Only 130 miles to the Atlantic Ocean!

As they crossed into the eastern time zone, it suddenly became harder to connect by phone in the evenings. So this blog has not been updated in over a week! Yes, Art called his sister, Lynn today to tell her that they are within a two-day ride of the east coast. Quite amazing! It looks like they will ride to the house that we've rented on the Outer Banks at the same time that the rest of us are driving there. We will all be reunited on Sunday, Aug 12!

I've updated the maps on this blog to show the boys' progress through the 51st day of riding. That was the last time I spoke to Art. The weather has been unbelievably cooperative. Mechanically, the bikes have also held up impressively well. The hills and the fatigue have probably become greatest challenges as they work to finish up their ride. Now I'll try to fill in some of the details of the past few days.

Before the guys left Carbondale, IL, they stopped at the Phoenix bike shop to get a new chain for Art and to get Ben's crank arm tightened. They did not leave town until 12:30 p.m. They wanted to spend the night in Elizabethtown, IL, but there were no motels available. So they went off-route and found a room at Mike's Motel in Golconda, IL, 25 miles from the KY border. Art said that it was already quite hilly in Southern IL.



The next morning, they had breakfast in Elizabethtown, IL. They dined overlooking the Ohio River. Afterwards, they tackled some of the toughest hills yet. Tower Rock Rd. took them to Cave-in-Rock, IL where they caught a ferry across the Ohio River. Later, they stopped in Dixon, KY, and lingered a bit too long afterward. They were still 13 miles from their overnight destination and dark clouds were gathering fast. So they donned their raincoats and rode about 7 miles in the rain.

In Sebree, KY, they stayed at the First Baptist Church with bike-only accommodations. Bob the Pastor was very nice. He showed them to the rec room where they could use the facilities which included a washer/dryer and a big TV. At 6 p.m., the church provided them with dinner which consisted of hard-boiled eggs, a potato dish, chicken pasta, and lots of fruit. Art especially loves the fresh tomatoes that he's been having. They were the only two guests at the church that night. Apparently biking season is drawing to a close. Anyone who was attempting a transcontinental bike trip from east to west should have left by now. Otherwise they'd run the risk of hitting snow in the Rockies in October.

The next day they biked 73 miles to Falls of Rough, and the day after that they biked 86 miles to Bardstown, KY. On the way to Bardstown, they took a shortcut on Route 31E that took them by some Lincoln sites.

There was Lincoln's birthplace near Buffalo, KY, and there was his boyhood home where Lincoln lived for 6 yrs.


They also entered the eastern time zone. In this area, the hills were fairly gentle.

It was 90.5 miles to Berea, KY, where they met Patrick and Sean, two high school boys who were riding across the US with their dad's support. The boys had the latest Harry Potter book along with them in the sag wagon, and were impressed to hear that Ben and Art were also carrying the tome. What Art and Ben later revealed was that Ben's copy was on a 2 GB USB drive -- much lighter for cycling! At the Knight's Inn Motel that night, Ben convinced the motel manager to let him use his PC to finish reading the "book".

They spent the next night in Booneville at Linda's Victoria Rose Bed and Breakfast that did not actually serve breakfast, and the following night in Hindaman at the Knott County Historical Society Bed and Breakfast that did not have beds or serve breakfast! Apparently the property was being restored, so the accommodation was a big two-room Coleman tent!

On the way to Breaks, VA the next day, Art experienced his first fall of the trip. He was turning around to check something with his pannier and forgot to unclip his shoe. Plop! He got a nice bruise on his left cheek and we are not talking about his face!

Later that day, they experienced their first close call. A driver of a MAC truck was distracted while talking on his cell phone and crossed over the double-yellow line as he was coming toward them. Luckily he recovered in time to pull his truck back onto his side of the road as he drove past! Art was afraid I'd worry if he told me that story, but my reply was, "Well it couldn't be that bad. You're on the phone with me now, aren't you?"

