Ride Against Hunger

A Week Later

2010-08-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

Almost exactly one week ago, the Ride Against Hunger came to a glorious conclusion as we dipped our front wheels in the Atlantic Ocean near Portland, Maine. The last day of riding was magical and thrilling as we rounded a final curve on a bike path running next to an interstate highway and first saw the beautiful Portland Bay, sail boats and all in panorama in front of us. Joe and I could not contain ourselves. We started yelling, whistling and in every way we could find, expressing the deep satisfaction, joy and probably exhaustion as our ride was coming to a completion.

But it got better. As we came closer to the conclusion, we saw a group of people that seemed larger than our few supporters waiting with balloons and huge smiles awaiting our finish. The welcomers were Cindy, Kathy, Joe's brother, Bill and his family, and a few others who simply wanted to see what too old guys who had just ridden across country would look like. They all welcomed us in a way that made me feel like we had just done something very significant. OK, it wasn't the Tour de France, but for Joe and me, it was a close as we will ever get.

One young man came up to us who had been very vocal in his welcoming. He said he had ridden across the country a few years back, that he had finished in Portland, his home town, and had been welcomed home by his mom who said, "Welcome home, what do you want for dinner." He said that was not an adequate response for someone who has just ridden their bikes across the continent. I agree. The welcome home somehow needs to recognize the size of the accomplishment...and in Portland, the celebration was perfect in every way.

After showers and a brief rest we went out for a wonderful lobster dinner and continued the celebration amidst incoming e-mails and phone calls from lots of people congratulating us on the completion of the ride. I was grateful for every call and e-mail message. It meant we were never alone, that we had taken a number of people with us as we travelled across the nation. It felt very good.

But what are my reflections after a week? Has there been a "let-down". Are we still living in the "glow" of the ride? For my final blog I wanted to see if I can respond to some of these questions.

First, some reflections on the ride.

1. The Importance of the Ride Against Hunger. Many times as we rode across, people would ask, "Why are you doing this? Are you doing it for some cause, or just because you wanted to do it?" I would always answer, "Both!" And that was the truth. I have a passion for biking. I absolutely love working on them, teaching people about them, and riding them. Traveling by bicycle for me is just the best way to go. So for two-plus months, I got all the "fun" I could handle...and loved every day of it no matter how hard (or easy) it was.

But I also have a passion for people who are suffering from hunger or food insecurity. I think it was because as the director of Catholic Charities in Stockton, I saw the faces of friends, people I came to know and care about, who were standing in long lines to get a small box of food to feed themselves and their families. It is very hard to understand or explain why in the Central Valley of California, (or in the world where there is plenty of food for everyone) one of the most productive areas in the world, has so many people who are poor and/or hungry. It simply should not be. And so my Ride Against Hunger was for them; to use my passion and love for biking as a way to meet another passion...to feed those who are hungry.

The final numbers are not in, but it looks like the Ride will raise $12,000 or so. Frankly, I was hoping for more, but I am grateful for every dollar that was donated to insure that people have enough to eat, and I thank everyone who made a donation to this cause.

2. Disappointment at Losing Tim and John Viall. Tim is a very good friend of mine. He is the director of the Stockton Emergency Food Bank. We cooked up the idea of doing this ride a year ago, and it was something we were going to do together. His bike crash made that dream come a too early end; and John, his brother, also decided to wait until another time to do the long haul. So, in three days, we went from five to three riders.

A great joy for all of us, however, was the new friendship that developed with Chuck and Janet Boehme who continued on the ride as far as Billings, Montana. Chuck was a friend of Tim and John's and we were fearful that they too might decide not to continue. The time that we spent with them will never be forgotten and we have new valued friends that we look forward to seeing and staying in touch with in the future. And we certainly look forward a reunion of the whole group of five to celebrate and reminisce over our first few days together.

3. Immense Beauty of our Nation/and Canada. I've been asked a number of times what my favorite state was. I can say for sure that North Dakota was NOT it. And it isn't because it wasn't beautiful, because it really is. It is because the wind about blew us away. Joe and I agree that our hardest day was the day we rode into a 30 mile wind to Killdeer, North Dakota.

To pick out another state that was the most beautiful would be difficult. I thought that Minnesota might have won that award as we rode through, but then we hit Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine, all of which were just magnificent. So, I don't have a favorite or most beautiful award to give out, but I do know that we live in a magnificent nation that driving on our interstate system at 80 mph makes it hard to see. I am so grateful to have really seen a few of our states in a slower, back-road way.

4. Importance of Support. Some of you might know that Cindy and I rode across the country in 2001 on a tandem. We rode unsupported...so we carried all of our own stuff, etc. In some ways the accomplishment of that ride seems even greater than this one. We did it on our own. There were times on this ride that I felt like we were cheating. We both carried two panniers (saddle bags) with jackets, tools, lunches, etc. but we were NOT carrying tents, sleeping bags, clothes, etc. So the ride was simply easier. Carrying an extra 50 pounds up 37 miles of Bear Tooth Pass would have been even more difficult.

Not only did we not have to carry our stuff, we had Cindy and Kathy "taking care of us." They made sure we had a place to stay, food to eat, and lots of emotional support. It was wonderful, and they made the trip much more enjoyable. I'm glad to have had the experience of doing the ride both ways, but if I were ever to do it again, I'd have to think long and hard about which way to go.

5. The Old and New Trek 520's. Bikes are amazing machines. And we had two of the most amazing. My 1984 Trek 520, the first year they made such a ride, was steady and faithful. I cleaned and oiled it about every third day, and never had a flat or a problem on the road. Joe's 520 was a 2009 model. A new one that was as steady and trouble free as a bike could be. We simply spent very little time on bike trouble on the road. If I were going to take another ride, I would stick with the Trek 520 with the wonderful Brooks saddle (or the tandem if riding with Cindy)!

6. Trucks and Let Downs. I wrote in the blog about the plan to purchase a truck in Maine to drive home. We did just that. I bought the 2003 Chevy S-10 with about 45,000 miles on it. We are now half-way across the country (in Nebraska with my family) and the truck runs like a charm. But the reason I add it into this blog is that I was very excited about getting this new vehicle because I've been contemplating starting up a mobile bike repair business. Cindy says the name of the company should be, "The Bike Man Cometh". Sounds good to me. I would be available to drive to where a bike needed work, get out my bike stand and tools, and do tune ups and clean ups at the home of the bike owner. Whether this will come about our not is really not clear, but it is fun to create new visions and new dreams. When one has a new vision or goal, there is very little let down or depression for what it past.

7. And Finally, the End of the Blog! I had no idea how many people were following the ride via this blog. People have even called to say, ''Hey, you promised some final pictures and reflections...where are they?" I thought it might become burdensome to keep up with a daily report of what was happening during the ride, but that simply didn't happen. In fact, it was very useful to have made the commitment to write something each day. It encouraged me to be looking, listening, and writing (in my head) the blog as the day unfolded. It made me more aware and more sensitive to what was happening all day. I am grateful for your feed back and for taking the time to ride with us on our Ride Against Hunger Blog.

So, this is it. I would of course love to hear any other reflections you have had on the ride. If you'd like to share them, send them to my e-mail address at: richowlman@gmail.com.

God Bless you all!

Rich Fowler, August 7, 2010
Ride Against Hunger
Final Blog

The Ride Against Hunger is Complete...Finished!!!

2010-07-31T18:36:00.001-07:00

Portland, Maine
Saturday, July 31, 2010

Today at about 1:30 p.m. EDT, Joe and I finished our ride. You may have heard the whoops, whistles, and yelling. The scene could not have been more beautiful. We arrived at the East End Beach and Boat Ramp and were welcomed not only by our own crew and Joe's brother's family, but some interested by-standers who also got into the spirit of the event and welcomed us "home".

I'm not going to write much tonight other than to say that when Joe and I hugged each other, we both started crying like babies...without shame. We were so filled with emotion that it just came rolling out. The moment was caught 60 different ways on camera, but I like the one that shows us riding the last 50 feet, tongue hanging out and absolutely full of joy. Two seconds later we were hugging everyone in sight and then dipped our front wheel in the Atlantic ocean. My words now simply cannot express the sense of accomplishment, gratitude and relief that we felt.

Our final day was pretty magical. We started at the normal time, met the gang for lunch around 11 a.m. and rode the last 20 miles very carefully so as to avoid any last minute mishaps. Our final mileage was right at 75 miles and put us well over 4000 for the whole ride.

Tomorrow we start the transition from bike ride to truck ride home. I am excited to see this new truck and get it on the road toward home. I'll post some more pictures of our finish tomorrow.

Love to you all and thanks to all of you who are sending good wishes. It means so much to receive them.

Last Day--Tomorrow

2010-07-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

We are in Maine tonight and saw our first sign indicating that Portland is less than a 100 miles away. So after riding more than 4000 miles, we are closing in on the goal we set so long ago: to dip our front wheels in the Atlantic Ocean. I've been trying to get in touch with what I'm feeling about finishing and thought I would share those reflections in my blog today.

The first thing that comes to mind is gratitude and the list of things that I'm grateful for is long. Most and most importantly, I am grateful for Cindy and Kathy who have given themselves totally the past two months to support this Ride Against Hunger. Joe and I get alot of credit for doing the ride, but they have done so much work to make the ride possible, easier and safer.

I'm also grateful for my riding buddy, Joe. We have stayed together almost every mile of the trip. We've supported each other, watched out for one another, and have respected the differences between us. We have very different skills. I'm more the bike geek/mechanic. Joe pays attention to the detail of what roads we should be on al all times. He uses road maps as well as the Map My Ride cue sheets. Several times, Map My Ride was wrong, and his checking has saved us many hours of being lost or riding off in the wrong direction. I will never forget this time of riding with Joe whom I now call Joe Awesome Man rather than Joe Ossmann.

I'm also grateful for all the words of encouragement and support that has come from family, friends, blog followers and contributors to the Ride Against Hunger. I will report at a later time how much has been raised. Whatever it is, I will be grateful and know that it is a drop in the bucket to what is needed to really end hunger in our world. I've tried to balance the blog with some information about our ride and some about hunger. I hope I wasn't too heavy handed in my encouragement for you to contribute to ending hunger.

And frankly, I am grateful to God. I'm not sure why or how I've been blessed with the good health to be able to do a ride like this, but I know it isn't because I've been "good". It is a gift that I acknowledge and appreciate. I wish I could tell you the number of days that we have looked at the weather report and found that the wind was blowing our direction. I don't believe that God did that for us, because if that were the case, all those riders going the other way were getting a bum deal. But when the wind was at our backs, we just kept saying, we are blessed and we are grateful...and when it was in our faces, we tried not to whine too much.

And finally, I am grateful for good fortune. We just learned of a California cyclist who was killed two days ago in Quebec. I'm not sure where he was from, but it could easily have been one of us. But here we are, a day away from finishing, and I have not fallen nor have I had a flat. (LOUD LOUD KNOCKING ON WOOD SOUND HERE). That is pretty astounding. My old 1984 Trek 520 will have an honored place in my garage. It has become my good friend, one that I have tried to treat with respect and care.

In addition to being grateful, I am feeling a sense of accomplishment. When we think back on May 27th and our start in San Francisco, it almost seemed impossible that we could, by pedaling our bikes, make it across the continent. That day in SF seems both like an eternity ago and also like it was just yesterday. The ride has gone quickly even though it sometimes felt like it would never end. But here we are, on the threshold of finishing. The accomplishment is such that I feel like walking up to strangers and just working into the conversation that I just rode my bike across the country. I'll try not to be too obnoxious about this, but it feels like a big deal this afternoon.

The final feeling is one of relief. It has been hard and some days very hard to do this. My body feels on the one hand like I've never been in this kind of riding condition; but on the other hand, that I am tired and need not one day, but several days off. That will happen starting tomorrow after about 3 p.m..and continue as we drive back across the country to our wonderful home in Sacramento.

So, gratitude, accomplishment and relief. Those are the emotions of the day. I'm sure others will come as I reflect on the trip. Tomorrow (or Sunday) I will complete the story and post my last blog. Thanks for checking in on the ride once in a while. I'd love to hear from you your reflections on the ride. Send them to richowlman@gmail.com. OK?

Back in the USA!!!

2010-07-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Danby Quebec to Colebrook, NH (93 Miles)

The pictures tell the whole story for today. We are BACK IN THE USA! After eleven days of riding in the great nation of Canada, we are very pleased to have returned to the U.S. OK, so it took 93 miles to get here and so what if we spent most of the day climbing (much smaller) mountains. We are "home" in Notch View Campsite over looking a beautiful valley and mountains in the back ground. There is a picture taken from where the RV is parked.

Also shown in the picture is a very happy rider who has just left Quebec and has finally arrived in the state of Vermont. About five minutes later we took another picture of the welcome sign for our entry into New Hampshire.

Two more days of riding left, and tomorrow is shaping up to be a fairly short day, maybe less than 50 miles. We will ride to Hanover, Maine. Then Saturday we will finish in Portland. The tradition is that we will dip the front wheel in the Atlantic...and then go out for a Lobster Dinner!!!

The other big deal for the day is that Joe's brother and his family joined us at campsite tonight and will be with us for the duration of the ride. It is great to begin reconnecting with family and friends.

Coteau-du-lac, Quebec to Danby, Quebec…87 miles

For the third day in a row, Joe and I put in more than 85 miles, this time in the suburbs of Montreal. And frankly we did not get off to a good start. After riding for nearly five miles, we were right across the street from where we started. We were looking for the pedestrian and biking bridge across the St. Lawrence, a mighty river in this part of the world. Fortunately, Joe had taken French in college and knew just enough to get us the directions we needed to finally find the bridge.

