Once upon a time, 25 strangers gathered in Baltimore, Maryland to set out on a journey that would change their lives forever.
Each rider has a different reason that made them do the 4K. For me, I found out about it through a friend of a friend in late 2011, just a few weeks after my grandfather died of pancreatic cancer. Having recently seen the heartbreak and suffering that cancer wreaks, the cause was important to me. And I've always loved adventure. I love being active and have been a runner and swimmer most of my life. My cycling experience, however, was limited to biking around campus on a cheap mountain bike. Biking across the country sounded incredibly intimidating. But I immediately knew I had to do it.
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| Me and my grandfather, Dominic Natoli |
The 4K for Cancer is a cross-country bike ride that raises money for the Ulman Cancer Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides patient navigation services for young adults with cancer, a historically underserved demographic in the cancer community. Crossing mountain ranges, pushing through wind, and fighting through rain all as a team, the 4K also aims to unite and inspire communities and individuals in the fight against cancer on their way across the country.
When I found out about it, it was too late to sign up for 2012, but the 4K was always in the back of my mind. In the summer of 2012 I did an internship with the US Army where I worked in a research lab. Though it was good work experience, I longed to be outside all day and making a difference. I kept an eye on riders' blogs from 2012, celebrated when they got to the West Coast, and became even more convinced that I'd do the 4K in 2013. I applied the first day applications were available and got accepted. I chose the Portland route (4K also goes to San Francisco, Seattle, and San Diego) because it is supposedly the most challenging, most mileage, most hilly, and most beautiful.
Then it was time to prepare for the ride. Riders came up with their own strategies to fundraise the $4,500 required from each rider. Most started sending letters to family and friends during winter break, and fundraising kicked into full gear when the spring semester started. I'd convinced my roommate Chelsea to do the ride with me, and together we held a fundraising dinner in which we baked lots of goodies and then invited all our friends to come support us in our crazy plans.
When I met the $2000 benchmark in fundraising, I was able to pick up my Cannondale Synapse, a bike provided by the 4K, from Princeton Sports. I was fitted to my bike free of charge by experts. It was my first exposure to the many incredibly kind and generous people I would encounter across the country.
I got to take home the thin, sleek road bike that would carry me across the country. I had to practice a lot to get used to how light and fast the bike was, as well as learn how to use clip-in pedals, which clip your cycling cleat into the pedal so you can get more power from your pedaling. I was terrified to be attached to my bike and was wondering how in the world I was going to make it across the country...
Chelsea and I did our best to fit training for this adventure into our busy school schedules. Between demanding classes, my research work in the lab, and Chelsea's frequent overnight shifts at Shady Grove Hospital, it was hard for us to squeeze in training for a cross country bike ride. But we stuck to a fairly rigorous schedule that included spin classes, running, swimming, weekly Body Pump classes (with emphasis on the squats!), and some long bike rides on the weekends. Being roommates helped as we were able to motivate each other and help keep each other on track.
The ice cream we treated ourselves to at the end of their rides also helped as a motivator. ;)
Spring Break happened. I went on a service trip to Chicago. Temperatures were a brisk 15 degrees every morning, but I managed to drag myself out of bed to go running along Lake Michigan every morning.
After spring break, the semester started to wrap up and training really kicked into full gear. The 4K riders from UMD arranged to meet up and go on a 70-mile round trip training ride to Annapolis. This is when Chelsea, Meredith and I all learned how to change flats! We got 3 of them!
Meanwhile, Chelsea and I had somehow volunteered to be Leg Leaders, meaning we would call ahead to set up hosts, showers, and hosts, for all of the team's overnight stops between Chicago and Jackson, Wyoming. We spent long hours calling churches, schools, YMCAs, and anywhere else we thought might be willing to take in a group of 25 sweaty young people.
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| Call history. You can't make this stuff up. |
I, being a true princess, made it a priority to research the best camping gear and get some quality items to make sure I'd be comfortable while sleeping on floors for 10 weeks. It all had to be compact because each rider was only allowed to bring a duffel and a backpack.
Finally the day came. The bags were packed and ready to go!!!
25 strangers met in Baltimore at 5 in the morning on June 2nd. They all came from different backgrounds and were about to embark on a 70-day trip together with nothing but two support vans, their bikes, and each other.
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| Don't let those smiles fool you. All were terrified! |
They all said their goodbyes to their families and friends.
