Epilogue: The Cross Country Bike Trip

So you're still checking for updates? You know there haven't been any since September... what are you waiting for?

Hate to disappoint!

This is the part of the blog that looks a lot like those reminiscing freeze frames at the end of the movie when they tell you about each character and where their lives went. I know I foreshadowed some of this in the last entry, but 1) I was wrong and 2) it's a good refresher.

Jonathan is the simplest to report on. He went back to AOL just as planned, and is doing really well in Virginia. I've talked to him, and he says that although things seem the same as they were before he left... they're not. He's learned to hold onto things less tightly and of all of us, I think he misses being on the road the most. An interesting thought from the one who probably suffered the most out of all of us. What does that tell us? I have no idea.

Daveyray settled on a career (no pun intended, as you'll see) as a settlement lawyer. Sellout! Not a chance - though he may have to wear a tie to work, he's learning something new and enjoying what he's doing. He still gets that faraway look in his eye when we talk about the bike trip, so I know you don't have to dig deep beneath the tie to find the beating heart of an adventurer. Something like that. He's dating Jess, one of the fans from the Wyoming pictures. That could have been you, ladies out there, if you'd MADE THE EFFORT TO COME VISIT US!

Johnny K would seem like he's all over the map, but he just happened to have ended up back where he started. He's hopping on staff with Young Life in Alexandria, something his heart has always been passionate about. So he'll be back with the boys, doing what he loves, following his heart. I'm so stinking proud of him, almost as much as I am jealous.

I, of course, took the road less traveled by. And yes, it has made all the difference. I'm taking the blog in a new direction and taking a few die hard fans (you) with me. You are the proud and the few and the most certainly odd who checked this website (or found it by accident, God bless you) and kept on reading. Thanks for sticking around - I'm not going to promise the action packed excitement of a cross country bike trip, nor the hijinx of a small band of brothers... just the fear and trembling of a young man in the midst of an adventure known as his own life and the chronicles of the people that sweep in and out of it. The only thing I promise is that it will be genuine. Probably.

I'm in Portland, OR, just back from Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my family. That's right - I never went home. After the bike trip, my dad really DID come out here to meet me. We really DID drive down the California coast (really worthy of it's own blog) and we never got past San Francisco. Instead, I chose to move to Portland and we made a large loop out to Yosemite Park and then back through Oregon.

Why?

There are a lot of reasons, the deepest of which I'm not sure I've figured out myself. The summary is that the Lord made it very clear that there was a choice before me - to go home to what I knew or to press on into something new. He paved both paths, prepared my heart and gave me a choice. So I chose.

It wasn't easy, there have been many questions and repercussions... but it's obvious that the Lord is at work here in Portland. What happened was that my Dad took an extra 10 days to get out here, and I had nowhere to go. So I called my friend Mindy in Portland and asked if I could stay with her for an indeterminate period of time. Pressed for an answer, she agreed and picked me up at the train station the next morning. I'm glad she agreed before she saw me - four months growth of beard and hair does nothing to help your cause. I crashed on a day bed while she left to spend some time with her friend. When I awoke I met the owners of the house - Mike and Beka. I now work with them, just to give the ending away. I certainly had no inkling at the time.

The rest of the 10 days were a whirlwind - a place to stay, a church to attend, friends to hang out with and a clear sense that SOMETHING was up all smashed into my world one after another. I wasn't looking to move to Portland, I wasn't even particularly excited about it at first... but all many of my questions have been answered over time, enough to convince me that I'm in exactly the right place for right now.

There's a lot more to the story than that, but it's a beginning. The bike trip is over, but real life forges ahead - if you're up for reading along, fantastic! If not, I won't be offended.

Talk to you soon -

Ryan

Day 89: We've Run The Race

Ladies and Gentlemen - the Guys on Bikes have completed their journey!

I will spill all the details, but first we need to catch up. We last left you in Dayville, OR. We spent the next day pounding out the miles to the top of Ochoco Divide Campground. It was a day almost entirely uphill and somewhat brutal. We camped out in style, however, and took over almost half the campground with our tents and giant campfire. Funny how few people camp out at the top of a mountain pass on a freezing cold Wednesday night in September.

