|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the road again... August 24, 2008Leave a comment  View More Images Just like Willie Nelson's song, I'm at it again. I bet by the time this ride is over my bike will be like his guitar, well used, it just won't have a big hole in the middle! My apologies for not getting this blog out last night. I had a great time with the Strombeck's last night here in Kamiah, but I did not have internet access to upload my stuff. I did type this late into the evening, so if it sounds a bit loopy, you'll know why (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I'm pedaling Rex, I'm pedaling! Gee, I can't even get a little extra sleep and it's go go go... ;o) Kind of like keeping on the timeline! No post-sleep, just dive right into EVA prep and start sucking O2 from the mask. I think I will take LA's recommendation and see what my VO2 levels are and compare them with my pre-flight EVA protocol numbers and see if I am actually in better shape than when I flew. For those of you that are wondering what in the world I am talking about, I'll decipher my gibberish. Before we fly in space and perform an EVA (space walk), we have to get on a stationary bike in one of the labs at NASA and exercise up to our maximum heart rate while measuring how well our bodies consume oxygen. Based on the outcome of the test, NASA prescribes a particular exercise protocol to use prior to your EVA while breathing 100% oxygen. This allows our bodies to purge the excess nitrogen in our blood so that we do not develop a condition known as the "bends." This condition results when, at lower pressure levels, dissolved nitrogen in the blood comes out of solution (turns to a gas bubble in the bloodstream) and ends up in your brain (very bad) or causes pain in the joints or along the skin. If you are more aerobically fit your body is better capable of utilizing the oxygen you breathe in. So, by the end of this bike ride I had better be in the best aerobic condition of my life! This morning started out calling Brad from TNT bikes and dragging him down to his shop three hours before he was scheduled to open (he told me to, really!). He had finished with my bike and it was in great shape. They did a super job of getting the aero bars in place such that my handlebar bag could be easily installed and removed. The positioning of the bars gives me many options on hand placement so that I can offload the weight on my hands. I can sit more upright and use the forearm pads for hand placement or lean forward and use the pads as resting points for my arms. It feels great and was much less painful than before. I loaded up the bike after a filling breakfast of peanut and almond butter pancakes (yep, I still eat them...), orange juice, coffee, and a banana. I think I keep adding weight to the bike (and me) at every stop as I keep getting mementos from the folks I meet. I have been given lapel pins from each tribe that I have visited, so I have been installing them on the strap hanging from my front left pannier. I will probably add about ten pounds of weight (to the bike, not me) by the time this trip is over! I headed through downtown Lewiston and picked up Hwy 12 toward Missoula. The mileage sign said 207 miles, so I started pedaling really fast. Gotta get there by nightfall... yeah, right... Two hundred and seven miles divided by 70 miles per day, gives how many days of travel to get there? Snuck the problem in right up front, huh? I am taking my time! I have to be in Missoula by Wednesday night in order to catch a flight to Durango, CO on Thursday morning to attend the convocation at Fort Lewis College. I'm the guest speaker so I should probably be there, don't you think? The ride up Hwy 12 took me by the Potlatch paper mill and if you have ever lived by a mill, you will agree that the aroma is less than pleasing, to put it mildly! Pedal faster John, pedal faster.... The road is fairly narrow along 12 with very little shoulder. Some stretches are worse than others, but the cars and trucks gave me plenty of room, so I never worried about getting hit. I was following the Clearwater River so the advantage was a relatively flat road, with the disadvantage being many curves and some blind corners. Just across the river from the Clearwater River Casino, there is a formation on the top of the hill that looks like the face of a young Indian lying prone looking toward the skies. From a particular position, it is very obvious. The formation is called Elbow Child and the legend states that the child is the son of Coyote, having come from his elbow. He died young and this is how Coyote honored his memory. Traffic was relatively light and I pulled into the first store I came to and filled my water bottles with ice, grabbed some peanut butter crackers and had a chat with the clerk. In addition to me, he was shooting the breeze with two bikers, (Harley type) about how incredibly dangerous Hwy 12 is. "I see the ambulance every day going up and coming back, dragging some slab of human body with it every time." He turns and smiles at me. "Where are you headed?" "Um, er, nowhere! Just gonna sit right here until I die of old age," I say. "I'll be in the back drinking a coke. Tell me when the next ambulance passes by. I might be able to beat him up the pass!" Nice conversation to start a ride up a narrow little road! "But it is very scenic," he concludes. "Have a nice day." Yep, I think I will... The miles pass by very quickly, my mind wandering with each passing mile marker. The town of Orofino comes along about 40 miles into my