Then they dipped their back tires symbolically in the Inner Harbor...
...and headed on their way!
Day 1, a 71-mile ride to Waynesboro, PA, was challenging mentally, physically, and emotionally. Falls, flat tires, hot sun, and a downpour all made appearances. But making it to Pennsylvania was a really exciting moment:
And eventually, though arrivals spanned all the way to sundown, the team made it in.
Over the next few days, starting bright and early on Day 2, Team Portland tackled the Appalachians. They faced climbs of 2,000 ft after being sore and stiff from day 1. But the feeling at the top was incredible, and they got to ride a section of the abandoned PA turnpike in a 1.5-mile pitch black tunnel, tour the Cannondale factory, and see the Flight 93 memorial in central PA. Shoutout to Barry Sherry, Cycling Extraordinaire and friend of the 4K, for being our personal guide for two days (and then for randomly appearing in Indiana as well).
Slowly, they started getting the hang of how the 4K works, started getting into their own routine, and were welcomed with open arms at amazing hosts.
A typical day involved waking up before sunrise, packing our humble sleeping arrangements into our duffels, packing duffels into the van, and a dedication circle before getting on the road early. At dedication circle, we held hands and had the option of verbally dedicating each day's ride to someone. Some people chose to write the person's name on their legs.
Then we would do our team cheer, which started out as the generic 4K cheer but morphed into a unique Team Portland song by the end of the ride.
We rode in groups of 3-6, spread out by 10 or 15 minutes, to keep things safe on the roads. One support van would set up water stops every 20 miles, while the food van would go out and ask for food donations from whatever local restaurants might be willing to feed us that day. We never paid for any food or lodging, in order to keep our costs low and keep our fundraising going only to the patients. That resulted in a lot of fast food and not a whole lot of nutrition, but we were fine.
Arrival was anywhere between 1 pm and sunset. It always depended on riding conditions, mileage, and the amount of bike trouble we had (and yes, we had multiple flats every day). Upon our arrival our hosts could safely expect us to be 1) loud and full of energy even after a long day of biking, 2) hungry and ready to eat everything in sight, and 3) dirty and sweaty and looking for showers. Our most experienced hosts surprised us with how prepared they were: practically handing us bottles of chocolate milk as we walked in the door while simultaneously directing us to showers and verbally telling us their wifi password.
We were housed and fed by some amazing churches, schools, YMCAs, and homestays along the way and met some great people on the road, too. Almost everyone has a connection to cancer and we enjoyed sharing stories and experiences with people we met. And we were always, always taken aback by the generosity of strangers.
Back to the trip.........
After a miserably day getting helplessly lost in Pittsburgh in the midst of a downpour...
...and several long days filled with Pennsylvania's endless hills and terribly paved roads, Team Portland reached Lake Erie.
The next day, we couldn't have been happier to get to Ohio and leave the horrors of Pennsylvania behind us.
In Ohio, the theme was family. In Perry, Jared's hometown, the team was warmly welcomed by Jared's family.
After a rainy ride into Westlake...
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Who needs Instagram filters when you can use my personal favorite, "Ziploc Bag."
#4Ksolutions |
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| Chelsea and I showing off what are not tan lines, but dirt lines... from a long day of biking in the rain! |
...the team received more special treatment by Dan's family. We did our first Hope Lodge visit here. A Hope Lodge is a place where cancer patients and family can stay or eat a meal if they are traveling long distances to receive cancer treatment. The team helped cook and serve dinner, then got to interact with the Hope Lodge visitors.
Then, we finally had our first much-needed rest day, where we gave our bikes a bath, went to the Cleveland Zoo, explored downtown Cleveland, and had a special dinner with the Pan Ohio Hope Ride.
After our dinner we decided to get ice cream, and upon walking about two blocks away from the nice area of Cleveland, we were scared for our safety and witnessed an interesting police event.
From Westlake, the team rode north to border the Great Lakes for a beautiful ride to Sandusky.
We took a rest day to enjoy Cedar Point's world-famous roller coasters.
From there, the team spent a few days heading south to Columbus, staying at an outdoor school on the way, where our lunch nearly got eaten by overly friendly goats.
In Columbus, Team Portland got to attend a Columbus Crew soccer game...
... check out the college town around Ohio State University, and eat dinner with a company called Navigator, an ally and future neighbor of the Ulman Cancer Fund.
