Brocycling

Phototime!

2007-08-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

There's No Place Like Home

2007-08-11T14:59:00.001-07:00

Hey all,
So we're done with all the cycling of the trip having arrived in Fredericksburg, but that doesnt mean that there is nothing left to read on this blog. Soon we will post the most super awesome wrap-up post of all time, replete with pictures, awards, and more. Stay tuned for that within about a week's time.

Tall Man Out.

Oh Yeah, Back in Good Ole VA

2007-08-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday every one's four favorite cyclists crossed over the border into Virginia thus making true our blog url. West Virginia really made us earn the right to get home, we all agreed that yesterday was the most technically challenging day of riding for the entire trip.

We set out from Elkins, WV with the hope of making it just 60 miles to Monterey, VA. Fortunately, on the way out of Elkins we saw a topographical map of our proposed route, so there were no surprises. We were warmed up by about 20 miles of rolling hills then the tough stuff began. First, 4 miles at 9%, then a 4 miles at 8% , then a pair of 2 mile 8% ascents. For those of you who aren't familiar with the percent grade system, 1% = roughly 52 vertical feet per mile. So on that first climb, we ascended roughly 1800 vertical feet in 4 miles, by far the longest steep climb of the trip (Logan's pass was 12 miles at 6%, a comparably easy ascent). Lucky for us, the rest of the trip is through towns where we have an abundance of places to stay. No more camping for us!

So in high spirits we are headed to Staunton today, just 45 miles east of Monterey and with only 2 significant climbs. I can't properly convey how excited we all are to finally be back in Virginia and to be so close to completing what has really been the trip of a lifetime. From Staunton to Charlottesville, from Charlottesville to Fred Vegas. We can't wait to see you all.

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

Tall Man Out.

Ohi-oh!

2007-07-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

The final leg of the trip has begun. We are all definitely feeling close to home now that we're in this part of the country (and finally in the eastern time zone again). Chicago was an absolute blast, but departing made us remember there's still some work to be done before getting back to Virginia. Fortunately though our bodies have had time to reboot and our spirits have been quickly renewed.

The route through Indiana was pretty quick and we've been in Ohio for the past couple days. We stayed in Bowling Green for a night and got to watch the final 2 stages of the tour which was really cool. Also, this may only be relevant to certain people, but Connor and I discovered that a person known as Big Red now resides in the campus area there. As terrifying as that may be, Bowling Green is a pretty fun and lively college town.

Today we got to enjoy a day at the lake with extended friends, the Jacksons. Their hospitality has been great. Trivial Pursuit, paddle boats, frisbee, cannonballs, and bellyflops all ensued. Now we have the West Virginia border eyeing us down. There are a few small hills coming up I think (the Appalachians or something..) but we're ready keep on pedaling.

Eastern time zone, baby!

2007-07-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

I suppose I'm a little overdue for a post, seeing as we have passed through Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana since we last spoke. A lot has happened. Connor has outlined most of the activities up to Chi-town so that's where I'll begin.

We had a blast in Chicago. Taking a couple days off in a row finally gave our bodies a chance to really recover. The first night we took it pretty easy, basically just tied a few on in the hotel room then walked around a little. Day two we welcomed two guests to the city. Beau and I were fortunate enough to get Jackie and Mia to come out and suffer through the locker room stench of the our hotel rooms. That night we went out to a couple bars in the northern part of town. On the third day Connor's mom flew out to spoil us yet again with her generosity. We went to a great pizza place...the name of which completely escapes me (something with a "G"). That night, after Momma Maloney went to bed, things got a little rowdy. Without divulging everything, there were several bars, at least one last call, Giant Jenga, and a blurry cab-ride. As for the night life, that was pretty much it.

The daytime attractions in Chicago were spectacular as well. The Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Aquarium all received good reviews from the group. Also, as cheesy as it sounds, the Skydeck on the Sears Tower is also pretty fun.

Unfortunately I cannot show you any pictures of these attractions because I cannot get them on this computer. They will follow shortly.

So, right now we are in Bowling Green, Ohio and we expect that we will only have another 8 or so days left in the trip. Everything's going great, we're super psyched to get back. It looks like we are going to pick up Rt 250 here in Ohio today which not only takes us to Virginia, it takes us through Staunton and Charlottesville. I'll see you all soon, we're just around the bend.

Tall Man Out.

