You know your a member of the Illini 4000 when...

I'd completely forgotten about this list until I found it in the back of my journal the other day. Alex and I started it one day after we got lost in Kansas and it grew throughout the summer. Please note this was created with humor in mind, however if there is anything you find offensive let me know and I'll remove it. (http://moxley4000.blogspot.com/)

You know your a member of the Illini 4000 when...

• to fend off danger you just point to Mark's calves.
• you realize that not only did Nick invent the jukebox but he knows the lyrics to more songs than are in it.
• you have played country road slalom, London bridge, cracker toss and catch and bicycle telephone while cycling.
• you have played the Keith game and also know what Keith pockets are.
• there are four food groups - peanut butter, pasta, milk and ice cream.
• you realize you have been wearing the same clothes for the past three days.
• showering twice a week is accepted and you think taking a shower in the sink or with a garden hose is normal.
• you look like an Oreo cookie when not wearing your bike clothes from your crazy tan lines.
• 70 miles is a short day.
• your clothes for the summer consists of two different bike jerseys and spandex biking shorts.
• you actually know where Rush Center, Kansas is!
• you've gotten use to Brandt sneaking up and scaring you and constantly whispering about peoples moms.
• you wash your clothes by shoving it in your backpack dirty and taking it out to wear again three days later.
• you've woken up to "Hey, do you know where Alex slept - I can't find her" on numerous occasions.
• you know it only takes the Police/Fire Department of Gunnison, Colorado about 20 seconds to respond to a 911 call on the fourth of July.
• you've gone faster than the speed limit - on your bike!
• you have some random object you found on the side of the road attached to your handlebars and your always on the lookout for trash treasures to use as bike ornaments.
• the local library is the "coolest" hangout in town.
• you know who bird shark, tiger bear and banana man are.
• you have a love/hate relationship with the state of Utah.
• you celebrate Christmas in July and shop for gifts along the side of the road.
• you've been Moshered or fake Moshered.
• there is a special place in your heart for Erick Mosher.
• you've mastered the art of packing the van.
• the town of Monroeville scares you.
• you can sing Jimmy Cliffs, Hard Road to Travel - backward.
• you've slept on the side of the road in Caineville, Utah.
• you've been woken up an hour early because cell phones don't register the time change in Fredonia, Arizona.
• you see groceries on the side of the road and stop to collect them.
• you go to an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game and the next thing you know Andrew is running around in center field with four women.
• Golden Puffs make a good addition to your sandwich.
• you've mastered route writing 101.
• you've spent significant time at the gas station in Hite, Utah.
• you know that it really does rain in Utah and Arizona.
• you know who Baby Alicia is.
• you know what PLKP means.
• you cycled by the "great wall" separating the United States from Mexico.
• you spent your summer cycling 4000 miles raising money for cancer research giving someone, somewhere hope.
  

On a side note... I've uploaded over 2,000 photos that I had on my computer from this past summer to the web. Email me for access!

iMovie

Greetings! A while back (September) I took all the video that I had taken on my digital camera from this past summer and combined it using iMovie. I've been meaning to put this file online for awhile but didn't know how to compress the file to upload as it's rather large. I've finally figured it out and have uploaded the file to YouTube. It's rather random (I kept it in chronological order for the most part) however it gives a 10-minute glimpse at some outtakes from of our 72 days on the road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4swWISVejoI

Fun Facts

Fun facts from the summer
Number of Days: 72
Number of Miles: Approximately 4455
Number of States traveled through: 12 (NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, MO, KS, CO, UT, AZ, CA)
Number of Riders at Start: 18
Number of Riders at End: 16
Hottest Day: Approximately 110+ degrees (Hite, UT)
Longest Day: 116 miles (Grand Rapids, OH to Huntington, IN)
Shortest Day: 43 miles (Zion NP, UT to Fredonia, AZ)
Highest Elevation: 11,312 (Monarch Pass)
Longest stretch between "real" showers: 8 days! (Fredonia, AZ to Chandler, AZ)
Number of sink/garden hose/river/lake showers: 31
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches consumed: 144 +/-
Pop Tarts consumed: 61
Bottles of water per day: 6-8
Weight gain/loss: 0
Hail Storms: 1
Animal grease spots: more than I can count.
Chased by dogs: 2x (that I recall)
Flat tires: 2
...

I like to ride my Bicycle...

Hello... It’s been just over two weeks since we arrived in San Diego and I’m finally getting around to writing my summer wrap up. I am back home, back at work and yes back riding my bicycle – although I guess I never really took a break from that! Things are slowly getting back to the so called normal.

The first week back was completely foreign to me as I was still in I4K mode. I arrived home on Wednesday afternoon (the 8th), went for a ride on my XC mt. bike that night and spent Thursday catching up on sleep before pulling an all-nighter at Oneonta’s Relay for Life Friday night. (The ride may have ended but the cause is still there.) I then headed to Vermont for a week of camping with the family. As great as it was to be back with my family it was very anticlimactic after the camping I did this summer with I4K and I felt out of place camping without my Illini 4000 teammates around. I’m now back home preparing to go back to work the day after tomorrow something I’m not sure I’m ready to do.

In a way, as silly as it may sound, I feel homesick. For 72+ days my teammates were my family, our daily designation my home and I got to ride my bicycle everyday meeting amazing people and hearing their inspiring stories. It was beyond amazing. I remember the May night before I left to go meet the team at Anish’s home in NJ. Just what I was about to do suddenly hit me and for a moment I was scared. I was going to be spending my summer with a group of complete strangers whom I’d never met and had only corresponded with via email until that point. I reminded myself of the cause and purpose of our ride and my fears disappeared. The next day upon meeting my teammates I knew within minutes that they were an awesome group, committed to our cause with positive attitudes and ready to do something big.

I’m still in I4K mode in a way I guess. To be 100% honest, I have yet to sleep in my bed. It’s currently covered in stuff and I’m just as comfortable sleeping on the floor with my pillow and comforter. I still enjoy peanut butter and jelly or apple butter or honey, even after having eaten it all summer long. Ice Cream – I shouldn't even need to argue the fact that it’s impossible to get sick of ice cream! I now have Jimmy Cliff’s – “Hard Road to Travel” on my IPod and I don’t think I will ever listen to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, “Hotel California” or “Don’t Stop Believin” without thinking of I4K. I picked my bike up from its tune up yesterday and rode both yesterday and today – squeak free! When out riding my eyes are constantly scanning the side of the road for trash treasures! The only thing missing - my comrades!

All expectations I had going into this summer were well surpassed in every way possible. From the thousands of generous people we met along the way, to the thousands who supported us in helping us reach our fundraising goals. The outpouring of support was remarkable and the beauty of the country from the seat of a bicycle is something I will never forget. The media so often portrays what’s wrong in America but this summer I was able to see firsthand how great Americans and complete strangers can be when brought together by a meaningful cause. Like the Portrait Project points out almost everyone has been touched by cancer in someway or another and thus can relate to our cause. Without all these people, the support of my family, friends and teammates this journey would not have been what it was and I thank everyone for making it so amazing!

While I’m sad that this journey is over and I miss my Illini4000 family terribly, the memories of this summer will last forever and I know that the journey is really only beginning as people will continue to unite in the fight. I’ve been asked countless times since the ride ended if I would ever do a ride of this magnitude again. While my immediate thought is that I don’t ever want to forget or overwrite the memories of this summer, I have to admit there is a part of me deep down that is craving the adventure and desire to help others. What my next adventure will be, I don’t know but suggestions are always welcome! There has got to be someone out there who wants to snow bike across Antarctica!?!

