PKU Cycle America 2008

Usually the conversation starts with the dude in the pick-up asking us “Where you headed” .  We say “Booneville”.  He says “Well it is about 7 miles down that there road, not very far unless you are on a bicycle.”  Then he asks “Where did you start from?”  We say “The coast of Oregon”  He says “No kidding and all on that tiny little seat?”  We say “Yup”.  He says “Sweet Jesus, that must hurt awful bad.  Where you going to end up?”  We say “The coast of Virginia”  He says “That is a long way from here and you going there on that tiny seat.  I just can’t believe it.  When I was in the Army, I biked a lot and the seat was three times the size of that teeny one you got there.  Do you stand up all the time?”  We say “No”.  He says “How much padding you got in them there tights?”  We say “not much”.  He says “I’d be wearing my Grandma’s bloomers with a load of Depends in them.  I thought you might die from one of our coal trucks, but now I think you might die from blisters on you backside.  I wish you boys the best and hope you survive that tiny seat.”

We had heard the boys in pick up trucks didn’t like guys biking in tight pants.  Our experience is they are curious then they are incredulous then they are full of admiration at the epic nature of the miles and hours on that tiny seat.

We had a nice day for cycling today.  The fog was lifting as we started off this morning.   The sun came along but the temps were in the 70’s.  The scenery was nice with lots of wooded hills filling in between the small farms and plots.  We did have several long hill climbs which taxed us but were in fact more moderate than in the Ozarks.  We were chased by at least a dozen dogs today.  We hear that will continue for the next two days.  The roads are more winding in this portion of KY requiring more alertness and care from us as we negotiate the dogs and

hills, especially the down hills.

We are spending the night at a Lodge on Buckhorn Lake within a state park.  We got here early enough for Tod to bike and for me to take a pontoon boat around the 1,200 acre lake.

We were in the saddle for  4 hrs 40 mins and climbed just over 4,000 ft.

Nice day for cycling with perfect weather and even a following breeze.  We believe this is either the second or third day we have enjoyed a following breeze.  This is the biggest misperception of the trip that going from the west coast to the east coast will mean lots of days of following breezes.  The temps today were in the low 70’s.  We are cycling on the Cumberland Plateau now so the hills are gradual.   That will change tomorrow when we enter the Applachian foothills.

Kentucky was settled in the 1770’s when Daniel Boone and a few partners bought land from the Cherokee Tribe.  The partners carved out the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and this allowed Scottish and Irish immigrants to buy this land.  In less than two decades over 100,000 immigrants settled in Kentucky.  Old feuds from their home lands carried over into Kentucky and were fanned by the Civil War.  As it turns out most of these new settlers did not agree with slavery since this took away freedoms from people.  Others thought it important to protect property rights of land owners.  As families and neighbors split into armies for the North or South, seeds were sowed for future hatreds when one family member killed someone from another family.  After the Civil War, enmity between familes continued to smolder.  One of the most famous was the 30 year war between the Hatfields and the McCoys.  It started when a Hatfield killed a McCoy during a battle.  This led to years of ambushes, raids and murders.  And there were many other mountain people who enjoyed their hill culture enough to isolate themselves in the hollows of Kentucky. We will be cycling through this area for the next three days.

A question for the young ones.  We have been noticing that the caterpillars crossing the road are very, very fuzzy.   They look like little chia hedges crossing the road.  Some believe this is significant and forecasts the kind of winter we may have.  What does it mean?  You might make note of the answer and keep track of the actual winter and see if the prediction was correct.

I want to thank Jean Burger for feeding Jim and me and our families during our days off in Knoxville.  We hardly left their home and really relaxed in a beautiful setting.  Of course having Christopher, Shona and little Cassidy around a lot was magic.

We were in the saddle today for 4 hrs and 30 mins and climbed 2 680 feet.

Back at it and headed for the Atlantic.  Unfortunately so was Tropical Storm Ike.  When we landed at 9am in Kentucky the plane landed sideways.  Turns out Ike had rushed north and east and was buffeting Kentucky with high winds from the south.  Of course we were headed east.  We pushed off and get a good start on the day riding through central Kentucky with moderate hills but strong cross winds.  We saw some very architecturally significant churches and towns with real industry including Maker’s Mark Whiskey.  After lunch the gusts picked up to 50 mph.  I dropped out after 38 miles feeling the gusts were too tough to handle.  The Road Warrior kept going and finished the day in Springfield.  Tomorrow the forecast is for moderating temperatures, wind and clear skies.  Yeah!!  But not totally thrilled since we enter eastern KY and the foothills of the Appalachians.   Also the home of packs of mangy dogs.

I wore my NAVY jersey today and will be wearing other school’s jerseys for the next few days.  If you would like to give your school exposure on the blog, then send a jersey to us.  We have a group meeting us Thursday night as we enter Virginia.  They can bring it with them.   Just let me know.

