Day 5 – June 21st

The day started out with a nice descent before trekking back up the mountain. We biked through rolling mountains and were graced with scenic views of the lush pastures, rolling ridges, and mountain streams and lakes. The scenery was as beautiful as anything we had witnessed on ride.

We made our way into Baker City, Oregon which required us to accumulate 44 miles to get there. During the journey to get there, my knee started giving me problems and Gary pulled me which allowed me some time to rest it. The knee didn’t get better, but thankfully it doesn’t seem to be getting much worse. Hopefully it can hold up for another few weeks.

While in Baker City I attempted to get a new seat stay for my bike, as mine had been stripped when lowering the saddle. Unfortunately, after 20 minutes of searching his inventory, the local bike smith was unable to find a new screw or seat stay to fit my bike. Ahh well, hopefully in the next couple of days we can find a city that is a bit larger and has a facility equipped with the equipment I am looking for. Time will tell on that one.

Outside of Baker City we fought a soul penetrating heat, upwards of 90+ degrees, and a nasty headwind for the first 24 miles. Not far behind us, during the ride, was a mountain storm brewing in all its fury. During a portion of our ride we were forced onto interstate 84 as the highway we had been riding on turned into a gravel road. By the time we got onto the interstate the storm was on us and neither Gary nor myself were looking forward to dealing with traffic, which would be doing 75 miles per hour, as well as the nasty storm. We sat the storm out for a bit when we encountered road construction in which there was no shoulder for us to bike upon. While Larry shuttled Gary over the mile of construction, I sought shelter in the rest area. That storm cell was short lived, and by the time Larry came back to pick me up and shuttle me up to Gary, it had blown over. Thankfully, I was able to get cell coverage at the time and place a call to Brian who confirmed the small size of the cell via the web. You have got to love cell phones and the Internet.

We had only one more set back while traveling along the interstate; there was more road construction 5 miles down the road in which we again had to be shuttled across. After that, though, we were able to get back on highway 30 and head for our destination point: Ontario, Oregon.

The last 27 miles into the city were exciting and a bit demanding. The exciting part was the fact that a new storm was accumulating and had caused the wind to shift. Instead of fighting the headwind, it was about to push us. We sailed for quite a few miles with exhilarating speeds while our long time nemesis, Mr. Wind, push us; it was a nice change. As we approached town, about 15 miles out, we realized that the storm was on growing large and nearly on top of us. We both realized we were probably not going to make it without getting wet. After a quick pit stop at Shop De La Larry, in which we grabbed some quick fluids and fuel, Gary and I took off for our stop over town. With the wind pushing us a portion of the time, I took the lead and we both picked up the tempo. For portions of the ride into town we were sailing at 32 miles an hour. It was great, and the legs felt pretty good during it. We finally made it into town, after crossing over to Idaho for a few miles before re-crossing the Snake River to end once again in Oregon.

After riding 122 miles, seeing the Best Western sign, as the storm began to prepare for an all out assault, may have been the best sight of the day. We were all glad to be in doors and dry. The bud light was cold and our spirits were high. Another great day on the road. I am hoping that the ice packs Larry picked up will do my knee some good, and that tomorrow’s ride will be pain free.

Day 4 – June 20th

The day started out with a 5 to 6 mile climb right from the get go. Gary is getting better at using his heart monitor and altering his speed and cadence up the climbs in accordance with it. As Brian (my brother and fellow biker) can attest to, the heart rate monitor can be your best friend during a ride or run. It is an unbelievable tool when it comes to telling you what kind of damage you are doing to your body. I never ride or run without mine attached; it’s too powerful of a tool to not have on.

After our 1,500 foot climb up to an elevation of 4,200 feet, we leveled out and got into a pretty good rhythm. The only pain I was experiencing up to that point was my right knee. That being the only pain, however, was about to change; and not for the good. At mile 11 I had the great luck to match blows with a hornet. Let’s just say the bout ended with the Hornet = 1 and Matt = 0. Damn little bastard; it’s been years since I was last stung, and I hope it’s a lot longer before I have to experience it again.

Over the next several miles we encountered numerous cyclists on the road. This was the same group of 50 riders going across the country with the organization America By Bike (ABB). We also encountered numerous smaller groups that were doing self supported rides across the country. One of the groups we talked to, after our first climb of the day, said that the baggage on each of their bikes weighed between 40 and 80 pounds. Unbelievable! I can tell you that on some of those climbs my 17 pound Trek feels like it weighs in excess of a ton; I can’t imagine strapping on 40 or 50 more pounds and trying to get it to the summit. Amazing!

