Date: Mon, 25 May 92 19:50:12 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: greetings Location: Arlington, Oregon Bicycle and myself made it to Oregon fine. My rear tire developed a quarter inch cut yesterday. Went with a boot for a while, but the cut widened, so I swapped in my spare and will use the other one as backup.... Otherwise the trip is going well. I can tell that my bicycle is pretty heavily loaded (more so than going to Chicago), and so my distances are also a little less. Made it from Fort Stevens to Troutdale yesterday and then to Arlington today. A moderate tailwind through the gorge also helped. Seeing lots of sun, and trying to keep the sunscreen on. I've encountered a number of other long distance cyclists out here. One set behind me, going across the US. Other sets going down the Oregon coast. --mev Date: Wed, 27 May 92 17:03:32 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: tire Yesterday was a long day, Arlington -> Dayton so that meant today was an easier day Dayton -> Lewiston. I plan on leaving here at sunrise for a two day trek over Lolo to Missoula. Weather here continues to be perfect, lots of sun and more tailwinds than headwinds. --mev Date: Wed, 27 May 92 18:10:14 MDT Subject: News from mev So far the trip has been going well. Pretty good weather and more tailwinds than headwinds. There seemed to be a consistent 15-25mph wind through most of the gorge, which ws really nice. Today I had an easier day, ending in Lewiston, Idaho. Tomorrow I will start towards Lolo Pass, hoping to arrive in Missoula in two days. --mev Date: Fri, 29 May 92 20:18:43 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: update Location: Missoula, Montana Quick update, made it over Lolo pass from Lewiston to Missoula. It went pretty much as expected, except it was 215 miles (not 200 which I had somehow pscyched myself up for). I also had rain last night and some showers today. My tent held up well, and is now nearly dry again. Got into Missoula and visited the BikeCentenial offices. Unfortunately they were out of the map sections I was interested in getting. I've now done my first 1/6th section and am trying to figure out the next 1/6th. --mev Date: Tue, 02 Jun 92 20:30:00 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: update Greetings from Miles City Montana. Since Missoula, my stops have been 1) Helena 2) White Sulpher Springs 3) Roundup and 4) Miles City. Things are still going well, although I lost another tire (rear wall blew out) at Avon, on the way to Helena. My folks have mailed another to Miles City which I hope to pick up tomorrow. Other than my luck with tires, everything has been going well. Still having lots of clear sunny days. While I was hoping for some nice tailwinds on the great plains; things have been mostly calm or crosswinds with a few memorable head winds. I'm usually awake before 5am and get on the road just before sunrise. A few hours of cool morning cycling and then a rather large breakfast. After breakfast, the heat of the day begins, add in some more miles before lunch. Stopping time varies from 1pm to 7pm depending on the day. I did the Lewiston -> Missoula stretch in two days camping midway between Lowell and Powell. After dinner at Lowell put about 35 miles in. The next morning did 35 more miles before breakfast at Powell. The indian reservation worked well. Other than signs at the entrance and exit, there were no other obvious indications that it was a reservation. Motels, cafes same as otherwise. I do have another reservation coming up here in South Dakota. I'll probably spend one night in Lemmon and then cross it in a day. --mev From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: Thanks Location: Miles City, Montana Greetings from Miles City, I sent Paul a postcard from Sumatra today, hopefully this is a unique postmark. There isn't much to the town of Sumatra, other than a post office, a church and a few other buildings (no store or cafe or other place of commerce). Sumatra is near the drainage dividing point between the Musselshell and Yellowstone rivers. Otherwise, it is amongst pretty dry desolate country, some cattle ranches and some unused lands. I was definitely impressed with Lolo pass. While not as high as my continental divide crossing (McDonald Pass, with about 3.5 steep miles from the west and 6-7 from the east), it took a long 170 mile approach from Lewiston. After the dry scrub of the area around Lewiston, the tall trees along the banks of the wide riviers (Clearwater, Middle fork Clearwater, Lochsa) is absolutely beautiful. At Lowell, the middle fork splits to become the Selway/Lochsa