Dillon, Montana

Date: 6/21/06
Mileage: 118
Average Pace: 17.9 mph

Funds Raised:

$8,460.87 for Kupenda
$20,000 is the goal for Kupenda. That is the amount needed to build a boarding facility so that 30+ children, who have disabilities, will get to go to school!!! It is a chance to really make a difference in a lot of people's lives!!!
$7,785 for ADA
Battling diabetes is something that is close to our hearts since Adam has Type I Diabetes. AFC's mission at it's core is to raise awareness, show other diabetics that anything is possible, and to do anything to combat diabetes!

Camping is great unless you are ill prepared. I guess that sitting at home in Maryland at near sea level I just could not comprehend that come late June, no matter what elevation, it would be hot at night!! So who needs a sleeping bag... I was wrong! It gets up to 75 or 80 degrees during the day, but when you are sleeping at 3,000 feet plus elevations in the mountains of Montana it gets down to 40 or below at night. Without a sleeping bag that makes for a bad night of sleep. Since Adam and I both don't have sleeping bags neither of us got much sleep last night. Luckily we both woke up feeling well rested for the big day ahead of us!

We left the camp site early in the morning so that we could squeeze in all of our 115 miles and 4 mountain passes (the most mountain passes in one day to date) and still have some time at night to blog, write the book, pitch our tent, plan our next day, and get ready for bed.

(A mountain goat we saw on the way up the mountain...
These things can climb straight up a cliff!! Crazy!)

The first mountain hit us right off the bat. We started climbing immediately and we were up to 6995 ft in no time! It was the highest mountain pass yet! Shortly after that we were up to 7241 ft crossing the "Continental Divide!!" That sounds pretty cool :)

(1st mountain pass...
It was requested by Jesse's cousin DeeDee that he smile in the pictures so...
Notice that I am straight faced and Jesse is smiling)

(2nd mountain pass of the day... Notice again... Jesse is smiling)

We stopped in Wisdom, Montana for lunch! I have never seen so many mosquitoes in my entire life! Mosquitoes run that town! When we were biking into town we saw a man and his dog by the side of the road. There were swarms of what we thought were nats all around both of them when we got to town and we stopped biking we were immediately attacked by millions of mosquitoes! It was then we realized that the man and his dog were being swarmed by mosquitoes... Funny that they didn't seem to mind... We were freaking out. The mosquitoes can't get you while you are biking fast but once we stopped they were everywhere with in 2 minutes.

After we left the mosquitoes of Wisdom, Montana we finished our last 2 mountain passes and finished the day in Dillon, Montana. We are camping again tonight, but I was smart enough to go and buy a sleeping bag for the cold weather that I know will come once the sun sets. Luckily the sun doesn't set until 10:00 or later here!

(Adam took this pic of me coming up the last mountain of the day!)

(Random artsey pic of PhillyK)

-Pattt

Bye Bye Missoula

Date: 6/20/06
Mileage: 75

Funds Raised:

$8,460.87 for Kupenda
$20,000 is the goal for Kupenda. That is the amount needed to build a boarding facility so that 30+ children, who have disabilities, will get to go to school!!! It is a chance to really make a difference in a lot of people's lives!!!
$7,785 for ADA (+$50.00 Thank you, Learic Cramer for your donation)
Battling diabetes is something that is close to our hearts since Adam has Type I Diabetes. AFC's mission at it's core is to raise awareness, show other diabetics that anything is possible, and to do anything to combat diabetes!

This morning we slept in 1 hour later than usual. We had a later than usual night last night with the karaoke and all, but karaoke must be done! We said good bye to Ellen and her son Aiden. We had sooo much fun hanging out with them it was sad to see them leave. We the day before we hung out with Aiden playing xbox. His skills at video games are uncanny! Ellen came out with us for karaoke, unfortunately we could not convince her to sing a song... Maybe next time ;)

(Bye bye Aiden and Ellen... We miss you already)

We biked a flat 50 miles from Missoula to Hamilton where we had lunch in a park where we found a summer festival going on! There was live music and people dancing!! It was a great time and a beautiful day. The local newspaper reporter met us there and interviewed us about our trip. That is the third newspaper we have been interviewed by since we started our trip. MiniMed, a diabetic pharmaceutical company, has some of their PR people helping us to get our word out by contacting newspapers for us! We have not raised any donations that way but hopefully the articles are inspiring others and raising awareness for diabetes!

