Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial: Rocky Mountain High (Missive 7)

NOTE:  This is the seventh missive for Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial ride.  The sixth missive can be found at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/03/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial.html . The eighth missive is at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/04/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial-on.html .  

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Slideshow

A slideshow of photos from Colorado can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/d9PXchTT4rMUoiu39 . 

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Missive No. 7:  Rocky Mountain High

I found myself humming and singing that classic John Denver song much of last week.  Well, to be precise, I hummed and sang when not huffing and puffing uphill.

The climbing started as soon as I finished my last day off in Pueblo, CO, where I got to see my nephew and his two children.  (They live in Colorado Springs.)  The uphill from Pueblo to Canon City was mild, but already the weather was changing with altitude.  Although storms greeted me as I reached Canon City, I could sense the air was drier.  As the rain continued, I spent the night in the dormitory of what used to be a private school on the grounds of a now defunct Benedictine abbey.  A number of summer interns with the Bureau of Land Management were staying there as well, and I ended up as part of their cookout and conversation late into the evening.

I got an early start the next morning for what I knew would be all-day climb to Guffey with more storms predicted for the afternoon.  I had called ahead to the hostel to make sure I could stay for the night, but I was nevertheless surprised when, with about six miles to go, a vehicle going the other way slowed down.  The woman at the wheel was Cindy.  Bill, who has managed the hostel since 1976, feared I would get caught in the storms and had sent Cindy to intercept me.

The hostel in Guffey is unforgettable.  Primitive with no running water, it was also one of the most enjoyable places I have stayed on this trip.  The bunkhouse is the old assayer's office from gold rush days.  It brought back good memories of Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) cabins I have rented through the years.  Bill's garage is not so much a garage as a museum timepiece that combines a Colorado past with a more recent 1960s summer of love.  The same could be said of the entire small town.  The mayor of Guffey is a cat.  I'm not kidding.

The next day's riding from Guffee was to die for, one gorgeous alpine meadow or mountain view after another, a true Rocky Mountain high.  I arrived in Fairplay just as the town festival in honor of Prunes the Donkey was ending.

I knew the ride from Fairplay through Alma to Breckinridge would be one of the most difficult yet.  The route passes over the Continental Divide at Hoosier Pass, which at 11,500 (~3700 meters) is higher than I had ever been.  I was not disappointed as to difficulty, but the issue was not so much the steep grade as it was the heavy, 65mph traffic on a two lane road with no shoulder.  Going uphill at best at 5-6mph, I soon decided I would be better off pushing Woodswoman uphill at 3-4mph on the dirt track beside the road.  This Effective Cyclist who says she's ready to ride on any road finally threw in the towel.  I kept thinking how in eastern states this mountain road would have had a speed limit of 35mph with occasional speed humps.  Coming down the other side of the pass to Breckinridge was quite another matter.  Going 25mph or more, I fully took the lane, stopping from time to time to let my rims cool.

Breckinridge is a ski resort town that is just as popular in the summer as in winter.  Although beautiful, it has resort prices and was therefore just a lunch stop.  I continued on to a USFS campground on Dillon Reservoir just beyond Frisco for a primitive camping night.

Beyond Silverthorne the views change from alpine to arid as one loses altitude, but scenic views return beyond Hot Sulphur Springs.  The route here passes through two national forests and a second crossing of the Continental Divide at Willow Creek Pass on a road with little traffic.  A major fire happened here last October, and the evidence is still everywhere to be seen.  A fire must have been in progress somewhere nearby as I rode through, as I watched helicopters carrying water bladders cross the ridge and return with their bladders empty.

I spent my last night in Colorado camped at the city park in Walden together with Blaise and Tom.  Blaise is riding the TransAm W-E, and Tom is riding his own route.  The next morning I crossed into Wyoming for the first time in my life and spent the night at the St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Saratoga.  I am writing this on my rest day in Rawlins, WY, where I just went to a Lions Club pancake breakfast and watched the parade opening the Carbon County fair.  I've earned a day of rest.

And now for some news about my occasional bicycling companions.  Cathy and Richard took a break for the birth of their granddaughter but are preparing to resume their trip from where they left off in Kansas.  Devin and Sarah are about three days ahead of me now (youth!) but keep sending me intelligence on what to expect further down the road.  Amanda and her brother Addison are even further ahead than that.

In addition to Blaise and Tom, this week I met Cristina and Anya, a mother-daughter pair who are riding W-E.  Along the road from Guffey I met Monte Lowrence, author of Wide Hips, Narrow Shoulders about his bike-packing journey through all 48 lower U.S. states.  Later, during a snack break, I met a 71-year-old cyclist who has bike-packed in Africa and all the way to the southern tip of South America.  (Ron and Ellen:  Made me think of you.)  My travels along the TransAm and the Northern Tier are tame by comparison.

How much of the TransAm still lies ahead of me?  I haven't totalled things up officially, but I think I have about 1700 miles to go.

That's my news for this missive.  It has been a wonderful week of riding through gorgeous country with kind, helpful people.  The heat and humidity of Kansas are but a memory, and Wyoming now beckons me onward.

And if anyone reading this does not know that John Denver song, here you go:  https://youtu.be/eOB4VdlkzO4

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Daily Log 

 

Monday, June 19, 2021 -- 18,668 km cum - 174 km/day

106 miles from Scott City, KS, to Eads, CO.  I'm in Colorado and the Mountain Time zone.  Moreover, in Eads there is a sign proclaiming the mid-point of the TransAm.  I am officially halfway between Yortown, VA, and Astoria, OR.

I hadn't intended to go so far or so long today.  I had expected to go only 78 miles to Sheridan Lakes, KS.  What happened was Devin Leadbetter and his friend Sarah.  They caught up with me when I stopped to talk with an eastbound cyclist near Leoti.  Like Amanda and her brother whom I met in Missouri, they are on a tight schedule to complete the TransAm before the end of August.  As young people, they have school and work commitments.  They had also left from Scott City this morning and were intent on a long day.  They inspired me to push on.  We cycled together most of the day and are together for a motel night in Eads where there is, finally, good beer.  We just had a good evening together at the motel lounge and snack bar.

Overall, this was a long but wonderful record-setting day!

Tuesday, July 20, 2021 -- 18,772 km cum - 104 km/day

A good 65 mile ride from Eads to Ordway, but I miss Sarah and Devin.  We had breakfast together, but then they were off, intent on making it all the way to Pueblo.  After yesterday, my goal for today was more modest.

I am camped tonight at the city park in Ordway.  Conditions are primitive -- i.e., port-a-potty and cold water from a spigot.  Tomorrow I will go in the opposite direction and choose luxury in Pueblo.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 -- 18,857 km cum - 85 km/day

I'm in Pueblo after an easy 53 mile ride from Ordway.  Today's highlight was a stop in Olney Springs where I met the mayor and a local artist, one of them Arapaho and the other Iroquois, transplants to here from Ohio and Pennsylvania.  I was quite impressed by the artist.

I arrived in Pueblo by 1:30 p.m.  I stopped first at the local bike shop to give Woodswoman a quick go-over before I go further.  All, thankfully, is in order.  Janet fixed the weird way in which the bike shop in Maryland installed the rear fender.

I also went to the post office.  The box of supplies from Ellen and Ron was waiting for me.

I checked in at the Marriott and am now at an Irish pub.  36 hours of luxury and bliss!

Friday, July 23, 2021 -- 18,940 km cum - 83 km/day

Just a 52 mile day, but this was my first climbing day since Missouri.  The 30+ miles from Pueblo to Wetmore were largely uphill.  I experienced again the optical illusion I remember from last year.  At times I wonder why I am going so slowly on what seems to be flat or downhill terrain when, in fact, I am on an uphill incline.

I drank most of my water and Gatorade by the time I reached Wetmore.  With no convenience store in town, I stopped at the post office for water.  Fortunately the route was largely downhill after that from Wetmore to Florence.

It started to shower while I was at the convenience store in Florence.  I abandoned camping thoughts and am instead at what was once the Holy Cross Academy in Canon City.  It feels right to be here.  It used to be a Benedictine Abbey and private school.  I'm in a dorm room for $40.  That's pricey compared with most hostels, but oh well.  I'm out of the rain.

