Days 2 and 3 Updated by Russ' wife, Mary

Total miles travelled on bike: 201

Day 2:  93.6 miles  7 hrs 35 min riding time

average speed 12.3 mph

Incidents:  At 60 miles, 2 women on motorcycles gave me a quart of water.  A big truck forced me off onto the soft sand shoulder while passing another vehicle coming toward me.  I fell, but did not get injured.  At 89 miles, I was out of fluids and going very slowly.  I waived down a vehicle and 2 young guys gave me a couple of monster drinks.  I made it into Vidal Junction about 4:30 and cooled off in a gas station cafe.  I hung out at the cafe until about 6:30 and then headed across the street and pitched my tent on really rocky ground.  It was not easy.  At 8:30 I started trying to get sleep, but it was difficult with all the noise from the trucks at the junction.  According to my wife, the high for the day was 96 degrees, and at 8:30 it was still 88 degrees.  

Day 3:  61.3 miles, 5 hours 37 minutes of riding time, average speed 10.9 mph

Incidents:  Had 2 flat tires on my trailer wheel.  I went through a goat head patch.  I patched the first flat and thought all was well, but it was flat again 4 or 5 miles later.  I decided to limp to the next town about 20 miles away by pumping the tire with my miniature dual head pump.  That proved to be a lot of work, especially since the temperature was approaching the mid nineties.  I made it to town and decided to eat lunch at a restaurant.  After lunch a gentleman offered to take me, my tire, and wheel to half a mile down the street to a tire shop.  It took the guy longer to patch it than it took me.  I guess he was not use to such a small wheel.  Anyway, he had a water tank and found 2 other tiny holes.  Forty minutes later I was back on the road, but going very slow.  I had a tail wind that made my going seem even hotter, as there was no breeze to cool me off.  Finally, I had enough and flagged down a guy in a truck who offered to take me the 13 miles remaining to Salome, Arizona.  I got a hotel room and am now thinking of taking a day off to recuperate.  I have a raw spot on my bottom in the crease, and my left arm is numb from my elbow to my little finger.  It is also very weak.  I will just have to see what the morning brings.

Ride - Day One

The morning started out great. Ben Vassantechart showed up and rode with me for 25 miles. Robert McAtee showed up in his car and went back and forth along the route making sure everything was OK, taking pictures and video. I got to see quite a few Lopers out on the course as we rode by and took a few by surprise I think. I'm not sure Sandy Wible knew who I was, judging by her reaction when I called out, "Hi Sandy." I'll forgive her! I'm not usually wearing a helmet when she sees me.

After about 3 hours we stopped at a Starbucks and Robert bought me a Frappaccino Mocha! Very refreshing! Then Ben's wife showed up to take him back home and I took off again. Robert and Ben both followed a ways and I only got a few blocks away when I noticed I had a flat rear tire. They both graciously stopped and helped me repair the tire and soon I was on my way again.

Five miles later, one of the streets I was supposed to take was blocked off by a gate and Robert helped me find a way around. Two miles later, I found I could not take another road, I had planned on taking, and lost some more time trying to figure out a new route. After some frustration, Robert and I decided to stop and eat lunch at what I think was a Pioneer Chicken place. We met two gentlemen, one in his late 50's and the other 61 who were doing the Pacific Crest Trail. They had run into each other on the trail and joined up as a team.

Robert took off scouting some more for me, while I continued to eat and talk with the hikers, and found that I could get to an old abandoned service road from the on ramp to the freeway. From there he left me on my own. About 9 miles later I again had problems with my routing and found that my next street was a dirt road. I backtracked a half mile and walked a good part of it as the wind was becoming outrageous. 50 mph gusts. I could not control the bike when I got into a side wind at all. I went on another 2 miles or so down the freeway, with a tail wind, and found my way to what I thought was my next road and it too was a dirt road. by now I could really not control the bike at all and decided to call my wife. She came an hour later and we drove about 40 miles or so to Twentynine Palms and got a hotel for the night which is where I am presently writing from.

I am hoping that the wind dies down, as the weather forecast predicts, for tomorrow morning. My wife informed me that she is still open to rescuing me tomorrow, if I continue on, but after tomorrow the offer is off the table. I am really quite drained from fighting the wind those last 9 miles. Even with a tailwind the trailer was hard to control because of the gusting which made it unstable. tomorrow the forecast is for 10 to 15mph wind which I can, if that truly pans out.

Not the best way to start out my trip but memorable non the less.

Thanks so much to Robert and Ben for all their help and encouragement! It would have been an even tougher day withou you guys.

Thanks to my wonderful wife who is such an angel and somehow puts up with me!

