirits!
the need for speed
So we have been in Utah for awhile, and while thr southern portion of the state has been relatively devoid of such necessities as grocery stores and showers, it has been chock full of big hills! This has lead to the breaking of many personal speed records over the past week. The highest I've heard recorded was 58 mph, which I'm pretty sure was a clear violation of the speed limit in that area (which of course begs the question: can you get a speeding ticket on your bike?) anyway, while most of us love flying down the hills, everyone here knows that I in fact hate the descent. It's been that way as long as I can remember, which my long time cyctling buddy, my dad, can attest to. While we may grind it up the hills together, when it comes to the downhill, he goes bombing down, no brakes without a care in the world, as I watch enviously as he goes by. In fact many times I've thought of how much fun he would have flying down the peaks of Utah. So, since this trip is all about challenges, the last few days I've challenged myself to pretend I'm back in NJ chasing him down the hills. So far it's worked: my highest speed has gone from around 20 before this trip to 38 mph. So Dad, here's my challenge for you: when I get home let's race down that big hill off of Mountain Blvd, and if I win, we'll get you clipless pedals to go on your new bike 
Ain’t no mountain high enough
Today we left Cedar City and headed out to Tropic, Utah, making our first ascent to almost 10,000 feet. We had barely had time to warm up when our the "hill" started. 4,000 feet, 17 miles, 8% grade (check this out if you're interested to know what this means: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_%28slope%29). Suffice to say, it was steep. Snow and icicles lined the road starting at about 7,000 feet, and by 9,000 feet I was having trouble catching my breath as the air thinned. It's pretty obvious though judging by how well we all did that we are all getting stronger daily on this trip. While some people zipped up in a pace line, others spent the time talking in pairs, and others rocking it out to their iPods, I was pretty sure that I was the only one grinding it up the hill to the BeeGees. Now although I do admire the musical stylings of Barry Gibb, the inspiration and drive to push up the hill had little to do with him. Two days before I left, my mom and I had spent the evening playing cards and having an impromptu BeeGees singalong. Listening to them reminded me of how supportive my mom has been throughout this trip, and how her confidence in me has inspired me to work that much harder on this ride. I then started to think about what a wonderful group of people we have on this trip and how there must be many special mothers out there to have raised such interesting, inspiring and caring people. So, I guess what this entry really is is an early Happy Mother's Day and thank you to all the mothers out there who helped get us here, up the mountain, to Tropic, Utah today.
Rookie Tattoos
I think I have finally graduated from being a "rookie" cyclist! My first few days in San Diego I was informed that these grease marks on my legs are a trademark of a rookie. Everyone on the team has been kind enough to point out my new marks on a daily basis. I managed to get them on both of my legs, my arm, my face, you name it Only recently did I make it through a day without a new tattoo. Very exciting! By counting the number of marks on my legs I could tell how many days we'd been riding, like the rings on a tree. I guess I'll have to look at the calendar now.
Bring on the Layers
Yesterday as we headed out of Panaca, Nevada we said goodbye to the hot temps we've been riding in the past few weeks. I think many of us underestimated the cooler weather in Utah. By the first rest stop we were doing whatever we could to stay warm. This is what 13 riders look like in 40 degree weather with strong winds at 6,719 feet in one car! We got nice and cozy!
After the break we bundled up to ride 26 more miles to lunch. The support team graciously offered what warm clothes they could spare for those of us riding.
We have the day off today in Cedar City, Utah. We are giving three lectures throughout the day, running errands, taking trips to the bike shop, and preparing to conquer the surrounding mountains. I know many of us decided to invest in some additional gear to keep us warm as we will be spending more time in the mountains these next few weeks. There's only one way out of here- up we go!
Where am I? - Thoughts on a typical ride day
Thoughts regarding a typical ride day - Well to start with - there is not really a typical ride day. When we wake up, we might be in a high school gymnasium in a small town, a campground in a dessert or a resort in Las Vegas. Often there is a general routine of packing bags, putting on some R4WH biking gear, eating breakfast, pump my tires, put on sun block.
Invariably though, I'll get off course (perhaps trying to fix something I accidentally broke the night before) when support team yells at me "HAVE YOU EATEN BREAKFAST - SETH". So I eat. Yadda, yadda, ya and next thing I find myself on my bike without really knowing where I'm going except that I need to keep an eye out for orange arrows and bikers in front of me.
Riding is fun, but invariably, one gets tired and starts thinking about food. Then VOILA –on the side of the ride is a rest stop full of nourishment and fellow bikers. Once again the support team yells at me – this time telling me ‘SETH YOUR EARS ARE RED. PUT SUNSCREEN ON’. Two minutes later ‘SETH - PUT MORE SUNSCREEN ON’.
After sharing some laughs with the rest of the team we’re back on the road. By the end of the ride, I’m not sure if I’m facing east, north or west (although east always sounds right like the way we should be going). If I’m lucky I know the name of the town (or campsite) I’ve arrived in. Nevertheless, I am happy and feel perfectly safe. The support team always has our backs - It turns out that I don't actually have to know where I am.