and then there is a 65 mile stretch with national forest access points but not much else. There is a lodge/cafe at Powell about 13 miles from the summit. Only the last 6 miles are very steep. The top has a nice ranger station. So far on tires, I've been carrying a spare. When the first went out, I was able to pick up one in Walla Walla. I had another tire go out, around Avon Montana (rear wall blowout - maybe myself and all the gear is too heavy? or I overinflated?). My folks used express mail to send a tire to Miles City. With my fingers crossed I rode 300 miles, I should be able to pick it up tomorrow. --mev Date: Fri, 05 Jun 92 19:12:42 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: tailwinds, construction, rain I had absolutely wonderful tailwinds yesterday. They were about 15-30 mph and consistently from the Northwest. I was able to cover 207 miles from Baker Montana to Mobridge South Dakota. This included one stretch of 20 miles of road construction shortly after Mcintosh. Through the entire stretch, the road was torn up and had the consistency of hard packed gravel (I think they had actually scraped off the blacktop). This stretch was like an obstacle course with a different obstacle every few miles. First a few miles of loose gravel spread on the road so the back wheel would sink in. Next, a few miles with a high berm of gravel in the middle and me on the wrong side of the road after meeting a grader. After that, there were three miles where they were watering the road creating a red mud splatter that got over everything (one leg was litterally painted, the other was just spotted). Most of the finale was a narrow road with all traffic on one half. This came at miles 156-176 of a long day so it was getting a bit surrealistic. At about mile 187 it became calm, the tailwind stopped and there were some bonus hills. Up 200 feet, over the top of the hill and back down. Repeat five or six times. However, it made for a great day. I slept in until 7:15 today and was intending for a shorter day. I also had rain off and on through the day. Sigh. Unfortunately the motel at Ipswich was closed so I still made 100 miles for the day to Aberdeen. Maybe tomorrow can be an easier day... --mev Date: Tue, 09 Jun 92 07:56:40 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: Fine Feathered Friends Location: Cottage Grove, Minnesota ...In Montana I only saw one Llama farm. I have however added a little bit of interest to lives of cows and sheep I have passed along the way. Usually, they just watch carefully as I move past (as I cycle past I find 50 pairs of eyes carefully scanning me as I go along). In about 5% of the cases, I create a minor stampede. One or two of the cows decides that I am pretty unfamiliar and starts running, soon the entire herd is going along. I've also seen quite a few antelope and deer (these are much more likely to bolt and run, but occasionally they play cow and stand and wait), skunks and pheasants. I'm taking a rest day in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. My parents had mailed a spare bicycle tire and I am hoping it will arrive today. Otherwise, I hope to head into Minneapolis and play bipedal tourist today. --mev Date: Wed, 10 Jun 92 18:45:30 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: MN etc I left Cottage Grove this morning and made it up to Barron, WI today. About half the route is along the St. Croix river valley that forms the division between MN and WI. There was a lot of pretty scenery along this valley, but also a fair share of climbs as the road would alternate between staying in the valley and climbing up the banks (more climbing than anywhere else on the plains so far). After Taylor's falls I headed up and across US8 through the middle of WI. This is a 'resort' region with lots of lakes and vacation homes (saw one place that was named 'the last resort'). Also quite a few trees. I think I may have lost yet another tire this morning. After fixing a normal flat I found that the bead of the tire had stretched enough so that the tire wouldn't reseat. I tried it anyway and had a pretty spectacular blowout when the tire came off the rim and the inner tube tore open. I'm thus down to one spare again. Hopefully this will last me until the populated part of MI where I should pass enough bike stores along the way. Otherwise, still fortunate with nice weather and good (although somewhat busy) roads as I head across Wisconsin headed towards the UP. --mev Date: Mon, 15 Jun 92 15:54:35 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: UP! Location: Cheboygan, MI Greetings, I reached the Mackinac Bridge yesterday