Bike Ride to Ridgecrest

Barstow to Ridgecrest: 97.5 miles

Total Mileage: 3463.3 miles

Due to the fact we we out in the middle of nowhere, and we were up before the sun we had a great view of the stars. I had my stuffed packed up pretty quickly and over the next fifteen minutes or so the starts began to disappear as morning twilight hit the mountains. One of the things I am going to miss, among many, is the sunrises and sets we get to see every day.

Within the first few miles of our ride we came to find out that our cue sheet was off. Instead of taking the original route through a Marine base we hopped on the highway and then hopped off at the next exit to pick up the road we needed. For part of the morning we got to ride along historic Route 66 which was pretty awesome.

As we continued our ride we saw signs that the road we were supposed to take had been washed out from some flash flooding. In true SUS style, we ignored the signs and decided to take on the challenge of riding/carrying our bikes on what little bit of the road remained. From the pictures you can tell it was more carrying than riding.

For most of the afternoon we were riding through China Lake which has a pretty interesting history. This section of the Mojave Desert houses the Naval Air Weapons Station. It was crazy that most of the time we could hear the jets long before they came into view.

After second lunch we hit some major rolling hills before a large, steady incline (hello Tioga practice). the only good thing about the incline is that we knew we would be descending for the last portion of our ride.

One of the things on my bucket list is to have a motorcyclist sit on my bike while I sit on theirs. About twenty miles from the host we pulled into a gas station to grab some ice and as I was knocking back some green teas a bunch of motorcycles rode up. One of the guys agreed to take a picture with me which was great and I got to cross another thing off my list.

From there there was a great descent before we hit two large hills. As I have aside before and I say it every time to my group I am slow and will meet you at the top. All the climbing from the day added up as we hit the top of the last hill because from there we descended the rest of the way into the host with speeds in the high 30s. Yay for letting gravity do all the work and not my quads.

This week our crew is on dinner crew and because most of our hosts are not going to be providing dinner we are responsible for whipping something up. Feeding 27 hungry bikers is really like feeding 50 people ... People I am not joking here, our metabolisms have gotten way out of hand. Looking for something quick and easy I threw out the idea of making a baked macaroni and cheese. A few weeks ago one of the other groups had attempted, but they had burned the fake cheese they were using and it was a disaster. This time I was able to convince the leaders to get the real thing and dinner was a huge success. The pressure will be on to recreate three more dinners.

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Technical Difficulties

So for some reason my devices will not communicate with each other and I cannot get my pictures from my phone to my iPad. As a result I have decided to go ahead and post all the articles I have written and will go back at a later date and insert the pictures. I will of course let you know when those are up for your viewing pleasure.

 

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Ride to Barstow

Baker to Barstow: 59.3 miles

Total mileage: 3365.8 miles

After the long day we had yesterday, we were able to push bins out by a half hour. Most of us, however, were eager to get out on the road and beat the heat. We were informed by the van sent from heaven that while yesterday would probably be the hardest day, today would not be easy by any means. With that in mind I rushed through breakfast to get ready and head out on the road. Jack was the only one ready at 6:30 so we headed out together. The ride was not too bad, some hill climbing, but nothing too too bad which was nice as I was still kind of dehydrated from yesterday's ride. The last time I rode hills with Jack, we were going up to Jacob Lake. As we started our climbing this morning I told him that he could pass me and I would meet him at the top. He responded by saying that "you are not slow, you are just relentless" which I was a bit thrown by, but understood where he was coming from. Even though I am slower than many people I end up riding with I do have staying power which allows me to do the longer climbs in one foul swoop. Truth be told I am afraid that if I stop my back and/or knees might go out.

About fifteen miles outside the host Jack noticed an abandoned water park on the other side of the service woad. Because it was so early in the day and there would not be too much to do in town, we decided to hop the barbed wire fence and check it out. When we arrived the two of us were convinced that zombies would jump out at any moment and take us down; definitely worth it for a five star chalking side trip.

