pRAAm: Where are we? |
Day |
Location |
Weather, miles and altitude |
Injuries |
August 10 |
San Francisco | Beautiful, clear skies, about 70 F all day, perfect riding weather which is standard for the bay area. I rode about 40 miles with 2000 ft. vertical. | My wife hit her finger with a hammer while breaking concrete |
1 - August 17
|
Tillamook, OR (where they make the famous cheese) to Porland, OR | 83.83 miles 3244 feet total vertical 1584 feet max altitude 6:03 time on the road 13.5 mph average 43.2 mph max speed Weather was nice, 70s in the morning and 80 in the afternoon. Sunny with very few clouds. The first half of the ride was covered in shade from large sequoia trees. We rode over the coastal range. After getting inland the terrain flattened out into farmland, lots of corn and a few cows. |
Aimee got a chain tattoo at the very end of the ride. How embarrassing! |
2 - August 18 |
Portland, OR to Government Camp, OR | 62.34 miles 4632 feet total vertical 4032 feet max altitude 6:49 time on the road 9.1 mph average 33.6 mph max speed |
Preston's braze-on broke. |
3 - August 19 |
Government Camp, OR to Prineville, OR | 91.37 miles 3638 feet total vertical 4077 max altitude 6:14 time on the road 14.3 mph average 45.1 mph max speed It was hot (over 90) and sunny. |
THE ASS! |
4 - August 20 |
Prineville, OR to Mount Vernon, OR | 109.33 miles 4940 feet total vertical 4646 max altitude 8:29 time on the road 12.6 mph average 34.6 mph max speed It was cold in the morning with a strong headwind and sunny and hot in the afternoon (100F+). |
A Richard Dreyfuss sunburn ala Close Encounters of the Third Kind. |
5 - August 21 |
Mount Vernon, OR to someplace else in eastern OR | 100.32 miles 4847 feet total vertical 5232 max altitude 8:23 time on the road 11.7 mph average 40.4 mph max speed Overcast, hot and muggy. |
Butts extremely sore from back to back centuries. |
6 - August 22 |
Wherever they spent the night before to Caldwell, ID | 76.89 miles 830 feet total vertical 2824 max altitude 5:54 time on the road 7.0 mph average 22.1 mph max speed Clear and hot until the afternoon when a strong wind blew in, followed by thunder and lightening and torential downpour. Waited out the rain for over a half-hour, but the storm was slow moving and we caught up with it again as we continued east. |
Just miles from the day's final destination Eric took a tumble as a result of the rain (except for a little road rash he is OK -- the $100 biking shorts survived without a tear) and then had a flat (the result of a bramble). |
7 - August 23 |
Caldwell, ID to Mountain Home, ID | 95.44 miles 2978 feet total vertical 3370 max altitude 7:46 time on the road 12.0 mph average 35.1 mph max speed Sunny and clear -- not very humid. A dry heat in the low 90s. |
Preston got a flat and his braze-on broke again. We fixed it with a copper fastener from a plumbing store -- 7 1/2 times cheaper that the faulty part from Ace Hardware. Our fingers are crossed that this will do the trick. |
8 - August 24 |
Mountain Home, ID to Fairfield, ID | 58.01 miles 3071 feet total vertical 5384 max altitude 4:35 time on the road 12.4 mph average 34.6 mph max speed The weather was perfect -- clear in the mid-90s with a cool tail wind. |
Preston's little elbow got a little sunburned. |
9 - August 25 |
Fairfield, ID to Craters of the Moon, ID | 71.15 miles 1745 feet total vertical 5843 max altitude 4:57 time on the road 14.1 mph average 35.4 mph max speed Sunny and hot. |
Today, Eric's knuckle on his thumb got sunburned (because his glove was torn in his crash three days before). |
10 - August 26 |
Craters of the Moon, ID to Idaho Falls, ID | 87.9 miles 951 feet total vertical 5839 max altitude 6:07 time on the road 14.1 mph average 24 mph max speed Sunny with clouds -- 95 to 100 -- and very dry. |
Sunscreen dripped in Preston's eyes causing some sting. |
11 - August 27 |
Idaho Falls, ID to Jackson, WY | 104.61 miles 3441 feet total vertical 6221 max altitude 7:25 time on the road 13.9 mph average 36.4 mph max speed Overcast. |
Eric got a blood blister on his other thumb. |
12 - August 28 |