The Windy City

2007-07-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

"...But our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation of everything right and true and decent in the national character. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country - but only for those with true grit. And we were chock full of that." -HST

Well now, the summit dubbed "Virginia Riders" have arrived safely in the Windy City. As we press on towards the eastward horizon megalopolis looms near and Chicago becomes the absolute opposite of North Dakota's desolate stretches of "highway". The city brings a few days of rest, rendezvous with friends and family, and a hammerhead blow to the bank account. Writing from the 3rd floor of the world's largest public library (i.e. The Harold Washington Library) it seems plausible we will be able to remain entertained without pedaling the bikes for a few days.

Our route through Milwaukee was pleasant but rather disappointing. Neither the goal of touring the Miller Brewing Company nor Heckling Barry Bonds were accomplished and we set our sails south for Chicago. (On a personal note, I will never again patronize baseball after Mr. Bonds finalizes the symbolic downfall of the national sport. I can only hope that his record breaking home run is made possible by a underarm lob by some witty pitcher.)

Prior to our visit to "the good land" (Thank you Alice Cooper) we took rest for two nights in Madison. Alright, we didn't do that much resting but we did enjoy ourselves. We gave State St. a try, did some "power" shopping, ate Chipolte, and visited a bike store to fix our worst mechanical problem since the beginning (Isaac has been carrying a Virginia flag since Minneapolis and despite my nagging to fly the flag (I can barely manage to see it so oppressed underneath his bungees) it took its own revenge, tangling itself in his spokes and grabbing onto the derailleur snapping the aluminum hanger which is oh so important to the basic function of the bicycle). So, thank goodness we were in Madison... no way we could have fixed that on our own.

Highlights included getting to play with my cousin Emma (who does excellent cartwheels, by the way) and finally getting to watch some movies on a couch and do nothing else at all. Thank you Kerry, Ranny, and Grandma.

As for now, me and Chuck will continue our date while the remainder of the quartet awaits the arrival of their better halves at the airport. Hope everyone is well out there. More to come....

New Youtube Video

2007-07-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

3 more videos should be available on youtube.com under the same keywords

chuck beau connor isaac

we are off to Milwaukee this afternoon before taking a train into Chicago

enjoy

...and go Vinokourov!

2007-07-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

2007-07-20T17:36:00.002-07:00

2007-07-20T17:36:00.001-07:00

Description

2007-07-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

Below:

Tall man and beau marveling at free video games in Mcdonalds

Mall of America

Minnesota

Wisco

The Mayor of Summit, South Dakota... totally totally drunk

The End of State Street

Isaac's bike disaster

This guy swore he was the back up pilot for air force one... and a bull fighter... and was a tortured POW.... and wrote the welfare reform for america....

Me feeding a baby cow on an organic dairy farm (thank you Slingers)

Carol cooking us a great big meal

2007-07-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Photo Time

2007-07-20T17:01:00.001-07:00

Beau's Playlist

2007-07-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

this is what beau hammers to when he hammers across the country:

one genius/GZA - liquid swords

my bloody valentine - loveless

boards of canada - trans canada highway

pixies - greatest hits

madlib - the other side of las angeles

the Midwest: Cheese and Family

2007-07-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

yo yo everybody
were in mad-town (aka madison, wisco) on a beautiful and breezy day this july 19th. as you read, for the past few days weve been taken care of by connor's extended family which has been awesome. totally delicious homecooked meals and sleeping indoors is great after a month of fast food and faster biking. id like to say thanks to the slingers, as well as carol and shirley for their hospitality. that was so great. tonight and tomorrow were staying in the home of another awesome aunt, before biking on to milwaukee (the good land), and the trip's expected highlight, chicago. the new harry potter book is coming out in two days...who's psyched?! speaking of HP, we saw the new movie in imax 3-D while in faribault, which was simply mindblowing.

other than HP, weve enjoyed the midwest very much. connor bought some 6 year old cheddar today at a reccomended cheese stop which was delicious. the roads here arent the best, narrow shoulders and lots of bumps and patchwork, but weve made it through all right.

okay, ill leave something for the other guys to post. theyre gonna put up some pictures and stuff while were here i think. i cant wait till chicago and home - beau

Hectic Times

2007-07-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
We've returned to civilization. After crossing the SD-MN border, the world around us changed rapidly. Cell phone service, towns every 10 miles, libraries open 5 days a week, gas stations open on weekends. It's amazing. Two nights ago, the Slingers graciously welcomed us into their home in Fairbault, MN (about 40 mi south of Minneapolis). We were pretty haggard upon our arrival, and we were spoiled with hot showers and a fiest the likes of which we had never seen. We are all incredbly thankful for their hospitality.