There are a number of young interns from the Bureau of Land Management who are staying here also.  I had a good time in the evening talking about Russian history and nuclear issues with Joshua and David.

All-in-all, this was a good day!

Saturday, July 24, 2021 -- 18,985 km cum - 45 km/day

This was an unexpectedly short, 28-mile day.  It should have been 34-35 miles, but Bill, who runs the bike hostel in Guffey, was worried I would be caught in storms and sent out his friend Cindy to intercept me when I was still 6-7 miles from town.  I wasn't going to say no to these good people who had gone out of their way in their concern for me.  (FWIW, I think I would have made it under my own power before any rain started.)

I will admit it was quite a climbing day.  Canon City is at about 5500 feet.  Guffey is at 8500.

The hostel and Bill himself are the epitome of hippie eclectic.  No showers or running water here.  Guffey itself was once a gold town.  The hostel is in what had been the assayer's office at one time.  The mayor is a cat!  (I'm not kidding!)

Sunday, July 25, 2021 -- 19,061 km cum - 76 km/day

A wonderful day.  Slept beautifully in the bunkhouse at the Guffey hostel and was up at 5:00 a.m.  Made coffee on my camp stove and had a breakfast of cereal, fruit, and hard boiled eggs.

I rode out of Guffey at about 8:30 a.m.  There was still some climbing to do to reach Current Creek Pass, but it was nothing like yesterday.  From there the ride was more down than up all the way to Hartsel with gorgeous alpine views all along the way.  Some six miles from Hartsel I met Monte Lawrence from Fairplay who bike-packed through all 50 U.S. states.  (NOTE:  Later read his book Wide Hips and Narrow Shoulders about his experiences.)

Took a snack break in Hartsel and then continued on to Fairplay.  That part of today's ride was not nearly as pleasant.  The traffic is heavier on a 65 mph road with no shoulder, just the conditions that cyclists love.

I arrived in Fairplay at about 2:30 p.m. and checked into the Western Inn, the town's cheap motel at $120/night.

I walked around town in the later afternoon while talking with John by phone.  Fairplay is largely a touristy restoration of a western town, but it has character.  This weekend was the annual Burro Days celebration of Prunes the Burro, the town legend.

On to Hoosier Pass tomorrow!

Monday, July 26, 2021 -- 19,123 km cum - 62 km/Days

This was a short 39-mile day by design because of Hoosier Pass, but it was still longer than the 22 miles recommended by the TransAm handlebar guide.  I **did** push Woodswoman 4 miles on the climb up to Hoosier Pass, but I have no regrets.  The issue was not the grade.  Rather, riding 4-5 miles/hour in a traffic lane with heavy 65-70 mph trucks and RVs is more than even this committed effective cyclist is willing to endure.  Better to walk along the edge or on the dirt shoulder at 3-4 mph and enjoy the spectacular views.

Coming down the other side wasn't as bad on the brakes and rims as I had expected.  I stopped and rested only 3-4 times.  I was in Breckenridge by 12:30 p.m. and decided I could go further.

I am camped tonight at the Hawthorne USFS campground near Silverthorne.  It's a primitive campground, but the price was right at $13.  This is a resort/tourist area, and even the cheap motels are over $100/night.  I'll alternate every few days so that I can do laundry and become human.

All in all, this was a very good day!

Tuesday, July 27, 2021 -- 19,220 km cum - 105 km/day

As usual, I got a late post-camping-night start, but nevertheless this was a good 65-mile day to the Canyon Motel in Hot Sulphur Springs.  Along the way I met Chris and Anya, a mother-daughter pair who are riding the TransAm W-E.  Later, in Heney, I shared a snack break with Tim, a 70+ year old cyclist who is improvising his own route.  Like Ron Enders, he seems to have bike-packed everywhere, including in Africa and all the way to the tip of South America.  Makes me feel like a rank beginner.

The terrain has changed from the Alpine of the past few days to more arid with sparse vegetation.  Still, the views are beautiful.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 -- 19,331 km cum - 103 km/day

A good 60+ mile day up and over Willow Creek Pass.  At 9600 feet, it was a much easier climb than Hoosier because it was on a road with little traffic.  Wonderful!  And then it was largely downhill the rest of the day.

Much of the morning's ride was in Arapaho National Forest, which experienced one of the big western fires last October.  The hills are covered with burned tree skeletons.  I think there must have been fire activity somewhere even today, as I watched a helicopter carry a water bladder over a ridge several times and return with it empty.

I am camped tonight at the city park in Waldon.  Tim, a TransAm sectional rider, and Blaze, a W-E rider, are camped here also.  For $5 I had a nice shower at the city pool.

A good day!  Wyoming tomorrow :) .

Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial: Flatlander (Missive 6)

NOTE:  This is the sixth missive for Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial ride.  The fourth and fifth missives can be found at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/02/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial-in.html .  The seventh missive is at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/03/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial_26.html.  

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Slideshow

A slideshow of photos from the flatlands of Kansas and Colorado can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/XBDFt8De8w21Qd4H9 . 

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Missive No. 6:  Flatlander

What a difference terrain makes.  From Afton, VA, to the Kansas border, TransAm cyclists enjoyably struggle over the Blue Ridge, the Appalachians, and the Ozarks.  The going is slow, and 50 miles feel like a big day.  Then, suddenly, it's over.  One crosses the Kansas border and reaches the flatlands of the Great Plains at last.  In nine days of riding, I covered over 650 miles from Pittsburg, KS, to Pueblo, CO.  That makes for an average of over 70 miles/day.  Two of those days were century days.  On my final day in Kansas, I reached 108 miles, my personal record on a loaded touring bike.  The struggles of the eastern mountains are finally in the past.

Of course, being on the plains means trading the hills for the wind.  I remember well from Kazakhstan just how much the wind can hinder or help depending on which way it is blowing.  It's the gift that keeps on giving in unpredictable ways.  With a mountain, one must struggle up and over, but than it is really over.  With the wind, one never knows.  For that reason, more TransAm cyclists ride west to east on the theory that the prevailing westerly winds will help more than hinder.  For me, however, the winds defied the common wisdom. Most days the wind was a cross wind from the south, and on several days the wind was a tailwind out of the southeast.  I could not have ridden the 108 miles without that helpful nudge from behind.

Neither could I have ridden those 108 miles without a helpful nudge from my new young cycling friends Sarah and Devin from New Jersey. We met up on the road out of Scott City, KS.  I was planning on riding at most 75 miles that day, but they were hoping for something closer to 125.  Young people that they are, they have other commitments and must complete the TransAm by a fixed date.  (Oh how I enjoy the no-schedule perks of retirement!)  Riding together that day, they infected me with their conversation and enthusiasm. We crossed into Colorado together and ended up with a compromise by spending the night in Eads, CO, a distance greater than I had planned even if less than they had hoped for.  The next morning, however, they were off for another big day while I lingered over breakfast and was more than content with a 65 mile day.

Overall, I am meeting many more cyclists this year than I did on the Northern Tier last year.  In part that's because the TransAm is a better known route, but it's also because Covid seemingly (we hope!) is less of a threat this year, at least to those of us who are vaccinated. 

Another cyclist you will see in my photos is Ryan.  He's headed east to Yorktown, and we stopped and chatted a good bit on the day I rode from Ness City to Scott City.  We later got caught in a wind storm that caused us both to take shelter in our respective places.  When the sky blackened and the wind gusted at what seemed to me to be gale force, I took shelter in a culvert underneath the road.  I was seriously worried that this might be what it is like just before a tornado hits. Thankfully, there was strong wind and a dark sky but no rain.  If there had been, my culvert shelter would have become something quite different.  As it was, the wind became less gusty an hour or so later.  I continued to Scott City but didn't push the day any further. The sky still looked threatening.

On another memorable day, I took an ill-advised shortcut on the way to Hutchinson.  I knew it would involve a dirt road, but I didn't realize that dirt roads in that part of Kansas are more sand than dirt. The sand was so deep in places that I felt I was at a beach.  It was impossible to ride.  I had to walk and push Woodswoman through that sand for more than five miles before finding a paved road that would help me further along.

