Home Again!

After several flight delays and gate changes I made it home at 8:30 pm on 9/12/09. I'm now in re-entry mode~translated that means that every time I sit down for 10 minutes, I fall asleep. I'm staying with my dear friend Gloria Leonard in SLC for a few days and spending time visiting family. Will return to Hurricane on Thursday.

I have many great stories to blog so stay tuned~~~~~

Lucy

We DID IT!

On Thursday about 3:00 pm we did the ceremonial dipping of the front bicycle tire in the salty Atlantic water! What a rush.

More later. Lucy

WoW~only four more days of cycling

Tonight we're staying in a lovely mountain cabin in Rochester, Vermont hosted by author Jill Lauren and her husband Charlie Cohen. We met them at the bakery this morning, began talking and they invited us to stay. They took us to the most wonderful community theater production by a Vermont theater company called Bread and Puppet.

Jill's new book is "That's Like Me!" true stories about amazing people with learning disabilities will be on the market next week~my shameless plug for a wonderful author.

More later folks,

Lucy

Climbing the Adirondacks~Up and Down

Today we're in Boonville, New York. I'm a little (a lot) behind on my blog because we don't see many libraries in these woods. We spent a week in Wisconsin, two weeks in Ontario, Canada, and now another week in New York since leaving Chicago. The operational word for this part of the USA is GREEN! Yesterday I felt fall in the air and today I see a few red leaves. We're right on target to finish in about two weeks. Will fill in between the lines of my blog after I return. We have had some wonderful experiences with people along the way~"Road Angels" who help us with everything from directions to a place to stay and eat. I'm very healthy and happy. Bike Friday is performing quite well but will really need a good over haul when I get home.

More later---

Chicago 2009

The Mississippi River in North Dakota where it flows as slowly as molasses.

Lutheran Church in which we stayed for the night during a big storm in Chester, MT.

Bird Island in Flathead Lake, MT

Rest and Relaxation in Chicago

Morgan Hubach and Barb Hanson at Japanese Garden in Chicago Botanical Gardens

At the Blue Moose in East Grand Rapids, ND with Joan and Dennis Johnson.
Camping in the backyard of "Karen, the Librarian" in Glasgow, MT with four other cyclists who were heading west.
The long FLAT road into North Dakato.
Lucy and Bike Friday at the North Dakota border.
Ray, Montana. Our stuff hanging to try in the trailer where we stayed out of the rain for a night by the grace of the c-store clerk's boyfiend.
Church at the Scandinavia Heritage Center in Minot, ND.
William Riggins, Barb Hanson, Alexandra Riggins, and Lucy at Minot. William and Alexandra have been bicycling the world for 12 years.
Field of canola in bloom (rapeseed)
Geographic center of North America in Rugby, ND (I'll figure out how to turn the picture someday :-)
I'm enjoying a week of "rest and relaxation" in Chicago with my long time friend Morgan Hubach. Morgan's idea of resting in Chicago is "go, go, go!"~and most of it by foot since he doesn't have a car. Yesterday we rode our bicycles 36 mile round trip to the Botanical Gardens north of Chicago. Playing in traffic on a bicycle, Chicago style is quite a trip! I lost my chain twice hitting potholes~but the motorists were very courteous. They seem quite accustomed to cyclists and perhaps~they just don't want to do the paperwork if they hit one.

Since my last blog, we spent a layover day in Minot, ND a delightful little prairie town with a Scandinavian bent. We toured the Heritage Center built in honor of Dave Hanson's ancestors. At the library we met a couple who have been bicycle touring for twelve years! They virtually live on their bicycles and sing for their supper daily. I love this three month journey, but twelve years, I don't think so.

As we left eastern North Dakota, the operational word became "FLAT." I could see the horizon for 360 degrees. Most of the time we had a tailwind. But one day with no wind at all was like being in a spinning class at the gym for seven hours. Lots of people along the road honk and give me an encouraging thumbs up!

In Rugby, ND we stopped at the "geographic center of North America" for a picture and lunch. These little midwestern towns are absolutely clean~no junk or weeds anyplace.

From Rugby we rode to Devil's Lake only to find that a big fishing tournament had every motel and camping spot in two counties filled. So I gave one motel owner the very forlorn look I have stowed away for just such an occasion and asked if we could camp on his grass. He said, "This parking lot is my grass. Those guys with their boats will run right over you." Then he got on his phone and call another motel owner who has an open grassy field back of his motel. He consented happily to letting us camp there as long as we took a corner out of sign of his patrons. He doesn't want to start a trend. Well, the grassy field was brimming with mosquitoes! I whipped out the DEET again and gave myself a quick rub down. After throwing up our tents we went looking for a shower at a truck stop only to find that the shower was taken out in February. So we comanderred the women's restroom for thirty minutes to do a spit bath! I stopped at Walmart on the way back to camp and bought a "camp fogger" which I generously sprayed from the road to my tent to save me from being devoured by mosquitoes. It worked! and I'm alive to tell about it!

Leaving Devil's Lake we had a headwind so made it a short day to Lakota, ND. Then our wonderful tailwind from the west kicked in again. We rode 70 miles to East Grand Forks, Minnnesota where we camped in a lovely city park in the greenway they are establishing along the Red River in the flood zone. Thanks to Dave Hanson and Kim Mason, we contacted and had dinner with Joan and Dennis Johnson, Dave's sis and bro-in-law. They took us to the Blue Moose Saloon where we became quite the celebrities. I ordered Walleye for dinner~the best fish I've had in years. The owner even invited us back for breakfast on him the next morning.