Fun story of the day. After getting confused as to whether there were men’s locker rooms in addition to women’s lucky rooms , Joe offered, “Seth I don’t know when it will happen, but I look forward to bailing you out jail one day.”
The picture is from Tammy, with the caption "Will the real Hulk please step forward?" You'll have to ask her for the story.
r4wh my trip so far
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It is now already April 16th. My commitment to family and friends to blog daily is in serious trouble. So let's begin at the beginning. April 31st I made some notes at the airport on my way to San Diego. Many times the anticipation of a trip outshines the event it's self. This is not the case here. I did not sleep particularly well the night before leaving. It will not matter because of the excitement of the trip. I was up at 6 am and went for a run. The morning was spent giving last minute instructions to mom, Keith and Alison. We are on the road by 11:30am after an emotional good-by. I will not see my family again until May 25th. I love, love love my family for supporting me while I have this adventure.
When I landed in Houston I received a phone call from Dave Holder (logistics guy on the leadership team) he says they will be at the airport to pick me up. The team has been driving from Columbus OH and have just arrived in SD. I am sitting at my gate in Houston and I look up and see the flight departing from the opposite gate is going to Washington DC. How ironic is that?
The time in SD was busy with getting organized, receiving instructions from the leadership team on how things will work once we are on the road. We are getting to know each other and getting used to sleeping on the floor. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center is a bright busy center with all types of programs. They have made us feel very welcome.The training rides are difficult for me "we are not in Florida any more Toto". The California coast is breathtaking. I am enjoying getting to know my teammates.After a few days of riding up and down the Pacific Coast Highway we are treated to a serious climb up Mt. Solodad, an 800 ft climb over less than a mile, this means it is very steep. the strong riders get to the top pretty quickly. Several of us continue to climb slowly but steadily stopping along the way to catch our breath. I stopped about 1/4 of a mile from the top very shaky contemplated going back down. I could not get started again on the hill so I walked about 100' until I could get back on my bike to finish the climb. It was worth it for so many reasons, the view, overcoming my fears, a great bonding experience with the group.
April 6th ready or not here we go! After a beautiful week in SD we are on our way. Tire dip in the Pacific ocean, 85 miles from SD to Huntington Beach via the Camp Pendleton Marine Base. After some time at the beach and sight seeing we load up in the vans to our accommodations for the night. We will be staying in various private homes for two nights very comfey.
April 7th event day at USC. We found the best breakfast burritos in the world just a few blocks from the university. We are hungry all the time. The event goes well. The vans are packed up. We spend the afternoon exploring the campus of Cal Tech ( Seth's almamata), then back to our home stays for our last night in a bed until we get to Las Vegas.
Life should be like this
So every fifth day we are on "Support". We take a break from riding and drive the cars and set up rest stops and make lunch and dinner and videotape the riders climbing mountains and doing silly things. We also fill up eachother's waterbottles, encourage sunscreen-lathering, and give the occasional much-needed shoulder massage. We cheer out of the car "You are doing great!! Keep it up!" We spray paint little encouraging and fun notes to the riders about where to go and how far they've ridden and cool sights to not miss. Support days are lots of work. Giving giving giving to take care of the riders.
And it feels great. I love that we all take a turn at supporting eachother so that we can also all ride. Having a support team gives us a family feel. Built into the structure of the ride is the recognition that we can't all be riding in the glory seat all the time-- we have to take our turns in order to make such an adventure sustainable.
A couple of days ago as we began crossing the Mojave Desert I was on Support. I was shuttling water to riders between rest stops and cheering people on. As I gave one rider an estimate of how much longer until the finish-- thinking it was a good thing to share, she broke down and declared herself done. She was totally depleted. So I packed her bike up and she got in the car and we drove to the finish together. The moment she broke down and I was there to pick her up was beautiful. That she could ask for help and I could give it was this sort of transcendent thing. I am learning that there is only one way to cross a desert, and that is with a caravan of people working together. Feels like pretty much anything can be done when we work together like this. And we are. And it feels meaningful and good.
It’s been awhile…
but we can't help it! We've been on the road for 10 days now, most of which have been in the empty desert lands of western California and Nevada. Riding through these parts has reminded me (a city dweller) just how empty a lot of this country is. We visited a real ghost town last week, but it seems that some of the towns we've ridden through lately are even emptier than that, with populations as few as 100 people. We have been able to see some great sights (Death Valley, Mohave Desert, Vegas) and have been received so warmly by all the people we've met and stayed with along the way. As for the riding, we were all feeling the effects of 400 miles on Saturday and the day off in Vegas was a great relief. Saddle sores have begun to be an issue, but I think we are getting conditioned to daily 70+ mile riding. Wind makes a HUGE difference on how a ride goes. This morning we had a great tail wind behind us pushing us up a 6,000+ foot summit, but got blown around on the way down which was kind of scary. But we all got here safe and sound and are ready to head out for pizza. More to come later!