The next day they rode to Abingdon, and Art experienced his second fall of the trip. His shorts got caught on his seat and he fell and skinned his elbow. Not so bad compared to the bruised cheek, apparently. Ben also got the first flat of the trip and they started to hear a rattle in his rim when he goes slow. But the next morning they stopped to have Ben's wheel checked at a bike shop in Damascus near the Tennessee border, and it's nothing.

I last spoke to Art on Tue, Aug 7, from his hotel in Buchanan, VA. He told me that while they are not meeting any transcontinental cyclists, now they are starting to come across locals who are just out riding for exercise or as a means of commuting to work. That day, they had ridden within four miles of Blacksburg, VA and came across a man who was riding to work at Virginia Tech.

The next few days, they would continue to ride up and down the sides of the valley between the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Within a day or two, they would ride up and along the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway for about 27 miles. They were really looking forward

to finally seeing the home of the Cookie Lady in Afton, VA. She began hosting cyclists when the transcontinental bike route was opened for the 1976 Bicentennial and would treat them to freshly baked cookies. She is 86 years old now and is currently suffering from Sciatica, so the "bike house" is temporarily closed. Over the years, it has become somewhat of a shrine to bikers with all kinds of biking memorabilia hung from the ceiling and tacked to the walls. She gave the keys to Art and Ben to have a look around.




















With this post, I conclude my contributions to this blog. I'll encourage Art to add his own final words, describing the last few days of riding. And I'll make sure that any photos taken since Colorado get uploaded. Thanks to all of you who have enthusiastically followed the adventure. It has been a pleasure to post, and I hope that the tales of Art and Ben's journey will inspire some of you to make the same trek!

Week 6 - Only two states left to go!

"Carbondale, IL?! Boy, when Art came in for a check-up last May and told me about his upcoming bike trip, I didn't think he'd make it out of Milpitas!" So went the reaction of the venerable Dr. P. at the PAMF when I saw him this morning for health reasons of my own. "And you can tell him I said that," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

After six weeks of riding, many friends are stunned when they hear the news that Art and Ben are still on the road and that by now they've rolled through KS, MO, and IL. So far, they've had zero days of riding called on account of weather, which is kind of amazing, considering that through parts of KS they had to re-route their trip because local roads had been washed out during recent flooding. And in fact for their overnight stay in Chanute, KS, they slept on an air mattress in a room that was under renovation because all the regular motel rooms were "filled with FEMA guys."

Over the last two weeks, they've ridden 70 - 100 mile stretches each day, because as the local farmers like to say, "You might as well make hay while the sun shines!" Temperatures were in the high 90s with humidity close to 100%, but no precipitation and no headwinds. And it was flat as a pancake, until they hit the rolling hills of MO and then the tougher Ozarks where Ben felt that the climbing was even steeper than in the Rockies because the roads were not graded as gradually.

For you cartographers, the overnight stops through KS and MO into IL have been as follows:
Leoti, KS --> Bazine, KS --> Hutchinson, KS --> El Dorado, KS --> Chanute, KS --> Pittsburg, KS --> Springfield, MO --> Ben Davis, MO --> Houston, MO (day off) --> Ellington, MO --> Farmington, MO --> Carbondale, IL

Since there are too many cities to cover each in detail, I'll just highlight a few.

Bazine, KS (Sun, July 15)
Art and Ben overnighted at a bike bed and breakfast. Yes, that's right -- a B&B known to cater to transcontinental cyclists. That night, they were invited down a dirt road to a neighborhood veggie potluck. Their B&B hosts brought deviled eggs. This was lucky for Art, because once they hit KS, Cliff Bars and veggie chili disappeared from the local markets.

