Day 5 - A new state!

Today's milestone was entering Nevada. It seems to make a cross-country trip more official when you go into your second state. We left Kirkwood at 7:10 a.m. and started by climbing about 1300 feet to Carson Pass. Tim and Susan leapfrogged us several times in order to snap photos en route.

The rest of the day after cresting the pass was amazing. It started with many miles of descent, dropping about 4,000 feet down into Nevada. We then had a substantial tailwind, along with a slight descent, almost all of the way to our campsite on Lahontan Reservoir. We really zipped along! We stopped in Carson City for a picnic lunch with Kathy, Cindy, and Janet, who rendezvoused with us at the railroad museum there. It was a 93-mile day, our longest by far, but in some ways the easiest, thanks to the drop and the wind.

Yesterday and today were special for me, taking my time to traverse the Sierra and drink in the sights -- granite, majestic trees, rushing rivers, quiet meadows, snowy peaks. They are memories I will take with me when we move to Michigan at the end of summer.

The photo is of the three cyclists passing Caples Lake on our way to Carson Pass.

Day 4 - Climb, climb, climb; beauty, beauty, beauty

Sunday was like nothing I've ever done on a bicycle. 50 miles from Pine Grove to Kirkwood, climbing from 2300 to over 8000 feet. Tough and slow, but with beauty everywhere, especially toward the end of the ride. We were joined for the last 10 miles or so by Nathan, a young Cat 5 cyclist from Modesto who was zooming up the mountain on his lightweight carbon fiber racing bike. He graciously slowed down to ride with us, until he finally unceremoniously dropped us on the last 900' climb.

Tim, who had to drop out of the ride on Day 3, drove up to Kirkwood along with his wife, Susan, and joined us for dinner. It was great to have them as a part of the group.

The first attached photo is from our "wheel dipping" in the Pacific at the start of Day 1. The second is me at a rest stop on Hwy 88, overlooking Bear River Reservoir.

Day 3 - And then there were three

Intermittent internet access is making it difficult to do daily posts and to attach timely photos. On the way into Stockton on Day 2, Tim suffered what should have been a minor fall, but he landed on ribs that he had fractured a few months earlier. He tried valiantly to ride on Day 3, but was in considerable pain, and after a few miles he very regretfully decided he could not continue. This was sad for all, since the original idea for the ride had come from Tim and Rich back in 2008. Since Tim could not continue, his brother John also decided to leave the ride, since he had come out from his home in Cincinnati specifically to ride with his brother. So now it's just Rich and Chuck and me, with Kathy and Cindy in the motor home and Chuck's wife, Karen, in their van.

We made it successfully to Indian Grinding Rock State Historical Park in Pine Grove -- about 65 miles and 2,400 feet of elevation gain. Celia and Marion wondrously brought us homemade fried chicken for dinner!

Day 2 - We're in Stockton

Funny thing, after leading much of the way yesterday, for the first 11 miles today I was all alone in the rear, with the rest of the group getting farther and farther ahead. My legs felt tired and I figured that I was just pooped after the day before. When the group waited for me to catch up at a rest stop, we discovered that a spring had come off my rear brake, and it was rubbing badly. After a quick fix, it was amazing how much easier it was to keep up with the group.

We rode down out of the hills to the floor of the San Joaquin Valley, and arrived in Stockton just after noon. Forty miles in about 3 1/2 hours -- much better than yesterday!

Tonight we stay at Tim's house. Tim is one of the five riders, and is the Director of Stockton Food Bank. He and Rich are doing the ride to raise funds for food programs in Stockton and Sacramento. These programs are much more in demand during these tough economic times, and I'm happy to be part of that effort. Tomorrow we will be special guests at the Mayor's Hike and Bike in Stockton, where we will be sent off in style for our ride to Pine Grove.

Day 1 - Rain, Hills, and Committee Meetings

Day one started on the Pacific coast in San Francisco, as planned. Paul and Jeannie Aschenbrenner of Salinas were there to help see us off, Paul himself a veteran of a cross-country ride in 1983. We dipped our wheels in the ocean, then headed through Golden Gate Park across San Francisco to the Ferry Building. It was raining steadily across the first half of the city, and then it started raining hard. I was grateful for my fenders, as well as for my rain cover for my helmet, dorky as it looked! (Photo to come later)

After a quick ferry ride across the Bay we disembarked in Oakland, and held the first of many consultations about directions, looking at maps and trying to find our way. Often these meetings to reconnoiter took place every few blocks, as we tried to find our routing. Then we reached the Oakland hills, which are steep, steep, and steeper. What goes up must come down, and there were some very beautiful descents through thickly wooded hills. By then the rain had mostly stopped

After going through Moraga, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek, we finally reached our camp outside of Clayton, on the lower northeastern slopes of Mt. Diablo. 49 miles in 8 hours -- ouch! Too much city, too much rain, too many hills, and too many meetings. All in all, a successful day, and tomorrow should be better.

Barbecued tuna for dinner, thanks to Kathy and Cindy. Yum!

Freedom, or Reason #4

I'm not yet sure what this one's about. I spent almost my entire career working in and around the criminal justice system, where freedom, and the lack thereof, are major themes. Our society's primary punishment for criminal acts is the deprivation of freedom, so it's obviously a primary human value. Taking off across the country on a bicycle is a major exercise of freedom. How does this all relate? I'm sure I'll have more reflections as the weeks go by.

Reason #3

Probably more than 50 years ago I read an article in "Boy's Life" magazine about a boy scout who rode across the country on his bike. It amazed and inspired me, and it's been in the back of my head ever since. So I guess I'm fulfilling a long-time dream.

Today is our last day to get ready. Tomorrow we head to San Francisco in advance of our Thursday start. Lots to do today. Rain is forecast for the next 3 days -- booo!

Reason #2

Rich and Tim originated the ride, as a Ride Against Hunger. They are collecting pledges to support hunger relief programs in Stockton and Sacramento. I'm not collecting pledges, but I'm proud to be a part of that effort.

Getting ready

Still lots and lots to do, but getting the blog started was one of the things on the list.

As for the title question, there are many reasons, and I'm sure that more will reveal themselves during the journey, but the first one is simply George Mallory's "because it's there."

At any rate, a week from today we dip our wheels into the Pacific and start riding east!