We rode a disappointing downhill out of Ochoco in the morning and headed off to Sisters, named after the three snow capped peaks that typically dominate the horizon when it's not raining. Unfortunately it was raining. Jonathan and I went ahead and Daveyray and Johnny stayed behind, so when this lady stopped us on the side of the road and told us we had stay at her house and that she'd been hosting cyclists for 20 years, we weren't sure what to do. Where were Johnny and Daveyray? We trusted our instincts, accepted her offer, threw our BOB trailers into the back of her pickup truck and headed off into town to see if we could find the other dudes. Of course we hadn't seen them for hours, but Patty ran into them in the half mile back to her house. We got an elated phone call on the cellphone. I can only imagine the conversation - "I have your friends' things! You're staying at my house! Oh! I don't even know their names!" The Lord works in some fun ways.

So Jonathan and I ordered pizza in town to be delivered to the house and headed back to Patty's house to eat it. What a great house! Her and her husband Jim built it and we were spoiled once more. Fresh towels, hot pizza, internet access... all the things the Guys on Bikes need.

We destroyed breakfast the next morning in Sisters. We ate at the Gallery and knew there would be no stops for the better part of the day, so Jonathan treated us to one of our last breakfasts. We each ordered two - there were twelve dinner plates on the table when the smoke cleared. Good thing, too - McKenzie Pass was HORRIBLE. It rained all day on the way up to the pass, which wasn't the worst as the sun would peek through the clouds to warm us up. Upon reaching the top we were welcomed with a frigid wind that froze us right through. We stopped and met some ladies hiking over the pass that had camped out in the watchtower, and they shared their soup and coffee with us. Probably saved our lives. Johnny skipped the stop and headed on to the campground. On the way down the other side of the pass, my head was filled with emergency plans in case hypothermia took hold. If you think I'm joking, Jonathan, Daveyray and I huddled in a National Forest outhouse for half an hour just to regain feeling in our fingers and toes so we could control the brakes on the steep downhill. That was a low moment. We did make it to McKenzie Bridge that evening, soaked and freezing. We couldn't really stay at a campground as all our stuff would be wet again the next morning... but all the lodging was booked! Jonathan and Daveyray met Kent and his wife at a restaurant in town, and they offered to put us up for the night. Kent drove us and our bikes to his house and we borrowed his wife's car to get ourselves over there! We enjoyed a giant pizza at the restaurant Kent was doing the finishing work at, and all crashed comfortably on beds and inflatable matresses and the floor. They made us breakfast in the morning! It went from a dire situation to a wonderful experience in a matter of moments. Kent is also the interim pastor at the Church of Christ in McKenzie Bridge if you're ever passing through. Incredible how the Lord is taking care of us.

Day 87 we rode from McKenzie Bridge on to Eugene! We stayed at Peter and Patricia's in Eugene and they treated us like KINGS! They pampered us for our last day's ride, right up to two bottles of champagne for the big moment! We can't thank them enough.

We rode from Eugene to Florence after a late start, with a couple of pace cars in tow. What a treat riding without a 75 pound duffel bag in tow! We made it to Florence around 4:30 and couldn't find the beach. We headed down the famous highway 101 and turned off at the South Jetty. I was so excited to get to the water I actually fell off my bike into the sand. Luckily no one saw. We all saw the Pacific and raced down to the parking lot. Daveyray was the first one over the dunes and there lay the Pacific.

We took a ton of pictures with the bikes, with our friends who came to meet us, and then ran into the Pacific. Why not? Jonathan insisted we swim.

I guess we had a long time to think about this moment, so maybe it was tough to believe we were actually there. We were definitely elated, but in the back of our minds we wondered about tomorrow. What happens now?

The good news is that I think we all take it home with us. I know all of us have learned a lot about ourselves and what we are capable of. I myself am looking forward to the next challenge. The hard part is to think that the Guys on Bikes are no more. I think we'll always think of ourselves as a team, even though our journey is over.

We celebrated in Florence care of Jonathan's dad. It was just right - we even met up with George from Kentucky! (George is FROM Texas, but we met him in Kentucky). We uncorked the champagne and unwound. At the end of the night, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

I suppose if this were a movie, this is the part where we would each have our own theme music playing and a short prologue would show on the screen explaining where each person ended up. I'll try my best.

Jonathan (We Are the Champions by Queen rocks loudly)

Jonathan is taking a couple days to get up to Portland with Sara and Daveyray. From there they will fly back to DC and Jonathan will go back to work. He'll be planning next year's ride, I'm sure.

Daveyray (Eye of the Tiger by Survivor - Rocky Theme)

Daveyray is not sure where he's headed. He was planning on heading home, but he might detour through California. From there he'll end up back in DC looking for his next career move. Any thoughts?

Johnny (All You Need is Love - Beatles)

Johnny is heading back to the Philly area to figure out his next move. He's got plans to buy an ice cream shop, to maybe teach again, and to train for several Ironman Triathlons in the next year.