Riding in cities (or suburbs) is hard riding…lots of traffic, noise and way too many decisions. We stopped numerous times to consult ride sheets and maps, and when that failed we would try to find someone with enough English to help us (and that was not easy to do in Quebec). I mentioned to Joe that Quebecans are as mono-lingual as most citizens of the U.S. Even though they are living in a bilingual nation where all the signs in other provinces of Canada are in both English and French, here the language is FRENCH, and that’s it. And very frankly, they don’t have much time for those of us who don’t speak French. Tough day for all those reasons.

But the real thing on our minds today is that we have only three days left. I can feel myself begin to transition from cross country bike ride to car trip home, to friends, and to work. I’ve been really trying to stay present and enjoy these last several days, but I find myself thinking more and more about the route home, stopping in Nebraska to see my mom and family, and a lot about the new truck I’ve purchased to bring home.

OK, so it is not really new. It is a 2003 Chevy S-10 Pick up…crew cab, etc. etc. We sold my car (The Subaru Forester) before we left Sacramento. Since we have Ginger with us, we could not easily fly home, so we decided that we would buy our new vehicle when we arrive in Portland. I kept looking on Craigs List/Portland, and finally found just what I’d been looking for. I called the people who were selling it and sent them a deposit for them to hold it for us. So Monday morning of next week, we will drive up to Richmond, ME to pick up our new/old pick up.

We will load up bicycles, dog, bags, etc. and start home…still anotherl leg of an amazing adventure.

But tomorrow we ride once again into the mountains. We will be climbing most of the day. And our mileage is again over 90 miles. Yikes…what are we doing? But by the end of the day we will have returned to the good ole USA, signs in English, and maybe wireless service that actually works. I’m at an Internet Café right now, and can’t seem to get on line at all. May have to send this tomorrow. My best to all of you and we are looking forward to seeing you all very soon!

Oldest Polish Catholic Church in Canada

2010-07-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

The church shown with the blog from yesterday was at the top of a hill a few days back. We stopped to take pictures, but I could not work it in to the blog, but I wanted you to see it. We are seeing a whole lot of beautiful churches these days and I could load the blog with them, but will not.

This one was interesting to us, however, because I've never thought of Canada as a place where there were large communities of Polish people. The signs out in front of this church indicate that Mass is still said in Polish at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings....prime time.

Tonight we are about 15 miles south of Montreal in Quebec. YAY! We were in Ontario for 9 days. We are in a great camp-ground with an internet cafe...so al of us are sitting here trying to catch up on our blogs.

I've got to go start the fire for our burgers tonight.

Did 87 miles today and will do 90 tomorrow. Yikes!

What Tail Winds Do to Rider's Egos…

2010-07-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger
Renfrew to Kemptville, Ontario

What Tail Winds Do to Rider's Egos…

Tonight we are in a campground about five miles outside of Kemptville, Ontario. I’m calling it a campground, but it seems more like a town. There are lots of “permanent campers” who live here, with children, etc. Not long after we arrived the kids came around with their bikes to see if we had any oil for their chains. (We did.) So we are not seeing a lot of other motor homes; rather, long time residents who treat us a little like “strangers in town.”

I wanted to comment briefly on our ride today. At first it was a lot of hills, up and down short but steep inclines. But then we turned just the direction that the wind was blowing and it just kept growing in velocity. At one point I looked down at my odometer, was not pedaling very hard, but was going almost 27 miles per hour.
We finished 87 miles before 2 p.m. and had gone 70 by lunchtime. That’s just plain fast for two old guys.

And you know what happens? We start feeling like we have legs of steel. I’ll speak for myself here, but I start feeling like I have something to do with how fast I’m going. There was even (frivolous) talk of who would take Lance’s spot on the Radio Shack Team, and Joe said that the new sponsor would have to be Metamucil or Geratol (for those of you old enough to remember that product). I said the peloton would have to stop every ten miles for me to relieve myself. But the point is, we start feeling really good about ourselves and how we are doing, etc.

We then turned and had a cross wind for the last 20 miles or so, and all the sudden the big talkers went quiet. I started feeling the fatigue creep in to my legs and I had to gear way down to hold the bike in place against the heavy “breeze”. What became obvious to us as we rode is that the wind was what gave us such an easy day…not our “legs of steel.”

And so it is with many of us in life. We are born with the wind to our backs…with parents who care and plan for our education and/or training for careers. They attend our ball games and give us “roots and wings”, as they say. And we don’t even realize that we have it “easy”.

That is clearly not the case for so many in our society/world. Millions of people are born into poverty and deprivation, do not have parents at all, or do not have families that provide a vision and support to achieve the goals attached to that vision. They do not develop the “I’ve got legs of steel” mindset. In fact they may decide that they are weak and that something is wrong with them.

So these wonderful people some of whom come to our doors week after week and month after month to get a small basket of food need much more than a little food. They need a vision. They need lots of support and love. They need opportunity to grow and learn. They need jobs, medical care, and good, nutritious food. They need hope that things can be different for them.

You and I can help our neighbors achieve these goals by making a contribution to Catholic Charities or the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership. Please do it!!!

Five more days left to ride. Tomorrow is another 80-mile day…and if it is ok with you, we will pray for the winds to be at our backs for a

Zero Day in Renfrew, Ontario

2010-07-25T03:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 25, 2010
Ride Against Hunger

It is 6 a.m. on Sunday morning and I'm trying to write quietly while the others continue sleeping. After getting up every morning at 5 for the past two months, my body just doesn't "sleep in" very well, so I thought I would work on my blog for a few minutes.

We are in a very nice KOA campground near the little town of Renfrew, Ontario which is maybe about 45 minutes to the west of Ottawa, Ontario. Tomorrow as we ride we will circle under Ottawa and avoid the traffic and congestion of the City. We will then move on over toward the Province of Quebec where we will be riding for a couple days, and then back in the U.S.

Joe and I have been pushing our bodies pretty hard the past few days. We have had several 80 plus miles in a row and were really feeling it the last couple days. Decided that this would be a good place to just take a rest. In fact we found a woman here at the campsite who is a message therapist and we both had her work us over yesterday afternoon...on the picnic table outside our RV. No pictures of that sight.

In today's blog I've included a few pictures from our las few days of riding. We rode through Algonquin Provincial Park a couple days ago, and the lake and river shots were taken there. We've also had some days with a lot of road construction and I've included a shot that pretty much defined one whole day of riding. And of course it continues to rain off and on, and I caught Joe in his very dorky (but functional) rain gear.

Hope you are all well. We will rest today and then push on towards Portland, ME where we plan to finish next Saturday afternoon. Big challenge for us is to focus on the day and miles ahead and not get ahead of ourselves.

Have a great day!

Summary Report

2010-07-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

We haven't had any web service for the past three days, and have the weakest of signals tonight, but I will try to put up a couple of the blogs I wrote in the in between time. No pictures tonight, although I've taken a bunch, but not a strong enough signal to upload any pictures.

In summary, the new roads have been much better (safer), but they have also been longer and more hilly. Today we rode through the Algonquin Provincial Park which is the Canadian equivalent to Yellow Stone National Park. It has a million lakes and is surrounded by lush greet forests. And the road went UP and DOWN all day.

It was also Joe's 64th birthday. (yea, he's just a kid), but we had a great dinner and celebration tonight. Tomorrow we ride to Renfrow, ON. which is a far out suburb of Ottawa...and then take our last day off on Sunday. We then ride for six more days to finish in Portland on the 31st.

Here are the other posts.

Ride Against Hunger
Wednesday, July 21, 2010

White Birches Camp Ground
Rode 80 Miles from Sudbury to Port Loring, Ontario

Topic for the day: Daily Routine

The one thing we have learned to count on is change. Two nights ago, we were stressed and distressed. We had ridden unsafe roads all day and had the prospect of several more days of the same. But we circled the wagons, re-planned our route, and today took off in a different direction—South rather than East.

About noon I told Joe that so far, we were geniuses. We had four lane highways, wide shoulders and wind to our backs. What’s more, it was Canada at its very best with lakes, beautiful rivers, and miles of woods in between. We rode 80 stress free miles into the most beautiful campground of our whole trip. So we are rejuvenated and excited about our final nine days of riding. We haven’t made a decision yet as to whether we will take another down day. We will decide on the basis of how tired we get over the next few days.

I thought you might like to know the routine Joe and I have fallen into. We pretty much follow this same scenario every day.

-Get up, dressed, breakfast and leave no later than 7 a.m. (When we first left Cindy and Kathy would come out and take pictures of us as we rode out of the campsite. Now they may wave out the door as we leave.)

-We ride 15 miles and take our first break, usually not more than five minutes, but long enough to stretch, maybe strip off jackets or long pants, and take care of personal needs.

-As we ride we take turns as the lead rider. If I start I ride one mile and then Joe charges by me and he leads for a mile. We do this to preserve energy. The second rider puts out much less energy than the leader as he is protected from some of the wind. We continue this practice throughout the day.

-At mile 25 we take our second break, just like the first, only here we may begin to take in some refreshment. Joe always eats half of a Luna or Cliff Bar, carefully saving the other half for the next break. My snack-food is a micro waved sweet potato that I eat during my breaks.

-We then take a break every ten miles thereafter without fail. At the ten mile mark whoever is leading just pulls over in as convenient location as possible. The breaks are almost never more than 5-7 minutes, and then we are on our way again. Each ten-mile segment takes about 45 minutes counting breaks.

-At mile 55 almost without fail, Cindy and Kathy show up in our rear vision mirrors and ask if we are ready for lunch. Most often we are, and so they stop and we eat lunch together someplace along the road.

-After lunch, Joe and I continue the ten-mile segments and usually finish well before 2:30 or 3:00 depending upon how many miles we are doing. Today we did 80 miles and completed our ride by about 2 pm.

-The rest of the day is taken up with setting up the RV, taking showers, naps (sometimes), bike cleaning and repairs, fixing dinner (Joe or I usually are cooking something on the grill). We have had absolutely wonderful meals, night after night due to the diligent work of Kathy and Cindy to find and prepare locally grown and produced foods.

-After dinner we get out our laptop computers and if we have adequate web-coverage, write and post our blogs, just as I’m doing tonight. We are usually in bed before 10 p.m., and then up at 5 or 5:30 a.m. ready to do it all over again. Is this living or what?

-It is working well for us and as of tonight we have only a few riding days left. We are beginning to talk about last days and last nights, and not buying any more of this or that. The challenge now is to stay in the present and ride today…not Friday of next week.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Hard Riding Days!

Some days on a bicycle trip like this are pure pleasure. The riding comes easy and the beauty is overwhelming. Other days are not (pure pleasure). These days are hard work. From the time you start in the morning until the time you finish, it’s just a grind. Today was one of those days! From the moment we left the campsite and started up a 10% grade hill on gravel, to the dense fog and sharp hills, to the afternoon road construction, it was not a fun day. The simple goal became to finish the dang ride.

I’ve noticed, however, that what contributes the most to good days and or bad days is the attitude I bring to the ride. If I have an expectation that the day will be easy or fun or that I will be strong and have no problem with the hills, etc. etc. I will almost always be disappointed, and then start feeling cheated that the day didn’t work out “the way it was suppose to.”

The other (better) choice is for me to simply accept what is…and look for the good in it. If it is a lot of hills then I know that they are challenging me to get stronger and they provide a different vantage point to see the beauty of what is around me. If there is wind in my face, to enjoy the breeze and keep in mind that on other days that breeze has been at my back and pushed me up hills.

I work at bringing the positive attitude to the ride. Sometimes I am successful. Sometimes I fail terribly. But I am learning that I have much more control over my good days and my bad days than I thought before leaving on this trip, and that how I approach the day is the key to having more good than bad riding days.

This principle may hold true in other aspects of my life. I guess I’ll find out when the ride is over…just eight more riding days left to get us to Portland. We’ll be home before we know it, and then I’ll wish we were back on the road….so enjoy it Rich!

Today we rode 85 miles from Port Loring to Huntsville, Ontario. All our rides for the next few days are between 80 and 90 miles. Our average daily ride is now over 70 per day. Not bad for a couple old guys…and speaking of OLD, Joe Ossmann’s birthday is tomorrow. He’ll be 64 years old. We will celebrate!

A Weird Day in Ontario

2010-07-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Last night in conversations with the gentleman who ran our RV Camp, we learned that the conditions we rode in yesterday would be continued for five more days across the rest of Ontario. The "conditions" I speak of are lots of traffic, including huge trucks, and no shoulders for bikers to ride on. So last night we put our heads together to determine what we should do. None of us wanted to continue to ride on Canada Highway 17 East. We needed an alternative route to get us across Ontario and Quebec.

So today, Joe and I rode about 25 miles into Sudbury where Cindy and Kathy found a nice hotel with fast WiFi service so we could re-map our ride. It is now about 4:30 p.m. and we have just finished. We've had to add a day and we have some very long riding days over the next week, but if we are able to sustain it, we will finish on Saturday, July 31 rather than Friday the 30th in Portland, Maine.

Flexibility seems to be the word of the day for us. We thought about loading up the bikes in the RV and just driving down the road on East 17...but somehow that seemed to not honor this Ride Against Hunger that promised to RIDE across the continent, not ride in a motor home.

So tonight we will find a nice place to have dinner and ride South on 69 tomorrow rather than East on 17. Hang with us folks. We will do our very best to get us there safe and sound. We're working hard at this...hope you are donating generously to your favorite food banks. God knows that those who come to our food banks run into a few rough roads now and then!

Bad Traffic and Shoulder-less Roads

2010-07-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

Traffic and Shoulders

Today we rode about 65 miles from Spragge to a few miles west of Sudbury, Ontario, which is a pretty good sized city with a population of over 160,000. It was a very stressful ride for two reasons: very narrow shoulder (sometimes none at all) and lots of traffic including big logging trucks. My only memory I have is staring at the 12-15 inch strip of pavement that I was trying to stay on so as not to be hit by the stream of cars, campers, and trucks.