We also made a trip to the hospital to deliver our first scholarship of the trip to 19-year old cancer patient Phillip Shanks!
Giving out the scholarship was a really rewarding experience for all the riders. The appreciation and joy in Phillip's face reminded all of us why we were putting ourselves through this, and renewed our dedication to the trip.
Team Portland continued on and tackled their first century: 109 miles from Columbus to Eaton, Ohio, a town 20 miles west of Dayton.
It was a very long, hot day, but luckily the terrain was mostly flat. After it seemed like they'd never emerge from the farmlands, they finally made it!
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| Totally exhausted but eating free ice cream at Wendy's after their century! |
From there, the team crossed into new territory: Indiana! They spent three days traveling northwest through the state, where they stayed in three very welcoming First Baptist Churches and got to ride on a lot of FLAT ground!!
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| Amazing dinner, on REAL plates (a 4K rarity) |
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| Creative ways to air-dry your bike clothes in a church |
In Indiana they also got to spend a lot of time riding on nice, paved trails.
You may notice naps being taken on pavement in the above photo. At this point in the trip we had all adjusted to "4K life" which is NOT the same as "real life." In 4K life, things like sleeping on pavement are ok and not thought twice about, while in the real world that may not be socially acceptable. We used the term "4K OK" to describe things like this. Other things that were 4K OK included:
- eating food off the ground
- bathroom breaks on the side of the road
- eating 4000 calories in one meal
- never wearing underwear
- going to bed at 8 pm
For a full list see this blog post.
Anyway....
The day we crossed into Central Time Zone was also filled with zillions of hungry mosquitoes!! Riders were swatting the pests right and left and were forced to keep water stops to a few minutes, while the water van drivers resorted to dressing like this:
The riders had a mail drop set up every 10 or so days, and family and friends would send care packages that would be waiting for riders at that particular destination.
Mail drops were always coveted days, because riders got to restock with energy snacks, candy, and other goodies from home.
Next on the list was... The Windy City!
The team went out of their way to bypass the dilapidated town of Gary, Indiana... but they couldn't avoid going straight through South Side Chicago.
I'd be lying if I said it wasn't slightly sketchy and scary. Groups of cyclists riding Cannondales do attract attention. And changing a flat in South Side Chicago is something you want to avoid. But everyone made it through unscathed.
Finally, the Chicago skyline was in view!
In Chicago, we got to stay in single dorms at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
It was a rare treat to have some personal space.
We were treated to an awesome dinner and party at the home of UMD alumna Nicole James, who had ties to the 4K through her daughter, and was more than happy to feed us. As a sorority member, she went overboard with awesome decorations!
On our rest day in Chicago, we did everything from touring, to shopping, to eating at an actual restaurant, to pedicures.
Eventually, it was time to leave Chicago, by far the biggest city we'd be in throughout the trip. From there, we were officially headed into the heart of the Midwest!
Coming out of the Windy City, the team battled brutal headwinds and oppressive heat that kept them rolling at a slow pace. Things took a turn for the worse when a nasty thunderstorm appeared on the horizon.
Groups took shelter off the roads and waited out the storm, which brought 50 mph winds and driving rain.
In Mendota, a small farming town in central Illinois, the team stayed at a firehouse and was treated to Chinese food by the fire chief.
Unfortunately, the day's thunderstorm was the first of a line of many severe storms, and the next morning rain was pounding on the roof and the storms showed no sign of letting up all day. Conditions just weren't safe to ride, and unfortunately the team had to van that day, across the Mississippi River into Davenport, Iowa, where we waited out the storms with the welcoming staff at the Vineyard Church. The team had never seen storms like this before. They don't exist on the East Coast. The rain poured in buckets all day, with wind whipping around the building. To top it off, a tornado warning was issued in the afternoon. ...Welcome to Tornado Alley!!
The locals were amused by our wide-eyed concern. They said they get three or four of these storms every summer.
Though the forecast looked iffy, in the morning the weather looked like it was letting up. We cautiously got on our bikes and on the road. Luckily, the weather did hold out. But the rain had taken its toll on the surrounding areas... we encountered flooded farms and had to bike through a flooded road along the way!
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| Truth! |
Riders had been promised, nice, "flat" cruising in Iowa... but what we encountered was just the opposite! Brutal headwinds and constant rolling hills were the themes in Iowa.