Ryan (Indiana Jones Theme Song)

The adventure continues. Another week of fun in Oregon, and then my Dad is coming to pick me up in my van. We'll head down the coast and drive back cross country, and then I'll probably go back to work. If I have to.


Lord, thank you for a fantastic trip. You've been in every part of it, from planning to safety to places to stay to what we ate to the relationships between us. We've learned to enjoy your splendor and not to worry about tomorrow. I pray that we'll know you're watching over us all after this trip just as much as you did while we were on it. And bless the next adventures.

Day 84: Dayville, OR

We had an awesome conversation with Father Rob on Sunday night... we all really enjoyed his company and hospitality. As if Baker City hadn't done enough for us, we met the Kings for breakfast the next morning and felt like we were on the inside - they opened up the Inland Cafe for us a half hour early. Highly recommend the place next time you're in Baker City.

We thanked the Kings profusely for a wonderful meal and great company and headed off into the rain. Actually, Johnny and Jonathan headed off into the rain and Daveyray and I headed back to Mad Matilda's Coffee Shop because it was too cold. We met 150 people in the next hour, I can't list them all. Tom who ran bike tours along the Oregon Trail (guess what we talked about?), a nice gal who used to work at Metro Run and Walk in Falls Church who was ON the bike tour, along with her DAD and her FRIEND and another dude on the bike tour. Then lots of other people came and hung out, then some dude who ran some hotline in Baker City, then the coffee shop lady came and hung out with us. You get the idea. The rain died down to a freezing deluge and we took off for Dixie Summit. It took us all stinking day. Three passes (which means LOTS of climbing) and on and off freezing rain. The Johnny and Jonathan stopped at a cafe and waited out a hailstorm and ate blackberry cobbler. We know this because they left a message with the guy at the cafe that went something like this - "We waited out the hailstorm and ate all the cobbler. We have the emergency food if we need it. See you at the campground!" Oh the adventures. Daveyray and I watched The Great Outdoors with John Candy at the cafe, and Daveyray ate my elk burger. That's right, we're still a little off the beaten path. We waited until it got real dark and then started climbing Dixie Pass. So smart. Some lady pulled over and said "Want me to follow you?" and we said "YES!" and so she put on her hazard lights and followed us all the way to the campground. We walked around and I honked my bike horn until the guys got out of their tents and started hollering. I couldn't believe it, but there were actually other people at the campground. It was a cold wet disgusting Monday night.

Day 84 (today if you're paying attention) was a downhill ride to Prairie Dog Town (I think it's Prairie City, but Prairie Dog Town is much more bloggable) and we ate the whole bakery there. Jonathan went on ahead, the rest of us mowed through cups of coffee and cinammon rolls and read the paper. It was vunderbar.

On to Dayville! It was supposed to be all downhill, but it wasn't. At least the weather cleared up. The ride was actually quite pleasant and we arrived in Dayville during the day. Ha! We nailed down burgers at TX Lounge (who names these places?) and promised to come back for ALL YOU CAN EAT TACO NIGHT (spoke in deep voice with mighty reverb). We are staying at the Presbyterian HOTEL here in Dayville. It's a hostel for bikers and a little ridiculous. Shower, laundry, full kitchen, two TVs, two VCRs, easy access to ALL YOU CAN EAT TACO LOUNGE... the works. We're sleeping right in front of the pulpit tonight. I hope nobody gives a sleep sermon.

ALL YOU CAN EAT TACO NIGHT was exactly what it sounds like, and the only thing to do in Dayville at ... night.

We're off to sleep, then on to Ochoco Pass in the morning which apparently has the steepest downhill they can legally make in Oregon! We'll see when we get there...

Day 82: Reprieve in Baker City

The Guys are taking a day off in Baker City, and the Lord has BLESSED it! We rode into Oregon two days ago and were incredibly disappointed that there was no welcome sign. We took a private road, Rt 86 (owned by Idaho Power Company) and they didn't put up a welcome sign! We'll make up for it somehow. We rode along the incredibly beautiful Snake River into Hell's Canyon and spent a dry night there. The sprinklers were clearly designated - no more mishaps. Day 81 we spent riding UPHILL from Hell's Canyon to Baker City. Grueling. When Johnny and I arrived in Baker, Daveyray and Jonathan were already enjoying fries at Barley Browns. We asked the waitress where the nearest McDonald's was so we could use up our gift certificates, and she made a disappointed face that we weren't staying at Barley Brown's. I joked that we would if they took McDonald's gift certificates, paid up and hopped on our bikes. The waitress came back just as we were pulling out and said "The manager said we can take your gift certificates - Baker City is good like that." WHAT!?? We had a feast at Barley Brown's, I'll tell you that much. What a fantastic meal, we left a giant stack of gift certificates on the table for payment. AWESOME! The manager, Tyler, also called the Catholic Church across the street and although he didn't get a hold of Father Rob, said it would probably be fine if we camped out on the lawn. So we headed over there and started to set up our tents as the rain started. Luckily Father Rob found US. "Want a dry place to sleep tonight?" We've learned to say yes very quickly. Father Rob let us take over the basement of the church, replete with 19 couches and a TV and VCR. We watched Mystic River last night and slept oh-so-soundly! God is so good.