and took a rest day today. I took the boat from St. Ignace over to Mackinac Island. I parked my bicycle in town and explored the shops and the Fort on the island. This is a real touristy place with lots of shops, nice summer 'cottages' and a large hotel the Grand Hotel (think of Estes Park and the Stanley...). There are no automobiles allowed on the island, everything goes by horse carriage or bicycle. One thing other tourists did that I declined to do was rent a bicycle and cycle the 8.1 mile perimeter road. I saw everything on foot. Since last logging in (in Barron WI), I travelled through a lot of forest. The roads have been pretty good, particularly US2 on the UP which mostly had an 8ft wide paved shoulder (with some exceptions, but not too many). The last four nights have been Rhinelander WI (a real resort area, lots of cabins, etc). Norway MI (in part of the iron mining region), Gulliver MI and St. Ignace. This afternoon I took the ferry from Mackinac to Mackinaw city and cycled to Cheboygan. There has been a steady east breeze all day, so I'm glad it was a rest day. Now I'll hope for some north breezes for a few days. I picked up another tire in St. Ignace so I'm back up to two spares. --mev p.s. From Aberdeen I went to Ortonville and Hector. This brought me into the Twin Cities from the south on 212. Date: Mon, 15 Jun 92 17:10:46 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: New Bike Location: Cheboygan, Michigan Today is day 23 and I'm about 2/3 of the way along, so I am slightly ahead of 'schedule'. This is partially by design so that I can either take some easier (or trouble) days and perhaps visit some friends in the Boston area or visit with my parents. I haven't done any unladen riding (on my two rest days so far, I haven't done much riding at all), so that should be a pleasant surprise. Otherwise, having fun up here in Michigan. I've been seeing a lot of deer in the mornings here. They are usually curious long enough for me to get pretty close. Upon coming close they then suddenly take off. --mev Date: Tue, 16 Jun 92 13:21:17 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com I made a relatively easy day today to Mio, MI (90 miles from Cheboygan). An inviting looking motel and a consistent 15mph wind from the SSE made that choice a bit easier. Date: Tue, 16 Jun 92 13:23:52 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: UP! > The rules committee has met and decidedto let you count the ferry rides in > your journey across the country. Phew, although I'm tempted to come up here Labor day weekend to walk across the bridge (Labor day is the one day per year when the bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists), and also to go up to Sault St. Marie to see the locks. --mev Date: Wed, 17 Jun 92 16:43:40 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: headwinds, weather Today I reached Bay City, Michigan an 80 mile trip from yesterdays stop at Mio, Michigan. Most of today was spent fighting ever increasing headwinds. By the time I got to Bay City, I estimate they were up to ~30mph. The power at the motel was out for three hours and there was a tornado warning for one county over. Hopefully, this weather system will move through without causing too many further problems. It is looking pretty stormy outside. Otherwise, tomorrow will be a shorter day as well. Most of my route yesterday was along M-23; with lighter traffic but also not very good shoulders. There were some small hills but nothing too bad. As I got closer to Bay City, the road got noticably busier, sigh. Today was pretty flat with light winds in the early morning. --mev Date: Thu, 18 Jun 92 16:46:41 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: headwinds, weather Location: Livonia, Michigan > is that the first nasty weather you have had ? It was the worst. I had thundershowers several days in Montana and a day of light rain in South Dakota. This afternoon I pushed my luck just a bit too far and had the last two miles in a heavy rainstorm (light rain before that). > What temperatures are you experiencing ? For the most part it has been very pleasant. Yesterday it was a bit hot (94 high) and muggy. Today was slightly cooler but still humid. Overall, it has been very pleasant. > I haven't had to water the lawn since before you left. In contrast, since South Dakota, folks I have encountered have been concerned about overly dry conditions. One thing I was surprised with was finding large sprinkler irrigation systems in the fields in Minnisota. I hadn't seen them there before, but I understand from folks that July is frequently pretty dry and they are