Starting off

We started riding 5/29 for a measley 22 miles after driving 350+ miles from Lake Moses, Washington. We started in Astoria, Oregon and ended in Seaside, Oregon. Above is a picture of my bike in the Pacific ocean. Today we rode 64.5 miles from Seaside to Netarts, Oregon, there were quite a few climbs along the coast, but the weather and the view were spectacular!

Notes: there was a large cheese factory in Tillamook, Oregon; and maybe it's just me but all of the towns out here sound like diseases.

I'm tuckered out, but I've finally started riding. We're planning on another 65 mile day with some pretty large climbs and we'll start heading west and move away from the coast.

This is the approximate route we're driving out to Oregon.

Driving Out West

Travel Day 1- drove from Concord, NH to Arlington, VA to stay with a friend from Bates, Dayna. (Thanks Dayna!).
Travel Day 2-drove from Arlington, VA to Maryville, TN
rest day to pack up the RV and try to fix my cell phone (which fell apart somewhere in VA).
Travel Day 3-drove from Maryville, TN to Kingdom City, Missouri
Travel Day 4-Kingdom City, MO to Chamberlin, SD
Travel Day 5-Chamberlin, SD to Garryowen, Montana. Which is where I am now. We stopped at Mount Rushmore and Skip's whole family surprised him by being there waiting for him. It was his birthday on Monday. It was really nice of them and he was definitely surprised. Also, I'd say that this is a beautiful country and I am amazed at how much the landscape changes, but I think that more people should carve faces out of rock outcrops...

It's been a lot of driving and I've taken lots of pictures, but I can't wait to start biking. We're headed to Washington state today and probably only 350 miles to drive on Tuesday to get to Astoria, Oregon. Hope everyone is well.

My Companions

I met my companions, Skip and Cydna through Adventure Cycling. After several e-mails and phone conversations they seemed to be very compatible and did I mention that Cydna was driving a 31-foot motorhome!? I offered to fly down to Tennessee to meet them and it turns out that we were compatible and they were down-to-earth people with a great sense of humor, plus they fed me very well! It seems like a good match and I'm excited for a run trip!

The bicycle route

Getting Started

Some of you may know that I am planning this little trip to ride my bicycle across the country. It all started with a need for adventure and the desire to see the country. I've never driven across the country, so I figure biking would be a good way to do it. I found my companions and the route through adventure cycling association. It's going to be physically tough, but also very luxurious, we will have an RV for SAG and to use as a place to sleep every night. We're following the TransAmerica route from Astoria Oregon to Yorktown Virginia.

Tomorrow I will start driving down to Maryville, TN to meet up with my cycling partners and I will arrive there Wednesday night. Thursday we'll pack up the RV and do last minute errands and Friday we're driving to Oregon, but we'll take a northern route through South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore!

I still have lots of packing to do, so if I have time I'll post later. And so all of you know, this is my first attempt at a Blog, but I figured if pre-teens throughout the world could share their thoughts I could probably figure it out.