Eastern Kansas is mainly agricultural with all the associated smells and lots of trucks and agricultural equipment on the roads.  That changes gradually as one continues westward.  I passed through the Quivira National Wildlife Preserve that reminded me of the wetlands flyway to the west of Astana, Kazakhstan.  More and more sunflowers made their appearance.  Then, the countryside changed to open grassland that reminded me of the Big Sky country in North Dakota and Montana.  As they did last year, two songs kept playing in my head, Mary McCaslin's Prairie in the Sky and Big Sky by Under the Oak.  Prairie in the Sky could be the perfect anthem for bike-packers:  "I carry all I own the pouches of my saddlebags with my bed roll tied behind."

Also worth mentioning is that I am finally using the tent and camping more.  The hostels and churches of Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri have faded away.  At one beautiful state park near Toronto, KS, I even used my camp stove to prepare dinner and morning coffee.  There was a reason for lugging all that equipment over the Blue Ridge, Appalachians, and Ozarks after all.  

That's my Flatland story. I rolled into Pueblo, CO, yesterday and have today as an off day to rest up for the next challenge.  From here the TransAm turns northward and follows the ridge of the Rockies, crossing and re-crossing the Continental Divide nine times.  My highest pass on the Northern Tier last year was Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.  It's a bit over 7200 feet if I remember correctly.  In a few days I will be climbing Hoosier Pass.  It tops out at over 11,500 feet.

I am officially beyond the TransAm halfway point.  Sarah, Devin, and I posed in front of a sign in Eads, CO, telling us that we are halfway.  By my calculation, I have about 2050 miles to go.  I'm on track to finish as I had expected in the first ten days of September, weather and other conditions permitting.

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Daily Log 

 

Saturday, July 10, 2021 -- 17,788 km cum - 118 km/day

I'm in Kansas after a wonderful 74 mile day even if I did get caught in a light rain for the final 25 miles after stopping for pie at Cookey's in Garden City.

The hills are entirely behind me now for the first time since Charlottesville.  At last!  After Garden City I seemed to fly along at better than an average of 24 km/hour.  Finally I am on terrain that reminds me of ND last year.

I caught up with and then passed Amanda and her brother Addison.  I had met them a couple of days back in MO but thought they were way ahead of me by now given that they were riding consistent 100+ mile days.  I saw them again at Tailwind Cyclists in Pittsburg.  They are having technical issues.  Remembering last year in Montana and other kindnesses shown to me along the road, I "payed it forward" with my credit card at Tailwind Cyclists.  These rides are challenging enough even without technical issues.

Rest!  I'll have two nights in the Holiday Lodge in Pittsburg before moving on.  Bliss.

Monday, July 12, 2021 -- 17,954 km cum - 166 km/days

A century ride!  In fact, 104 miles.  That's a record for me on a loaded touring bike, more than the century that I barely cracked last year on the UP of Michigan.  I reached Chanute at 1:30 p.m. and decided to keep going.  I finished at Cross Timbers State Park near Toronto.  That's what's possible with good, flat roads and good weather and no appreciable wind.

I won't get nearly as far today.  (I'm writing on Tuesday morning.)  That's the overhead of tent camping.  I'll be lucky if I'm underway by 9:30 a.m.

Still, a century!

Tuesday, July 13, 2021 -- 18,053 km cum - 99 km/day

Just as the day after my century on the UP last year was tougher than the century day itself, so it proved this year with this 62 mile day.

First, I got a very late start at 10 a.m.  When I camp, the start is always later no matter how hard I try.

Second, the heat and humidity are back.  A cross wind hindered more than helped.

Finally, US 54 is a miserable road for cyclists.  The shoulder is narrow; the speed limit is 65 mph; and the road abounds in big trucks that create a draft as they pass.  The road is monotonous all the way from Toronto to Rosalia, and construction in Eureka does not help.  There are even some unexpectedly long climbs as the road passes through the Flint Hills.  I was relieved, overjoyed in fact, to get to Rosalia and turn north for the final miles to Cassoday.

I am camped tonight under a gazebo at the Cassoday General Store.  The conditions are primitive with no shower or toilet, but at least I was able to get a hot meal before the store closed.  I will need a motel tomorrow night.

Wednesday, July 14, 2021 -- 18,180 km cum - 127 km/days

This was just shy of an 80-mile day.  It should have been more like 75, but I took an ill-advised Google route from Newton to Hutchinson.  The road turned to dirt about a third of the way.  Dirt would have been OK, but this was **sand**, at times deep.  There was no way I could ride.  I had to push Woodswoman 5-6 miles to get to a paved road that would take me to US 50.  I rode that the rest of the way to Hutchinson, fighting a cross wind and arriving after 7 p.m. to the cheap OYO hotel.  Having ridden in three days what would be the norm for five, I've earned another rest day.  Moreover, it supposed to rain on Thursday.

I watched the Tour de France on TV this evening and felt a mild echo of solidarity on two wheels.  I will spend Thursday doing laundry.

Friday, July 16, 2021 -- 18,295 km cum - 115 km/days

The easiest cycling day yet, 71 miles on flat roads with no wind and, until noon, no sun.  I arrived in Great Bend around 1:30 p.m. and checked into my cheap motel before 3.  I even had time to stop first at a liquor store and Walmart.

Today's route passed through the Quivira National Wildlife Reserve.  I took a short break there and am glad I did.  The Reserve reminded me, on a smaller scale, of the wetlands flyway near Astana that I visited with the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan (ASBK) in 2016.  There is also a historical tie-in with Coronado, aka the Turk, and the search for cities of gold in the mid-16th century.

In the morning I met Rusty and his three companions who are on their supported trip east.  Later I passed an eastbound bike-packer with a full load.

All-in-all, this was a very good day, perhaps the best yet.

Saturday, July 17, 2021 -- 18,400 km cum - 105 km/day

It's a camping night at the Ness City park.  I had thought there was an outside chance for a long day, but heavy morning rain in Great Bend quashed that thought.  I waited out the storm at the motel and didn't get underway until 9:30 a.m.  The ride, however, was easy with largely flat roads and even, at times, a slight tailwind.  I stopped for a full hour in Grand Rush and still get to Ness City by 3:30 p.m.  

I met eastbound cyclists Kim and John as I entered town.  I thought they would camp also, but I think they went to the town's cheap motel.  I opted for camping after reading reviews that described the motel as "creepy" and "the worst ever."  The park sounded more inviting.  I took a refreshing cold water shower using an outdoor hose.

I'm enjoying cod for dinner at the Cactus Club restaurant.  It's surprisingly good!

Sunday, July 18, 2021 -- 18,494 km cum - 94 km/day

This was the big day that was not to be.  Although I started late -- almost 10 a.m. -- I had a good tailwind and felt sure I would blast through Scott City and do an 80 mile day to Leoti.  Instead, strong, gale force winds surprised me a little past Dighton.  The wind gusts were so strong that I couldn't ride.  The sky looked ominous, and I wondered if this is what it is like before a tornado.  I took shelter in a culvert under the road, perhaps not the best choice but the only one available.  I stayed there for an hour, studying the radar and forecast for the coming hours.  I despaired of Leoti and wondered how I would even make it to Scott City.

Eventually the gusts subsided.  I returned to the road and pedalled the last 15 miles to Scott City for all I was worth, helped along by a strong tailwind.  I was traveling at a consistent 32 km/hour (20 mph) and made it to Scott City around 3:30 p.m.  With the sky ahead still ominous, I checked in to the Lazy R Motel.  So much for my dreams of a big day.

Met two eastbound cyclists, Randy and Mark.  The latter lives on Wessex Ave. just off Piney Branch in Silver Spring, MD.  Imagine that, someone who lives a short walk to where I lived for so many years on Richmond Ave.

Now, as I write at 6:30 p.m., the sky is perfectly clear.  Go figure.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Monday, June 19, 2021 -- 18,668 km cum - 174 km/day

106 miles from Scott City, KS, to Eads, CO.  I'm in Colorado and the Mountain Time zone.  Moreover, in Eads there is a sign proclaiming the mid-point of the TransAm.  I am officially halfway between Yorktown, VA, and Astoria, OR.

