Menk's Across America - Journal Entry #2
By Jeremiah Menk
June 26, 2002
June 21, 2002 7:05 pm
Yesterday was a tough ride. We extended our original plan
and rode to Wauconda, WA. We left Winthrop early and climbed
to the top of Loup Loup Pass. It wasn't too bad of a climb,
and the descent was a blast. There were plenty of corners
and no traffic. We continued on toward Okanogon, WA. During
one of the downhill runs I tried shifting to my big ring to
catch up with my Dad and my STI shifter broke. I was pretty
bummed and ended up pulling over to the shoulder and removing
my front derailleur and placing my chain on the middle ring.
We took a wrong turn in Okanogon, but as fate would have it,
we passed a bike shop and I stopped to check for a shifter.
I now have a bright, shiny, clunky, Sun Tour Down Tube shifter.
It adds a little class to my new bike. We rode to our original
destination of Tonasket and stopped to appease Mom's ice cream
habit. After the break we started up our second big climb
of the day. We were all growing tired as the sun beat down
on us. At the end of the day we had completed 95 miles.
Today we finished the rest of Wauconda Pass and had a nice
descent into the town of Republic, WA. Mom was eyeing up "cute"
bracelets in a coffee shop in town while I sipped on a cup
of coffee. After Republic we started a twenty mile climb to
the highest pass in Washington, Sherman Pass (5,500 and some
odd feet). I rode alone to the top and waited for Mom and
Dad while I enjoyed the view. Mom made it to the top and gave
me a high five. She made it through the Cascades without sagging.
We took some photos and continued down from the pass. We eventually
caught up with a semi and were forced to follow for a couple
of miles until the road straightened. The ride down from the
pass was quick. We reached Kettle Falls at 1 pm and made our
way to camp. Today was the first day we didn't have any problems
on bikes. The first day I had two flats and the second day
Mom had two flats. Ben said the sewer drainage hose broke
while he was emptying the tank. He said he never moved so
fast in his life.
June 23, 2002
Yesterday I completed my first century. We rode from Kettle
Falls to Newport, WA. In the town of Colville we picked up
a companion Mom promptly named Sparky. Sparky was a Springer
spaniel who either ran pretty fast, or we biked pretty slowly.
He followed us a ways into the countryside. We were unable
to convince him to turn around. He provided a nice barrier
for us. Cars would slow down and pass in the left lane instead
of buzzing by us in an effort to assure us that their cars
are real. Eventually we ran into a sheriff who gave Sparky
a ride back into town. After we left Sparky we had some short
climbs followed by a winding descent. The rest of the ride
was fairly flat with no wind. Afterwards I joined Ben for
a double pole workout on roller skis.
Today we rode from Newport, WA to the junction of Highway
200 and Highway 56 in Montana. We crossed Idaho in a day.
The ride was nice. So far we haven't had any wind and the
sun has been shining. We stopped in Sand Point, ID for coffee
and continued to Clark Fork, ID for ice cream. We were eating
ice cream at 10 am in the morning while people were leaving
the caf� next door. I thought it was little early for ice
cream, but Mom didn't seem to mind. At the end of the day
we completed 78 miles of biking. Dad keeps adding ten to twenty
miles a day. He tells Mom that riding ahead of plan will let
us take a break later. Mom is getting suspicious and doesn't
think that break will be coming.
June 26, 2002 10:54 am
Today is our day off in Whitefish, MT. Everyone was starting
to get tired and sore. I told Mom Whitefish had a lot of neat
little stores and she seemed more than happy to stop. She
told me to, "� just give her the credit card." The past two
days of biking were nice. We woke up to temperatures in the
mid forties and finished with temps in the low eighties. We
rode from the junction of Highway 200 and Highway 56 to a
US Forest Service campground off of Highway 37 in Montana.
We rode 98 miles through rolling terrain. The start of the
day was cold as we rode north through a valley. We spotted
several elk along the way. The next day we rode 83 miles to
Whitefish. My knees have really started to ache. Hopefully
our rest day will allow for some recovery. It was another
beautiful day with a lot of sunshine. We stopped and met Ben
in Eureka, MT for coffee and food. I ordered the biscuits
and gravy to give me the superpowers I needed for another
day of biking. Ben and I will probably head to Glacier National
Park for an evening of fly fishing.
Dad gave me his top-ten list of things he has learned during
his first week of biking:
- Logging truck drivers are cool. (So far they
have run campers off of the road instead of whizzing by
us.)
- The mountain pass is just around the next curve.
(He keeps telling this to Mom to keep her motivated. I believe
it may lead to a divorce.)
- 18 miles at a six percent grade is much farther
than 18 miles at home. (They are from South Dakota.)
- Walking is not faster than riding up a mountain.
(Mom was worn out going up Washington Pass and got off her
bike and started walking. I believe her words were, "I'm
never going to get on this bike again.")
- Keep the pace fast enough and the distance far
enough so your wife is too tired to curse you.
- Check your tires when you have a flat. (We've
had four flats and two were because we forgot to check for
staples, etc. that were still stuck in the tires.)
- How to fix a STI shifter with a Sun Tour down
tube shifter.
- When descending a mountain, brakes are for the
faint at heart.
- Newhalem to Washington Pass is 40 of the toughest
miles you can ride on a bike.
- Newhalem to Washington Pass is 40 of the most
beautiful miles you can ride on a bike.
Western States summary in Ben's point of view
It's been a beautiful journey so far, as I'm sure everybody
else has said. Crickett (the dog) has kept me company in the
mornings after everyone has left and we even climbed part
of a mountain. I don't get in near the amount biking I want,
but I meet the group, bike with them, and bike again when
they're all napping. I have roller skied once and found out
cars are more accepting of bikers around here. Several people
demonstrated their driving skills by leaning out the window,
waving their arms and yelling at me, all while driving a straight
line. Mountain passes are by far my favorite to bike, 3 hrs.
up, 30 min. down. There has been only one problem with the
camper, when the holding tank hose broke while I was emptying
"dirty" water. I'm pretty sure I have never moved so fast
at 6 a.m. The fishermen unloading their boats must have thought
there was a bomb by the way I leapt from the camper. I guess
there kind of was a bomb. No one has complained about my cooking
yet, and I have also learned that my biking, skiing, and running,
etiquette come from mom. She swears they are trying to kill
her everyday with the pace they ride. I am trying to teach
her more lines to complain about their pace, so maybe she
actually gets it from me.
Mary's Update on Biking across the U.S.A.
It is even more beautiful than I imagined. Unbelievable
what you see from a bike. I'm a little surprised at all the
broken beer bottles along the road. I'm really enjoying this
opportunity to see the U.S. with my family, it's been a blast.
The only complaint (one of many) I have is what day is it??
It sure isn't like a Monday thru Friday job, it's GREAT.
Photos
Photoset: June 21-26th
Related links
|