 

 

The entire morning we to the interstate towards our host and a few miles outside the town we would be staying in, we discovered that bikes were no longer allowed on the road. After some confusion and a quick route change we were back on the road again. Unfortunately not only was it hot and a head wind had picked up, the road was filled with bumps, holes and cracks which made it a rough ride.

When we arrived at our host we were surprised that we would be staying in a recreated ghost town; instead of sleeping on the floor we would be in bunks in a very toasty room.

 

With a few hours until dinner Jay, Arden and I decided to go and check out Calico, the town (a total tourist trap, but so much fun). The walk up the hill was toasty, but a fun place to walk around for a few hours. Apparently during the gold rush this was quite a mining town. As people began to move on, the town became a ghost town. A local man bought the property and decided he would recreate the town and open it up to people; they would be able to experience what a mining town might look like. While the 18 original bars were not all included the basic buildings like the jail and firehouse are there. One of the original citizens was brought on as a historical consultant. If my memory serves me correctly it was her family's house which serves as the museum today.

 

At dinner we all hydrated. As you can see I took my hydration very seriously: Water, blue Gatorade and orange cream soda.

 

After dinner most of the team headed back to the host's house to go swimming in a lake. A bunch of us decided to head back to camp for showers and an early bed time. We came to discover that we had a second building which was much cooler so we all grabbed our stuff and moved across the street. Apparently the secret was let out and we were all sleeping on top of each other. A well deserved treate after the two VERY HOT days we have had.

 

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Bike Ride to Baker

Pahrump to Baker: 85.6 miles

Total mileage: 3306.5 miles

 

This morning I woke up sick as a dog. I had not been feeling well for a couple of days, but it all seems to hit me at once. Breakfast was super tasty, a frenchtoast casserole, and then our hosts brought us back to the meeting point. From there things started to spiral downhill and I pretty much passed out on the sidewalk. A bunch of people said I looked pretty green, but this morning we would be riding into CA. There was no way I was going to come all this way and get in the van to cross the final state line. So I ended up taking some pills and made a deal with Ben, the leader in the van this morning, that I would bike to the state line and reassess the situation.

 

The first few miles were rough, but as we kept going my head started to clear and I was feeling almost like a normal person again. Within 7 miles we had hit the state line which was amazing. Jay and I have crossed every state line together and to celebrate I bought him a bottle of sparkling grape juice (no drinking and biking) and an avocado, something he has been talking about since Texas. I good spirit he shook the bottle and sprayed it all over himself the team and the state sign after he gave a small toast.

 

We were there about an hour taking state line pictures, dance videos and enjoying the fact that we had just made it into CA. It was definitely bittersweet because while we had made it so far, the realization that the trip would be ending soon also kicked in.

Half and half chore group

 

Marcus, Nate and I took off from there and started winding our way down the road towards the highway which leads to Death Valley. Along the way we passed a group of riders, the van and a state trooper, but kept biking by thinking nothing of it. Thank goodness for my crappy back and need of stretching because the group behind us caught up and relayed the message that the trailer had gotten a flat and Ben would have to wait for AAA.

 

As we continued up the road we came to our last major turn of the day onto the highway which starts in Baker and ends in Death Valley. Knowing that we would not be seeing the van for quite some time and seeing a sign which said there was nothing between us and Baker, we stopped in a small gas station/convenience store to fill up on some water, ice and snacks. It was super cute.

You can see that I have been spending too much time in the South. I do wish it was acceptable to wear cowboy hats in the north.

Marcus made a friend

 

After about an hour we decided that we needed to get back on the road and head out because the temperature would soar this afternoon; it already was 100 in the shade.

The rest of the group was about 15 mile up the road hiding out in the only shade for miles. Because we had just eaten such a large snack the three of us grabbed fluids and headed out to get as much ground covered before it really started to get hot. At the same time ben grabbed water and ice and went out to try and catch the group before us who had decided to go on ahead and rely on the kindness of strangers before they hit the host, not the best idea when out in the desert with nothing around.