I hadn't intended to go so far or so long today.  I had expected to go only 78 miles to Sheridan Lakes, KS.  What happened was Devin Leadbetter and his friend Sarah.  They caught up with me when I stopped to talk with an eastbound cyclist near Leoti.  Like Amanda and her brother whom I met in Missouri, they are on a tight schedule to complete the TransAm before the end of August.  As young people, they have school and work commitments.  They had also left from Scott City this morning and were intent on a long day.  They inspired me to push on.  We cycled together most of the day and are together for a motel night in Eads where there is, finally, good beer.  We just had a good evening together at the motel lounge and snack bar.

Overall, this was a long but wonderful record-setting day!

Tuesday, July 20, 2021 -- 18,772 km cum - 104 km/day

A good 65 mile ride from Eads to Ordway, but I miss Sarah and Devin.  We had breakfast together, but then they were off, intent on making it all the way to Pueblo.  After yesterday, my goal for today was more modest.

I am camped tonight at the city park in Ordway.  Conditions are primitive -- i.e., port-a-potty and cold water from a spigot.  Tomorrow I will go in the opposite direction and choose luxury in Pueblo.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 -- 18,857 km cum - 85 km/day

I'm in Pueblo after an easy 53 mile ride from Ordway.  Today's highlight was a stop in Olney Springs where I met the mayor and a local artist, one of them Arapaho and the other Iroquois, transplants to here from Ohio and Pennsylvania.  I was quite impressed by the artist.

I arrived in Pueblo by 1:30 p.m.  I stopped first at the local bike shop to give Woodswoman a quick go-over before I go further.  All, thankfully, is in order.  Janet fixed the weird way in which the bike shop in Maryland installed the rear fender.

I also went to the post office.  The box of supplies from Ellen and Ron was waiting for me.

I checked in at the Marriott and am now at an Irish pub.  36 hours of luxury and bliss!

Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial: In the Land of Popeye and the Maine Compromise (Missives 4 & 5)

NOTE:  These are the fourth and fifth missives for Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial ride.  The third missive can be found at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/01/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial-my.html .  The sixth missive is at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/03/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial.html.

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Slideshow

A slideshow of photos from Illinois and Missouri can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/zeF7Ps5eD5aL7di88 .

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Missive No. 4:  Illinois

This evening finds me lodged in the Bicycle Shack at the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Chester, IL, the home of Popeye creator E. C. Segar.  Yesterday I was in Carbondale, once home to Buckminster Fuller who built his famous geodesic dome there and taught at the university.

The TransAm route in southern Illinois is shorter than its route through any other state, not even 200 miles.  After crossing the Ohio River by ferry from Kentucky, I visited Cave-in-Rock, once used in the filming of the 1962 movie How the West Was Won.  From there I went on to Golconda and a rest day at a cheap motel where I made friends with the manager Leslie, her daughter Natalie, and their dog Tucker who liked to lick my fragrant bicyclist feet. 

My rest day nearly turned to two when I awoke to heavy rain on Thursday.  With the weather improved by mid-afternoon, I made a quick 25 mile run down the road to Vienna.  My route was along a portion of the Trail of Tears, the path of the Cherokee people during their forced expulsion in 1838.

My route to Carbondale on Saturday was partly on the Tunnel Hill rail trail, a nice gentle break from the roads.  I had a WS night reserved in Carbondale with Jack, a prolific host of TransAm cyclists.  Cathy and Richard, my companions for several nights in Kentucky, caught up with me on my rest day and spent the night also.  We celebrated by going out to a Chinese restaurant.

That's the quick update from Illinois.  Tomorrow I cross the Mississippi into Missouri and on into the Ozarks.  In other words, I'll be back in hill country.  The past two days have been cool after the rains, but the heat and humidity are supposed to return tomorrow.  Sigh.  Such is the hot, sticky life of a bike-packer in July.

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Missive No. 5:  Missouri

As the song goes, "I'm as corny as Kansas in August."  Well, OK, I get ahead of myself.  It's only July, and the story today is of the Maine Compromise of 1820 and the Ozark hills of Missouri.  Still, that old song is what was playing in my mind as I flew into Pittsburg, KS, on the most exquisitely flat road I've experienced since Williamsburg, VA.

"Maine Compromise?" you ask?  Not so many years ago at a trivia evening with David  A, I humiliated  myself  by not knowing that Maine was the state that came into the Union together with Missouri in what is better known as the Missouri Compromise. Given that I adopted Maine as my home state as long ago as 2009, I knew there would be a price, a penance to pay in atonement for my lack of historical knowledge.  I paid it this week by riding up and down every hill that the Ozarks were able to throw in my path.

No doubt about it, Missouri is a tough part of the TransAm.  The Ozark hills are not as high as the Blue Ridge or the Appalachians of Kentucky, but they are relentless, a roller coaster that keeps on giving.  I set a personal speed record of  45mph going down one of those hills only to struggle up the next one at 4-5 mph, scarcely faster than walking speed.  And yes, I did push my bike, aka Woodswoman II, up a few of those hills.

I characterize last week's weather as tailor made for Happy Warriors in the mold of Hubert Horatio Humphrey.  I've decided that the initials HHH must stand for something other than our one-time Vice President and long-serving progressive senator.  They stand for Hot, Hilly, and Humid.  I drank not quarts but gallons of water and sport drinks each day this week.

But there was also beauty, in particular in the heart of the Ozarks between Ellington and Eminence.  At Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, I took a break to put my feet in the marvelous cooling water of the river.  I arrived in Pilot Knob on July 4 in time for fireworks and also to visit the Fort Davidson historic site.  There I learned about the last major Civil War battle of 1864 in Missouri.  Both there and through the week, I came to understand that Missouri had largely been Union territory throughout the Civil War despite having been admitted as a slave state in 1821.

Cathy and Richard continue to play leapfrog with me.  We overnighted together at the hostel in Ellington. I pulled ahead of them after that, but I expect they will catch me again during this, my off day in Pittsburg. They could be pulling into town even as I write.

Amanda and her brother caught up with me in Marshfield.  They then did an 83-mile day to Golden City, while I rode only 50 to the hostel in Ash Garden.  The next day I caught up with and passed them on the road to Pittsburg.  They were having technical issues, in particular with Amanda's totally worn out tires.  I spent part of yesterday evening with them at the bike shop in Pittsburg as they got things in order.  Amanda was a Peace Corps volunteer in Macedonia until Covid forced evacuation, and I think that brought out the instinctive "FSOs look out and care for PC volunteers" in me.  I wanted to be sure they were OK to  go on.  Amanda starts graduate school at American University in DC at the end of August.

Other chance meetings along the way continue to restore my belief in the basic goodness of people.  At a convenience store in Willard in a particularly HHH day, one gentleman whipped out $20 and insisted that I have a good dinner in Ash Grove.  Then a local cyclist rode in pulling a trailer  in which his little dog Jackson rode as if in a carriage. I must beg the indulgence of these two gentlemen (Eric and ???) for mixing up their names, but I will never forget Jackson, a dog who actually likes cyclists.  Jackson and his owner led me a good way to Ash Grove on a back route only they know.

By the way, most Missourians I met didn't know that Maine became a state together with Missouri.  Perhaps a few will, one day, have to ride our Maine Eastern Highlands the way I just rode through the Ozarks?

That's my missive for this rest day in Pittsburg, KS, on Sunday, July 11.  Onward I go tomorrow, inexorably forward on the blissfully flat roads of Kansas.

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Daily Log 

 

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 -- 16,965 km cum - 67 km/day

I'm in Illinois.  Hurrah!

That said, the day was oppressive and hard even if a short 42 miles.  The heat and humidity are back in spades, worse than yesterday.

I said goodbye to Joe in the morning.  He'll get to Oregon well before me.  Youth!

The ferry across the Ohio River and Cave-in-Rock were the highlights of the day.  The latter was used for one of the early scenes in the 1962 movie How the West Was Won.