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| The name of a bank in Iowa... how accurate! |
One day, the winds were as bad as 30 mph and riders who could normally cruise at 16-17 mph struggled to keep an average speed of 8 mph. Progress was very slow. Whenever the going got tough, we would think about the people we were riding for. How they fought/are fighting bravely, and how they don't have the option to give up on cancer. We'd also be motivated and helped along by each other's encouraging words.
Highlights of Iowa included Des Moines, where we were hosted by the Des Moines Downtown Marriott for free. The hotel's general manager, a cancer survivor, personally greeted them and thanked them for what we were doing, and held a fancy reception for them. Riders got to enjoy the hotel's hot tub and sleep in luxurious beds. It was one of two hotel stays of the trip.
We were also treated to a dinner at the house of a woman named Shelly, a close friend of the 4K whose life has been touched deeply by cancer. She has ribbon tattoos for family members she has lost to cancer, and the tattoos spiral all the way up her lower leg.
Another highlight of Iowa was the small towns we went through. Typically, we'd be on the same state highway the entire day, and the highway would become the "Main Street" of the town. There would be one or two stop signs, usually not even a stoplight, and that would be the extent of the town. Imagine living in a town with no gas station, no convenience store, and not even a stoplight. We passed through towns with populations as low as 31.
After 5 exhausting days of Iowa, The Hawkeye State had claimed #2 in the team's Worst States list, second only to Pennsylvania, and riders were more than ready to enter Nebraska AND have a rest day! They crossed into Nebraska on a beautiful pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River...
"Nebraska: The Good Life." That's the state motto of Nebraska, and WOW did it turn out to be true! Most of us had never been to Nebraska before... and we didn't really know what to expect. I had a bit of an inkling since I set up most of the hosts in Nebraska, but I was still surprised. We were never spoiled more than we were in Nebraska. People are soooo kind and generous, and we most definitely lived the good life there.
In Omaha, we were picked up from the church for our first homestays of the trip! We were nervous about being away from our new 4K family for two whole days.
To be honest, Team Portland hadn't really had high expectations for Omaha, but it turned out to be one of our favorite places of the whole ride. Omaha is a bright, vibrant, modern city and had a really special charm.
Not to mention that everyone there was incredibly welcoming and we felt totally at home at our homestays. We were in for a surprise when we found out the entire team was being treated to a steak dinner at Cascio's Italian Steakhouse.
On our rest day, riders did everything from a visit to the Strategic Air Command museum, to shopping, to poolside relaxation, to boating on a manmade lake.
And of course, the animal lovers of the team especially enjoyed playing with their hosts' pets, because they had been without any contact with animals for several weeks now.
We ended our day with a pool party at one of the host homes, where the guys instigated a plan to throw everyone in the pool whether they wanted to go in or not, and they succeeded.
Team Portland was quite sad to leave Omaha and our amazing host families!!
From there, the team headed south and then west through Nebraska, along a series of small towns that have hosted the 4K for upwards of ten years. These were hosts that were very familiar with our needs and had their annual "4K routines" down to a T, which took a ton of stress off of us. We were treated to AMAZING dinners, and got to interact with members of the small farming communities.
The days on the road were long, sunny, and hot, with both temperature and mileage often over 100. We typically spent the entire day on a single road. #NebraskaProblems
That brings us to the 4th of July! Team Portland factored in time that morning to decorate themselves and their bikes. Because what could be more American than being in the middle of crossing the country on a bike?
The water van was required to play only America-themed songs that day. American Pie dance parties occurred numerous times. After a beautiful ride through some true amber waves of grain...
...the team made it to Arapahoe, Nebraska.
Arapahoe is one of the 4K's favorite host cities. Another town of less than 2000 people, it has an awesome small-town feel, and the church acts as practically a travel agent every time the 4K comes to town, arranging housing, all meals, and fun activities for riders to do every year.
This year, some riders were put in the Hunt Nebraska lodge and some were hosted in homestays.
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| Reading material at the Hunt Nebraska lodge |
The team watched fireworks together and had a great 4th of July celebration in small-town Nebraska.
The next morning was a rest day, and the entire team was treated to shooting lessons at the Hunt Nebraska gun range!
We did trap shooting and target shooting, and got to shoot shotguns, pistols, and some really intense rifles. For about half the team, it was our first time shooting. A lot of local guys came out to help the 4K noobs learn how to shoot.