Once into Minnesota, the flat green landscape gave way to "rolling" green landscape and neat farms with red barns. Just outside of Bemiji, MN we came upon a man from Canada who is walking across America, pulling a rickshaw type trailer loaded with 200 lbs of his stuff. Now that is just plain crazy! He walks about 20 miles daily and seems to get his picture on the front page of many local newspapers. After Bemiji, MN the landscape turned into pedaling through an endless green tunnel with the never-arriving horizon in the distance. Now, I'm counting roadkill~painted turtles, racoons, skunks, little brown birds, snakes, cats, and an occasional white tailed deer.

When we arrived in Grand Rapids, MN after a 78-mile day with no wind (like a 7-hour spin class) we rolled into a motel. The owner took one look at both of us and gave us a very nice room. He said, "You looked like you needed a good rest!" We draped our tents (which were dripping wet from 91% humidity last night) over the plastic chairs outside the motel room to day and went to dinner.

At the resturant we encountered a group of "red hat ladies." They were a hoot! Everyone of them had a red hat made from a red bra. They had each lavishly decorated their bra to disguise it (or not). They had everyone rolling with laughter and snapping pictures as they paid their bills and exited the establishment.

Our final day of riding before Morgan picked us up was to be to Duluth, but I was so tired after riding five days of 60-70 miles that I said, "UNCLE" in Floodwood, 25 miles short of Duluth. We booked a couple of motel rooms and Morgan arrived about 10 pm. We have pedaled 1,924 miles so far in forty-two days. We've had only four full rest days. We're camping about 2/3 of the time. Everyday it is a big adventure to start out with an estimated destination in mind and a hope that we'll find a place to camp or motel.

People, especially women, we run into along the way at rest stops, c-stores, etc. are truly amazed that two "little old ladies" will get on their bicycles loaded with all they need to survive and will themselves to the world. Some days I look at my legs and wonder how they keep pedaling without complaining at all. My ischial tuberosities, however, are complaining about the lack of padding so I had to buy two new pair of cycling shorts with thicker pads for the last half of the trip. I also have two new "slick" tires for my bike from Bike Friday. The knobbies that I have from Walmart really slow me down. But it is reassuring to know that I can get tires to fit my Bike Friday most anyplace that sells kids bikes.

North Dakota is Green and Rolling

We finally made it into North Dakota a couple of days ago. Montana is certainly the "widest" state in the Union. Amazingly, as soon as we crossed the North Dakota state line, the farms took on a different look and the people took on a different accent. North Dakota is rolling hills of green, green, wheat, barley and canola (rapeseed). Farms are manicured to the "T." People are smiling and helpful.

Yesterday was difficult with headwinds and rain. After only 34 miles we made it to the tiny town of Ray where there was no place to get out of the weather. At the c-store on the edge of town a clerk volunteered to let us stay in her boyfriend's trailer for $20. We didn't have water, but we had electricity and a roof over our heads. The trailer swayed in the wind and rain.

Today we awakened to blue sky and a 23-mph tailwind! The "Bicycle Gods" were smiling! I rode 96 miles in 6.5 hours (with rests). At times I sat up and just let the wind push me~no pedaling at 23 mph. What a trip! This is the best day of riding so far. It's a good thing we had a tailwind because there was absolutely no place to stay on this 96 mile stretch of Hwy 2. Due to the oil boom in ND, all the motels in the small towns are occupied by the oil well workers on a monthly basis. With the ferocious wind, setting up a tent would be a struggle. I tried to stop and take a picture but the wind was so strong, I couldn't even stand up, hold my bike and find my camera at the same time.

I love my I-Pod. The music and books on tape make the long miles fly by. I'm careful to keep the sound low enough that I can hear approaching traffic. I've also become heavily dependent upon my bike mirror. Bike Friday is holding up well. I did have one tire blow out at 1,200 miles. I neglected to rotate front and back when that "little voice" told me to do so. I have more on order at Morgan's in Chicago in a week.

We'll do a layover day here in Minot to work on our bikes and rest. Then eastward again hoping to be in Duluth in a week. More later~~~~~~Cycling Grandma Lucy

Still in Montana

Just a quick update from Montana, certainly the BIGGEST state in the nation~. We're in Malta taking time to shop, do washing, sleep in and cycling only 25 miles this afternoon to Saco. We did two very long days (87 and 67 miles each) under windy conditions (both head and tail winds) so we decided we needed a rest. Also there is virturally nothing between towns in which we stop to overnight. It's a lot of rolling hills for hundreds of miles.

We're still cycling along the railway and the Milk River. These small towns are wonderful. The people are curious about our journey and very helpful and friendly. We have seen about half a dozen other cyclists in the last 24 hours in Malta. Everyone has a common complaint: sore butt!

That's another good reason to take a short day. The librarian is closing in 3 minutes for lunch to bye to all. We've pedaled 1,067 miles as of today (day 26).

Day 24, July 6, 2009, Monday. Chester, MT. Here we are taking a weather-imposed, rest day in the middle of the "Big Sky" country and wheat fields of Montana. As we left a grocery store early this morning on our way out of a town, a local farmer's wife (Sue Violett) stopped us and said, "Have you ladies heard about the severe weather warnings for today?" Although we stayed in a motel last night, we didn't even turn on the TV~so accustomed to no TV~so we didn't see the news or weather. She said, "There will be hail and maybe a tornado this afternoon!" We're getting all our farm equipment into shelter right now!