Hutchinson, KS (Mon, July 16)
The guys arrived late because they stopped in Great Bend, KS for lunch and to get a wheel trued. Between Bazine and Hutchinson, they rode past Hendricks B&B and Exotic Animal Farm in Knickerson, KS where they got a good look at some llamas and ostriches out on the KS plains. When they got into their motel room in Hutchinson at 7:30 p.m., Ben fell into his normal evening routine -- conking out on the bed for an hour or two or, in this case, three before Art could rouse him to take a shower and eat some dinner. In Hutchinson, Art was going to try to get some new tires because after 2000+ miles, he felt that his bike tires looked bald.

Ben Davis, MO (Sat, July 21)
They arrived in the dark after riding 72 miles from Springfield, MO which is where Art had his wheel rebuilt. See Art's own post, Hangin' out in Springfield, MO. They had hoped to make it to a motel in Houston, but it was just a bit too far. So they heard they could camp behind the town grocery store and indeed it was true because there they met another cyclist, Tim from Monterey.

Houston, MO (Sun, July 22)
Breakfast was at the Horse Creek Inn, a motel run by Ea (short for "Andrea") and Pony (who is probably part Native American). Having ridden only 17 miles from Ben Davis, they arrived at 9:30 a.m. just as Ea was putting out freshly baked zucchini bread and making a pot of coffee from freshly ground beans. It was about time for a rest day, so Art and Ben decided to spend the night at the inn.

During the day, they went down to the swimming hole with Pony where Art donned a snorkle and mask to see a big flat back turtle swimming in the murky waters below. Art finished his copy of the Economist, which he had picked up back in CA. They did their laundry and hung it out on the line to dry. That night, they dined on salad greens with tomatoes fresh from the garden, and Pony sauteed some tomatoes with red onions, garlic, and basil to form a pasta sauce. Art threw in some tofu that he'd found at the local Walmart, and Ben ate a roast beef sandwich and broccoli with Ranch dressing that he'd also bought at Walmart. Art never did buy new tires in Hutchinson, but later he discovered a slit in one tire probably from rolling over some broken glass near Springfield, so he fixed that with Super Glue from Walmart.

Carbondale, IL (Weds, July 25)
After Houston, they hit the Ozarks. They rode 72 miles to Ellington on Monday, and 61 miles to Farmington on Tuesday. Carbondale is the home of Southern Illinois University. Mercifully, the weather was in the 80s and not too humid. It looked like they would have clear weather to cross the rest of IL, but there would be a lot of hills. And finally, good, organic, expensive produce was starting to appear in the markets again.

Hangin' out in Springfield, MO

I sit here at the Tech Snak in Springfield, eating oatmeal and typing on one of their five computers while Ben sits at another, reading the new Harry Potter online. Yesterday, July 20 -- Pittsburg, KS to Springfield, MO -- 96 miles. Overslept: started 10 a.m., arrived 8 p.m.

Crossed paths with Lawrence from Birmingham, England while still in Kansas. He was going the lightweight route -- road bike with carbon fork. His rear wheel had recently broken and he had to get a ride to Springfield to get it replaced. We crossed into Missouri a few miles outside of Pittsburg. 17 miles into the ride I was still hearing a tick, tick, tick in one of my wheels and decided to stop and try to figure it out. As I leaned on my seat and rolled the bike forward I could recreate the problem. It was the rear wheel. Ben's sharp eyes noticed some cracks in the rim around one of the spokes and he asked if this was a problem. Well, YES! I quickly got on my web enabled phone and found a bike shop in Springfield that had a 36 hole rim, a nice solid Mavic A719.

We rode on to Golden City, home of the much recommended Cooky's Diner, known for their vast selection of delicious pies. We didn't stay for lunch. The place was jammed due to Golden Harvest Days. We did take out a slice of dutch blueberry and a slice of dutch raspberry -- and yes they were delicious! After lunch at the local grocery store we were off. Menacing storm clouds to the south, headwinds and rolling hills as we headed east. Tick tick ta tick tick tick went the rear wheel. I didn't dare look at it again to examine the progress of the crack(s).