Last Day of Preparation for The Big Ride

Wow! So much to do and so little time. I have decided to start the ride even though I am a little underfunded at the moment. I guess you could say this is a "leap of faith" in more ways than one. I just want to thank all of you who have encouraged me, given me tips and tricks, warned me about the dangers, and contributed financially.

An adventure is, almost by definition, striking out on an odyssey with a lot of unknowns. This will definitely be an adventure. Each day will be different. A different section of highway, new scenery, different people to meet, different weather conditions, possible road hazards such as flat tires. I am actually looking forward to all of it, even the problems for the problems contribute to the story.

I will miss you all, so do try and keep in touch. I will probably be done riding by 3pm most days and more available to talk via cell phone. Texting and email, will help me conserve battery power.

Many have asked about how I will stay in communication. I will have a Solar/Battery battery charger. It is a battery and solar charger in one unit. One hour of daylight can provide 10 minutes of talk time. I also plan on taking my notebook computer and blogging every day I can get a chance.

Well, I have to get back to preparations now and get ready for the big day tomorrow!

Three Days until I Start Riding Across America

I finished the Alpine Challenge and had a great time even though I had a flat tire! 60 miles in 5hrs 14min, 11.3mph average speed while riding. Those aren't great numbers but they are respectable. I got a good idea of what it will be like to hit a lot of hills in a short period of time. I did not push myself as I really didn't know what to expect and didn't want to blow up!

Monday morning me and three of my friends left for the Grand Canyon. Tuesday we hiked 7.5 miles to the bottom from the south rim along the South Kaibab trail, to the Colorado River and Phantom Ranch. From there we hiked 9.5 miles back up Bright Angel trail back to the south rim. You can see pictures of the trip from my Facebook Page . It was a very long hike and there are many warnings not to try and do the whole hike in one day. I have to say I am very sore but thanks to my running and cycling I was able to make it in one day. We had great weather as the high temperature at the bottom was probably only in the mid 70's. I am so sore that I will not be riding 40 - 50 miles as planned today. I need at least one more day of recovery.

It is getting down to the wire with only three days left for departure and I do not have all the money I would like to have for the ride at this time. I am hoping to not have to cut the ride short but If I don't have at least $1500 by Saturday I may not be able to do the whole ride as planned. Right now I am about $700 short of that amount. I have to make a decision on whether to do a shorter ride or wait a few more weeks and hope that more money comes in.

I was hoping to post how my ride, pulling the trailer weighted down with 70lbs, went. I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Cheers,

Russ

News Update on Trip Preperations

Latest Training

Last Sunday I rode to the beach and back from Yorba Linda Regional Park with my friend Andy. It was very hot but we had a good time. It was about a 45 mile ride. Tuesday I Left late in the morning to try and do a 60 mile ride out and back from my home to Oak Glen and back. It was over 80 degrees already when I left at 8:40 in the morning. I didn't make it to the summit on Oak Glen road, but I did get pretty far. It was a total 50 miles riding and 4200 feet of elevation climbing for the round trip. The thermometer read 103 degrees on my front poarch when I got back. It was a pretty tough ride but as you can see I made it just fine.

Saturday I am doing a the 60 mile Alpine Challenge Ride, down close to San Diego. It will have almost 6000 feet of elevation climb. You can read up on it here: http://www.alpinechallenge.com/. We should have great weather for the ride.

Monday through Wednesday me and my friends Allen, Art and Robert will be doing a trip to the Grand Canyon. Tuesday we will be hiking to the bottom and back to the top. It should be a really fun trip and great for me to spend time with some of my closest friends before I start my long journey from coast to coast.

Cell Phone and Ink Cartridge Donations:

You may drop off donations at:

My home, 22997 Hampton Ct. Grand Terrace, CA 92313.
Call first to make sure someone will be there. 909-825-7566. Leave a message as we screen calls.

RSA Satellite at 236 W. Orange Show Rd., suite 107, San Bernardino, CA 92408. Between the hours of 10am and 6pm. There is no sign on the door but someone should be there.

I will continue to try and have more drop off points in the near future.

Latest News

If you live in the Grand Terrace, Loma Linda or Colton areas, you will find an article about my trip in the local weekly newspaper. In Grand Terrace it is called the Grand Terrace City News. I presume the other two cities follow the same naming format such as Colton City News and Loma Linda City News.

Donations

Donations have tapered off a bit but I suspect that as the trip unfolds that will pick up. Remember that you may donate to either Challenged Athletes Foundation in Russ's name, or to Russ Barber at 22997 Hampton Ct., Grand Terrace, CA 92313, to defray the cost expense of the trip. Also, if you have PayPal, you may donate by using my email address: marathoner26.2@sbcglobal.net.

Thank you everyone for your donations and personal and emotional support! Please spread the word so that we can help Challenged Athletes live a fuller more rewarding life.