Random Thoughts and the Real World

I spent the majority of this past week camping with my family in Burlington, Vermont. Somehow I managed to acquire 75 bites on my hands while there not counting all the bites on my legs and feet. That's more bug bites than I had all summer biking across America!... I go back to work on Tuesday and honestly I'm not ready to go back to the real world of working 9-9 Monday-Sunday, not at all... I arrived home from Vermont around 2:30 pm Friday, found the box with my bike which had arrived from San Diego while I was in Vermont, assembled it and had it to the bike shop for a tune up by 3:30 pm. I went to pick it up this afternoon and Squeekers no longer squeaks! Squeekers has also gotten a face lift and is currently sporting sky blue grip tape. I kind of wish I'd gone with the dark purple as the sky blue looks a little funny, maybe next time... It was odd riding home today and not having anyone from I4K around. I kept wanting to yell "gravel", "glass", "pothole", "car back" but there was no one to yell to but Squeekers. I4K'ers I miss you!

I'm slowly updating the missing entries in my blog from my paper journal so keep checking back below for updates.

Another Update

I pulled an all nighter last night at Relay for Life here in Oneonta and then worked today thus the blog is going to have to wait until I return from Vermont. I've published my approximate trip distance totals on Google Spreadsheets for your viewing pleasure - check it out!

Here is a photo from the top of Angels Landing to hold you over...

San Diego!

Hello all, just a quick update to say that after reaching San Diego on Saturday, I've reached home in upstate NY safely. I will update everyone on the final few weeks of this amazing journey in the next few days (when I unpack and find my daily paper journal).

**Update** Help, I'm not sure I'm home? The first thing I did when I walked in the door was make a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich followed by yes a bike ride on the ole clunker?!?! Now I'm pulling out my sleeping bag and getting ready to sleep on the floor as a hurricane seems to have hit my room. hmm...?

San Diego - We Made It!

Day 72: San Diego, California!

Starting out in NYC on May 25th this day seemed so far away both in miles and in time, but here we are Day 72, in San Diego – it’s been an absolutely amazing summer!

This morning we got to sleep in until 5:30 due to the fact that we only had 65 miles to cover. We woke up rolled up our sleeping bags and packed the van while our ride leaders (Jon, Nick, Anish and James) along with Mark made us breakfast consisting of French Toast, eggs and sausage along with Milk galore as we were trying to use up anything that would spoil. By 7:30 we had everything cleaned up and packed and were ready to hit the road. We circled up like usual and I gave my Mosher speech in the middle of the circle. I have to admit I read it from paper as I was afraid I’d end up in tears if I just winged it with it being the last day and all. We then took a few pictures before setting out one last time. We were very grateful to have Nick’s brother Brian join us to drive the van today so that we could all ride into San Diego together as a group. Zach also rejoined us overnight and rode in the van with Brian today.

I set off from Campo with the Caboose and ride leaders. Less than a mile into the ride we came across the Slushy/Gas Station Crew (Keith, Brandt, Dan and Drew) stopped along the side of the road as Brandt had a flat. They assured us that they were ok and we continued on our way.

The first part of the ride today was rolling hills before we hit our final “big” climb about eight miles into the ride. The second half of the ride was mostly downhill as we passed through many towns and even did a little highway riding as we approached the outskirts of San Diego. The ride went fairly well with the exception of one point where we were on the highway and saw signs telling bikers to exit the highway. Part of our group had already gone ahead but luckily we were able to take a parallel road and met up with them a few miles down the road.

With Brian driving the van, today was the first and only day in which we all got to ride together as a team. At a gas station about 3.5 miles from our destination at Mission Beach we met up with Don whom we had spoken with at the church yesterday. Don led us the final 3.5 miles to the waters edge at Mission Bay where we dipped our wheels in the ocean and took pictures while celebrating the moment. The whole day seemed a bit surreal. When we started out in May, August 4th was just a far off date on the calendar, then riding all summer you loose track of the days and all of a sudden here it is August 4th, and we’re in San Diego. I think it will take some time before I realize just what we have done. Atlantic to Pacific, East to West, NYC to San Diego on a bike – it still sounds kind of crazy – but we did it!

From Mission Beach Don led us on a trail around the Bay and over to De Anza Cove where many parents, friends and San Diego Illini Alumni were there to congratulate us. About ¾ of a mile before we entered De Anza Cove, Nick’s brother was waiting for us with Nick’s little pink trike, a cape and goggles! In case you’re out of the loop, Nick has said all along that he would ride a big wheel across the country and thus wanted to finish the ride riding into the ocean on a big wheel. While that didn’t happen his brother bought a little pink trike with training wheels for him to finish the ride on. We stopped so that Nick could put Gilligan (his bike) into the van which Brian had already unloaded at De Anza Cove, and throw on the cape and goggles. He then set off with his brother blaring Eye of the Tiger on the van speakers!

It was awesome to enter the park and see all the orange and blue as we passed through the finish line that the Alumni had set up for us, slapping hands with our supporters on the way through. The San Diego University of Illinois Alumni Club had a picnic barbeque waiting for us upon arrival and all present had smiles on their faces despite the fact that we were about two hours late arriving as navigating the streets between Campo and San Diego took longer than we had expected. It was close to 3 pm when arrived and we enjoyed a picnic lunch with the alumni, family and friends who had showed up to congratulate us. After we all ate one of the Alumni sang for us singing Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York before the San Diego Illini Alumni Club presented our group with a check for $2,500 – Thank You San Diego Alumni! The also gave us each an orange San Diego Illini hat while Anish’s parents presented us with team photos taken when we were in Chebanse, Illinois.

It was then time to crown the beard off champion! Hatim, who did not ride but did a lot of behind the scenes work with the Illini 4000, was there to measure the beards of our three beard off survivors - Sean, Mike and Nick. While he may not have won on length, Nick won the fan vote and was crowned 2007 Illini 4000 beard off champion winning a San Diego Illini t-shirt. We then had cake and hung out a little longer before people began to disperse.

I had to get my bike to a bike shop to ship back to New York so around 5:30 we put my bike in the van and Anish dropped me off at Bicycle Discovery north of Mission Bay where I then spent the next hour packing my bike in a box to FedEx home. Oddly enough it really didn’t hit me until I was packing my bike that I won’t be riding tomorrow and that we are really here in San Diego. It’s sad in a way as today may have been the last time we were all together as a group, it’s definitely something that’s going to take getting use to after having spent the past 72 days together 24/7. I spent so long packing my bike that the bike shop gave me a break on the shipping cost – which is kind of funny because with it being the first time I’d ever packed a bike I really had no idea what I was doing! I then walked around a bit, took pictures of the pacific ocean as the sun was starting to set and wondered some more as I waited for Nick and James to take the rest of the bikes to Mr. Giles house before coming to pick me up. Mr. Giles is a University of Illinois Alum who generously offered to let us keep our bikes at his house until Monday when we will pack them in the van to take back to Chicago. I walked a ways down Grand Street before flagging down Nick and James and heading back to DeAnza Cove where the picnic was winding down with only a few people left. We repacked the van and said our goodbyes to Jon and Zach before James drove them to the airport to catch their evening flights back to Chicago. I then went to dinner at On the Boarder with Alex, Nick (and his family) along with Allen, Mayank and Jeremy (all friends of our ride leaders from Illinois who are now in California).

