Adventures For the Cure | Blog/News

Date: 6/29/06
Mileage: 75

Funds Raised:

$8,953.87 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!!!

$7,905 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!

Karaoke Stats:
States visited: 5, States Karaoked: 5

Last night we went out in town to a local saloon where we found "Red Dog's Karaoke". We completed another state of KARAOKE!!! We are now 5 for 5!! By far this was our best performance yet! Not only have we had 4 other previous states to practice through but we also had some help since Adam's parents, brother Alex, and our friend Lauren are traveling with us this week in an RV. The owner of the saloon was appropriately names Red Dog. He had a long, flowing, white beard and when I asked him how long he had been growing it he told me "65 years" when I asked him hold old he was he told me "60 years and 9 months". Needless to say he was the coolest man I have ever met.

(Red Dog is my hero)

In the morning we got up bright and early! Mr. D decided that he wanted to bike with us for the first 1/2 of the day!!! I was soooo happy! He was incredible. He never really bikes at all but he was able to keep a hot pace for a total of 40 miles. There were some very challenging hills along the way but he never let up.

(PapaD getting ready for a 40mile ride!)

When we started the day we were only about 20miles down the mountain from where we found snow the day before. When we finished biking we were in the town of Lander and it was 99 degrees. Luckily 99 degrees in Lander is nothing like 99 degrees in Maryland. It is soooo dry here that it doesn't feel hot at all :)

After we biked we went out to dinner and enjoyed the beautiful night. Adam called his girlfriend from home and we found out that she had to go to the hospital for a viral infection. She was released very late at night from the hospital but please keep her in your prayers just in case :)

Tomorrow we have 130 or more miles of biking to get to Rawlins, Wyoming! It is going to be a gooood day :)

-Pattt

posted at 8:29 AM   2 comments

Date: 6/28/06
Mileage: 95

Funds Raised:

$8,953.87 for Kupenda (+100.00 thanks to Sadj the president of our Triathlon Club!)
$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!!!

$7,905 for ADA (+50.00 thanks to Tom Keller!)

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!

In the morning before we left out campsite in Jackson Hole my boss from work, Mike LaRoi, visited us! He was on vacation in the area and wanted to stop by and say hi. It is great to have such awesome support from back home. He also bought some food for us for breakfast :)

(Jesse, Pattt, Mike, Adam)

After breakfast we started our ride from Jackson Hole to Dubois we started the ride by passing the Grand Tetons again. It was a perfect day outside so PhillyK and AndyK were able to get some ridiculously artsy pics of us biking.

(It was a super beautiful day!)

(King artsy pics!)

Today would be out longest and highest mountain yet. We climbed up to 9658ft at a 6% grade for 17 miles. I am pretty sure there is nothing in the world that I would rather do :) I loved every second of it.

(Even after climbing 2,000+ ft for 17 miles at a 6% grade...
up the highest peak we have been to so far we still didn't feel very fit...
so we broke out and started some strength training...
hahaha)

(This sign caused us much confusion, frustration, and anguish...
gears?
I don't understand)

-Pattt

posted at 9:42 PM   5 comments

Date: 6/27/06
Mileage: 0

Funds Raised:

$8,863.87 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!!!

$7,855 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!

(Look... PhillyK found a fellow Hawk)

Since Adam's parents, Alex, and Lauren were in town we decided to take a vacation day having fun in Jackson Hole. The RV sure makes our lives a lot easier. We have a refrigerator to keep Adam's insulin cold, a nice place to sit at a table to eat lunch (other than the hood of AFCMobile), and other people to hang out with!

We took full advantage of our rest day by sleeping in late. At noon we went white water rafting! Most of us had never been before and we all had a great time. We went down class 1, 2, and 3 rappids.

After white water rafting Adam, PhillyK, and AndyK went running while Jesse did some catching up on his book writing, and I took a nap. AndyK, PhillyK, and Jesse are all training for the Baltimore Marathon where they are going to qualify for Boston! I will be running Boston also, it is going to be great since we all will be going. I am pretty sure that Adam will be either running Boston or doing some other even more amazing feet of endurance racing when we get back.

At night we went out to eat at a place called Bubba's Resturant and then we went "shopping". Although I pretty much hate shopping more than anything in the entire world :) I guess that going once every 3 months or so isnt too bad!

(See what shopping does to you.)

(MammaD and PappaD, Adam's parents)

-Pattt

posted at 9:39 AM   3 comments

Date: 6/25/06 and 6/26/06
Mileage: 80

Funds Raised:

$8,863.87 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!!!