Jackson, WY to Dubois, WY | 85.34 miles 3887 feet total vertical 9685 max altitude 6:16 time on the road 13.4 mph average 39.6 mph max speed Partly cloudy, cool. A great tail wind on the downhill. |
The webbing between Preston's index and middle fingers on his left hand cracked from holding on to the handle bars so tightly. |
13 - August 29 |
Dubois, WY to Riverton, WY | 81.95 miles 1043 feet total vertical 6909 max altitude 6:18 time on the road 12.7 mph average 29.8 mph max speed Tough 10 mph head wind. Barely beat the rain getting into town. Cold morning start, which inspired some very fast riding -- about 23 mph sustained on the flats. |
14 - August 30 |
Rest Day | Raining, Tracy and Aimee visiting. |
15 - August 31 |
Riverton, WY to Casper, WY | 127.05 miles (a double metric century!) 2244 feet total vertical 6057 max altitude 6:52 time on the road 18.1 mph average (18.7 mph for first 119 miles) 31.1 mph max speed Awesome tail wind. Overcast so it was cool. |
16 - September 1 |
Casper, WY to Lusk, WY | 113.4 miles 2129 feet total vertical 5318 max altitude 7:23 time on the road 15.1 mph average 34.0 mph max speed |
The rubber on Eric's rear back tire was ripping off after riding over 1400 miles with about 50 pounds of gear and going offroading on Country Road 27. |
17 - September 2 |
Lusk, WY to Chadron, NE | 84.75 miles 1112 feet total vertical 4944 max altitude 6:32 time on the road 12.7 mph average 31.2 mph max speed More brutal head winds for slow going. Winds from the east-northeast from the storm ahead of us. |
Our average speed due to the head winds. |
18 - September 3 |
Chadron, NE to Gordon, NE | 47.49 miles 820 feet total vertical 3740 max altitude 3:59 time on the road 11.6 mph average 18.1 mph max speed Same brutal head winds. The weather today was cloudy and cool in the morning, then sunny and warm a little before lunch time. |
Another flat tire for Eric -- he got another thorn in his front tire that punctured the tube. |
19 - September 4 |
Gordon, NE to Valentine, NE | 92.04 miles 987 feet total vertical 3557 max altitude 5:36 time on the road 16.1 mph average (16.6 mph for first 90 miles) 33.8 mph max speed Cold in the morning. Hot in the afternoon. A strong wind from the south in the afternoon. |
Eric got yet another flat tire. |
20 - September 5 |
Valentine, NE to O'Neill, NE | 111.28 miles 583 feet total vertical 2867 max altitude 6:52 time on the road 15.9 mph average 29.3 mph max speed |
Preston has heat disorder (I don't really know what that means either). |
21 - September 6 |
O'Neill, NE to Sioux City, IA | 124.81 miles 1863 feet total vertical 2076 max altitude 8:26 time on the road 14.5 mph average (15 mph for first 120 miles) 32.2 mph max speed |
Both Eric and Preston had bloated stomachs from the all-you-can-eat pasta bar. |
22 - September 7 |
Sioux City, IA to Sac City, IA | 84.59 miles 2477 feet total vertical 1509 max altitude 6:34 time on the road 12.6 mph average 30.1 mph max speed |
Eric is really tired. |
23 - September 8 |
Sac City, IA to Ames, IA | 102.59 miles 1013 feet total vertical 1322 max altitude 7:23 time on the road 13.6 mph average 39.8 mph max speed Hot and sunny -- no clouds. |
Preston has a bad case of general malaise. |
24 - September 9 |
Ames, IA to Grinnell, IA | 68.49 miles 1656 feet total vertical 1135 max altitude 5:27 time on the road 12.3 mph average 31.9 mph max speed Clear and sunny in the morning. A front moved in after lunch. |
The skin on Eric's face is chafed from the 20 mph head wind. |
25 - September 10 |
Grinnell, IA to Muscatine, IA | 112.74 miles 2224 feet total vertical 1049 max altitude 8:57 time on the road 12.3 mph average 28.5 mph max speed Very humid. A hazy sky all day. 112 miles of 15 mph head wind from the southeast. |
Our average speed. |
26 - September 11 |
Rest Day |
27 - September 12 |
Muscatine, IA to Peru, IL | 115.11 miles 1640 feet total vertical 1013 max altitude 8:08 time on the road 13.9 mph average 44.8 mph max speed Torrential rain storm in the morning, cleared up in the afternoon. |
One unhappy, rain drenched California bicyclist. |
28 - September 13 |