ride. A huge dam covers a valley facing the road. Dworshak Dam is the highest straight axis dam in North America. I was pedaling just east of Orofino when I struck up a conversation with Ron, Nadine and Julie. I am usually asked, "where are you going?" So I respond, "Today or eventually?" Kind of hard to swallow "Florida" at the beginning of the conversation, so it is a good ice breaker to talk about the next stop and then drop the lond distance bomb on them. That way they aren't too shocked. It was right about here that my GPS starting acting up. I didn't figure it out until I was about three miles out of Kamiah. But my mileage on the GPS was stuck at 41 miles, so some alien must have climbed abroad my GPS software and started wreaking havoc with the program. Another strange event with my GPS. I will figure it out tomorrow! I haven't seen much in the way of wildlife except an osprey that kept diving out of the trees and performing acrobatics over the river. I did catch him later diving straight down and coming up with a fish. I took a picture of him sitting contently on a rock in the middle of the river, enjoying the fruits of his labors. Well, maybe "fruits" is not the correct term here. Something fishy about that... har har... I pulled into Kamiah with time to spare. I had anticipated arriving around 6:00 pm, but bat that time by about 45 minutes. John Strombeck and his wife Cindy invited me to stay in the home (RV actually) and made a fabulous dinner of grilled moose meat. The peach pie was phenomenal! Even though I made it here in one piece (human slab of meat, remember?) I met with Stacy Phelps and Jay Roman from South Dakota to work on the AIII initiative. I didn't drag back into the rack until past midnight. Getting theses blogs out for me is always fun, but they take on a different tone if I work on them after midnight. Today, I will head on up the pass and find a campground. I hear there are a lot of nice ones, but few stores, so I have to stock up on supplies about the time I get to Lowell. I made a mistake yesterday, they are located between mile marker 96 and 97 on Hwy 12. Time to start looking for cougars. Here kitty kitty.... The stats today from my Garmin are not accurate today. The darn thing locked up in the middle and left only 41.25 miles Total mileage: 42.14 miles (GPS) 69.9 (Trek) Total time: 5:54:36.63 Avg pace: 8:24 / mi Avg speed: 7.1 mph (Garmin) 11.5 (trek) Max speed: 24.1 mph Total calories: 2168 Avg heart rate: 124 bpm Max heart rate: 149 bpm Total ascent: 866 feet Total descent: 608 feet More Images:          7 Comments
Aug 25, 2008 1:16 pm - Steven Sobotta wrote : Hope you enjoyed the jars of salmon. Maybe you can get some again sometime. My daughter Dawn-Rose L. Ratcliff was not able to get your autograph when you were in Lapwai at the Boys & Girls club. She had given her rocketrek paper to me and did not have it to get it signed. Please contact me in the future if there is a way she can get an autograph from you. Maybe I can send you some more fish too. Glad you enjoyed our little part of Idaho.
Aug 25, 2008 12:39 pm - Liz Gundersen wrote : Hi John - I found your site today as I was looking for Native American/NASA links. I am a Science Educator at ExplorationWorks, a new science center in Helena MT. I am currently collaborating with Dava Newman, Professor of Astronautics at MIT she grew up in Montana , on a NASA science center grant that will help build a NASA exhibit, bring famous NASA astronauts and scientists to Montana, and provide STEM outreach across the state. I cannot tell if you are passing through Helena, but if you are, we are right on Hwy 12 and would love to meet you/feed you/put you up for a night.
Aug 25, 2008 12:29 pm - pixarjunkie wrote : hello my relation!!! finally I have internet access! nice blog, btw. : I'll try to keep up with your stuff as often as I can. Have fun biking! I'll be in my freshman class X oh wells. love you much!
Aug 25, 2008 11:36 am - suzette wrote : JOhn, We are looking forward to you stopping at the Science Museum for a free lunch!!!
Aug 25, 2008 10:29 am - Don Lange wrote : John, Hello, My name is Don Lange, my family and I live in Missoula, Montana. I have 3 sons who go to Hellgate Elementary school in 1st, 5th and 7th grades. Hellgate is a NASA Explorer school. I'm A substitute teacher there,a parent classroom helper for 8 years, a MRI Technologist and have lead bicycle trips across the USA. We would like to offer for you to stay at our home here in Missoula and would also like to either ride in on bike with you or out as you leave. I hope you can stop and spend some time at Hellgate Elementary School. Contact us mtlangefamily@msn.com, 406-543-4509
Aug 25, 2008 2:03 am - Angella Crosby wrote : John, I believe it was you that my husband and I ran into at the Thunderbird II Gas Station in Lenore, ID today. We were the couple on the silver and black Harley Davidson. You were filling up your bottles with ice water and we were discussing how dangerous the highway can be in the winter. It was nice to chat with you. I had no idea this is what you were doing or who you were until I read it about it online at KLEWTV.com and recognized your handsome smile. Good luck and I will be reading your entries!!! Add a comment: |
 RSS
Follow John on his trek via
Google Earth! 
PLEASE SUPPORT
THESE SPONSORS 
View Clip Now! >> |
Linn Productions.
Hello John, Happy 50th birthday year! Best wishes on this amazing trip. You are an inspiration to me. I just talked to Stacy tonite. We will be following your progress at SDSMT. I have two T-Shirts for you. Carter