We haven’t said much about traffic on this trip and that is because for the most part, we have been able to avoid high population areas where there would be more cars. We had a few miles in Salt Lake City that were pretty crazy and a few other places where we had to watch out, but NOTHING like today.

These are two lane roads. The worst scenario is when two cars or trucks are meeting each other right where we are riding. I tend to hold my breath and keep my bike going as straight as I possibly can.

So by lunch-time, Joe and I were pretty burned out. We looked and looked for a place to stop for lunch. Finally we saw two small homes set off from the road a bit. I suggested we go ask if we could eat lunch in their front yard. No one home. About that time Cindy and Kathy showed up with RV. We parked the motor home in the driveway and sat down at the table to eat lunch. No sooner had we gotten our lunches out and the owner drove in. OH OH!

How will she react? I got out of the RV and walked up to her garage as she parked. As soon as she was out of the car, I asked her if we could eat lunch in her driveway. “Why do that?” says Myrna Martin. “Why not bring your food around to the back and eat at my picnic table?” By then we were already spread out at the table in the motor home, so we passed on the offer. But we were so impressed with her kind Canadian hospitality. The picture you will see tomorrow when I can upload it is of course Myrna, for sure our angel for the day.

We have several more days on this same highway. We are praying for less traffic and wider shoulders. Go ahead, you can pray for the same thing!

Riding Gently--and More Angels!

2010-07-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

St. Ignace, Michigan to Echo Bay, Ontario (73 miles) Saturday, July 17th

Echo Bay to Spragge, Ontario (90 miles) July 18th.

The picture today shows riding buddy , Joe (red shirt) with two new friends (and angels). Joe has a younger brother (Bill) who lives in the Boston area. The couple in the picture are friends of Bill's and were on their way to a summer vacation near here. They heard we would be on the same road and decided to stop by and see us. They were a delightful couple, and when they left there was a generous contribution left on the table for Hunger Relief. I am so grateful for this kind of experience where we meet people, and then all the sudden, they do something surprisingly generous and kind. So here's to Kate and Tom Stohlman, and Joe's brother Bill for hooking us up!

Our ride is now international in scope. Yesterday, we left the security and familiarity of the United States and rode across a huge and beautiful bridge into Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. All the sudden road signs are in French rather than English and accents and language of some have become more difficult. But for some reason this transition seems like a big one. We will ride here in Canada for 10 more days before crossing back into the United States in Vermont, and then we will have only three nights still on the road.

I know that Joe wrote a few days ago on his blog about riding these kinds of distances vs. riding to work or doing a ride down the American River Trail. For the past few days we have been concentrating on “gentle riding”. Way too often when I am out for any ride at home, I am “pounding” out the miles as fast as I can go. It is “balls to the wall” as they say, and no matter how long the ride, I come back beat.

I’ve done a lot of that on this ride. Let’s get through this thing as fast as possible. Someone will be impressed if we finish the 70 miles before 1 p.m. etc. etc. Truth is, we can let up a little bit, put it in an easier gear to go up the grades, and it makes very little difference in the time of our finish. What does make a difference is that we’re not as tired when we are finished.

Joe has helped me with this. He’s better at utilizing lower gears and easing off a bit on the grades. I’m slow to learn, but it is starting to rub off on me, and I’m grateful to him for the “lessons”. The riding becomes more pleasant and frankly, more fun.

Today we made it over to Spragge, Ontario. It is a small town you would probably have trouble finding on a map, almost 90 miles away with a few small towns in between. We had gentle breezes, some light rain, and a growing understanding that gentle riding is much better on this kind of ride. Because there is a very good chance that we will have another 80 or so to do tomorrow!

Rest Day in St. Ignace

2010-07-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Five Miles (Road into town and back)!

About one day a week we try NOT to get on the bikes, and let our bodies rest and heal. Today was the day, and it simply could not have been in a more beautiful spot. St. Ignace is located right on the shores of where Lake Michigan transitions into Lake Huron, and the Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Bridge connects the upper and lower parts of Michigan. We woke up this morning to the cry of sea gulls searching the campsite for leftovers from last night's dinners.

We slept in (that means until 6 a.m. for me), had a leisurely breakfast, read and sent e-mails, and rode our bikes into town for some fun shopping, good long cups of coffee and conversation, and a picnic lunch along the lake shore. We learned that Jesuit Father Marquette played a huge part in the development of this part of the country and was beloved by the native Americans who lived here at the time.

Even Ginger couldn't keep her eyes open today.

So tonight we are preparing for our ride into Canada tomorrow. We will enter into Sault Ste. Marie at about 55 miles, cross the international bridge with passports in hand, and then ride for the next eleven days in the great nation of Canada. We will be there for nearly 750 miles...and then finish in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine...two weeks from tomorrow. Yikes...we may make it!

Short blog tonight...but a few pictures are added to help tell the story of the day.

Take care, all.

Why a ride against hunger?

2010-07-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 15, 2010
St. Ignace, Michigan

Today we rode from Manostique to St. Ignace, Michigan, about 88 miles. At the end of the day we were in the home town of Joe Ossmann and went directly to the newspaper office where Joe was photographed and interviewed, etc. What fun. Tonight we are camping on the far northern shores of Lake Michigan Tomorrow is a down day to rest weary bodies. By Saturday night we will have our first night in Ontario, Canada. And as of today we have completed over 3,000 miles of our journey.

I decided that for my blog today it was important once again to share some of the reasons I am doing this ride. All of the information below was "stolen" from a book called "Ending Hunger, An Idea Whose Time Has Come,” given to me by my friend Jerry.

Please take a moment to read through this information slowly....

"All of us have been "hungry" at some time or other. This usually means simply that we have an appetite or that it is time for lunch. But the hunger experienced by millions of people on our planet is not an appetite that comes and goes; it is a consuming, debilitating, minute-by-minute, day-after-day experience. Hunger keeps people from working productively and thinking clearly. It decreases their resistance to disease. It can be intensely painful. Prolonged hunger can result in permanent damage to body and mind. And ultimately, if hunger goes on long enough, it kills"

Loretta Schwartz wrote a book called "Starving in the Shadow of Plenty" in which she describes her experience of hunger here in the U.S. She says, "I've had no income and I've paid no rent for many months. My landlord let me stay. He felt sorry for me because I had no money. The Friday before Christmas he gave me ten dollars. For days I had had nothing but water. I knew I needed food; I tried to go out, but was too weak to walk to the store. I felt as if I were dying. I saw the mailman and told him I thought I was starving. He brought me food and then he made some phone calls and that's when they started delivering these lunches. But I had already lost so much weight that the five meals a week are not enough to keep me going.

I just pray to God I can survive. I keep praying that I can have the will to save some of my food so I can divide it up and make it last. It's hard to save because I am so hungry that I want to eat it right away. On Friday held over two peas from the lunch. I ate one pea on Saturday morning. Then I got into bed with the taste of food in my mouth and I waited as long as I could. Later in the day I ate the other pea.

More than one billion people on our planet are chronically hungry.

Every year 13 to 18 million people die as a result of hunger and starvation.

No other disaster compares to the devastation of hunger.

More people have died from hunger in the past two years than were killed in World War I and World War II combined.

If you can, please make a donation to an agency dealing with the reality of hunger.

True Confessions

2010-07-15T03:20:00.000-07:00

A year and a half ago, I would never have considered doing a bike trip across the USA. Not that I wouldn’t have wanted to, but I simply could not have considered it due to the shape I was in. I had eaten myself into about a 285 pound body that simply didn’t work very well. Riding up hills with that much weight is not impossible, but it is punishment for all those extra pieces of pizza, cashew nuts, and donuts.

When I went to my doctor, she told me that I was obese. I thought that was pretty rude, but it was the truth. She told me that I had high blood pressure, that my triglycerides were all out of kilter, and that she would have to put me on some medicines if I didn’t deal with my weight issues.

A friend of ours told us about a twelve step program for people like me…people who don’t seem to have a turn-off switch when it comes to food. So I went to a meeting and decided that it was a program that could help me get a handle on my weight, but also teach me to eat healthier food. So since January of 2009, I have been in this program. I have a sponsor who has been a wonderful help to me in figuring out how much food and what kind of food to eat for good health.

So, now I am a bit under 200 pounds and have been for nearly a year. I feel 100% better and am now able to take on a challenge like a ride across the country and not worry (as much) about having a heart attack along some road some place. I continue to work the program as I ride eating no sugar and no flour. I do eat huge amounts of vegetables and salads, and healthy amounts of proteins and carbohydrates.

Probably because I am in this program and because I was extra heavy a while back, I notice that there are a lot of us are eating too much and carrying a bunch of extra pounds on us, but don’t seem to be able to stop it. I am grateful that I found a way for me to not do that anymore. I don’t believe my solution is necessarily right for everyone, but it has been a godsend for me.

Tonight we are camping on the north shores of Lake Michigan in a delightful little town called Manistique. We rode about 75 miles and have about 90 to do tomorrow to get to Joe Ossmann’s hometown of St. Ignace. They will probably have a huge parade for him as we ride into town.

More Transitions--Good Ones!

2010-07-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger
July 13, 2010

See the picture! Today we crossed two more lines of demarcation. Fairly early this morning we left the great and beautiful State of Wisconsin and entered Ossmannland. You may not know this but my riding buddy, Joe, is a YOOPER. That means that he grew up right here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. (He calls it the U.P….and that’s where the term YOOPER comes from.) So this little transition for me, from one state to another, was a coming home for him. In fact he just got lost in thoughts, memories and desires for a regional treat called a Pastie. (a meat pie of some kind that I have not yet seen). Anyway, it was fun watching him enter into his own turf” and see the joy that was being experienced.

Then late in the day we crossed still another barrier. We are now in the Eastern Time Zone. So our California friends are now two hours earlier and my Nebraska family is one hour earlier. And it also means that we are nearing our destination of Portland, Maine. Last night I looked at the schedule to the end of the trip. We have three more nights in Michigan, eleven nights in Canada, and then three more nights in New Hampshire and Maine…and we are there. The plan now is to finish on Friday, July 30. But maybe I should not get too far ahead of myself. We still have well over a 1000 miles to ride.

And the most important transition of all is that Kathy Ossmann rejoined the team. She drove up to Escanoba from her lower Michigan home of Paw Paw. Her father has now been lovingly moved from his home to the White Oaks Assisted Care facility. Kathy reports that there were difficult moments, tender moments, funny moments and a deep down feeling that this is the right thing to do for him and for the family. We will continue to pray for Kathy and her family.

So here we are, poised for the next phase of our ride. Today we rode 76 miles and will do about the same tomorrow. Only thing is, we will be skirting lake Michigan the whole way for the next two days. I’m really looking forward to that!

Hope you are all well!

LOST LAKE

2010-07-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger
July 12, 2010

Lost Lake, Wisconsin (At a National Forest Campsite of which there are thousands)

Some nights when I sit down to write, I’m not sure which “story” to write about. Several are floating around this evening. I’ll do a little of each.

First thing I wanted to pick up on is how kind people have been to us. Two quick examples. Yesterday, Cindy met us in a little town called Fifield for lunch. The clouds had been darkening all morning, and just as we arrived it started to rain pretty hard. As we rode into town, I told Joe that I hoped Cindy had parked close to a covered place we could park our bikes while it rained. Turned out, she did.

Across the street was a house with an open garage door. I knocked on the door and a guy yells out for me to come in. I asked him if there we could park our bikes in his garage while we ate lunch since it was raining. “Sure, bring them in,” said our newest angel, Don. You see his picture at the top of the blog. He seemed very pleased when I asked if I could take his picture. I hope he sees it.

Then today, Cindy and the riders got mixed up as to which corner we would meet at. I was at one corner, she at another about a mile away. I didn’t want to leave because I was fearful I would miss her coming a different way. A guy came up in a pickup truck heading her direction. I asked him if he would tell her where I was (if she was where I thought she would be). Not five minutes later she came driving up. There really are angels all around if we look for them.

Second, I must comment on the place we are staying tonight. It is in the Nicolet National Forest close to “Lost Lake.” Our campsite is about 40 yards from a wonderful little beach alongside a pristine lake. Cindy and I put on our swimsuits and refreshed our selves in the very clear, cool waters of a like we were glad had been found. We sat on the beach for a while discussing how fortunate we are to be able to take the time to travel across the US and to experience the really out of the way, beautiful spots like Lost Lake. What a privilege.

And finally, the ride today was 66 miles of simple beauty in the Northern part of the State of Wisconsin. Tomorrow night we will be in Michigan, Kathy will rejoin the team, and we will enter into the Eastern Time Zone. And we will move on toward our eleven days riding in Canada. Thanks for hanging with us…Make a donation for hunger relief!!!

Brothers and Angels

2010-07-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight we are close to the town of Monacqua, Wisconsin at the Patricia Lake Camp Ground. It is definitely one of the nicest RV Camps in which we have stayed. A huge rainstorm went through at dinner time and we failed to close the window over our bed. I just returned from the laundry drying towels, sheets and pillows. The campsite is clean, quiet, and close to a beautiful little lake (of which there are hundreds, it seems).

We rode over here from Teal Lake (90 miles) where Joe Ossmann's grandfather had established a family cabin back in the early 1930's. Joe's brother, Bob, met us there. Bob lives in a suburb of Chicago and had driven ten hours to welcome us to this family compound full of memories for the "boys". It was fascinating watching Joe and Bob be together. Their laughs were almost identical and the mannerisms clearly are those passed down through generations of Ossmanns. And yet, they are so different in personality and temperament.

Our son Chris is adopted. He lived in Korea for the first five plus years of his life. In spite of our efforts to find family in Korea, that has not happened. Chris tells us that what he misses the most is not being able to look at another human being and see himself, or at least recognize himself in the lives of others. I go home to Nebraska and if my brothers are there, I see my walk, I hear my laugh and my voice, and they are coming out of other human beings. It is a way to be connected that is much deeper than words can say. I belong here...these are my people.

