Jay Bikes Across America: Summer 2014

I went back to sleep and woke up in time for breakfast in Ohio not too far from Cedar Point. I called ahead to see if we could get a discount on tickets after explaining what we had done this summer and that we really only had a few hours to spend in Cedar Point (unfortunately not the entire day). We were able to get 50% off which was great since we got there at about noon and had to leave around 3:30PM.

This was my first time at Cedar Point and even for a few hours, it was pretty fun. We did 3 roller coasters and were back on the road to Cleveland, OH where Dan is from. I was dropping Dan off at home before continuing the drive solo until I got to Philly to return the van and trailer. I showered at Dan’s place and he made a delicious dinner of burgers, sweet potatoes, salad, and more which was more filling than we anticipated.

As the sun was going down, we emptied the van of pretty much everything to clean it out and said our goodbyes… saying our goodbyes again a few minutes later when Dan called me to tell me to come back for the things I forgot. I then drove to Pittsburgh to stay with another SUS alum, Jessie, for the night.

In the morning, I drove to the Flight 93 memorial and looked at a map to realize I could get to Gettysburg for a quick visit. Oddly enough, I had to reroute because of traffic and wound up driving through West Virginia and Maryland to get to Gettysburg.

Gettysburg was great but I wish I had more time to spend exploring the sites and the town. I stopped at two sites and kept driving to Philly. Once in Philly, I dropped the trailer off at the Bike & Build office and drove to South St to stay with fellow Stony Brook alum Geoff (thanks buddy).

The next day, I returned the van to the Bike & Build office and was fortunate enough to get a ride back to the city thanks to my brother-in-law Brad.

After 6 days of non-stop driving, I had finally returned to New York. 

The ride up was long and we switched off driving and sleeping while listening to some older Robin Williams stand-up comedy. I woke up around sunset and Dan told me we were a few miles away from Rushmore. We parked in their visitor center (paying way too much for parking) and were able to see the President’s heads just as the sun was going down. I tried to get some good Lego shots but other tourists kept asking me what I was doing and if they can try with their own cameras.

We drove a few miles to Rapid City for dinner and discovered a fairly young town with a lot to do at night. After some searching for a restaurant still open and one not so expensive (turns out Rapid City is kind of “bougie”), we settled on the Firehouse Brewery. After dinner, I drove the extra couple of hours to Bad Lands National Park getting there by about midnight to the Cedar Pass campgrounds.

Driving through this park at night was a little scary because of all the pointed towering rocks. We slept outside, Dan in a hammock and I on a picnic table (we had been warned about rattlesnakes) and were up by about 6AM to do a quick sunrise drive through most of the park. The rocks looked incredible as the sun was coming up and we wished we could have spent more time there but we had gotten it in our heads to get to Cedar Point Amusement park by Thursday.

We drove the whole day into Iowa City stopping at the South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa state lines for some pictures and so that I could ride my bike across them fulfilling a goal of riding my bike in all 50 states.

We surprised my friend and fellow SUS alum Holly in Iowa City and kept driving east to make it past Chicago before we slept. I was driving and my logic was that if we can make it to Indiana, it would just be a few hours until Cedar Point in Ohio the next day. I stopped at the first rest stop in Indiana and we pulled over next to all the trucks, this was at 2AM…

To get to Portland we had to arrange for 33 people, bins, and bikes to be transported to the church. That Saturday morning I am forever calling “My Logistical Masterpiece”. My goal was to have the van and trailer make one trip to Portland and that’s it. I woke up at 7AM and told parents to come with their cars at 10AM. I had a rough idea of how many cars we had but my main goal was to go car by car and fit as much stuff and people in as possible. The first car arrived at 8AM including my parents in a medium-size jeep. The first two cars to go took 4 riders and about 13 bins/bags between them… that was a good start.

Throughout the morning some riders packed up their bikes for shipping, others had arranged to go alone with family taking their bikes with them and another rider. This all went on until about noon (which is when we had to be out of the church). By the end, some cars even took our empty food bins and coolers leaving plenty of space in the trailer for the leftover bikes. When the van and trailer left, all that it took was a number of bikes and 7 people (like I said… this was my Logistical Masterpiece).