I arrived in Goloconda to find that I had mistakenly booked a B&B for July, not June.  I'm in a cheap motel instead.

Tomorrow is my rest day, my zero day.  Hurrah again! 

Thursday, July 1, 2021 -- 17,007 km cum - 42 km/day

A very short 25 mile day, but at day's start I thought it would be zero.  After a rest day in Goloconda, I awoke to heavy rain.  From the forecast I thought it would last all day, but it let up around 2pm.  I took the risk of riding to Vienna and got away with it for another cheap motel night.

Today's ride was along the Trail of Tears.  In contrast to that somber aspect, the day's hightlight came with ice cream and chocolate in Dixon Springs.

In Goloconda I sent home some 3-4 lbs of excess "stuff."  I also left my bear spray behind.  I don't need it here and can but it again later.  Losing that weight made a difference,

At the Goloconda motel I got to know the manager Leslie, her daughter Natalie, and their dog Tucker who liked to come into my room and lick my fragrant bicyclist feet.

Friday-Saturday, July 2-3, 2021 -- 17,147 km cum - 167 km over two days (~83 km/day)

These were basic back-to-back 50 mile days.  On Friday I took the Tunnel Hill rail trail from Vienna to Tunnel Hill where I rejoined the AC route to Gorville and then Corbondale.  I stopped at a bike store in Corbondale for a new water bottle and then enjoyed a malt at the nearby DQ.

Jack was my WS host in Carbondale on Friday night.  To my surprise, Richard and Cathy caught up with me by riding 75+ miles from Elizabethtown.  The four of us went out for Chinese food.

I got an early start this morning and indulged in breakfast in Murphysboro.  Today's ride was wonderfully flat along the levee, and I arrived in Chester before 2 p.m.  I could have gone further, but on the map I saw nowhere to stay in MO for another 50 miles.  I had time to visit the Popeye museum on the way into town.  Chester is the home of Popeye creator E. C. Segar, and it is said that many of the characters in the Popeye cartoons were based on town residents.

Tonight Cathy, Richard, and I are at the "Bike Shack" run by the Fraternal Order of Eagles.  It's basic, even spare with bunks and a primitive shower.  But it's free!  The night's lodging reminds me of being in the Soviet Union in 1978.  I say that with a sense of nostalgia for days of rough travel.

Sunday, July 4, 2021 -- 17,283 km cum - 109 km/day

A good 68 mile day from Chester across the Mississippi and on to Pilot Knob, MO, the site of an 1864 Civil War battle at Fort Davidson.  The first kilometers were wonderfully flat, but then the hills began.  I'm in the Ozarks!  I managed well enough and only dismounted and pushed Woodswoman up hills a couple of times.

Cathy and Richard left before me.  I didn't even reailze it was Cathy who yelled, "You go, girl!" from a gas station as I struggled up a hill.  They are in Farmington for the night.

I'm worried about my right hand.  The thumb and palm ached badly last night.  I'm taking Ibuprofen and am doing my best to limit the time my right hand is on the drops.  The ache has eased somewhat this evening.

It's the 4th in this stuggling country of mine.  Last year on the 4th I crossed from the Lower to the Upper Peninulas of MI by ferry via Mackinaw Island.  I remember watching distant fireworks from my unofficial campsite in a the playground at a municipal park.  Tonight I watched fireworks from the roadside outside my cheap motel, the only option available in Pilot Knob.

Monday, July 5, 2021 -- 17,360 km cum - 77 km/day

After a 68 mile day yesterday, I throttled back to 48 miles today.  I have to keep reminding myself thta I'm in the roller coaster Ozark hills not on the flats of ND or the Highline of MT like last year.  Consistent good mileage days just aren't going to happen for as long as I'm in the hills.

I'm staying the night at the hostel run by the Chamber of Commerce in Ellington.  That's another rason for a short day.  There is an NPS campground down the road, but it's 24 hilly miles from here.  The hostel has AC, a good bathroom, and a wonderful shower.  Cathy and Richard should show up soon.

I stopped at Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park along the way, a wonderful choice for a rest stop.  I took my shoes off and cooled my feet in the water.

Tuesday, July 6, 2021 -- 17,439 km cum - 79 km/day

This was a Hubert H. Humphrey day -- HHH:  hot, hilly, and humid.  It may have been the toughest day since Williamsburg-Richmond, but at least I've learned my lessons from then.  I seemingly drank **gallons** of fluid through the day even as my jersey and capris became soaked as though I had been swimming.

The Missouri Ozarks have earned their roller coaster reputation.  That was the story of today's ride from Ellington to Sommersville.  I am not embarrassed to say I pushed Woodswoman up several hills.  In the afternoon I was taking hydration beaks every 2 km.  I'm at the Rusty Gate motel in Sommersville with a $40 room and instructions to pay by leaving cash on the night stand.  

I had a good break at the Dairy Shack in Eminence.  While there I met Louis and his mom.  Louis is himself an avid cyclist.

Cathy and Richard decided to overnight in Eminence.  Tomorrow I'll do a low mileage, semi-rest day to Houston, all of 22 miles.  I need the break, but it will also let me re-calibrate the following days based on where there are places to stay.  Although I do hope to camp more, it's a last resort in this heat.

On a positive note, I started one month ago today from Newport News.  As of today I am about 1/3 of the way through this trip.  I may not be maintaining last year's pace, but given everything, I'm doing well.

Wednesday, July 6, 2021 -- 17,480 km cum - 41 km/day

As predicted, today's was an easy ride from Sommersville to Houston with hills that seemed modest compared with recent days.  I visited the downtown on the way in.  It's dead, a victim of the automobile.  The Southern Inn Motel along with the Walmart and fast food restaurants are all on US 63.

My plan for the afternoon is to do as little as possible.

Thursday, July 8, 2021 -- 17,590 km cum - 110 km/day

An excellent riding day, 69 miles from Houston to a luxury hotel night at the Holiday Inn Express in Marshfield.  I was up at 4:30 a.m., enjoyed a McD breakfast, got underway at 7:15 a.m., and pulled into Marshfield at 2:30 p.m.

Could the worst of the hills be behind me now?  The morning ride to Bendavis was delightful with only modest hills.  An overcast sky made for a pleasant, cool morning.  Only after Bendavis did the hills return, the sun appear, and the afternoon heat up.  Even so, this was nothing compared with the preceding days in the Ozarks.  

On the road to Bendavis I met Patrick from San Francisco.  He's riding the Western Express and TransAm to Yorktown.

I calculate 1485 miles since starting from Newport News.  Progress!

Friday, July 9, 2021 -- 17,670 km cum - 80 km/days

This was a shorter but harder day than yesterday.  The heat and humidity are back.

I'm in Ash Grove tonight at the town hostel for cyclists.  It's an entire house.  I have it to myself, but I will have to be up at 3:30 a.m. if I want to make it to Pittsburg before rains move in mid-day tomorrow.  Yikes!

I detoured through Willard on the way to Ash Grive.  At the gas station I met Richard, who insisted on giving me $20 for dinner.  Then Eric, a cyclist, and his dog Jackson led me to a back route for the rest of the ride into Ash Grove.

Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial: My Old Kentucky Home (Missive 3)

NOTE:  This is the third missive for Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial ride.  The first and second missives can be found at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/01/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial.html.  The fourth and fifth missives are at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/02/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial-in.html .

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Slideshow

A slideshow of photos from Kentucky can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/zhnj7N9zMwzaHCJr8 .

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Missive No. 3:  Kentucky

After leaving The Breaks a week ago Sunday, I descended into Kentucky.  Then I climbed.  Then I descended again before climbing once more.  You get the picture.  The Blue Ridge and mountains of Virginia were behind, but the first days in Kentucky were not easy.  The Appalachians are a challenge for any bicyclist, yours truly being no exception with her 40 pound load and legs that began pushing pedals when Eisenhower was President.

Those first days were in the heart of Appalachia.  I had been warned that I would feel I had entered a third world country.  The region is indeed depressed, but I didn't find it any more depressed than some parts of Maine, let alone the countries I have been posted to overseas.  The people I encountered were uniformly kind and helpful.  I remember in particular Louis, who chatted with me at the side of the road that first morning, welcomed me to Kentucky, and gave me a flower that I carried on my front rack trunk for the rest of the day.