With a sixty-mile day planned, we looked at each other and said, "Maybe we should stay put!". So Sue said, "You can stay at the Lutheran Church." She lead us there, opened the door and gave us a tour. It wasn't even locked! They never lock the church. So home is a church today. The Library has new computers, so I'm blogging. It may be October before we reach the east coast at this rate!

Since leaving Flathead Lake, we traveled along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, crossing it many times along a back road. About five miles before our destination camp ground, the road turned to gravel! We stopped to eat lunch on the bridge over the river and began chatting with a guy who was swimming his dog. He offered to haul us and our gear over the dirt road to camp. Thank goodness! The road was uphill and wash boards all the way! The camp at we chose what we thought was a good tent site. As the evening progressed, two mammoth sized trucks with mobile homes parked next to us and began their banging, wheezing, jamming until late into the night. Lesson learned: choose a campsite on the grass instead of with the big rigs.

From there we traveled through Glacier National Park doing the southern route across Marias Pass. It was very easy compared to the Cascades. (Wow! It just started pouring rain outside the library~so happy to be inside!) In East Glacier, we stayed with Ranger Sam and his wife Jo. They fed us like royalty then took us on a mini-auto tour of "Two Medicine" in Glacier. DRAT! I forgot to take my camera. We did a short hike to "Falling Eagle" falls which look similar to Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon near SLC, only about four times a large. Both of our hosts gave us a wonderful running dialog of the history, geology, flora and fauna of the area. We also saw another Cinnamon Black Bear foraging for bugs along a little stream near the Two Medicine Campground.

Since leaving Glacier, we've been riding along Hwy 2 which parallels the railway from coast to coast. Consequently, I've enjoyed the whistling of many, many big train engines as I ride along. Yesterday, the "Fourth of July Holiday, California Zephyr" pulled by a real steam engine, roared passed me, tooting and whistling as I waved wildly from my bicycle. What a treat! I'm learning to love the comfort of the rumble and whistle of the trains day and night.

Despite this being a holiday weekend, the traffic along this stretch of Hwy 2 has been very light because it doesn't lead to any major destinations. So riding has been very pleasant. So far we've traveled 907 miles. I'm feeling very strong and healthy~oh~there goes another train whistling through town :-)

Bay View, WA to Flathead Lake, MT

Lake Pend Oreille, WA.

Swinging Bridge at Kootenai River Falls

Lucy at summit of Loup Loup Pass, WA

Lucy and Barb dipping back wheels in salty Pudget Sound water at launching of cross country trip Saturday, June 13, 2009.

Clarice, Lucy, Chuck, and Neil~out launching hosts in Woodenville, WA.

Lucy and Barb at Kootenia Falls

Below: Kootenia Falls

Our bicycles at Idaho border.

Above: Morning mist on Lake Gillette, WA.

Left: Brothers fishing in morning mist on Lake Gillette, WA.

It's Big Adventure Day 17, Monday June 29, 2009. This is my first blog update since computers are far and few between. We stopped at one library to update blogs, but the computers were so old that we killed them trying to get onto the Internet other than just to read e-mail.

We're well on our way across country having pedaled 681 miles through Washington, Idaho, and now into Montana. Today is a rest day with Barb's cousin's on Flathead Lake, Mt. We've climbed five summits (Washington Pass, Rainy Pass, Loup Loup Pass, Waconda Pass, and Sherman Pass) with one more to go (Marias in Glacier) then we'll be riding through flat Montana and N. Dakota.

The roads are good for the most part~drivers are courteous, giving us wide berth. The Adventure Cycling maps keep us on less traveled routes. But where we venture off those maps on our own, we tend to get into heavy traffic with narrow shoulders along the roads.

The scenery is stunning. The Cascades are rightly named with waterfalls gushing from every crevice of the rocks lining both sides of the highway. On the third day out while pedaling at 3.5 mph uphill between Rainy and Washington Passes, I came upon a big black rock along side the road in the distance. The closer I got, the stranger the rock looked to me~then the rock started "waddling." It was a Cinnamon Black Bear about the size of a Smart Car. A rush of healthy anxiety surged through my legs and luckily, a slight downhill in the road occurred just as I realized it was indeed a "BEAR." So I pedaled as far to the left side of the road as I could while passing, making very brief eye contact with the beautiful, shiny beast. I don't know who was more frightened, the bear or me, but I pedaled as fast as I could without looking back until I was well down the road. Hope that is my last bear encounter for this trip!

Being a desert dweller, the green, green scenery and gushing water, rivers, streams and lakes I pass every day are very impressive. Everyday the temperatures start about mid-forties and rise to mid-eighties. Most days we've had tailwinds from the west by afternoon. Two days in the Cascades we rode in rain so cut our riding short to find shelter and warm up. So far I used everything I packed for clothing at one time or another. Nothing to send home yet.

I stop to read all the historical markers along the way and have learned that this area of the northwest was formed by a great glacial lake that flooded this area a zillion years ago. Now some of the rivers such as the Pend Orielle flow north into Canada and back into the Columbia in the USA. The rivers here make the Virgin river look like a backyard irrigation ditch.

People we' have met along the way are impressed that two 64-year old women would undertake such an ambitious adventure~and at times, so am I. Some days I am so tired I can hardly put up my tent, feed myself and crawl into my sleeping bag. The goodness of people along the way is heart warming. In a campground in Newport, WA two RV'ing couples from BC invited us to spaghetti dinner just share traveling tales. Twice I've had slight mechanical problems with my bike and panniers. I've just stopped along the way when I spotted a "man with tools" for help. Both times they've been very obliging to get me back on the road.

