Camil and Julien Bike Across the Country: Past Halfway

It's so so easy to neglect to keep a blog up to date. But so much has happened. When Camil last posted, we felt like beginners who had a lot left ahead of them. We still have over 1000 miles ahead of us, but we've been biking day in, day out for over a month and finally have our legs under us. I figure now's a good time for a recap of our trip thus far.

Section 1 (independant): Seaside OR to Kooskia, ID
The first section was intense can fascinating. Right once we got off the airplane, as we were assembling our bikes, a women saw what we were doing and asked about our trip. Upon hearing we were embarking on a x-country adventure, she gave us each $10 because she "supported what we were doing." Western Washington/Oregon was very beautiful, as we followed the Historic Columbia River Highway which had constant nice views. We stayed with our Mom's cousin Andrew's family the third day of the trip in White Salmon (just north of Hood River) and learned some of the ins and outs of chicken slaughtering. We also met an retired couple while changing a tire, who not only showed us a much better technique to prevent future flats, but also gave us some great conversation. You can read their blog here.

Section 2 - Kooskia, ID to Jordan, MT (w/ Mom & Dad)
It was amazing having Mom and Dad join us a week into the trip. Behind schedule and suffering in the heat wave that hit Eastern Washington (it was 107 degrees when they pulled up in their rental car), we needed the relief that only parents can provide. With our bike panniers in the car, our bikes felt light and went faster, and we needed fewer breaks. Suddenly, 80 mile days didn't seem to bad and we even found ourselves going 130 miles one day (even without panniers, that was tough). By the end of this week we were significantly ahead of schedule.

Section 3 - Jordan, MT to Fargo, ND (independent)

Loaded once more with panniers, we cycled headstrong into the next segment of the trip. By this time, we had learned the secrets of audio books - entertaining and educating us during the 6-8 daily hours on bike seats. We continued the breakneck pace set by our parents, and blasted across North Dakota in just 4 days (averaging 100 miles a day). We also finally signed up for Warm Showers, a community website in which people offer to host touring bicyclists for free, offering (variably) meals, beds, and, of course, showers. Our first host, Terri from Fargo, was amazing - welcoming us with a delicious meal and jubilant personality. Also, as you can no doubt tell from the pictures, our facial hair really started coming into it's own.

Section 4 - Fargo, ND to Chicago, IL (independent).

Once in Fargo, we performed a recalculation and realized that in order to make it to Chicago by the 23rd (in time for a plane on the 24th to attend a cousin's wedding), we only needed to average 50 miles a day and could take two off days to spend time with our cousins and friends in Milwaukee and Chicago.Thrilled, we immediately slowed down the pace by leaving much later in the morning. Through Minnesota, we were able to find many Warm Showers hosts. That, combined with our parents offer to pay for a hotel once a week, meant we only have to camp about one out of every three days! Considering the armies of mosquitoes in the land of 10,000 lakes, this was definitely welcome. Leaving North Dakota, we also reentered civilization, and took advantage of the abundance of QuikTrip gas stations to treat ourselves to such convenience store delights as hot dogs, doughnuts, and mountains of cosmic brownies. We met more interesting and awesome people along the way (Camil will be sure to expand on this in his upcoming post) and relished our visits to our cousins and friends along Lake Michigan.

Some people we met:

Terri Verkuilen (Moorhead, MN) - Prodigious warm shower host, painter, and a great cook
Jan Lasar (Bowlus, MN) - Adventure magazine editor, bike enthusiast, and late night pizza cooker.
Jim Patterson (Red Wing, MN) - Chiropractor and great conversationalist
Rosemary Lyons (Winona, MN) - Practicing Buddhist, home gardener, former foster parent, and retired teacher for kids with emotional / behavioral disorders.
Rob Nelson (Baraboo, WI) - Bike enthusiast, service dog trainer, softball coach.
John Rowland (Racine, WI) - World class hobbyist chef; tech, bike, and camera prosumer; 3rd generation owner of insurance family business.

Special thanks to our cousins in Milwaukee (the Allens) and Chicago (the McBratneys) and the Muis (also from Chicago).