$7,855 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!

Our campsite was right in the middle of Yellowstone. We even saw some Elk passing by like 100 meters from our tent! After getting a good nights sleep (I got to sleep in the RV with Adam's parents, Alex, and Lauren) we woke up, ate breakfast, and exlpored some of Yellowstone!

On the 25th We went to the sulfur springs and they were soooo amazing.

(PhillyK at sulfur springs)

(Lauren at sulfur springs)

On the 26th before we started biking we woke up extra early to leave the campsite and look for some wildlife. We found a coyote!! We also got some good pictures of the sun rising!

(Coyote in Yellowstone)

(PhillyK, AndyK, and Adam taking artsy pics!)

We biked from Yellowstone to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. On the way we saw the Grand Tetons. These mountains might be the most beautiful thing we have seen so far!

(Most beautiful day yet?)

(Riding with Alex with Grand Tetons in background)

Since we crossed the boarder of another state we tried with all of our might to find karaoke in Jackson Hole (again we have to do karaoke in every state we visit). We were unable to find any karaoke in Jackson Hole :( But it is okay because we have a lot of nights in Wyoming.

-Pattt

posted at 11:08 AM   3 comments

Date: 6/24/06
Mileage: 60

Funds Raised:

$8,863.87 for Kupenda
+$100 thanks to Paul, Katy, Nathan, and Claudia,
+$50.00 from Jen Canatella,
+$15.00 from Joy,
+$15.00 from Hillary,
+$15.00 from Piper,
+$5.00 from DeeDee,
+$20.00 from a randomly nice guy we met in Grangeville,
+$20.00 from the Jim and Mary Cramer!!
$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!!!

$7,855 for ADA
+$50.00 from Jen Canatella,
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!

When we arrived in West Yellowstone last night we heard that there was a street dance, whatever that means, in the middle of town hosted by a couple of the local bars. Although we had a semi-hard day of biking the next day we just had to go and find out what a street dance was!!

Jesse, Adam, PhillyK, and AndyK went out to dinner while I stayed at the campsite to finish the blog and do some laundry. At dinner their waitress who had three younger siblings with Type I Diabetes just like Adam. She also has a 90% chance of getting Type II within her life time. She was all about what we were doing and PhillyK interviewed her for his Documentary.

(Cool waitress!)

While I was doing the blog and laundry I met Paul, Katy, their son Nathan and daughter Claudia. They were curious about our bikes and asked lots of questions about our trip. They were so excited about what we are doing that they donated $100.00 to Kupenda!! They are on vacation and were planning on driving to Yellowstone State Park tomorrow.

I met the rest of AFC after dinner and we went searching for the 'street dance'. It was great!! There was a live band playing that sounded very much like Linkin Park. There were not many people dancing but PhillyK and AndyK were eager to join in the fun since they are KING DANCERS.

(King dancer AndyK)

After the concert ended at 10:00pm we left the street to go to the bar that was hosting the event. There we met a ton of new friends. It was a blast!! So many people were excited about what we are doing after we told them how we are trying to make a difference. I was one of our most fun nights out since we started the trip.



This morning we got a late start since we were up later than usual making new friends! We biked from West Yellowstone to Grant Village, a campsite in Yellowstone State Park. On the way we met up with Paul and Katy and their son Nathan and daugher Claudia, again, from the day before. We were happy about that because we wanted to give them an AFC T-Shirt. Before we said a final good bye they said a prayer for us, that we would be successful and safe in our journies. It was the nicest thing EVER!

(Paul and Katy with their son Nathan and daughter Claudia.. on their way to Yellowstone)

There was only one mountain pass. By far the best part of this day was that we met up with Adam's parents, his brother Alex, and our best friend Lauren! We biked into Yellowstone and met them at Old Faithful. They are going to be with us for the next week.

They rented and RV so we will be living like kings for the next few days. We are so happy to have friends join us in our adventure. The best part is that Alex rented a road bike and he will be biking with us!

(Alex, Pattt, Jesse, and Adam at Old Faithful)

-Pattt

posted at 10:10 PM   3 comments

Date: 6/23/06
Mileage: 75

Funds Raised:

$8,628.87 for Kupenda (+ $100.00 thanks to my Uncle Bernie!!)
$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!!!

$7,805 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!

Last night at our campsite in Ennis, Montana PhillyK, AndyK, and Adam took some really good pictures at the sunset. Check these out!