Two nights ago I had a wild encounter with mosquitoes! We had cycled 73 miles (8 hrs on the bike) from Bull Lake to Happy's Inn on Hwy 202 in the middle of no where. We couldn't get a cabin at Happy's so I prevailed upon the owner to permit us to pitch our tents on her property along side the road. As we began unpacking our tents, we were attacked by "killer mosquitoes!" Knowing that this would happen sooner or later along this "high line" route, I pulled out my trusty DEET spray and gave myself a quick cocoon of poison. The mosquitoes kept their distance~aha~I was victorious, almost. I missed my butt. Right through my cycling shorts, they raised welts all over my hiney! I'm keeping the itch cream people in business for a few days :-) Karaoke from Happy's Bar lulled me to sleep.

At the "Kicking Horse Saloon" that evening I had the best 8 oz top sirloin steak I've eaten in years!~aged to perfection and grilled masterfully~juicy, tender, and flavorful Montana grown beef~only $11.00.

Another surprise for me while riding along all the lake shores is the sight of Osprey swooping and catching fish for their young. This is nesting season, so when we come upon a high post, snag or tree with a nest, the parents who mate for life and return to the same nest annually, put us a big screeching ruckus and flap around to shoo us along. I've also seen tree swallows, purple martins, herons, and lots of ducks, geese and little brown birds. Carrying my binoculars and bird book, though heavy, have been worth the price. White tailed deer with fawns are everywhere in the forests. All the gardens near homes and farms are fenced for protection from the wild life.

Day 18~Tuesday, June 30, 2009.  We've rested for two days at a lovely cabin on Flathead Lake, MT.  Today I mailed home about five lbs of stuff I really don't need.  Tomorrow we begin our odyssey again, heading for Glacier National Park.  I'm rested and eager to get back on the road!  There's nothing like just eating, sleeping and cycling everyday!

Little Red Riding Hood 2009

June 7, 2009 was a very momentous day for me for two reasons:

(1) In 1992 when I organized the fifth Annual Little Red Riding Hood all womens ride for Bonneville Bicycle Touring Club, we were thrilled to have 65 women show up for the metric century. This year 2,600 women showed up for the 21st Annual version which was much more elaborate than the 1992 version! Wow! what a great experience!

(2) This year three generations of women in my family participated in the event. My grand daughter Emma (age 10), her mother and my daughter Kimberly (age 40) and I (age 64) rode together for 40 miles. We dressed in matching LLRH jerseys which made it even more fun for us. For Emma this was her first ride on her new 24-inch Fuji road bike. For Kim it was her first ride on her new Serotta Legend Ti road bike. For me~well, I just rode my old Bike Friday which is my sherpa for my cross country tour this summer.

What a joy it is to see my children and grand children developing a healthy addiction to cycling!

Counting Down to Launch on June 13

My panniers and bicycle are all packed! Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am Barb and I fly from Salt Lake City to Seattle to begin our big Cross Country cycling adventure. This is a dream realized for both of us since we both just recently retired. It will take us about 3 months at 50 miles per day to cycle 4,280 miles from Bay View State Park, Washington to Portland, Maine. We're using some Adventure Cycling maps and for the portion through Canada, I cut up a bunch of free AAA maps to plan our route.

We're each carrying about 50 lbs of gear which includes a tent, sleeping bag and pad, all clothing and rain gear, tools, tubes, a spare tire, sparse cosmetics, minimal cooking gear and enough food and water for 24 hours. I'll update my blog as often as I find a library or other computer. So until September, "tailwinds and sunny skys!" Lucy

"Shake Down Ride" in Preparation for Cross County Tour 2009

Pics: Jolivot children Jules, Marisk and Fostine; parents Florence and Joel; Lucy and Barb at Dam Store and Snow Canyon State Park.





On April 5, 2009 Barb and I started a four-day "shake down" tour from my home in Hurricane to Mesquite, NV and back in preparation for our big cross-country adventure this summer. My bicycle and all the stuff I carried weighed in at about 75 lbs. Barb's was about the same. Day one we rode 35 miles from my house to Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins, UT to camp the first night. It was pretty hilly riding, but the weather cooperated and we made it into camp before 3:00 pm. Several of my friends from the St. George area rode up the canyon to our camp to wish us well. Day two, we rode 50-miles from Snow Canyon to Mesquite without any great issues. In fact, once we topped Utah Hill on "Old Highway 91" it was downhill for fourteen miles without touching a crank! The cacti and wild flowers were beginning to bloom along the road. We stopped at the Beaver Dam for a rest and pictures at the Dam Store, Dam Bar and Dam Deli. We stayed the night with an old friend of Barb's in Mesquite. Day three we rode back from Mesquite to Ivins. The day was much hotter and the climb over Utah Hill seemed much more challenging. Unaccustomed to riding in the dry desert heat, Barb "bonked" due to not enough water and nourishment. So we called for a ride in for her at the top of Utah Hill. As I crested the top of Utah Hill after a long climb, there were bicycles and people! It was a French family of five who are bicycling around the world. There under a juniper tree on a tarp were the three children ages 12, 9, and 5 doing their schoolwork. Naturally, I jumped into a whirlwind of questions for these amazing cyclists who spoke pretty good English. Since "daylight was burning" and I needed to get to my overnight stop in Ivins, we traded calling cards and I invited the Jovolet's to stay at my house when passing through Hurricane in a couple of days. I continued all the way to Ivins by bicycle. Day four Barb was recovered so we rode the 35 miles back to my home in Hurricane without any problems. We cycled a total of 175 miles in four days. What we learned: carry more water than you think you will need; eat and drink before you feel the need; lighten that load!