In Everton, we stopped into the gas station where four good old boys were shooting the breeze. As soon as I entered, one fellow got up and offered me his chair right in front of the fan. Oh it was hot and really quite humid this day. Even Larry Kenney thought so. I explained our predicament and asked if anyone with a pickup truck happened to be heading to Springfield. After a brief pause Larry said he would be going, but not until after 7 p.m. I got his phone number and said we might call him from Ash Grove, the next town. Off we went -- Ash Grove -- wheel still rolling and plenty of daylight. So we continued on to Springfield, then through Springfield from northwest through downtown to east central to the Lamplighter Inn just one block from the Sunshine Bike Shop where Josh would be building my wheel tomorrow.

This morning when we took the wheel off at the bike shop, I looked and found one spoke that was really pulling out - cracks forming a cross around the spoke hole, and the rim was starting to buckle - much worse than what I saw back on the road about 80 miles ago. Well, it's 11:30 a.m. and the wheel should be ready. Ben will have to continue his reading in another town.

Halfway there

Ben called home last night. I guess it's about time I spoke with him, given that it's been four weeks since he and Art started riding. Sounds like he's doing just fine and confident that they will make it all the way across the country. Being the numbers guy, Ben tracks the daily mileage. He figures that they've got about 2000 miles to go and thinks that they have ridden 1800 miles so far. Provided that the weather holds and the head winds don't impede their progress, they should be able to pick up the pace now. If they average 80 miles per day, they will reach the east coast in four weeks.

The remaining route is relatively flat and runs due east in contrast to the mountainous terrain with roads that had some north-south stretches in the western states. It looks like their route will take them through KS, MO, a bit of IL, KY, and VA. A big thank you to those who have offered to host our boys as they pass through your part of the country. I'm sure you understand that unless you are right on their route, they won't be able to swing by for a visit.

Ben was calling from Eads. This is their final overnight in CO. Goodbye massive Rockies. The landscape of eastern CO has turned into open prairie. Yes, Toto, they will soon be on the great plains of your state!

So far, they've managed to avoid much rain. After their extra day in Salida, they took a short ride 49-mile ride to Westcliffe where they stayed in the second cheapest motel along their journey so far -- $42 including tax for a subterranean room at the Antler Inn. They ate dinner at the bowling alley because it was the only place in town with veggie burgers. That night it poured rain but the weather cleared by the next day. Lucky for them. Another night's lodging would have been difficult to find since that day was the start of the Westcliffe Bluegrass Festival!

From Westcliffe, they rode 110 miles to Ordway. It had been mostly downhill since Salida and temperatures were still mild, so while it was a long distance, it was a fairly easy ride. At midday, they stopped in Pueblo. There they met another cyclist, Doug Stetson, who was making his way west and had lots of advice. Doug gave Art the name of several private residences along their route that were known to take in cyclists. Art jotted down directions and they took advantage of their first bicycle-friendly home in Ordway.

Jillian is a native of New Zealand who offers free overnight lodging to cyclists. When Art and Ben arrived at her house, there was a note: "Bikers -- Please remove your shoes before entering. I will be home from work later this evening." Apparently, Jillian works at one of the two prisons in town. Mike, another cyclist, was already at the house. Art and Ben took the master bedroom. Jillian's house offered many amenities including hot showers, a kitchen, laundry facilities, a phone, and Internet access.

The next morning, they took time to check out the animals on the farm around the house. Ben rode one of the horses bareback. Because they were having a good time on the farm, they got a late start on Friday the Thirteenth and left at 10 a.m., arriving in Eads by 3:15 p.m. Ordway to Eads is only 61 miles but Ben experienced some cramping in his calves, so it was good to take a short ride.

Ben thinks that neither he nor Art has lost any weight. Some had said that transcontinental riders can expect to lose 20 lbs over the course of the trip. For Art, that might be okay. But if Ben dropped to 110 lbs on his 5'10" frame, he would look downright emaciated!

