Day 29: Happy Memorial Day!

Rest day. We'd like to thank all those men and women who have served our country. Since today is a federal holiday we've decided to make it a biking holiday as well. The weather didn't look promising so this rest day is coming at the right time. Time to rest up and get back at it tomorrow! Hope everyone has a great day!

We've seen too many of these already

Day 28: There's no place like home

70 miles. 11.7 mph. We made it to Dighton, KS today. We had a little side wind and we were feeling some pain from yesterday's ride. Only 50 more miles left on our map and 107 until we are exactly half-way. So we are motoring along to make it home as soon as possible. There's not much here in Kansas as you can imagine.

Day 27: Hammer time!

170.1 miles. Averaged 16.7 mph. We knew it was going to be a good day at 8am when we had already biked 25 miles. The wind was at our backs for most of the morning and it was a little cool. By the afternoon it started to warm up again to nearly 100 degrees. We overcame adversity and rode all the way into Tribune, Ks. It felt great to hammer out some miles today. I'm sure we'll be feeling this one tomorrow. Shout out to Alex and Will who we met on the road today. They were traveling in the opposite direction as us and are biking across the country for Autism. Their blog is www.x-america4autism.blogspot.com. They came very prepared and had business cards made out with their blog address on it. We'll have to do that next time around. It was great talking with you guys! Good luck with the rest of your trip!

On and on for miles

Next state please

The end to a beautiful day

Day 26: Here endeth the lesson

86.8 miles. 14.1 mph. We're out of the Rockies and onto another map. It looks like we have a green light for the next ten days as far as weather is concerned. So we're going to get started early tomorrow. We really want to try and beat the heat as best we can. Today it was up to 100 degrees at one point. It was tough, but at least it wasn't humid. We decided to reward ourselves for finishing the Western Express Bicycle Route, so we found a cheap motel here in downtown Pueblo, CO. At one point we left the room for fourth meal at a fine, local, fast food establishment. Then when we returned we found our keys weren't working. It's a good thing Tim knows how to break a lock. I don't think duck tape would have worked in this instance. We would have had to sleep outside in the streets tonight. Way to go Tim!

Great camping spot

Last mountain pic. We'll miss those guys

Day 25: We flew like a butterfly, it stung like a bee

83.0 miles. Averaged 13.0 mph. We slept in and had a delicious breakfast. Then we made it up to Monarch Pass lickity split. It was another sunny, warm day. We couldn't have asked for anything better. Of course at 11,312 ft we were both pretty chilly, especially on the ride down. As we were riding into Salida, CO a car drives by and a women pops her head out and yells,"yeahhh, you guys made it!" it was Julie and Vince who we had met back at a Subway in Blanding, UT. Haha. Small world. Great seeing you guys again! We made it to campground just before Cotopaxi, CO. There's a river nearby that is fast and cold but very refreshing. One last climb tomorrow then we're almost out of the woods/mountains and into tornado country. Shout out to Avis and Benjamin who we met just before Monarch Pass today. They were riding the opposite direction on a tandem bicycle. Can't believe you guys made it over that pass, that's awesome, keep it up! Enjoy the rest of your trip, it was great meeting you guys!

Don't pet the bobcat!

Fresh

Day 24: Smoke em' if you got em'

91.9 miles. Averaged 14.0 mph. We're smokin' the road and it feels great. It's tough though when the road smokes you, but you've got to love surprises. About 10 miles into the ride today Michael had another flat. He thought had a tube on hand but just in case he asked Tim for a back-up. After Tim left, Michael broke the nozzle on Tim's tube and started looking for his spare. Uh-oh. No spare. He must have used a bunch of them when his tire split last week. It seems that Gator Skin tires are the way to go. They haven't failed Tim yet. Rocks seem to jump out of the way when they see those babies coming. So to make a long story short, duck tape came to the rescue again. Somehow, Michael was able to blow up the tire and quickly cap the valve with tape. It held up for another 13 miles. Unfortunately, it was two miles short of where he needed to be. Regardless, he hoofed to a store, bought a tube, then caught back up to Tim later that evening. It was a great learning experience and enjoyable challenge. Guess you have to take the good with the bad and roll with punches, tomorrow's a new day. So we both made it to Gunnison, CO, had our Subway fill, and found a way to watch part of the Eastern Conference Finals. We're making great progress and tomorrow is our highest climb yet. 11,312 ft. Should be a good one, but probably not as good as Maui! Shout out to Chelsea Murray who went to high school with Tim and goes to college in Gunnison. Wish we could have caught up with you! That would have been fun. Next time around haha.