We had started the ride 60 miles outside of our hotel, and had to pack the SUV in the morning and then drive to our starting point (where we had ended the night before), unpack the car, get the bikes ready, get ourselves ready, and then start pedaling. This equates to later than normal start times. We paid the price today, as the temperature rose to 92 degrees, and we spent a long time in its strength sapping rays. Our goal for tomorrow, and most of the days to come, will be to get on the crank earlier.

Safety on this ride, so far, has been great. Some of the cyclists we have talked to have not been as fortunate. One man, doing an unsupported 7,000 mile ride from Washington State to Florida, was hit by a car earlier in his ride and had to get a new bike. He had been riding a hand-built Italian carbon frame, but had to settle for a Co-Motion frame after the accident. He was not hurt, but I am sure he is sorely disappointed to lose his bike. Another cyclist told us of one of the ABB riders that was struck in the chest with a beer bottle that had been thrown by a dumbass driver. The cops were looking for the vehicle, but so far their search has been fruitless.

Another ABB rider I spoke with had a different sort of luck with his bike prior to his ride. He is a sports psychologist, and retired Pro basketball player (over seas) that had met the president of Trek a few years back. Somehow word got out that he was doing this ride, using his aluminum Trek 1200. Trek’s president, after finding out about it, sent Tom a brand new 2008 Madone (full carbon) for him to have for the ride and to keep afterwards. What a present!! (The cyclists reading this will all realize how lucky he is.)

Getting into Mt. Vernon proved impossible for us today, as the city’s crew was laying fresh rock and oil on the only road going into the town; they would not allow bikes on it for any reason. We were forced to pack the bikes into the SUV and Larry then drove us into town where Gary and I then began to ride again.

At around the 83 mile mark we went into a 7 mile climb. Gary, watching his heart rate and responding accordingly, set out at his own pace as did I. We both have very similar cadence (his is slightly faster than mine on the flats, and mine is slightly faster during climbs) so we broke up to climb and then regrouped at the top. I felt great during the climb, and Gary seemed to be fairing well also.

At 101 miles in we went into our final 4 mile climb of the day. Again at the end we were both overjoyed to see Larry and the white SUV. But this was not the high point of the day.

Along the route today my gorgeous bride gave me some great news as well. The angioplasty with my dad went very well, there does not appear to be any problems with his heart, and he will be back home in Texas this Monday. We are all greatly relieved at the wished for news. All I ask is dad not do that again!

Day 3 – June 19th

Trying to put the news from the day before out of my mind, I attempted to just focus on the day of riding ahead of me. The ride for the day began outside of Government Camp, and we had plotted 112 miles and 4,800 feet of climbing. It was going to be a long day!

We began with a nice flat section that led us into a great descent. Gary and I really got in sync on the flat section, and took turns pulling every mile to mile and a half. Around mile 23 we began a 5 mile climb out of the valley. It was a gradual climb and through it both Gary and I felt really good. I was starting to find my climbing form again, and after finding a good cadence and rhythm I was able to spin up at a steady pace. The whole time I was able to keep my heart rate in check, and made sure I didn’t push into the zone where I’d start building up lactic acid; I tend to try and keep my heart rate below 163 over a long climb. If I go much higher I am prone to burn my legs for the next day; something I can’t afford to do on this type of trip.

After the climb, and a pit stop to fuel up on turkey sandwiches courtesy of Mr. Hart, we battled the heat and a headwind into Madras, Oregon which is where we would be spending the night. However, as we were only a few hours into the ride for the day, we pushed on to get in some more riding. Over the next 20 miles we fought a headwind, 80 degree heat and some stiff little climbs. On this leg of the ride today, we ran into a couple of riders that are doing a ride across America as well. They are riding with the outfit America By Bike (ABB); this company’s website is where we garnished a lot of our information when putting our bike plan together. It was great to meet them, and I wish them all the best of luck on the ride.

After the initial 20 miles out of Madras, we refueled again with Larry and then descending into Prineville, Oregon. (This is the city that the ABB bikers would be spending the night in.) Outside of Prineville we started out longest climb of the day; we ascended up to an elevation of 4,700 feet. My legs felt strong during the climb, as much of it was only 1-2% grade. A few of the steeper sections went into pitches of 6-7% and were thus a bit more challenging; I cut my pace on a few of these to assist Gary as he was still working on getting used to long climbs. We finally reached the summit of the climb around mile 96 and then descended 16 miles with only the slightest incline the last few miles.