I'm not sure when the next photo upload will be. While Ben's been a great sport by posing for shots, I've asked him to take a few photos with Art in them. He said that he'll try to remember. We received a package from them in the mail yesterday. They were thoughtful enough to send me all of the VISA card receipts, their cold weather clothing, and Ben's book of Shakespeare plays that he bought in Cedar City. In previous phone conversations, Art was convinced that the key to riding fast was traveling light!

Happy Birthday to Art!

On the day that he turned 53, Art rode up and over Monarch Pass on the Continental Divide. At 11,312 ft, this is the highest point on their ride across the US. That night the boys overnighted in Salida, CO, where they plan to take a day off.

Some of you who have been following this blog have asked how this idea of riding across the country came about. Others have wondered what it takes to complete such a feat. On the occasion of Art's birthday, this might be a good time to answer some of those questions.

Art has been keen on the idea of riding cross country with Ben for some time now. It was not Ben's choice, but Art was waiting for Ben to get old enough to make the ride and hoping that he'd be up for it. Fortunately, Art got his wish before he got too old and creaky himself. I think Art decided that 15 was the right age, because he heard of another girl who made the same ride when she was 15. The summer that this girl rode cross country, Ben was 7. Her younger sister came to babysit and Art heard about the adventure. At that point, he seemed to set his sights on Ben's summer between 9th and 10th grade.

The details of planning the trip began last November with a subscription to Adventure Cycling. From there, Art obtained printed maps and used the online site (www.adventurecycling.com) to help plan his route. He bought two used touring bikes on eBay. He scoured sales at local bike shops for panniers, biking clothes and shoes, and lightweight equipment. He even drove to a small bike shop, Rivendell Bicycle Works, in Walnut Creek to get a new crank. In case anyone is interested, Art is now well-acquainted with the best local bike repair guy and would be happy to recommend a good local wheel guy.

Due to Ben's busy schedule, there was never much training or conditioning except for the occasional weekend ride. Once the boys rode to Pescadero and back but with unloaded bikes. Quite frankly, I was not in favor of this trip and in denial until the day they left.

"You're going to take how much time off of work?! You're going to spend how much money?! You're going to force Ben to give up his entire summer?!" Those were the types of questions that I was asking Art. Consequently, I don't know much about the itinerary. I don't know the route they are following or what schedule they are on. I am learning about it as it happens, just like you!

Some have asked if Art and Ben are cycling back to CA. They are not. It will take a full eight weeks to ride 3800 miles and they will fly back afterwards. Maryssa and I are scheduled to rendezvous with them on the east coast before they return. We have rented a house for a week on the Outer Banks with my sister and her family from Madison, NJ, Art's sister and her family from Philly, and our friends, the Heins family from DC. We hope that the boys arrive at the beginning of the week (Aug 12), but if they don't, that gives them a few more days to ride. Their final destination is Yorktown, VA. If they arrive after our rental begins, Art's brother-in-law, Larry will drive to pick them up.

Now, for the latest trip updates.

There were no fireworks in Monticello, UT on July 4th. Despite taking its name from the home of Thomas Jefferson, the small town of 1800 didn't put on a show. If they had stopped for the night in Blanding, UT, there might have been more excitement, but by the time he reached Monticello, Art was completely exhausted.

The next day, Art and Ben rode into CO. Somewhere between the towns of Delores and Stoner, they encountered their first bit of rain for about five miles. They spent their first CO overnight in Stoner. The modest accommodation was a cabin, but the dinner was incredible -- all prepared by the mother of the proprietor! For Art the vegetarian, she made homemade beans and a special egg dish. Ben had a meat dish. There was also homemade bread with a strawberry-rhubarb reduction. Delicious!

Temperatures in CO are considerably lower than they were in NV or UT -- much more conducive to biking. When Art and Ben start out the morning, it is in the low 50s and when they finish in the afternoon, it is in the upper 60s. They aren't as concerned about riding early in the day to beat the heat, so they aren't starting at 6 a.m. anymore. There are some hills to climb though. During the 54 miles between Stoner and Telluride, they rode over Lizard Head Pass (10,250 ft). Telluride is at 8775 ft.