Facemelted a pass

Day 23: No mustard for you!

98.0 miles. 13 mph. Amazing day. The climbs were very gradual and the scenery was breathtaking. It looks like Colorado is colorful after all. We took down camp and left Dolores, CO around 830 am. It was a moderate 50 mile climb to Lizard Head Pass but on the way we stopped at the Mountain Top Gas Station. Suzy, the owner, made us each the best turkey sandwich. It was on a croissant roll and had delicious home-made mustard. When Tim asked for no mustard she seemed very taken aback. With a big sigh she said,"ok, but the mustard makes the sandwich." It was almost as if she was going to turn into the mustard Nazi. About 10 minutes later her son came by to pick-up some beer. We heard him say,"it's probably not a good idea but we're going to do some drinking and play with a chainsaw." As he was leaving he turned to us and remarked,"so I hear one of you didn't get the mustard." We realized this may be the talk of the town for weeks. We originally thought about stopping in Placerville but we arrived there early so we decided to keep on going. We found a nice/interesting hostel here in Ridgway, CO. It's made of Adobe. Shout out to Lex for his sagacious advice about our shout outs. Good luck to you and the rest of the team at NCAA pre-lims this weekend!

Optional?

Nice

Very nice

Day 22: We eat pieces of hills like this for breakfast

82.8 miles. Averaged 13.8 mph. Good day. We slept in and awoke to some snow flurries. So it was a bit chilly today. The wind was partially at our backs but we'll take that any day. We crossed into colorful Colorado and left the O'Douls filled gas stations of Utah. As Vance mentioned yesterday, in Colorado, you can find anything you want everyday and twice on Sunday. Unfortunately, we did not find a Subway today but the next time we do Mrs. Wilkins, we'll definitely ask for that sponsorship. That's what we'd call a Hole-in-One. It was mostly rolling hills today. We could have taken a nap on those hills. Tomorrow we have a big climb over Lizard Head Pass. Hopefully it's more of a gradual climb to 10,000 ft. We'll just have to be thinking,"It's all in the hips. It's all in the hips. It's all in the hips." We're onto our next map, map 4. Only 6 more maps to go after this one and only 6 more states to go including Colorado. As for the mileage, the whole trip is not just 3000 miles as you might think. It's actually 3784 miles according to the maps. The title is somewhat deceiving but if you round down it's all good. So far, based on the maps, we have ridden 1230 miles. Only 2554 miles to go! We're not surprised

Colorado must be pretty colorful

Day 21: Gone into the wind

76.4 miles. Averaged 10.1 mph. Rough day. It wasn't as difficult as yesterday but the wind was still unrelenting. We made it to Blanding, UT and had some Subway for dinner. Shout out to Vance who we met on the road today. At the top of a tough climb he had a Foster's waiting for us. Thanks Vance! Then at Subway we met Vince and Julie. It was great meeting and talking with you guys! We're going to rest up for another long ride tomorrow. It should be much easier with the wind dying down tonight, but you never know.

The Cheese Butte

Tim's motoring through the pass

Bland-ing

Day 20: Dessert in the desert

54.9 miles. Averaged 10.4 mph. Well, the wind was angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. Unfortunately, we rode right into it. The past two days there has been a wind advisory calling for up to 50 mph gusts. Given the choice, we would have chosen biking up a mountain over this weather. Although, it was nice to munch on some sand anytime we opened our mouths. The funny thing was, we had a downhill most of the way too. Today had to have been one of our toughest days yet. We did ride through Glen Canyon and crossed the Colorado River. They were so real and spectacular. Then we made it to Hite Recreation Area. That's when we had our second desert dessert of the day, a cold can of soda. It was also a blessing to meet three other riders going the opposite direction. Shout outs to Jake, Tomas, and Zach. They had just spent the night outside the ranger station and were getting ready to make the trek to Hanksville. Hopefully the wind was favorable for you guys. It was great talking with you all! May you have a safe and enjoyable journey! We will be thinking and praying for you. After they took off we started cooking some dinner. At our last service stop (a gas station) we bought the essentials because our next stop wasn't for another 122 miles: beans, chili, chef boyardee, combos, and gummy worms. We didn't want to leave anything to chance out there. Shout out to Steve who provided us with two excellent face masks. It was great talking with you! These will definitely help us out a lot tomorrow in the wind! Shout out to Mr. Smith, Michael's and Brooks' physics teacher, it's great to hear from you! Glad to hear you're still biking, hope you've had or will get the chance to do part of this route, it's really sweet. One last shout out to Matt and Yvonne Richardson who are new parents with the birth of Kylie Mae, congratulations! After dinner, we were very inspired by Jake, Tomas, and Zach so we decided to push on until we found a free camping spot down the road. Luckily, we only had to travel five more miles. It looks like the wind will continue through tomorrow night. So one last day for some dessert.