At our stop, holding with a tradition we had begun the day before, Larry had a couple ice cold beers waiting for us. Those barley pops tasted exquisite after 112 miles of riding through mountain passes and skin burning heat. Thanks for the beers Larry, they were greatly appreciated!

Day 2 – June 18th

The ride today started in downtown Portland and would proceed out of the city and onto Mount Hood. Starting out, the legs were tight for both Gary and I, probably due to the fact that we pushed it a bit on the ride the day before. With that thought in mind, we leisurely spun out of Portland and into Gresham, Oregon. We rode fairly conservatively until we got to the base of Mt. Hood and then started getting into some real climbing. The climbs went very well in the beginning, and Gary hung quite well. I pulled through most of the climbs and was feeling really good; all those long hours of chasing Dave and Martin up the many hills surrounding Portland were paying off. I don’t think I can thank those guys enough for taking the time, and having the patience, to teach a novice climber how to get up the side of the mountain. Maybe after this ride I’ll finally be able to hang with you guys. Though chasing Martin on the flats and Dave on the climbs will probably remain an effort in futility. I can dream though!

The final big climb up to Government Camp played with our emotions on this day; we erroneously thought the climb topped out at 2,700 feet. However, we realized much to our chagrin that the summit topped out at about 4,000 feet. That is a long ways to climb when you keep telling yourself you are just about to be done and the pain will go away; at least the pain will reside for a little while. When we did finally top the climb, Gary and I were both relieved to see Larry sitting there in the white SUV, a smile played across his face, and a cooler full of food and drinks. I think Gary cried at that point. I’m not sure though, as I couldn’t see him through the tears.

Larry is doing an unbelievable job of support. He has made this ride feel almost like cheating. He not only scouts the route, blocks for us on sketchy patches of road, has food and drinks always stocked and cold, but is also taking pictures of the vast scenery for us. What a guy! Every time we see a rider on the road, struggling up a hill or with the heat, we comment they need some Hart. Sure am glad we got ours.

The only real issue that I encountered during the course of the day was a slight knee pain at about mile 60 that didn’t go away until I was off the bike at mile 80. I am not sure what the pain is being caused by, as I have never had knee problems. However, I am hoping Christina can help diagnose and remedy when I talk to her tonight. I am counting on it, as I still have a few miles left to finish during the next month!

On the way down off the mountain and back towards Portland I received a call that brought back some old memories. Wendy, my older sister (she’s the only older sister I have, as Megan, my other sister, is much younger. For those of you who do not know Megan, she’s my twin and I beat her into this world by a grand total of 8 minutes. An eternity if you ask me.) Anyways, Wendy’s message said that I needed to call mom ASAP. As I was soon to discover, my dad had gone in for a scheduled stress test and after having chest pain, they found a spot on his heart. The doctor conducting the test is not sure what it is, so they are going to try and find out by going into his heart on Friday, via a procedure known as an Angioplasty. (I can’t spell, and for those of you interested in how the word is spelled and what it all means, please call Christina.) The last time dad had chest pain, he ended up going in for quadruple bypass heart surgery. To say the news scared me is an understatement. We all are praying for the best, but weighed down with worry. Hopefully this turns out to be nothing and the old man is on his way home soon.

Day 1 – June 17th

Months of planning and training took fruition today. Gary and I began our trek to cross the US on two wheels. Astoria, Oregon was our initiating point on this 3,500 sojourn. We spent last night in my apartment and then made the drive to Astoria at around 6 a.m. On the drive to Astoria, a myriad of thoughts flashed through my mind: “Will my legs hold up for 30 days? What about my knees, shoulders, neck, back etc?” The most numerous thought was probably “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” My answer to that remained the same: ‘Time will tell.’

Upon assembling our bikes at the Cannery Hotel, we set out to complete this challenge one mile at a time. The first 50 miles went extremely well. Abounding with the euphoria of starting out, we may have been overly aggressive on the rolling hills and mild climbs of the day. Gary, used to the plains of the Midwest, was a bit surprised with the couple of the climbs we encountered. At mile 50 we got into the flat portion of the ride and Gary’s training definitely came into play. I, however, began to struggle. I am not sure if I taxed myself too much in the beginning, or if not riding for two weeks and fighting a viral infection was the culprit; my guess is a combination of them all. Around mile 70 the legs began to recover and I felt pretty good until we finished the 100 mile ride.