Our housing arrangement in San Diego is with Jared a University of San Diego student whom generously volunteered to house us at his apartment. Anish’s mother had called the University to see if it would be possible to get housing for us in a dorm while we were in San Diego. Jared just happened to answer her phone call and told her while the University was unable to house us he would be willing to let us stay at his place! Allison, Mike and Mark had made other housing arrangements and a few riders are staying with their parents who flew into San Diego but the majority of us are at Jared’s. It’s a bit cramped but after spending our first night of the summer in Manhattan where we all managed to sleep in a one room studio this is nothing. I’m absolutely beat so I think I’m going to go shower and head to bed. I still can’t believe we’ve finished. It’s been an amazing journey! I will now spend the next three days in San Diego before flying home late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. I’m not sure what I will do in that time but it will be odd not riding my bicycle.

Thank you to everyone for their support, both at home and on the road and to our ride leaders for all their hard work in making this ride a reality. Last but not least, to all the amazing people that we’ve meet this summer who have been affected by cancer, stay strong and stay positive – you have inspired me each and every day and will continue to do so in the months and years ahead.

Take care,

Sandra Moxley (bikexc at gmail dot com)

I see Mexico! Campo, California

Day 71: Campo, CA

Tonight was our last night together as a team. While I’m excited to reach San Diego a part of me is also sad to think that tomorrow at this time we will be done.

Today’s ride from El Centro to Campo was a difficult one because of the heat. We departed the church in El Centro as soon as the sun rose (5:15 a.m.) after a send off by Clay. Jon and Anish were in the van with Jon driving and Anish putting the finishing touches on the Portrait Project interviews that we will be showcasing in San Diego.

Our first water stop came 20 miles into the ride and after refueling we continued on upward with a 3,000+ foot morning climb. We did some highway riding on I-8 before exiting onto Old Highway 80 where we could see the Mexico border as we approached Jacumba, California at our fourth water stop of the day. In Jacumba we took a short break at the Mountain Sage Market. I bought a Hot Fudge Sundae Pop-Tart while others bought Pop-Tarts, granola bars and other snacks and of course Milk to hold us over until lunch. Before leaving Jacumba Jon and Dan switched driving duties and we were on our way. Right after leaving Jacumba we came as close as we would get to Mexico while on the ride. Riding along Old Highway 80 off to our left the Mexican border was only about 200 feet away. I have to say I was rather entertained by the fence that stood between the US and Mexico as having never been out west prior to this summer I’ve heard and read about the US wanting to build a giant fence to separate the two countries. As you can see in the photo the fence is currently nothing more than a simple wooden fence. I guess it serves the purpose of marking the border but I find it funny after all the hype the topic has gotten from Washington. As we came around a corner and headed up a small hill we were only about 150 feet away from the border and stopped to take pictures of the almighty little fence while Andrew and Nick decided to test their arms and see how far the border really was. I think if their hadn’t been border patrol cars passing us every few minutes some of us would have ran to the fence and put a foot in Mexico so we could say we’d been to Mexico but with the patrolmen on the road this didn’t seem like a good idea.

From Jacumba we continued on to Boulevard where we stopped outside a restaurant for lunch. Jon, Nick, Andrew, Anish, James, Sehee, Alex and I enjoyed a traditional I4K lunch of cold cuts, PBJ and whatever other concoctions we could come up with while the rest of the team went inside to eat.

From lunch we had a hot 15 mile +/- ride to the Lake Morena Community Church in Campo. Shortly after departing lunch we ran into flat tire trouble as both Andrew and Nick got flats at virtually the same time. Our group of eight pulled over to wait as they changed their tires seeking out shade under the roadside shrubs to escape the heat. Once fixed we were on our way making one last stop about five miles out of Campo to refill our water before continuing on toward the church north of Campo. We were about 2 ½ miles from the church when we heard a loud pop. Alex’s back tire had blown out and now had a giant hole in it requiring the van to give her a lift to the church. It was around 4 p.m. by the time we reached the church.

When we arrived the church was wrapping up a week of vacation bible school with a picnic for the children and their families and invited us to join in on the festivities. They gave us bread, cheese and watermelon to snack on as we relaxed, rested and went over our plans for the ride into San Diego tomorrow with Don a University of Illinois Alum who lives in San Diego. Jon and Nick made dinner for us while everyone else unpacked the van. Once we had the van unloaded Anish and James headed to San Diego in search of a Kinko’s to print off our Portrait Project previews that will be on display at the picnic tomorrow afternoon. For dinner Jon and Nick made Nachos and beans while the church let us partake in their picnic of hot dogs and cake!

After dinner we had a meeting to talk about the future of the Illini 4000 including what can be done to make things better in the future. All in all I think the meeting went well. I think this year involved a lot of learning as nobody in our group had done anything of this magnitude before. When we rode with the Hopkins 4K team in Colorado it was obvious that they were a veteran program by the way they operated. I personally have very few complaints with the way things went this summer as I came into the summer with a very open mind knowing that this was new for everyone and that there would be bumps in the road. Being on the road for two months it would be silly for me to think everything would follow a script, that's something that would be a challenge for a veteran program. Sure I may have eaten 200 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches over the course of the summer but that’s just something that adds to my memories from this summer. (For the record I still like Peanut Butter and Jelly) I really hope that I4K will continue to grow in the coming years and that every year they will be able to raise more and more money for Cancer research until Cancer becomes a thing of the past!

When the meeting concluded many people headed to bed to rest up for our ride into San Diego tomorrow. Sean and I just finished writing out the route for tomorrows ride and now I'm sitting here still awake enjoying the warm night and journaling. Brandt Moshered* me this afternoon and I now hold the almighty Erick Mosher card. I’m honestly rather excited and honored to have it as it’s only the second time I’ve possessed it since we started the Mosher game in Colorado. It’s getting late; I think I’ll jot down a few things for my Mosher speech before calling it a night. Goodnight!

[* The Mosher explained – the Mosher is actually a little plastic card that Nick found on the side of the road as we were entering Telluride. The card appears to be the ski pass of Erick Mosher from the 2000-2001 ski season in Telluride. Whoever possesses the Mosher card after breakfast each morning has to give an inspirational quote or message for the day prior to leaving. Normally this is done by having the person with the Mosher stand with their bike in the middle of a circle while everyone else surrounds them on their bikes. One may pass off the Mosher but must do it without the person being Moshered knowing. After the Mosher card has been on the other person for more than five seconds the person who passed the card off tells the Moshered person that they’ve been Moshered. If one is caught in the act of Moshering the person who is being Moshered can reject the card. There are other rules like you cannot Mosher someone while their sleeping or on their bike and you cannot pass the card after breakfast has started among others I cannot remember at the moment.]

Off Day in El Centro

Day 70: El Centro, CA (off day)

Today was our last off day of the trip. To me it’s sad to see this journey coming to an end as I feel I’ve met and continue to meet so many amazing people whom I will miss a lot. This morning despite the off day I woke up at 6:45 a.m. however not feeling the need to get up right away I stayed in my sleeping bag listening to my iPod for awhile. Around 8:00 I got up, had a pop-tart and continued working on transcribing video for the Portrait Project. This basically entails listening to the audio of one of our Portrait Project interviews and transcribing everything the subject says so we can later go through and take out quotes. I’m rather excited to see how the final project will turn out!