Telluride is a beautiful town. Art surmises that there is a lot of "privilege and money" there. He met a few locals who live half the year in Telluride and half the year someplace else like Florida. Art likes to check property prices wherever he goes, so he looked at a listing for $1.4 million and thought that seemed comparable to other resort towns. Then he realized that it was just the price of a 37.5 ft wide empty lot. To get the house on the adjoining lot would cost another $2.5 million!

Our friend Jean drove up from Durango with her 7 yr old son, Ian, to meet them. To tour the area, they walked the groomed dirt trail to the free gondola that runs from 7 a.m. to midnight every day. It was fun to ride it from Telluride to the mountain village to the village parking lot and back. Overnight, Art, Ben, Jean, and Ian all camped in the Town Park. This "park" has tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a 10,000 seat festival theater where Bob Dylan will play on July 21!

At 10 a.m. the next morning, Art and Ben left Telluride to ride 69 miles to Montrose (5806 ft). They arrived at 4:15 p.m. and had a tough time finding a motel on 7/7/07. There wasn't much going on in that working class town. They were glad to be on their way to Gunnison the next day.

To ride from Montrose to Gunnison, they got back on their old lonely friend -- Hwy 50. It was a tough 66 miles with two long climbs. In addition, for the first twelve miles out of Montrose, they experienced a fierce headwind. Fortunately, the wind started to subside a couple of miles into the first four-mile steep climb that began ten miles out. Overall, the ride was harder than they had anticipated. Even Ben developed a stomach cramp, probably from eating lunch, but Art welcomed the excuse to stop and for once, not on account of his old tired body!

Gunnison (7683 ft) is a nice college town, home of the Western State College of Colorado, not far from Crested Butte. It has a cute downtown area and their motel had a microwave and a fridge. Art tried to prepare himself a dinner with a lot of protein. He needed the energy for the long birthday ride to Salida!

Wandering through the red rock canyons of UT

On June 26, Art and Ben rode from Milford to Cedar City, where they spent a rest day. It proved to be a very civilized stay. For one thing, they managed to snag two tickets to King Lear at the Utah Shakespearean Festival that had just opened at Southern Utah University. Art didn't know what to think of it since he had never seen Shakespeare performed live before, but Ben rated it as quite good. Art also stopped at Staples to buy a card reader for a Compact Flash. Yes folks, we now have photos from the road!

The next day, Art e-mailed this update from the local library in Panguitch, UT.

"Ben and I made the big climb to Cedar Breaks National Monument today, all the way from Cedar City at 5840 ft to 10350 ft!


We are now in Panguitch. We have found a new bargain in motel accommodations -- $39 including tax to stay in a second story motel room above a 24-hour truckstop convenience store. Got a yen for some beef jerky at 3 a.m.? No problem! Just walk down the stairs that empty right into the store. No elevator so we carried all our stuff up the stairs!"

On Saturday, Art and Ben rode to Escalante, where they stayed at the same Econolodge as when they drove from Denver to Palo Alto back in 2005 after my Mom's last big family reunion. During the ride up to Escalante, Art used his lowest gear for the first time. The climb is known as "coming through the blues" and Art guesses that it was a 14% grade in stretches.

Between Escalante and the next town, Art and Ben met up with three Englishmen. These three guys had used the farmhouse between Baker and Milford as an overnight stop and are following roughly the same transcontinental route as Art and Ben. However, they are 64, 65, and 72 years old and do not have an eight-week time limit. They are also apparently more fully equipped and weighted down than our boys. In addition to camping gear, one man is carrying not one but two tripods, a camera, and a camcorder!