Today is Day 82, a Sunday and a much needed rest. We attended the Baptist Church this morning and heard Seton Lee speak about the atrocities in Cambodia. A really powerful message, even more so since I'd been to the Killing Fields he talked about earlier this year. We met the Kings, who invited us to lunch, and the Nielsens, who also invited us to lunch. CRAZY! The Kings agreed to change it to breakfast tomorrow, and we spent the afternoon HERE at the Nielsen's where I'm writing my update from! They are just a fantastic family and a lot of fun. There's a lot of laughter coming from upstairs as I write this! Thank God for taking such good care of us. The Nielsen's opened up their house, shared their lives and their food with us. I'm floored once again.

From here we head back to the Catholic Church for what will probably rank as one of the greatest naps of the trip. We've been eating all day (we destroyed what remained of the McDonald's gift certificates this morning on Deluxe Super Breakfasts) and we're ready to crash for a day of rest. How wonderful.

Last night at McDonald's (we went there for dessert after Barley Brown's - I was trying not to tire you with food tales) we met a nice couple and they thought we could use some fresh pears. They ran out to their car and brought a bunch back for us. We love Baker City.

One more week to Florence! We're already worried about how we're going to reenter society...

The Guys on Bikes are holding up well, using this day to restore energy and spirits for the last week. I think we are already sensing the bittersweet ending this is going to be. Thank God we have so many lessons, memories, blessings, friends and pictures to take home with us. Except for the friends.

Day 79: I Don't Know Where I Am

That's funny! We stopped at a library between Riggins and Council, and I have NO idea what town we're in. Life on the road.

This will actually be a short update since we wrote only a couple of days ago. We were GOING to stay in Grangeville at the city park, but Daveyray and Johnny K met Reyna. She was a Grangevillite and offered us to camp out at her house and use her shower. Once she realized how "cool" we were, they let us sleep inside, do laundry, all those things that Dudes on Bikes need. It was PLUSH! Thank you so much Patrick and Reyna and River for opening up your house to us - we have great memories of Grangeville!

We pedaled onwards to Riggins the next day, promising to be one of the nicest of the trip. We cruised along the Salmon River under a beautiful sun, and it was DOWNHILL. We camped out at a rest stop past Riggins and bathed in the river. That's right. All of us. I'm not sure if the rest stop got more or less than its usual traffic yesterday. We grilled steaks on the built in BBQs and camped out under SPRINKLERS! They warned us that the sprinklers would go off, but Daveyray and I set up our tent practically on top of one. It was ... exciting. Jonathan had to move from one picnic table to the other just to keep dry. Oh the adventure! Today we're almost done climbing and we're looking forward to mostly downhill to Council for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow - OREGON! Can you believe it? Nine days of riding in Oregon and day off for sanity and we reach the coast. It's a little unbelievable to us as we've been cruising for almost three months now.

We got the packages - they were awesome - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We've got enough stuff to get us to the coast in style. Thanks for the support, the love from home, and the hospitality on the road.

Coast, here we come!

Day 77: Grangeville, ID -- NOTE THE NEW PICTURES!

New photos posted!

We are CRANKING through states like they are chili on rice. In case you're wondering, that's one of our favorite camp meals and we eat A LOT of it VERY QUICKLY. It's funny and scary at the same time.

So we made it from Twin Bridges to Butte. Johnny and I playfully considered heading on from Butte to Anaconda and staying in the city park - 100 miles, our first century. Didn't happen. The wind kicked up and the sand blew in our faces and we knew the Lord was telling us to stop. So we did at the Travel Plaza. We asked about places to camp, and the dude there suggested the RV park 1/2 mile up the road. It was FREE! Well, it really wasn't free, but no one was in the office the entire time we were there. We checked! We didn't take any showers just to keep it honest.