Jim was in the saddle for 4 hrs 15 mins and climbed 2, 760 ft.

I am writing the blog from Jim’s home in Knoxville.  Ginny and Jean are in the kitchen, where else?  We are not on the bikes today (or tomorrow) and while that seems strange, it is also wonderful.  We both feel the pull of that big body of water off the east coast though and are looking forward to resuming the adventure Sunday morning.

Yesterday Jim went straight to Christopher and Shona’s home to see little Cassidy.  He was awestruck as you will see from the photos.  She is a miracle and a lovely one at that.  The kids’ home is in the historic district of Knoxville which is undergoing a block by block remodel by other young couples and singles. 

We had a home cooked meal last night which did not include Chicken Fried Steak nor mashed potatoes with congealed gravy.  We had a huge load of dirty laundry.  Come to think of it, we are almost like kids coming home from college for the weekend.

Yesterday we biked through more small KY towns and small farms with corn, beans and tobacco.  The hills were meaningful as Tod calls them with one that was mean and well as meaningful.  We stopped at the town closest to the airport to fly to Knoxville. 

I had a garbled message on my Blackberry this morning from a Yo Hand Broom Neal or that is what it sounded like.  He said he has been following this blog (who hasn’t) and wants the “Road Warrior” and the “Frenchman” to come to Austin (I guess Texas) next week.  Seems there is some sort of try out for support riders for a new team with the leader being - and here the message was very garbled - Dance Livestrong.  How strange.  Of course we are busy next week trying to out ride packs of mangy dogs.  But perhaps we could reconsider the offer after we conquer the Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Shenandoahs. 

We were in the saddle yesterday for 3 hrs and 40 mins and climbed 2,770 ft.  The weather was cloudy and humid with occasional drops of rain.

If you have been following our progress and comparing it to our route page on this website you may be confused.  We have not updated the route page to the adjustments we have had to make to the daily route based on conditions on the ground.  The adjustments occur each day it seems so it would be difficult to keep the route page updated.  We have fixed the final day and we will arrive in Yorktown, VA mid-afternoon on September 27.

We experienced a few new scenes today.  First, we discovered that Kentucky is a big chicken growing state.  For either Tyson or Purdue these farms have huge, long chicken coops with a very distinctive scent.  And not a pleasant one.  Then we saw our first couple of pig farms.  Enough said.  Then we saw a crop we haven’t seen yet - tobacco.  It is harvest time for tobacco and we observed how harvesting tobacco is very mechanized.  These very rural roads through Kentucky have been lovely so far.  The hills are moderate and the traffic light.

We traveled through one town built in the early 1900’s and very well preserved today including a drug store with a soda counter.  We couldn’t help ourselves and ordered milk shakes and malts at 10:30 in the morning.  It is a wonderful benefit of this trip that we can eat anything we want to.  That will change big time once this ride is over.  Haven’t figured out how I will be able to do without pancakes, pies, cakes, milk shakes, etc.

We now have less than 1,000 miles left - another milestone.  Soon we will be joined by guest riders who will be riding to support PKU awareness and research.

We were in the saddle for 5 hrs and 50 mins today and climbed 3, 030 ft.  It was sunny with light wind and temps in the low 80’s.

We crossed the Ohio River this afternoon and entered Kentucky.  The ride through Illinois was delightful with a cloudy day and temps in the 60’s.  Normally the temps would be in the mid-80’s.   We had a flat road with a wide shoulder to the Ohio River and made great time.  In Kentucky the hills started again so we have that to look forward to for the next six days.

I want to thank the Kentucky state sponsors.   My niece Lisa and Ginny’s sister Dorothy are honoring Tia’s 6th birthday which is on Sept 18.  Lisa lives in Nashville just below KY.  Tom and Jan Lewis are long time friends from UNC grad school and TCR days.  Tom attended UK.

I had another fantastic experience after telling someone why we were cycling across the US.  Sue King is a nurse at Methodist Hospital outside Morgenfield.  When she heard the story, she reached into her pockets and gave me all the money she had on her.  Beyond words to explain how that feels.

Jeb asked about our climbing to date and how it compares with Everest at 29,000+ ft.  We have climbed 80,000 ft so far or nearly three times the height of Everest.  Nice comparison Jeb.

We were in the saddle for 5 hrs 25 mins and climbed 1,010 ft. 

Today we crossed the MIssissippi River.  Quite exciting and an important milestone.  We entered Illinois and said goodbye to Missouri and the Ozark Mountains.  Jim and I were ready for a change in scenery - fewer steep hills one right after the other will be great.

I want to thank the Illinois state sponsors.  Alan and Sarah are our neighbors in St Helena and fine folks.  Charles and Joanne Ackerman are old friends from Atlanta and Vail.   Both couples are world travelers and love adventure.

My friend Jordan offered an interesting idea the other day.  If you will send us a cycling jersey or t-shirt from your college we will wear it and have it posted on the blog.  We would appreciate a donation to advertise your love for your favorite college.