We did a good bit of hill climbing and then saw a glorious sign bout a seven mile down hill with a 7% grade which was awesome and definitely a morale booster after the climbing we had just done. Once we got going we found out that it was not going to be as glorious as we thought. Because the wind was so hot the downhill wasn't refreshing at all. Marcus best described it as the felling you get when you open a oven door when baking cookies,except this time there were no cookies. I definitely was drowsy going down andMarcus fell asleep a couple of times on his bike ... Not good when traveling at 35 mph.

Unfortunately before the big downhill Nate realized he had a flat tire so once we were down the hill and then he gotten back up we pulled over for him to change it. Marcus and I got our best skinny arm on and shrunk into the little shade we could find in the road and proceeded to pass out until Nate had finished.

Up until this point we had not heard anything from Ben, either through a text and/or seen him drive by. This was slightly problematic because we were starting to run low on water and were nearing the second lunch spot. Around mile 60 I was feeling pretty awful (my plague had caught up to me) and I had significantly fallen behind Nate and Marcus. At that point I pulled over thinking that one of them would realize I had been dropped and either stop themselves or call to see what was up. I simultaneously was trying to call Ben to see what was up, but he apparently was in a section which had no service ... Cue one of my biggest Bike and Build fears, being stranded in the desert, in the heat with no water.

 

The three of us huddled under the only shade we could see for miles around to gather our wits and any strength we could muster. While under this shrub I got the genius idea to flag down someone going in th eopposite direction to 1) see if they had any water and 2) to see if they could find the van and relay a message saying that we needed water ASAP. Thankfully two cars passed and because we were so far in front of the other groups they still had water to spare. We found out later in the day that the message did get back to the van, but due to extenuating circumstances we didn't see it until mile 70 or so.

Finally we had gathered ourselves enough to get back on our bikes. We had gone about 100 yards when a silver mini van pulls over and a couple open their trunk which had a cooler filled with water and frozen gatorades. Not only did they give us drinks, but invited us to sit in their AC for a while. Apparently they were traveling to home and had seen several of our bikers on the road and had been helping everyone out. They even offered to drive into Baker to pick up water and Gatorade and bring it back with them on their way back home, which was in completely the opposite direction they were traveling in. It was nice to hear that thread not been too many problems, but people instead were taking it slow and stopping to avoid as much of the heat possible while they waited for the van to show up.

We got about another ten miles out and the magical silver van sent from above showed up again with water and ice. The three of us decided it would be a good idea to fill up before we tackled the final stretch. They did inform us that once we passed under the power lines we would have a downhill to Baker and only about ten miles. Feeling like we could conquer we headed back out onto the road. Unfortunately a few miles down the road, the heat, dehydration and lingering sickness caught up with me and I started to feel miserable. I had two choices at this point: pull the three of us over and wait in the baking sun for the van to show up and take me to the host or keep going and pray that I don't die. Pride, wanting to actually bike every mile across the country and the thought of waiting for a long time in the sun all lead me to the first option which in retrospect no brilliant.

Sadly the downhill was not the steep gradient I was imagining, but instead a very slow one percent or so. Definitely dragging and not feeling great, Marcus and Nate slowed down to a painfully, almost backwards kind of speed to insure that I would be able to get there. At this point all I could do was think about getting to the host to which I informed the boys there may or may not include tears.

Now dear reader something you should know about me, I'm NOT a cryer. I would consider myself to be pretty determine and tough mentally, but everything about today broke me down. A few miles outside the host the tears came. I made it until the final turn at which point we hit a stop sign and the full on mental breakdown started. To add insult to injury all I could think about was how I was going to puke, which I announced to the gentlemen, and how determined I was not to do it on the sidewalk. Marcus sprung to action and led the way to the gas station across the street and as I dropped my bike he yelled that he would hold my hair back if needed. It gave me something to smile about briefly before I puked up what little fluids were left in my body (due to the strange schedule we had the only real thing I had eaten all day was breakfast apart from a bag of Chex mix and some granola bars). After that was all said and done, and I was feeling better, we headed off to Denny's for dinner before riding into the host.