After packing up and leaving the campsite we headed to West Yellowstone, Montana! It was another beautiful day with perfectly sunny skies and around 75 degrees. We met some other bikers when we were at lunch. They had strong British accents and they were extremely nice. They were going across country and heading West. They were almost done their journey. We also saw a pair of tandem recumbent bikers just before we entered the town of West Yellowstone.

When we got to West Yellowstone we found a fun sign to take a picture with. I wanted Adam and Jesse in the picture and I had a good idea for a funny pose. I started to climb the sign to show them what I wanted them to do and I ended up getting 3 huge splinters in my thigh :(. It took Jesse and Adam at least 45 minutes to dig them out. I have a slight limp now so tomorrow I might be biking a bit slower than usual. I really really appreciate those guys doing surgery on me... They can do anything!!

(Hello West Yellowstone!!)

(Splinters everywhere when I tried to climb the West Yellowstone sign...
splinters are the opposite of fun)

Tonight we are going to a bar in the city where we have heard there is a dance party going on in the streets!! Ohhh yea!! I love to dance... Too bad I have a limp now. I still try my best to get my dance on. I am sure that PhillyK and AndyK will rock the house with their dance moves. I will try to get a video of them dancing for this blog. They are the best!

Tomorrow we are meeting up with Adam's parents, his brother Alex (aka Baby Suga), and our good friend Lauren. They will be hanging out with us for a week and driving an RV!! It will be soooo fun.

-Pattt

posted at 10:16 PM   6 comments

Date: 6/22/06
Mileage: 75

Funds Raised:

$8,528.87 for Kupenda (+ $10.00 thanks to DeeDee and +60.00 thanks to David Crisp!!)
$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!!!

$7,805 for ADA (+ $25.00 thanks to Jean Lobaugh)
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 had a rather short day especially compared to yesterday. To be done after 70 miles is a great feeling when the day before at 70 miles you still had 50 left :) The weather has be absolutely PERFECT for the past 2 weeks!! It is always chilly in the mornings at about 50 degrees and warms up to 75 or so in the afternoons with no rain! I am sure when we get out of the rockies it will be getting much much hotter but we will enjoy this weather while it lasts.

(Jesse and Adam comming down the mountain)

I never knew that America was so beautiful. Everything from Washington to Montana has been breath taking. If you have not visited Washington and Oregon's west coast, the Cascade, or the Rockie Mountains then I must advise you to do so. Take a road/camping trip and enjoy some nature!

We went through some old gold mining towns today and we only had one mountain pass that was only 3.5 miles long. Tomorrow we will be biking to West Yellow Stone!! I can't wait!!!

(Old Gold Mining Town)

(Tonight's campsite... mosquitoes everywhere!!)

Side note on fixies:

Many people have asked us "What is it like to bike up the mountains with no gears on a fixie?" and "What is it like to bike down the mountains and not be able to coast because you are on a fixie?" Here are two videos that I took to show you what it is like :)

Fixies going up a mountain!


Fixies going down the mountain!


What do AndyK and PhillyK do all day while we go up and down mountains??

posted at 9:44 PM   3 comments

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

posted at 11:20 PM   6 comments

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

posted at 9:46 PM   4 comments

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

posted at 11:09 PM   6 comments

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

posted at 1:27 AM   6 comments

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

posted at 1:19 AM   1 comments

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

posted at 12:31 AM   5 comments

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

posted at 9:01 PM   3 comments

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

posted at 7:00 PM   6 comments

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

posted at 12:24 AM   3 comments

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

posted at 12:03 AM   9 comments

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

posted at 11:13 PM   2 comments

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

posted at 11:15 PM   5 comments

posted at 1:13 PM   0 comments

Date: 6/09/06 Friday

We left Eugene Oregon this morning. Kristin Carter made us an amazing all organic breakfast! We said good bye and we were off to biking! We left early because we knew we had a long day ahead of us.

(AFC saying goodbye to Kristin in Eugene!)

Today was our first true mountain climb!! We went up through Santiam Pass. The first 75 or so miles were flat and rolling hills but after that we climbed all the way to the top of the pass which was 4817 Ft above sea level! It was not bad at all. It was not a steep climb and everyone was feeling really good since we had a rest day yesterday. Adam's sugar levels were in check all day. The only problem was that his left knee was hurting him a bit. Ever since his ACL surgery he has had problems with that knee. The good news is that after he took a few motrin the pain went away for the remainder of the ride! We totaled 120 miles today!

(volcano rock on the way to Santiam Pass)

(At the top of Santiam Pass!)