Anyway, Art and Ben got to know them a bit in Escalante, and agreed to meet them for lunch at the Burr Trail Cafe in Boulder, UT which had such good coffee and such a nice hammock in back that, well, before you knew it, they had managed to while away an hour and a half! Consequently they got a rather late start after lunch, that resulted in a steep ascent from the Escalante River Canyon during the heat of the day (upwards of 100 degrees). They also had to stop during the ride up to adjust a kink that had developed due to a tight link in Ben's chain. After riding 68 miles, they finally arrived in Torrey, UT at 4 p.m. When the manager of the motel saw them pull in, she told her desk clerk to give them a good rate.

From Torrey, they rode to Hanksville where it was, in Art's words, "soooo hot!" It reportedly reached a high of 115 degrees on the day before they arrived. So the next morning, they got up at 4:20 a.m. to leave by 6 a.m. This was one long day of riding! They rode 44 miles up Hwy 24, 38 miles over I-70, and 30 miles down Hwy 191 for a total of 112 miles to their next destination, Moab.

The reason they decided to ride so far in one day was because the only services along the entire ride were at the Green River Rest Stop. It was located 55 miles from Hanksville along I-70, and did not have overnight accommodations. When Art and Ben arrived there at 12:30 p.m., it was already 96 degrees. So they lingered for a couple hours -- drinking gallons of water, looking at maps, and talking to our friend Jean on a cell phone. Jean lives in Durango, CO and they plan to ride through her area on or about July 6.

Sprint PCS - Analog Roaming. For cell phone coverage in remote regions, Art swears that it's the only way to go!

July 4th should be a fairly easy ride to Monticello, UT (pop 1800) where they might even catch some fireworks. Then the next day, they will leave UT and move on to CO. Their first overnight stop in CO will be at either Delores or Stoner.

Baker to Milford : 84 miles - 7.5 hours - 21 cars

On Tuesday, Art and Ben started out at 6 a.m. NV time. After six miles, they crossed into UT and suddenly it was an hour later. So they never got an early start, even though they started out early.

What was Hwy 487 in NV became Hwy 21 in UT. This was truly the loneliest stretch of highway. During the entire ride that day, they saw only 21 cars. It was even lonelier than Hwy 50!

They climbed the long, gradual first hill in the cool of the morning and that was easy. Then they came down into the flats and found the much-mentioned abandoned farmhouse with the single tree in front, and the continuously running hose hanging from the fence. Fellow riders had said, "You can't miss it," and they were right. The boys stopped for a minute to check it out. The farmhouse had a stove, a sink, a bedroom and maybe a bathroom off the back. There were a few dishes in the open cupboard and some salt and pepper. It was located almost exactly halfway between Baker and Milford, before the next big climb began.

With regard to carrying fluids, for several days Art and Ben had each been carrying 32 ozs of Gatorade in addition to three water bottles. They thought that on their long Baker-to-Milford ride they would need more hydration, but it was not to be the case. So they continue to carry two extra pounds each.

After the farmhouse, the climb was steep but relatively short -- Ben the record-keeper, estimates that it was about six miles. The final climb of the day was the real challenge, because by then temperatures had risen, and old Art was worn out. So much to Ben's chagrin, they had to stop several times along the way up. At one point Art yelled, "Let's stop at the top of this next rise!" Ben yelled back, "Oh come on, it's only another mile and a half to the top. Let's just go!" And so they did.

They reached Milford by about 2:30 p.m. local UT time. The high that day was 94 degrees. The miracle was that there was no wind until their final descent into town. They were lucky!

Milford is a mining town without much commerce. The boys checked into the Milford Affordable Motel. Leaving Ben passed out in the motel room, Art ambled over to the one-room public library across the street. There he found 4-5 computers with high-speed Internet access and local town kids gathered around each terminal. The librarian was more than happy to shoo away the kids when Art came in to check his e-mail.

All total, Art and Ben were elated to have ridden 84 miles in about seven and a half hours. On Wednesday, they will ride to Cedar City, UT (pop 20,000) where they will take a day off. I expect that Art will post his own news from there, maybe even with pictures. I will be taking a few days off from the blog, while I attend a reunion in southern CA with members of my Mom's family.