Glen Canyon

Colorado River

Scorpion at the ranger station

Day 19: Cruis'n USA

84.6 miles. Averaged 14.8 mph. The first 16 miles were straight up a mountain. Along the way up we ran into what we thought was someone's dog. He was very friendly and provided some company all the way to the top. That's when we realized he had to be a stray dog. We averaged about 7 mph going up. Then the next 68 miles were all down hill through Capitol Reef National Park. It was awesome. The wind was at our backs too so it made the ride even more enjoyable. For a while it felt like we were playing N64. So now we're camping out in Hanksville, UT. We at least half-way through the state and we won't hit another large mountain until Colorado. Hopefully the wind will be at our backs again tomorrow.

It was very cold and windy at the summit

Day 18: The Hogback

96.5 miles. Averaged 12.7 mph. Guess the legs were feeling pretty good today. There were some really steep climbs, but we made it to Boulder, UT. We made two stops, one in Tropic (just past Byrce Canyon) and the other in Escalante. In Tropic we met a local who said that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid used to hide-out in the area. We'll take his word for it seeing as his relatives were the first white settlers in Tropic. He also said the town looked at him as their Robin Hood aka Russell Crowe. After that stop we saw two other riders traveling the opposite direction. We stopped and talked to find out they started in Virginia Beach on March 22nd. They said they had been taking a lot of rest days and that Kansas was terrible because of the wind. Sorry to say Corey and Tom, but hearing that made us feel so good. We can't wait to start really cranking in the flats. When we made it to Escalante we weren't surprised to find another Subway/Gas station there. You should not be surprised to hear that we stopped there again. After some needed rest we tacked on another 26 miles. We've been anticipating three of these miles ever since we've received the maps. On them, Adventure Cycling describes this stretch as follows: "On map 36, the highlight (or terror) on this section is The Hogback south of Boulder. It is a 3-mile stretch of narrow two-lane road along a ridge spline with no shoulders or guardrails and has drops on both sides. Ride carefully and defensively." Oh, and don't look down. It was a terrifically terrifying view on that road. Their description was very accurate and now we can check that one off the list. In Boulder we found a nice place with a pavilion in the back to camp under. Hopefully no one will mind. Cooked some beef stroganoff for dinner and then went to bed. We have another nasty climb tomorrow but then it's all downhill from there, well, sort of.

Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument is hilly

Red Canyon, supposedly Robbers Roost was near here

Just made it up a 14% grade, very nice

A portion of The Hogback

Day 17: Rise and shine! It's butt-whippin time!

72.1 miles. Averaged 11.6 mph. Great day. We are both starting to feel the rhythm and the rhyme. Woke up this morning in the Wal-Mart parking lot with all limbs safely attached and nothing stolen. We both had a great nights rest and were ready to conquer the mountain. The first few miles up the mountain we saw signs telling semis to turn around and we were thinking the same thing. We pushed on and made it up some of our steepest inclines yet (6-8% grades). About half-way up the mountain Michael broke a spoke. Luckily, Tim came prepared and had a spare on him. So after about a hour of bicycle maintenance we finished our climb and made it to the closed road. At that elevation (~9000 ft) there was no snow on the road and we were faced with a dilemma. Do we risk trudging through snow part-way up (near ~10,000 ft) or do we take the long way around? We discussed the positives and negatives for about 15 mins. During that time, some motorcyclists were there pondering the same decision. We told them,"We'll go if you go!" But they passed on the short-cut and eventually we did too. It was a gorgeous day for a ride. We made it into Panguitch, UT around dinner time and found another Subway/Gas station. After talking with some of the workers it sounded like camping at a nearby park was a possibility. Then we found an RV place for 15 bucks that had showers and laundry, so we went there. It feels great to have clean clothes again, at least for a little while. We are hoping to make it to Boulder tomorrow but we'll see how the legs feel after this butt-whoopin.