Around 10:30 I headed to the grocery store with Dan and Jon. Along the way we met up with Drew who joined us on our walk to Von’s. Once there we bought bagels, fruit and other food items then headed to the picnic area in front of the store to enjoy it. After we finished eating Jon, Dan and I left and headed to Main Street to find a bookstore. Unable to find what he was looking for at the first bookstore Jon headed to find another while Dan and I headed back toward the Church.

Back at the church I spent a few hours transcribing video before Jon took over for me. It was still rather warm out however the heat was nothing new, so I decided to go for a bike ride. I rode through some of the neighborhoods around where we were staying at the church before finally making my way back to Von’s to buy food for dinner. On the way back I met up with Alex who was walking along the street. Once back at the church I helped her fill the big plastic tub with water so she could wash her clothes while I decided to clean off my bike.

I then went inside to dry off and eat dinner before heading back out to the gym behind the church to change the back tire on my bike. With close to 5,000 total miles on it (this includes pre-I4K) it has seen better days. Despite the wear it has held up good with my only flat on the back tire coming the day we rode into Chino Valley, Arizona when I pulled three staples out of it. It took me awhile to change it as my spare (the one I’d bought in Prescott, AZ) was new and didn’t seem to want to go on the rim. After putting a hole in my tube trying to put the tire on the first time I finally got it on the second try (with a new tube of course). When I got done I was covered in black grease so I took advantage of having real showers and showered before heading to bed.

Sand Dunes and Changing Landscapes

Day 69: El Centro, CA

Today we rode 70 miles without services before reaching Brawley and finally El Centro, CA.

The ride started out in Palo Verde where we quickly exited town and found ourselves riding along fields with what appeared to be irrigation canals running alongside the road. We then hit a stretch of desert with small brush and reddish colored dirt as far as I could see. When we crossed into the ever so small town of Glamis we suddenly found ourselves riding though Sand Dunes that quickly appeared on both sides of the road with giant dunes on the left side and smaller dunes off to the right. I was riding with Alex, Allison and Andrew at the time and we stopped to walk around in the sand and take pictures. I found the sand to be more solid than I expected it to be as walking on it only left faint footprints. While we were stopped Anish, Jon, James and Sehee caught up to us after they had stopped to put air in Jon’s tire just prior to Glamis. When we exited the dunes we were in an area that again looked like desert. At our final water stop before lunch (about 25 miles outside of Brawley) we found ourselves right near the Chocolate Mountain Naval Res. and rode for about two miles with jets circling in the sky above. As we entered Brawley it amazed me how fast we went from desert like conditions to land significantly more agricultural with crops and green fields. We literally crossed one road and all of a sudden everything was green!

We reached Brawley around 12:30 p.m. and set up lunch outside a Texaco gas station. I had a Chili/Ramon and cheese sandwich (creativity is key!) before going into the gas station and buying a 25-cent brownie to put on my second sandwich along with a small bottle of milk to drink. After lunch I headed to El Centro with Anish, James, Jon and Sehee while Allison, Alex and Andrew stopped at a fruit stand on the way out of Brawley to get fresh fruit. The ride from Brawley to El Centro was a nice easy ride however it was sprinkling and the roads were wet meaning we were covered in mud by the time we reached our destination at the First Christian Church in El Centro. I was happy to find that there were showers available for us to use and after unpacking the van wasted little time hitting the shower as I was covered in mud. The church put us up in a large room that appeared to be the youth room or a youth center with video games, a man made wooden stage, arcade style games and a caged in recording studio all in the room. We relaxed and hung out as the rest of the team began to arrive with some people taking naps while others read or played video games. Anish, Alex and James went to try and get dinner donated and returned with melons, eggs, OJ and ice cream popsicles! Dan and Brandt made us pancakes and eggs for dinner which proved to be a nice change from or normal dinner meals.

After dinner I worked on transcribing more video for the Portrait Project. Clay one of the Ministers at the church stopped by with cookie dough, ice cream and root beer for us to make root beer floats. To clarify we ate the cookie dough and did not put it in our root beer floats. After enjoying our root beer floats most of us headed to bed. Tomorrow is our last off day with San Diego just three days away.

Palo Verde - California here we come!

Day 68: Palo Verde, California

Hello from Palo Verde, CALIFORNIA! Today’s ride was hot and humid. We departed Salome, AZ around 6:00 a.m. and arrived in Quartzsite, AZ (about 38 miles) by 8:30 a.m. We had planned to visit a bookstore in Quartzsite that Marcia had recommended however it did not open until 10 a.m. and with it being hot and humid we didn’t want to wait around in the heat. In Ehrenburg, AZ we crossed the Colorado River into California at around mile 60 for the day. We then stopped for lunch at the library in Blythe, CA where we ate, napped and hung out in the library while Jon and Anish went looking for food donations.

After a short nap I went with Alex and Andrew to the eye doctor to try and get Alex a replacement contact lens after she unfortunately lost one of hers in Wickenburg. Because she has a special kind of contact they were unable to replace it however she was able to get her eye doctor to fax a copy of her prescription to the optometrist in Blythe so she could get a regular contact allowing her to see a little better. While we were waiting for the fax to come through we went to the ice cream shop next door and had ice cream! I had a “dirt & worm” freeze which was fresh California night crawlers mixed in dirt and frozen… ok, I’m kidding it was the normal chocolate and vanilla ice cream with gummy worms and crushed Oreo cookies. After we got Alex’s contact we headed back to the church where we found the majority of people had left for Palo Verde. I quickly ran to the gas station down the street to fill my water bottle with ice water and then returned to the Library where I checked my email before heading toward Palo Verde with Alex, Sehee, Andrew, Sean, Drew and Brandt. We met Keith and Dan who were driving the van at a gas station about 10 miles out of Palo Verde where we filled up on water before continuing on to finish the days ride.

When we arrived in Palo Verde we met everyone at the Lagoon Lodge where Alex’s aunt had generously purchased us hotel rooms for the night so we wouldn’t have to camp in the heat. (Thank you!) Alex, Sehee and Brandt made an amazing dinner of sweet & sour chicken and rice along with fruit cocktail for dessert.

After dinner I showered before heading to bed on one of the couches in the suite. It’s amazingly nice to have air conditioning in this weather!

Short day to Salome

Day 67: Salome, AZ

Tonight is our last night in Arizona as tomorrow we will head to Palo Verde, California. Our ride today was perhaps one of our easiest yet as we got tailwinds the majority of the way and arrived at the Lion’s Club here in Salome around 10:15 a.m.

We woke up this morning at 4:15 a.m. and were on the road by 5:30 a.m. A bunch of us wanted to stop at Marcia’s before leaving Wickenburg so we split into two groups today with one heading straight for Salome and the other to Marcia’s. I was in the group that stopped at Marcia’s and when we arrived at her home about a mile from the church she was outside waiting for us. After showing us her garden and fascinating Peace Pole she brought us out more goodies with a little something for everyone. For me she had a juggling kit as I told her the night before that I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and thus she thought I could figure it out while learning to juggle. James who did not have an “ornament” on his handlebars now has a squeaky foot! We left her house with a bike bag full of goodies that are sure to entertain us throughout the remainder of our journey. After departing her home we met up with Drew who was driving the van about 15 miles down the road. We then caught tailwinds and cruised the next 15 miles to our second rest stop before catching up to the first group at rest stop number three. From there we finished the rest of the ride arriving in Salome around 10:15 a.m. It was a short day as we only covered 55 miles.