Berea is where Appalachia meets the Bluegrass.  I immediately felt the difference.  The Appalachians were behind me now.  The terrain turned to rolling hills with prosperous farms.  Not climbing a mountain or two every day was a welcome change, but the lack of shade made riding tough in the afternoon sun.

In the days after Berea, I passed through the land on Daniel Boone, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Merton.  In Bardstown I found myself in the bourbon capital of the world.  As a Northerner, I came to understand that Kentucky was the original West for the young United States.

In Kentucky I sometimes felt like the proverbial general who plans for the next war based on the last one.  After three weeks I can say unequivocally that the TransAm is different from the Northern Tier.  There are the heat and humidity, of course, but that's just part of it.  For example, there is lodging.  Last year I stayed exclusively with WarmShower (WS) hosts, at campgrounds, and in cheap motels.  In Kentucky I have stayed largely in churches, hostels, and even a volunteer fire station.  I have used my tent all of four times since leaving Yorktown.  As I struggle up hills, I sometimes question why I am carrying all the camping gear if I'm rarely using it.  But will I camp more as I get further west?

Another difference is the number of cyclists and the sense of bicycling history.  The TransAm is the original Bikecentennial route from 1976.  Some of the churches I stayed at have their guest logs going back to that first year.  

Last year I encountered several cyclists going west to east, but I never met anyone going east to west.  I really did feel alone.  This year I feel I am on a bicycle highway.  I indoor camped at churches two nights in a row with Cathy and Richard.  Then Joe caught up with me for two nights.  Nearly every day I encounter bike-packers going the other way.  Moreover, endurance racers in this year's TransAm west-to-east race speed past, giving a shout or wave as they go by.  They are doing in three weeks what I plan to do in three months.

Levi, a student at Western Kentucky University (WKU), was my high point for the past week.  We met virtually in 2017 when I spoke to WKU students about the Department of State and LGBT+ issues.  His name popped up when I was typing in a telephone number after crossing into Kentucky.  We reconnected.  He came up from Bowling Green and camped with me at Rough River Dam.  The next day he rode with me to Utica, where we stayed for the night with our LGBT WS host family Angelica and Jo.  We were both emotional when it came time to part the next morning.

Where am I overall?  I try not to think about it, but I believe I am about a quarter of the way through this year's 4200 mile journey.  I did cross into Central Time a few days ago.  That puts me about a week or ten days behind where I was on last year's Northern Tier adventure.  60-80 miles/day was my norm last year, but this year I'm averaging a standard 50.  I have done 70 miles twice, but I've also had days when I've done only 40-45.  Between the mountains, hills, and -- most of all -- the heat and humidity, that's the most I can do.  Doing 70 miles on the two days I have done so required waking before sunrise and rolling out just as the sun was coming up.  Only in the mornings is it possible to make good progress.  In the afternoons I slow to a crawl with ever more frequent hydration breaks wherever I can find a tree.

So when will I finish?  Again, I try not to think of it.  At the current pace I would guess sometime in the first half of September, but I really don't know.  I'm taking this day by day.

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Daily Log 

 

Sunday, June 20, 2021 -- 16,191 km cum - 117 km/day

This was a solid 72 mile day from The Breaks to Hindman, KY.  Lots of climbing.  The heat and humidity are back, and thus I was not shy about walking up parts of a few of the hills.

Highlights of the day include:

• Dogs -- Not as bad as I thought, but there were several.  Dismounting worked best, but I still had to use the pepper spray once.  The whistle seems useless.
• Louis -- A hiker and biker who lives in Ashcamp and who welcomed me to KY.  He gave me a flower that I secured to my front trunk for the rest of the day.
• Dave & Lisa -- They run the historical society B&B in Hindman.  Turned out the B&B is closed due to Covid, but Dave & Lisa are wonderful people.  Democrats even.  They gave me a wonderfully cold Coke.  (I had given away my own bottle of Coke to a thirsty girl along the road a few tens of km earlier.)
• Steve & his son Grayson -- They are with the Baptist church where I'm actually spending the night in Hindman.
• Cathy & Richard -- A TransAm bike-packing couple with whom I'm spending the night at the Baptist church.  They left the Methodist hostel in Elk Grove the morning of the day I arrived.

Monday, June 21, 2021 -- 16,253 km cum - 62 km/day

Shot down in Chavies after only 38 miles due to thunder stoms that are supposed to last through the night.  I'm at The First Church of God with Cathy and Richard from my last night in Hindman.  They got here before me and made arrangements with Brian the pastor.  The church is not listed on the AC maps.

I had hoped to get to Booneville today, but oh well.  When I saw the stormy forecast, I nearly stayed in Hindman.  62km for the day is better than 0.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021 -- 16,360 km cum - 107 km/day

What a difference a day makes.  The rain ended, and I set set out about 15 minutes after Richard and Cathy at 7:45 a.m..  I caught up with them on the first of three big hills on the road to Buckhorn.  By noon I had gone the 30 miles to Booneville.  The sky was clear, and the air was cool.  I decided I could do more and pushed on to Sandgap for a daily total of 65 miles.

The topography is changing.  It's still hilly, but the real mountains were behind me after Booneville.  Appalachia is also fading.  The homes and towns look more prosperous, wealthier.

I'm at the City Gone Country B&B for a luxury night.  I first called Theresa from Booneville and was lucky that the B&B was not booked tonight.  Rick picked me up from the Family Dollar in Sandgap.  I had hoped Cathy and Richard might catch up and share the B&B with me, but I think they called it a day in Booneville.  (I later learned they made it to McKee.)

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 -- 16,479 km cum - 119 km/day

Today's ride was just one km short of 75 miles.  It should have been more like 70, but I missed two turns and had to backtrack.

It was also a pretty day in rolling countryside.  This is a prosperous agricultural area, quite a contrast to Appalachia.  Harrodsburg is the oldest city in KY and the home turf of none other than Daniel Boone.

It's a cheap motel night.  There were no other options in Harrodsburg.

Thursday, June 24, 2021 -- 16,562 km cum - 83 km/day

How nice to have ridden just barely over 50 miles.  I detoured to Bardstown when I learned the inn in New Haven is closed.  I'm glad I did, as my ride took me through pleasant rolling roads through Abraham Lincoln country.  Thomas Merton also lived in the area at the Abbey of Gethsemane.  Bardstown itself is the birthplace of Stephen Foster and is the self-styled bourbon capital of the world.

This is another cheap motel night insofar as there were no other options.  I arrived early enough to go out to dinner.  How wonderful!  The next several days should also be on the short side.

It was one year ago today that I set out from Marine City to begin my ride to Washington State on the Erie Connector, Northern Lakes, and Northern Tier routes.

Friday, June 25, 2021 -- 16,642 km cum - 80 km/day

A good 50 mile day through pretty, rolling countryside.  Passed the Lincoln boyhood home in the morning and the Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in the afternoon.  In between I stopped at the Sweet Spot in Hodgenville.  I'm camped indoors tonight at the VFD in White Mills, surrounded by fire trucks and rescue equipment.

Tomorrow will be a short 35-40 mile day to Rough River Dam State Resort Park.  Levi from Western Kentucky University (WKU) will meet me there.  He's a glifaa connection from 2017 and plans to ride with me for a day.  It will be nice to have a companion for a bit!

Saturday-Monday, June 26-28, 2021 -- 16,898 km cum

Saturday:  ~68 km/day

Sunday:  ~68 km/day

Monday:  ~120 km/day

These were two short 40+ mile days followed by a long 74 miler.

On Saturday I covered the short but tough ride to Rough River Dam Park.  The heat and humidity are back.  Levi met me at the park, and we camped for the night at the park airport.  We enjoyed a great dinner and breakfast, and then we rode together the 40+ miles to Utica.  How wonderful it was to have a riding companion for the day!

In Utica we had a WS night with our LGBT+ hosts Angelica and Jo, who cooked a wonderful pasta dinner for us.  We were joined by TransAm cyclist Joe Stallone.  The three of us slept together in the hippie room in the garage.

