Hello everyone,
Our final day as I already mentioned was by far our longest at about 155 miles. The nice thing about this was we were able to give our bags to my sister in Palm Springs so we shed about 50 pounds off the bikes by doing that. We still knew we were in for a rough start as we were headed out of Palm Springs and saw tons of windmills off in the distance spinning like crazy. Before long we hit the strongest headwind of the trip that lasted for about twenty miles. If we stopped pedaling the wind literally blew us backwards. After we got out of the wind we had a slight problem that forced us to alter our route a bit. The Morongo Indians won't let anyone but tribe members on their reservation so we had to ride past the giant sign that said no bicycles for another little trip on I-10. I don't think the cops care too much about that law though because three of them drove past us and didn't even slow down. As we got closer to our destination and the giant cloud of smog that is Los Angeles enveloped us we seemed to have new life and our pace quickened. At the same time though we hit LA traffic lights and LA traffic, which in turn slowed us down. We took Wilshire all the way from downtown LA to the coast and it was definitely an adventure riding through traffic like that. At one point we were stopped in the middle of a traffic jam that we couldn't even squeeze through and Chris somehow managed to topple over. I think the people in the car behind us probably got a pretty good laugh about it. I think the most exciting part of the day though was when we reached Santa Monica and saw the Pacific Ocean (it was the first time Chris had ever seen it. We then just had a short ten mile ride along the coast to where we met my sister in Malibu. Upon our arrival I finally got to satisfy my sushi craving that I've had for the past 29 days, and I got to sit back and enjoy a beer with the knowledge that I didn't have to get back on the bike the next morning.
Just to give you a little overview of the trip, we averaged 13.7 miles per hour over the course of our 2,635 mile journey. We also had 90,670 feet of climbing over this distance, which is equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest....3 times. We aslo burned a total of 113,000 calories in our 28 days of riding. We would have to eat 210 big macs to put that back in to our bodies (which we definitely do not plan to do).
Well we are here but we are still a few hundred miles short of our goal distance so Chris and I are planning some day trips around the area that will get us up to 3,000 miles in the next few weeks that we plan to spend hanging out around Malibu. Also we want to thank everyone that has been so supportive during our whole trip. We will be sending out a letter to everyone that has pledged throughout the course of our trip with the details of donating. Also if you are reading this and would like more information or are interested in donating just drop me a line at cummingd@msu.edu. Some details are included in our post from Day 8 as well. We'll keep you posted on when we hit that elusive 3,000 mile mark and we look forward to hearing from you all again soon.
Thanks again,
Don & Chris
Friday, June 8, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Our final week
Hello again everyone, again I have a lot of catching up so I'll try to keep these posts a little shorter.
Day 22
On day 22 we finally got out of New Mexico as we rode about 97 miles to Show Low, AZ. Unfortunately the wind and climbing didn't stop at the border, but it was still a beautiful ride. Chris took his first fall of the trip that didn't occur while stopped. He somehow managed to tumble incredibly well and come out of it with nothing but a little scrape and a bruise. Once i realized that he was alright it took me quite a while to quit laughing. We met a couple of kids at a gas station that were in middle school yet somehow they new all of the terrain that we were going to ride through for the next three days. They were really helpful, but I'm not sure how they would know what they did considering they couldn't even drive.
The town of Show Low had a really interesting story about a couple of guys that used to own a huge ranch in town and played a game of cards for the ranch. One of them had to "show low" to win the game and he showed the 2 of clubs. After that they named the town Show Low and the main street is called Deuce of Clubs.
Day 23
The 110 mile ride from Show Low to Superior, AZ was the most amazing ride I've ever been on. We had miles upon miles of winding downhills through incredible canyons, the most amazing being the Salt River Canyon. The only problem with riding down to the bottom of a canyon is that you have to climb back out. We had about 8,000 feet of climbing today. We also reached our 2,000 mile mark early in the morning. That night Chris decided to hydrate with a huge chocolate milk and spent some time hugging the toilet, but I'm sure you don't want to hear details about that.
Day 24
On our 24th day we had a short ride of only 65 miles from Superior in to Phoenix where my grandpa flew down to meet us. We were in before noon so it actually felt like a rest day for us. Seeing my grandpa was a amazing and he spoiled us rotten putting us up in an incredible hotel and taking us out to a very nice dinner. Just seeing a familiar face was great for Chris and I both and seemed to give us a huge boost. We also had a chance to get in to a bike shop and get some much needed parts such as a spoke for Chris' rear wheel that we have no idea how long it had been broken for.
Day 25
Out of Phoenix it was really hard to leave our nice hotel room so we got off to a really late start. This was a bad idea considering our entire 110 mile ride to Salome, AZ was through the desert. It reached at least 110 degrees on our ride and we had to take lots of long breaks which made getting there even more difficult. It also didn't help that a road that was on our map somehow wasn't there and after a frustrating search for a new route we just rode on I-10 for about 35 miles. We rode our last 40 miles or so after that through the desert in the dark and finally arrived at about 11pm.
Day 26
With a short day of just under 60 miles to Parker, AZ we tried to get up early and get it over with but that was incredibly difficult due to our late arrival the night before. For some reason my eyes just wouldn't open, but we still got on the road at around 10 and got in to Parker pretty early. Parker was right on the California-Arizona border and the Colorado River. We took a walk down to the river and spent our afternoon relaxing.
