Frank's Coast to Coast Ride for Justin

  Not to pick on Kansas or anything, but these people work really hard to find things of interest in their state. But when your state boast having more cows than humans, well that’s tough. Take for example the picture above of Pawnee Rock. This is a “rock” that is about 50ft tall. They set up a state park around it & celebrate it like its the Grand Canyon. But @ 50ft tall it’s probably the highest point in the state. It’s located in Pawnee Co. , off the Pawnee highway, on Pawnee road. The rock was 100ft tall until they used 50ft of to build the railroad base. Interesting. This rock along with every other town taking credit for the “wizard of oz” , & who has the nicest tornado shelter speaks volumes to the nothingness out here.

I was out of bed @ 4:00 am as I couldn’t sleep much with my cold & stuffed up head. So I planned on being out the door @ sun up but @ sun up it was wind blown rain & 45 degrees! I went back to bed. Off then @ 8:25 I rode 24 miles to the next little town, stopped for breakfast & to thaw out. Probably the highest headwinds yet made the 70 mile ride into Great Bend an all day event. Hitting 9 mph was a big number when most of the time was spent grinding down the flat farm field lined road @ 7 mph. I made it into Great Bend exhausted. There is no let up in the winds for the next 4 days. So my goal is to just make it out of Kansas by Sat or early Sunday? 

Better riding days have got to be ahead. If I could catch even a mild tailwind , loose this head cold and cold rain filled days , this ride may turn fun before it’s over . 

Please try and share these post with your friends & try to get as much out of this event as possible for Justin’s cause.

 

This was another day you just wanted to stay in bed! But I dressed up & hit the road in the mist & fog @ 8:00. My goal was to simply make it 25 miles to Garden City & use the rest of the day to try & heal up from the tough rides of the previous day’s & try & figure out this cold / flu or whatever it is. I made my way through the fog & rain into Garden City, a rather large town with plenty of services.I stopped @ McDonalds for breakfast , coffee & to thaw out. I called home & talked to my wife about staying here for the day & wait out the weather that included bad storms etc. & maybe stop @ a doctor for an opinion on my cold. She agreed. I changed out of my sweat & rain soaked cloths into some dries & headed out for a hotel. Riding through town I changed my mind. I decided I didn’t need a doctor , I needed to put some miles in & head east. Like Cantons famous XC coach ,Professor Steve Williams used to tell the kids that were complainers like me “what you need is to go see Doctor Miles” Doctor Miles” solves all problems! So I went and saw Doctor Miles……. 83 miles to be exact! Pressing up the road in the fog & rain I made my way all the way to the town of Jetmore. I ran out of water about 1/2 way through & stopped in @ a tractor dealer along the road & filled my water & bought a candy bar & a Doctor Pepper & charged on up & down the rolling west Ks hills. I made it into town @ 6:00 in the now pouring rain & found a room @ a very nice little hotel the Pawnee Valley Lodge. Great people – great room & a restaurant the closest thing to my home towns “Chatter Box Restaurant ” The bonus to my room is that it is one door down from the “tornado shelter” I will never get used to the fact that when you stay out here the people always show you the tornado shelter. Strange to me…. Just a way of life out here. My health is better tonight & I am so glad of my choice of pressing on today. Doctor Miles did me good. Today puts me @ the 1/2 way point of the trip. Kinda funny note, the roads out here have NO sholder at all, & the road if filled with cattle hauler trucks! These guys are more than professional giving a lot of distance as they pass. I met 3 of them leaving Lakin this morn & as I got close to Jetmore I met the same trucks going back west – they all blew there horns & waved as the passed by. Kinda cool!

Tomo will be about 70 miles into Great Bend weather permitting ?

