El Paso, TX

EFI!


Arrived El Paso about 12:30 on Aug. 16. The last two days were pretty flat as we rode through pecan plantations and chili pepper fields. We did have one last 5 mile climb before dropping into El Paso. The last 20 miles into El Paso were not fun - a busy road with lots of debris on the shoulder. Blaine flatted in the last 10 miles of the ride.

We lucked out with the weather. A cold front was pushing its way south producing lots of rain, hail and lightning storms. The storm hit El Paso about 4:00 pm after everyone had arrived and packed away their bikes to be shipped back home. Overall, it was a great ride!

I'm back in Ithaca now. Sitting in the car felt good at first knowing that I didn't have to get on my bike. But after three long days of driving, I'm ready to get back on my bike and ride.

Truth or Consequence, NM

A very strange name for a town. Wilkipedia says, "Originally called "Hot Springs", this town took the name of a popular radio program in 1950, when Truth or Consequences host Ralph Edwards announced that he would do the program from the first town that renamed itself after the show". Most of the NM towns we have stayed in have not been much more than a little sprawling development along the highway. This one is no exception.

Two more days of riding! The scenery is getting monotonous. You can see for miles and miles, and the miles go by really slow. There is a persistent south wind that starts up about 11 am and gets stronger and stronger throughout the day so we are continually battling a head wind. Our "easy" 75 miles today was pretty exhausting. Fortunately there has been some cloud cover so it hasn't been brutally hot. Also, the roads have gotten much better and I haven't had anymore flats. It's about an 80 mile ride to Las Cruces tomorrow (a real town) and then 60 miles to El Paso. YAHOO! I think everyone is looking forward to the end.

Moriarty, NM

New Mexico is not very bike friendly. A favorite past time of motorists seems to be throwing glass bottles out of car windows. The shoulders of the roads are littered with glass and other debris. I have had four flat tires in the last two days since entering NM- I had only one flat the entire trip before now. Several other riders have had multiple flats in the last couple of days.

I am dedicated to "EFI" - a PAC Tour saying that means "every fuckin' inch" - riding the entire route. I told the sag wagon that even if I'm laying in a ditch on the side of the road half dead not to pick me up because I'm EFI! Several people have had physical injuries, problems with their bikes, or just plain tired of riding so they have taken rides in the van during parts of the tour for either all or part of a day- they are not EFI. So even if I feel like shit, I ride. We have come up with many more acronyms for the PAC Tour all of which have an 'F'' in the middle. A common one is "DFL" - dead f... last - the last rider to arrive at the hotel each day. BFH - another big f... hill, PFN - pretty f.. nice, etc. Of course, the acronyms become endless after long hours of riding under the hot sun but some have become part of our regular vocabulary.

Four more days of riding! I have to say that I am not always enthusiastic to get up and ride my bike each morning, but once you're out there for an hour or two, you get back in to it. EFI!

Chama, NM

Everyone is in a festive mood this evening as the rest of the trip will be relatively easy. Tomorrow we drop down in to the Rio Grande Valley to Espanola - only 83 miles. Breakfast is at 7:30 instead of the usual 6:30. Unfortunately, there is only one restaurant in Chama and one gas station. Entertainment is pretty limited.

Durango, CO

We've climbed over 15000' in 240 miles from Grand Junction to Durango. Three passes today - one over 11,000' and the other two over 10,500'. But, when you go up, you come down - and the down hills have been FUN. It makes it all worth while. The weather has been great and the scenery spectacular.

I'm really impressed by the number of accomplished riders on this trip. There are four past solo winners of the RAAM (ride across America), three of which are women. Another woman rider holds the world record in the hour ride - how far you can ride in one hour on a velodrome track. One guy has done 7 Iron Man competitions. Almost everyone has done a breve where you ride 1200 km in 90 hr. I am truly the neophyte on this ride. But, I'm keeping up with pack without problem.

The internet is very slow tonight so I cannot post any pictures. Tomorrow - New Mexico!

Grand Junction, CO

We're over half way through the trip - 1100 miles down and 840 to go. Today was a our first rainy day and hopefully the last. The rain takes some of the fun out of the fast downhills and hairpin turns. Our usual motto is "no brakes" on the descents, but, in the rain, no brakes are kind of scary - especially when you're racing a semi-truck down the mountain pass.

The landscape changes continuously as we climb from the high desert to mesas and canyons up to pine forests at the high passes and down the other side. The temperatures start out in the 70s in the early morning and rise to the mid 90s in the afternoon if the sun's out. Typically we start our rides at about 6:30-7:00 am.

The riding has become easier every day. My butt and my bike saddle are at peace. My legs don't protest. The next three days will be some of the most challenging climbing of the entire trip as we work our way south through Colorado.