Being with Joe and Bob, I saw once again how important those connections are. From a distance Cindy and I watched and celebrated those blood ties still so very important to these two men. What a privilege.

And speaking of Angels, Bob certainly is one for the record book. He came up early to the cabin and had everything ready for us. He welcomed us, waited at the end of his driveway for who knows how long for us to arrive, drove us around in his shiny red car, and showed us every possible kindness. I am grateful now to know Bob as well as Joe Ossmann.

Teal Lake--A Bit of Heaven

2010-07-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's late and I am not writing much tonight...maybe more tomorrow. We rode from right outside of Superior, Wisconsin 87 miles to Teal Lake, an unbelievably beautiful and serene place just outside of Hayward, WI. The ride was beautiful but uneventful except for the fact that we had an extra rider. Jeremy Fahy (I hope that is the right spelling) is a friend of Joe's family here in the Teal Lake area. He heard we were coming in and asked if he could join us. It was great having an extra rider in the pace-line today. He is young, has raced in the past, and has a MUCH lighter bike that we do. It sort of seemed like we were riding work horses and he was riding a race horse. We tired him out a bit by the end, but it was great having him along. Actually at the end of the day we went to the restaurant where he is the cook, and he put together some very fine meals for all of us.

But the clear message of the day is Teal Lake. I wish I could capture the tranquility, serenity and beauty of this place. I will attach a picture of the sunset, but maybe tomorrow I can give you a better picture of the place we are staying. And it is wonderful to watch riding buddy, Joe, remembering the time that the bat got into the cabin, or the time that he spent here with his grandparents when he was 8 or 9 years old. While it is fresh for us, this place is full of childhood memories for Joe and his brother Bob who came up from Chicago to meet us here. Cindy and I feel like we are watching as two grown men relive a bit of their earlier lives.

Lately a number of you have written to say you are watching our progress as we move across the country. It is so good to hear from you and to learn that many of you are actually making contributions to the hunger organizations of your choices. I thank you on behalf of all those who will eat because of your generosity.

That's it for tonight. Day off tomorrow to rest this old body!

More Bike Geek Stuff: Brooks Saddles!

2010-07-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

When Cindy and I rode across the U.S. in 2001, the thing that hurt the most all the time--every day, was my rear end. I mean it felt like a very deep bruise and every bump in the road made it hurt even worse. I was riding a Terry saddle with a hole in it to protect parts that need to be protected. The seat was a little bit soft, and it had come with very high recommendations for long-distance riding. Needless to say, it didn't work. About 20 times a day, I would say, "Stand up break!" and the two of us would stand on the pedals as long as possible to give "it" a bit of relief.

This time across, I am riding an old fashioned Brooks leather saddle...with springs. What a difference a saddle makes. I have not had one day of discomfort with this seat. If you will take a good look at it, you will note that the saddle has now formed to fit my particular rear end parts/bones, etc. I could be sitting in a lawn chair...it really is that comfortable.

The Brooks saddles were originally made in England. Back in the late 1800's John Brooks had purchased a bicycle that came with a very uncomfortable wooden seat. His father was a leather worker and made saddles for horses. John decided to make a more comfortable bike saddle. He accomplished his goal to the point that in the 1950's Brooks was selling 55,000 leather saddles per week. Then, like lots of things, they fell out of favor with the racing crowd. They were too heavy, etc. But about 15 years ago, with the help of a company called Rivendell Bicycles, they started to come back. Recently, the company was taken over by another saddle company, Selle Italia, but they continue to produce really excellent, old fashion Brooks saddles.

And tonight that Brooks saddle is sitting in the state of Wisconsin. We finished up Minnesota about noon and are safely in our campsite. It is good to be "home", and no black flies tonight! Tomorrow we will turn south and ride down to Teal Lake, where Joe Ossmann's family owns a cabin. We will meet his brother and cousin, take a day off on Saturday, and enjoy a place that is very special in Joe's boyhood memories. We look forward to this experience.

Camping in Black Fly, Minnesota

2010-07-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight we are in the Hay Lake State Park campsite close to a little tiny town called Jacobson, MN. It is absolutely the most remote place in which we have camped. There is one more family camping here and it looks like they've been here for about a year. I'm not exactly sure how they do it because the mosquitos and black flies are voracious. This is one of those places that we will spend most of our time inside the motor home and not be too upset about leaving tomorrow. Frankly, the setting is beautiful and if it weren't for the insects, could be a very nice place to stay. However...

You will see in the picture attached that Ginger has gotten a promotion. Usually she is tied to the table in the middle of the motor home. If she is not tied she absolutely drives the support team crazy with her panic breathing, drooling, and need to be as close as possible to the windshield. But now look at her! She's in the front seat, still doing her panic breathing and drooling, but much happier being able to see the sites of Minnesota. As I mentioned in my blog a couple days ago, Kathy Ossmann has taken a few days to return to her family home of Paw Paw, Michigan, to help her father move into an assisted care facility. So Cindy has been the sole support person, except, of course for Ginger in her new role as navigator.

Today we rode 72 miles from Walker Bay over to Jacobson, Minnesota. We started the ride in rain, but it soon stopped and we were able to finish under threatening skies. The cloud cover was actually a relief from riding in the direct sun. Just as we arrived in Jacobson, we once again crossed the Mississippi River, now grown into more than a bubbling creek into a real river. I have attached a picture of the now adolescent river.

Tomorrow night we will be in Wisconsin. After about 80 miles down through Duluth, MN, we will cross into our ninth state and be officially moving toward Michigan and then Canada. We will ride in Canada for 11 days, and then move into our finish in New England.

But tonight its stay away from the black flies!

Magnificent Minnesota

2010-07-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

I told Cindy and Joe that Minnesota may turn out to be my favorite state. Today was simply an over the top perfect day. At one point Joe said to me, "OK...smooth roads, wind at our back, astounding beauty, light traffic, what do we have to complain about?" And of course there was not one thing that I could come up with that wasn't just perfect. Sorta makes up for some of the days we had last week with the head-winds in North Dakota.

The high-point of the day was a quick ride through Itasca State Park. Joe planned the route for today and noticed that this park is the home to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, so we took an extra hour to take it in. The pictures you see include Lake Itasca which overflows into a bubbling little stream that will eventually become a mighty river. We couldn't help wonder how long it would take for this beautiful, clear water to be fouled by the BP Oil Spill at the other end of our nation. Will they ever get it stopped?

Received a care package today from my younger brother, Ron. Two new tires and a pair of water-proof shoes...maybe just in time. The rear tire on my bike was getting pretty smooth, but it has been replaced with a brand new one. Still no flats (wood knocking sound)!

Tonight we are in a wonderful campground on the south edge of Leach Lake. The town nearby is called Walker. Temps are mild, we had a wonderful dinner, and we are celebrating a beautiful 77 mile ride and the astounding scenery our Creator has somehow put together for us to enjoy, learn from and love.

Tomorrow promises new challenges. Rain predicted for much of the day, and the pesky head winds may be back. Will make the 70 miles over to Jacobson, MN a bit more difficult, but tonight the word is GRATITUDE!

Transitions

2010-07-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today we were welcomed into Minnesota and tonight we are camped at a Casino in the White Earth Indian Reservation. The Casino is huge and we are in the RV Camp that is very well equipped and located right behind the hotel. We were almost carried away by the mosquitos, but now we are safely seated inside the motor home for the evening. Every time we enter a new state, we we feel like some major transition has taken place. So the picture you see tonight is proof that we are now in our eighth state. First impressions of Minnesota are that it is "neat" and "tidy". Everything is mowed, painted, and clean. It frankly is a welcome change from some of the very poor towns we visited in Montana and North Dakota.

But today there is a bigger transition going on that has taken our numbers from four to three. Kathy Ossmann left us this morning to fly over to Michigan to be of service to her family. Her father is simply not able to live on his own any more, so the decision has been made to move him into an assisted care facility. These are very hard decisions for any family. Are we rushing into something? Will dad or mom be able to care for themselves for another few months? What if he falls and can't get to the phone? Are there other options that we should be exploring before moving him to a residential facility? These are all the questions that Kathy and her siblings have been struggling with, but now the decision has been made and Kathy knew that she needed to be in Paw Paw, Michigan to help with the transition. Our prayers are with Kathy and her family this evening.

Kathy and Cindy are our ground crew. They drive and manage the motor home. They search for and cook much of the food (and it has been outstanding). Now Cindy is on her own (except for our Golden Retriever, Ginger. So for the next week the ride that started with 8 is down to 3. But the Ride Against Hunger continues. Cindy did a new flyer that we've sent to both Stockton and Sacramento that reminds people that we are still on the road and that it is not too late to make a contribution. If you haven't yet contributed, please give as much as you can to either Catholic Charities in Stockton or the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership in Sacramento.

I just received a message from Elvira Ramirez, the Director of Catholic Charities, that St. Anthony of Padua elementary school donated $500 to the Ride Against Hunger. Wow...that is terrific. Can other parishes or schools match that?

New Technology...Map My Ride!!!

2010-07-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Today we are in Hillsboro, North Dakota where we have a day off to celebrate the Fourth of July. We send Independence Day Greetings to family and friends and say with honesty that we are missing you and missing the traditions of picnics, bike races, swimming, and fireworks in the park. Instead we are washing clothes, cleaning "house", and getting ready for another week of riding. None of that is unpleasant, it just isn't home.

Yesterday we rode 85 miles from Glenfield here to Hillsboro. The last 15 miles we ended up riding on a fairly rough gravel road that our ride selector gave us as a "short cut". It may have been shorter in distance, but it was not easier, I can assure you. But the point that I want to make today is that we are using, day after day, a wonderful new website called MAPMYRIDE.COM, that has enabled us to create a route across the nation. It is an incredible site that is free if you want to put up with constant pop-ups, or about 100 dollars per year if you want it to really work well for you. Of course, we are learning that we need to be careful of the "short cuts"!

The way it works is that we type in the name of the town that we are starting in and then simply click on the roads we want to go on until we find a place to stop that has a camping area. We can then print that out and it creates a map, a description of the elevations we will be experiencing and a ride sheet indicating where to turn left, right, etc. So each day we leave with a fresh map of where we are going for the day. We know how far up and how far down we will go, and where to turn so that we arrive at the right place that evening.

There is a company called Adventure Cycling out of Missoula, MT that has created maps to help cyclists travel across the U.S. Cindy and used their maps in 2001 and were deeply grateful for the hard work they had done to help us make our trek. But now with these newer technology tools, those maps are almost not needed. If you have a laptop computer, a printer, and wi-fi service, you can pretty much figure out your own route across the country.

The picture that I've included today shows us lined up in a rest stop in Yellowstone National Park (The day that the road was closed due to snow and ice). We found a place we could get on line, so we all got out out computers to respond to e-mails, read the news, and yes...figure out our routes for the next few days. The new technology available to help people like us is simply incredible...and we can stay pretty connected to all of you through new fangled blogs, I-phones, Black Berries, Droids, and the rest. We are glad. We like being connected to you...especially on the Fourth of July!

Wind and Poverty

2010-07-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger
Friday, July 2, 2010
Goodrich to Glenfield, ND…77 miles

Today was another day of fierce winds. We rode directly into the wind for the first few miles, then turned east and fought very stiff crosswinds the rest of the day. Both Joe and I feel beat up tonight after riding for the past several days struggling with the wind.

Most every rider I know would rather climb hills than ride into a wind. For some reason wind kills the spirit. It seems we are working as hard as we can, and still making very little progress. And in the meantime, we are becoming more and more tired.

As I rode today, I though about how riding into wind must be like living in poverty. I’ve known families that work so hard, and still can’t keep up. They may lose a job, or can’t pay the rent, or get cut off of a government program that paid for medicine for grandma. The car breaks down and needs a new generator that cannot be afforded so getting to work becomes an even more difficult chore. And then on top of it all, the baby gets sick and has no insurance. And now there is no money left for food, the most basic need of all.

Riding into a wind is nothing compared to this scenario. It is play vs. real life. But today I was tired and wanted to quit. After lunch I wanted to throw my bike on the motor home and say, “Take me to Glenfield; this is just too hard. Let me rest for a while.” But because we made this commitment to ride, we got back on and kept going.

And about ten miles from our stopping point, the beautiful Lutheran Church in the picture appears on the horizon. The sign says, Lutheran Community Center, and I could imagine this building being a sign of hope and help for families over the years in this North Dakota community.

And I thought about how Catholic Charities and the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership have become signs of hope for families riding against the economic winds of our times.

Send what ever you can to one of these organizations and put a not on the check that says, “to help a family riding against the wind.”

Surprises in North Dakota

2010-07-01T15:38:00.001-07:00

I was not looking forward to riding in North Dakota. I somehow had the view that North Dakota would look a bit like a moon scape with long, endless miles of nothingness. (My apologies to those of you from this state). There have been two major surprises about our ride here. One is that it in the northwest part of the state, drilling for oil has become what one person called a "Gold Rush". I had no idea that oil was such a hot commodity here. And it is doing wonders for the economy of North Dakota. We had heard that the state had not been much affected by the down economy in other parts of the nation. Now we know why. Frankly, the same was true in far eastern Montana. When we pull into a RV Park, it is full of workers who have come from West Texas and other parts of the nation to work on the oil rigs. Who knew?

The other surprise has been the astounding beauty of the state. I'm not sure if it is a product of much spring rain, or if it is always like this, but North Dakota has just been astonishingly beautiful. Today we rode by lake after lake, saw a flock of Pelicans soaring over us, and have seen golden, yellow canola (not safflower as I indicated yesterday), and blue flax fields. By the way, for you flax lovers, we are in the flax capitol of the United States right now. I'm learning a lot about flax that I will pass along in a later blog.

I will try to download two pictures. One of an oil rig with cattle in the background...a picture of the old and new in North Dakota. The other is of the Canola fields taken today.