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| This is the high school principal helping me (I'm terrified to be holding that thing). |
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| Shooting was fun but I'm going to keep my day job. |
Arapahoe was an awesome time, and we were TOTALLY spoiled. We were sad to leave, but also looking forward to the next time we'd see a Wal Mart.
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| Thank you First United Methodist Church! |
Here began our 4 am wakeups. With sky-high temps on the radar, for a series of days we awoke at 4 am to try and beat the heat. Coming out of Arapahoe, we got on the road right at sunrise for what was to be our hottest day yet, with over 100 miles to ride.
Here you can see Jared taking extra precautions for the heat.
The team made as much progress as they could before the heat of the day struck, but around 11 am riders started struggling a lot with dehydration and fatigue from the oppressive heat and beating sun. We filled our water bottles with only ice, and it would become hot water within 20 minutes. Water stops were reduced to every 10 miles. Drivers did everything they could to keep riders cool, including squirting the team with water guns.
Throughout the day we noticed a distinct change in scenery. We stopped seeing cornfields and started seeing dry brush and lots of open prairie lands. We even saw some cacti...and a snake. It was the wild, wild West!
Finally we made it to Imperial, Nebraska, yet another incredible host. Alice and other members of the church had adorable signs waiting at the city limits, and even had boxes of sunscreen and medical supplies waiting for us.
Our host, Crossroads Wesleyan Church, was the home church of Todd Burpo, whose son had a near-death experience at the age of three and who then wrote the NY Times Bestseller "Heaven is for Real."
Unfortunately, we didn't get to meet Todd or his son, but we did get free copies of the book!
The next day, we were finally getting out of Nebraska and into the long-awaited Colorado.
Eastern Colorado was more of the same: lots and lots of prairie and dry heat. But we had been steadily gaining elevation for the past few days, and would continue to do so until we reached the feet of the Rockies.
Colorado likes to brag about their elevation by posting the elevation on every city limit sign, so we were always aware that we were steadily climbing. People started feeling some mild effects of the altitude at about 3500 feet.
Another two days of riding brought us to our first glimpse of the Rockies, through the busy metropolitan area of Denver and into Golden, CO, a gorgeous suburb of Boulder nestled right below the foothills of the majestic Rockies.
It was an amazing feeling to have made it to the Rockies. Thus far, it had felt like we were just going for bike rides each day and seeing cool things. But when we saw the Rockies, there was no denying we had biked all the way there with our own legs!
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| First glimpse of the Rockies |
In Golden, we got to stay with Angelica's family, eat a delicious (Italian!!) meal, and rest for a day before tackling the mountains. On our day off, we checked out Boulder, a really vibrant, eco-friendly and young city. Hipsters galore!
The next day, it was time to climb the giant mountains we'd been staring at for two days!! We switched up their normal ride style and rode in pairs instead of groups, so that everyone would be climbing at a pace that was comfortable for them. Rockies Day 1 was only 40 miles, but what we envisioned being a gentle introduction to the Rockies was actually more like a slap in the face.
With the following elevation profile, it was no joke:
To say the day was grueling would be an understatement; the climbs were brutal and felt like they would never end. But what really got us through was the beautiful views, and the amazing pine tree smell that you could only really notice on a bike.
That brought us to Idaho Springs, and luckily we were not attacked by any mountain lions or bears.
Our legs had no break before the toughest day of the Rockies was upon us. We were to do Loveland Pass and Vail Pass, two of the most famous mountain passes in the world, in the same day. This day was one of the best of the trip.
The climb to Loveland Pass was a whopping 30 miles long, with the grade getting increasingly steeper the closer we got to the top. It got to the point that every pedalstroke was a struggle, and the altitude was making it harder and harder to breathe. Personally, I was getting lightheaded and seeing spots, so I took it painfully slow in order to make it to the top without passing out. There were absolutely breathtaking (pun intended) views on the way up.
At the summit, we were at 12,000 feet above sea level! When you consider that we started our trip at 0 feet, it was incredible to think we had reached such a crazy elevation... by bike.
Next on the Rocky Mountain agenda was Vail Pass, a much shorter but still difficult challenge.
The next day, we continued on through Glenwood Canyons, one of America's most beautiful sights.
It was a break from the intensity of the previous few days, with a short mileage and an all-day gradual downhill.