We first saw the bottom land on both sides of the Mississippi from the Ozark plateau.  It was a welcome sight to see six miles of bottom land that is absolutely flat.  This occurs on both sides of the river.  We enjoyed many miles riding on the levees today with virtually no traffic and flat terrain.  These levees were built in 1951 and have never been breached.  We were at least 25 ft above the river and it is hard to imagine the river growing enough to challenge these levees, but that was the case this spring.

We were interviewed by the Randolph County Herald Tribune at lunch.  We were also joined at lunch by a friend from St Louis who drove down to Chester to see us.  David Thiemann is a golf buddy and ex-Trammell Crow partner.  It was great spending time with David. 

We were in the saddle for 5 hrs and 5 mins and climbed 2,700 ft.  The weather was mild with modest winds and temps in the mid-80’s.  Jeb asked a great question today, what is the cumulative climbing and how does it compare with the height of Everest.  I will work on that but can tell now that we have climber Everest several times already.

We passed the 2/3 mile mark today.  It has been a remarkable adventure to date.  Full of discovery of places in rural America we’d never see and of people who have been interested in our quest and kind to us in so many ways.  We’ll always appreciate the folks who donated right on the spot after hearing our story.  Soon we will be accompanied by guest cyclists in Kentucky and Virginia.  Some are from Jim’s company and others are friends from the past.  Kai and Tia will join us for the last day.  That will be very neat.

We met another person heading in the same direction on the TransAmerica Route.  Harris Coe is supported by his wife Coco (yes, Coco Coe).  He is an accomplished cyclist and loves being on the road crossing the country.  We compared stories and places we saw and stayed.  They are from Loveland, CO.  We will continue to run into them along the way.

Jim and I are taking a couple of days off this coming Friday and Saturday and heading to Knoxville.  Jim can see little Cassidy for the first time.  Ginny is coming too.  Will be a nice break.

We had a lovely day today.  The weather was partly cloudy with a light breeze to keep us cool.  Still plenty of hills but only one concave hill that required all out effort.  Toward the end of the day we cycled on the Ozark plateau with vineyards, fruit trees and large farms.  We are close to Illinois now and we can see across the MIssissippi River.  The scenery was outstanding.  Tomorrow we cross the Mississippi River and enter Illinois.  Then just three states remaining.

We were in the saddle for 5 hrs 18 mins and climbed 3,500 ft.  Nice day for weather.

I feel like I have become an expert evaluating hills.  Let me tell you about three types of hills.  When one approaches hills it is easy to tell if it is rolling or steep and short or long - just not how long if it disappears ahead.  The first type is a rolling hill that is convex in shape and eases at the top.  One can cycle right up these hills with only one or two changes in gears from the flat road.  The second type is generally found in the Rockies and is a uniform slope so that once you set your gears you can just grind up to the top.  The third type we identified today in the Ozark Mountains.  It is concave in shape and fools you as you roll into it not appearing to be as steep as it is.  All of a sudden the slope throws you back in the saddle and you lean forward to regain balance and start grinding with all your strength.  If you look up, the top of the hill seems right above your head.  These hills even if only 100 yards long wear you right out.  We climbed over 5,000 ft today, more than any other day of the ride and many of the hills we encountered this afternoon were this third type.  One more day of the Ozark Mountains and we will be happy to say goodbye to them.

The Ozark Mountains are made of limestone.  The understrata has become honeycombed by percolating water.  This has created a tremendous water storage capability.  There are more than 500 springs in the Ozark region.  One of the largest in the US is aptly named Big Spring and it has a daily flow of 840 million gallons.  We stopped at one of the prettiest springs, Alley Spring, but it only has a piddling daily flow of 65 million gallons.  The spring flowed out of a shear rock face.  This is one of the wettest places in the US.  Conservationists have prevented the commercial use of this water and none of it is bottled.

We were interviewed in Summersville at lunch for an article in the regional newspaper.

We were in the saddle for 6 hrs and 18 mins and climbed just over 5,000 ft.  The weather was lovely with gentle breezes and temps in the high 70’s.

We had a beautiful day to cycle.  Little did we know at the beginning of the day that we would climb hills that totaled as much as any day in the Rockies.  The Ozark Mountains region is talked about in cycling circles as those hard hills that we were not expecting to be so steep.  It seems there is a steep hill each mile.  We did have some relief at the end of the day when we arrived at a plateau area with nice long views and large, prosperous farms.  This part of Missouri is lovely.  It is visited as a tourist attraction.  The roads are no longer straight like those in Kansas.

We held a media event in Marshfield as we passed through this morning.  We have one scheduled for Summersville tomorrow.

We’d like to hear from more of you who follow this blog.  Please take a moment this weekend to leave us a comment.  We hope to hear from you!!!

We were in the saddle today for 6 hrs 25 mins and climbed 4,560 ft.  The day was clear with light wind and temperatures in the mid-70’s.