used then. > What is your philosophical view of the trip ? Is it different than you had > expected ? I hope it is still fun. Have you met other cyclists, or do you > feel isolated and a stranger where ever you go ? Before I left, I had someone tell me I'd turn in to a zombie by Montana by going alone. While I've definitely spent less time worrying about work, etc and I find myself thinking more about the immediate stuff (things I see along the road, etc) I'm not certain I'm a zombie. I'm reasonably goal oriented, so a big part of the day is to pick a spot 70-80 miles away and try to at least get to there. In that instance I find that the early morning hours are key. Getting 30 miles in by 8:30am really helps. This is probably a slightly longer trip than I would ideally do (although ask me in a few weeks as I get closer to the end and more excited about getting close), since some parts of the day do become repetitive. I haven't met other cross country cyclists since Montana (probably slightly off the beaten path). I do have fun talking with some of the folks along the way at the cafes, etc although that is pretty short. --mev Date: Thu, 18 Jun 92 17:21:44 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Livonia, Michigan Stopped today in Livonia, Michigan. Light headwinds again this morning and crosswinds in the afternoon. Coming in the Detroit area I picked out "middle belt road" a smaller road three miles west of US24 as a through route. This worked fairly well, although the roads have fewer shoulders there. (I'm definitely passing as close to Detroit as I wish to). I can definitely tell I've reached a more urbanized area. While almost all drivers are curteous; just having more cars pass you means more obnoxious ones. Just outside Pontiac I was literally run off the road by a "Karst Gravel" truck. He came up over a hill, and with a loud honk I could see him in my rear view mirror bearing down on me. I bailed out to the side of the road, and vented my frustration by yelling at him. Today I also had someone decide to throw an apple core, a few honks and someone informing me 'the sidewalk is over there'. Sigh. Most of the folks are great, there are just more of them here. --mev Date: Sun, 21 Jun 92 16:12:45 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Reached New York State Location: Westfield, New York I made it to Westfield, New York today. During the last 30-40 miles of US20 there were many vineyards and a few wineries. The road parallels the turnpike and traffic has been light with pretty good shoulders. I did find myself carrying my bicycle down one bridge embankment after ignoring a "Road Closed Ahead, Bridge Closed" sign. The last three days have been cool (low 50s) with some intermittent showers. I had actually decided earlier today at Erie to stop for the day 'as soon as I found a good motel'. I didn't find anything (along 20) so ended up here. After Livonia, I spent the nights in Sandusky and Geneva. I stayed pretty close to the shoreline on a combination of Ohio 2, US6 and US20. I pretty much went straight through the center of both Toledo and Cleveland. This worked well. When I asked folks about taking Detroit/Superior/Euclid avenues through Cleveland I was told that those were not good neighborhoods and I had better keep moving without stopping. I had no problems there, other than accidentally becoming part of a parade for about 1/2 mile in East Cleveland. This was sort of fun, walking with my bicycle just slightly behind the band. --mev Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 15:39:15 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: Reached New York State Location: Batavia, New York Today it was warmer and the sun returned. Had a nice tailwind earlier in the afternoon and thought of going further. However, I plan to syncronize with my parents in the Albany area on Friday, so I'll do the mileage to avoid getting there too soon. After that, I'll probably go through Boston and then up the coast. --mev Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 15:58:04 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Re: Reached New York State Location: Batavia, NY > What guidance for local route selection do you have, anything more > than state maps ? Have you found bike lanes or routes in those large cities? I haven't done much other than pick relatively direct routes. I've also had pretty good luck with US highways straight through town. Cleveland actually had a pretty nice network of park roads that did a wide loop through and around town, but otherwise I haven't noticed a lot of bike routes (as I've gone along, I've become more aware that relatively speaking northern Colorado cities are probably better than average). My parents live in Burlington, VT and I will syncronize with them somewhere in the Albany area on Friday. From there, I haven't completely decided how I want to get across to Boston. It depends a little on how and where my parents and I meet up. I've done two of the three choices I see. 1. US20 through Pittsfield and over the Berkshires. I've done this route going in the other direction and was favorably impressed. 