 

 
This was a day that I didn’t want to get out of bed! I lay in bed all night listening to the wind blow against the hotel. But I got up & prepped for the day that would take me into Kansas. I made a stop @ WalMart & bought a $9.50 radio. This was a wise choice as a replacement for my ear plugs of yesterday. I spent the day grinding it out, like a fish swiming up steam….. All day! I ran into rain @ about the 26 mile mark. Dressed in every stitch of cloths I had & shopping bags taped around my feet & hands I pressed on @ 7 – 9 mph. The math said I would not make the 102 miles to Garden City. This meant trying for the town of Lakin 23 miles to the west. Up & down hills through pasture land & hay fields I stopped about 18 miles west Lakin. There a Kansas State trooper in a pickup truck stopped to ck on me. He commented on the wind & cold day & offered to take me the rest of the way into town. That’s how desperate I must have looked. I declined &assured him I would make it OK. With that I rolled on, pacing my way to town. On the outskirts of town a pickup truck had pulled off the road a few hundred yards ahead. When I reached the truck a guy got out & flagged me down. He said I was only 1 1/2 miles from town & said that the weather called for rain & wind for the next 3 days. He said he had a place a few miles back & invited me to stay. This is typical Kansas. He then said that he wasn’t interested in having sex or anything like that? Well that was a deal breaker. After all being on the road for 18 days I was disappointed in this 😁! Who the hell says this as an opening line anyway? I declined & said no thanks & sped up the hill into town @ Tour De France speed! Yikes!! my tech adviser J Perry warned me of this situation. I made it into town just before dark & found a room at the only hotel in town. & 80.5 miles done. 

Now the bad news. Looks like I got a case of the flu! Nose running all day chilled to the bone & fever. I don’t do sick well on my best day but this is very inconvenient . I am going to bed & see how tomo goes. I am a few days ahead of schedule so may end up taking the day off or go into Garden City & find medical help. Will keep you informed as I go.

  

  
I promise this will be the last time I write anything about headwinds. You are probably as tired hearing about them as I am writing about them. I have found that headwinds are my “kryptonite”.  I decided to not waste a lot of extra energy today on fighting the wind, instead I would go short & recover, to make a run for Garden City Ks. or somewhere close tomo. I spent the day today managing my energy & paced my way to Lamar Co. 

I once again spent the day riding through the featureless fenced in pasture land, with no animals inside the fences. It was upon reaching the outskirts of Lamar that I solved the mystery of not seeing any cattle in the pastures. I found them all in the largest cattle feed lot I have ever seen! 61,000 cows all in one place. Amazing site. Amazing smell.

Today I also came up with a couple of tricks to battle the headwinds. I put a set of ear plugs in to dull the constant noise in my ears as the wind whistles through the openings in my helmet, & also the noise of the traffic rushing by causing more wind & road noise. I also refuse to look @ my bike computer. Going this slow is bad enough without being reminded of it by a speedometer & odometer to confirm the obvious.

So 59 miles in today. Kansas is another big state. But last week @ this time I was still in the desert of AZ. So there is progress. If the weather would co-operate I should be in Missouri by next Fri. ( headwinds willing 🙂

  
Today sucked! End of story. The part I was the most dreading, the climb up La Veda Pass turned out to be the best part of the day. The weather was clear & cool & I made it up the mountain with little effort. The descent was amazing. I made it 48 miles before stopping for lunch in Walsenburg. This is the last civilization for the next 75 miles. The next 72 miles through the prairie land is a land of nothing. It is on this stretch that I faced a 20 -30 mph head wind for the entire 72 miles. I would have stopped anywhere around the 80 mile mark of the day but there is NO place to stop. I pressed on @ about 7 mph for 72 miles into La Junta. It was a tough day to say the least. 

So the day ended 124 miles. If the wind tomo as today I may go short say 60 miles & make the Kansas border early Sunday.

Head winds suck! Am tired, sore, & exhausted . Better days have got to be ahead.

 

” A runner is a miser, spending the pennies of his energy with great stinginess, constantly wanting to know how much he has spent and how much longer he will be expected to pay. He wants to be broke at precisely the moment he no longer needs his coin.”

John L Parker – Once A Runner

This is a quote from one of my favorite books. I apply it to riding a bike. It says it all. 