The day leading up to Fairbault was a long one. We began in Delano, MN, about 30 mi West of Minneapolis, and biked into the city. We all really enjoyed our quick trip through the city, it seems like a great town. But we weren't really there for the whole city, just a particular edifice in the southern part of it: The Mall Of America.

I've gotta tell ya. That place is KA-RAZY. 2 roller coasters, a log ride, mini golf, a ferris wheel, 2 food courts, 4 stories. After spending the prior three weeks in Montana and Dakota ranchland, walking through the doors of that monument to capitalism was a total sensory overload. One cannot help but bump into other people because the whole time you just want to look up. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) we could not stay long because we had about a 100 mile day to complete. So we ran a couple errands (Chuck got a haircut, Beau got an iPod, I got a Virginia flag, and Connor got an Ireland flag....because, you know, there's a flag store).

Yesterday we had our first full day of rest since Vancouver, again thanks to the Slingers. Today we ride to Rochester, MN to be pampered once again. In fact, for the next week or so, we may not have to sleep outdoors. A strange thought. So, at this point its Chicago-or-Bust then a beeline for the coast. We are less than three weeks away by our calculation. Practically around the block. Keep up the comments, we all like hearing from you.

Tall Man Out.

The word of the day is...

2007-07-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

tolerance (n.) - sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own.

This word has been particularly relevant over the past week.

First props goes to Beau for his noteworthy and commendable tolerance of my stinky feet and snoring tendancies in our "cozy" two-man tent. He even bought me an awesome "Daddy's little trouble-maker" sticker for my bike as a present.

Next, kudos to Connor for his patience with my slow learning curve this trip and his tolerance of my questionable ability to retain important information. His understanding in this area has been invaluable.

Finally, Isaac deserves much appreciation for his tolerance of my increasingly-faulty rear wheel. I really need to get a new one soon, but up until now he has steadfastly helped keep my bike in working order.

A final note of gratitude goes to the Slingers, Connor's relatives from Faribaut, MN, who graciously took in four weary cyclists (and all of our dirty clothes). This stay has been great so far and our bodies will definitely enjoy a day of rest.

Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago are on the horizon. There promises to be lots of great stories to come.

Where the Werewolves Love Techno.... These Roads are Stained with Varmit Blood...

2007-07-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hello all...

and welcome to the Connor Maloney awards

first up

the award for worst roads in North America go to... South Dakota
-this was a close one folks but the 12 miles of gravel on a major road and the apparent inability to maintain a consistent pavement makeup for more than 50 feet gives SD the win over its closest competitor, North Dakota

the award for largest amount of road kill in North America goes to... South Dakota
-again, another close one, but the number of decapitated deer, fallen birds, and unbelievably flat raccoons earns this state another trophy

The award for the overall worst state goes to... North Dakota
-There is a reason people don't go or live there. And there are a lot of reasons we are never going back. For instance, I'm not sure cell phones or internet have reached that place yet...

anyway, i'm getting kicked off line...

the pictures below are in no particular order but (and I apologize for the wrong angles, more computer problems):

Isaac consuming the biggest pancakes we've seen yet (we've seen a lot of them)

A great sunset over the Missouri River

The best picture we got of the plains

Our July 5th celebration

One more

2007-07-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

More Photos

2007-07-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

Tour de South Dakota

2007-07-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone.
Were nearly out of the Dakotas now (finally), and growing ever closer to an exciting string of cities in the midwest. (wow, i never thought id be so excited to be in the midwest.) Highlights from the Dakotas: a large number of bird sized mosquitos, more roadkill than i could ever imagine, and lots and lots of grass. Weve been keeping eachother entertained by yelling at cows and starting stampedes, and playing a lot of this game called Botacelli or something. Its pretty fun. Besides the obvious motivation to get out of the grasslands, our progress has been amped up by watching the tour de france at sports bars, a killer 20 mph tail wind (3 days now!!!), and what my mom would call an "unhealthy" amount of caffeine. Dont worry, were keeping it reasonable...they wouldnt make triple stregnth rockstars if we couldnt handle em.

So, everything is going along just swimmingly. Were still eating about 3000 calories a day, check out the monster stack of pancakes tall man put down this morning. Despite crashing about twice a day on average, chuck remains uninjured and in high spirits.

If anyone we have met along the way is reading this post, id like to say Thanks for the free meat! seriously, every tom, dick and tina we meet hooks us up with some deer jerky or something from last seasons kill. Totally awesome.