After lunch we biked another easy 25 miles to just a little past Darby. We are not at an awesome campsite right next to a river. It is so fun to just hang out, jump in a freezing cold river, write the blog, make a fire, and sleep outside! Life doesn't get any better.

(Pattt and Adam after jumping in the freezing water)

(PhillyK flexing for all the honies)

Tomorrow we have about 120 miles and a hugeeee mountain pass to go up! Should be fun :)

-Pattt

Taking It Easy In Missoula, Montana

Date: 6/19/06
Mileage: zippo, nada, zilch

Funds Raised:

$8,460.87 for Kupenda
$20,000 is the goal for Kupenda. That is the amount needed to build a boarding facility so that 30+ children, who have disabilities, will get to go to school!!! It is a chance to really make a difference in a lot of people's lives!!!
$7,735 for ADA
Battling diabetes is something that is close to our hearts since Adam has Type I Diabetes. AFC's mission at it's core is to raise awareness, show other diabetics that anything is possible, and to do anything to combat diabetes!

Today we enjoyed exploring the cool town of Missoula! I went running up a hugeee mountain and I took some cool pictures when I got to the top! PhillyK and AndyK did their normal run. They usually run 3 - 5 miles everyday. They are on a strict training schedule for getting back into racing shape by the end of the summer.

(AFCMobile overlooking Missoula)

(Pics of flowers on the top of the mountain I ran up)

Jesse spent a lot of time writing his book. I haven't read it yet so I don't know exactly what it will be like, but I think it focuses on our mission, the people we meet, and our friendships. We have met so many different types of people and had so many strange things happen to us!! I can't wait to read the book when he is done at the end of the summer.

(Jesse writing a book about AFC 2006)

Adam and I also found a really cool shop in Missoula called FreeCycle. It is a place where you can walk in to door and find tons of old bike parts for fixing your current bike or even building a bike from scratch. It is a non-profit shop but they take donations. If I spent more time in this town I would definitely go in there and build a bike! They even have at least one volunteer on staff to help you if you dont know what your doing.

Tonight we got our karaoke for the state of Montana done!! Let me tell you... Karaoke is always a good time... ALWAYS. So if you are ever sitting around and thinking to yourself "man.. I want to have a good time!" then go to karaoke and there you will find what you are looking for :)

Updated Karaoke stats: 4 states visited, 4 states karaoked!!

(Suga at karaoke.. look at that outfit!! whewwww)

(Jesse singing 'Your So Vain'... Look! He can smile!)

We are heading into some bigger mountains in the next few days so I want to apologize in advance if I don't have access to the internet to update the blog :)

-Pattt

Missoula, Montana!

Date: 6/18/06
Mileage: 60

(AndyK, Jesse, Pattt, Adam, PhillyK)

Team AFC...
with the addition of AndyK team AFC is now 5 hearts not 4...
too bad we already made all those T-Shirts..
haha

After leaving Powell's camping grounds we went straight up the Lolo Pass. It was not very hard at all. The grade never went about 6% and it only lasted maybe 5 or so miles. We took it nice and easy up the mountain. The rest of the day was almost all down hill all the way to Missoula.

(Crossing into Missoula)

While we were climbing up the pass AFCMobile (PhillyK and AndyK) went out ahead of us. They had their own adventure! When we met them for lunch they told us that a deer ran out of the woods and crashed head first into the driver's side while they were driving down the highway. AndyK, who was driving, looked pretty shook up. The deer left some hair and blood marks on the car. Luckily they saw the deer run away so hopefully it was not too badly hurt.

(AndyK upset by his encounter with a crazy deer!)

(Deer remains on AFCMobile)

After lunch Jesse got his tools out and fixed up the car. The driver's side door was all busted up and the mirror was bent out of shape. Since Jesse can do anything he had it all fixed up in no time! Looks almost like brand new ... ... ...