Evanston, WY

Today was an easy day - 93 miles with only one major climb. I don't think I've ever called a 93 mile ride easy before this trip. However, tomorrow is supposed to be one of the most difficult days - 150 miles with lots of climbing as we head to Vernal, Utah. I have been collecting everyone's remedies for saddle soreness. In preparation for tomorrow's ride, I stopped by WalMart and bought everything that I could find that anyone mentioned they used - most of it located in the infant section related to diaper rash. This is the ugly side of long distance cycling. At every food stop along the road, we all grease up. It's quite the bonding experience as we all stand around with our hands in our pants applying our chamois cream. I'm afraid we might all get arrested one day.

Jackson, WY

A long (137 miles) but beautiful day. We crossed the continental divide twice as we rode from West Yellowstone to Jackson, Wyoming. We rode some quiet back roads through the potato and wheat fields of Idaho for most of the day with the Teton Mountains always looming in the distance. Our final climb was a 12 mile ascent over Teton pass at 8600'. The last 3 miles of the climb were at a 10% grade according to the sign, but my GPS told me it was as much as 15%. Reached the top of the pass at mile 124 - the last 12 miles were a steep descent with speeds in excess of 50 mph into Jackson.

Our easy 90 mile ride yesterday turned into one of the most difficult days so far. We climbed from Bozeman to West Yellowstone up the Gallatin River valley for almost 70 miles at a 1-2 % grade with a brutal, swirling, gusty headwind - drafting wasn't possible as the wind kept shifting. Everyone was exhausted by the end the day. Fortunately, today was much more enjoyable.

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Bozeman, MT

Three days and 390 miles. Overall, it's been great - good weather, very scenic and an interesting group of people. The discussions at our various stops along the route seem to focus on tender butts and effective remedies, but we've been assured that this is a temporary affliction as we become more saddle hardy with time. There are 52 people on the tour including the crew. I have been making an effort to ride with different people each day so as to get to know everyone. Not sure I'll ever really get to know the fast ones - they take off early and don't stop much along the route.

We stay well fueled along the route - a PAC Tour van is waiting every 25 miles or so with lots of food and drinks. I've been told that you can actually gain weight on these rides. There are only 8 of us newbies - the rest of the riders are PAC Tour veterans - they say these rides are addicting.

Our first day was 148 miles and the second day 137 miles. Today was "only" 101 miles, and tomorrow we ride to West Yellowstone, a mere 90 miles. You do get a new perspective on distance riding. Except for a tender butt, I feel pretty good.

Kalispell, MT - The Tour

Everyone on the tour arrived Kalispell today. The parking lot at the motel became the makeshift bike shop and debriefing center. We all went out for pizza and beer - a nice nutritious meal to prepare for our 148 mile ride tomorrow to Missoula.

Glacier National Park

My bike saga: A week before the trip I took my bike into the shop for what I thought would be a routine repair - a noisy bottom bracket needed some work. It ended up to be a serious problem - a crack in the carbon frame. This was going to be my high mileage week in preparation for the trip, but, instead, I didn't have a bike. The bike was under warranty and TREK replaced the frame, but I didn't get my bike back until Tuesday evening, a week later. We had planned on leaving Tuesday morning as we had a motel reservation in West Glacier on Friday, July 25. Instead we left Wednesday morning.

Three days and 2275 miles later, we arrived in West Glacier, MT - lots of driving. A little plug for Toyota - everything fit inside the Prius (my bike, Jim's camera equipment, clothes, etc), and we averaged 48 mpg even doing 75 mph across North Dakota. We met Steve Bowman, Blaine Chamberlain and Mark Hogan at Glacier who had flown into town that day.

Steve, Blaine and Mark's bikes were in boxes in Kalispell, MT so they went for a hike on Saturday. I was anxious to get on my "new" bike so I got up early the next day and rode up Logan Pass in Glacier National Park and down the other side to St. Mary - a 50 mile ride with a 12 mile climb at a 6% grade and a long 10 mile downhill on the other side. Fun ride. Jim met me in St. Mary and we drove back through the park stopping at the many roadside tourist sights on the way back to W. Glacier.

Sunday morning, I rode my bike up to Logan pass (30 miles) and met Jim at about 10 am who had been taking some early morning photos. We then took hike that started at the pass near the continental divide that wandered 12 miles through some spectacular country. Steve and crew did a hike on the other side of the park up to the Many Glaciers area. A side note: in 1850, there 150 glaciers in the park. That number is down to 32. The park is expected to be glacier free by 2030. Will we have to give the park a new name? We'll leave that up to Congress. We all met up in Kalispell, MT that night and all slept well.

Ridge of the Rockies Bike Ride and Road Trip

The route:

  Driving from Ithaca, NY to Kalispell, MT, leaving July 23

  with 2 nights in Glacier National Park.

  Ruth will ride her bike from Kalispell to El Paso, TX - 

     Bike Route: 1943 miles in 19 days with 88,000 feet of climbing 

   (with PAC Tour). The ride officially starts on July 28.

  Jim will drive to El Paso following the same basic route.

  We should arrive in El Paso on Aug. 16.

  We'll drive back to Ithaca from El Paso, returning around Aug. 19-20.