Rest Day | Tracy visiting so we drove to Chicago. |
29 - September 14 |
Peru, IL to Cedar Lake, IN | 104.97 miles 1197 feet total vertical 925 max altitude 5:24 time on the road 18.4 mph average (18.7 mph for first 100 miles) 30 mph max speed Overcast with a little drizzle. Cool. |
Eric's rear tire was destroyed by an old screw. |
30 - September 15 |
Cedar Lake, IN to Nappannee, IN | 100.1 miles 751 feet total vertical 944 max altitude 6:40 time on the road 14.7 mph average 25.3 mph max speed |
Preston's rear tire started developing questionable punctures. |
31 - September 16 |
Nappannee, IN to Defiance, IN | 100.75 miles 816 feet total vertical 1013 max altitude 6:56 time on the road 14.5 mph average 24.5 mph max speed |
Wawasee Lake won't pass the necessary legislation to get a bike path even though Eli Lilly has agreed to pay for it. |
32 - September 17 |
Defiance, IN to Milan, OH | 104.1 miles 295 feet total vertical 692 max altitude 8:10 time on the road 12.5 mph average 20 mph max speed Warm and clear. Puffy white clouds. Slight head wind from the east. |
The zipper on Eric's $5 saddle bag broke. |
33 - September 18 |
Milan, OH to Chadron, OH | 100.27 miles 3083 feet total vertical 1313 max altitude 7:42 time on the road 12.7 mph average 30.3 mph max speed Cloudy and cool. A 5 mph head windfrom the ESE all day. Clouds from Hurricane Isabel rolled in by the end of the day. |
A wasp flew down Eric's jersey and stung him 3 times. |
34 - September 19 |
Rest Day | Raining cats & dogs due to Hurricane Isabel. |
35 - September 20 |
Chadron, OH to Cory, PA | 100.06 miles 3293 feet total vertical 1490 max altitude 6:58 time on the road (bad data) 14.1 mph average (bad data) 80.4 mph max speed (bad data - actually 31.8) Sunny and mild. |
No room at the inn in Union City so had to ride to Cory. |
36 - September 21 |
Cory, PA to Couder Sport, PA | 119.01 miles 3454 feet total vertical 2112 max altitude 7:38 time on the road 15.4 mph average 39.5 mph max speed Very, very cold and foggy in the morning. Cloudy all day. |
Eric's front hub is making a bad noise. |
37 - September 22 |
Couder Sport, PA to Towanda, PA | 94.15 miles 4232 feet total vertical 2371 max altitude 6:22 time on the road 14.5 mph average 35.4 mph max speed Overcast but humid and warm. Never saw the sun. |
Eric almost got hit by a grandma. |
38 - September 23 |
Towanda, PA to Hawley, PA | 93.16 miles 6459 feet total vertical 2211 max altitude 7:47 time on the road 11.7 mph average 35.5 mph max speed Overcast and cool in the morning; wet roads. Warm and clear in the afternoon. |
Eric has a really bad cold. |
39 - September 24 |
Hawley, PA to Congers, NY | 104.02 miles 6115 feet total vertical 1322 max altitude 8:01 time on the road 12.7 mph average 35.3 mph max speed Cloudy in the morning. Mostly sunny in the afternoon. Humid. |
Tonight's hotel -- it is by far the worst place we have stayed. It makes the Thunderbird Inn in Riverton, WY look like the Bellagio. However, it's the only hotel we can get. |
40 - September 25 |
Congers, NY thru New Jersey, to Times Square in New York City | 32.91 miles 1466 feet total vertical 1636 max altitude 3:14 time on the road 9.9 mph average 29.0 mph max speed Perfect weather for riding across the George Washington Bridge and into Times Square. |
Super 8 hotel forces us into a smoking room even though we reserved a non-smoking room... welcome to NYC! |
41 - September 26 |
Party Day | Wish I could have inflicted bodily harm on the a-hole waiter at the Italian restaurant. |
42 - September 27 |
Times Square to Coney Island | 16.9 miles 300 feet total vertical 1:43 time on the road 10.4 mpg average More perfect weather for riding across the Brooklyn Bridge, through Prospect Park and the beach at Coney Island. |
Again, the NYC waiters are terrible. Good Mexican food, terrible wait staff. |
43 - September 28 |
Leguardia, NY to San Francisco, CA | 2,900 miles 39,000 feet total vertical 39,000 max altitude 5:40 time in the air 513 mph average 540 mph max |
The fact that we covered 42 days worth of bicycle riding in less than six hours on an airplane. |