(Jesse fixing AFCMobile)

We met Ellen Brown in Missoula and she had a cookout for us! After that we headed out to downtown to see what the city was like. Like all the other cities we have visited so far there were bikes and bikers everywhere! Seems like all these small town cities in the West really cater to bikers. I love it!

-Pattt

Last Day in Idaho!

Date: 6/17/06
Mileage: 115

Today was all about biking. We didn't really meet many people and we didn't really talk much. All we did was bike and we biked fast! We climbed a total of about 2,200 feet and we averaged 19.2 mph. We kept a steady pace line. A pace line is where we stay in a straight line and we switch who is in the front every 3 - 5 miles. The person in the front veers off to the left slows down a bit and gets in the back. The other two people keep the pace. It was a beautiful day outside and we got some amazing pictures, but really pictures can't hold a candle to really being there.

(Enjoying the view)

(Kayakers the we saw on our way up the mountain)

We found a great camp site in a place called Powell which was right at the foot of the Lolo pass. We figured that saving the steep climb for the next day was a good idea. During the day it was almost 80 degrees but at night it dropped to 40! I was sooo cold I could barely sleep. When we get to the higher elevations I am going to have to buy some warmer sleeping gear! The campsite was awesome and we met tons of motorcyclists and kayakers. Camping out, making a fire, and eating smores is always good times.

(PhillyK and AndyK at Powell campsite)

(AndyK making smores)

-Pattt

Stopped in Grangeville, Idaho

Date: 6/16/06
Mileage: 85

So! For those of you who don't know, one of AFC's side goals is to do karaoke in every state that we visit. We had huge success in both Washington and Oregon and since we are now in Idaho we have to find some karaoke yet again! We are only in Idaho for 3 days and no rest days, which means we needed to get in and out so we can go to bed to rest for the next day of biking. We searched high and low all over New Meadows, Idaho last night and we could not find anything. We traveled (by car) 20 miles to the next town, McCall. There we found a Yatch Club but they only do karaoke on Saturday nights. We talked to the DJ and we told him our plight. He was kind enough to turn on the karaoke machine just for us, for only 2 songs! It was a blast! Stump and I sang an awful song and our hideous performance was followed by AndyK, PhillyK, and Suga singing New Kids on the Block. It was awful and when we were done 2 girls actually went up to the DJ and asked if we were done because we were 'soooo bad' They were not flirting.. They were straight faced... And they were right :)

Karaoke Stats: 3 states visited, 3 states karaoked!

After a fun night we were still able to get to bed at around 10:30. I had my best night of sleep yet on this trip. We got a late start after a super good breakfast in New Meadows!! We really appreciate having a nice place to stay with awesome people!

(Saying good bye to New Meadows)

Today we pretty easy. We biked the first 60 miles which was all downhill. We took out time not going extremely fast. At mile 63 or so we had a 10 mile climb but it was not nearly as hard as some of our previous climbs. When you don't have gears, steepness is everything and this mountain was not nearly as steep as some.

(I pushed Adam into the rapids! He is so strong he was able to jump right back out! Good thing or else we would have had to end the whole adventure)

(That wasn't too bad!)

(Adam checking eating a snack to bring his sugar up at the top of the mountain)

We decided to stop at Grangeville instead of doing the extra 27 miles to Kioske. That will leave us with a 120 mile day tomorrow followed by an short (but hard) 60 mile day on our way to Missoula, Montana! We will have plenty of time to do 150 mile + days later... We were worried that doing one of those so soon might provoke injury and that would not be fun for anyone :)

-Pattt

Into Idaho!!