As we wrapped up our 90 minute feast (it was past 8pm at this point) sweep pulled into the parking lot with the remaining part of the pack. We learned that almost everyone had made it on their own and everyone was feeling the long stretch in the 120 degree weather; two were suffering from some pretty serious heat exhaustion, one warranting the paramedics to come with an IV. I decided to hit the hay early because tomorrow would be another hot, long day and we still had two rides in an extremely hard six day stretch.

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Bike Ride to Baker

Pahrump to Baker: 85.6 miles

Total mileage: 3306.5 miles

 

This morning I woke up sick as a dog. I had not been feeling well for a couple of days, but it all seems to hit me at once. Breakfast was super tasty, a frenchtoast casserole, and then our hosts brought us back to the meeting point. From there things started to spiral downhill and I pretty much passed out on the sidewalk. A bunch of people said I looked pretty green, but this morning we would be riding into CA. There was no way I was going to come all this way and get in the van to cross the final state line. So I ended up taking some pills and made a deal with Ben, the leader in the van this morning, that I would bike to the state line and reassess the situation.

 

The first few miles were rough, but as we kept going my head started to clear and I was feeling almost like a normal person again. Within 7 miles we had hit the state line which was amazing. Jay and I have crossed every state line together and to celebrate I bought him a bottle of sparkling grape juice (no drinking and biking) and an avocado, something he has been talking about since Texas. I good spirit he shook the bottle and sprayed it all over himself the team and the state sign after he gave a small toast.

 

We were there about an hour taking state line pictures, dance videos and enjoying the fact that we had just made it into CA. It was definitely bittersweet because while we had made it so far, the realization that the trip would be ending soon also kicked in.

Half and half chore group

 

Marcus, Nate and I took off from there and started winding our way down the road towards the highway which leads to Death Valley. Along the way we passed a group of riders, the van and a state trooper, but kept biking by thinking nothing of it. Thank goodness for my crappy back and need of stretching because the group behind us caught up and relayed the message that the trailer had gotten a flat and Ben would have to wait for AAA.

 

As we continued up the road we came to our last major turn of the day onto the highway which starts in Baker and ends in Death Valley. Knowing that we would not be seeing the van for quite some time and seeing a sign which said there was nothing between us and Baker, we stopped in a small gas station/convenience store to fill up on some water, ice and snacks. It was super cute.

You can see that I have been spending too much time in the South. I do wish it was acceptable to wear cowboy hats in the north.

Marcus made a friend

 

After about an hour we decided that we needed to get back on the road and head out because the temperature would soar this afternoon; it already was 100 in the shade.

The rest of the group was about 15 mile up the road hiding out in the only shade for miles. Because we had just eaten such a large snack the three of us grabbed fluids and headed out to get as much ground covered before it really started to get hot. At the same time ben grabbed water and ice and went out to try and catch the group before us who had decided to go on ahead and rely on the kindness of strangers before they hit the host, not the best idea when out in the desert with nothing around.

We did a good bit of hill climbing and then saw a glorious sign bout a seven mile down hill with a 7% grade which was awesome and definitely a morale booster after the climbing we had just done. Once we got going we found out that it was not going to be as glorious as we thought. Because the wind was so hot the downhill wasn't refreshing at all. Marcus best described it as the felling you get when you open a oven door when baking cookies,except this time there were no cookies. I definitely was drowsy going down andMarcus fell asleep a couple of times on his bike ... Not good when traveling at 35 mph.

Unfortunately before the big downhill Nate realized he had a flat tire so once we were down the hill and then he gotten back up we pulled over for him to change it. Marcus and I got our best skinny arm on and shrunk into the little shade we could find in the road and proceeded to pass out until Nate had finished.