While we were huffing and puffing up the mountain PhillyK and AndyK were visiting the nearby hot springs for a relaxing afternoon. No... That is only half true. Both of these guys work their butts off everyday driving the car around, making the documentary, collecting stickers of all the towns we stop in to decorate our car, and making our trip more enjoyable in every way!

(PhillyK upset by some of the sights)

(AndyK taking a well deserved rest)

Our final destination was at the Shermon Camp grounds which were about 15 miles past Santiam Pass. Our friend Martin Gould was sooo nice to pay for a place for us to stay so that we didn't have to camp out :) We really really appreciated it especially after such a long day!

(A pic of Martin Gould hanging out in Europe!)

Tomorrow we only have like 50 or 60 miles! That will be a piece of cake :)

-Pattt

posted at 1:21 AM   2 comments

Date: 6/08/06 Thursday

Last night was amazing! We met up with the Eugene Fixie bike group. Every Wednesday night they meet up and ride their fixies to many of the local bars and pubs. It was a blast!! Everyone was so friendly and they were all excited to hear about us riding across the country for 6,000 miles on our fixies :) Because AndyK and PhillyK (the AFC drivers) didn't have bikes the guys in the group who work at the Collins Bike Shop lent us 2 extra fixies! We picked up a few donations and had the best night of our trip yet.. That's for sure!

(PhillyK dancing with the Eugene Fixie Bike Group)

(Locking up our bikes on the awning before entering the bar)

We were racing through the streets of Eugene from bar to bar, we did karaoke, we played foot-down (a game played on fixies where you have to knock everyone else off their bikes... The last person standing wins!)... It was so fun!

We stayed out late and we got up late this morning since we had a day off to enjoy the town of Eugene. We said good bye to Luke, who works at the bike shop and who was the one who invited us to join the Eugene Fixies in their adventures the night before.

(Jesse, Pattt, Luke, PhillyK, Adam at the Collins Cycle Shop in Eugene)

Today we road our fixies around town, found Pre's Rock which is at the site where he died, and we did some shopping ... ugggg.... I really don't like shopping! :) After shopping we got a free massage Jim at Natural Arts, where he teaches martial arts and does physical therapy. He was very helpful and taught us a lot of different stretches and massages for helping us to recover from a hard days bike ride.

(Pre's memorial)

(Jim from Natural Arts... After teaching us some awesome Physical Therapy Techniques)

(AFC Mobile VS. Anti-AFC Mobil)

For our dinner we hung out with Kristin Carter, who we are staying with. She got us some pizza and I ate a ton. I need to be full for our hard 100 mile day all up the mountains tomorrow!! I can't wait to bike hard tomorrow!

-Pattt

posted at 10:46 PM   5 comments

Date: 6/07/06 Wednesday

Last night we arrived in Corvallis, Oregon. We were scheduled to stay with Enrique and Kay. We met up with Enrique at the bike shop that he owns, Corvallis Cyclery. It was one of the nicest bike shops I have ever seen! We hung out in the town and ate dinner at a really good deli. When we returned to Enrique and Kay's house they were having House Church (Bible Study) in the living room. We were invited to join!! It was awesome because it was just like our House Church that we have with our friends at home, that we had been missing so much. We talked about our trip and we got to meet all of their cool friends.

After a good nights sleep we had a faboulous breakfast with Enrique and Kay before packing up to leave. Before we left Corvallis we stopped by Enrique's shop and he wrote a check to donate to Kupenda!!! It was very very generous of him and we really appreciated it :)

(Saying good bye to Kay at her pretty house in Corvallis)

(Saying good bye to Enrique at his bike shop: Corvallis Cyclery)

We only biked 45miles today from Corvallis to Eugene. It was totally flat the entire time. Jesse's achilles was doing much better today. I had some awful allergies from the pollen but not a big deal.

Midway to Eugene we stopped at Harrisburg, OR for lunch. We ate some bagels given to us by Enrique and his wife Kay along with some leftovers given to us by Annie Rees from the day before. We alos got some coffee at X-Press Lane Coffee. We met two awesome girls who worked there!! We made friends with them and gave them some AFC T-Shirts. They also made a sticker for our car (we are collecting stickers of every town/city we stay at or visit to put on the AFC Mobile).