Once at the Lion’s Club (our host here in Salome) we unpacked our coolers and ate lunch after which the majority of the team decided to take advantage of the extra time and catch up on sleep. I took advantage of the chance to use James’s computer while no one was on it and downloaded all (1,500+) of my digital photos to his computer. His computer is the holder of the photos so that after we finish the ride DVD’s can be made for everyone containing everyone’s photos.

I have to admit I’m rather glad that we got in early today as I stepped outside mid-afternoon and quickly returned inside as it was unbearably hot out. At dinner time Sean and I made Chili and rice and then had our master watermelon carver Brandt cut watermelon for desert.

After dinner I began working on transcribing Marcia’s Portrait Project interview to for presentation in San Diego. We are hoping to be able to get at least three Portrait Projects transcribed and put on boards to show at our welcoming picnic in San Diego.

Goodnight from Salome.... California here we come!

Wickenburg Part II

Day 66: Wickenburg, AZ

We are now once again in Wickenburg after having traveled a much shorter route from Chandler this morning. We managed to get on the road around 5:30 a.m. and were able to enjoy riding through the neighborhoods of Phoenix with relatively little traffic with it being a Sunday morning. My riding group today consisted of Allison and Andrew. Within the first hour of the ride Andrew had two flats (apparently there are tire sharks in the streets of Phoenix!) I gave him a patch to repair his second tube and luckily it seemed to hold up the rest of the day. After stopping for the second flat we figured that we were most likely a ways behind the rest of the group, however to our surprise we were soon caught by the “coffee boys” (Mark, Mike and Sean) who unbeknownst to us had made a detour to Starbucks shortly after we left the Temple in Chandler. We followed them for awhile until we reached the canal path at which time they turned it up a notch and took off. After riding the canal path into Phoenix two days ago I realized that we were entering the canal route in the middle of the route rather than the start where our first water stop was so I called Dan (today’s driver) to tell him not to wait on us and that we would be fine until the next stop. At this point we thought we were still playing catch up however about 10 miles after we got off the canal path Allison got a call from a group who had just gotten off the canal path meaning somewhere we managed to pass about ¾ of the team without realizing it. Andrew, Allison and I then stopped at a gas station for a mid-morning snack and to refill our water bottles before proceeding on to meet Dan in Surprise, AZ for a quick water break. Soon after we left Dan we got a call from the group behind us telling us to flag Dan down as they were having trouble with flats and needed van assistance. We successfully flagged him down and refilled our own water before continuing on and sending him back. At this point we were only about 20 miles from Wickenburg so we decided we would finish the ride and wait to eat lunch once we got into Wickenburg.

When we arrived in Wickenburg we stopped at the library to see if it was open before realizing that it was Sunday and most libraries are not open on Sunday. It’s easy to lose track of time/days when you’re on the road. After stopping at the church and finding nobody there we called the pastor to have him come unlock the church before heading downtown to find Mark, Mike and Sean who were relaxing in a coffee/sandwich shop. We still hadn’t eaten lunch so I had a small ice cream at the shop before heading up the road to Safeway to buy some fruit and Yogurt. When I got back to the church I ate my lunch and made a few phone calls while waiting for the van and rest of my teammates to arrive. Soon after the van arrived a woman from the community showed up for a portraits project interview. Mark and I spent about half an hour interviewing her before everyone else showed up.

The pastor and his wife then came by generously bringing us dinner consisting of an assortment of foods from Kentucky Fried Chicken and Long John Silver. As we were finishing up our dinner Marcia stopped by with some trinkets for us along with many more stories to tell. Shortly after Sean and I left to go get dinner for the following night since it was our turn to cook. After pricing everything down to the penny we found the ingredients to make Chili and had enough left over to buy Watermelon and still be within our budget!

I’m now sitting in the back of the fellowship hall where the “gas station boys” (Dan, Drew, Brandt, Keith) are watching Saw III while everyone else is either outside working on their bike or has headed downstairs to go to bed.

On a side note I found a little rubber ducky on the side of the road today in Surprise, so now my squeaky bike has its own squeaky toy to join Uncle Sam on my handlebars! Yes, I think my chain and derailleur need a good cleaning.

Also, Congratulations to the Hopkins 4K team as they finished their ride today in San Francisco!

Take me out to the ball game...

Day 65: Chandler, AZ (Off Day)

I awoke this morning bright and early covered in Arizona dirt after spending the night outside. Apparently I’d rolled off of my sleeping mat in the night leaving me covered in a nice coat of Arizona dust! All is good though as it is day 65 and a little dirt isn’t going to hurt me. With the luxury of having showers at the Temple the first thing I did upon waking was head for the shower. Alex was up and talking with Malcolm but it was still early and everyone else appeared to be sleeping. After my shower a few others had awoken and were in the kitchen helping Malcolm prepare breakfast so I joined Alex, James and Anish as we made tortillas and some kind of spicy rice.


After breakfast a group of us decided we were going to venture into Phoenix via public transportation to go watch the Diamondbacks play the Braves. We headed to the bus stop about a half a mile from the Temple where we boarded a bus and after one transfer made it to Chase Field a little over an hour later. On the second bus I met a guy who actually knew where Oneonta was and told me that his daughter had been shopping in Oneonta the day before. Apparently he had spent some time working in nearby Greene and his daughter is still in the area – it’s a small world! Once we got to the stadium we purchased $11 tickets at the window outside the stadium for the upper leftfield section. It was Carlos Quentin bobble head day meaning they gave each person who entered the stadium a bobble head doll of outfielder Carlos Quentin. Alex and I wandered around the stadium for awhile before finding our seats. Keith, Brandt, Sehee and Drew were already seated when we arrived while Dan and Andrew had wondered down to field level to try and snag some seats. In the middle of the fifth inning we suddenly heard “And now we have Andrew here…” announced over the PA system. We look up and there on the jumbotron is none other than ANDREW BARFIELD! Next thing we know we look down on the field and there he is out running around in the outfield after having been selected for a “between innings” promotional game. He had three chances to catch three fly balls, if he caught two of the balls he would win 3,000 US Airway miles and if he caught all three he would win 5,000 Airway miles. He ended up catching all three baseballs and came away with the 5,000 air miles, a t-shirt and a baseball. The game ended up going into extra innings with the Diamondbacks winning in the 10th inning 4-3.

After the game we took the bus back to the Temple where we had dinner donated by Keith’s cousin from Old Chicago Pizza of Chandler. Old Chicago gave us each an individual salad along with enough pan pizza’s to fill everyone. (Thank you to Old Chicago and Keith’s cousin for the delicious meal!) After dinner we had a team meeting to discuss some things before heading to bed. Tonight I’m opting to stay away from the dirt and sleeping on the sidewalk!

Video Update - Andrew on Chase Field!

Here is the video I captured of Andrew on the field in Phoenix!

Chandler - Part I Parking Lot Naps

Day 64: Chandler, AZ

I’m happy to say that after a loooong day, we have made it to Chandler!! Today’s ride was long and warm. We departed Wickenburg bright and early headed toward the Phoenix area. After our first water stop about 30 miles into the ride we continued on and quickly made our way into the suburbs of Phoenix. In Peoria, Anish, Jon, Nick and I stopped for a mid-morning breakfast snack off the McDonald’s breakfast menu before continuing onward.