Solvang Winter Break 2009

Pictures: Top Left: Lucy and Svien Tuft; flower at winery; fans surrounding Team Astana bus; finish line set up; Marcus Ljungquist (Saxobank) after race in back alley; two shots along the race route; group shot of club before group ride; Lucy and Barb ready to ride.

Cycling in Solvang, CA in February is a nice way to spend a winter week. It's green and warm (unless it's raining), so way last fall I registered for a week-long, cycling trip with Bicycle Adventure Club with plans to stay at the same motel every night and just ride day tours from there. I invited my friend Barb Hanson to join me and share a room and gas.

The drive from Hurricane was 1115 miles round trip~long~and took more than eight hours each way. It passed quickly as we listened to a book-on-tape. Solvang was settled by a Danish colony who wanted to recreate Denmark in America. So all the buildings in the small, rural town look like they were lifted straight out of Europe. It's a nice destination for a quiet cycling or tour get away.

In Solvang the King Frederick Best Western (with hot tub) was our base of operation right in the middle of town. Twenty-one BAC members participated in this adventure filled week with Clarice Sackett as the "trusty leader." The first two days of cycling through the verdant pastoral hills were rainy~yes~wet, but not flooding like Death Valley. So the next two days, we re-rode many of the same routes to really see things. I had to wear long pants and a jacket all four days. The valley sports lots of wineries and quaint places to eat and hang out in the valley. The people were friendly and helpful.

The big bonus of the week was on Friday when the Tour of California came to Solvang for it's time trial. All of the famous pro cyclists and teams from around the world were in town to race including Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer (the eventual winner of the tour). Since I love watching every moment of the Tour de France, I opted not to ride at all with the group, but get up early and just wander around town, watching all the road crews set up barriers, gates, finish line, TV equipment, big screens, expo booths, etc.

As luck would have it, our motel was wedged right in between the time trial start gate and the finish line a block away. We were land locked and unable to drive from the motel for 24-hours. But we were in the center of all the excitement.

I watched as all the team buses drove into town from the previous overnight town of Paso Robles. The Team Astana (Lance and Levi) bus had a 20 motorcycle police escort into town. It was a big fancy bus with darkened windows. Of course, it was mobbed by fans as soon as it parked. The Team Rock had the best sound system and the most riders with "tats." I got a kick out of walking along the street just looking at all the team buses and the cyclists warming up next to their buses. Most of the workers and cyclists spoke little English being from Europe. But they all love their jobs.

The time trial started at noon and ended by 3:30 pm. As the cyclists left the start gate in front our motel I watched them zoom by with my binoculars while standing on a park bench just back of the sideline barrier. They flew by so fast, it was impossible to snap a picture. Can you say "streak of light!" By the time 120 cyclists including Lance, David Zabriskie, Levi and all the big guys had taken off last, the first riders were coming into the finish line on the back side of the motel. It only took the pros about 30 min to ride the 15 mile route. Levi averaged 30 mph. I averaged about 10 mph when I rode the route the day before the tour. The route was very hilly and the surface rather rough out in the country. They were fixing potholes the day I rode it.

The fans in the crowd are what really make the bicycle race exciting. Everyone is happy. People were there from all over the world to experience cycling fever. The healthy lifestyle expo flaunted some of the most expensive bicycles I've ever seen~all made of plastic~errrr carbon fiber they say.

As fast as the entire event was put up in the morning hours, it disappeared by 7:00 pm in the evening after the race and Solvang returned to a sleepy little Danish town in America. Would I do this trip again~YES!

Death Valley 2009 "A Helluva Way to Run a Desert"

February is generally a great time to visit Death Valley National Monument for hiking, cycling, wild flowers and birding. So joining twenty-four of my best friends from northern Utah I made the trek for the annual "Bob Wright Memorial Death Valley Trip."

Arriving in sunshine on Thursday February 5, 2009, I set up my tent in campsite number 41 in Furnace Creek Campground, along with my friends Sue DeVall and Gloria Leonard. We nestled out individual tents on "high ground" among the Salt Cedar trees for shade. What fun it is to be with all my old friends from Wasatch Mountain Club in the spring time in Death Valley.

Bright and early (well 8:30 am) the next morning we had camp breakfast, packed our lunches and saddled up to ride from Furnace Creek south to Bad Water and back. It's a nice 40-mile out and back along good pavement with little traffic this time of year. The 69F temperature was great for cycling into a mild headwind out and great tailwind back. We swam in the natural water pool and showered before taking our turn to cook supper for the group. Sue, Roger, Leila and I prepared pulled pork burritos, salad and "Ceil's Famous Rum Cake" which I made this year. Then we all walked to the Visitor Center for the Ranger talk on history of Death Valley. After the program we sauntered back to camp gazing into the starry night, trying to identify the constellations.

Saturday morning we awakened to very cloudy weather and since it had rained overnight, the road to Scotty's Castle was closed due to flooding. So our ride was canceled. Gloria and I decided to take a little auto road trip north and east through Stove Pipe Wells up to the pass. As we reached the pass, "thick rain" began hitting the windshield of the car. Whemmm-could this be sleet in the desert? We made the decision to turn around-good choice. As we descended toward Stove Pipe Wells, rivulets of water, soil and small stones ran over the road in several places.