Date: 6/15/06
Mileage: 110

Today we left Oregon and crossed over into Idaho. We also lost 1 hr in the process. We said good bye to Tom and Linda Collier and we were on the road at 8:30 am. Tom and Linda were totally awesome! The live in a beautiful house in Halfway, Oregon. It is a very small town where everyone knows everyone else. It is such a different life then what I am used to living in Catonsville, MD which is right outside of Baltimore City. I don't even know my new downstairs neighbors who moved in 1 month before I left of my trip. Also! I was happy to find that they don't own a TV. They did that by choice. Instead they spend a lot of time outside and reading books! Sounds like a great idea to me :)

(Bye bye Linda and Tom! We miss you already)

Today was a rather long and very hard day. The difficult parts didnt start until about mile 40. There we were greeted with a 7+ mile climb where I had to drop to about 9mph in the last bit just to make it up. It was definately the hardest climb we have had yet. Seems like they just keep getting harder!

(Getting ready before we climb the mountain)

(At the top)

Tomorrow we have another 100+ mile day. The day after that we are debating skipping our stay at Cold Gate Licks and/or Warm Springs Pack Bridge, Oregon and going straight through to Missoula, Montana! We don't have a place to stay at Cold Gate Licks and we hear Missoula is really cool! And if we do that we will have 2 rest days in Missoula. The only draw back is that it will make that day a 150 miler! Oh well... that will be good for the blog :)

-Pattt

Short Day... Big Hill

Date: 6/14/06
Mileage: 60 (easy pie)

Today we left Baker City, Oregon and headed to Halfway, Oregon. The first 45 miles were extremely easy. All downhill and with the wind at our backs! After that we had a lunch in a small town knowing we only had 15 miles left we were very happy! Little did we know that one of the hardest mountains was only .5 miles away... waiting for us! It started out easy enough. The grade of the climb was nothing we were unused to. But it slowly got worse! the last 3 - 4 miles were at a 7% grade! It was definately the most challenging climb we have had yet. I had to drop to 9mph for the last mile. Adam looked the strongest of all of us during the climb... I think he is a freak of nature... No one is that strong! Hopefully we will have more mountains like that. Everyone loves a challenge :)

(Stump and Adam at the top of the mountain!)

(That is too steep for too long!!!)

Now we are in Halfway, Oregon staying with Tom and Linda Collier! They have a beautiful house with an amazing view. Linda is making a hugeee pasta dinner! I can't wait to eat :) They have an awesome dog and a million cows on their property. They rent out their land to people who have cows but don't own their own land for them to graze.

We also got our official AFC jerseys today!! They were donated to us by Keith Rohr who owns a company called Maryland Physical Therapy. We have a few extra jerseys and we want to raffle them off when we have our finishing party in Ocean City, Maryland at Shennanigan's Irish Pub on 4th Street Boardwalk! It will be on September 3rd, Labor Day weekend. If you are reading this blog you are invited. If you want more info about the party and the bike ride we are having with everyone at the finish email me at pblair12@gmail.com.

(Those jerseys are flyyyy)

My verizon aircard does not work in this valley and it may not work the next few days but I will update the blog whenever I get a connection. Tomorrow we have a 102 mile day, followed by a 106 mile day, followed by a 150 mile day!! It will be hard to do back to back to back long days! I can't wait!

(Random pic of AndyK)

Side note about Jesse Stump:

On May 8th, right before we left for our trip, Jesse had surgery to have his thyroid removed because the doctors were worried that it may have been cancerous. We were all very worried that he would not be able to do the trip with us. Luckily, he came out just fine and the doctors gave him the OK to bike across the country! He is adjusting well to the thyroid medications. His only problems so far are in the mornings. He is very tired and a little out of it every morning until around 11:00 or 12:00. When we get to Missoula, Montana he is going to have some blood work done and have the results sent back to his doctor in Maryland. It is amazing how quickly he has recovered from such a tremendous shock to his system!! Jesse Stump is tough as nails!! :)

(See... look how healthy he is!...)

-Pattt

AHHH Rest Day in Baker City, Oregon

Date: 6/13/06
Mileage: 0!!!

Today we just chilled out!! We explored the city, went to the movies, and ate some good food at local delis and diners. Tomorrow we are back in the saddle on our way to Halfway, Oregon. After tomorrow we will be leaving Oregon and moving on to Idaho!

(Oregon Trail Motel, we got 2 free nights at this grate motel!!)

