Part one:Trans-continental bike ride from New York City to Los Angeles,check. Part two:Reaping my year long save-a-thon for more bicycle adventures in Tokyo with other like minded adventurers, here I come.
I made it to LA in one piece,done done done done.
Ive been making my way down the coast to see some of the most beautiful sights ive ever seen in my entire life.Cant begin to describe what this feels like,i cant wait to see the southern route and hear their stories. I can smell LA from here.
I can now say that ive done more more riding in the last two months than most people do in a year,when i saw the pacific ocean with my eyes, i started to tear up and realized the others i was with were crying too so i didnt really care about holding back anymore. Now that ive made it here to San Fransisco, the rest of the ride is just a victory lap to me.
Today’s approach from eureka to Austin was just a bit over 70 miles with a total of 3 summits and too much headwind. Hickson-6546ft,Bob Scott-7267 and my favorite, Austin-7484. 112 miles tomorrow, and a few hundred more to California. superstoked.
Cant stay on too long,too tired. Gotta eat,gotta sleep. Today was 58 miles,two summits with 18mph headwinds the entire way. After the ride today,we called for the complimentary limo into the gambling town,had $5.99 prime rib, played the slots to win $15 and sipped on $.99 margaritas. Tomorrow,80 miles, 4 summits and forecasted 25-30mph headwinds. I dare you.
This is how we roll
Georgie,Jaquie,Me,Chris,Jen
Todays ride was only about 50 miles but turned out to be one of the many favorites so far. As usual,we broke down camp before the sun was up,ate breakfast and started to head out.My fatigue has been catching p with me and i decided to stick with the group in the back.We rode out to a local diner but in the process, Ryan had an altercationwith a huge plastic trashcan and bent his steel fork. After breakfast,we toured all of the local bikeshops to finally find his fork. After a few hours of sitting in the shop we headed out. Chris’ eyes spotted a gem on a hilltop where we spent another few hours at. Inside this krishna temple, was more ymmy food,homemade mango icecream and lots of cute cuddly animals like this.
Jai,the coolest bird in Utah.
After our second helping of ice cream it was already close to four and everyone else had been at out hotel since 1230..meh
We got back at around 630,no rush.
Even though its been a week since my time in the rockies, my body still hasnt come back down and my heart still doesnt believe what my eyes just saw. After two days of climbing,we crossed the state line into Utah. Not too much to report but the same thing,get up,eat.ride,eat,ride some more. Sometimes ,the ride can be the most socialable part of the day however, to me the victory beers shared at camp (which our freind from tokyo calls “slowtime”) is my favorite.Today we rolled into another quaint all-american mountain town and weve been getting closer and closer to the sierra nevadas. I cant wait.
Im sorry i havent been able to pour out what has been happening to me on this trip but as of today we are just a little than halfway over. I cant even begin to tell you of all the fun ive had these once random strangers who are now amazing friends. The inspirational energy that pours out of these people every day is enough to motivate any man,woman or child. One fatefull afternoon I was stuck in a headwind all alone with just over 25 miles left. My muscles were aching,my lungs were burning and I was running out of patience. In the distance my support van was just ahead waiting at the next turn,my eyes were crusted over from the road and I needed to refill my water bottles. So there i was again,all alone in a brutal headwind,in a low gear spinning out in the drops. Just as I stood up to hammer out more frustration,I felt the push of a hand across my back and voice yelling out ” hurry up and drop back to join this pain train.” Saved by the bell. Now im in a 8 person paceline heading to a nearby roadhouse to watch that days stage of the Tour de France.We couldve made it to our campsite in less than an hour and a half but we stopped,ate,had a few beers and then hauled ass to camp. Needless to say,I can feel myself getting stronger and stronger everyday. Tonight im in denver and the party was just the same as all the others. All day I spent most of my time staring at the rocky mts which i will begin to climb tomorrow morning. For the last month ive been waiting and waiting for this day to come and as soon as I wake up,im heading vertical. Weve all earned our place at the top of these summits and nothing will stop anyone of us from reaching what is rightfully ours. Glory,here i come.
Ive got a lot more where they came from but this is all i had time to upload so far.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39010533@N04/sets/72157620874190392/