The ride to Portland was quick and the work did not stop once we got back to the church. Laura Lynn and I went to pick up some more empty bike boxes and at dinner time about 12 riders were invited to a bakery to eat because they loved what we had done this summer. They also donated a delicious chocolate cake for our Cannon Beach party. I was late to dinner so a few riders and I went to get Thai food on Division St.

After a stop to Safeway to pick up some cakes for Connor (it was his 21st birthday), about 10 of us gathered at 11PM to walk over to a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of my personal favorite picture shows. I was very interested to see how Portland does their Rocky Horror Show and am happy to say it was quite fun. I did expect Portland to be a little “weirder” as per their city slogan but it was a nice last night in Portland.

The next morning, whoever was left cleaned up the church and Natalie, Laura Lynn, Dan, and I prepared to drive the van cross-country back to Philly dropping Natalie in Baker, Nevada and Laura Lynn in Denver. We needed to get to Baker by Monday morning because the Providence to California (P2C) route was biking there and this meant driving straight through for 13 hours until we got there. With a van and trailer, this route took longer but from 11AM to about 3AM the next morning, the van was moving (with the exception of a few breaks).

Natalie drove first on highway 84 in Oregon and we passed through Ontario which was our first city in Oregon. We also passed by the place we went skydiving near Boise, Idaho feeling weird that we had covered this much country in a few hours when it took us so long by bicycle. Dan and I drove at night and we stopped at Wells, Nevada to get some sleep before continuing. I slept in the driver’s seat in a McDonald’s gas station and at 3AM continued driving straight through to Baker with a sunrise creeping up over the mountains (after getting a frappe of course).

We arrived in Baker and dropped Natalie off before traveling on the route P2C would take to get to Baker. At about 9:30AM, we passed their first riders amazed they had covered so many miles so early in the morning (our group was not as fast on average). We then passed three of their leaders, Stanley, Michelle, and May, surprised to see another Bike & Build trailer in the middle of nowhere (Stanley knew we were coming, we needed an inside man).

After we left them, we continued heading east to Denver since Laura Lynn had to catch a flight on Tuesday morning. I went in the third row of the van to sleep while the other two drove since I was exhausted. When I awoke, we were in the middle of Utah going through some beautiful mountainous terrain. Utah has very distinct mountains and I wish I wasn’t too tired to see all of them. We stopped at a famous taco truck outside Delta, Utah and continued driving to Denver.

Closer to sunset, I took over driving and we proceeded to pass over the Rocky Mountains for a second time this summer but this time covering the miles a lot quicker. We even passed by Copper Mountain where I pretty much learned to ski when I was 3 or 4 (although I don’t remember much of it unfortunately, I was young and also prone to hitting a lot of trees).

We reached Denver at about 10PM and fellow SUS alum Arden set us up with her friend Emily, a CUS13 alum, with a place to shower and sleep for the night.

Emily took us to Spudniks for dinner which was a block away from the church we stayed in when we biked to Denver not too long ago. 

I remember running next to Amy when I hit the water… and then the water hit me… it was cold. The water was freezing and even though we commented on it, no one really cared. We started splashing around and diving in head first. I was in up to my waist when Zoe wades over to me, both of us half-dry. She hugs me and goes, “Are you ready?” before leaning back and we both fall in. I’d like to say we got used to the cold the longer we were in the water but that was not the case.

Sam was the last to jump in and I’m not sure how long we were in the water, but our family and friends gathered at the shore as we played like dogs. My legs were starting to get a little numb but it was nothing compared to 23 degrees in Stanley, Idaho a few weeks ago. After some more swimming and jokes about swimming to Japan, we finally got out and gathered our bikes for the Wheel Dipping Ceremony. In Virginia Beach, we dipped our back tires into the Atlantic with the intention of dipping our front tires in the Pacific when we arrived.

I said an official “hello” to my parents who came out from New York that morning and flew into Portland and then picked up my bike for the tire-dip. Dan came up to me and gave me a cigar he had purchased just for this occasion. A group of us stood huddled together trying to light our cigars on the windy beach (and eventually got it to work). It seemed like everyone had a bottle of champagne and was spraying it over everyone else so now we were wet, cold, and a little sticky (appropriate for Bike & Build I think).