From Carbondale, we ventured to Aspen to enjoy the evening in the popular ski town and temporary home of one of the ride directors.
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| Us at the Maroon Bells - one of Colorado's five 14000-foot mountains |
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| Live music in downtown Aspen |
The next day, we headed west to Hotchkiss and did our last mountain pass of the Rockies: McClure Pass. It was a very steep, 3-mile climb to the summit, followed by a long descent, another all-day downhill, and more gorgeous scenery.
Towards the end of the ride, our surroundings made a clear change from green pine trees and mountains to brown, dry desert!
The next day, we officially left the Rockies :( It was bittersweet. As much as we had been intimidated by the gigantic mountains, we loved biking them.
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| Rockies in the rearview |
With that, we were officially in the desert. Many of us had never been to a desert before and the sheer amount of dry, dead nothingness surrounding us at any given moment was pretty shocking. But desert can be pretty in its own way. We started seeing rock formations, canyon walls, and mesas!
We enjoyed the college town of Grand Junction by staying in dorms (BEDS!) and going bowling in the evening.
From there, we did a 108-mile ride, leaving beautiful Colorado and arriving in Moab, Utah. It was a scorching hot and completely exhausting ride, but was another of the best rides of the trip because of the incredible red rock scenery. We spent over half the day biking through canyons next to the Colorado River. We even took a swim in the river to cool off after lunch.
In Moab, we took a rest day and explored Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. They were absolutely breathtaking, with crazy rock formations and colors that looked like we were on another planet.
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| Delicate Arch |
Next, we spent several days riding north through Utah. That's where we did our longest day of the trip (121 miles), and in Salt Lake City we gave out our second scholarship, this time to a young girl named Tiffany, and got to see the Mormon temple. Northern Utah was mostly flat and desertey, with a very dry heat. We went through long stretches where there would be no civilization for 70 or more miles, even along the Interstate.
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| Giving out our second scholarship to Tiffany! |
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| Mormon temple |
From Utah, we briefly crossed into the corner of Idaho for one day before heading east to Jackson, WY. Yes, we had sort of a convoluted route... but we wanted to see all the awesome things we could!
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| Geyser in Soda Springs, Idaho |
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| Sunrise in Idaho |
The ride into Jackson was another of the highlights of our trip. It was a 110-miler. We bordered the gorgeous, teal Snake River for over 50 miles while riding in a canyon steeped with pine tree-covered mountains on both sides....
It was so beautiful that we didn't even notice we were going uphill and gaining 1000 ft of elevation.
Once we were finally settled after taking showers at the very generous Lexington Hotel in town, we set up a rustic campsite on Shadow Mountain, about 40 minutes north of Jackson. The big van even had trouble getting up the mountain on the steep gravel. We had a fun night of camping and hanging out with the team with no civilization for miles.
It wasn't till the morning when cars approached our tents that we realized we'd accidentally camped in a parking lot. Oops...
On our rest day groups split up to check out Yellowstone, go rafting on the beautiful Snake River, or go hiking in the Tetons.
After returning, we got to check out the adorable downtown area of Jackson.
Then were hosted by some awesome homestays!
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| My group with our host Erin, at Nani's Cucina Italiana. |
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| Melone pasta - delicious! |
I slept in the most comfortable bed I have ever seen in my life!!
The next morning, we got on the road about 2 hours behind schedule (oops). The laid-back atmosphere of Jackson had really gotten to us and we didn't want to leave! But it was time to head west through Idaho.
The famous Teton Pass was there to greet us just after we set out. It's one of the toughest climbs by bike in America, with a 10-14% grade for 5 miles.
Idaho showed us mostly flat ground, with some rolling hills. The scenery in Idaho was everything from green hills and trees to rock and sand formations to waterfalls to potato farms.
There was also quite a bit of history to be seen in Idaho, from fossil beds to the Oregon Trail. We actually got to bike along the old Oregon Trail one day. We also spent a bit of time in Idaho riding on the Interstate (it is legal) because of the lack of paved roads in some areas.
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| Wagon ruts on the bluff from the Oregon Trail. |
After a 75-mile ride, Boise, Idaho was where I celebrated my 21st birthday. Who else gets to say they did that?!
Also, we saw our first sign for PORTLAND:
After another day heading north, we rode through Hells Canyon, which is aptly named... In the same day we crossed into the Pacific Time Zone and Oregon, rode 110 miles and climbed a whopping 8,000 vertical feet. It was a grueling ride and the hardest day of the trip.