(Harrisburg coffee shop girls and AFC)

When we arrived in Eugene we were greeted by Kristen Carter at her house. She gave me some medicine for my allergies and we all took showers. She told us that she setup a bike ride for us with some of the local bikers in Eugene!! They might also help us raise some funds for Kupenda and ADA!! We will meet them tonight and I will write more about that in the blog tomorrow :)

For dinner we went to another amazing deli and we biked to the famous Hayward Track on the campus of University of Oregon, where Prefontaine used to race!! It was a beautiful track and a fun campus!

(PhillyK at Hayward Track on University of Oregon)

-Pattt

posted at 10:57 PM   4 comments

Date: 6/06/06 Tuesday

It doesn't get any better! We had a great day today. After resting and icing his Achilles yesterday and then adjusting his bike seat he easily completed the 90 miles of riding with us today.

In the morning we slept in a bit to get some extra rest. Before we got on the road Annie Rees, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rees whom we stayed with the night before, came by our place and offered to go to the local market to pick up some supplies for our trip today! How could we refuse? She brought back 4 bags of groceries and a whole case of water!! It is so amazing how many super nice people we have met so far on our trip :)

(Pacific City house that we rented for only $79.00)

(Eating the lunch that Annie bought for us!!)

We left around 9:30am and we had some good biking through the hills/mountains. It was easy because the grade of the incline was pretty low. We easily kept 11mph up the hills. After the hills we really picked up the pace for an average of 17.7mph for the day. I can't even describe how beautiful the weather was today. It was so nice to not be soaking wet and to see the sun.

(Adam entering Corvallis)

(Pattt entering Corvallis)

-Pattt

posted at 12:35 AM   2 comments

Date: 06/05/2006 Monday

After the best breakfast ever at the Rees's house in Beaver, Oregon we said good bye. A newspaper reporter from Tillamook who interviewed us the night before took a few pictures of us on our bikes and we were off for another day of biking!

(Saying goodbye to the Mr. and Mrs. Rees)

We had scheduled to do about 100miles. After the first 10 miles we reached Pacific City. When we arrived Jesse told me that his achilles in both his feet were hurting very bad, with a stinging pain. We then decided that it would be best if we stopped in this town for the day so that Stump could rest and be ready for the mountains tomorrow.

We found a house for rent and we got it for only $79.00 for the night!!! We also got some great fottage and pictures of us on the beach of the Pacific Ocean with our bikes. PhillyK is shooting a documentary of our trip and us touching the Ocean will be an important part of that.

(Jesse, Pattt, and Adam on the beach of the Pacific Ocean in Pacific City, Oregon)

(PhillyK making 'The Doc')

For the rest of the day we are going to clean our bikes, eat, and rest and pray that Jesse's achilles will be better for tomorrow morning! We cannot afford to stay here too long or we might fall off our schedule.

-Pattt

posted at 10:10 PM   6 comments

Date: 6/4/06 Sunday

After eating a huge breakfast with Kim and Steve Sharp in Puget Island, WA, we took a ferry across the Columbia River to Oregon. We were sad to say good bye to our awesome hosts but we had to move on.

(Pattt, Adam, Jesse, Kim and Steve Sharp)

(Jesse on the Columbia River Ferry)

It was another rainy day but it was a nice easy 100 miles. We passed through Astoria, Oregon and we ended up in Tillamook. Tillamook is know for their amazing ice cream and cheese! We went to the Tillamook cheese factory and we got tons of free samples :)

We met Clayton Rees and we went back to his farm in Beaver, Oregon for a great dinner, conversation, showers, and a dry place to sleep. They had the coolest dog in the world!! We love Spike :)

(PhillyK, Adam, and Spike)

We camped out in the Rees's barn. It was a great night for sleeping out side and seeing all the horses was fun!

(Adam with the barn horses)

-Pattt

posted at 1:54 PM   3 comments

posted at 9:26 PM   1 comments

Date: 6/01/06, Thursday

After we cleaned up the website we began what turned out to be a 125 mile day. We had scheduled our route so that we would stay in Shelton, WA and then bike to Toledo, WA but we ended up staying about 15 miles away from Shelton at a camp site. We felt great the whole day! The rain never let up, it would only go from a light sprinkle to total down pour :) It was nice and warm outside so the rain was not too bad, we just got really really dirty.

(Jesse and Pattt out in the rain)

When we finally got to Toledo we met with Steve, a local pastor. He was nice enough to let us stay in the basement of his Church and he let us use his washer and dryer to get all cleaned up!! I felt great! Steve was a really nice guy and he helped us out a ton!

(Pattt and Pastor Steve)

It is nice to know that our next day wont be as long, mabye only 50 or so miles.

-Pattt

posted at 9:10 PM   1 comments