When you start out your ride feeling real strong you must temper that strong feeling with what you have left to do on this day & what you have left in the overall trip. You have to remind yourself that you will not win this race on this day alone. So my vision of making it to La Veda and over the final climb to exit the Rockies would not happen on this day. This day was all about taking what the day gives you. Today started out cold (28 degrees) with sunny skies. I made 31 miles without a break. A short coffee break in Monte Vista I was back on the road. Before reaching Monte Vista I over took a biker heading the same direction. Upon reaching him I decided although he had “packs” on his bike I discovered that they were modified waste paper cans! So I decided he must have been a local guy out maybe picking up garbage along the road. I said good morning as I blasted by. Later in the day I ran upon him again 20 miles down the road. I road along side & started a conversation. His name was Richard & he was on his way to his home in Maine! He was a self described “Homeless guy” on a bike. We road together for about 25 miles exchanging tails of living on the road. What tails he told. He did most of the talking & I simply listened & learned. Living off the land, stealth camping every night Richard was a modern day hobo that quit his job & just checked out. We talked of what we ate & where we slept . We parted company & I road on ahead with a little different outlook on the world. 

  

  
This ride on straight flat roads through the high desert type terrain into a head wind left me exhausted & I decided that after 76 miles I would hold up short of the pass for the night. I did not look forward to a repeat of yesterday climbing the pass & enduring a cold descent down the east side. 

I said yesterday that I would be @ the 1/2 way point tomo or the next day. My math was off by a few days & that will not happen until say Monday or Tuesday. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a rather long day & Sat should see me in Kansas. The next few days through the front range of Co. & western Kansas is a gut check stretch . Sparse towns & nondescript terrain.

So I ride on being careful to spend my coin with stinginess . Thanks John L Parker!

 

Today started off under sunny skies & 40 degree temp. I made my way out of the Durango morning commuters. I am sure Durango is used as NASCARS secret training ground! These people are insane.

I made my way into Bayfield for a coffee break 20 miles into the ride. When I left town light rain showers moved in & stayed with me for most of the day. A short break in Pagosa Springs for food supplies & I headed off for my much anticipated climb up the famous Wolf Creek Pass. As a cruel twist to this climb, you get to see the mountain coming toward you for 25 miles. I reached the base of the climb @ 2:00 pm & started up. 2 hours later I made it 9 miles to the snow covered summit! This is one bad climb! At the summit you are at the continental divide, 11000 ft up. It had snowed earlier in the day & this snow added to the 3ft of snow already on the ground. This combined with the fact that it was 37 degrees out canceled my plans of tent camping for the night. I took off all of my sweat & rain soaked cloths & put on all the dry cloths I had along with pants & headed down the 14 mile descent to the valley below. I tried to video the descent but with frozen fingers I had to limit the picture taking in the interest of being able to hold onto the handlebars! I made it into the small town of South Fork & found a proper hotel room for the night. Cold soaked to the bone I made my way to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner then to my room to stand in a hot shower for a 1/2 hour. 

Today was a big day with the toughest climb of the trip behind me and one more left for tomo . Today was 106 miles & put my total @ 1000 miles even. By Friday I should hit the 1/2 way point of this trip. The course I am riding ( the ramm race route) has 170,000 feet of climbing ! By the end of the week the majority of that 170,000 ft should be behind me. 

 

  
Thought of the day. As you ride along every inch of the property along the road from Az through Co.has a fence of some sort. I don’t know if these fences are to keep people out or to keep something in? Maybe both but I sure wish I had bought stock in barb wire!

 

 
Day 13 was a day off. A rest day if you will. Maybe the only day off on this trip. There are not a lot off towns I wanted to take a day off in but this was one. This town has endless bars, restaurants, shops etc. all of which fall lost on me. But Durango is home to the narrow gauge railroad that runs daily to the old mining town of Silverton. I took the train @ 8:45am & enjoyed the amazing ride to Silverton. But the most amazing part of the trip was my lunch in Silverton. 

In 2015 I was forced to give a speech @ my old high schools alumni banquet. One of my talking points was how I was a study of people who did a job no matter what job it is & did that job the best that job could be done. This day I watched a woman that was the poster child of what I spoke about. At the “Bent Elbow” Restuaurant & bar I watched in awe a woman by the name of Bonnie Stuntebeck (hope I got that right Bonnie). This girl single handed waited tables, ran the register, answered the phone, & made everyone there happy all by herself. To watch her work was a study in what my speech was about. I observed her wait on 31 customers, deal with 1 sales guy, and answer 2 phone calls without missing a beat! Amazing ! And by the way this all happened in 45 minutes (yes I timed it) . Anyone who runs a business no matter what the business would be very lucky to have someone like her on their staff. 