I believe it also helped that at the 52 mile mark we picked up an extra rider who was strong and did a lot of the pulling for Gary and I. Bud Morris, the man who helped pull us into Portland, is a friend of a friend, and had asked Gary if he could ride with us the first day. Bud is an experience rider, a multi state time trial champion, and was a treat to have along at the end of the ride today. He knew Portland infinitely better than myself and stayed with us to assist in getting us over the interstate and the river so that we would have a better place to start on Day 2. Thanks Bud for the navigation, the great offer to do some Oregon rides when I get back to town (which I will be taking you up on), and of course for pulling us in.

Day 0 – How it all began.

Early last year my beautiful and brilliant wife (her one flaw is she married me) suggested I look into attending law school as I was so fascinated with it. Law was something I was quite interested in, so I took the suggestion to heart and began the process of preparing to attend school beginning fall 2008. Gary Friedman, a friend, former-boss, and mentor, heard of my plans to attend school and that I was going to be quitting my job during the summer of 2008. He had been looking into doing a bike ride across America during that time frame and, as my schedule would coincide, he ever so graciously asked if I would be interested in riding it with him.

Gary and I had done a lot of riding together while I lived in Texas, and we had done RAGBRAI (a bike ride across Iowa) together as well. In addition, Gary and I had spent a lot of time together over the last 5 years (riding, shooting hoops, working occasionally, and magically making Shiner disappear) but since my move to Portland I had not really been able to spend much time with him. Thus the chance to do the ride and hang out with him for a few weeks was very appealing.

As many of you know, riding cross country is something most cyclists dream about. It’s a sick fascination that just goes with the sport. Therefore, with the full support of Christina, my self sacrificing wife, I accepted the invite. And that is how this ride began for me. Now all I had to do was train and then ride across 3,500 miles of American soil. No problem…..

My training consisted mostly of riding the roads of Oregon on a gift from Christina; a 2006 Trek Madone 5.2. According to her, it was the new love of my life. And I must say, she is quite beautiful. Not as beautiful as you Christina, but still damn pretty.

Training in Oregon was something I was neither ready for nor could have hoped for. The hills out here are quite different from the riding I was used to in Texas, and the scenery is breath taking. I could describe the views as a continuous series of Kodak moments, but it wouldn’t do it justice. Climbing up a couple thousand feet to see lush greenery spread out on your left, with a stream winding through it, and snow covered peaks silhouetted in the distance on the right is something I pray everyone gets to behold at some point in their life. Words fail miserably here so I’ll cease in making the attempt; we’ll just leave it at awe inspiring.

The climbing out here is something that I found myself hating and loving at various points (loving after I’d climbed it, hating it during.) However, though my overall mileage was low compared to many riders, the climbing I did do got my cardio and legs into fairly good shape. After a few months of riding with Martin and Dave (two buddies I met in Oregon who introduced me to the pains of Bald Peak and numerous other climbs) I found myself starting to really enjoy climbing and riding in Oregon back country. It’s hard not to fall in love with a sport in an area where you can go for a ride and in a matter of minutes be outside the city, surrounded by lush vegetation, mountains, a population that respects bikers on the road, and get a great cardio workout in a matter of minutes. I sure will miss this place come August.

Before I knew it, June is now here and the ride is about to begin. Gary is driving out to Portland with the man who will be our support driver on this crazy adventure; the infamous Larry Hart. Larry is a cyclist himself, has an eye for detail, and the ability to fix almost anything. To have him for a support driver is going to be amazing. Larry will be supporting us for the first couple of weeks after which he will be handing off the reigns to a long time friend of Gary’s, Bob Loch. Larry will then taking the reigns back for our final week of riding. Bob Loch is also an avid cyclist who has traveled to Texas on numerous occasions to ride the Hotter than Hell Hundred with us. (HHH is a century ride out of Wichita Falls, TX during August when the temperature outside is, well, hotter than hell.) To have two guys like Larry and Bob doing support during the ride, both who are avid bikers and understand what a long ride entails and the destruction it can do to your body, bike, and motivation, is a rare gift. This ride would definitely not be possible without them.

Well, I had better sign off as Larry and Gary are set to arrive tomorrow. I hope all is well with everyone.