By the time we drove the 25 miles back to Furnace Creek the rivulets were turning into areas of flash flooding across the road which sprayed as high as my Santa Fe's roof as we slowly drove through them. When we reached the ranger gate at the campground, the hostess said, "Oh, you're #41. You're going to need a kayak to get to your tent." She was right! Our campsite was flooded with about eighteen inches of flood water and it was still pouring into the low spot in the middle. Fortunately, all our tens were still on high ground.

Gloria and I took one look at the water, then at each other and unanimously agreed it was time to break camp. We had to slog through ankle deep muddy clay and bushwhack through the Salt Cedar to get to our tents and get everything out. Even as we packed and broke camp in fifteen minutes, the water rose another foot. Our tents would have been underwater within the hour.

We were soaked and just threw everything into our cars, told friends remaining goodbye and off we drove about 3pm. As we left Furnace Creek the rangers were closing the roads behind us, only letting people out. The drive from there to Death Valley Junction (about 25 miles) was pretty scary with the water and rocks undercutting the pavement in places. Fortunately, the road was designed without deep dips so the water was at most about a foot deep at any point as we drove out.

We arrived at my house about 9:30 pm. It was raining here too, so we opted to just shower and eat and go to bed, happy to be safe and out of the weather. Within fifteen minutes of arriving home, a knock came at the door. To my surprise it was Sue DeVall. She made it through all that water in her tiny little skateboard of a car. I hugged her and brought her in, just happy that she was safe. Just as we were ready to turn off the lights about 11:00pm another knock came at the door. I opened it to see Larene Wyss's apprehensive face. She said,"we tried to call, but it went to voicemail." I don't even know where my phone was let alone answer it in all the chaos of the night. She was with Eve Bertrand and another friend LuWayne. So by midnight, we had everyone bunked down on the couches, futons and floor all over the house. It was a slumber party for "crones!" What a blast~!

Next morning we ate oatmeal together around my old oak table and commiserated about how lucky we were to get out of Death Valley without our cars being flooded. "I know how alluvial fans are made now." But all that Sue could say was, "That's a helluva way to run a desert!"

Posted by Desert Datura at 12:23 PM

Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia 2008

Lucy’s Big Adventure
In Montenegro, Bosnia and Croatia
September 9, 2008 to October 6, 2008

And truly a big adventure this was. The blogging I intended to do did not happen because of the scarcity of computers in the developing part of the world. I think daily travel logs are boring~! So I’ve been musing at length to come up with a non-travel log story for you about my trip to three countries formerly known as Yugoslavia.

If you read no further than this, the one thing I learned from this great adventure is how very much these people love their land and how proud they are of the freedom they have. I was very humbled.

In a Nutshell~Location

This bicycle tour was divided into two sections. Cavtat, Croatia was the home base for the tours. Cavtat is about ten miles south of Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea. The first twelve-day tour went south from Cavtat into Montenegro making a big counter-clockwise loop from the sea through the villages and towns of Kotor, Budva, Podgorica, Kolasin, Zabljak, Pluzine, Niksic, Danielgrad, Citinje, and Tivat then back to Cavtat. After a two day layover, the next twelve days we traveled north along the Adriatic Coast and ferried between islands sightseeing and cycling. The main places we visited were Mali Ston, Korcula, Stari Grad, Makarska, Hvar, Split, Supratar, Neum (Bosnia), Dubrovnik then back to Cavtat. The border crossings were very strictly regulated. It usually took 20-60 minutes to pass.

The Weather

For the month prior to my arriving in Croatia, the temperatures had been in the 80’s and 90’s F. so I was worried about being too hot. Two days after I arrived, Europe experienced an unseasonably cold and rainy spell. The temperatures fell to 40’s at night and 50-60’s during the day with rain about half the time. Consequently, I was not prepared with warm enough clothing and had to buy rain gear, gloves, warm shoes (I only took sandals) and long pants. Lesson learned: be prepared for all types of weather!

The Cycling

I really loved cycling in the rural parts of the mainland, on the islands and right along the water’s edge of the Dalmatian Coast. City traffic was nerve wracking. We cycled between 35-60 miles per day for a total of about 600 miles with 31,000 feet elevation gain over all. I spent all day every day, stopping to take pictures and visiting with the people every chance I had. We cycled a total of 19 days in 24. The remaining five days were lay-over for touring or traveling by ferry between islands. The last day riding in Croatia along the coast, we traveled through a 10-mile stretch of Bosnia which was given to them for a sea port after the war in 1991. I stopped at the border to ask for a stamp on my passport and the policeman said, “No stamp here. Go to Sarajevo.” They have changed their little piece of the Adriatic coast into a lovely, modern resort area with no sign of shipping. I stopped there for lunch so I could say “I’ve been to Bosnia.” No one spoke English. I ordered hot chicken soup which I’m certain it was Lipton instant chicken soup, but it was warm and the bread was good.

During the first two weeks of cycling through Montenegro I only saw two other cyclists. One was a young man cycling from his home in the Ukraine. He was traveling self-contained for a couple of months. The drivers are unaccustomed to seeing cyclists on the roads, but were very courteous. I wore a bright orange jacket most of the time for visibility. About half of the 600 miles of roads I cycled were in rural areas and were about fifteen feet wide with no shoulder. The pavement was usually very smooth and traffic light. When a vehicle approached from the rear, the driver usually gave a “courtesy beep” which I acknowledged, then I moved as close to the edge as I felt safe and hung tight. The “beep” was very deceiving because even the big truck horns only made tiny “beeps.” The drivers all gave me a wide birth. Only once did I feel in danger when a woman turned right within two feet of my front wheel. In the larger cities, however, the traffic was heavy and a bit nerve wracking. The big roads had two lanes with a line down the middle and were about 20-30 feet wide. I walked through several tunnels which had no lights. They all had a very dirty sidewalk about 18 inches wide on both sides.