After a cold ride back down the mountain I finished the day recharged & ready for the next leg of my trip. Tomo I hope to make it through Pagosa Springs & over the famous ” Wolf Creek Pass” & the continental divide. 

Gonna seem good to get back on the road & head east again!

Remember to check out the Bone Marrow Reg. Site & prayers for Justin!

Thought of the day ……. Missing home & my family a lot!

  
Ok – Pop quiz. What is Cortez Co.known for? Hint it is called “The Miracle in Cortez” – On Aug 4th 1959 Maj. H.C. Hun was piloting a U-2 spy plane out of a Texas air base on a “weather recon mission “when @ 70,000 ft sufferd an Engine failure @ 10:30 PM – in the dark & descending into a cloud deck , with no idea where he was broke out of the clouds @ 4000 ft & saw lights! The lights were the city of Cortez & among these lights saw airport lighting . He dead stick landed the plane & walked into the office in his space type suit & asked “where am I “? Nice

Hearing the rain on the hotel roof all night I was in no rush to hit the road. I left off in a cold rain with hands & feet wraped in the now standard issue plastic bags wraped with duct tape. The rain continues all the way to Mancos 20 miles down the road. The temp steadily dropped to 39 degrees @ the top of the first climb. Frozen once again I swung into a diner for coffee & to dry out. I waited out the rain & in an hour the sun started to peek out. I left out and headed east to Durango. After stopping @ the base of each climb to take off jackets & then stop & put them back on @ the top I finally made it into the busy town of Durango. Tomorrows weather calls for 30 degrees in the morning with rain & thunder storms. I am tired of fighting these conditions. So with that information I decided to take Tue. off & recharge.Durango is a perfect place to do this. I made a trip to the local bike shop for some bike supplies & some warmer cloths! 

  
Half way through today’s trip I met a guy going west. We both stopped & talked about our travels. He is from Boston & had been on the road for 6 months and is on his way to the northwest . I don’t think he has a regular job!

So far I have 894 miles in with a 75 mile per day average. Given the challenging terrain so far I am pretty happy with this. I know the Rockies will be tough but I hope to get closer to 100 mile days when I hit the plains. This rough math has me finishing in the first week in June, kinda on schedule. 

My home boys / tech aids J Perry & Coach Steve Willams are mapping out a route that will get me from Rt6 in northwest Pa. To the LockHaven area then up through Canton . Many miles to go before then but it will be here sooner than I think!

  

Today’s much anticipated ride from Kayenta Az started off a little  rough to say the least. As I departed into a cold rain that soon turned into a sleet storm. My bike comp now showed 37 degrees. I was wearing every piece of cloths I had with shopping bags wraped around my gloved hands & duct tape wraped shoes. But within 3 miles my feet were soaked & the large sleet rattled off my helmet. I considered turning back as there is NO shelter to be found anywhere. I pressed on and about 8 miles down the road the rain / sleet let up. I road 45 miles without stopping for fear the rain would catch back up with me. Stopping @ a small diner I went in & removed my soaked shoes & stuffed them with newspaper in & effort to dry them out. My feet were frozen & I spent an hour trying to warm them up. I left and made it to Teec Ne Poss trDing post @ 75 mile mark & took a snack break. From there I made it through the 4 corners and into Colorado @ 1:30 pm! This was huge as I was now out of the state of AZ that had been a real tough customer. The temp swung from 45 to 80 degrees in minutes causing frequent stops to either put jackets on or take them off.

I took a break @ the Tomac truck stop / casino & then made the final climb into Cortez. 

The difference between Az & Co happens very quickly as in a matter of a few miles you crest a hill & go from a landscape that was probably used for the shooting of “Mad Max ” movies & the home of cousin Eddy in the “Family Vacation”( both favorites of mine) to green grass trees & the sound lawnmowers. With snow capped peaks in the distance this is a whole new world! 

Colorado will no doubt be tough but I welcome it. I ended up with 121 miles today & feel great. I think that I am officially in “biking shape”. For the first time I am heading east & I actually welcome the Rockies. I don’t know what kind of mileage I will make in the next few days but will just take what the days give me.

Remember to say your prayers for Justin & I will keep heading east!