A scenic overlook of Zion National Park

Pictures don't do this incline justice, but there's snow!

We pickled the beast

Day 16: Rain, rain, go away

60.3 miles. 11.1 mph. For us this is the closest thing to a rest day. We only had one climb, albeit a tough one. Most of the day was rainy and a little wind carried over from yesterday. We finished off our second map, now it's on to the next one. Sorry it has been a while since our last post. You would think AT&T would put some towers in the desert. Ahh well, at least we have it here in Cedar City, UT. We beat a large rain cloud into a Subway/Gas station. Caught up on our emails and tried to figure out a place to sleep. We thought about biking a bit farther up our largest mountain pass yet. When we called a campground a few miles up they said they still weren't open yet. Not only that but a short-cut road we were supposed to take is also closed. When asked if we could still ride on it the ranger responded,"Yea, sure, if you want to bike in the snow." So it looks like we'll have to take the long route tomorrow, an extra 12 miles. For now we've decided to rest. Tim had a brilliant idea to sleep at a Wal-Mart. So we're going to give that a try tonight and maybe some shopping.

Menacing storm saying,"Bike faster!"

Day 15: Against the wind

75.4 miles. Averaged 10.6. What a windy day. That night we made our bear mace easily accessible but haven't had to use it yet. All we heard was a pack of dogs or coyotes running around. Took down camp early again thanks to the sun. There's no doubt we're in the Mountain time zone now. Maybe we should've gone the other way, it would've felt more like positive time travel. We only had two major climbs today but the wind made it feel like we were hauling a horse. We were bikin' against the wind. Against the wind. It was really hot too, around 90 degrees. At least it was a dry heat. Saw a few sandstorms which were pretty cool. The only water we had was from our last stop in Baker, NV. Fortunately, we used water our conservatively and had extremely friendly vehicle assistance. We made it to Milford, UT (not MI, Tim's hometown) and ate at a local diner. We decided to take it easy the rest of the day and ride over to Cedar City, UT in the morning.

Campin

Day 14: Adios Nevada

75.3 miles. Averaged 11.6 mph. We left Ely, NV early and made it to Baker, NV by 3pm. We said goodbye to Highway 50 as we traveled down an even lonelier road which made Hwy 50 look like I-75. Great Basin National Park was only 5 miles down the road, but 10 miles too far for us. After some food we decided to keep on pushing forward because our waitress mentioned a camping area 12 miles away. The best part was it didn't cost a thing. We figured this would also save us some miles the next day. You wouldn't believe how much camping can be. There are hotels out here cheaper than some campsites. We'll just have to make our own campsites. So as we rode past Baker we crossed the border into Utah. It didn't surprise us to find a very similar landscape so far.

I think this pass got the best of Tim

Make-A-Wish Foundation

For those of you interested in participating in a bike trip similar to ours I would highly recommend the Wish-A-Mile 300. It's a three day ride this summer from July 22-25th which starts in Traverse City and ends in Chelsea, Michigan. This is how Michael became interested in longer rides and why we are raising money for this foundation. There is a newer and shorter ride this summer called the Wish-A-Mile 50 which happens on July 25th. For both tours you have a fee to pay for amenities and the Heroes Hurrah. There is also a minimum fundraising goal. All in all though it's a great weekend for a great cause that would love to have cyclists of all skill levels. It doesn't look like the tours have filled up yet so feel free to click on the header above and sign-up. Michael will be riding again this year and any questions or concerns you may have feel free to contact him through email at mloogs@gmail.com Shout out and thanks to Katie Hill, Jim Taubitz, Joann Siewert, Liisa Walimaa, Jan Wolfe, Trevor Smith, and Lutheran Church of the Master for their donations. A friend said he was waiting until we have proven our resilience to donate. Hopefully that will be shown once we beat these hills. We are hoping to raise a dollar for each mile we bike. A donation of a penny every two miles would come out to $15 which would be great! Any contribution would be awesome. It would help a child's dream come true!

Day 13: Eureeka! We found Ely!