The trip rules, and i look forward to seeing everyone back home again and resuming, if only for a few days, the relaxing lifestyle of the summer. peace out - beau

More Photos

2007-07-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Damn these claws!

2007-07-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Traveling through the Dakotas during the past week has been quite interesting. Far removed from bustling civilization, we've passed through lots of tiny towns with populations of 324, 406, or even less. Sometimes there's nothing more than a sign with the name of the town on it. We finally reached Aberdeen, SD last night, our biggest stop in over a week (over 24,000!), and we got a chance to sit down at a sports bar and watch stage 3 of the tour.

The landscape is a bit more tame than that of Glacier park... a lot of slow rolling hills and flatlands. We try to keep morale and amusement levels high by yelling at cows as we pass through, and I must say the cows in ND are a lot quicker to scare than the ones in SD. The people have been great, though. A few nights ago we got caught in the dark trying to make it to Hettinger, but fortunately we found an amazingly nice lady at a farm who cooked us dinner and even hooked us up with some delicious beef jerky.

We've gone almost 2000 miles now I think, and we're coming up on Minneapolis. That should be a fun stop and a good place to recharge. Our time in the remoteness of the Dakotas should be over within the next four or five days.

Updated Statistics:

times crashed: 6
bad jokes told: 344
mosquito bites: a lot.

That's it for now, more to come.

Chuck

I Wish There Were More To Report

2007-07-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hey,
Been a while since the last post, but to be honest, there's a perfectly good reason for that. Nothing actually happened in the last two states (ND and SD). I suppose I could go on and on about how much grass there is, but just thinking about it is putting me to sleep. It has gotten to the point that the brightest moments during the ride are the ones where we can scream at roadside cows loud enough to get them all to run.....seriously. Most of the towns we have been in this month have been about as populated as your local Wal-Mart, with approximately the same demographics. We passed town after town that advertised their populations, down to the individual. 1,345 here, 952 there...Roscoe, SD was a bustling metropolis of 234 people. Today we are in the biggest city we have seen perhaps since Vancouver. Aberdeen, SD has a little over 24,000 people. Cities are a mixed blessing, I suppose, because on one hand, more people usually means things like a guaranteed bike shop and a good sports bar to watch the Tour in, but on the other hand it means lots of cars and higher food prices.

So this afternoon we are running for the SD-MN border on our way to Minneapolis. It should be about four days ride from here to Twin Cities, but we're told its much nicer due to the prevalence of gas stations and nice city parks to camp in. Back into civilization we go.

Tall Man out.

YouTube Time

2007-07-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately is takes forever to upload here so you've only got one video to hold you over...

there are some better ones and maybe we will get it together with editing and music... but probably not...

so just try and imagine some explosions in the sky pumping in the background or something...

oh crap.... i don't know how this works....

search you tube for keywords : logan connor chuck isaac beau

hope you can find it

2007-07-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Space Needle in Seattle, finally
Seattle
The Tall Man Contemplating - he has become the bike surgeon and has subsequently been blasted by a whopping average of 2 flat tires a day
Beau writing his daily Haiku

Photorama2

2007-07-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Our Camp in Troy, MT - Outside the Home Bar
Beau's Toes (He's fine now)
Northwest Washington State

Photorama

2007-07-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Going up Logans Pass
Mountain Goat at the Top
East Side
Lake Macdonald/McDonald
Looking Back at the Top - One of the lower grade climbs we've accomplished

The produce section in the Troy Grocery Store:
Avalanche Lake
Lake McDonald
Nice View From East Glacier
Sweet Tan Lines and Salt Stains - These have only improved

Sorry for the horrendous misspellings on the last post... we were in a terrible rush. Total Mileage for that day ended up being 133... You have never seen 4 hungrier boys than at the end of that day...

enough reading though! time for some pics:

Campfire with Dennis before the best meal/breakfast of the trip.

This Time Zone is Only Big Enough for One State

2007-07-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, first of all, thanks to Isaac for putting in so much time with the posts while the rest of us play on youtube and send post cards.

Another simultaneous post so I apologize for any overlapping. But this will be short.

Glacier is simply amazing. The most beautiful place I've ever gotten to see. We've lost of cable for the camera so hold on until we get those pics up ( and maybe a video - I strapped my camera to my helmet for the decent).

We've met a ton of other cyclists going coast to coast or up to Alaska in the last few days. Glacier is a top stop for a lot of people, obviously. We spent two nights on the west side of the divide waiting for Logan's pass to open. A storm last November had wiped the road out and construction was delaying the opening. No problem for us though as we enjoyed the rest and time to play in the park. We managed to only fit in one hike to Avalanche Lake which was totally satisfying.