We met Alex who was driving the van in the parking lot of an office complex and decide we would hang out there for awhile allowing the groups behind us to catch up so we could ride through Phoenix together. While waiting we got a call from one of the groups behind us saying that both Brandt and Keith had flats and needed van support. Soon afterward Dan and Drew showed up telling us the same thing. We called Alex who had left to support the group ahead of us telling her to come back but with the mid-day traffic in Phoenix this was easier said than done. We waited about an hour napping in the shade of the car shelters before Alex arrived with Brandt and his bike. Brandt’s back tire was in poor shape so after interchanging his back wheel with Alex’s back wheel, Alex left to go pick up Keith. After Alex left Brandt discovered that his helmet was still in the van and thus we decided to split up the group with Dan, Anish and I continuing on toward Chandler while Jon, Nick, Drew and Brandt waited for the van to return with Keith. Also while we were napping in the parking lot, James had called to tell us he was at the airport. This came as a surprise to us all as we didn’t think he was arriving until tomorrow. In order for Alex to get to the airport in a timely manner we decided it would be best for her to pick up Keith, drop off Brandt’s helmet and then continue on to the temple to drop off Keith and our lunch before going to get James at the airport.

Back on the road Anish, Dan and I decided we would take the bike route through Phoenix rather than deal with the traffic. It was extremely hot out and we made a few stops to fill up our water bottles and at a fruit stand purchase fresh mangos before stopping in Guadalupe for lunch. Anish and Dan each had some form of Mexican food while I enjoyed my mango and a protein bar. From lunch the temple was only about four more miles. When we arrived at the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center Iskcon Phoenix we found Alex and James there waiting for us. I was extremely excited to find out that there were showers at the temple and that we were allowed to use them as it had been an extremely warm day and a nice cool shower was perfect. Malcolm (who does the cooking at the temple) had prepared an Indian type of rice for us that was really good (sorry I can’t remember what it was called as it was different than normal rice). The rest of our teammates slowly began to trickle in within the next hour. After everyone arrived we had a short team meeting before a group of us attended a service in the temple that included music and singing. At the conclusion of the service the temple president brought our group into a circle and explained the different parts of the ceremony to us. I was impressed by the fact that they change the deities clothing everyday, dressing them in their pajamas at night and then redressing them every morning. The deities were dressed beautifully and I imagine a lot of work goes into dressing them.

After we got done talking with the temple president a few riders meet individually with our leaders to voice their concerns on certain issues. When the meetings concluded Andrew, Dan, Drew, Keith and I headed up the street to get ice cream at the Circle K gas station. While the ice cream at the Circle K could not compare to that of Woody’s in Monticello, UT it was still delicious! I was rather tired from the long day so after eating my ice cream Dan and I decided to head back to the temple. It’s beautiful out so I’m sleeping under the stars on the “Arizona dirt lawn” outside the back door. Goodnight!

Wickenburg Part I

Day 63: Wickenburg, AZ

We are now in Wickenburg, AZ a small town of about 5,000 people 50 or so miles northwest of Phoenix. Today’s ride was a good one and I’m happy to report that after my two flats yesterday the tires held up fine today! The morning began like any other morning with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast, Sehee then presented the daily Mosher before we picked our groups and were on the road by 5:20 am!

My group today consisted of Allison, Jon and Andrew. About 10 miles into the ride Allison and Brandt (who was in the group right in front of us) both got flats simultaneously at a stop light. After Allison changed her flat our group headed onward to Prescott, our first water stop of the day. In Prescott some groups stopped for coffee however with a climb right ahead my group opted to continue on and get the climb out of the way before the temperatures rose to high. We climbed some very curvy roads for awhile before descending down some very similar roads. Apparently we were making good time because we pulled into Yarnell, our lunch stop, at 9:45 a.m. and stopped at Cornerstone Bakery to wait for the van and get a little bite to eat. By this time we had gone 30+ miles since our last stop in Prescott and I was rather hungry so I had a small maple frosted doughnut from the Bakery and then made myself a peanut butter-oatmeal cookie-apple butter sandwich when the van showed up.

From lunch we climbed a small hill before beginning our decent down into a small town called Congress. The view at the top of the hill before the decent was rather amazing as everything below looked extremely miniaturized. The rest of the ride was mostly flat and we were able to reach Wickenburg by noon.

Once in town our first stop was at the Wickenburg library where we stopped to check our email and take care of a few things before heading over to the church. Our host in Wickenburg was St. Albans Church and they opened their fellowship hall for us to use while also letting us use a couple of rooms down stairs that had extremely soft carpeting which made for comfortable sleeping! When we arrived at the church we took turns taking showers with the hose in the small courtyard and rested as we waited for all of our teammates to arrive.

Late afternoon a woman named Marcia stopped by to share her experience with Leukemia with us as part of the Portrait Project. Marcia is an artist and also shared some of her work with us. She also gave us each two postcards which she had made. If you get a chance you can check out some of her work on her website at YellowMoon Rising. As we were talking with Marcia the pastor’s wife stopped by with pizza for dinner. While we were eating dinner she left and went to the grocery store where she bought us apples, oranges and bananas along with pretzels and chips to go with the cookies Marcia had brought us for dessert! A special thank you to both women for their generosity in making sure we were fed properly! After dinner we spent a little more time talking with Marcia about how cancer has impacted her life before she headed home for the night. We will be back in Wickenburg in three days and hope to be able to visit her home and see her peace poll then. It’s getting late and we have a long ride to Chandler tomorrow so I’m heading to bed. Goodnight!

One Flat, Two Flat...

Day 62: Chino Valley, AZ

Today’s ride was a rather easy and good despite the fact that I got my first two flats of the trip – both within a 20 mile stretch! Congrats go out to Keith on being the lone survivor in the no flats club!

We got to sleep in an extra hour this morning due to the fact that the Pine Country Restaurant where we ate lunch yesterday, loved us so much they decided to have us back for breakfast at 5:30 am! The generosity of the people we meet continues to amaze me and the Pine Country Restaurant is definitely one awesome place in my book. I enjoyed a delicious Cinnamon Roll French Toast breakfast that came with sausage and scrambled eggs along with coffee. (Yes, French Toast!) After breakfast Zach had the famous Mosher card and did the daily Mosher inspiration/quote before saying goodbye as he left for the final time before he rejoins us in San Diego.

Shortly before 7:00 am I set off with Jon, Andrew and Sehee. The first 20 miles of the ride was all highway as I-40 was the only way to Ash Fork. There was quite a bit of metal and other garbage along the side of the highway and when I got to our water stop in Ash Fork I noticed my back tire appeared a little soft so I added some air. After the water stop we headed south on SR 89 for about 26 miles. Just about a mile before we reached our third water stop in Paulden I encountered my first flat tire. I was going down a hill when my front tire suddenly started making a zipping sound. I knew immediately what it was and yelled to the guys ahead to stop. (The photo on the left is the site of flat #1 - AZ SR89 South Mile 340) Having seen flats changed numerous times but never having actually changed a flat myself Jon, Sehee and Andrew assisted me. They pulled a piece of glass and a small pebble out of the tire before I finished changing the tube. We then continued on to Paulden where we found numerous people changing flat tires at the water stop – apparently it was a day for flats. After everyone was set and ready to go we made our way toward Chino Valley. The dark sky finally opened up just as we arrived in Chino Valley so Jon, Andrew, Sehee and I pulled into Walgreens to take shelter and get directions to the library where we were meeting everyone for lunch. As we were leaving Walgreens I noticed that my back tire was now completely flat and because I had used my one tube already I did not have another one on me. Jon, Andrew and Sehee then left to go track down Sean who was driving the van and see if I could get another tube out of my bag. While waiting I noticed Sean drive by in the support van and turn into the Safeway across the street. Once at Safeway I found Sean and Drew (who had also gotten a flat) and retrieved a spare tube from my bag before they headed back to the library to provide lunch to the rest of the team. Thankfully I was able to change the back flat myself, pulling three staples out of the tire before changing the tube. After changing the tire I headed to the library for lunch covered in dirt and grease.