By the way we had a wonderful 80 mile ride from Stanton to Goodrich, ND. The wind was our friend today and we were "in camp' by 2 p.m. Pretty fast for a couple old dudes...even with the wind.

A Jewel Found in the Head Winds

2010-06-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

We have been incredibly blessed by the prevailing winds on this trip. Day after day, we've had the winds to our back, and have taken credit for very fast finishes, as if our legs of steal were carrying us along. Yesterday and today, mother nature humbled us with winds moving in the opposite direction...and not just little winds...heavy winds right in our faces. Yesterday for me was the hardest day of the trip...63 miles of heavy (oil rig trucks) traffic, bad roads and wind blowing right at us. By the end of the day we were both so fatigued and actually ended the ride 20 miles earlier than we had planned. We simply could not go any further.

But during our ride yesterday morning, I found a jewell in the wind. Her name is Ayako Ishizuka, a 72 year old cyclist from New York, New York. She was part of a group of maybe 15 riders who had started in St. Louis and were following the Lewis and Clark Trail to Oregon. They were with an organization called Historical Trails. I tracked down Ayako after the organizer of the ride told us about her. I stopped her in the middle of the road and ask if I could take her picture. I also asked her why she was doing the ride, and she said, "Because if gives meaning to my life."

I thought a lot about what she said as we pounded on against the wind. I wasn't sure if this was adding meaning to my life or taking away years. But bicycle travel is certainly a different and wonderful way to see the country. Today we rode by some of the most beautiful yellow fields--maybe safflower--(actually not sure), but what I am sure of is that they were incredibly beautiful. And then after fighting with very difficult cross-winds most of the day, we finally ride into Stanton, North Dakota and find a camping ground next to the Knife River. Joe and I got here before the RV and so we took off our shirts and shoes and jumped in the river, swam to the other side and back, and said something like, "It doesn't get any better than this!"

Ginger's View of the Ride Against Hunger

2010-06-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Cindy wrote a blog about her view of the ride the other day. Now she's crafted one for our Golden Retriever, Ginger. I think she
captured it pretty close. Enjoy:

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Watford to Kill Deer, North Dakota
64 miles

Ginger says...

Life is pretty confusing for me right now. I’m living in this big white box that roars, wobbles and rattles when it moves and scares me to death. My humans are with me, but Rich, the tall one, gets up early and disappears on a bicycle every morning. My Cindy drives after him and catches him about noon. Then we eat. (I like this part because they always give me their apple cores.) When the food is gone, so is the tall guy. I try to keep my Cindy from getting back in the truck, but she always wins.

I have two other humans to take care of. They do the same crazy things. They pet me sometimes and don’t yell when I sit on the soft chairs in the front of the box. They also share their apples with me, so I keep them.

At night we pull into big grassy fields with lots of other white boxes and sleep. I’ve been sampling the grass at each stop. So far the Montana grass is the best. Every day new people give me a pat and tell me I’m a great dog. I hope my humans are getting the message.

I don’t know where we’re going or why, but I’m kinda liking this life. My Rich talks a lot about how some people are hungry and what other humans can do to help. Maybe he’s looking for a solution when he rides off every morning. Hope he finds it.

Finally, a Flat Tire! (Cindy says this one is for bike geeks)

2010-06-28T18:19:00.005-07:00

When Cindy and I rode across country ten years ago on a tandem, we had flat tires almost daily. We replaced both tires several times and got very good at patching tubes and pumping up tires along the way. But it was not fun.

This trip has been the opposite. (Yes, hear the loud knocking on wood once again), Joe and I have not, until today, had a flat tire.That means we have ridden a total of almost 3800 miles and have had one flat tire. That seems almost impossible to me, and I have yet to have a flat. For those of you who have an interest in things bicycle, I have been riding on Schwalbe Marathon tires.The rear tire is getting pretty worn at this point so I've ordered a new set of them and had them sent to a post office down the road aways so I install them on my bike.

You may have read a few days ago on my blog that I am riding the oldest Trek 520 made from the year 1983. My riding buddy, Joe Ossmann, is riding a brand new Trek 520. While almost everything has changed about the 520's between 1983 and 2010, the 520 is still the bike to buy if you want to do cross-country touring. His bike is as steady as any bike I've ever seen. It is built to carry heavy loads and deliver them safely at the other end of the country. The bike comes with the Bontrager touring tires that have seemed not to wear at all over these first 1800 miles, until today.

Despite the flat, we are now in a beautiful little town called Watford City, North Dakota. We are in the Central time zone, but because of a really zig-zag time zone line, we will be back in Mountain Time tomorrow night. Joe and I will leave extra early tomorrow morning because we have an 85 mile day and they are predicting heavy head-winds in the afternoon. We'll try to get in as many miles as we can before the big winds start.

Hope you all are doing well. We miss you and look forward to our return to the Sacramento/Stockton community.

Cindy's View of the Ride Against Hunger

2010-06-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

The ride from a different view.
Sidney, Montana
Sunday, June 27, 2010

Rich asked me to add a few words to his blog about what it’s like to be part of the support team for the Ride Against Hunger. One word. BUSY!

Kathy and I somehow imagined that the trip would be 10 weeks of simple time. Send the riders off in the early AM, meet them in the afternoon at the new campsite and have all the time we wanted in between to explore, do side trips, hike and whatever else occurred to us. Wrong.

I won’t bore you with the details of our set up and take down routine, gas stops, groceries, cooking enough calories for these guys, etc. Just take my word for it, we don’t sit much.

The best thing is that this ride is teaching me more about living in the moment than I ever knew was possible. Not a day at a time, but a mile at at time. And at about 11:30 am, to spot those two small bright green dots on the road ahead and know that we’ve found our riders and they are okay, that’s real joy.

So herding a 25 ft motor home down the road may not be glamorous, but we’re having a blast. Tomorrow North Dakota and the half-way point of this trek. How did it happen so fast?!

Flat Lands are a Coming

2010-06-27T05:15:00.000-07:00

It is early Sunday morning, June 26, and we are in Sidney, MT. It is the last town in Montana, and for us, the end of the West and the beginning of the Midwest. Either today or tomorrow (we haven't quite decided yet), we will ride across the Yellowstone River and be in North Dakota. We have travelled almost 1800 miles and are nearing the half-way mark of our ride across the U.S.

The big transition for us has been a changing terrain. Coming over the Sierra, through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and then early Montana, we were constantly in mountains. Even since we left Red Lodge, and travelled across Eastern Montana, we have been going up and down almost all the time. Yesterday we noticed longer flat areas...like we were finally entering the Great Plains. So, now we deal with a new reality...and not always an easy one. When one is riding up and down hills, you ride real hard for a mile or two to get to the top, then you rest while you speed down the other side.

In flat lands, there are no such breaks.The big challenge is non-stop pedaling, sometimes against heavy winds. When Cindy and I came across Kansas on our first cross-country ride, a farmer came up to us and asked if we had gotten acquainted with hills of Kansas. At first we had no idea what he was talking about...and then we realized that he was talking about the wind. Wind frankly is much worse than hills. Hills you can get over. When I am riding into the wind, it absolutely kills my spirit. I am working very hard and making very little progress. We have been extremely blessed with favorable winds across Montana. We pray that those trends continue.

So, today we cross into our seventh state and we will soon be in the Central time zone. More importantly, we are on the long flat highways across North Dakota. We will celebrate the fourth of July in Cooperstown on the other end of North Dakota, and then be ready for still another transition into "Minnesota and Lake Country."

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

Some Hunger Realities

2010-06-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Jerry learned of my Ride Against Hunger and brought me a book that he had helped publish back in the 80s. The title and subject of the whole book is ENDING HUNGER. The theme is that we have enough food and know-how to end hunger today...and the book the outlines exactly how it could be done.

Of course it is now 25 years later, and we know that hunger has not ended...and in fact may be worse than it was in the 80's.

I know the statistics in the book may be dated, but read these words very carefully:

"Imagine our concern--and the attention of the world's media--were an earthquake to strike San Francisco, killing 35,000 people in a single day. Imagine our concern were a virus to descend on London, killing 18 children a minute without stop, week after week. Imagine our concern were nuclear weapons to explode in the capitals of the world's major industrial countries, killing 13 million people and maiming and injuring a billion more in the surrounding countryside."

"These are precisely the figures of human devastation resulting from hunger: 1 billion of us chronically undernourished; 13-18 million of us dead a year; 35,000 of us a day; 24 of us (18 of whom are children) a minute. Yet because we view hunger in the background of life, this terrible toll does not enter our headlines, nor, for the most of us, our concerns."

The bicycle ride that I am doing from San Francisco to Portland, Maine is about ending hunger--in Stockton, In Sacramento, in California, in the United States, and in the world. Don't just read this blog and think about us out on the bikes. Read this blog and consider what you can do to help stop hunger at home and abroad. What is missing in this Ending Hunger idea is the will to do so. You and I can help with that.

Had a lot of time to think today. Lots and lots of open roads with very little traffic. I'm absolutely loving this trip. The riding is magnificent and fun and exhilarating. But unless it raises substantial funds for hunger alleviation, it will be a real disappointment. Do what you can...give what you can...to the program feeding the hungry closest to you.

Support from home

2010-06-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Today we arrived in Jordan, MT. The ride over from Winnett was pretty uneventful...one little tiny community Sand Springs, that consisted of a post office and a general store that was none to general.The woman who ran the place was even older than me and said she had been there since 1956. She had us register in her guest book as bikers across Montana. The picture at the top of the blog shows some cattle moving away from the weird riders...And that was sort of the high point...until we arrived in Jordan. I would imagine the population of this town is 150, but we saw three riders from Ireland on their way to Rhode Island. Hope we run into them again.

But the really big deal is that when I turned on my computer, there were messages from a whole bunch of you saying something like "keep going old man, you're doing great!" These messages mean a lot. Sometimes we are out here and are wondering if anyone is "with us". Your messages show us that you are...so thank you.

There was one message I will share in its entirety. It absolutely captured the essence of the day and ride. A friend of ours, Dena McKitrick, composes a poem each day to send with her husband to work. He sends them on to me and others. Today, her "daily napkin" was written about our ride. Here it is:

Cycling across the country
the breezes brush my face

My feet and the pedals are one
man and machine melding with countryside

Diligence and dedication
strengthen up the hill

Freedom and exhilaration
melt resolves tension
gliding down the other side

Ah! I could go miles and miles

(Special note: today's napkin is in honor of Rich Fowler, who is pedaling across the country to raise
money and awareness for a good cause. Ride on Rich!)

The Ossmanns--Our Riding Companions

2010-06-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger
Riding Day 24...from Roundup to Winnett, MT

Today we rode about 50 miles into eastern Montana. We were in Winnett before 10:30 a.m. and had the rest of the day to let Joe's knee completely heal. He was much better today and we're thinking that he is as good as new (almost).

I wanted to tell you just a bit about the Ossmanns. Joe is my riding buddy. He is retired from the California State Department of Corrections, but has has a long commitment to making corrections about healing rather than punishment. From my point of view, he's just a kid...around age 62 or so. What I so appreciate about Joe is that he is a walking encyclopedia about everything wildlife. He knows flowers, trees, birds and animals. I tend to become oblivious to what is around me but Joe helps me me be aware of what we are seeing. Today we saw a huge hawk sitting on top of an electric pole. When he took off flying, he was carrying a four foot long snake with him. You don't see that very often in Sacramento. Joe and I are pretty evenly matched on our bikes. Some days he's stronger than me and carries me up the hills...other days I am the stronger rider. But the truth is, we enjoy riding together. We don't talk a lot (I like that), but we say what is necessary to keep ourselves going.

Joe has a blog of his own that you might want to check out. It is at www.joesbikeblog.blogspot.com.You will get another view of what we are doing each day.

Kathy Ossmann has played a crucial role on this trip. She is our camp-site selector and organizer. She has figured out where we will camp or lodge every night of our trip, and will continue to do that until we hit Portland, Maine. Finding RV sites in towns with populations of 150 is not always easy. Last night we were across the river from the fair grounds in Roundup. I am extremely grateful to Kathy for her efforts to find places to stay.

Kathy is also on a quest to find, buy and fix locally produced foods for us as we move across the nation. She has a blog on which she shares what she has found each day. I can attest to the fact that it is good food. Her blog site is:
www.kathystravelfeast.blogspot.com. I hope you will check it out.

Joe and Kathy are both excellent musicians. They have been participating in the Sacramento Master Singers for 18 years. In fact the director of the Master Singers met them for lunch near Jackson, Wyoming. It was an emotional meeting because Joe and Kathy are in the process of moving from Sacramento to Paw Paw, Michigan soon after their return to California and they will no longer be a part of the choir. They are also very active in the Sacramento Friends Community and it is there that Cindy met these fine people.

The motor home in which we now live for the ten weeks belongs to them. They have shared it graciously with us and we are learning to live together quite well in this 25 foot, two bedroom, one bath, home on wheels. Joe and Kathy have been acquaintances for some time, but this trip will either cement or destroy a great friendship. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to get to know them better.

Dog Gone!!!

2010-06-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last night at our campsite we saw more than the average number of dogs. We were camping at the KOA in Billings, Montana, (the very first KOA in the country and still the corporate headquarters) and the place was just swarming with dogs. Not muts...dogs! Pretty dogs. Yappy dogs. Huge, Marmaduke type dogs, Golden Retreivers like Ginger. The most glaring hint was the huge motor home nearby with a license place reading, PETSHOP.

It finally occurred to someone in our group that there must be a dog show nearby. We talked to some of the dog owners and learned that there WAS to be a dog show, but that the Sunday evening tornado had totally obliterated the venue. So here were all these dog owners, with their dogs, waiting to find out whether event organizers could come up with a new location and if the "show would go on." I took some pictures of some of the dogs next door to add to the blog for the day.

