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Thursday, June 19, 03

Today is my fifth day of riding with the roadshow. I joined a little late but they tell me I'm doing well, so I'm happy. Since my bio isn't up yet, I'll tell you a little about myself. I graduated in May from Iowa State with a BS in Materials Engineering. I don't have a job yet, but I can't work while I'm riding my bike now can I? I've been juggling for several years, but I got much better this year and learned to pass clubs and ride a unicycle. I was very involved in music at ISU; I was in the marching band and several choirs, as well as the musical this year. My contribution to the show is a flaming staff that I spin and throw. It looks pretty cool. OK, that's more than a little about me.
Yesterday we got up at 4:00 a.m. to try to beat the heat. We started down into Hell's Canyon and stopped at a little gas station where the lady was less than friendly. She proceeded to stare at us while we ate second breakfast, and we were happy to get on the road. It was a pretty nice downhill for a few miles until we turned to head for the dam. There was a steep up and down but it leveled out again. When we got to the dam, the guys we thought were ahead of us weren't there.

Posted by Mike @ 06:55 PM CST Link [more] |

Tuesday, June 17, 03

Well, it turns out we got internet access today after all. We have the picture thing fixed, so hopefully within an hour of this post you'll get to see days and days of pictures. (from Eugene to current) Make sure you click all around so you don't miss any of them.

As you already know we stayed in Baker City last night with the director of the library. It was great. We did our first real show run through for her parents, friends, and grandchildren. We even broke out some of our fire props. They really enjoyed it. We hung out with the other bikers that I mentioned, but we won't be seeing them again since they are heading south. Good luck.

We left early this morning in attempt to beat the heat but failed. Around noon it was 111 deg F in the sun and 80 something in the shade. However, we had really nice roads to ride on so it wasn't so bad. Then we hit the climb out of the canyon. It was only a few miles long but it was extremely steep and very very hot with no shade. (I don't care what anyone says, we are in a desert.) That was brutal, but we are finally done. We made it in to town about 20 minutes ago (1:45pm aprox) and beat the peak heat time that happens between 3 and 6pm. I can't really imagine it getting much hotter, but the locals say otherwise.

Tomorrow we get to venture into the even hotter Hell's Canyon. Yay. Wish us luck, and thanks to all of you who are leaving comments and donating. We really enjoy your support.

ILYQ

(note: the others riders will begin making journal entries again soon)

Posted by Seager @ 05:11 PM CST Link |

Monday, June 16, 03

When we arrived in Baker City we went to the bike shop I bought a couple of things. Apparently when I was putting them away I set my wallet on top of my rear panniers and when I rode off headed for the library it fell off somewhere. After I found out it was missing at the library I traced my route, no luck. Then I ended up at City Hall to report it to the police. As I'm talking to the officer, a woman and two little girls walk in. They overhear that I'm missing my wallet and it turns out they were there to turn in my missing wallet! YAY! So THANK YOU very much to Megan and Crystal, two little girls who saved my day by finding my wallet.

Posted by Josh @ 06:57 PM CST Link |

When we arrived in Baker City we went to the bike shop I bought a couple of things. Apparently when I was putting them away I set my wallet on top of my rear panniers and when I rode off headed for the library it fell off somewhere. After I found out it was missing at the library I traced my route, no luck. Then I ended up at City Hall to report it to the police. As I'm talking to the officer, a woman and two little girls walk in. They overhear that I'm missing my wallet and it turns out they were there to turn in my missing wallet! YAY! So THANK YOU very much to Megan and Crystal, two little girls who saved my day by finding my wallet.

Posted by Josh @ 06:56 PM CST Link |

HEY GUYS! WE'RE NOT DEAD!

.... Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you how things are going. Firstly, we aren't dead. (I felt the need to reiterate that) We are, however, in the middle of nowhere in the Oregon high desert. Well, technically it's not a desert, that's just what I call it. It's hot, dry, desolate, freezing in the morning, boiling during the day, sparse, and full of really bad roads that I can best describe as gravel covered in a thin layer of plaster. Those roads are worse than any headwind or mountain we've ever encountered. It's like trying to ride through mud. Anyway, since we are in this sparse area internet connections are rare, so that is why you haven't heard from us in awhile, and probably won't hear from us for a few days after this.

A lot has happened since we last updated. Unfortunately I can't show you pictures because our picture software is a little finicky, but soon you will see them. The last you heard from us was 20 miles outside of Redmond on the way to Mitchel. That ride was incredibly tough. It was extremely hot, over those nasty roads, and we had a mountain at the end of it. Morgan experienced his first "Bonk," (Were your body runs out of food and energy and gives up on you. It's like hitting a brick wall) but was able to pull through. He's become a very good rider for his age, and is keeping up with the rest of us bigger guys really well. He's also learned how to draft off us quite well, which is neccisary since he is affected by headwinds much more than we are due to his lighter weight. It's so extreme that he has to pedal down most downhills. He's not too happy about that.

Anyway, we rolled into Mitchell very late that night... (click the more link, this is a long entry)

Posted by Seager @ 06:40 PM CST Link [more] |

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