We're on our way tomorrow!

I can't believe that we are ready to take off!  Steve & I spent all day today getting the 5th wheel ready for the trip, taking care of the yard, cleaning the house, packing, etc..  The last thing we will pack is the bikes, and I have this awful fear that we will forget to bring them!  Last night I went over both Steve's and my bikes, made some adjustments, lubed them, etc..  While Steve won't be riding with us he is bringing his bike so that he can do some riding.  Our chocolate lab Mo knows something is up, so has been in need of a bit more attention.  He will be very glad when he learns he is going with us!

Ride with Lisa

As those of you who have been following this blog know, our friend Lisa who is riding with us across the country had an encounter with a car while on her bike on Hwy. 18 and had some serious injuries (torn/collapsed lung, broken collar bone, broken ribs, & broken wrist).  She convinced the doctors to do some things that would allow her to still ride with us, and she is making a miraculous recovery.  Today was her first time out on her bike (she's been riding on a trainer at home).  She did great!  We rode almost 22 miles on a route with a bit of climbing (not a lot, but enough to test her).  She did well with her lungs which have caused her some problems while on the trainer, and said her wrist only hurt a little.  She is amazing!

Ready or Not--here we come

Well 2 days till we start riding. I am in Mapleton Oregon visiting relatives and doing no riding (maybe) till we start on Monday. I am not in the best shape to start this ride--after 2 weeks of riding with my grandson Sam and very little more than that--but we can just start slow and easy and I suspect that after about 7-8 days I will be in shape.
I just know the first week will be hard--but it is a long way across the country.
Will drive down to Powers on Sunday afternoon to be ready to start riding on Monday.

Thank you for your encouragement!

After sending emails today to my "contacts" with a link to this blog I have heard from so many of you with words of encouragement.  Thank you so very much.  It means a lot and we really appreciate your support.  Also, hearing from you makes me even more excited about this trip.  It will certainly be a test of our physical and mental abilities, but it will also be a marvelous way to see this beautiful country of ours.

We Start in 5 Days!

I am getting really excited!  We have been training hard for a long time and are finally almost ready to start our adventure.  We are driving down to Bandon on Sunday and plan to do our first day of riding on Monday.  That will be a short day of about 34 miles.  Our second day will be a real challenge as we climb to over 4000 feet to get over the coast range (yes, there are lots of ways to get over the coast range that do not require us to climb a 4000 foot mountain, but most of those routes are heavily travelled highways and the route we are taking will have almost no traffic); this will also be a long day of almost 80 miles.

We will be "camping" with RVs - only Lisa will be tent camping; she's the hardy one in our group! - and we will even have pets with us (2 cats and a dog - I'm sure there will be tales about them later!).  When we can we will stay in campgrounds that have full hookups so that we can have all of the amenities of home.

We are still training, but have backed off some in order to be well rested when we start the trip.  Gale and I rode 47 miles on Friday to Elk City and back (it was hot and windy so we got a good workout).  I rode 50 miles on Sunday to Siletz and back.  On Monday, Gale and I joined some other women and did an easy ride on the Bay Rd. in Newport; Gale and I did ride from Newport Bike Shop so we did have to climb John Moore Hill (ugh!) on the way back.  I'm planning a short ride on Beaver Creek with some women on Thursday, then on Friday I'm going to ride with Lisa - this will be her first ride since her accident (she has been pushing herself on her trainer though, so will probably still outride me!).  Dana has been riding with her grandson Sam; I'm not sure if this counts as training (Sam is 9 years old) but I know they've been having a great time.

The weather looks good for our start and we are ready to roll!

Summer Break

After riding two back-to-back long days (61 and 71 miles) July 10 and 11, and a short ride on July 12, Nancy left for Colorado to visit her daughter's family.  She has been in Colorado for a week and returns to Oregon today.  While she did no bike riding (except for a 2 mile ride with her granddaughter Lauren the day she arrived), she has been active (how can you not be active with granddaughters ages 6 and 8 ?!?).  The day after she arrived Nancy, her daughter & granddaughters went on a 4 miles hike up to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park; not a long hike but it was 2 miles of ascent at 11, 000 feet - not easy when you left sea level the day before).  On another day we walked around Denver's beautiful botanical gardens.  On Saturday the whole family went on a 2 hour horseback ride in Rocky Mountain National Park (Nancy hadn't been on a horse in 25 years but used to ride frequently, and even had horses for a few years, so this was a real treat, and she was glad she didn't need help getting on!).  The next day we took the train up to the top of Pikes Peak, an elevation of over 13,000 feet.  Yesterday, Nancy went bowling with her granddaughters (please do NOT ask our scores!) and also swimming; the girls are excellent swimmers so Nancy actually swam several laps for exercise.  It has been a wonderful week, and a good break from all of the cycling.  Also, a good chance to get her body accustomed to the high altitude she will be experiencing soon.  While Nancy was gone her bike was in Bike Newport getting ready for the trip which starts in less than 2 weeks.