They kick cyclists off the road between 11-4 so we were forced to hangout on the shoulder of the prettiest road in the world for 5 hours... again, not a huge problem... I managed to squeeze in a nap not 12 inches from a tremendous cliff edge. The pass still hadn't opened when we finally arrived at the top (again, out highest pass of the trip but it would be to beautiful to bomb on the descent). After some mac and cheese and conversation with the handful of other cyclists waiting at the top we were able to ride down the east side. Camped at Rising Sun and hung out with a solo rider going west (Chris).

Yesterday we left Glacier and watched the Rockies start to fade. Today they are no longer visible and we are screaming east on hwy 2 averaging almost 20 mph( our highest so far). We are attempting to ride 125 miles today, 55 more than any previous day. Strong west winds and table top flat lands are boosting our confidence as we try and get out of Montana in less than 2 weeks.

The climbs in the first few weeks really whipped us into shape. Our biggest expense is food. It's incredible how much we are eating... almost constantly. That and postcards, which have become an addiction. Time is sparse though as we are riding, eating, or setting up camp most of the day. Hope everyone out there is well. We are hoping to hit Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Minneapolis (Fairbault(sp?), actually), Madison, and then Chicago.... but, as always, we shall see. Mahalo. ~cwm

I'm in the blog.

2007-07-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Good news: it's been three weeks and I'm still alive! This is quite an accomplishment, considering I only gave myself about a 47% chance of making it back to Virginia in one piece. I joined this adventure late and I've had to learn quite a bit in very little time, but so far this trip has been absolutely amazing.

Things I have learned on this trip:

-I have a renewed faith in humanity.
-Biking in the sun for 6-8 hours a day will give you incredible tan lines.
-If I try to sleep in, Beau will hit me.
-Chances are, Beau will hit me at some point during the day anyway.
-It takes much more to climb a mountain than pushing down on a pedal.
-How to ignore pain.
-So much more.

Personal statistics:

number of crashes: 3
bad jokes told: 238
highest mountain climbed: 6000+ feet
distance traveled: over 1000 miles

It's hard to sum up everything that has happened to this point. Every day brings a new highlight. From the awesome people we meet to the physical and personal accomplishments of riding, this trip has exceeded all expectations. I've managed to gain a small measure of respect from Isaac, Connor, and Beau, but I have a long way to go still. Stay tuned for more.

no pics for a bit, keep your reading glasses on

2007-07-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hey,
We've temporarily lost the ability to post pictures, so bear with us. Lets see, haven't posted since before Glacier, so here's what's new. Glacier National Park is the most beautiful place I've seen in the United States. Hands Down. Everyone should go there once. Besides being beautiful, it was also a much easier climb to Logan Pass than we all had imagined. At over 6600 ft, it is the highest point we will cross in this entire trip. So, now that we've crossed the mountains we have been thrown headlong into the flats of Eastern Montana. This is a different way of life here.
Last night, we pitched our tents in the city park of Cut Bank, Mt. Evidently the only nighttime activities for citizens between the ages of 17 and 25 are to either

A: Drive through the town for hours at a time making sure that the bass in your car doesn't allow anyone to sleep. The din of the sub woofers is only broken by the occasional holler at someone on the street as they drive endlessly around the block
Or...
B: Run amok lighting fireworks and throwing them onto people's porches. After that happens, the entire Cut Bank PD arrives at the scene of the crime and proceeds to creep around the neighboring streets in search of hoodlums. Note: By entire CBPD, I mean both cops.
So now we're in Chester, Mt with about 70 miles under our belts looking to make another 57 happen so we can stay in Havre, Mt (I can't pronounce it either...maybe like Brett Favre?).

So, thumbs up, lets do this!

Tall Man Out.

Lab Report

2007-06-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Abstract
I realized that Isaac and Connor can both write more eloquently than I can, possibly because of a less science oriented education. So, im going to stick to a familiar format for this next blog post, and hope it works out well for me.

Introduction
We've biked almost 900 miles now, and it feels more possible than ever that were all going to make it to the other side of the country intact. This is largely due to the mulititude of cool people we have met and have helped us on our journey thus far. These include : Rick, Bruce, and Beast from the home bar in Troy, MT; Dennis from outside of Libby (best breakfast ever); and Kevin, who we met in a gas station 20 miles outside of Kilaspell. Along with encouragement and smiles, all of these people also gave us free beer. Were taking an easy day here in Whitefish, MT. Tomorrow Glacier park and the next day (gasp) Logan's pass, 7k feet up in the rockies. Has anyone seen the Fantastic 4 movie yet? i really want to know if its worth going to just for the sliver surfer. He is awesome.