(Pattt, Jesse, and Adam saw XMen 3 while AndyK and PhillyK saw cars)

We have a side goal of doing kareoke at least one night in every state we visit. So far we are 2 for 2 in Washington and Oregon. In Idaho we do not have any rest days so we will be forced to go out on a night when we have a bike ride the next day and get our kareoke on!!

-Pattt

Difficult But Short

Date: 6/12/06
Mileage: 65

After Leaving Sag's Motel at around 9:00 am we started out going straight up a mountain!! We had three passes to get through today but we only had 65 miles to get to Baker City, Oregon. Luckily we are all in perfect health! Adam's knee and Jesse's achilles are 100% all better!! We thank everyone so much for all the prayers and good thoughts because we are doing just great!

We hammered up all three of the passes. We saw Jonah, the biker from yesterday, on the first pass. He was lugging his gear and his bike up the hill and we passed another guy who was riding a recumbent bike. The first mountain was decently hard but the other two were not too bad at all.

(Suga and Jesse.. Happy to be done with the first mountain)

(Jesse and Pattt at mountain #2 of 3 for the day)

(A pic of our map showing the 3 mountain passes of the day)

At around 2:00 pm we arrived in Baker City. We had a free hotel room at the Oregon Trail Motel. We will be staying here two nights for FREE! Tomorrow is a rest day. I need to do some running :)

While we were walking around the town we met some very nice people in the local shops. We also found Jonah we ate dinner with him and he hung out with us for awhile. He is was once a bike messenger in Philly so he knows all about fixed gear biking! It is great to make new friends!

(New friend: Jonah)

-Pattt

130 miles.. Longest Day Yet!

Date: 6/11/06
Mileage: 130 :)

(AndyK and PhillyK artsey pic)

Dennis and Kim's house and hospitality was amazing! We left there with full somaches and tons of energy. After doing only 60 miles the day before we were ready for the long day we had ahead of us.

(Saying goodbye to Kim and Dennis!!)

We went up Ochoco Pass (3,720 ft high) and Keys Pass (4,357 ft high) both of which were super beautiful and not too hard. Although they were high and were at least 4 - 6 miles of climbing each, the grade of the climb was not too high so we were able to keep our pace above 11 mph. On the Ochoco Pass we never went below 13 mph :).

(6% grade for 5 miles hurts! )

(First pass of the day)

(Second pass of the day, much harder than the first)

After the passes we had lunch in Dayville. We met a fellow biker there! His name is Jonah and he is biking solo with all of his gear across the country. We talked to him for awhile and he biked with us for the next 20 or so miles. He was able to keep us with us, even with all of his gear, and we were going around 21 mph! He is definately tough! He stopped in Mt. Vernon and we continued on.

(Riding with our new friend Jonah)

We were not sure where we were going to stay for the night. If we stayed in John Day, Oregon it would have been about 110 miles but we felt great and we knew that we had three passes to climb the next day so we continued on until the next town which was Praire City, Oregon. There we had planned on camping but since it was raining and we didn't want to get wet :) We decided to stay in a motel instead! It was a great motel called Sag's Motel which was about 2 miles past Praire City. The owner of the motel Mr. Sagmeister, was extremely nice and we had a great nights sleep.

-Pattt

Beautiful Prineville, Oregon!

Date: 6/10/06

We left from our motel in Camp Shermon at around 11:00 am. We got a late start because we knew we only had about 60 miles today. We were scheduled to have more but we found a place to stay with some very nice people in Prineville, which cut our day short by about 30 or so miles. Tomorrw might be a longggg day since we will have to make up for that.

It is amazing that on the east side of the cascade mountains everything is extremely dry, almost like a desert. On the west side the vegetation is completely different! Every tree is huge! It is much like a rain forest to the west.

(On the road to Prineville)


(Mountains everywhere!)

It could not have been a better day for biking! The whole ride was completely flat. Our only problems today were that Adam and I both got flats, flats are sooo annoying! We took out time and arrived in Prineville at about 5:45 pm.

(Pattt fixing a flat)

The house we are staying at is great! Dennis and Kim are very very nice and they made us a really good dinner!

(PhillyK overlooking Prineville)

-Pattt