Day 27
This was an incredibly long, and incredibly hot day. We rode 113 miles, about 95 of which were through the desert with no gas stations or anything to buy water at, and not even any shade to rest under. We each had to carry 2 gallons of water with us to make sure that we stayed hydrated, and we both drank all of it by the time we reached our destination. By about half way through the ride the 110+ degree weather had made the water taste like bath water and when we finally got to our destination of 29 Palms, CA (yes we made it to Cali) we both chugged what tasted like the best cold gatorade ever. The heat made this our worst day.
Day 28
It's my birthday! On day 28 we had a short ride of about 60 miles to Rancho Mirage, CA, right next to Palm Springs. The day was mostly downhill and went by really quickly. It was nice because we were in by noon and spent the afternoon hanging out by the pool having a few cocktails. My dad got us a nice room at Rancho Las Palmas for my birthday and they made a great drink there called a Palm Springs Lemonade. Around three my sister got there to spend the night with us and it was great to see her as it had been about a month since I had seen her last. We had a great dinner at the hotel with a couple bottles of wine and then called it an early night as we all fell asleep watching a movie.
Day 29
We made it! In 28 days of riding and 2,635 miles we made it from Hilton Head, SC to Malibu, CA. It was our longest day at 155 miles and I'll post all the details on this long eventful day soon.
Thanks for reading,
Don & Chris
Day 22
On day 22 we finally got out of New Mexico as we rode about 97 miles to Show Low, AZ. Unfortunately the wind and climbing didn't stop at the border, but it was still a beautiful ride. Chris took his first fall of the trip that didn't occur while stopped. He somehow managed to tumble incredibly well and come out of it with nothing but a little scrape and a bruise. Once i realized that he was alright it took me quite a while to quit laughing. We met a couple of kids at a gas station that were in middle school yet somehow they new all of the terrain that we were going to ride through for the next three days. They were really helpful, but I'm not sure how they would know what they did considering they couldn't even drive.
The town of Show Low had a really interesting story about a couple of guys that used to own a huge ranch in town and played a game of cards for the ranch. One of them had to "show low" to win the game and he showed the 2 of clubs. After that they named the town Show Low and the main street is called Deuce of Clubs.
Day 23
The 110 mile ride from Show Low to Superior, AZ was the most amazing ride I've ever been on. We had miles upon miles of winding downhills through incredible canyons, the most amazing being the Salt River Canyon. The only problem with riding down to the bottom of a canyon is that you have to climb back out. We had about 8,000 feet of climbing today. We also reached our 2,000 mile mark early in the morning. That night Chris decided to hydrate with a huge chocolate milk and spent some time hugging the toilet, but I'm sure you don't want to hear details about that.
Day 24
On our 24th day we had a short ride of only 65 miles from Superior in to Phoenix where my grandpa flew down to meet us. We were in before noon so it actually felt like a rest day for us. Seeing my grandpa was a amazing and he spoiled us rotten putting us up in an incredible hotel and taking us out to a very nice dinner. Just seeing a familiar face was great for Chris and I both and seemed to give us a huge boost. We also had a chance to get in to a bike shop and get some much needed parts such as a spoke for Chris' rear wheel that we have no idea how long it had been broken for.
Day 25
Out of Phoenix it was really hard to leave our nice hotel room so we got off to a really late start. This was a bad idea considering our entire 110 mile ride to Salome, AZ was through the desert. It reached at least 110 degrees on our ride and we had to take lots of long breaks which made getting there even more difficult. It also didn't help that a road that was on our map somehow wasn't there and after a frustrating search for a new route we just rode on I-10 for about 35 miles. We rode our last 40 miles or so after that through the desert in the dark and finally arrived at about 11pm.
Day 26
With a short day of just under 60 miles to Parker, AZ we tried to get up early and get it over with but that was incredibly difficult due to our late arrival the night before. For some reason my eyes just wouldn't open, but we still got on the road at around 10 and got in to Parker pretty early. Parker was right on the California-Arizona border and the Colorado River. We took a walk down to the river and spent our afternoon relaxing.
Day 27
This was an incredibly long, and incredibly hot day. We rode 113 miles, about 95 of which were through the desert with no gas stations or anything to buy water at, and not even any shade to rest under. We each had to carry 2 gallons of water with us to make sure that we stayed hydrated, and we both drank all of it by the time we reached our destination. By about half way through the ride the 110+ degree weather had made the water taste like bath water and when we finally got to our destination of 29 Palms, CA (yes we made it to Cali) we both chugged what tasted like the best cold gatorade ever. The heat made this our worst day.
Day 28
It's my birthday! On day 28 we had a short ride of about 60 miles to Rancho Mirage, CA, right next to Palm Springs. The day was mostly downhill and went by really quickly. It was nice because we were in by noon and spent the afternoon hanging out by the pool having a few cocktails. My dad got us a nice room at Rancho Las Palmas for my birthday and they made a great drink there called a Palm Springs Lemonade. Around three my sister got there to spend the night with us and it was great to see her as it had been about a month since I had seen her last. We had a great dinner at the hotel with a couple bottles of wine and then called it an early night as we all fell asleep watching a movie.
Day 29
We made it! In 28 days of riding and 2,635 miles we made it from Hilton Head, SC to Malibu, CA. It was our longest day at 155 miles and I'll post all the details on this long eventful day soon.
Thanks for reading,
Don & Chris
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