At the library I ate a quick lunch and used the internet for a few minutes before departing for the church to unpack the van. Sean, Keith, Dan, Drew and I all needed things from a bike shop and since we were unable to locate one in Chino Valley we headed 15 miles south to Prescott, AZ where we found High Gear Bicycle Shop. After the piece of glass went through my front tire today leaving a rather large gap I figured I could probably use a new tire. I had purchased a spare in Springdale, UT that I could use on the front. Despite the three staples and almost 5,000 total miles the back tire still looked ok however I decided to play on the safe side and purchase a spare to have on hand. I also purchased new break pads as my back breaks were wearing a bit thin.

When we got back to the church Allison and Andrew left to go find dinner and came back with personal pizzas, watermelon and ice cream! Alex and I added to the food supply by making the Christmas cookies that we were unable to make in Williams because the oven was broken.

Tomorrow morning it is off to Wickenburg at 5:00 AM!

Christmas in July

Day 61: Williams, AZ

Hello and Merry Christmas! Today is July 24th and we are celebrating Christmas in July! We would have celebrated on July 25th but Zach leaves us tomorrow morning and we wanted to share our Christmas in July festivities with him.

This morning we woke up at the Grand Canyon packed up camp and enjoyed Peanut Butter and Jelly for breakfast before getting on the road toward Williams, Arizona. It was my day to drive so after the group left I did one final sweep of the campsite to make sure nothing was forgotten before getting on the road. I had company in the van today as Zach is still with us so we enjoyed some old school songs on my iPod as we got on the road. Let's just say my music collection from HS was merged into my iTunes collection and thus are on my iPod.

At our first water stop just past Tusayan I had Brandt check the van as the speedometer had not been working. After a few minutes he was able to get it working however noticed that the gas seemed low so after making sure everyone was set I headed back to Tusayan to put some gas in the tank. Gas in Tusayan was $3.69, knowing that was a bit on the steep side due to Tusayan being right outside the Canyon I opted to only put enough in to get us to our destination.

The next place I met up with the group was in Valle, Arizona at Flintstone Bedrock City where part of the group stopped to take photos while others stopped across the street to wrestle the giant bear statue and visit the gas station. After stopping for a few minutes at Bedrock City I proceeded on a few miles before pulling over and waiting for the group to catch up, after they passed me I continued on to Red Lake (eight miles outside of Williams) where I waited for everyone before heading into Williams.

Once in Williams Zach and I found the church fairly easily and then found the rest of the team at a thrift shop where they were shopping for Christmas in July gifts. For our Christmas in July celebration we had each picked a name out of a hat while in Monticello, UT and had to find a gift for our person under $5.00. Upon hearing what we were doing the woman in the thrift store offered to let us borrow whatever we wanted and told us she would pick it up at our host church the following day. Alex, Allison and I all decided we would dress up for our Christmas in July dinner and each picked out dresses to wear. I also found a CD of Christmas music to play. While I was in the thrift shop Dan arrived and told me that Drew had a flat and needed a lift. I found Drew sitting alongside the road with Keith about six miles outside of Williams patiently waiting for my arrival. After loading Drew’s bike on the roof and giving Keith my cell phone in case he needed anything Drew and I drove on to Williams chalking the way for Keith.

When we arrived back at the Church we found the majority of the team there waiting and were informed that Alex had gotten the Pine Country Restaurant around the corner to donate lunch. We then walked to the restaurant where we were allowed to order anything we wanted for lunch and then pie for dessert! I got a turkey melt for lunch with potato salad and then coconut cream pie for dessert – it was very good and we all left the restaurant full. Before leaving we took a photo with the owner outside the restaurant (photo left) and then headed back to the church. We had been unable to get in touch with the pastor so we hung out on the front steps for awhile letting our food digest and hiding from the rain. While we waited Anish, Nick and Jon went to try and find showers and were successful as the Williams Aquatic Center said we could use their showers. I drove the van over to the Aquatic Center so people could get their stuff out and then walked back to the church to give everyone there directions (it was literally just around the corner). When I got back to the Aquatic Center Anish and Nick were done with their showers so Nick waited with the van while I went in to shower. After I showered I collected everyone’s stuff in the van and headed back to the church.

We were still trying to get in touch with the pastor of the church and I was also waiting for Mark to call from the grocery store as he and Mike were cooking Christmas dinner and had rode their bikes to the store to pick out the food. While I waited I decided to head back to the thrift shop to browse as it was just around the corner. The lady that runs the store recognized me from earlier and asked if we had gotten into the church yet. When I replied that we were still trying to get a hold of the pastor she made a few phone calls and got someone from the church to come unlock it for us as the pastor was not in town. I then headed back to the church once again and shortly after I got there a woman named Julia showed up to open the church. After unloading the van I headed to Safeway to pick up Mark’s dinner groceries and transport them back to the church. While dinner was being prepared I helped Alex do a little Christmas decorating, wrapped my secret Santa gift and got dressed in the black dress that I had borrowed from the thrift store. Alex and Allison also got dressed up in their dresses while Nick was dressed as Santa - white beard and all!

Dinner consisted of carrots, greens, rice and chicken with hot apple cider to drink. We then had Mark’s cookies and milk for dessert! After we were done eating we took turns going around the table passing out our gifts. I was Sean’s “secret Santa” and had gotten him a book on Cactus’s from the Grand Canyon, a sesame street Christmas coloring book (he and Andrew had a good time coloring in Hite, UT), crayons, silly putty, a little toy I found that looked like a giant Lego man, and a candy bar. Mike was my Santa and gave me a pair of sunglasses, a Cactus Egg Greenhouse and Sour Jelly Belly’s (Mark’s nickname for me is Sour Sandy). And that was our Christmas in July. Goodnight and Merry Christmas eve!

The following photos are from our Christmas in July celebration.

Grand Canyon - Part II The Grocery Store

Day 60: (Off Day) Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim

This morning I woke up at 5:00 am in order to get a little hiking in before heading to a Canon Photography workshop at 9:00 am. Our early morning hiking group consisting of Anish, Nick, Jon, Zach, Alex, Sehee and myself reached the top of the Bright Angel trail at 6:15 am. Around 7:00 am Sehee and I turned around in order to head back up and get to the photography workshop. We did not know how long the hike up would take and decided to play it safe however we reached the top a lot faster than expected and decided to go get coffee before heading over to the Canon Workshop.