Materials and Methods
4 bikes
4 ambitious friends
about 250 lbs misc. gear for camping, surviving
food/beer/ice cream
chamois cream

Stir well and place 3500 miles from home. Pedal eastward. Occasionally apply chamois cream to prevent and treat chafing. The rest will take care of itself.

Results
900 miles down, another 3000 or so to go. Well let you know more on this section in the future. So far: Isaac has gained some serious leg muscle. Connor is kicking ass on the climbs. Chuck is carrying more weight each day and developing a close relationship with his bike. Beau has added several awesome stickers to his whip, and just bought an awesome pair of sunglasses. (thanks mom and dad, i needed them)

Discussion
We miss everyone, and thanks for your support. Be back as soon as we bike there or run out of money.

Back in the USA

2007-06-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Finally got some Internet access at our home for the night, a motel in Whitefish, MT called the downtowner. Tonight we sleep in the lap of luxury, two to a queen sized bed. All is well on the trip, and boy do we have some stories to tell. Lets start in Troy, MT:

So we biked from Creston, B.C. across the border and onto US Route 1, then on down for lunch in Bonner's Ferry, ID. Lunch was at a gas station/cafe that sold Operation Iraqi Freedom hats, and on Mondays they have all you can eat pasta, salad, and garlic toast for $5.95. I had three helpings of each and the biggest slice of apple pie in the world. After lunch we made our way along Route 2 East until we hit the aforementioned Troy, MT and started looking for camping. As we mosied down the main drag a truck pulled up next to us and the driver kindly pointed us down a road towards a possible campsite. Before we were going to camp, however, we needed a nice american-priced pint to wash down the 73 mile day. As we follow the directions to the riverside campsite we were all instantly drawn to a lovely little establishment called The Home Bar. As if the name did not sound welcoming enough, there was also a sign that stated "Campers welcome. Patio Party All Summer." Our choice of bar was clear. A strange series of events follows.
We go into the bar, effectively doubling its patronage, and order a pitcher. Not three delicious sips later a man named Bruce introduced himself as the owner of The Home Bar, and after I told him about our little journey, he immediately led me outside and told us we could pitch our tents in the plush backyard of the bar. That was the first in a series of conveniences this town held for us.
The second convenience was that pitchers at The Home Bar were $6. In Canadia pitchers, or "jugs" as they call them, cost at least $12. We were in heaven. The bartender, Rick, even gave us a pitcher for free because it had too much foam on it. Sparing the gruesome details, the events that followed at that bar made the following day a short bike ride (starting at around 2pm).
The third convenience came when we noticed that Beau had broken a spoke. But not just any spoke. He broke the dreaded Rear Wheel Drive Side spoke, a fix that requires a tool that we did not own. Upon overhearing our misfortune, Bruce pointed us two blocks away to a man named Dennis. Dennis is a retired teacher of forty years in Troy who, it just so happens, fixes bicycles. He was a kind man that sported a Tshirt stating "Nothing scares me, I'm a teacher". His shop is the garage of his home and he had us up and rolling in no time for only $8.
All in all troy was amazing, and to anyone there who helped us, talked to us, or drank with us is reading this: Thanks.

Our short day (explanation above) landed us smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. We thought we might find a campsite along route two between Libby and Kilaspell, but we were mistaken. So with around two hours of light left we decided to knock on the door of one of the farmhouses in the area to see if we could pitch our tents in their lawn. The first house was a bust, there were dogs. The second house, however, was a dream come true.
Chuck and I bravely strode up a gravel driveway towards a beautiful old A-frame log cabin. Although there was a dog at this house, it was far too small to scare us down the road again. Before we even had the chance to knock on the door, a man came out on the porch, smiled and asked "What can I do for you?" We explained our situation and he said he'd be happy to have us stay with him. We dragged our bikes up and were introduced to quite possibly the kindest man on earth, Dennis Frank. Before we knew it he had brought us out a couple beers and some food to snack on. After helping us build a campfire he set up some chairs and we chatted for a couple hours. After it got late he went back in the house, only to emerge five minutes later to announce that he was cooking us breakfast the next morning. And what a breakfast it was. He made us coffee, eggs, blueberry pancakes, and slow roasted pork ribs. And he made a ton of food. Being the polite young men we are, we did our darnedest to finish the food he cooked. For me that meant eating 5 eggs, 5 pancakes, a slab of pork, and to wash it all down 4 cups of coffee and a glass of V8. As if that wasn't enough, he also sent us off that morning with homemade venison sausages and the reassurance that we all possessed the character trait known as Gumption. Oh yeah...he's gettin a postcard.