As we rode out of Billings today, we saw first hand the devastation left by the storm. It was much worse than we had imagined. Numbers of stores and facilities were just torn apart. And it was much closer than we thought. Sunday afternoon when the storm came through the women sat in the women's bathroom, and we in the men's at the KOA for nearly an hour while winds and rain came by. Little did we know that a really devastating storm was so nearby. The headline in the Billings, Gazette on Monday morning was, "Total Disaster". I think they were referring to their arena (where the dog show was to be).

Today we rode from Billings to Roundup, Montana. As you might imagine, Roundup got its name from being the place where all the cowboys brought their cattle before they were driven down to Billings. Driven as in Cattle Drive...not driven as in big trucks. I read a little history, and the invention of barbwire and some possessive land-owners killed the Roundup aspect of the town about 150 years ago, but it is still a real western town. Bars names? The Tumbleweed and The Branding Iron.

Tomorrow we continue our trek across Montana and head up to another western town called Winnett. We were going to ride there today, but decided to stop in Roundup for a bit of a rest. Joe was having some painful twinges above one of his knees and we figured that rest was more important than miles for today.

Cindy has agreed to write a blog soon about what it is like to be the support staff for our ride. So stay tuned. She is a much better writer than I am.

The Good Old TREK 520

2010-06-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a zero day (although Cindy and I did put in about 15 miles riding around Billings looking for tornado damage--yes, for the first time in 50 years they had a tornado here in Billings).

We rested today. We arrived in Billings around noon yesterday (Sunday) and took some time to clean and adjust the machine that has now carried me almost 1500 miles. I said in my last Blog entry that I have grown quite fond of the old TREK 520 that has not even had a flat tire yet. (Hear loud knocking on wood, please!).

The history, as close as I can find it on the web is that in 1976, the 200th anniversary of our nation, a whole bunch of crazy people decided to ride their bikes across the U.S. It was called Bike Centennial and in fact an organization now called Adventure Cycling was hatched as a result of this new interest. The bikes people were riding at that point were simply not made for the kind of cross county, loaded touring that people were doing. So TREK, a relatively new company in Wisconsin, decided to build a bike make for these kinds of trips.

In 1983 the bike I am riding first showed up in the TREK catalogue. It cost about 500 dollars (a lot in those days), but had a number of attributes that made it long-mile road worthy. For one thing they lengthened the frame so that the riders heals would not be hitting the saddle bags (panniers). They strengthened the frame. It is heavier than its faster, racier brothers and sisters, but it must be stronger to carry the loads. It was given stronger wheels and more and easier gears so the rider could go up 37 mile mountain climbs like we did on Saturday.

So that brings me to my TREK 520. It was made in 1983, one of the first ever built. The other day as we were waiting for the icy road to open, we saw a rider who got all excited about my bike because he had one just like it (at home since he was riding his "newer" bike). I bought this bike about six months ago on e-Bay from a guy in Florida for 200 dollars...and then completely rebuilt most of the parts. It has different handle bars (wider), seat (a wonderful old fashioned leather Brooks saddle), wheels, tires, etc. etc. I have it dialed in really well for me...it simply fits wonderfully. Most of my body does not hurt at all while I am riding, including my rear end. I have continuing issues with lower back pain, but that was happening long before this bike ride started.

It is not pretty. But it works like a dream, and I love getting on it every morning for the days TREK. Tomorrow we will go almost 100 miles from Billings to Winnett, Montana. Look out North Dakota, here we come!

WE MADE IT!!!

2010-06-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today we rode over Bear Tooth Pass. Just a foot or so under 11,000 feet. We started in Cooke City, Montana, dropped back down into Wyoming for a ways, then rode 37 miles UP to the pass, some of which was 6-8% grades. If it sounds like I'm bragging a bit, I probably am. None of us can quite believe we did it. But tonight we are safe and sound in our RV a few miles outside of Red Lodge, MT. And yes, it is raining again, but we didn't ride in rain today.

At one point in the ride I looked up and could see the switch-backs up as far as I could see. I decided that it was not a good idea to look up. It was simply overwhelming. How could I possible make it up this damnable hill. But then I looked down and the pavement was moving below me, and the scenery to the side continued to astound me. (See the picture). From that point on I would pick a spot, maybe 50 yards away, and say to myself...I can make it to that spot...and then I would be there, and pick another spot.

One day at a time...One foot at a time...we live our lives in the present only...in very small increments. If we try to take on the whole thing, all at once, we are often simply overwhelmed. I made it up the hill one pedal stroke at a time. It was a good reminder of how to live the rest of my life.

The 37 miles up were followed by about 35 miles down the other side. Fast, steep, cold, with switchbacks all the way to the bottom. Scary, fund fast and exciting. Glad to get down safely...and into camp for another night of rest.

Tomorrow we ride about 60 miles up to Billings. We are out of the mountains and into the plains. It will be warmer (we hope) and certainly flatter. Monday we take a day off to rest and take care of some personal matters (like getting a hair cut and getting some work done on my bike.

Tomorrow I want to write about my bike. We've developed quite and affection for one another, and it is time you got to know old 520 better.

Another Angel...Bob Johnston

2010-06-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger
Friday, June 18, 2010
Canyon Village, Yellowstone to Cooke City Montana—50 miles.

A Day of Contrasts and Another Angel

What a day this has been. The picture included in yesterday's blog shows that we woke up to a thin blanket of snow and very cold weather in Canyon Village, Wyoming, right in the middle of Yellowstone National Park. We cleaned off the snow and started our ride at 7 a.m. as we always do, but my riding partner Joe took a serious slide on the ice (and fall) before we even left the campground. We slowed down immediately and became aware that there was black ice everywhere.

After a quick cup of coffee at the visitor center we started up the trail only to find that the road was closed due to ice and snow. The prediction was that the road would not open until noon. It didn’t. We all sat around in the cafeteria with our lap-tops trying to get a signal strong enough to receive and send e-mails and do our blogs. That worked…kinda.

After eating our lunch in the cafeteria we started up the trail. Now blue skies were overhead and it was warming up. We started up immediately and rode up Dunraven Pass. The beauty of that ride is simply indescribable. I am adding a picture to the blog of this ride, but it pales in comparison to the reality. The ten-mile ride down the other side was exhilarating and beautiful. By then it had warmed up enough that we took off some of our heavy clothes for the first time in days…and enjoyed immensely the other 30 miles of our trip.

We were then welcomed into the home of still another angel, Bob Johnston, who had fixed a big pot of pasta with vegetables, salad and wonderful desert. His home is so welcoming and so warm and has the most astounding view across a valley and into the face of Mount Republic. Bob lives in Davis part of the year and is very good friends with our good friends, the Costello family of Davis. We were privileged to get to know him better and be in his home for an evening.

So here we are, now in our sixth state—Montana, and we can hardly believe we’ve come this far. Tomorrow we will climb to the highest point in our trip, over 11,000 feet in elevation over Beartooth Pass, and then down into Red Lodge, Montana. The ride will include twenty miles of relatively steep up-hill riding, and then over 30 miles of down. We look forward to that second half of the ride.

Snowed Out!!!

2010-06-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

OK...right now we are sitting in the cafeteria at Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park. We all have our computers out doing a little work while we "cool our heels" waiting for the road to open on up to Cooke City, Montana. We had snow last night, enough that the ground was covered when we got up. Evidently on north of here they had more snow and the roads are icy. The rangers say we may be able to be on the road by noon. More adventure.

In the meantime, I will post the blog from the day before yesterday...which I titled BEATY AND THE BEAST because is was a beautiful ride in the morning, but turned very nasty by the end of the day...including quite a hail storm.

We haven't had any phone or wifi services for the past couple days, but were able to find a network (called Moose) that seems to work here in the cafeteria. So here goes...

For reasons that are not clear, I have not been able to upload the pictures...so will do that later.

Word is the highway north will open in an hour, so maybe we will make it on up to Cooke City later in the day.

June 16, 2010

Jackson Hole to Lewis Lake
67 miles.

Beauty and the Beast

Today was a day of huge contrasts. We started out at 7 a.m. this morning in partly cloudy (partly sunny) mild conditions and rode north toward Yellowstone National Park. We took one last pass by the Grand Tetons and they were even more beautiful than ever. There were clouds above and below the peaks, but the sun was shining brightly on the peaks themselves. I have included a couple of pictures. They were just astonishingly beautiful.

We then rode on north and went by Jackson Lake where we experienced even more fabulous views of the Tetons, coated with a fresh batch of snow over night. We finally pulled ourselves away and started a lengthy climb toward our evening destination, Lewis Lake. About ten miles from “home”, we noticed very threatening clouds forming above us. We stopped to add rain gear, and before we could even get our jackets fastened it was raining hard and beginning to hail. This time it was not little hailstones…or just a few…it was serious HAIL.

We ran across the road where there was a stone wall and backed up against it to protect ourselves. I found a small rock overhang where I curled up and at least had my head protected. It hailed for several minutes to the point that my jacket and pants were fairly covered with hail stones. Fortunately Cindy and Kathy saw the danger coming and came back up the hill with the motor home. They found us hiding under rocks. But by then the storm was passing and we got back on our bikes and road the rest of the way to Lewis Lake.

We did have one “ride” today. In Yellowstone National Park, they were doing road work and we were told we could not ride through it. We hitched a ride in the back of a pick-up driven by a cowboy/rancher from Utah. He was still another in a long line of “angels” who have helped us along the way. We got a lift DOWN a wonderful hill that we were looking forward to riding. Oh well…. The title of this blog could have been, “Utah Cowboy picks up two guys with spandex pants!” , but the bad weather at the end of the day took precedence.

Tomorrow the ride is short…about 50 miles on up to Canyon Village. But we have been told there will be snow during the night and it will be cold in the morning. Is anyone out there warm these days? It feels like we’ve moved back into February.

We have no service of any kind tonight so this blog will have to be added tomorrow, Thursday, June 17th. Hope you are all well and WARM!

A Day Off in Jackson

2010-06-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today we took a day off to enjoy the beauty of Jackson, Wyoming and the Grand Teton National Park. Since it is late, I will not write a lot, but I would like to share some pictures we took of the day and area.

I will also say that after a beautiful day today, it turned really cold and wet again tonight and there are predictions of more rain, hail, and possible snow tomorrow. Whatever...we will ride at 7 a.m. from Jackson to Lewis Lake, about 70 miles.

Nah...there's nothing to this global climate change stuff.

Here are some shots.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

2010-06-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight we are smack dab in the middle of one of our most favorite places in the whole world...Jackson, Wyoming. In 2001 Cindy and I rode across the U.S. together on a tandem bike. When we got here, we didn't want to leave. The Grand Teton Mountains are in fact grand, gigantic and beautiful. I am in no way a geologist, but I did pick up a book that described how this area was formed. Evidently, there were huge earth plates running up against each other with enormous force. Finally one of the plates slipped up over the other one and was then pushed up in the air making the huge mountains. The other plate then dropped several hundred feet...and created a hole...now Jackson Hole.

We even rented a car so we can once again drive around to see the moose, elk range, Jenny Lake and other lovely spots around Jackson Hole. We will take the day off tomorrow to have some work done on the motor home while we are enjoying the area.

Today's 70 mile ride from Afton to Jackson, Wyoming was surely one of the ten most beautiful I have ever been on. To enter Jackson, we rode up the Snake River Canyon for nearly 40 miles. The views were just incredible. The picture included in the blog today is of the Snake River taken from the road above. I hope to carry the images from today in my head forever.

So tomorrow we have a day off. I will do some bike cleaning and repair, but mostly be enjoying the incredible beauty of the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole Wyoming. We miss you all and hope you are doing well.

Oh yes, one more thing. the sun shined today...and it did not rain!!!

Three States (in one day)

2010-06-13T19:32:00.001-07:00

After taking a rainy day off yesterday, we were back on the road today...and we rode through three states today. We started in Garden City, Utah, this morning with rain and threatening skies. Frankly, we dressed in all the geeky wear we could find just to stay warm and dry.

We rode just a few miles up the coast of Bear lake when we saw the Welcome to Idaho sign. I took a picture of Chuck and Joe to show a bit of the classy rain wear we had on today. Then we were in Idaho for about twenty miles when we saw the Welcome to Wyoming sign. So now we are well over 1100 miles and in our fifth state.

Tonight we are in the delightful town of Afton, Wyoming. It has rained much more than usual here, so the mountains are a deep green and amazingly beautiful. We came by fields of dandelions that were simply incredible.

Tomorrow we ride into Jackson, Wyoming where we will take another day off to enjoy The Grand Tetons National Park...and then move on to Yellowstone. Stay with us...we'll soon by in Maine!

My apologies...I cannot get the pictures to download tonight...will try again tomorrow...stay tuned.

Angels Unaware

2010-06-12T14:45:00.001-07:00

Today, meet Ben. He's my latest "angel". Here's the deal. Yesterday at the end of the day our bikes were an absolute disaster. Grit and grime from a day of riding in the rain covered every part of our bicycles. In fact the grit on the rims works like sandpaper against the brakes shoes and ours were worn down to almost nothing.

Because the weather was continuing to be very cold and rainy, we decided to make this a zero day and rest our weary bodies. What I didn't know is how we would get our bikes ready to ride again. Here's where our newest angel comes in. I noticed this morning that the KOA that we are in rents bikes. I asked at the front desk this morning if they might have some brake pads I could buy to put on my bike. She wasn't sure, but told me that Ben ran the shop and that he was there right then. I stopped by Ben's shop on the way back to the motor home. He could not have been more friendly.

"Come on back, put your bike up on the stand, clean it up, do whatever you need to do...you can use my tools, etc. etc." I couldn't believe it. What's more, his shop was heated. I was back in 15 minutes and spent the rest of the morning cleaning, adjusting, and replacing worn parts. Joe showed up a few minutes later and used the second stand to clean and adjust his bike. We both left feeling like we were much better prepared to continue the Ride Against Hunger on Sunday.