79 miles. Averaged 13 mph. Solid day. In the morning we awoke to find a car show in downtown Eureka (not Eureeka). For a town of a few hundred people it was a remarkable display. We also found Michael's phone to be functioning properly. Hopefully that malfunction won't happen again. Apple you're scaring us. Adventure cycling scared us too. When we first looked at our second map we thought the climbs were going to be impossible. The elevation profile makes them look extraordinarily steep. Fortunately, they have been gradual climbs so far and we are killing them. Shout out to Simon who we met on the road today. He is from Germany and is just completing his loop from LA through the mountains and back to San Francisco. We met two other cyclists today as well who are going our way. We'll probably see them down the road sometime. Tomorrow we're going to take it easy and make it to Baker. Then the next day we are hoping to leave Nevada and make it 100 miles. Michael bought two new tires today although he feels he could have made it the whole way with that excellent tape job. Good thing he occasionally listens to his mother. You're right Peter, every mom knows best. Shout out to his brother, Andrew, for his help with addresses the other day and his upcoming graduation. Look out GVSU! Looking forward to some kayaking this summer Andrew!

Eating breakfast in Austin

Hot rods in the middle of nowhere

Tough climb

Shout out to Sharona who wishes she could have had a chocolate cake like this, so good

Day 12: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

71 miles. 12.1 mph. The Good: We started off the day right with another delicious breakfast at a local eatery. We also made it to Eureka and had a warm, sunny day biking. The Bad: After breakfast Michael's fully charged phone broke and still refuses to turn on. Then Mark left us. He had a hankering for some In-n-Out. We can't blame him, it's so good. Then we started straight up a mountain and not even a mile in Michael's tire blew because of a split. Luckily, Tim was within earshot. The Ugly: The only spare tire we brought was given to Brooks back in San Francisco to save on space. Uh-oh. With a split tire any new tube you put in will surely pop again. We remembered Mark had a bike on the back of his car so we decided to call him. Unfortunately, his number was on Michael's phone which of course wasn't working. Special thanks to Dave, Sal, and Tommy who helped make a mini-phone tree so we could call Mark with Tim's phone. Once we got a hold of Mark we learned his bike's tires were too large. So we had a back-up plan to use the tool of many uses, duck tape. It doesn't look pretty but it worked like a charm, for now. We rotated the tires since the front one wasn't getting much wear. Hopefully the tape can hold up another 80 miles tomorrow to the next bile shop. We'll see. No service here in Eureka tonight but we did find some wireless internet. We also found some great Chinese food. Early to bed early to rise tomorrow. We've got a big day of climbs and no service stops.

Nomad-a

Beat the sunset

So good

The Ugly tape job

Day 11: Ghost Riders requesting a flyby

112.3 miles. Averaged 12.3 mph. Way to go Tim! His first century ride ever and four mountain passes included. He'd like to give a shout out to his family and Megan who he misses very much. We could have stopped in Cold Springs today but he wanted to push on through to Austin. We're trying to get back as soon as we can and safely of course. We started really early this morning at 7am (not Tim's cup of tea) and biked down highway 50 through Top Gun. No flybys for us but we did hear a sonic boom which woke us up. We wanted to title this post Maverick and Goose but we remembered Goose dies in the end so we had to be a bit more creative. At around 1130 we made it to Middlegate, aka middle of nowhere. Probably one of the coolest restaurants/stops we've been to so far. Covering the ceilings were hundreds of dollar dollar bills. We learned that back in the day people would staple their cash to the walls after a long night at the bar so they could pick it up in the morning. Now it's become a cool tourist attraction. Another great idea they have is the chance to win a free shirt if you can finish their "monster burger" and fries. Immediately Michael knew what he was ordering. He rarely passes on the chance for a free t-shirt. A touring group called the desert people were there during the event and made it feel like a Man vs. Food episode. Everyone wanted a picture. It was pretty funny for only a pound burger. Great meeting all of the desert people, especially Ted, Carrol, and Marjo. Thank you so much for the Make-A-Wish donation you collected! Also thanks to Cathy who served up some of the best tasting Nevada food yet! Later that night we met up with our friend Mark. He is driving out to Palo Alto for an internship with Tesla Motors which starts Monday. Glad you could meet up with us Mark! A few more big climbs tomorrow and a whole lot of nothing on the Lonliest Road in America. Sounds exiciting eh? Nevada is actually really beautiful it's just too bad they covered the bike lane with rumble strips.

Tim's lovin his first century ride

They're not kidding, but we think 17 might be a stretch

A glutton for punishment

The deed is done. Can we get one to go?

The Shoe Tree. Reminded us of Ann Arbor.