When we finally arrived in Baker City at sunset and after 14 hours on the bikes, we were greeted by the following pleasant surprise:
After Baker City, we only had about a week heading west through Oregon before we would reach the coast!
Our knees were completely shot after all the climbing in Hells Canyon. But there was no rest for them with this elevation profile the next day:
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| Three mountains!!! |
Luckily, it was an absolutely gorgeous day and we immediately fell in love with Oregon. Pine trees EVERYWHERE with that awesome fresh smell. Perfect weather with no humidity. And we were following an adorable river for much of the day.
And we got to sit in a giant fake covered wagon on the side of the road to take pictures so obviously it was a great day.
The last descent was steep, straight, and long, and many of us reached our top speeds of the trip! Personally mine was 44 mph!
The next day we rode through the GORGE-ous "Picture Gorge," formed over hundreds of thousands of years from layers of basalt:
We stayed in the very tiny town of Mitchell, population 150 and no cell service for 50 miles on either side:
And we got to go out and see the famous Painted Hills that evening:
The next day brought us to beautiful Bend, Oregon, where we had an awesome vacation house with 30 acres of land and a great view of the Cascades, and a rest day.
On our rest day we went whitewater rafting on the gorgeous, teal Deschutes River and then explored the adorable town of Bend in the evening.
Leaving Bend, we did our LAST mountain pass, McKenzie Pass, and the rest of the day was a gradual downhill. We went down into triple-digit elevation for the first time in a month, and would not see four digits again for the remainder of the trip. As difficult and time-consuming as mountain passes are (on average they took us about an hour to climb, which is longer than most people exercise per day), the feeling of getting to the top, and then the speed you pick up on the descent, is totally exhilarating. It was bittersweet to be saying goodbye to the mountains.
On the other side of the mountains, a strange feeling hit us.... we couldn't quite put our fingers on it but it was uncomfortable... HUMIDITY! We hadn't seen our friend Humidity in quite some time. And we had not missed it. Now that we were on the western side of the mountains near the ocean, it was back!
After an awesome kosher (also vegetarian) dinner served to us at the Jewish temple we were staying at, the next day we had a totally flexible schedule because couldn't get to our next host until 6 pm. Eugene is a really cool college town and also the running capital of the world. Groups hung around in Eugene doing whatever they felt like, and took their time on the road.
My group went to the University of Oregon bookstore for souvenirs, Pre's Rock (memorial for famous runner Steve Prefontaine), Voodoo Doughnut (a famous doughnut place), out for lunch, and to get piercings!
The next day we were following signs for the Oregon Coast!!
It was absolutely FREEZING all day that day. We couldn't believe how cold it was in August. When we arrived in Tillamook, we were welcomed by Pastor Jerry and his most amazing church, and had a great time in our last homestays of the trip. Tillamook has a famous cheese factory and also a local brewery. AND, at only 10 miles away from the ocean, we could smell the ocean air.
With tons of anticipation in our hearts, we had our best dedication circle yet in the morning and set off to finally reach the ocean.
We all lined up a short distance away from the water, and after waiting for Maroun for 10 minutes like usual, we did our cheer extra-loudly and then charged into the ocean! It was an incredibly exciting moment.
From that point, we were pretty much clocked out. We'd biked over 4,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific. But we still had to get back on our bikes and go inland to Portland! We all made the best of our last few days and fun was our top priority. We stopped to watch barking seals, biked across the Columbia River to Washington just because we could, and had our team banquet where we reminisced on all our good times together.
Finally August 10th arrived and it was time to ride the remaining 15 miles into Portland :(
After a teary-eyed dedication circle, we hit the road as a giant group of 25. We looked pretty intimidating and got lots of cheers and honks.
We managed to get lost within the 15 mile stretch... it wouldn't be the 4K if we didn't get lost on our last day! But eventually made our way to Pioneer Square in downtown Portland, where friends and family were eagerly waiting with flowers, balloons, and cameras ready.
After our graduation ceremony we had one last circle-up where we let our balloons go into the sky, and then one last group hug.
.........And that's what I did this summer!
This was only the skeleton of the trip, and it's missing all the fun stories, so go back and read some of my regular posts if you can... and also be sure to read my reflection post :) Thanks for reading!
Mary