We lined up at the beach and slowly walked our bikes to the water. After a few pictures, some more champagne, and random surprise guests, the celebration died down and soon it was just a few us left at the beach. I went to take some pictures but from the water, I saw a dance party going on so I had no choice but to join in as well.

After some more time spent at the beach, I walked with some people to our church a few blocks away. At the church, we showered and got our things ready for our dinner/party at a park nearby with our family and friends. I arrived at the park late after picking up some more beer and firewood. Katie Karg and Christine had organized some great pizza for the party and there was plenty of other food and drinks to keep everyone happy. The party looked a little split with the 33 of us scattered on the lawn of the park and our family and friends near the picnic tables.

5 of us got up to give our guests the same presentation we had been giving cross-country talking about the organization, the cause, what it is we do, and answering random questions about tan lines, flats, and nakedness.

When the party died down, Joey and Sam made a small fire on the beach and we gathered by the shore to watch probably the best sunset we had witnessed all trip; however, I’m not sure if this was the best because it looked aesthetically pleasing or because we had biked 4,000 miles to see it. There were about 20-25 of us by the fire until midnight or so when we wished Connor a happy 21st birthday and we slowly made our way back to the church.

Since I was very tired (for no reason in particular), I got a frappe and a breakfast burrito before heading out with Laura Lynn, Hannah, and Joyce. We continued biking north on Route 101 unable to actually see the ocean until we passed a bay at mile 11 and even then, it was little snippets of blue to the left of us. It was as if the ocean was playing hide and seek with us which I didn’t mind because I don’t think we were ready to see the ocean just yet.

For a well-traveled bike path like 101, the roads were not so well-kept. The shoulder was small and there was a lot of traffic. Hannah got a flat so we stopped not minding the break from the road (and an excuse to get to the beach slower).

At about mile 25, we started climbing up the coastal mountains. At mile 29, we turned on an overlook were looking straight at the Pacific Ocean and the coastline south of us. I think I saw all 33 of us at one point at this overlook since I arrived in the middle of the pack. Some of our group had never seen the Pacific so you can imagine their excitement given the fact we all just biked here. Natalie set up a snack stop at mile 31 and we had a nice descent followed by some more climbing. On the last descent, I got more and more excited to finally reach Cannon Beach. 

We also saw 4K for Cancer’s Portland route on the 101. They end in Portland on August 9th but stopped at Cannon Beach today to have their tire dip ceremony (I thought it would be funny if they biked to our beach and confused the people waiting for us). We met up with some of them at the Cannon Beach sign and congratulated each other on the feat we just accomplished. Everyone from our team present took a picture at the sign ad we biked to a parking lot where Natalie set up “lunch” for us 1.5 miles from Haystack Rock where our friends and families were waiting for us.

The purpose of this lunch stop was not just to eat but to have a few minutes together before we are bombarded with people who aren’t us. Each of the leaders said a few words followed by Natalie and we organized ourselves to ride into the beach together. 33 people on one road is quite a sight and I was lucky to be in the back to witness it from that perspective. Peter and his big flag led the charge and we began riding our last miles. Cars were honking at us and some people on the side shouted when they realized we were about to finish a cross-country trip.

We passed Haystack Rock and then made a left onto Gower Street, finally arriving at the beach…

I started riding out with Hannah and Natalie but knew Natalie would be jumping groups all day. Right out of Carlton is where a 15 mile climb began. I can’t explain it… but I felt great the entire time. Hannah and I were cruising up the climb, sometimes at the same pace, sometimes not. We even caught up to some of the faster climbers and drafted off them until the peak. The downhill was nice but we knew there would be rolling hills for most of the day until we got closer to the shore.

Hannah and I wound up getting separated a couple of times throughout the morning because she had a flat on a downhill. I waited for her and we were still able to catch up to most of the group going 18mph on some of the uphills (like I said... today made no sense). The road we were on was not completely paved so we rode on gravel for a couple miles as well. I didn’t mind and even though gravel is a little scary to navigate on, I had fun. It was then I came to the conclusion: I love gravel. This is an insane thing to say because falling on gravel hurts… a lot. I don’t know if this love came from  3 days on the Katy Trail in Missouri or driving on back roads in Colorado on the 4th of July but there is no feeling like accomplishing a steep climb on a gravel hill that on a normal day, no one should be able to bike up. At this point, because we are so used to gravel, we just lower our gears and climb it.