Yesterday's ride was our longest, but totally boring. 78 miles of the country none of you need to visit. Today we had a hot and flat-tire ridden 20 mile ride to Whitefish where we now reside. This weekend we are doing a slow tour of Glacier National Park, partially because we need some recovery time after 12 straight days of riding, and partially because we arent allowed across the Continental Divide at Logan Pass until it reopens on Sunday.

A couple Shout Outs:
Mom and Dad: Everything's great. No bear sightings yet.
Mia: Miss ya.
Chappell: Get a road bike.
Adam: Get a road bike.
Stan: I heart You.
Marge: You have to find us on this trip, not the other way around.

Keep up the comments everyone, its great to hear from all of you, we miss you too.

Tall Man out.

Some more pictures

2007-06-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Accidental Accomplishments in the Silkameen Mountains... The Sirens Cry for Chuck Blood... A Town Where You Can Trust the Cops...

2007-06-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

We are starting to feel hard. Legs, minds, spirit. Last night we slept under a roof for the first time in 7 nights. We refer to 50 mile days as "half days" and have come to accept ascents which the locals can only describe by sound (the one that accompanies a steep and sudden upward motion of the angled palm) as normal.

Because on the other side there is a 20 mile descent. We unknowingly climbed two of Canada's four highest passes. Which were worth every penny on the other side flying into Osoyoos (think a beautiful mountain lake town which has a main industry of fruit, wine, and tourism) at 55km/hr. It feels like skydiving.

I literally found saliva flying out of my wide open grin.

Beyond that, we've avoided any mechanical problems for three (3) days now. The Karma Dragon has seen our determination and is beginning to respect us. Excellent weather. Fair winds. Incredible suntans.

We cross back into the states today into northern Idaho. We have traveled more than 600 miles and are finding a better rhythm every day. It is starting to feel normal to be on the bike. That travelin' bone is rattlin'. Can't stay in any place to long or we get a little anxious.

Hope everyone is well.

Our top speed so far is 43.5mph and Chuck is still alive.

A short detour...

2007-06-24T10:56:00.001-07:00

Well, since we last spoke our motley crew ascended two of the four longest climbs in Canada. The first was Anarchist Mountain which was straight out of Osoyoos, it was a 26km continuous incline and took us about three hours. The next day we went through a couple towns, one of which was Grand Forks, B.C. , a town "famous for its sunshine and borscht." Then summited mount Paulson at 1535 meters. We camped at the top in Nancy Green Provincial Park and enjoyed a 17 mile decent the following morning to Castlegar, B.C. While doing laundry in Castlegar a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer told us that we could avoid doing a third huge pass in three days by heading north to Nelson, B.C. and it is from there that I am writing this post.

The police officer did have one warning for us that I admit was a little unsettling. He said that when you get up here in glacier country that there are 3-4 foot marmots that will literally eat the tires off of your car/bike. The only way to prevent these beasts from eating your tires is to put fences around them. So, the plan is to find one that is really young, tame it, and then train it so we can sick it on any car that does not give us the proper leeway on the road. And, if we have time, train it to crawl into Chuck's sleeping bag while he sleeps.

So, today its a quick ride up to Balfour then down towards Creston on our way into Idaho. That's right, we'll be back in the good 'ole U.S. of A in no time. Look for us on the news for the most baller Independence Day fireworks display you've ever seen.

Tall Man out.

Desert Wine Country

2007-06-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

We're here in sunny Osoyoos, B.C. enjoying the views and hoping that we can get some of those to you. I'm trying to get pictures up as soon as possible but its proving more difficult than previouly imagined. So, long day yesterday through the low country between the Cascades and the Moshanee Mountains. A few flats and some of the longer (although not steeper) climbs we've encountered. We've got another 25k of climbing to get out of this valley ahead of us but I think we're prepped at this point.

The pictures are, from the top:

Beaufallo, Bro D. and myself drinking a pint at 6AM in Dulles.
Beau and Jeff Stratego Showdown
Beau at the highest point in our journey thusfar
Connor at the Rambo Bridge in Hope "GET OUT OF TOWN, DRIFTER!"
And finally, a riding pic.

