OK, when our family, friends and co-workers heard we were going on a cross country bike trip, they asked us to send them our log. So, here goes. But, first a couple of housekeeping items. There are three of us from the Dallas, TX area on this trip: Daniel Schaaf, Judith Jolly and myself (Larry Schwartz). We are using this common e-mail account to ease logistics. This will probably the be the only account we will use on this trip. So, if you want to contact us, please send messages to this account, not to our normal home or work accounts. Also, if you want to reply to our log, please send it to us directly and do not copy everyone else on the list. They may not want to see all of that traffic. And if you prefer not to receive these updates, just drop a line to this address and let us know. No offense will be taken, promise. Thanks. Larry's log I flew into Portland last night and set foot into Oregon for the first time in my life.This morning, the tour bussed out the riders and our bikes to Astoria. In doing that, I also got to visit another new state, Washington. The weather so far is just perfect. They say that Astoria only has seven sunny days a year. They must be getting the full quota this week. Today was gorgeous and in the 80s. Tomorrow should be the same. I think we will make it through the next few days without rain. If that is the case, it should be sometime before we're in a rain-prone climate again. What struck me on the bus ride was how green and lush everything out here is (must be that rain). The trees are tall, and there is lots of blooming roadside vegitation. The ride was mostly along the Columbia River. There are hills on either side of the river. Before I go too much further, let me explain what it is we're doing. This is an organized, cross-country bicycle tour. Everyone rides their own pace (alone or in a group). It is not a race. The tour vans carry our baggage, set up rest stops, give us breakfast and lunch and provide general support. Each day, we receive laminated queue sheets so we'll know where the turns are. Of course, the lamination keeps the maps from flaking up due to sweat or rain. All we have to do is ride! Since some of the working stiffs cannot get 26 days off from work, there is also the option of riding from here to Omaha, or from Omaha to Charleston. There are about 50 riders on this tour. Probably five or ten of them are only riding the first half. There will be some joiners in Omaha, although I haven't asked how many. The group is in some ways diverse and in some ways homogeneous. The average age is about 40. Occupations range from engineers, programmers, bicycle salesmen, appliance repairmen and a Mississippi River boat pilot. There are three riders from Switzerland (a married couple doing the first half, and another doing the whole thing) and one from South Africa. There is a person, Howard Bach, from Florida, who knows a friend of my parents. There is another from my original hometown of Bethesda, MD, who lives near Walt Whitman, our rival high school.There are a few I know from past tours. It is a small world. Bikes include three tandems, two recumbents (where the rider is seated in a chair with the pedals in front of him) and one triple. The triple has Dad on the front, Mom in the back and the THREE YEAR OLD SON in the middle. The kid does not pedal, but is in a carseat facing Mom. He has his steering wheel for navigation and a canopy over him. Unreal... Astoria, where we are starting, is actually about 12 miles from the coast. So today, most people headed out that way for the traditional Pacific Coast starting camera shots. Since many bikes were being reassembled today, this offered a good chance to test ride them before tomorrow's 112 mile ride to the Portland area.We also saw Fort Stevens over by the coast. It was the only mainland installation to be fired upon during WW2. The sign said they did not return the fire. We also saw two deer cross the road right in front of us in the park. Astoria is a small, crowded town. There are smaller houses by the river, with larger ones in the surrounding hills. The main industries appear to be fishing and the port. There is farm store next to the motel. We walked by a propeller store on the way to dinner. There is a large Finnish contingent here. We saw the Suomi Brotherhood hall, an "authentic Finnish spa" but no "Finnish line." It is still 3470 miles away. The only omen was that I already had one flat tire. I brought six spare tubes, but was hoping to get through flat-free, or maybe with just one. But, I ran over something. By the end of the tour, I think the whole world will know Plano. The only jerseys I brought were my Plano Cycling and Fitness ones. They did give us one PAC Tour jersey at the start, but I'm going to see if I can do the whole thing in the Plano ones. Tomorrow we meet at 5:30 for breakfast and leave at 6. No late night parties on this trip.