We simply could not be doing this ride without these "angels" that keep showing up to provide exactly what we need with grace and kindness. And that's what Catholic Charities and the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership tries to do for families needing food...to be an angel for someone in need. You can be an angel for one of these two organizations...it's called "angel work."

Dan and Rich--A Contrast in Cousins!

2010-06-11T19:51:00.001-07:00

The blog rushed off without the pictures. As you must know, I'm not great at this blogging stuff.

Saint Dan

2010-06-11T19:40:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, I said a bit about re-connecting with family that I had not seen or in some cases barely knew. Dan Minert is my cousin, 45 years old living here in the Salt Lake City vicinity. He is a REAL Cyclist and agreed to escort us through his City and on to our present stop, Garden City, Utah. Garden City sits right at the edge of gorgeous Bear Lake. You can see Dan at the top of this post. That drowned rat looking guy next to him is me.

I simply want to say that without him, we would probably still be at the Salt Lake Airport. He provided direction, support, encouragement, and many stories about his life, the lives of his family members, and the Mormon Church of which he is a committed member. It was a pleasure for us to have an opportunity to ride with him and we are so grateful for his willingness to take two precious days, and see us through a huge and complex metropolitan area.

The other picture tells the whole story of our biking experience today. We rode almost 70 miles today most of which were up he mountain. After lunch it started raining, and kept raining until it turned to snow at the top of the Pass. When we arrived at the top rather than a "summit" sign, it had a sign signaling that we were about to cross over into RICH COUNTY. I cannot tell you how cold I was right then. When I tried to smile, my face wouldn't work...sometimes this ride is just plain painful. When we rode down the other side of the mountain we were riding into what seemed like driving rain. The rain on the face felt like little icy razor blades. At one point I had to stop to give my face a break. The ride wasn't really that hard, but the weather made it miserable. Are we having fun yet?

2010-06-11T19:40:00.001-07:00

Family!

2010-06-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today was a time of reconnection with a beloved Uncle Roy, my mom's younger brother, his wife Jean, and their sixth son, Dan. Uncle Roy and Aunt Jean are in the picture above. I have been terrible concerned about how we would navigate our way through Salt Lake City and then remembered that I have an Aunt, uncle and cousins who live here, and maybe they would help us. What I didn't know is that Dan is an avid cyclist and is very familiar with the entire Northern Utah cycling scene. Tomorrow I will share a picture of Saint Dan!

Dan and I have been talking back and forth for several weeks. I only met him one other time in his life--about 22 years ago when he got married in Washington, DC. But this morning he gave us directions to ride north out of our Draper, UT campground. He said he would meet us about ten miles up...and he did just as he said he would do. Avid cyclist does not do justice to Dan. He has raced, been sponsored on a cycling team, and had a bike that weighed about 1/3 of what ours does.

It was wonderful to see him, and he escourted us up through Salt Lake City, past the Catholic Cathedral, onto the Mormon Temple Plaza, and then out of town to the West. We rode for most of the rest of the day on the banks of the Great Salt Lake (even though we could not see it, we knew it was there). Dan was committed to keeping us out of crazy, nerve racking, traffic. We were so grateful...until...

Around 3:30 it became obvious that it was going to rain. We stopped and put on our rain coats and then rode into the strongest headwind you can imagine. At one point we were riding very slowly up a long hill, and it started to hail. Yes...little ice balls started bouncing off of our helmets. So we ran across highway we were on and found shelter under an overhang on an abandoned building. We hid out there until the storm passed, and then rode on into camp. By the end of the day, I had 90 miles on my odometer and was very grateful to be "home" for the night.

About that time, Dan's parents, Roy and Jean Minert showed up. I hadn't seen them for years. We visited for a while and then went to dinner together at Maddox, "the best restaurant in Northern Utah." And it was! It was so good to reconnect with my family. Dan was a saint today and led us through the anxiety and difficulty of riding through traffic in a "foreign" city. And what's really cool is that he will also ride with us up to Bear Lake tomorrow. Seventy five miles of up-hill riding tomorrow. Anyone want to go for a ride?

Riding Buddies

2010-06-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

It is not possible to over estimate the importance of having company on the Ride Against Hunger. The two guys are Joe Ossmann on the left and Chuck Boehme on the right. We've all ridden every mile together since starting at the Great Highway in San Francisco. That does not mean that we are always "right together". But it does mean we watch out for one another and make sure that bikes and bodies are all together as we move along.

When the wind is in our face we do a mini-pace-line. A pace line is when a whole bunch of riders line up behind one another, ride fairly close together, and get the benefit of someone breaking the wind in front of you. The three of us do that in one-mile stints. Joe rides for a mile in the front, and then fades off to the left, and Chuck comes to the front, and leads for a mile. Then I take my turn. It is incredibly helpful. Fighting the wind by yourself for mile after mile can become very demoralizing. But having one hard mile, and then two easier ones makes the whole riding experience much more doable.

It is like that in all of life, right? When facing head-winds or when facing difficult issues, sometimes we simply need someone to walk in front of us or to provide some support. And that frankly is why Emergency Food Banks are so crucial. There are so many people facing fierce winds: unemployment, loss of homes, illnesses without access to health care. A few day supply of food to keep the family going can be a huge relief for families in crisis. Please, as you experience someone "breaking wind" for you, find a way to do the same for individuals and families needing something as simple as food.

Fund Raising

2010-06-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Riding Day 12

Delta to Eureka, Utah--55 miles

June 8, 2010

I've had some questions about why this is called the "Ride Against Hunger" and how you could contribute if you so cared to.

First, just a word about why I wanted to do this Ride Against Hunger. When I worked for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Stockton, we established an emergency food program for families needing a boost when other resources were depleted. What I saw every Monday morning was a line from our door around the building with families (with children) waiting to register for a box of food. These same families would return on Friday to receive enough groceries to last for three or four days.

I saw the face of hunger in the Central Valley of California, and it was not pretty. Hunger, it seemed to me, was not the problem. Poverty was the problem...hunger the most glaring symptom. But in the Central Valley of California, where more than 25% of the food for the whole United States is grown, we surely should to be able to find a way to feed its own people.

I developed a passion for making sure that people had enough food on their tables. Tim Viall and I helped to start the Hunger Task Force of San Joaquin that worked to find solutions to hunger in our county. We made progress, but not nearly enough. Too many people still suffer every day from hunger and food insecurity.

Biking is another passion of mine. I love everything about bikes...working on them...teaching people how to ride...and traveling on them. In 2001 my wife Cindy and I rode from Washington, DC to Florence, Oregon on our tandem. It was the ride of a life-time. Now, I'm on my second ride of a life time. And my daily prayer is that it will be the impetus for lots of people to make a donation to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton OR, if you live in Sacramento, to the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership (Food Locker). Here's where you can send your donations:

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton

1106 N. El Dorado Street

Stockton, CA 95202

Please include on your check (Ride Against Hunger)

SSIP Building Fund

c/o Bethany Presbyterian Church

5625 24th Street

Sacramento, CA 95822

The food locker works out of a tiny space at the Bethany Presbyterian Church and is raising funds to build a building on the same site. Every sent of your contribution will be used for the building fund.

By the way, we had a beautiful ride today from Delta, Utah up to Eureka, Utah. We are staying in a bed and breakfast located at the top of the highest mountain in town, and while it was really hard to get here...it is beautiful. And it is great to have a room of our own for a night.

Hope you are all well.

MILESTONES

2010-06-07T19:02:00.001-07:00

Ride Against Hunger. 6/7/10

Baker, NV. to Delta, Utah (Riding Day 11)

95 miles

Tonight we are in Delta, Utah, after a very long day of riding. At one point during the ride we saw a sign saying, "Next Services, 83 miles"! That says it all about today. Not only was it a very long ride, it was absolutely devoid of any services. Thank God for our support team. They met us at mile 60 for lunch and water refills so we could ride the rest of the way in to town.

But the day was not without its significance. We passed two milestones. First, we entered into the third state of our trip. The picture attached shows us next to the "Welcome to Utah" sign. Joe Ossmann is in the middle and Chuck Boehme is on the right. I'm the other guy.

The other milestone we passed today was from Pacific Time to Mountain Time. Now when we call home we have to factor in that we are an hour earlier than the rest of our friends and neighbors in California...and an hour closer to our midwest and east coast family. May not seem like much to you all, but to us, pedaling every mile of it, it seems like a pretty big deal. As of today we've travelled 761 miles. Tomorrow we turn north and will ride up to Eureka, Utah where we will stay in a bed and breakfast. We are looking forward to less miles (56), and a new experience tomorrow night.

Hope you are all well...thanks for checking in our ride. It means a lot to us that you are following our ride.

Resting on Zero Day

2010-06-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Forgot to ad the picture of the sleeping biker. Here it is.

By the way, zero days are days with no miles on the bike!

Zero Day

2010-06-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

After riding 660 miles over the first ten days of the Ride Against Hunger, we took a day off today in Baker, NV. The population of Baker must be less than 200, but it is located less than 20 miles from the Great Basin National Park. We had a wonderful day of rest. We worshiped together at 8 a.m., then cleaned the motor home from top to bottom (it needed it), and then went up the mountain to the national park.

There we read books, slept (see picture), bird-watched, had our lunch, painted a couple pictures (Kathy), slept some more. The temperature in Baker was around 95, but where we were more like 80. Days just don't get any better than this.

When we got back to the RV Park we found a local pub offering ribs, chicken and other goodies to the "outsiders". We could not resist going up and mixing with the people of Baker. What a great way to end the day. As soon as this blog is finished, we will go to bed to get ready for the trek over to Delta, UT. We will enter our third state, cross over into Mountain Time, and ride 98 miles by the end of the day. And it is suppose to be hot. Yikes!!!

Number One Supporter

2010-06-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I showed a picture of Cindy and Kathy who are working very hard every day to make this ride possible. It's not like Joe and I aren't working...we are, sometimes very hard; but we are also having a ball and getting a lot of attention for it. We are grateful for their presence and hard work.

But there is someone else out there who is our number one supporter--my mom. That's her in the picture. She waits every day to hear that we are "in safely" from our ride. She prays for us and follows our ride on a map across the country. Marvelin Fowler is 91 years old, living in as assisted care facility in Kearney, Nebraska. She still walks every day, sends and receives e-mails, surfs the web, and now is following this blog. I'm so proud of her and am grateful every day that she is still in my life.

Today's ride took us 60 miles from Ely to Baker, NV. It was an astoundingly beautiful ride, but since the miles were a bit shorter, we were in camp by 1 p.m. and had the afternoon to rest, talk and see Baker (which frankly took very little time).

Tomorrow is a day off (YAY!) and we will clean the motor home, have our own worship time, and go visit the Great Basin National Park which is just a few miles up the mountain from where we are staying.

Hope you are all well and are enjoying your weekend.

Summits

2010-06-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

Riding Day 9. June 4, 2010

Eureka to Ely, NV--80 miles

This evening my riding buddy, Joe, was confessing that his photography had become pretty boring. Three of the four pictures he took today were of Summit Signs. As I looked through my pictures, I had the same three pictures. But before you give up on this entry and find something more interesting to read, let me try to explain why summits become so important to us.

Today, we went over three very significant mountains. One of them meant that we rode for 16 miles up and almost two hours before going over the summit and then holding on for dear life as we rode down the other side. But after riding (really almost grinding) up 16 miles at 4-8 miles per hour, when we see one of those little signs, it becomes a REAL BIG DEAL. "We made it!" "Another one in the books!" Clapping, high fives, and a genuine sense of accomplishment surrounds these photographs. You don't see all that, but we do. So, if you see more than your fair share of Summit Signs...that's why.

But in this picture there is more. Behind the sign you find still another symbol of pure joy for us. When we arrived at the top our support team was waiting for us with fresh water, ice, and more high fives. The picture of my wife Cindy and Kathy Ossmann (along with rider Joe) was taken near that sign. It doesn't get any better than this!

Summits

2010-06-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 4, 2010

Riding Day 9

Eureka to Ely, Nevada--80 Miles

Today my riding buddy, Joe Ossmann, was down-loading his pictures at the end of a long day of riding. He confessed that his pictures had become pretty "boring". Three of the four pictures he took today were of signs indicating that we had passed over a significant summit. I realized that I had almost exactly the same pictures, but there is a reason for our boring photography.

We faced three significant summit passes today. That means climbing from maybe 5,200 feet to 7,300 feet. I don't mean to whine, but it is hard. This morning we rode 16 miles up to today we rode from the basin floor to Little Antelope Pass. The grades going up to the pass vary, but sometimes are 6 to 8%. So when we finally arrive at the top it feels like we have just accomplished something huge, and deserves to be recorded on film (or however these digital things work). And then at the end of the day, all we have are some very wimpy looking signs that say, "Robinson Summit, 7,635 feet...that must mean almost nothing to most of you.

Sorry! They mean a lot to us...so here's my shot of Little Antelope Summit. Please know that it is not just a "shot" it represents for us a lot of very hard pedaling. And the beauty going up and speeding down the other side is really hard to capture anyway. So just for a moment, celebrate with us the accomplishment of three major summits today. Hey, Thanks!

Eureka!!! We Made it!

2010-06-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

It's late and we're tired. This will be a short message to say that we made it the 73 miles from Austin to Eureka, and we were very glad to be here. It was another wonderful ride with long, beautiful vistas. So, for tonight's entry, you will see some of the pictures I captured. Too bad they don't really indicate the vast beauty we are seeing, but you will get the idea.

By the way, the first picture was taken from our campsite and if you look at the upper part of the picture (with a microscope) you will see a truck. That is the road we started out on this morning.

Hope you are all well.