The workshop was free and sponsored by Canon meaning they let us use all their top of the line equipment (while they held on to our credit cards as collateral.) Unfortunately it started raining right after they started talking about the Histogram and we had to turn the cameras in. While using the cameras we were allowed to take as many photos as our memory card would hold (mine held 111 photos) and they then burnt all of our photos onto a CD for us to keep while also printing one photo onto a photo postcard. I ended up taking over 70 photos while Sehee ended up with 13 after he deleted many of his.

After the photo workshop we went to the grocery store where I bought Raisin English Muffins, Apple Butter and a bottle of milk for lunch before heading back to the campsite. We had just begun to eat our lunch when it started pouring. With everyone else still out and about Sehee and I quickly gathered everybody’s stuff and threw it into the tents and van before seeking shelter for ourselves. Just as we were finishing gathering the stuff Dan, Drew and Brandt came running back to check on their things which they had left out. They were very thankful to find their stuff safely dry in the van with the exception of Brandt’s sleeping back which we missed as it was on the picnic table of a neighboring campsite where he slept the night before.

I then headed to Post Office to mail some postcards before catching the bus to the Yavapai Observation Station. About five minutes after I got there it started raining harder and began thundering sending me back to the grocery store where I bought a cup of French Vanilla/Hot Chocolate and sat with Anish, Nick, Sean, Andrew, Jon and Zach at the Canyon Village Deli for the next six hours. We spent the time refilling our cups of hot chocolate (numerous times), eating, reading magazines and books from the magazine/book area and trying to figure out Zach’s brain teaser games. Around 6:00 pm I left the grocery store to head over to the Shrine of the Ages where the people from Canon were doing a wildlife photo slideshow and were also handing out our photo CDs from the morning.

Following the wildlife slideshow I returned to the grocery store where I found everyone right where they were when I left. I then bought myself a grocery store dinner that consisted of a frozen pizza burrito which I was able to warm using my cup of very hot, hot chocolate. At 7:45 pm we all finally left the grocery store heading back to camp for a team meeting at 8:00 pm before heading to bed.

Grand Canyon - Part I

Day 59: Grand Canyon, AZ

Hello from the Grand Canyon! Today’s ride from Cameron was a nice change from recent days as we had cloud cover keeping it cool throughout the ride. My legs felt good today and considering we were on an uphill grade most of the way into the canyon we made excellent time. Our entire group was together at the first water stop before breaking off into groups so that we could enter the Grand Canyon staggered.

My riding group for the day consisted of Anish, Allison, Nick, Seheee and Alex. A few miles from the canyon a group of motorcyclist had passed us and as we approached the “Welcome to the Grand Canyon” sign we saw them stopped alongside the road. We thought this would be an awesome opportunity for a photo and stopped to ask if we could take a photo with them which they happily obliged, posing for a group photo with our small riding group.

After paying our entrance fees at the entrance we headed to the first viewpoint to check out what we had been anticipating for days. It was a rather cloudy day so while the view was not quite as I had imagined it would be I was still in awe at the size of the canyon. After spending about half and hour at the viewpoint Allison, Anish and I decided we would head toward the campground in the Grand Canyon Village with the sky looking like it could pour at any given second. When we reached the village we made a quick stop at Mather Point before continuing on to the village where we found Jon, Mike and Sean sitting at the Grocery store dinning area eating. With it being lunch time I went and bought a Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal bar and small bottle of milk to hold me over until the van reached the village. When the van arrived we enjoyed peanut butter and jelly along with numerous other interesting combinations of sandwiches. Sean made an amazing discovery in that you could buy a small cup of hot chocolate for $1.27 and refill it as many times you wanted throughout the day so with it being a cool day we also enjoyed hot chocolate with our lunch.

As more and more of our riders started arriving at the grocery store some laid down to take naps while a few of us began plotting out possible hikes we could take before dinner. After settling on a shorter hike we headed toward the campground with the van to set up our tents in hopes that we would still have time to hike. When we reached the campground we found Mark and his father there waiting for us along with Allison and Mike. Mark had taken a two day hiatus from riding to spend some time with his father. Dr. Landreneau offered to treat the team to pizza for dinner so while we set up camp Mark and his father ran to pick up pizza. There was not enough time to hike before dinner so Zach, Alex and I took a walk up to the grocery store so Alex could get quarters to shower and then stopped at the showers before returning to camp. When we got back to camp Mark and his father were there with many varieties of pizza for us to enjoy. Then knowing our team Mark goes over to a bag and pulls out three cartons of ICE CREAM for dessert! (Thank you Dr. Landreneau for providing us with this awesome meal!) After dinner a group of us sat and talked with Dr. Landreneau before he and Mark left to head back to Tusayan for the night. We then headed to bed with an early hike planned for the morning.

Cameron, Arizona

Day 58: Cameron, AZ

We are now in Cameron, Arizona and staying at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Today’s ride was a hot one as we rode 75 miles in extreme heat. We departed camp in Lees Ferry as soon as the sun was up and were on the road shortly after 5:00 am. We got a pleasant surprise at breakfast when Mark showed up with a box of homemade Cookies! Mark’s father had flown in from Louisiana to spend a few days with him and had brought and entire suitcase full of homemade cookies made by Mrs. Landreneau. Mark had spent the night at a motel (the only motel) with his father in Marble Canyon but had woken up early to bring us all a special treat! Cookies are always a welcome addition to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Once we got on the road it got hot fast and most people had finished both of their water bottles by our first water stop at mile 18. After our second water stop at mile 30 Alex, Sehee and I made an exciting discovery alongside the road while riding. We found FOOD! Now while the thought of eating food off the side of the road may gross the majority of people out you have to understand, we are in the middle of the desert, it’s day 58, and we’ve been living off of peanut butter & jelly, pasta, and ugali for the most part. So we reacted like little children at the sight of FREE snack food dropping our bikes on the side of the road and running back to check it out. Meanwhile… Andrew who was driving the van and had just given us water at the water stop five miles back comes driving by with Zach. I can only imagine what they thought as they approached us scurrying around on the side of the road jumping up and down at our discovery! Among our findings were unopened boxes of Cheese-It, Triscuit, Wheat Thins, Gram Crackers and a new sealed jar of Strawberry Jelly. Thankfully Andrew came by just as we were pondering how we were going to carry our findings and we threw it all into the van.

Our next stop was in a small town called Gap where I stocked up on fluid downing a small 12 oz. jug of 2% milk and a peach Snapple while also eating a Reese’s Fast Break bar for some quick sugar energy. Alex, Sehee and I left Gap and cruised the next 16 miles to our lunch stop where we stopped for about five minutes before continuing on to Cameron. When we reached Cameron we stopped at a Shell station to ask for directions. Once we got to the church we found that it was locked and that the pastor would not be returning until late in the evening so we sat in the shade of the front overhang for awhile before a group of us headed to the grocery store to buy food for dinner.

While we were at the store Alex called and said that she had gone next door to the Church of Latter Day Saints to use the bathroom and upon hearing what we were doing they invited us all to stay at their church and that they would feed us as they were just wrapping up an outdoor barbeque in celebration of Pioneer Day and had food left over! After checking out at the grocery store we headed over to the Church of Latter Day Saints (which was right next door to the first church we had talked to) and enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, chips and fruit. We spent quite a while talking with members of the church after we ate before they put on a small music program which Dan took part in playing the guitar. There were numerous young children at the church all of whom seemed to have a great time throwing water balloons around outside with a few of our riders.

Around 8:30 pm we began to head to bed with another 4:00 am wake up in the morning as we head to our final National Park the Grand Canyon!