I had two flat tires. The second one I was all alone in a tiny village along a beautiful river in Montenegro. As I started pulling out my stuff to fix my tire, out from the only business on the waterfront came a handsome young waiter in white shirt and black pants who offered to help me. He was 22 years old, born and raised in the village, spoke broken English. He told me that the village was once a resort area for the royalty of the old country. But when the communists took over, they tore down the palace and built a fish factory. Many of the buildings showed the scars of bombing and war. I completely wore out my brake pads descending all the steep mountains. One descent had 26 swtich-backs! My nine-speed Bike Friday performed wonderfully well on the climbs. I didn’t have to walk any of the steep grades. The steepest were about 15 percent but very short.

One cycling day was so rainy we had to take a train the 53 miles between villages up a winding narrow river valley. The next day we rode in the drizzle because there was no train. One rider on a titanium road bike slipped on the wet pavement, slid into a barrier, landed in dense bushes on the other side of the barrier. Fortunately, he did not go down a steep incline which was along most of the road. He slammed into the barrier hard enough to fracture his right tibia and fibula. We stopped a car and had the driver phone the police. Ken was cold and going into shock so we covered him in our rain gear and huddled him to maintain body heat. About an hour after the accident the police arrived. We communicated in very broken English that we needed an ambulance. They wanted to see Ken’s papers first. So I dug out his pass port. (Always carry your passport on your person in foreign countries, I learned.) Finally after another 30 min, they said, “No ambulance.” Only police car.” A retired fire fighter and I splinted the leg with two night sticks and a roll of police barrier tape. The others then did a five-man carry to get Ken into the police car. The car was not much bigger than a mini-cooper.

As it turned out, Ken ended up 100-miles away from the accident scene in the hospital in Podgorica for five days before he could be flown back to California. The US Embassy sent a woman to interpret for him and help him through the paperwork jungle. He was the only person on the tour who had purchased “Medivac Insurance.” His hospital stay cost $900. The medivac company flew a nurse from California to Montenegro to get him home on a commercial flight. While in the hospital he had x-rays of his leg, they splinted it with a very loose, gauzy splint, put him in bed, didn’t take vital signs or move him at all for five days. His food was bread and tea for breakfast, barley soup for lunch, and plain pasta with no sauce for supper for five days. The sheets were clean and pressed. The hospital was built after WWII when the communists took over the country. None of the beds were mechanical. All three of his roommates smoked non-stop. One played a boom box day and night. What an experience! When he got home he had surgery and placement of a titanium rod in his tibia.


The People

The people of these three countries have been fighting civil wars with one another since Tito left power and the communists took over about WWII. All three countries rule themselves independently now that communism is gone. So in Croatia one does not say anything about how wonderful the people in Montenegro were during the time visiting there or vice versa. But the people in both countries were genuinely hospitable, kind, helpful and hard working. In Montenegro I did not hear English for two weeks with the exception of a word or a phrase. In Montenegro the people speak Serbian and use the Cyrillic alphabet. In Croatia, they speak Croatian which is very similar to Serbian but use the same alphabet we use, making signs easier to read in Croatia. I found the best way to communicate was to write down what I was trying to say in English, especially the names of cities and then do a pantomime. Trying to apply English pronunciation to the native spelling didn’t work. Croatia is still using the Kuna. Montenegro and Bosnia use the Euro. The Russians are investing lot of money into Montenegro and building ski resorts and big buildings. Croatia on the other hand, is very proud that Russian enterprise is not allowed by their government.

In northern Montenegro in the mountains of Durmitor National Park, the people are of Serbian descent and are sheep herders. They have very dark hair and complexion and short stature. But along the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea in both Croatia and Montenegro, the people are of Austrian and Italian descent. They have lighter brown hair, round faces and wide-set eyes. In even the small villages, children play soccer in the streets. In the top of the Durmitor Mountains near a farmhouse, I saw a basketball standard stationed along the edge of the road with a “three-point” circle drawn on the pavement.

The owners of an apartment in Croatia invited us for “coffee” the day we left. As soon as we arrived, they called their niece and nephew to come over to speak with the Americans. They were a 17-year old girl in high school and 19-year old boy in college studying economics. He tried to engage me in discussion about the Iraq War but I skirted the subject. All the Europeans love Obama and wanted to know how we felt about him. They are very interested in the American political process which deeply affects their own politics.

The Sea and the Land

The Adriatic Sea and the Dalmatian Coast lie just east of the Boot of Italy. The limestone mountains spring right up out of the sea. The sea is stunningly blue-green and clear because there is no sand along the sea shore, only limestone. There is no tide and the limestone is so hard that the sea water ripples from the wind cannot break it down into sand. Every stone is embedded with fossilized plants, shells, and ancient sea life. The water is salty and warm as a bath tub so the people build piers out into the water for sunbathing. I only saw two areas that resembled what we call “beaches.” They were covered with smoothly rounded limestone about two inches in diameter~too big to walk barefoot comfortably. So the beach goers take a plastic lounge chair to sit in and sun on the stony beach.