It was tough saying goodbye to Levi this morning.  We had bonded quickly.  The ride to Marion was long and hot with temperatures in the upper 90s, but at least the worst of the hills are behind.  On the other hand, the land is agricultural with little in the way of shade.  It was hot, hot, hot.

Joe and I are together again tonight at the cyclist hostel hosted by the Methodist Church of Marion.  We have bunks and a shower.  The church has been hosting cyclists since the bicentennial year of 1976.

Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial: Journey's Start and "The Breaks" (Missives 1 & 2)

NOTE:  These are the first and second missives for Robyn's 2021 TransAm Bikecentennial ride.  The third missive can be found at https://attitude-maneuver.blogspot.com/2022/01/robyns-2021-transam-bikecentennial-my.html.

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In Robyn's 2020 Bikecentennial, I rode Adventure Cycling's Northern Tier route to its western end point in Anacortes, WA, on Puget Sound.  I had not intended to ride cross-country again in 2021, but that changed in March.  A colleague at the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, was trying to put together a bike-packing trip on the Pamir Highway.  She invited me along.  I was tempted to join, but I found myself writing back that I had no confidence that borders would be open given our continuing Covid reality.  My fingers kept writing.  Before I had even thought it, my fingers had written, "I think I'll ride the TransAm this year."  As I read back what I had written, I thought to myself, "Why not?"  Given the uncertainties of international travel brought about by Covid, why not indeed?  And so I did.

The TransAm route from Virginia to Oregon is the original Bikecentennial route from 1976.  I set out from my home in Maine in mid-May.  After a break for a family reunion, I stood at the TransAm's start in Yorktown, VA, on June 6.  Three months later on September 6 I rolled up to the end at the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, OR.

As I rode, I wrote missives to family and friends.  What follows below is the first of those missives that I wrote from the VA/KY border.  After the missive itself, I have transcribed the day-to-day log that I kept in a spiral notebook as I inched westward.  You will also find a link to a slideshow of photos taken along the way.

Will I do a similar trip in 2022?  As long as health and strength allow, I'll be riding onward to some destination.  I know by now that bike-packing is in my blood.  

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Slideshow

A slideshow of photos from Maine and Virginia can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/xbcyMpoLCzzYHzeJ8

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Missive Nos. 1 & 2:  Maine and Virginia

I'm at Breaks Interstate Park on the VA/KY border.  It's Saturday.  After seven solid days and 358 miles of riding, I've earned a day off to rest up, do laundry, and to explore a bit on two feet instead of two wheels.

What a difference a week makes.  I'm much stronger and have regained my climbing legs.  The weather has been beautiful, both cooler and less humid than on the day of my miserable ride from Williamsburg to Richmond.  The scenery and small towns of southwestern Virginia have been pleasingly reminiscent of the hills and mountains of New England.

Those hills mean I've regained my legs the old fashioned way by climbing hill after mountain after hill.  I did one 60+ mile day, but I've also had a 40 mile day.  This pales in comparison with my 60-80 mile days last summer, but then I remember that I was quite content with 40 mile days when I crossed the Greens of VT and Whites of NH in 2019.  Better mileage days will come when I'm out of the Appalachians.

The highest mountains are, in fact, already behind me.  I was consistently above 3000 feet on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, and I was at 3800 feet crossing through the Mt. Roger's area a few days ago.  The descent from the Blue Ridge to Mt. Vesuvius was memorable for its steep grade.  I'm glad I heeded advice from Martha and Jim Gullo to take breaks to give my rims time to cool.  They were almost too hot to touch.  I did the same on a few other descents.  On the steep ascents I took frequent hydration breaks, sometimes every half km, but in the end I was able to get to the top with both feet on the pedals.  I've drunk so much Gatorade and eaten so many bananas that I should buy stock. 

I stayed in motels twice when there was no other choice and, in the second instance, to avoid severe thunderstorms that were about to break over my head.  I've also had two good camping nights and was able to put my stove to good use.

My most enjoyable nights, however, were at hostels.  The first was The Broken Fiddle in Damascus.  The Appalachian Trail passes near Damascus, and I was the one cyclist in a full house of AT backpackers.  (Thanks to TransAm cyclist Mike Lowan for recommending it!)  I had dinner that night with Midnight and Breezy, a young couple from MA who are thru-hiking the AT.  They asked me for my trail name, and I had to explain that this tradition has not caught on with bike-packers.  At least not yet, so they suggested I start it.  So here it is:  Never too Late.  That's my self-selected trail name for the summer.  I missed my chance to ride the TransAm when it was first mapped in 1976, but here I am on it at last.  Most of the route is signed well as U.S. Bike Route (USBR 76), a reminder of that bicentennial year.

My second hostel was the community hall of the Elk Ridge Methodist Church.  I was alone this night, but I used this solitude to read through the log of cyclists who have stayed here since the Methodist community opened its doors to cyclists in 1976.  Again I felt surrounded by the history of Bikecentennial and the TransAm.

Problems?  None to speak of other than overcoming the hubris with which I got off the train in Newport News on June 6.  The Atlantis, aka Woodswoman II.  My only physical problem has been a pain in the neck that I woke up with one morning.  I must have slept in some funny way during the night.  I suppose one could say I'm my own pain in the neck.  It's nearly gone after a couple of days of Ibuprofen.

Tomorrow I cross into KY for more, albeit lower, hills and legions of bike-chasing dogs for which the state is infamous.  Forward I go!

From The Breaks,

Never too Late Robyn

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Daily Log

Starting odometer reading:  15,055 km

Wednesday-Friday, May 12-14, 2021 -- 

Wednesday:  15,134 km cumulative - 79 km for the day

Thursday:  15,187 km cumulative - 53 km for the day

Friday:  train to Boston - 0 km for the day

Just had a wonderful Amtrak sendoff with Lily and Ellen at the Brunswick train station.  I'm on the Downeaster to Boston, where Jessica will meet me with her bike.  We'll find dinner somewhere, and then I'm off to Washington on the Night Owl -- with a sleeper!

I must admit almost to having tears in my eyes as I left home, but soon it felt good to be on a fully loaded bike again under my own power.  I am carrying more in the way of cooking gear -- espresso maker include -- and I am out of shape after the winter.  Still, it was a good ride down to Bangor on Wednesday.  I stayed the night at Gret and Mark's and went out to dinner with Greg.  How strange it is to eat out in a restaurant after this long Covid year!

I had a shorter but equally wonderful ride to Searsport on Thursday.  Ellen me me there with her pickup.  We put Woodswoman II in the back and went on to Belfast for a good dinner at a small pub near the waterfront.

Today Ellen drove me to Brunswick over the same 80-mile route that I biked last year.  Lily met us there with coffee.  Having the two of them with me as I boarded the Downeaster felt like a real bon voyage!

In short, this year's adventure has begun.

PS -- Jessica led me on a delightful 15-mile ride around the Boston waterfront followed by a seafood dinner.  I'm now in my sleeper to Washington.  It's the first time I've been in a Boston-DC sleeper since the 1980s!

 

 

Saturday, May 15, 2021 -- 15,214 km cum - 27 km/day

Just a short ride today from Odenton to my sister's apartment in Gambrills, MD.  I don't know where the extra km came from.  The distance from Odenton to Gambrills is less than 8 km.  I did have to do some walking to/from the "Bike Doctor" to have my rear fender replaced after it was broken by Amtrak, but that's too short a distance to explain the extra km.

Wait a second.  It was the ride around Boston with Jessica.  That explains the extra distance.

Sunday, June 6, 2021 -- 15,299 km cum - 85 km/day

Only a 53 mile day on flat terrain, but it was tough.  Despite walks and fitness room while I was at our family reunion in Arizona in the second half of May, three weeks of inactivity took their toll.  My legs are woefully out of shape.  I knew the heat would be intense on the ride from Newport News to Yorktown to Williamsburg, and given that Amtrak didn't get me to Newport News until after 11 a.m., I knew I would be riding in the hottest part of the day.  But I forgot just how oppressive the heat and humidity are in Virginia.  I'll have to keep my days short until I'm back in shape, but the heat may keep the days short even then.