Great News About Lisa

Lisa is our miracle girl!  Less than 3 weeks ago Lisa was hit by a car while riding her bike and ended up being "life flighted" to Oregon Health Sciences University with a collapsed lung, broken collar bone, fractured ribs and a fractured wrist.  Yesterday Lisa emailed us that she is going on the trip and plans to ride!  Her right wrist will still be an "issue" but Lisa managed to talk the doctor into taking a different approach than keeping it in a cast for 8 weeks.  She had an operation to screw the bone together and will now only be in a cast for 2 more weeks (it will come off right before we leave) and will "just" need a wrist support.  Needless to say, we are all very excited that Lisa will be with us on our trip!  Thanks to all of you for your thoughts a prayers.

Training Rides

I can't believe it is only 3 weeks until we start our adventure!  As could be expected we've all had some "blips" in our training due to unforeseen circumstances.  But, I really think we're ready.  I led a ladies "novice" ride for my bike club this morning and had a wonderful experience.  We rode about 20 miles on the Bay Rd..  For one of the women it was the first time she had ridden more than 10 miles - congratulations Linda!  Another woman on the ride, Bobbie, was not a novice!  We talked about her ride with her girlfriend for her 50th birthday from the Canadian to Mexican border.  I took off after the "novice" ride and rode to Elk City; I managed to ride a total of 63 miles today and hope to do the same tomorrow.  One of the riders on our "novice" ride reminded me that last year I thought a ride of 10 miles was an accomplishment (and it was!).  Now a ride of 60 miles is almost easy.  The training is paying off and I truly think we are ready!

Yaquina Wheels Bicycle Club Century Ride

Nancy's bike club, Yaquina Wheels Bicycle Club, is holding it's annual Century Ride on Saturday, August 21, 2010.  There are 3 scenic ride options: 25 miles, an extended metric century (70 miles), and the spectacular 100 mile century.  You would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful ride whichever route you chose.  Registration is limited to the first 200 who sign up.  For more information and to register go to:
http://www.yaquinawheels.org/Century.html

Ride to Moonshine Park

Lisa had suggested that we all ride together for two long back-to-back days as part of our training regime.  Due to other circumstances the riding didn't quite work out as planned, but we did get in one long, fun ride.  Unfortunately, because of her accident, Lisa was unable to join us.  Yesterday Dana, Gale and Nancy, with the welcome addition of Rick who is a member of Gale and Nancy's bike club, rode from Newport via the Bay Rd. to Toledo then along Hwy. 229 to Siletz, where we turned and rode to Logsden then Moonshine Park.  Other than the time spent on Hwy. 229, which has a LOT of traffic and a very rough shoulder, this is a beautiful and very pleasant route.  We managed to ride 71 miles.

It just was not "in the cards" for us to ride on Friday.  Gale's mother is seriously ill and in a hospital in Hawaii, so Gale left early Friday morning to be with her and her dad (we are thinking of you, Gale).  It started raining at the end of our ride yesterday and was still raining pretty hard this morning.  We could have ridden, but Dana and I just couldn't make ourselves do it.  We are supposed to have nice weather for the next several days and both of us plan to get a lot of riding in.  Nancy is planning to ride with members of the Yaquina Wheels Bike Club to Elk City tomorrow and will probably ride to Logsden on Sunday.

Update on Lisa

Lisa, probably because of her excellent general health and physical condition, was released from the hospital Wednesday evening, a day earlier than expected.  Despite have a collapsed lung, broken collar bone, fractured ribs, and a fractured wrist, she is in good spirits.  The tube was removed from her lung Wednesday which allowed her early release.  Please continue to keep Lisa in your thoughts and prayers for her speedy recovery.