Up until this point we had not heard anything from Ben, either through a text and/or seen him drive by. This was slightly problematic because we were starting to run low on water and were nearing the second lunch spot. Around mile 60 I was feeling pretty awful (my plague had caught up to me) and I had significantly fallen behind Nate and Marcus. At that point I pulled over thinking that one of them would realize I had been dropped and either stop themselves or call to see what was up. I simultaneously was trying to call Ben to see what was up, but he apparently was in a section which had no service ... Cue one of my biggest Bike and Build fears, being stranded in the desert, in the heat with no water.

 

The three of us huddled under the only shade we could see for miles around to gather our wits and any strength we could muster. While under this shrub I got the genius idea to flag down someone going in th eopposite direction to 1) see if they had any water and 2) to see if they could find the van and relay a message saying that we needed water ASAP. Thankfully two cars passed and because we were so far in front of the other groups they still had water to spare. We found out later in the day that the message did get back to the van, but due to extenuating circumstances we didn't see it until mile 70 or so.

Finally we had gathered ourselves enough to get back on our bikes. We had gone about 100 yards when a silver mini van pulls over and a couple open their trunk which had a cooler filled with water and frozen gatorades. Not only did they give us drinks, but invited us to sit in their AC for a while. Apparently they were traveling to home and had seen several of our bikers on the road and had been helping everyone out. They even offered to drive into Baker to pick up water and Gatorade and bring it back with them on their way back home, which was in completely the opposite direction they were traveling in. It was nice to hear that thread not been too many problems, but people instead were taking it slow and stopping to avoid as much of the heat possible while they waited for the van to show up.

We got about another ten miles out and the magical silver van sent from above showed up again with water and ice. The three of us decided it would be a good idea to fill up before we tackled the final stretch. They did inform us that once we passed under the power lines we would have a downhill to Baker and only about ten miles. Feeling like we could conquer we headed back out onto the road. Unfortunately a few miles down the road, the heat, dehydration and lingering sickness caught up with me and I started to feel miserable. I had two choices at this point: pull the three of us over and wait in the baking sun for the van to show up and take me to the host or keep going and pray that I don't die. Pride, wanting to actually bike every mile across the country and the thought of waiting for a long time in the sun all lead me to the first option which in retrospect no brilliant.

Sadly the downhill was not the steep gradient I was imagining, but instead a very slow one percent or so. Definitely dragging and not feeling great, Marcus and Nate slowed down to a painfully, almost backwards kind of speed to insure that I would be able to get there. At this point all I could do was think about getting to the host to which I informed the boys there may or may not include tears.

Now dear reader something you should know about me, I'm NOT a cryer. I would consider myself to be pretty determine and tough mentally, but everything about today broke me down. A few miles outside the host the tears came. I made it until the final turn at which point we hit a stop sign and the full on mental breakdown started. To add insult to injury all I could think about was how I was going to puke, which I announced to the gentlemen, and how determined I was not to do it on the sidewalk. Marcus sprung to action and led the way to the gas station across the street and as I dropped my bike he yelled that he would hold my hair back if needed. It gave me something to smile about briefly before I puked up what little fluids were left in my body (due to the strange schedule we had the only real thing I had eaten all day was breakfast apart from a bag of Chex mix and some granola bars). After that was all said and done, and I was feeling better, we headed off to Denny's for dinner before riding into the host.

As we wrapped up our 90 minute feast (it was past 8pm at this point) sweep pulled into the parking lot with the remaining part of the pack. We learned that almost everyone had made it on their own and everyone was feeling the long stretch in the 120 degree weather; two were suffering from some pretty serious heat exhaustion, one warranting the paramedics to come with an IV. I decided to hit the hay early because tomorrow would be another hot, long day and we still had two rides in an extremely hard six day stretch.

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Bike Ride to Pahrump

Boulder City to Pahrump: 87.3 miles

Total mileage: 3220.9 miles

Over the hump to Pahrump

First and foremost, Happy Birthday Kristin!!!

Breakfast this morning was VERY IMPRESSIVE with pancakes, waffles, bacon, fruit and home made cinnamon buns. Two of the church members had come in early to make sure we would be adequately fed for the Hump to Pahrump. Last night at dinner we kept hearing this phrase over and over; turns out it was another 12 mile climb over a mountain pass. Feeling very full after breakfast, Nate, Kristina and I headed out after giving ourselves the title of Gravy Train.