Once we were out of the gravel I got my first flat since Missouri from a rock stuck in a small crack in my tire. Lunch was by a river and everyone took their time leaving knowing it was really our last lunch. I napped on a rock while people swam and played with the current. I left lunch with Hannah and Soko and we soon hit Route 101.

Route 101 (and Route 1) is a famous road on the Pacific coast that cyclists can ride from Vancouver all the way down to the Mexico border. A lot of people take a few weeks off and do the entire ride camping along the way. The normal way for people to go is south but we headed north to Tillamook. It might sound weird that on our second to last day, we are this close to the Pacific Ocean but the good thing is we could not see the ocean because of the coastal mountains.

Before we reached Tillamook, there was a detour a few riders took to Munson Falls about 1.5 miles off Route101. We decided to go and after some more gravel and climbing, we hiked .25 miles to see them. Munson Falls is one of the biggest falls in Oregon. The only way to describe this place was “magical”. Even thought there was a “closed” sign on the trail, we climbed on some fallen trees to really see the falls a little better. Hannah and Soko napped while I took some necessary Lego pictures with a new piece and then we finished the ride into Tillamook being some of the last riders to come in that day. We shuttled to showers and walked to an ice cream place since Tillamook is known for its dairy products. At dinner, Taylor bought Connor a steak (he had made it to the host by 1pm) and presented it to him.

We used our last official riding night together to present paper-plate awards to each other. A few days ago, everyone picked a name out of a hat to make them a superlative plate about something from the summer. I picked Mike Pope so I gave him an award for “Being Excellent in Everything… seriously…wtf” because frankly, he’s excellent at everything from biking to slacklining to music. I asked him to help me present it with a special edition of our podcast “Mike and Jay in the Morning (All Day)” and in the middle, he realized it was for him.

Julia picked my name and wrote me the sweetest poem which presented the “Man-Child Award”… probably for obvious reasons.

We then did our last Snap Box with a lot of snaps about our prom and Phil the Pheasant, our new teammate and mascot. After all of this, Laura Lynn, Natalie, and I went shopping for milk and bread and then joined the riders for drinks at a Rodeo bar/steakhouse. Some of the riders might have gotten me too many drinks.

Since today was a 40 mile day, everyone took their time leaving Portland. I kind of wanted to get to Carlton but the group I was with (Joyce, Hannah, Blythe, Soko, Karg, and Laura Lynn) wanted to go to the original Voodoo donuts on the other side of the river. I got a coffee while some of our group waited in the long line (there’s always a line at the donut shop unless you go early in the morning). Waiting in line breaks one of my life rules: “Jay doesn’t wait in lines”.

After a stop at Powell Books where we could have spent the entire day, I left Portland with Blythe, Laura Lynn, and Soko. We biked on route 99 out of Portland which had a bike lane but was still a busy road. We had lunch in a town called Newburgh and Dan (the van driver that day) parked in a shopping complex with plenty of food options to get donations for dinner. My group was one of the first to arrive at lunch and it was almost as if Dan knew I would be excited at the prospects of this parking lot.

I walked into Pizza Hut first and even though the shift manager said they can’t make food donations, she decided to donate 3 pizzas anyway. I then walked into the Subway next door and the manager gave us 3 trays of sandwiches for dinner. I don’t know if Newburgh was just a nice town or the shaved face gave me some new confidence but I was on a roll. We finished the route to Carlton and while I was getting coffee, I decided to call some restaurants in Mickinnin, the town over where we would be showering, for some more food just in case the pizza and sandwiches weren’t enough. Dominoes agreed to give us 4 pizzas and KFC gave us some buckets of chickens. I could not be denied free food today... it felt great. Instead of leaving it at a perfect game, I tried calling Little Caesars and Jimmy Johns and received my first “no’s” for the day.

After showering, we brought all our food to a park in Carlton for a picnic and final Town Hall. We also made one last adjustment to our grant allocations and finished the process altogether. We’ll be donating to 15 affordable housing organizations. This area of Oregon is known for their vineyards so we ended the night with some wine at a local restaurant.

I almost forgot to mention that Natalie, one of the program directors at Bike & Build (and my boss), joined us today for the last couple days of our trip.