The Shoe Tree

2010-06-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Middlegate to Austin, NV

63 miles

I've now heard it too many times. "There's nothing to see in Nevada." or "It's a moon scape." We just rode over 63 miles of absolute beauty. We got pretty spread out this morning so I was riding alone for several miles, and absolutely could not believe the beautiful vistas I experienced. On one side were huge mountains with deep snow still in them. And then all around were the mountains of Nevada. We went over three significant passes today and then rode down the other side 10 to 15 miles before hitting bottom. Riding up these same hills was a challenge, but screaming down the other side--absolute bliss.

The picture above (taken with absolutely the wrong lens setting) is of the Shoe Tree, the major tourist attraction between here and Carson City. You can't see it very well, but all those clumps in the trees above are shoes, tied together and slung over branches...thousands of them. And they smell like old shoes, too; but it is fascinating, and fun (sort of). Chuck, one of the other riders said he found it a bit "grotesque". Whatever, it was a great excuse for a rest for a few minutes, and if you ever drive across Nevada Highway 50, look for the Shoe Tree!

Tonight we are in Austin, NV. We calculated how far we had come so far and it came to just a bit over 450 miles. Tomorrow we will go over 500 for sure. It's funny how our bodies seem to be adjusting to the "day's work"--getting from point A to point B. A few weeks ago, I could not imagine riding 450 miles in a week. Now it doesn't seem so overwhelming. What's wrong with this picture? Oh yea...and I also calculated how many calories we burned today. It came to more than 3500.

Hope you are all well. Go out, get on your bikes and ride around the block, and remember there are 3 old guys riding across the country trying to call attention to the fact that very near your homes there are hungry families wondering where their next meal will come from. Your contributions to your neighborhood (or Catholic Charities) food bank can make a huge difference. After your ride around the block, send a check!

Routine

2010-06-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Day 6: Silver Springs to Middlegate, NV. (82 miles)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

After six days on the road, we have begun to establish a daily routine. Here's what a day looks like for us. We get up at 5 (or s0), certainly by 5:30 a.m. Joe and I dress quietly saying "excuse me" and "sorry" as we slide by each other in our 25 foot motor home. Joe cooks his breakfast over the stove while I micro-wave my Oatmeal. By the time we eat breakfast, Cindy (my wife) and Kathy (Joe's wife), are beginning to stir.

As soon as breakfast is completed we load our bikes for the day's ride. We carry lots of water, tools, extra tires, tubes, sun screen our lunches, and other miscellaneous items. While this will probably end soon, the women do come out and take pictures of us as we leave the site. Makes us riders feel so important!!!

From then on until the end of the day's ride, it is simply grind out the miles. Today we did 83 miles and today's ride was as hard as yesterday's ride was easy. The wind that blew us across the NV yesterday was in our face today and made the miles much more difficult. We went through Fallon, NV this morning and learned that the movie TOP GUN was about the base located near this town. As we rode out across the high desert, we watched fighter jets race across the skies. I told Joe and Church that it seemed like we were in the middle of their play-ground.

Nevada is shaped like a wash board with peaks and valleys all across the state. Today we went over three "passes", and tomorrow we will ride over several more on our way to Austin. We arrived in Middlegate Station at around 3 pm. After sitting for a few minutes we take showers, prepare dinner, and enjoy dinner with good friends, discussing the day's happenings. After cleaning up, we all sit down to do our daily blogs. Last night four of us sat at the table each with our lap-tops before us. Is something wrong with that picture.

We then go to be and get ready to repeat these basic steps the following day

That with a few variations is what we do each day...our daily routine!

Ride Against Hunger

2010-05-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Kirkwood Inn to Silver Springs, NV

Word of the Day: WIND

Today we rode 94 miles. That may sound like a lot to you. It does to me. But here's the deal. We started at Kirkwood Inn, a beautiful ski resort located up CA 88. We rode to the top of Carson Pass, about seven miles, and then started down the other side of the Sierra...and kept riding down hill for the next 40 miles into Carson City, NV. Not only that, we had a very strong wind directly at our backs that blew us all the way to our campsite located at Lahontan Reservoir. It was the easiest 94 miles any of us had ever done...and we were grateful after a very difficult day yesterday.

We are now into the second state of our cross country venture. When we saw the big "Welcome to Nevada" sign we let out a yell. Somehow the fact that we are in another state makes the trip seem more real...like we are really on our way. Now we will work our way across Nevada's Loneliest Highway in America (Route 50). It will be very different terrain than we have seen in California, but we look forward to experiencing the beauty of Nevada.

Some of you have been asking to see a map showing where we are stopping. Joe Ossmann's brother did a google map showing our various destinations. If you would like to take a look here are the sites:

In case anyone's interested, I typed Joe's itinerary into Google Maps. It only takes 25 destinations at a time, so there are three:

http://tinyurl.com/JoesBikeTrip1

http://tinyurl.com/JoesBikeTrip2

http://tinyurl.com/JoesBikeTrip3

Ride Against Hunger

2010-05-31T05:54:00.000-07:00

Day 4: Pine Grove to Kirkwood

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Yes, that is snow...and yes...that is the three of us pointing at the 8000 feet (elevation) sign. Funny, I've been up hiway 88 before and never paid attention to those signs, but riding from 2300 feet to 8,000 feet was...well it was a real feat! We basically road up-hill for 50 miles. We left at 7 a.m. and arrived in Kirkwood at 4 p.m. Nine hours of pumping. Cannot tell you how relieved and pleased we were to ride into this beautiful ski resort where, by the way, people are still skiing since there is plenty of snow still on the ground. Tell the farmers there is a lot of water waiting up here for them!

The pleasant surprise of the day was that Tim Viall and his wife, Susan joined us for dinner last night. He wanted to "see us off" as we travel over Carson Pass today and then take the long plunge down into the State of Nevada. Today we are to ride nearly 90 miles to Silver Springs, Nevada.

The thought that just kept occurring to me yesterday was of the unbridled beauty of California. I am sure that we live in one of the most astoundingly beautiful places in the world. It also occurred to me that while one is suffering from hunger or any kind of deprivation, the world can start looking pretty ugly, pretty bleak. I pray for a world where every person and every family have the opportunity to experience the wonder and glory of God's creation

2010-05-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger

Riding Day 3

Stockton to Pine Grove, California

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Word of the Day: Disappointment!

Unfortunately, we lost two members of our team today. Tim Viall, Director of the Emergency Food Bank, took a bad spill and reinjured two cracked ribs from an accident two months ago. He made a valiant effort to go on with the ride, but was having trouble breathing and experienced a lot of pain. He therefore reluctantly decided not to continue on the ride. John Viall, Tim’s brother then decided that he also would not go forward with the ride.

The idea for the Ride Against Hunger came from a discussion with Tim over two years ago. Tim is terribly disappointed that he cannot continue, and I will also miss my good friend as we move forward. While leaving the effort was absolutely the smart thing for Tim to do, it may have been one of the hardest things he’s done for a long time. He feared that he would let many people down. We encouraged him to decide on the basis of what was the right thing to do for his health, not on the basis of who would be “let down.” We will miss Tim and John immensely.

So now, Joe Ossmann, Chuck Bohme and I will continue, Chuck plans to ride to Billings, Montana. We are trying to talk him into staying for the whole trip. Fortunately, Tim and his wife Susan will join us tomorrow night at the Kirkwood Inn for dinner and a toast.

The quick summary of the day was that we were sent off from Stockton in grand style with Mayor Ann Johnston hosting and sponsoring the Second Annual Mayor’s hike and Bike Event. Hundreds of riders and hikers moved around Stockton’s downtown neighborhoods. We were introduced and led out the ride…then headed out of town toward Pine Grove, CA, a town that is about a third of the way up the Sierra. It was a beautiful but hard day with miles of ever so slow climbing up long inclines. We are camped in a beautiful spot called Indian Grinding Rock State Historical Park. Two friends of the Ossmann’s blessed us with a wonderful chicken and rice dinner.

Tomorrow is one of the hardest days of the whole ride--50 miles, but almost all of it up hill. We will climb from 2300 feet elevation to 8000 feet. We are all rather anxious about the day.

Ride Against Hunger

2010-05-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

Ride Against Hunger--Day 2

Mt. Diablo Camp Grounds to Stockton, CA

50 miles.

Word of the Day: Catholic Charities!

Today was the exact opposite of yesterday. Sunny, warm, and beautiful. And what made the day even better was a nice breeze to our backs blowing us into our destination, Stockton, California. The goal of this ride, in addition to arriving in Portland, Maine sometime around the first of August, is to raise funds to alleviate hunger. One of the agencies receiving the funds is Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Stockton.

So when we arrived in Stockton, we rode by the Catholic Charities office to say hi to the staff and to introduce the other riders. What a welcome we received!!! The picture above shows the five riders in front of the office with Elvira Ramirez, the Executive Director of the agency. As we left the patio area, the staff all gathered and clapped for us as we rode out of the parking lot. Made us feel as though the ride was really worth while, that it meant something to someone beside ourselves.

Tomorrow we will be "featured riders" in the Mayor's Hike and Bike event here in Stockton. We are not sure what featured riders means, but we are thrilled to be a part of this event which also raises funds for hunger alleviation. We ride about 50 miles again tomorrow, but we will end the day at about 4000 feet above where we are tonight. For the next three days we will be riding mostly up hill over the Sierra Mountain Range.

Ride Against Hunger

2010-05-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Ride Against Hunger--Day 2

Day One: Rain!!!

2010-05-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

Riding Day One. May 27, 2010

San Francisco to Mt. Diablo Camp Site.

Word of the Day—RAIN!!!

In 2007, Cindy and I had the privilege of travelling to Tanzania, Africa. On a very rainy day, we were told that in their country, rain is always welcomed because it means good luck. I kept trying to remind myself of that today as the rain poured down on our opening day trek from San Francisco to the base of Mt. Diablo where we are camping tonight. This is Good Luck...this is Good Luck...this is Good Luck???

We did the traditional wheel dip in the Pacific Ocean this morning. The picture shows the five riders, fists in the air full of excitement, expectation, and yes…fear. Can I do this? Will I fall and get hurt? Will I make it all the way to Portland, Maine? Will I get bored, too tired? Will I feel like quitting? All these and many more questions raced through my mind as we took our first few pedals up through Golden Gate Park.

Let me quickly introduce you to the other riders. I will share more about them as the ride continues. For now, the five riders are Tim Viall, Director of the Stockton Emergency Food Bank (red jacket), John Viall, his younger brother, red poncho) and Chuck Boehme, Tim and John’s friend from days lived in the State of Washington. The guy with the green helmet cover (who is receiving a lot of teasing about a very high dork factor) is Joe Ossmann. Joe and his wife Kathy are the owners of the motor home we are “camping” in this summer. They are good friends from Sacramento. I am the one with the orange and black jacket on.

After riding in driving rain through San Francisco and most of Oakland, we caught just a glimpse of blue sky, and by the end of the day, we had stripped off our rain gear and began to enjoy a beautiful afternoon.

So, some of the questions were answered. We can make it..at least for one day. We do like each other. We have to be much more attentive to starting out with clear written directions. (We spend a lot of time today in “committee meetings” trying to figure out which way to go next. But by the end of the day, we all arrived safely at our campsite, and we were very pleased to have our ride actually under way and the first day “in the books” as they say.

One more thing. This morning as we were riding through San Francisco in the driving rain, a man (I think he was homeless…but don’t know for sure) was standing out on a street corner yelling loudly. Could not quite capture what he was saying, but it got me to thinking about the fact that here we were feeling all brave and adventuresome on our Gortex jackets and fancy equipment while there are literally thousands of our brothers and sisters who face those same elements every day without the luxury of “good equipment.” So today, I invite you to consider, not what we did in the rain today, but what poor and homeless families do in the rain, and snow, and heat every day of the year.

Today's the Day

2010-05-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Today is zero day. We leave about noon today for San Francisco where the five riders will meet for dinner. Tomorrow morning we will gather near the Great Highway of San Francisco, dip our rear wheels in the Pacific Ocean, and begin our ride through the City and out to the Mount Diablo area where we will camp for the night.

This morning, Tim Viall, Director of the Stockton Emergency Food Bank, and I were invited to be on a local Fox40 t.v. show. They asked me to bring my bike and talk about the ride. We were able to lift of the reality that there are children in our communities today who will not have the nutrition they need to live healthy lives. And shame on us for letting that happen. I pray that this ride will enable us to focus each day on what we can do to make sure that there is food on every table.

By the way, yesterday, the Stockton Record (newspaper in Stockton) did a very nice piece on the ride that included a fairly large picture of Tim and me on a recent ride. I will try to include the link for that article.

The picture today is of our support team...Cindy Fowler and Kathy Ossmann. If the ride is hard, their job is even harder. We are blessed and grateful to have their presence, support and encouragement along the way.

Tomorrow...Riding Day ONE!!!

2010-05-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

2010-05-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

Two Days Before the Ride Against Hunger

2010-05-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome Friends:

Today is Tuesday, May 25, 2010. Two days from now five old guys like me will dip our wheels in the Pacific Ocean, and start our trek across the U.S. Thanks for joining the ride. This is my first attempt at blogging, so who knows whether anyone will ever see this. My intent with this blog is to share with friends and family what it's like to ride across the United States on a bicycle. Each day I will post a few pictures and try to describe what happened during the day--good, bad, boring or exciting. I'll try to keep it brief so you can check in and not take hours to catch up.

You see from the header that this is a Ride Against Hunger. Two of my passions come together in this ride. First, to call attention to the fact that there are still way too many people who simply do not have enough food to eat to stay healthy. In this Central Valley of California that supplies over a quarter of the table goods found on tables across America, families are suffering from hunger and food insecurity. I will be sharing some reflections on this reality on this blog.

The other passion is being on my bike. I genuinely enjoy biking...and traveling by bicycle is just great fun and true adventure. So the blog will also record what days pedaling a bike feel like.

I'm posting a few pictures from a "shake-down" ride we did a few weeks ago. I'll use the pictures to describe a bit about how we will do the logistics.

Again, welcome to the ride. Get out your bike and ride along!