As many of you know, Daniel and I (Judith) are attempting our first cross country bike trip together on tandem. We began biking tandem last November and we are excited and nervous about the adventure. This was very fortunate for me, since I had a bike accident on my single bike about 4 weeks ago, and required surgery on my left arm to piece together the broken bone. I have a wire and screw in my arm, but thankfully no cast. Since I am the stoker (the person on the back) I am not required to shift or support the bike. I just need to pedal. For Daniel and I, the adventure started on July 5th. We left Stillwater, Oklahoma early Monday morning, after spending the July 4th week-end with Don and Evelyn Norvelle (Pac Tour Vets) and Tom and Lorraine Petrik and family. We participated in the Tour of Stillwater century ride and enjoyed a picnic dinner with the Norvelle Family. Monday was spent driving to Grand Junction, Colorado. I did get to drive thru Kansas, which was a first for me. BORING!! Unfortunately, we had a tailwind and I did not notice that I was going 84 miles an hour in a 70 zone until the Kansas State Trooper pulled me over!!! I honestly did not think that the rental truck could go that fast!! We camped outside Grand Junction, in the back of the truck and woke early Tuesday morning to do a quick 30 mile ride before continuing our adventure. We encountered another cyclist who was from the area and we enjoyed his company for most of the ride. Tuesday was spent driving thru Utah and part of Nevada. We made a brief stop at Great Basin National Park in Nevada and did a walking tour of the Lehman Caves. From there we drove Highway 50 to Austin, Nevada for the night. Highway 50 is also known as the loneliest highway in the country. And believe me, they are not lying!!! We did a quick ride early Wednesday Morning and continued our adventure west. We drove thru the Lake Tahoe area and stopped briefly for photos before continuing to Eureka, California. We followed Highway 20 thru California, and headed North on Highway 101. We camped outside Redwood National Park at a beautiful secluded campground in the Redwood forest area. We woke up late on Thursday Morning and skipped the bike ride. Instead we hiked about 14 miles thru Redwood National Park. What an awesome area!! I have never seen anything like the trees in this area!!! That evening, we drove to Salem, Oregon and stayed with Daniel's aunt and uncle. We woke early Friday morning and rode to Silver Falls State Park and back. Lots of hills! But the ride was very beautiful. That afternoon, we drove thru the Portland rush hour (what a nightmare!) to our motel. In the evening, we returned our rental truck and took the Portland Light rail system back to the motel, to find Larry fast asleep!! I guess that plane ride really wore him out! As you read from Larry's note, we had our warm up ride today. We are very excited about the trip and are looking forward to sharing our adventures with you. Before we end today's note, I do have a few messages.... Daniel, Larry and I would like to thank Rick Gurney, Kyle Carlson and the wonderful staff at Plano Cycle and Fitness for there ongoing support. This amazing bike shop has gone out of their way for us. Today we proudly wore our Plano Cycle and Fitness Jerseys to the coast and took photos. Thanks again for everything. I promise to bake again when we get back. To Julia, Dak and Dana....A very happy first birthday to Julia. I am sure that she has grown so much since I last saw her. I think of you often and I do hope that all is well. Julia is a fighter and her determination has kept me going. Dak and Dana, I look forward to seeing you in August. I do hope that Julia had a big piece of cake! And if it did not get in her mouth, I sure hope it ended up all over her face!! To my family, Mary, Doug, Christine, Michelle and Elizabeth Jolly, and George, Chris and Adam Martin...I hope all is well and that you follow along our adventures. Mother, I sure wish that you were along with us on the trip. Your encouragement is what got me hooked. To my tandem partner Daniel...We survived the drive to the coast without killing each other. I am sure that we will make it to the other coast as well. And last, but not least, thank you Larry for being there for me these past few months. I am so glad that I am able to do my first cross country trip with you. I hope I feel the same way after 3475 miles!!! I love you. Time for Bed..