The good news is that I'm staying with a wonderful WS family, Jartha and Jim Gullo.  They fed me, and I've had a wonderful shower and a bed for the night.  I can't put into words what their hospitality means to me at the end of this first day.

Monday, June 7, 2021 -- 15,411 km cum - 113 km/day

I'm writing this on Tuesday in Richmond.  This, my third day in, is a down day.  Already.

Monday was the worst, most difficult riding day of my life, worse even than my 2008 ride from Tashkent, UZ, to Khujand, TJ.  It was even dangerous.

The day started well enough with a good breakfast in Williamsburg.  The first 50 miles went well on the mostly flat Capital Trail.

Things began to fall apart in mid-afternoon.  At first I was just tired and increasingly weak.  I had to push Woodswoman up even the slightest inclines.  I had to take longer and more frequent breaks.  Then the cramps started, not only in my legs.  My hearing became funny as though I had wax in my ears.  I could tell my heart was racing.  As I walked the final blocks to the Hampton Inn in downtown Richmond -- I had abandoned all thoughts of camping -- I had to sop, sit, and rest.  Frankly, I was getting scared.

Heat exhaustion.  For the first time in my life, I experienced severe heat exhaustion.  It wasn't funny.  I pushed myself too far.  I may even have been in a state bordering on heat stroke.

I may have to curtail this trip.  I'll continue forward for the next few days starting as early as I can and keeping my miles short.  Then I'll take stock.  This trip is supposed by be challenging, but it is also supposed to be fun.  Yesterday was not fun.

Wednesday, June 9, 2021 -- 15,492 km cum - 80 km/day

It's now Thursday, and I am chilling out, resting with my friends Ron and Ellen in Afton.

I got up at 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday and was pedaling at 6:15 a.m.  I took the Google-recommended route to Mineral because it was only 50 miles, some 15 miles shorter than the official AC route.  It definitely was a better day with good roads and light traffic, but I remained spooked by Monday's experience.  I took frequent breaks, drank lots more water, downed a sports drink at the halfway point, and ate a banana for potassium.  It took me 5 1/2 hours to go the 50 miles to the B&B I had reserved in Mineral.

But it was sticky and uncomfortable the whole way.  The trip was better than Monday's but it decidedly was not fun.  I called Ron and asked him to pick me up.  I announce to the world that I planned to abandon the trip.

This morning, after a long, restful and deep sleep, I'm not so sure.  Might it be cooler on the other side of the mountains?  Could I shed some weight and plan on more motels?  Perhaps.  Stay tuned.

Friday-Saturday, June 11-12, 2021 -- 15,571 km cum - 79 km/day

That's actually only 79 km over two days, but I'm going forward.  On Friday I rode the steep climb up Afton Mountain to Rockfish Gap.  That was all of 10 km, but it was steep.  Ron met me there with his car.  We put Woodswoman on the back and returned to his and Ellen's home, stopping along the way to visit the newly reopened Blue Ridge Tunnel.

I spent the evening repacking.  The Chromebook is going home, and Ron & Ellen will mail my cool weather clothes and other supplies to me down the road.  This morning, Ron returned me to Rockfish Gap, and off I went!  I'm camped for the night at Mallard Duck campground on the road to Lexington.

How far will I go?  I really don't know.  Today's was a hard ride on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway with a number of long climbs.  I pushed Woodswoman at times.  I'm clearly not in the shape I was in last August.

Highlights of the day were one black bear, one deer, better weather, a rim-heating descent into Vesuvius, and a snow cone at Jimmy's outside Vesuvius.  Dinner consisted of canned black beans (courtesy of Ellen) and quinoa cooked on my MSR International stove.  Hurrah, I'm camping!

Moreover, today my ride started to become fun again.

Sunday, June 13, 2021 -- 15,665 km cum - 94 km/day

A good 59 mile day to Troutville.  I'm slow and clearly out of condition as compared with last summer, but I am doing better than I was a week ago.

I lingered far longer in Lexington over a second breakfast than I had intended.  Reason?  Claudia and her husband Frank.  They are fascinating people who are athletic into their 80s.  Both are geologists, and Claudia is also a journalist.

I opted for the Comfort Inn tonight.  It's a good thing I did.  Severe storms struck shortly after I checked in.  It's good to be indoors.

Monday, June 14, 2021 -- 15,786 km cum - 91 km/day

This was another good 51-52 mile day to Radford, VA, that took me to the end of Map 12 and on to Map 11.  I'm finding the going harder than last summer, but I am moving forward steadily if slowly.

Why is it harder this year?  Heat and humidity are a big part, but I'm also a year older and out of shape after the long Covid winter.  There isn't much I can do about the heat and humidity, but I do feel my riding strength and endurance returning.

I also shouldn't discount the terrain with its ups and downs.  It reminds me of the Alleghenies north of Pittsburgh where I rode in 2019.

Today I met my first eastbound bike-packer.  Mike Lowham started from his home in Laramie, WY, on May 17.  Oh, youth!

I'm at the Quality Inn in Radford.  There are no campgrounds or WS hosts in the area.  Given the heat, I don't mind these motel nights.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 -- 15,857 km cum - 101 km/day

Finally I have had a good, normal bike-packing day, some 63 miles from Radford to the campground in Rural Retreat.  Why was today better?  The humidity was low, and the temperature rose only to the upper 70s F.  Also, after a week on the road, perhaps I'm getting my legs back.  Perhaps.

I was even able to enjoy the rolling VA countryside.  At a truck stop, I met and talked with Sue from Connecticut.  She's driving down to NC.

At last a truly enjoyable day!

Wednesday, June 16, 2021 -- 15,936 km cum - 79 km/day

The good weather and the good riding continue.  I just checked in at The Broken Fiddle in Damascus.  It's a hostel for backpackers and bike-packers.  For $30 I get a bunk, shower, and laundry.  Damascus is reputed to be "The Friendliest Town on the AT."

If only this wonderful cool and dry weather could continue!

PS -- I had dinner at the local diner with Breezy and Midnight, two young AT thru-hikers from Massachusetts.  In the diner we met another couple who are biking the TransAm.  Perhaps I'll see more of them along the way?

Why do AT thru-hikers get trail names but TransAm riders do not?

Thursday, June 17, 2021 -- 16,001 km cum - 65 km/day

This was a short 40 mile day by design from Damascus to Elk Garden.  It was by design because I knew there would be a 3.7 mile climb of 1500 feet at 8-9% grade.  I took it slowly with hydration breaks every 0.5 km, but I made it without having to get off and push.  By 3 p.m. I had arrived in Elk Garden and checked in at the bike hostel sponsored by the local Methodist community.  After dropping my rear bags and emptying most of the front two, I rode into Rosedale and back to get a few things for dinner.  Then it was off to the outdoor, summer cold-water-only shower for a most refreshing wash-up.

I should also mention this morning's good Southern breakfast (i.e., biscuits, gravy, and grits) at the diner in Damascus.  I said goodbye to Breezy and Midnight and talked with others at The Broken Fiddle before I headed on my way.

Last but not least, I had my first truly good night's sleep.

In short, after six days of riding since leaving Ron and Ellen's, I'm feeling stronger and am beginning to enjoy myself.  I know there will be hard days ahead and that this spell of cooler, drier weather will end, but for now it's enough that in these days I have re-captured the feeling of last summer on the Northern Tier.

Friday, June 18, 2021 -- 16,074 km cum - 73 km/day

A 45-mile day to Breaks Interstate Park, the VA-KY border, and my firt rest day since leaving from Ron & Ellen's last Saturday.  That's about 358 miles for the week, not bad but not great.  Not bad because I was going up and down in the Blue Ridge and Appalachians the whole way.  I was remembering today that I was quite happy with 40 mile days when I went through the Greens and Whites of VT and NH in 2019.  Not great because I'm nowhere near the consistent 60-80 mile days of last year.

I had more steep climbing at the start and end of today's ride.  In another week, will I at last be out of the Appalachians?  Perhaps, but I need to get through Kentucky first.

Enough.  I have earned tomorrow's rest day.