We're getting better at this slowly but surely, I hope everyone back home is doing as well as we are.

Tall Man out.

2007-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Allrighty. Been a while since the last post...who's runnin' this joint anyway?

We had an interesting few days since Vancouver. Saturday night was a rainy one, and the weather continued through Sunday. The riding remained to be relatively flat for sat/sun. We finished off Monday in a town called Hope, BC. You all may know hope as the Chainsaw Carving Capital of Canada, but it is also a shooting location for everyone's favorite Rambo movie Rambo II: First Blood. We even on the very sidewalk along which Sly himself rode a stolen motorcycle (this year happens to be the 25th aniversary of the filming).

Leaving Hope behind, however seemed to be somewhat of an omen as it ended up being a lot of climbing, as Beau already mentioned it. It is really interesting to see a sign stating "Check Fuel, No Supply for 75km". Especially when biking. This morning we passed through that very supply spot at Manning Park Resort. Tonight we camp about 20km outside of Princeton, the town we are currently in. Hopefully we make a town called Summerville tomorrow night for dinner. This area is strikingly beautiful, snowpeaks only 500 ft above our heads.

Favorite recent quote: As Beau rides over a banana "Oh my God that was slippery!"

O.K. long climb up to camp tonight, Tall Man out.

Rural Canada is pretty

2007-06-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well, since we last spoke, the four of us have been pedaling through the Canadian countryside as fast as we can manage. Weve had a few more mechanical problems, but nothing we cant fix and ride on. Yesterday we summited our first peak - Allison Pass (big ups to tom) at about 1300 meters. It almost killed chuck, but today hes raring for more. The awesome thing about climbing hills all day is the next morning to get to ride down big hills. Huge hills. The first 45 minutes today we did about 15 miles. This post is from Princeton, BC, a tiny little town that will only be remembered for poor chineese food in about 2 hours. Okay, ill let isaac write now, hes much better at it. Well try and add some pictures soon. See ya. - beau

Last day in Vancouver

2007-06-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. Ive never written in a blog before, so forgive me if the writing is a little awkward. Isaac and i are at an internet place near our awesome hostel in Vancouver. Our time here has been split evenly between running errands to get stuff for our trip and partying it up with some new friends. The people here are really friendly, and the city is beautiful. The first rainy day we encountered was today, but the rain really stopped before we even got out of bed. Our lofty goals for today include fixing connors rear wheel and chucks crankset (he needs a smaller one for the rockies, for sure), getting isaacs ears lowered, and washing our foul smelling clothes. With all 4 of us in one room, it smells like a high school locker room in there.

Alright, well, we had better get to our other tasks. For the record, id like to say that before last week, Chuck had never ridden his bike farther than connors house, nor had he EVER slept in a tent. hahah. - beau

So it begins (er...began)

2007-06-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
Late start on publishing here, but here it is. So far the trip has gone thusly:

Before the biking:

Flight from Dulles to Seattle (abooooooring).
Seattle with our ever-so-generous hosts the Millan's was an appropriate time to get all of our stuff on lockdown before setting out. Many thanks go out to them.

On the road:

Day one: Quote of the day (week?trip?): "Hey Beau, how do you use the gears?" Mind you that this was about 2 min before departure from the Millan's. Late start followed by two flat tires made for a short day. 40 Miles from Seattle to Snohomish, WA. Awesome pub in town called the Riverside Alehouse, we met some really nice folks, got a discount on our pints for being so awesome. Because of our late arrival in town we set up camp at approximately 9PM in a public park by flashlight.
Night one: Hilarity ensues. A couple card games followed by an amazing realization: Chuck had never slept in a tent before.
Day two: Good, fast, uneventful riding from Snohomish to Larabee State park, 74 mi on the day. Getting into the rhythm for drafting, feeling good about the distance.
Night two: Very tired, first time cooking food at the campsite, straight to bed.
Day three: Some feisty rodent thought the food we left on the table was for him. Items lost: One (1) bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies, and a big bag of Endurox. Slow ride to just south of Vancouver and a train into town (before you even think it, we were'nt allowed to cross the bridges into the city, no lazy boys on this trip.) Mechanical issues are starting to show themselves, Vancouver has plenty of bike shops...repairs are underway.
Night three: We're staying in a hostel called The Cambie in downtown Vancouver, it has its own bar downstairs. Everything is just falling into place in this town, rather serendipidous.

Allrighty, a lot covered in that post, we'll update as much as possible. Peace.