We met back up with the other dudes at Lodgepole Campground at Georgetown Lake. Felt like a long ride with the headwinds. Felt even longer to Daveyray and Jonathan who went 11 miles out of their way in the wrong direction. The good news is that they can boast that they crossed the Continental Divide 10 times instead of the 9 times Johnny and I did. Nice! Lodgepole Campground was where me made the biggest fire of the trip - Johnny and I and Daveyray gathered firewood for a couple of hours.

It was COLD! Glad we made so much fire.

We rode out from Lodgepole to Chalet Bearmouth. What's in a name, anyway? The chalet was alright, though it was in the traditional spot next to the highway. We made four boxes of Mac and Cheese. We also did laundry. We also charged up our electronics equipment. These are important things to Guys on Bikes!

From Chalet Bearmouth we rode to Missoula, a short 37 miles. We went straight to Adventure Cycling which unadventurously was closed on a Saturday. We then climbed the highest hill in Missoula to stay at the Williamsons. Sue and her four daughters welcomed us as we pulled in the driveway and even let us borrow their van to get back into town! Daveyray has some wonderful Young Life connections, let me tell you. I slept in a BED!

We checked out a mountain bike festival in Missoula, which was VERY cool. They set up an entire course and showed off their abilities. We did NOT try any stunts with our touring bikes, though the idea was mentioned.

We ate dinner at Iron Horse and got very excited to go out in Missoula and hear some live music on a Saturday night! After dinner it got late, and we went home instead. At 8:30pm. The Guys on Bikes were beat.

We hung out at the house for eight minutes and then went to sleep.

Next morning we all went to church with the Williamsons - it was GREAT. We all put on deodorant and wore our nicest polyblend shirts. We also crushed together in the van for the 5 minute ride to church. Those Williamsons rock. Thank you!

We rode from Missoula to Powell. We were supposed to go to a campground, but it was full - so we stayed behind the country store near a lodge. Vague enough? It was great, we mide the infamous chili on rice. The lodge was incredible, with lots of appropriate dead animal heads on the wall, books to read and games to play. I HIGHLY recommend the huckleberry cobbler. The huckleberry pancakes are an excellent breakfast. We rolled out of there to Lowell, not to be confused with Powell. There is NOTHING but gorgeous scenery between Powell and Lowell. Literally. There is even sign on the way out of Powell telling you that there is NOTHING for almost 70 miles. How sweet.

Lowell was great - we ended up at Wild Goose campground and it had a BEACH! The boys of summer crashed out and snoozed along the banks of the Lochsa River, enjoyed burritos and an incredible river sunset. From Powell to Lowell was all downhill. What a great day.

Today's ride took us from Lowell to Grangeville. We coasted downhill the first half and then climbed right back up. The weather was perfect and we had a beautiful river to follow almost the whole way. Not a bad ride. We picked up PACKAGES here in Grangeville- Thank you THANK YOU! We haven't opened them yet - we'll open them at dinner to make it Christmas-like. Daveyray and I went to the secret bike shop in the back of the pizza place and bought a tire, and some wonderful woman told us we could camp in her backyard and use her shower tonight. How's that for Idaho hospitality?

We're all getting excited to finish - Oregon and the end are in sight. We've got 12 days of riding left. That's what our butts are telling us, anyway.

Almost to the Coast!

Day 71: Twin Bridges, Montana

It was a beautiful ride from West Yellowstone to West Fork Campground. The lady there was really sweet - she gave us free hot dogs for dinner and cinnamon rolls in the morning. The rolls were as big as our faces. The next morning we rode to Virginia City. Mostly downhill, with a big climb for the finish. We saw some lakes formed by earthquakes which were very cool - you could still see the dead trees sticking up out of the water.

Last night we ate at Bob's in Virginia City and had the two girls working there create us a giant meatball sub. They had 3 foot sub rolls and we convinced them to fill them with meatballs and cheese. It was glorious.

Virginia City is somehow frozen in time. All the buildings are from the mid 1800s and very well preserved. They had lots of antique stores, a bakery, and a knick-knack place. The perfect place for four dudes to spend several hours. Needless to say, we went back to the campsite early and made fire. That was much better.

Today is September 1 - the big countdown! We have less than 20 days of riding left! We're taking a little alternate path through Montana to save some time, but we're still looking at riding for the coast on Sunday, September 19, barring any incidents. Exciting!

We still have one day off to take between here and the end, so you can put your suggestions in the blog comments. Keep it clean.

We're starting to sing a lot during the day, and the weirdest songs get stuck in our heads. It's a sign we've been on the road too long.