Itinerary for Trip to the East Coast

The planning of the trip is coming along nicely and here is my itinerary from home to the east coast.

Date		Dist/mi	Destination	Total/mi
5/3/2009	Sun	61.2	Little Morongo Heights	61.20
5/4/2009	Mon	100	Rice, CA	161.20
5/5/2009	Tue	80.8	Vicksburg, AZ	242.00
5/6/2009	Wed	64.3	Congress, AZ	306.30
5/7/2009	Thu	45.8	Prescott, AZ	352.10
5/8/2009	Fri	54	Sedona, Az	406.10
5/9/2009	Sat	0	Sedona, Az	406.10
5/10/2009	Sun	105	Tuba City, AZ	511.10
5/11/2009	Mon	73.2	Kayenta,AZ	584.30
5/12/2009	Tue	72.7	Teec Nos Pos, Az	657.00
5/13/2009	Wed	85.7	Durango, CO	742.70
5/14/2009	Thu	49	Silverton, CO	791.70
5/15/2009	Fri	31.9	Ridgeway, CO	823.60
5/16/2009	Sat	0	Ridgeway, CO	823.60
5/17/2009	Sun	91.7	Gunnison, CO	915.30
5/18/2009	Mon	64.6	Salida, CO	979.90
5/19/2009	Tue	58.3	Canon City, CO	1038.20
5/20/2009	Wed	95.8	Parker, CO	1134.00
5/21/2009	Thu	16.7	Denver, CO	1150.70
5/22/2009	Fri	0	Denver, CO	1150.70
5/23/2009	Sat	0	Denver, CO	1150.70
5/24/2009	Sun	90.6	Fort Morgan, CO	1241.30
5/25/2009	Mon	60.7	Yuma, CO	1302.00
5/26/2009	Tue	67.2	Saint Francis, KS	1369.20
5/27/2009	Wed	103	Norton, KS	1472.20
5/28/2009	Thu	0	Norton, KS	1472.20
5/29/2009	Fri	90.8	Mankato, KS	1563.00
5/30/2009	Sat	85.1	Marysville, KS	1648.10
5/31/2009	Sun	95.5	Atchison, KS	1743.60
6/1/2009	Mon	71.2	Lee's Summit, MO	1814.80
6/2/2009	Tue	67	Sedalia, MO	1881.80
6/3/2009	Wed	60.6	Jefferson City, MO	1942.40
6/4/2009	Thu	0	Jefferson City, MO	1942.40
6/5/2009	Fri	78.4	Union, MO	2020.80
6/6/2009	Sat	65.5	Belleville, IL	2086.30
6/7/2009	Sun	60.3	Salem, IL	2146.60
6/8/2009	Mon	81.6	Vincennes, IN	2228.20
6/9/2009	Tue	111	Louisville, KY	2339.20
6/10/2009	Wed	0	Louisville, KY	2339.20
6/11/2009	Thu	69.2	Georgetown, KY	2408.40
6/12/2009	Fri	91	West Liberty, KY	2499.40
6/13/2009	Sat	67.5	Pikeville, KY	2566.90
6/14/2009	Sun	69.4	Richlands, VA	2636.30
6/15/2009	Mon	50.8	Princeton, WV	2687.10
6/16/2009	Tue	93.4	Salem, VA	2780.50
6/17/2009	Wed	0	Salem, VA	2780.50
6/18/2009	Thu	57.2	Lynchburg, VA	2837.70
6/19/2009	Fri	69.4	Charlottesville, VA	2907.10
6/20/2009	Sat	67	Warrenton, VA	2974.10
6/21/2009	Sun	45.7	Washington, DC	3019.80
6/22/2009	Mon	0	Washington, DC	3019.80
6/23/2009	Tue	0	Washington, DC	3019.80

New Start Date of Russ Pedals America

OK! After consulting family and friends, I have decided that I will set a specific date for the start of my ride across America and back. The new start date is Sunday, May 3, 2009. This will enable me to give extra time to training, planning and fund raising as well as have better chances of warmer weather in the Colorado Rockies.

In the next few days I will be posting a proposed itinerary of townships and mileages, along the way, to give you an idea of the route I will be taking. As with any trip of this nature, sticking to a firm itinerary is next to impossible it is mainly for planning of the route. Dates and daily mileages will probably change occasionally but the overall route will stay pretty close. So far my proposed route to Washington, DC is about 3,100 miles. I haven't fully plotted the Northern return route completely as yet, and have a few tweaks to make to my south central route.

Thanks again for your cooperation and generosity so far and in the future.

Challenged Athletes Foundation

Donations to "ride expense" can be made through PayPal: marathoner26.2@sbcglobal.net or send check to 22997 Hampton Ct, Grand Terrace, CA 92313

Russ