2. Over to Bennington VT and then over the Green Mountains to Brattleboro and then over to Keene. I have also done this route before. There are several substantial climbs (6% grades for multiple miles). I may do this if I meet my parents a bit further north. 3. Route 2 through MA. I haven't done this one (partially because I was warned away by someone 'who hadn't ever seen bicycles on that before'). I have driven that route and know of some substantial climbs/descents. I'm still waffling on the choice between these three. --mev Date: Tue, 23 Jun 92 17:56:40 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Syracuse Location: Brewerton, New York (NY31 & I81) I got to around Syracuse today. Much of today was spent cycling on NY31 along the Erie Canal as I made my way from Batavia to the I-81/NY31 intersection. There are several locks in the canals on the side. Every five miles or so there was a small town on the way. My timing was a little off as I hit Rochester at morning rush hour and Syracuse at afternoon rush hour, but otherwise traffic was pretty light. --mev Date: Sun, 28 Jun 92 09:53:04 MDT From: bicycle@hpcomet.fc.hp.com Subject: Boston Location: Brookline, MA I reached Boston today. Mixed emotions, "hooray almost at the coast" and "sigh the vacation is almost over". I'll spend some time here with friends and head up the coast on Wednesday for an official end of the trip in Portland. Somehow New England is slightly hillier than I remember it. However, it is also beautiful with winding roads and lots of trees and vegetation. I met my parents in Bennington VT on Friday and cycled from there uphill to Molly Stark Campground. Yesterday we travelled along NH 119 through southern New Hampshire to Ashby MA. --mev Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 14:15:37 MDT From: mev@hpcomet.fc.hp.com > Did you keep track of the total elevation gain on your XC ride? There was a discussion of this in rec.bicycles. Here is what I put together for that discussion. I also kept average speed and max speed in my journal but don't have it on this list. --mev ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some numbers for the Avocet 50 data. I recently completed a cross country bicycle trip. For the most part, I avoided mountains and hills taking flat routes along rivers and railroad tracks. Here are the numbers from my journal: Date Stopping point Distance Climb Avg. Climb Notes ============================================================================ TOTAL ------- 3610 78370 21.7 Total for trip 5/23 Ft. Stevens Pt, OR 12.6 200 16 Left Astoria 5/24 Portland, OR 111.5 3420 31 US30 (US26 steeper) 5/25 Arlington, OR 127.7 2430 19 Took Oregon side 5/26 Dayton, WA 131.2 3220 24 5/27 Lewiston, ID 71.3 2720 38 5/28 Lowell++, ID 131.4 2550 19 Follow river 5/29 Missoula, MT 85.2 2940 35 Lolo Pass 5/30 Helena, MT 125.9 5210 41 MacDonald Pass 5/31 White Sulpher Sp,MT 75.6 3230 43 One range to cross 6/1 Roundup, MT 126.1 2520 20 Along river 6/2 Miles City, MT 144.7 2770 19 6/3 Baker, MT 81.3 2870 35 Cross drainages 6/4 Mobridge, SD 207.0 4070 20 Tailwinds! 6/5 Aberdeen, SD 101.0 1360 13 6/6 Ortonville, MN 107.5 1610 15 6/7 Hector, MN 107.4 930 9 6/8 Cottage Grove, MN 94.5 1440 15 Rest day on 6/9 6/10 Barron, WI 94.3 2900 31 St. Croix Valley 6/11 Rhinelander, WI 131.9 2420 18 6/12 Norway, MI 92.6 2110 23 6/13 Gulliver, MI 110.6 1120 10 UP 6/14 St. Ignace, MI 75.9 930 12 6/15 Cheboygan, MI 15.2 110 7 Rest day, Mackinaw Is 6/16 Mio, MI 90.3 2360 26 6/17 Bay City, MI 81.6 1420 17 Stormy weather 6/18 Livonia, MI 94.4 1140 12 6/19 Sandusky, OH 110.2 540 5 Along Lake Erie 6/20 Geneva, OH 104.5 760 7 6/21 Westfield, NY 81.0 1100 14 6/22 Batavia, NY 93.6 1650 18 6/23 Syracuse,NY 128.9 2090 16 Erie Canal 6/24 Utica, NY 52.0 950 18 Mohawk river gap 6/25 Pittstown, NY 109.2 3020 28 Troy + 15 miles 6/26 Wilmington, VT 41.3 3100 75 Low miles, large hill 6/27 Ashby, MA 69.6 3520 51 6/28 Brookline, MA 49.4 1120 23 Boston rest days 7/1 Old Orchard Beach, ME 107.2 1710 16 Along coast 7/2 Portland, ME 28.3 810 29 ============================================================================