On the islands and for two hundred miles inland that I traveled, the land was mountainous limestone. Building a house requires a big crane with a jack hammer to break away enough stone for the foundation to sit upon a flat spot. Consequently, in the larger cities, the houses are within spitting distance of one another. No one has more than a driveway so they have potted plants all over their patios and stairs. Little villages are connected to the main paved road along the coast only by dirt roads. In order to clear a patch of ground for cultivating grapes, olives, rosemary or lavender, the people have to hand carry away the limestone rocks. They are stacked into huge piles and long rows dividing the terraces on the hills. These piles of stone are hundreds of years old. The land is very dry and arid inland, but beautifully lush and green along the sea shore and in mountainous areas with running streams, rivers or lake. A few hundred feet from the water source, the arid limestone supports very little vegetation.

Cycling on the Island of Hvar, from one side to the other, we came upon a “resturan” where we stopped for a drink. The woman spoke enough English to explain that she and her husband had bought the land in 1980 and hand carried all the stones for the building from nearby abandoned fields. They still do not have running water, but have the “fire engine” bring it to them. They have built a lovely home, bar, and “reception center” for weddings, christenings, and banquets on the top of the mountain.

All of this area of the world was once part of the Roman Empire so nearly every city was once “walled.” Many Roman ruins remain as great tourist attractions.

The Food

Naturally, along the Adriatic Sea fish, squid, oysters, and mussels are abundant. We rode past several quiet inlets where mussels and oysters are farmed and shipped all over Europe. They are also very cheap so many of our group had a huge bowl of mussels every evening for dinner. One dinner my friend Morgan ordered “fried fish with chips” expecting something like deep fried white fish chunks. What he got was a huge stack of deep friend minnows! They looked like a stack of grey twigs on his plate. We both did a big double take and burst into laughter, but he ate them.

The “national” dish is boiled potatoes mixed with boiled chard flavored with garlic and olive oil~never prepared the same way in two “resturans”. A dish of steamed vegetables is tomatoes, squash, light green, sweet bell pepper, egg plant and potatoes with chard. A mixed salad is shredded white cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber slices and sweet peppers. They are each arranged on one quarter of the plate and not “mixed” at all. Lettuce is rare. Pizza which is on every menu is handmade bread with thinly spread fresh tomato sauce and a very few pieces of whatever toppings you order. A large pizza is about the size of our medium pizza. Ketchup is one of the toppings offered. I snickered behind my hand when I saw a cook turn over a ketchup bottle and squeeze it all over the top of a pizza he was making for “take away.”

In the mountains of Montenegro where sheep are raised, the dishes are lamb based. One very cold sunny day in the high mountains I dropped over the top of a peak into a little meadow with a sheep herder’s hut. A wooden sign said “Resturan.” There were my fellow cyclists sitting at a picnic table devouring lunch. The little building in the middle of nowhere was owned by a man and woman in their forty’s. They had no running water or electricity, but on their wood burning stove they made the most savory lamb and vegetable stew I’ve ever tasted. It was served in earthen bowls with huge chunks of chewy bread which had been baked in an earthen oven. There was a ¼ inch deep layer of fat floating on top of the stew, but it was so tasty and I was so cold I didn’t care! The woman said to me with a wide smile, “You like the food?” “I made it myself.”

In the resort areas along the coast breakfast consisted of three eggs per person, either boiled or as an omelet, chewy bread, very thinly sliced pieces of ham, yogurt, white cheese and orange juice or coffee. But in the poorer places inland, it was only eggs and bread with coffee.

If we stayed the night in an apartment with stove, refrigerator and dishes, I would buy and boil eggs for breakfast and to carry to eat during the day along with bread, cheese and fruit.

For lunch on the road I usually stopped at a market and bought the smallest piece of bread I could get and some Gouda cheese and a liter of orange juice (which I diluted in my water bottles for the day) and a tomato, cucumber, pepper, peach, orange or banana.

Coffee was Turkish~three times a day~breakfast, lunch and mid afternoon. It was strong and sweet so a tiny cup sufficed. I learned to “linger” over meals and coffee. No one is in a hurry. Dining as opposed to fast food is the rule.

At one apartment I rented for five days the owner had his own wine still in the backyard. Twice he brought a bottle of his red wine to my door, which I graciously accepted then passed onto my fellow cyclists. He also made the “national drink” grappa which is very strong. In the fancy restaurants at the end of the meal the men are served grappa and the women are served a lighter and sweeter liquor. The waiter makes certain that women don’t drink the grappa~it is only for men!

Accommodations

About 2/3 of the time we stayed in private apartments in the homes of people. For the most part these were very clean and well kept. However, a couple of places were dirty and had fleas or bed bugs. In the larger cities, we stayed in hotels which ranged from five star down to one built by the communists in the 40’s which had black mold growing in the shower and on the outside walls. However, in everyplace the sheets were always pressed and clean. Toilet paper and towels are small and scarce. No little bottles of shampoo, conditioner or lotion were to be found anyplace. Washing is hung out to dry~no dryers. Washers hold about 1/3 of what ours do. I washed cycling clothing in the sink nearly every night because sometimes it didn’t dry overnight. We are so spoiled!

Looking Back~

I can truly say that this was one of the greatest adventures of my life and the hardest cycling trip I’ve ever taken. I wasn’t expecting so much climbing. The climbs around here now seem to easy. Would I repeat it? Yes! if I could just figure out how to avoid that “killer” 26-hour trip from Cavtat to Hurricane.