 

Right out of the gate the three of us missed a crucial turn and ended up tacking an extra four miles onto our total for the day. We eventually got ourselves figured out and on the bike path which would take us towards Las Vegas. The ride down towards the Strip was downhill and took very little effort which was much appreciated as we digested the rest of breakfast.

With the increase in temperatures over the past week, combined with biking in more sparsely populated areas, the leaders have been advising us to make frequent stops at gas stations to pickup water, ice and Gatorade. Keeping this in mind, the Gravy Train took two, much needed shade breaks before we found the van and lunch. The three of us fueled up and then hopped back on the road to see what the next few miles had in store for us; no one knew exactly how long or how steep this hump was going to be so we were riding blind.

The hump was not as bad as we thought it was going to be due to some cloud coverage which moved in about half way up the hill. Now dear readers I am not a particularly fast hill climber, but with my slow and steady method I can make it to the top in one piece and usually without stopping. By the time I reached the top Nate and Kristina were there with a few other riders and from there we crushed it down a long gradual hill and into second lunch.

The final portion of our afternoon ride was pretty standard. The nice thing about our ride w that even though it was along a highway, the shoulder was a designated bike lane. While it did not change the riding conditions, it was nice to see that NV was looking out for bikers. We were trying to get to the host as soon as possible because after the last two days we needed some much needed time in the AC and off the bike. Unfortunately when we made the final turn we were greeted by Chika who told us we needed to back track to the new location.

Slowly but surely everyone started to show up. The host was great and dinner as another huge success. One of the things that got many of us riders through the day was the fact that we would be going home with families instead of unpacking and sleeping in the church; there is nothing better for a rider than the promise of a bed and a real towel. After we wrapped things up with dinner Holly, Megan, Julie and I hopped in a car and headed home with hour hosts Carol and Fred. Not only did we have the above items, we were also able to do laundry and watch the evening news. It is the little things in life here people.

 

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Bike Ride to Boulder City

Overton to Boulder City 72.8 miles

Total mileage: 3133.6 miles

After a long day yesterday there was no rest for the weary because we had a 4 am wake up call - not good in the way of recovery. Nate and I decided to head out bright and early because we wanted to get into the host as soon as possible of avoid the heat and give our legs some recovery time.

The first part of the ride was great and the cue sheet took us into the Lake Mead Recreational Area and that is where the hill climbing started. The "rolling hills" we're pretty big and the only reason we were able to cover as much ground in a short period of time was because for most of the morning we had shade from the sun.

We pretty much just shoved lunch down and got back on our bikes because the rest ofthe afternoon was going to be a rough one. Once we were out of the park, Nate and I found an old ranger station which had water and some shade. We took a quick 30 minute shade break/power nap before we headed out to tackle the last portion of our ride. As we worked our way down the cue sheet, we were excited when we had about 6 miles to go because that meant the home stretch; a good thing too because it was getting extremely hot. Unfortunately the last bit was all up hill at a very severe grade which meant it was SLOW GOING.

When we arrived at the church we were treated by Pastor Dave and Ann who was a church member and also responsible for cooking us an AMAZING DINNER later that night (homemade lasagna people - enough said) Slowly the groups started rolling in with the later groups getting the worst of the heat. The fact that we were treated with rice crispy treats and two big bowls of fruit salad almost made the day bearable.

 

Sadly there are three of us who have not received a package while out on the road, so Tova (photo bombing) surprised us without own package, complete with crowns.

After dinner we all piled into three cars and headed out to the Hoover Dam. A lot of us had seen the sign earlier in the afternoon, but the extra four miles up a hill in the 100+ degree weather was a turn off for all but one of the riders. I was a bit bummed that we would not be seeing the Dam, but there was ways would have made it on a bike. Because it was after dark we were not able to work over the bridge, but the view from the AZ side was great.

 

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